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#god if i could stop procrastinating and wasting time and shit i could actually have time to enjoy myself. half of this boils down
mysticbewitched · 11 months
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Hi Mystic! Before I explain my situation, I just wanted to say how much I deeply appreciate your blog and how well-written your posts and replies are. I can clearly see you put a lot of great effort into helping us and that you genuinely care. I love you for that so thank you so much 💓💓💓
1) I am in need of some advice however. You see, I'm currently on school holiday and have wasted a lot of time doing nothing and procrastinating working on my self concept and manifesting my dream life. I have four days left and I'm in a serious time crunch. I want to shock everybody when I'm back at school, also considering the fact I hate school and don't fit in at all.
So I want to ask, how do I not give up and succeed in manifesting my desires before I go back to school. I actually want to wake up in the void state to manifest my dream life but I have a shitty void concept and need more than four days to improve it. This situation is troubling me and I need someone's advice. Thank you for reading and I would greatly appreciate a response.
2) And also I feel like absolute shit because I know I'm being incredibly selfish. My dad is a humanitarian and politician for Sierra Leone. The people there are living in extreme, extreme poverty, even the animals don't have enough to eat so you see where this is going. I literally know about the Law of Assumption, the GOLDEN TICKET, and whilst all these innocent people are out there suffering, I'm wasting my time spiralling and being lazy which is making me feel super guilty. I have the power to help the entire world and I feel pressured if you know what I mean. How do I stop feeling this way, manifest my desires before school ends and just finally change the world?
Bonjour, lovely.
Your kind words mean so much more to me than words could ever describe. Thank you so much for your love, support, and noticing all of the passion I pour into my work. I deeply appreciate you, and you have absolutely warmed my heart. Thank you. 🖤
1. So I want to point out a couple of things here. Your priority is focused on the wrong thing. You have spent all this time overconsuming a huge amount of information surrounding manifestation instead of dedicating all of that time into transforming yourself into a confident manifestor.
Secondly, you're worried about the "time" when you should just simply accept the fact that your desire is already fulfilled. Why are you rushing yourself? Take your time and put in the inner work of revamping your mindset.
You can most definitely manifest to wake up in the void state, but don't you want to achieve that manifestation easily? I highly recommend that you start prioritizing your focus on changing your mindset.
Your mindset is all you need to be able to manifest your desires easily and effortlessly.
Manifestation is all about *you.*
Your focus should completely be set on you. Don't rush yourself and take your time with this.
You are the God of your own reality, and manifesting your desires is as simple as accepting them as already fulfilled from the confident manifestor state of mind. It is done.
Accept your desires as done and continue to persist in the inner knowing of their inevitable manifestation.
Change your mindset, and you will easily be able to manifest waking up in the void state or whatever other desires you have. Not to mention, you will also be able to achieve great success with your own manifesting power with or without experiencing the void state.
After all, the void state is only experiencing your true self as awareness. It is not *outside of you.*
All that's needed for you to completely transform your reality and manifest every single one of your desires is a simple change in perception.
Simply change your mindset: This post is the answer to your prayers.
2. You don't have to put yourself or feel selfish. We are each the creators of our own realities, and manifesting a "world change" in your reality would not show up for the rest of us in our own realities. I am in complete control of my own reality, and you are in control of yours. For example, if you manifested for world hunger end in your reality, that worldly change would not be manifested for me in my reality, and I would still be experiencing the same world from my end.
So please, don't beat yourself up or feel guilty about this and realize that you are absolutely entitled to manifesting whatever the hell you want in your own reality. You're the one running the show. Also, show yourself some grace and compassion.
You're in the middle of transitioning from "victim" mentality to the confident manifestor mindset. This is an individual journey that you need to take at your own pace, so take it easy on yourself.
Again, I say, don't rush yourself and take your time in order to turn your mindset around, and you will be able to easily manifest any desire you're after.
I hope I was able to inspire you and provide the advice you needed. I want you to know that I believe in you.
You only need to believe in yourself.
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parseisflat · 4 years
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ok yeah i’m just gonna rant in the tags
#maybe this is quarantine but i’ve just been so unmotivated lately#it feels like i’m barely scraping by and that makes no sense because on paper everything is great. and i have so much to be thankful for!!#but i’m just not getting that rewarding feeling anymore??#like school for instance my lowest grade in a class is a b+ but it feels like i’m failing everything#and i know this is because i procrastinate and get anxious and whatnot but i just don’t really know what to do with this feeling#i’ve been kinda sick lately and just really tired so i’ve been copying assignments and stuff and as an Overachiever thats been weighing onme#like i hate not understanding the material and not earning success it makes me feel gross but#i always feel so sick during class i can’t focus#and idk we’ll figure out what’s going on as in why my physical health is so shit but i’m just so stressed right now my chest hurts a lil#like it’ll all be fine this will pass but god it feels like every day is the same and my joys are short lasting#and i’m trying my best but my best pales in comparison to who i used to be#i need to stop romanticizing the past and work on my toxic habits#but god life is just... mundane and difficult but i’m living one day at a time and that’s all i can ask for ig#if anyone has advice or anything... i’d appreciate it a lot#just wanted to rant#shut up annie#god if i could stop procrastinating and wasting time and shit i could actually have time to enjoy myself. half of this boils down#to time management like JESUS GO TO SLEEP YOU WILL FEEL BETTER#but it’s so hard to change your lifestyle. i’m overwhelmed and it’s all in my mind but it’s :)))))))#it’s like there’s a blue tinge underneath everything. light blue ish gray but not in a pretty way it’s just dull and cold#idk yeehaw sorry if this brings you down :/#rant
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angelicmichael · 3 years
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Imminient Annihilation sounds so dope - Chapter Ten
Michael Langdon X Reader
Summary: Reader and Michael continue to work through their issues and finally start to warm up to each other even further. 
Words: 5.9k+ …oops
Warnings: just normal IA warnings (swear words, manipulation, unhealthy relationships, enemies to lovers, slowburn, etc) anddd maybeee a bit of fluff 👁
A/N: hey guys! Sorry I haven’t updated this in a few months but hopefully this is satisfactory hehe. This chapter is kinda a turning point in the fic so I hope u guys like it!! Also I watched Jennifer’s Body as I finished this so.. do what u must w that information 😌 djdjd
Previous Chapter
Rain was never something you were accustomed too. Spending so much time in Los Angeles had made you partially spoiled when it came to the weather - which is why you knew immediately your day was going to be shit when you woke up to rain.
You tried to convince yourself that the emotions you were feeling weren’t complete disdain but rather just a pessimistic version of indifference.. or that’s what you hoped anyway.
You knew realistically that your day wasn’t already doomed before it even started; and that the rain was nothing more than a mere inconvenience.. However; you still felt justified in complaining, considering today was the day you were ripping the band-aide off and moving in to the apartment Michael had oh so graciously chosen to give you.
Your pessimistic mood surrounding the entire situation was inevitable, and that was something you didn’t even bother to resist or fight. It didn’t take long for your thoughts to quickly go south as you quickly packed. Hatred that seemingly came out of nowhere (but that you realistically knew was only temporarily dormant) wasted no time in blinding your judgement - making you feel a nearly nauseating amount of jealousy and anger for people who actually seemed to be fucking happy in their relationships and werent forced into.. whatever shitty living situation you knew you were bound to find yourself in.
An apartment with no strings attached was way too fucking simple, and you knew it was too good to be true. You knew you were basically walking into a trap, and for what reason were you doing that so willingly? Just so that maybe Michael could start to tolerate you? You resented yourself for even agreeing to this but you also understood you really had no other option.
However; personal feelings aside.. you still had a mission to accomplish. You still had to attempt to seduce Michael, and even though you were doing a shit job at that so far - you still had to try. You knew realistically it was only a matter of time before Cordelia would ask about the progress you've made, and you would have to tell her something.
You had to do this.
That's why you were (semi) blindly choosing to move in to a building you knew you absoluetly couldnt afford; and why you were sucking up your pride and choosing to become semi reliant on Michael.
No one from the coven knew, and for the time being you intended to keep it that way. After all, even though Mallory didnt exactly know that Michael gave you a whole ass fucking apartment - your sure she probably suspected that something important happened between you and Michael just from the short conversation you three harbored together. But for the time being, you didnt have to worry about that. You had bigger things that were on your mind.. like the actual apartment door itself that you currently stood in front of.
You held the keys limply in your hand, your bag slumped next to you as you procrastinated something as fucking simple as opening a door. How pathetic.
You continued to stall in the hallway regardless - thankful there was no one passing through to witness how ridiculous you looked. Your gaze fell south down to your keys which were cold in your hand. Dripping slowly with the subtle rainwater that managed to linger on them, along with the rest of your clothes.
Your skin stung from the cold that seemed stubborn to leave, and a nice change of clothes and a hot shower wouldnt be the absolute worst thing in the world..
Fuck.
You bit your lip in order to prevent letting the profanity from rolling off your tongue. Quickly getting a better grip on the keys (which only made you somehow colder) and numbly, hastily unlocking the door.
You pushed it open, letting the door hit the wall and taking a few steps inside before dropping your bag to the floor.. as well as your jaw.
No words could possibly convey how you felt as you noticed how the room was already illuminated with not only natural light from the already huge windows you could see.. but also with a warm, yellow artificial glow.
Was someone already here?
What the fuck?
The hatred and resentment you previously felt toward others earlier rapidly started to return - except this time it was targeted at one very specific person.
It didnt even register in your mind that the light could've been left on by accident or that people besides Michael actually existed that could be present in the room but.. you didnt care. Anger was the only emotion that was solely present in your body as you fully abandoned your bag by the door. Advancing forward; and only feeling more shock and disbelief with every step you took at the thought that he could very possibly be in (what was supposed to be) your space.
"Michael, I swear to God-"
"Y/n?” said a soft, feminine voice.
It was practically automatic how you froze. Just getting close enough to notice that it wasn’t Michael after all that was on your bed in your new studio apartment, but a woman sat on your bed instead.
For about two seconds, you were scared it was Madison but.. that was a stupid assumption within itself. The company you were with was from a far different nature than of which Madison was, even though at first glance the two woman might look or sound similar. There were so many qualities that distinguished Mallory from Madison. Brown, auburn hair.. dark eyeshadow.. and her classic black boots. It didn’t take long for your anger to fade away as you tried to not think about how logically this still didn’t make sense - walking closer to your bed anyway.
"How did you get in here? And since when did you ever break into peoples rooms?" You asked with a laugh.
Mallory echoed your laugh back, seemingly watching you and your behavior. As if she was expecting you to do something or to act a certain way.. like perhaps leave.
"I didnt break into your apartment but.. you should probably sit down." She spoke, before nodding off to her side. Nonverbally suggesting you to sit next to her.
You did as you were told. Noticing briefly before you sat down how nice the apartment actually was.. including the bed.
The walls, and most of everything in the apartment was a solid black. It looked sleek, and even though black paint made most rooms look small - the natural light helped keep things looking open which you appreciated. It was no surprise that the bed matched the dark theme too. The sheets were silky, black satin. You almost laughed at how comfortable the bed was once you sat next to Mallory, the entire situation was so ridiculous it nearly hurt for you to not laugh out loud. The two of you sat in the silence for a moment.. you were each incredibly anxious, that was more than apparent.
You looked up at Mallory, expecting her to speak first and explain herself since after all.. shes the one who broke into your apartment but she still remained quiet.. Stalling, you could only guess.
"So, why are you here? How did you even get in here? Is everything okay?" You asked, your words speedy and rushed.
Panic started to temporarily set in when you realized that something could be serisouly wrong with the coven, even though you knew how completly irrational it was to think that way with no evidence. What if witch hunters found them? What if someone preformed the seven wonders and it went wrong? What if the plan had suddenly changed with Michael?
Mallory seemed to pick on how anxious you suddenly were, putting a hand on your upper arm before making you meet her gaze. Her soft, hazel brown eyes immeadietly making your breathe slow. That was another reason you were so thankful for Mallory - the soothing, calming effect she seemed to have on everyone she met was something you never took for granted.. Espically now.
"Hey, nothing's wrong and nothing happened. I promise. I just wanted to see you and talk to you, and I figured we should catch up after Michael basically made me leave," Mallory explained.
You quickly nodded. Feeling guilt start to creep into your system once you remembered how Michael previously treated her.
"Yeah, youre right. I've been wanting to see you anyway and I'm sorry I didnt just call you last night or something.. and I know I cant control him but I'm still sorry for how Michael treated you. I shouldn't have brought you into that-"
"(Y/n), stop," Mallory said urgently. Shaking her head slightly in disagreement with your words. "Sure, Michael was acting like a dick but.. it's nothing I'm not exactly accustomed too. It was harmless," she ended her words with a smile. One that was meant to comfort you both at the epiphany her words brought.
You sat with her words for a moment. The realization suddenly hitting you like a truck-
"Wait.. what? Do you know Michael?"
Mallory fell completely silent. Looking at you almost in a.. guilty manner. Her gaze fell downwards before she looked up to meet yours once more, licking her lips anxiously before she uttered out a quiet reply.
"I wasnt going to tell you because I knew it would make you upset but.. Michael called me last night-"
"And you answered?" Your voice raised up a few octaves unwillingly. Threatening to break as you tried to process what you were hearing.
As much as you wanted to immeadietly jump to conclusions, you had to remind yourself that this was Mallory you were talking too. Your best friend, Mallory. You knew she would never do anything to intentionally hurt you.
You noticed Mallory was also starting to get tense. Her spine suddenly a bit too straight and her shoulders were rigid. It was nice to know you werent the only person in this situation who was feeling this way, although you would be lying if you were to say that you werent curious for why Mallory felt tense.
"At first, no but he kept calling so I figured it would cause no harm to see what he wanted so, I answered," Mallory said cautiously.
It was obvious she had more to say and as much as you wanted her to keep talking and fully explain herself - you were more than happy that you didnt have to cut her off again. It was too much. This was too much.
You pinched the bridge of your nose before loudly exhaling with a shallow growl. Not really caring that it probably was coming off like you were mad at Mallory when in reality, that wasn’t the case. Mallory wasn’t the problem; you were really just beyond fucking pissed at Michael.
But at this point.. that wasnt new news.
"I told him that we shouldnt be talking, but he insisted," Mallory continued with a shrug.
You tried to sit up straight again; trying to exhale some of the pure fucking anger that was currently coursing through your system. Your vision was spotted black when you opened your eyes - your gaze pointed upwards at the smooth, blank ceiling. Quickly wishing that you were anywhere else, or really anyone else at the moment.
What you wouldnt kill to swap bodies again.. but then again, who knows what the hell Michael was currently doing at the moment.. He couldnt be trusted.
That was more than obvious now.
You should've known that he would contact Mallory, but how he even got her number was beyond you.. Unless-
"How did he even get your number?" You asked. Your tone strikingly calm.
Mallory looked incredibly spooked when your head suddenly snapped over to look at her. As if she was worried you were angry at her still, and as much as you wanted to reassure her otherwise, you really didnt have the energy to do so anymore. Not at the moment anyway.
"You can't be mad when I tell you the answer, okay?" She said softly.
Your features immeadietly softened at her words. The rest of your body relaxed as well; your shoulders dropping and your jaw unclenching.
"Mallory, I could never be mad at you. You could never piss me off, i'm just.. frustrated at Michael. It's not at you, I swear," you said. Trying your best to make your words sound reassuring and genuine.
Mallorys reaction wasnt one that was verbal but immeadite nonetheless. Her arms suddenly shot out and wrapped themselves around you. Her body temporarily pressing into yours as your hands went to her back, before she quickly broke the hug.
"Promise?" Mallory prompted. Brown eyes looking diligently into yours.
"Yeah.. I promise. Just tell me what that idiot did,” you said halfheartedly.
"So.. I've had his number for a while. Not for too long but just since you two switched. But, we never really talked," Her voice stalled as she watched your reaction. Your mouth grew dry as you really tried to let it sink in that they've known eachother since- well for atleast a week. "But I knew immeadietly that it wasnt you.. that day. I'm sorry I lied, but Michael made me promise."
"Why didnt you just tell me?"
Mallory looked at you in a guilty manner. Her lips pursing shut as she looked solemnly at her shoes, avoiding eye contact. You knew exactly why she was being quiet - she didnt want to admit why she had lied but.. the answer was pretty obvious.
Even though Mallory was one of the strongest witches - almost stronger than Cordelia on some days, she still was scared of Michael and that was nothing worth holding a grudge over. After all he was still the antichrist, no matter how (mostly) harmless and idiotic he seemed to you now.
"Okay.. I guess that doesnt really matter," you admitted with a laugh. Figeting with your hands as you heard a shallow laugh omit also from Mallory, which made you smile. The shallow pit that resided in your stomach finally starting to let up. "But.. What did he call you about last night?"
Mallory hesitated again before giving you another subtle smile.
"It was mostly about you.. I know how you feel about him y/n, but its working. I promise you. Hes finally warming up to you. I just wish you could hear how he talks about you,” she spoke. Taking your hands into her soft, warm ones.
"I wish I believed that," You admitted.
"I wouldnt lie to you. Hes finally starting to warm up to you, plus it was obvious yesterday-"
"Yeah; It was obvious how strong he was coming onto you."
Mallory laughed again at your words. Shaking her head slightly in protest.
“Y/n you know that’s not true. The only reason why he was flirting with me was just to get to you.. I thought that was obvious.”
“It was obvious I just.. didn’t know that you knew that. I mean, Michael has Madison.. or he did so you think that would at least satisfy his flirting needs for a bit but.. Michael faking to be interested in you, that would mean he wanted a reaction out of me on purpose? Why would he-“
“You know why. You need to start cutting yourself slack and realize that maybee this rivalry is starting to be one sided.”
You pouted at her words at the realization that they actually held more truth in them than you were willing to admit. If Michael didn’t hate you anymore, if he was truly actually willing to be civil.. then why were you still so upset? Were you the one who was unintentionally causing problems now? Was it now you instead of Michael that was holding the relationship back?
How fucking stupid.
“I can’t trust him, Mallory. How can I when he and Madison literally tried to kill me. I can never forget that they did that to me.”
“I’m not asking you to forget what he did, y/n. I’m just saying that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to start having an open mind around him, and see where it gets you.”
You were struck silent, knowing that Mallory was completely right. If you wanted to have any hope at all of making things right with Michael (even though you really didn’t do anything wrong..) you would have to try a different approach because obviously; what you were doing now wasn’t working. Being snarky, and vaguely threatening him every chance you got was fun of course but- it wasn’t working. Even though Mallory was probably the sweetest person you knew, the fact your own best friend had to (very politely) make a intervention was.. not a good sign. Although, you knew Mallory was doing this for your best interest because if she didn’t say anything, then Cordelia certainly would.
And sadly, Mallory was actually right.
If you wanted things with Michael to advance any further; or to advance at all you needed to step things up but, you could always worry about that after Mallory left.
“So what, are you guys besties now or something?” You sneered.
“Shut up!” Mallory said with a laugh, playfully pushing you over a bit. “He’s barely even my acquaintance. The only reason he’s being nice to me is just to get to you, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I mean that’s the goal-“
“Do you think that’s the only reason?” You interrupted.
Your throat automatically tightened after you spoke, the threat of your words potentially being true coaxing you to silence. Your not sure why the thought of Michael using you made you upset.. it’s not as if you didn’t think he was doing it before but this time it was different. Perhaps it was because you finally thought Michael actually had some type of interest in you.. and to have that suddenly ripped away?
That would leave you beyond broken.. you knew that for certain.
Mallory looked at you solemnly, as if she was already resenting her words before she had to say them outloud.
“Look, I don’t exactly know Michaels intentions and I’m not going to pretend too.. I don’t really think anyone does at this point but I do know that regardless of your feelings, or even his feelings that.. you have to try.”
You let out a loud exhale.
“I mean you said it yourself.. Michaels so unpredictable, there’s no point in guessing how he feels so.. maybe I should just.. ask him?”
Realistically you didn’t know how good of a idea that was- but.. trying to remain realistic was something you gave up on days ago. Pretty much the same day you switched and that definitely wasn’t a coincidence by any means.
As soon as Mallorys mouth opened, you heard three loud knocks. Quick and rapid with no hesitation between them. The apartment nearly shook with the force of whoever happened to be at your door, and you certainly didn’t doubt that your neighbors heard the knocking as well.
Mallory looked at you in utter confusion, but stayed on the bed nonetheless with no sign of getting up. Naturally, you found yourself scooting closer to the end of the bed, knowing it was you who was going to have to get the door.. and that made you scared shitless. Not because you were necessarily scared to open the door but because you had a horribly bad feeling on who was on the other side.. There was only one person that you knew of that was aware of where you lived, and you knew it wasn’t matience or staff.
You knew standing up was the logical thing to do but you still stalled. Hands starting to painfully dig into the soft, expensive sheets that lie underneath you. You mouthed a silent, ‘what the fuck?’ to Mallory but your head snapped back at the door..
Three more knocks which were only louder and more persistent than the last.
“Coming!” You quickly called out.
It was pure anxiety that fueled your next actions. You quickly stood up from the bed, trying to walk hurriedly to the door as fast as you could and trying your damn best not to think.. Hoping Mallory also had a idea of who was at the door and also happened to get the fuck out of view.
You didn’t want a repeat of yesterday happening again today, and you knew you wouldn’t hesitate to slap Michael if he tried to flirt with her again. Even though, you knew you weren’t supposed to act like that anymore.. but why should you have manners if Michael refused them as well?
Opening the door swiftly and without a second thought; you stood breathless as you saw a familiar blonde standing in front of you.
You both stared at each other at first - each not daring to have the balls to say ‘hello’ or anything else for that matter.. You noticed how Michael first eyed you up, fully looking up and down your body (as well as peering behind you, hopefully not making eye contact with Mallory). You made a point to just look into Michaels eyes, refusing to do what he was doing.. whatever the fuck that truly was.
“How did you know I would be here?” You breathed.
“I knew it was just a matter of time before you’d come, but it also never hurt to charm the hotel staff a bit,” Michael responded swiftly without a second beat, almost as if he anticipated your words. His lips upturned slightly at the edges, in a way that nearly made your stomach sick.
“The hotel staff-?!”
“I have connections everywhere y/n, I thought you knew that,” he sneered.
He brushed past you as you continued to stand in shock. Your mouth slightly falling open as Michael took a few steps into your apartment - looking curiously around, almost as if he knew Mallory was here..
“I did.. I think that’s obvious,” you shot back hurriedly. “But thank you for the apartment again, Michael. I still feel weird taking it but it is nice I’ll admit,” you continued. Hoping to make him turn around to look back at you and hopefully not find Mallory.. Which worked. At least for a few seconds at least.
Michael made direct eye contact with you for a moment, almost as if he wanted to speak but was deliberately choosing not too. Instead he turned around, walking in deeper in the apartment.
Your mouth immediately dropped open - your feet carried yourself forward as you started to feel a bit numb with shock- not knowing even in the slightest how you were going to handle the situation if Mallory didn’t fucking move.
Sure enough..
“You always manage to linger.. don’t you?” Michael spoke.
It took only a couple steps for you to fully realize he wasn’t speaking to you. You only saw his backside as you approached them. Quickly meeting Mallorys gaze as you came into view.. Her brown eyes darker than ever as she peered up at you.
This time it is nearly impossible to distinguish whether she looked in agony from Michaels appearance or yours; since you apparently interrupted them. Her gaze quickly returned back to meet Michaels before you could think anything of it.
“I’m not here to see you, Michael.” Mallory announced. Her tone harsher than what you were expecting what apparent friends would use.. Were they even really friends?
Mallory suddenly stood up while Michael was still standing a few feet in front of her. Making eye contact with Michael for a split second before almost ducking around him before she stood in front of you.. leaving Michael speechless behind her. She quickly hugged you, her arms only embracing you for a split second before leaving. It was obvious she was in a hurry to leave now but.. you weren’t sure exactly why.
“I should get going, you and Michael have a lot to talk about,” she subtly smiled before turning to leave.. not letting you reply or have any sort of reaction to her words.
You stood solemnly as you heard Mallory’s footsteps gradually go farther away, before hearing the door open and close. You watched Michaels back as he refused to turn around.
“How was your nice chat with Mallory?”
“Why are you asking? Am I not allowed to see her or something?” You bit back. Your words possibly twice as venomous as his were.
Michael hastily turned around, looking at you with utter disbelief. His blue eyes looking into yours, as if he was suddenly surprised by your tone and how you were acting - as if his behavior didn’t proceeded yours.
“You need to relax,” he snapped. He approached you until he was right in front of you. “I wasn’t asking because I’m trying to control you, I know that’s what your thinking,” His words fell soft until they were nearly inaudible. “I just wanted to ask what she talked to you about.”
“About us?” You prompted.
“Well what else would she be talking to you about,” he snickered. His words spoken as more of a statement than a question. His laughter quickly dwindled off after he saw how rigid your frame suddenly looked. “Kidding. For the most part.. she said she was going to talk to you, and I figured I should actually speak to you this time rather than her.”
“Are you.. actually trying to trust me, Michael Langdon?” You teased. A smile, as well as laughter escaped from your lips at the mere thought.
Even though the thought was amusing on its own, you still didn’t completely trust him. Even now when he had Mallorys trust (for the most part), you still didn’t doubt that he had a ulterior motive.
Michael finally stepped back, hesitantly breaking eye contact before inaudibly beckoning you to follow him.
“I’m trying, just like how I told you I would,” He hauntingly reminded you.
You followed him silently to the long leather couch that sat by the overly expansive windows. Sitting down next to him in a way that felt almost too casual.. but being casual around Michael and not borderline fearing for your life was something you would have to adjust too.
You noticed how he instantly slipped his shoes off; drawing up his feet on the couch.. his arms and as well the rest of him contained. Away from you.
“So if your trying.. now,” you suggested uncertainly. “Then.. tell me why you came here to talk suddenly again? I mean why not just go through Mallory again like you’ve doing previously?”
“(Y/n), please. Take me seriously and just trust me for once,” His words came out quick and stern as he spoke them. “I was being serious yesterday, as well as all the other times when I told you I wanted to start.. putting effort in and trying.”
You stared at Michael utterly dumbfounded.. Feeling a bit hopeless that you actually felt almost.. touched by his words. That’s if he was actually being serious, anyway.
“What does trying mean to you?” You asked carefully. Your mind naturally went back to Madison.. were they even broken up yet? Was that even something that Michael was willing to do for you, and how was that something you could just ask? “What about-“
“Madison’s fine. She’s fine.. with everything,” he replied hesitantly.
You simply ignored the fact that he seemed to pick up what you were talking about almost immeadietly.. focusing on rather the latter part of the sentence.. that she was okay with everything?
“So she knows? That you’re here?”
“Yeah. She knows but that’s besides the point. Madison isn’t a part of the equation anymore, I don’t want to talk about her,” He spoke as if his words were final and not to be argued with, but his tone wasn’t angry. He was just done.. and you were too.
You wish that wasn’t the case though. Cutting Madison off didn’t sit right with you in the slightest, and it would definitely have to be something that would have to be mended later. That was a given.
Madison and Michaels relationship was far too close for them to suddenly split and remain like that forever - it was temporary, but so is everything really. That shouldn’t phase you but - it still managed too.
“Okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t-“ you started.
“It’s fine. I knew you would ask.. She’s the reason why I’m here actually,” His eyes broke contact and averted down to his hands. “I don’t mean that as in I’m not here to see you but, it was something she said that brought me here.” He continued, his voice almost growing soft now at just the mention of his ex girlfriend.. and now, you felt like you actually were starting to understand his point of view. Not fully but, it was clear that Michael was trying to be more open with you, and this time he wasn’t ‘fake’ drunk.
It took nearly everything in you to not immeadietly retort but just like the night where you were at the party; you tried to fully hear him out since this was apparently one of the few times he was being civil.
“So Madison gave you advice and you actually took it?” You said while laughing softly. Trying to lighten the mood since Michael seemed to be brooding.
Michael didn’t laugh back but instead his gaze flickered up to meet yours for a moment. The corners of his mouth upturning in a shallow smile that only lasted for a few seconds.
“I did because it made sense.” He said, his tone still remaining serious. You noticed how careful he was being with his words.. something that was typical for Michael to do but this time it seemed a bit too deliberate. You wanted to ask what exactly Madison even told him to do but.. that felt wrong. “It was also the right thing to do.. Being close to you is something I should’ve done a while ago, probably immeadietly-“
“But what’s in the past; stays in the past. And since your so adamant about being close to me.. we can always try now,” you cut in.
Michael continued to sit a good distance away from you; you thought it was ironic how he could talk about wanting to get close with you but wouldn’t dare to move any closer. That thought made your pride a little bit too happy.
Right before he could open his mouth to say something; his phone rang. The sound suddenly earsplitting and blaring but Michael didn’t bother to flinch. Instead he stood up and answered his phone.. making sure to nearly trek across the apartment before he said anything into the phone.
You stretched and casually examined him as he talked, you had a feeling who it was on the line..
After how tense things were with Mallory - you knew they probably weren’t going to be on friendly terms anytime soon.. especially in front of you. And judging by how.. oddly relaxed he seemed (yet timid when he caught your gaze and realized you were staring), it had to be one person.
You were about to sink back into the couch and try your best to not speculate what they were talking about, but before you could fully turn - you realized Michael was sauntering towards you.. clearly still on the phone.
Oh fuck.
Before you could ask what was wrong, the look he gave you alone ushered you to silence.
He quickly held the phone away from his ear. A quick glance at the screen confirmed that the call was still active.
“You said you forgive Madison.. right?” He spoke lowly. His words barely audible, more so mouthing the words than actually speaking them.
You looked at him with a expression you’re sure looked as if you were furious but you were really just completely confused. You wanted to ask but.. there was no time if she was on the phone, but knowing what you were about to get yourself into would also be nice to know.
His eyes had since lost the sharpness that had nearly cut you earlier, instead swarming with urgency and a bit of panic.. It had to be Madison. The only person that could ever have that effect on Michael was Madison.
You simply nodded in response. Not trusting yourself to speak quietly outloud but you also didn’t exactly trust your response because it wasn’t exactly truthful, but Michael seemed to be level headed.. for now.
Michael immeadietly turned and held the phone back up to his ear, this time staying in closer proximity and within ear shot. Putting on his shoes as he continued to hold the conversation he was having.
“Okay
...
So when are you coming?
...
Great, see you then. . . Bye.”
If you didn’t just hear the words that you thought you had heard.. you knew under normal circumstances your heart would’ve ached when you realized how Michael hesitated before he said goodbye, most likely catching himself before he said ‘I love you’. Instead though, you felt a gruesome wave of nausea suddenly rise through you.. urging you to shakily stand up and speak without thinking.
“She’s coming to see you?”
Michael barely gave you a second glance as he turned around and started to head for the front door of the apartment.
“Yes. You’ll be seeing her too, don’t worry.” He spoke before he quickly let the door shut behind him.
You continued to stand, utterly speechless.
Part of you wanted to run after him and the other part merely wanted to scream in anger that he had already made fucking plans but instead you felt numb. Numb and calm.
You returned to your bag and unpacked, trying your best to not let your emotions consume you like they previously had too many times.. until you finally broke down and called Mallory.
Taglist: @michaellangdonstanaccount @langdonsexual @jimmason @blakescoven @dark-mei-rose @9layerdevilfoodcake @prophecy-is-inevitable @matildaofoz @beautyiswithinchaos @frenchlangdon @king-with-no-crovvn @melodylangdon @littledemondani @langdons-pinkyring @celestialrequiem @sojournmichael @mindlesschicca
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serenadeonacanoe · 3 years
Text
Honestly, I'd piss him off on purpose. (Namjoon x OFC)
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Pairing: Namjoon x Original Female Character
Genre/Warnings: Smut, Angst, Fluff, too tired to beta
Tags: Artist!Namjoon, Yoongi and Tae are the best flatmates, Enemies to Lovers I guess... more like brats to making out in the storage unit, OFC is an idiot.
Summary:
"Wow. Is that that grumpy artist behind you? Jesus. He really looks like a bit of a dick. And you are right. He really is hot..." Oh no. Speakerphone. Namjoon was standing behind me and was staring at me. Then at my phone. He let out a little laugh, then raised his hand to wave at Tae and Yoongi outside who were now also staring at him as if frozen, before turning around in unison. As if that would help. As if he couldn't see them. Or better even... couldn't hear them.
[...]
Mister Darcy has nothing on Kim Namjoon - that new and upcoming artist you probably already heard of (You haven't? How dare you? At least have the decency to pretend you have!). He is cold, serious, and rather good at making other people believe he is a prick. Especially Elizabeth Bennet - uh... Charlotte - is about to lose it because of him. Maybe in a good way. Man, I'd literally piss him off on purpose.
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CHAPTER 1
Even the sound of my own nails rhythmically tapping on the top of the counter was annoying me. To be fair, it didn't need much today to blow my fuze that had never been particularly long in the first place. But after a week consisting of being belittled by old white men and endless hours of unpaid overtime I about had it. Welcome to the art world. You know well before you enter that the hours are horrible and the job market is more than frustrating, but you love art and you have good organisational skills, you are resilient, charming when it counts and tend to romanticize things even when you know you shouldn't. It's too late to turn around now.
"That is why I don't use an agenda or notebook. If something is important enough for me to attend I simply won't forget. I know you youngsters are all about the bullet journaling and expressing yourself by mapping out your life but it really is just another way to procrastinate instead of getting to actual work." For a second I considered throwing my damn notebook in the buyer's face, but that probably wouldn't have helped my CV and the new job I would have to look for starting tomorrow. At least I should have screamed at him a little. Mainly, that I didn't care, that I was on my period and my shitty shower in the shitty flat i shared had broken and no dry shampoo in the world had fixed my hair this morning and that god damn it, how the hell was I supposed to remember every phone number, every call my boss had to take, every art handling transport I had organized if I couldn't write it down somewhere. Instead, I smiled. Died a little on the inside and complimented him on the gift of his exceptional memory and asked whether he would like another cup of coffee.
"What a dick." Samantha murmured, more to herself than me, after the guy had finally left, which made me snort under my breath. She usually didn't say much but when she did it was usually pure gold. In the end, it didn't matter that he was. Didn't matter that everyone at the gallery thought the art he had bought from us over the last couple of months had neither been smart nor impressive purchases. Mainly expensive. And flashy.
"Doesn't matter now." I said in a sigh after a quick glance at the clock. It was Friday night and we were about to close. Since it was my birthday on Monday I had taken two days off, about the longest break I had had this year and I was looking forward to being the lazy slob for a few days I was maybe always meant to be. In silence we answered a few last emails, tidied up the desks and counters so that potential buyers that would come in over the weekend wouldn't have to suspect anyone was actually working here. - A white desk. A huge Imac on it. That was all they needed to see, folders and pens and apparently especially agendas to be hidden away in drawers.
At five to eight I threw on my coat and Samantha just gave me a tired smile. Probably happy for me, just exhausted. "Have fun then? Don't get too wasted?" "Oh..." I said with a huge smug grin on my lips. "You have no idea... gonna take a bottle of Moët with me from the bar and drink it in my bathtub after eating a huge pepperoni pizza by myself and dancing to only the finest of 90s Euro Trash." I couldn't help it, apparently, I felt it necessary to give Sam a little demonstration, waving my arms up and down while swaying my hips in a way that I'd probably would not have if it hadn't been for a bit with an audience of a single person. Or maybe two?
A quiet scoff behind me and I quickly turned around, slowly lowering my arms, Sam biting her lower lip at the sight of me standing there like an idiot in front of HIM of all people.
Men didn't have to be old to annoy me. Or white. Yes, those were the ones that pissed me off most usually, but no one had managed to do so as much as Kim Namjoon recently. And now he was standing there, looking me up and down and stopping at my hair. The crazy too-much-dry-shampoo-because-the-shower-broke-hair. "Nice." He just commented and then looked over at Sam. "I'd like to take a last look before Sunday's opening if that is okay?" I stood there, my shoulders dropping, completely ignored.
"Uhm, actually, my babysitter has to leave in about an hour and I will have to be home before that." Samantha replied and I was impressed by how calm she stayed. "Of course." Namjoon said and gave her a slight smile. "Anyone else still around? Chris maybe?" Of course Chris hadn't been in today. It was Friday and unless important guests had announced themselves the owner of the gallery wasn't around on Fridays... "I am afraid not. But maybe Charlotte has a few minutes?" Well. Thanks. Thanks a lot. I felt a little betrayed. "Wouldn't want to keep anyone from their important Moët-Pizza-Dance Party plans." Namjoon replied before I could say a word. His voice once more dropping to a hushed, deep disapproval and his hands buried in the pockets of his rather expensive looking coat. Silence for a few moments and then he just walked off towards the room his exhibition had been set up all week. Showing without a further word that I would have to stay anyways if he wanted it that way.
"Well thank you for pushing me under the bus like that. Really appreciate it." "I am so sorry. But I was serious, I can't lose this babysitter. She got Jamie to eat vegetables. VEGETABLES!" Samantha suddenly seemed in a rush, grabbing her jacket and purse and showering me in promises she would make it up to me. Even though we both knew that wouldn't happen and wasn't necessary. Suddenly having to stay longer was normal. I just hated that it had to be today. And because of him.
I heard the door close behind Sam and I stood there for a second before putting my bag down again. Usually, I would have followed the artist, asking if I could somehow help, but nahhh... my ego was bruised up enough now, especially remembering the little dance. I closed my eyes. Fucking hated the guy. Always had. Well, not quite. I had thought he was cool for about five minutes when he had come in the first time. We had heard about him for quite a few months before, I think I had even seen pictures of him at some point, but those were nothing compared to him in real life. He came in all cheekbones and sharp chin and an all grey outfit, quick pace, observant gaze. Incredibly hot. He had also completely ignored me.
That's how it had started - a bruised ego. He couldn't know that it was my weak spot. Having studied art and its management and now feeling like a better secretary at times, when my colleagues and I were doing all the behind the scenes work while Chris worked very little hours and ended up with all the money and recognition. I was aware this wasn't the only field of work where this was the case, but it still frustrated me... I had imagined my life in the last years of my 20s to be a bit more glamorous than living in a tiny apartment on the outskirts of the city... spending my Friday night waiting for some rude artist dude to leave so I could lock up.
But what I perhaps hated most about him... was that I admired him. - Purely for his art. Really. Even the fact that he kept acting as if I wasn't around every time he came in didn't mean I couldn't admit that. At least to myself. The stories behind his huge colleagues were clever and thought through, but even without context, the pure aesthetics were mesmerizing. It was the kind of art that touched something deep inside of you and standing in front of it I always had a hundred questions. Whenever he brought in a new piece I was the first one to sneak a peek in the back rooms before it was hung.
"I don't get why you have such a problem with him. He is just... quiet. I think he might even be shy... stop being so sensitive and just ask him out already." I had almost strangled Sam for that comment a couple of weeks back. Stop being so sensitive. What did that even mean? Comments like that made me want to cry and scream at the same time, which probably would have been perceived as even more sensitive, but when had insensitivity become something to strive for? I had only kept quiet because I liked Sam and I knew what she had tried to say. At least I thought so. That I might have given less of a shit if I hadn't been rather attracted to Namjoon. Even though I had never mentioned it, she just knew. She knew if I didn't care about something I didn't waste my time on it. But if something made me angry or upset there was usually more to it. I hated that she could read me that easily. But he was still a dick and I still wanted to go home.
He took his sweet time. After an hour I walked up to him, a little speech prepared in my head about how he could come back first thing tomorrow. But when he turned around he just raised a hand between us to keep me from interrupting and turned away again. I hadn't seen that he was on the phone. "No, it's nothing, just one of the gallery employees." I heard him say and okay... if I wasn't about to explode before I was now. I stood there for a minute, fuming, and then simply walked back to the office area, my hand shaking when I started turning off the gallery lights one by one. It wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped but still felt good. Two minutes later the only lights still on were the one above my head and the one in front of the door. I would at least give him a clear direction where to head, he seemed to need it.
When Namjoon appeared out of one of the dark corners he looked even more annoyed than usual. Looking my direction through squinting eyes and his tongue pushing against the inside of his cheek. "Seriously?" he yelled my way and almost walked into one of the little flyer shelves. Wasn't the first time I had seen that happen to him though so maybe that had nothing to do with the light.
I felt oddly triumphant. By the time I had put on my coat and turned off the remaining lights, ready to finally lock up, Namjoon had almost found his way, standing in the open door, still on his phone. A little groan from my side when he didn't even notice that I was standing behind me went by unnoticed. Or simply ignored. But instead of the appropriate clearing of the throat or the maybe less polite squeezing past him, I just put my hands on his back and gently pushed him forward a bit, until his feet hit the pavement and he turned around. Dropping his hand with the phone in it, for a second he looked like he wanted to push back. Or trample me.
"Okay, what the hell is your problem, Charlotte?" His voice was hoarse. His eyes dark. God, he was hot. I hated him so much. "You." I simply replied and stared at him for a second, then turned around and locked the two locks on the door before stepping over to the alarm system. I couldn't help feeling smug because apparently, he knew my name. I imagined him staring at the back of my head because he was flustered, but couldn't be sure. All I knew was that when I turned around again a minute later he was still standing there, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his lips pressed together forming a straight line and watching me.
"Do you always act like that at work around people who could get you into trouble?" He was right, he could get me into trouble. But I was too fired up now, my heart racing. "Is that a threat?" "An observation." "Only around the ones I don't like." "Cool." "Great." "Enjoy the dance party. Sounds shit."
And with those words he had turned around, coat flying open in the wind, unfortunately making him look really cool as he walked away and I ABSOLUTELY HATED HIM. I kept my mouth shut and just walked off in the other direction, realizing minutes later that my car was parked the other way, but I kept walking for a while before I finally turned around. It took a while to calm down and only cuddling up to my cat on the couch to trash tv finally did the job. But by then I had realized something I wasn't sure I liked too much. Yeah, I thought he was a prick. And yeah I should have just played it cool. Would have been much smarted in many regards. But I also had somewhat enjoyed myself in the most fucked up way.
Seeing that stern look, that intense posture as he was towering over me... man, I'd literally piss him off on purpose.
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renjunfromthestars · 4 years
Text
more than
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Pairing: Mark + reader, Bestfriend! Mark, Childhood friend!Mark
Genre: Fluff, angst, honestly a little bit of crack LOL
Song recs: Best friend + Untitled + Waiting Room (Rex Orange County), Sofia (Clario)
Warnings: Mild swearing and mentions of alcohol
Word Count: 7.0k (my longest fic yet, wow!)
Summary: You’ve known Mark for all your life, and it only takes one drunken night (plus a little intervention with Haehcan) to think that you wouldn’t mind getting to know him a little better...
Notes: The fact that I actually had the patience to sit down and to write something above 3k words,,,,absolutely astounding, amazing, unique, never been seen before…. Mark is a little awk and always works so hard (poor bby), so imagining him as a super stressed pre-med major and oblivious best friend absolutely wrecks me thank you goodbye
----
When you first meet Mark, you’re eight years old, and it’s at church. He’s dressed in his Sunday best: a light blue button up, khakis, and shiny dress shoes. He looks stiff as your mother introduces you two, with his shirt buttoned all the way to the collar.
It’s not that you dislike him, but you think he might dislike you, with the way he avoids eye contact, eyes tracing the floor, your shoes—anywhere but your face.
You see panic flash through his eyes when his mom gently pushes him towards you, telling him to take you inside and reserve a spot in the pews while she catches up with your mom. 
He shuffles awkwardly, and wordlessly, you follow him into the building.
The pews are almost empty, with the bulk of them being filled in the front by the old people that usually have nothing better to do on their Sunday mornings. Although your local church is on the smaller side, it feels unusually large with rows of empty pews, almost eerie. You shudder at shadows the walls make with the stained glass, and hurry to your usual spot towards the middle.
If Mark notices your apprehension, he doesn’t say anything. He’s oblivious, actually, not noticing your absence until he’s almost at the end of the rows. When you see him stop and search for you frantically, you stifle a laugh. 
He eventually finds you, and after shuffling awkwardly between the pews, makes his way to you. 
“This is kinda far, isn’t it?” he murmurs.
“Huh?”
“I mean,” he stammers. “I usually sit closer to the front. ”
You peer at him from the side. “You actually want to pay attention?”
He scratches the back of his head. “Well yeah, isn’t that the point?”
“I guess,” you say, looking at the ceiling. With the sprawling arches and patterns, the designs are pretty, you think. 
“You should at least try, it’s kinda interesting,” when you turn your head to look at him he turns away. “Only if you want to, of course.” he adds, fidgeting with his hands.
When you tell him that maybe you will, you see him crack a small smile.
It becomes a routine, almost every Sunday, with you and Mark sitting next to each other.  Whether it’s closer to the front or the back, it’s a whole debate. You usually give in, because when you walk in, Mark is already waiting for you in the front. 
….
“Do you still go to Church?”
You’re laying on a green bean bag in Mark’s dorm room, procrastinating on the midterm paper you were supposed to get started on, well, a week ago. 
You think for a second, hand raised to rub your chin, just to tease him. “What’s church?”
“C'mon dude, are you serious?”
“Barely,” you say, standing up to move to sit on his bed. “You should really get a new bean bag, it’s kinda deflated.”
Mark ignoring you, reaches over from his desk to fluff up the bean bag. “It’s because you sit on it so much.” 
“Are you calling me fat?” and before he can defend himself you finally answer him, “I stopped going in like, middle school. It would be hard even if I wanted to, to find a whole new congregation, and I’m just busy. Also, it’s so boring, I could cry.”
Mark perks up. “Not if you go with me.”
You groan dramatically, and Mark chuckles. 
“Good to know that you haven’t changed since you were eight.”
It’s just your view on church, that hasn’t changed since you were eight. First thing things first, you were 19 now, going on twenty. You’re in University now, your second year. It’s been a blur assignments, partying, coffee and term papers- you don’t have time to think about anything else right now. Except maybe actually starting your paper but-
Mark interrupts you midthought, breaking the silence. “Are you still with that guy?”
“Huh? Who? Yuta?”
“Yeah,” Mark responds sheepishly, avoiding eye contact.
You roll your eyes. “No, we haven’t been together for a while. It wasn’t that important so I forgot to tell you.”
You can tell he's surprised about how unusually calm you are for talking about your first serious breakup, but he doesn’t say anything, instead just scratching the back of his head awkwardly in typical Mark fashion. “He was an asshole anyway,” Mark murmurs.
“What did you say?” you ask, acting shocked. “Mark Lee? Talking shit?”
Mark, embarrassed, refuses to repeat it. 
“I’m just saying, he wasn’t the right person for you.” he protests.
“As opposed to who? God himself?”
“I can think of a few,” he sighs, but you aren’t paying attention, instead laughing your ass off on his bed.
“You’re insufferable,” he says, standing up to open the door. “C’mon let’s go, I’m hungry. I know you’re not starting that paper anytime soon.”
It’s a routine, seeing Mark on Monday afternoons for lunch. Not Friday, because you were busy getting wasted, and consequently not Saturday, because you were too hungover. Not Sunday, because Mark had church, and you, well, were busy praying to God that you would be able to finish all the work you’d neglected over the weekend as a result. 
“I still don’t understand why you choose the worst day of the week for this,”  you say over your Kale caesar salad, pushing the leaves around aggressively. The University had a lot of healthy options, which you were grateful for. Grateful for you were not, were for the student loans you had to pay off every month, the exorbitant amount you partially owed to all the local and expensive organic produce the meal plan featured for the sake of being sustainable and health conscious.You could really give a rat’s ass about whether your salad was organic or not; if your weekends said anything about you, no amount of kale could help you (or your liver).
“It wasn’t really up to me,” Mark points out. “Maybe if you weren’t too busy being-”
“Ta ta ta,” you tsk, waving a finger around. “I, unlike you, actually have a social life.”
Mark frowns. “I have a social life.” 
Mark definitely had a social life. He was popular, even. As popular as you can be, being a preoccupied Pre-med with perfect grades. Mark is likeable. It’s not like he doesn’t have the opportunity to go on weekends if wanted to, he just chooses not to, deciding to slave away at biological functions, orbitals, and lab results instead. Even now, as he takes his glasses off to clean them, you notice the imprint they leave on his face from how long they’ve been sitting on his face, and doesn’t take you long to find the dark circles that grace the skin under his eyes: he’s exhausted.
You frown too. “You should really get out more Mark. You seem stressed.”
Mark gives you a small smile after putting his glasses back on, and then resumes typing on his laptop. “I don’t know how going out would make me less stressed,” he says, distracted. “I would only be more stressed, knowing the work I have to do.”
“Yeah, but you're pretty organized.” You point your fork at him accusingly, kale falling to the side. “Don’t you usually finish things early too?”
“Yeah, I do.” he admits,  and before you can press onwards you’re interrupted by a girl you recognize to be his lab partner.
Goggles in hand, you can see the marks they leave around her eye area, but she’s somehow still annoyingly beautiful, with her glossy straight hair and long eyelashes, but that’s not why you dislike her. She might be the most stuck up girl you’ve ever met. 
“Did you do the calculations yet?” she says, turning to Mark. ignoring you. It’s only when you cough in your seat that she turns to you. “And hello, (y/n).” An afterthought.
“Hello Yebin,” You give her a wry smile. “How's the lab?”
“The usual.” she glances at Mark, who seems to be doing some finishing touches on said calculations. “How’s Chem 2?”
Boy, does she really grind your gears. 
“It was fine, I actually placed out because I took it in high school.” Not to mention, it was a class for freshmen, and you were in fact, now a sophomore. 
Before she can say anything back, Mark claps his hands in celebration. “Done! Sorry it took me so long, I just had to double check some things.”
“It’s no problem,” and with the way her voice drips with a sickly sweetness, you want to gag. It’s so painfully obvious. “Are you still down for tomorrow?”
Poor Mark, always oblivious, stops typing on his laptop and looks up in confusion.  “Huh?”
You silently laugh at the expression Yebin makes when she realizes Mark has no idea what she’s talking about. “For our study session? The MCAT is just months away.”she reminds him.
Mark remembers. “Oh yeah, about that, I was thinking we could also invite-”
“Great!” she chirps, “See you tomorrow!” and with a flash of her white lab coat, she's gone. 
Mark scratches the back of his head. “I guess she had somewhere to be.”
You roll your eyes for what it seems like the 100th time this week, anymore and they might be permanently stuck to the back of your head. “She definitely likes you.”
“Who? Yebin? No way.” 
“Yes, Yebin, and yes way.” You fling a walnut from your salad over to his side, and he cringes.
“What is your problem?” he grumbles, and resumes typing on his laptop.
You drop the subject, because you know any talk on girls is completely lost on him. As you set aside your salad, you peer over at Mark, palm supporting your face. He’s focused, eyebrows slightly furrowed, with his lips mouthing over silently whatever science journal he was reading on his computer screen.
Mark has always been good looking, you think. You don’t know why you’ve never really noticed it before. His nose bridge gently slopes over his face, and his jawline is sharp, having lost his baby cheeks years ago. He works out often too, although he barely talks about it (maybe out of fear you’d tease him for being a gym bro). And with the way he’s so adorably awkward,  It’s no surprise really, that every girl friend that you’ve met of his seems to be completely smitten. 
Shaking your head, you snap out of it. It’s dangerous to think of Mark that way, you think. You’ve known him too long.
“My problem? I think you’re the one with the problem here. I’m surprised your hair isn't completely gray by now.”
Mark ignores you, probably mad at the fact you tried to start world food war three with him with a walnut.
“Hey.” you flick at his forehead to get his attention, and he flinches. 
“There’s a party this weekend at Johnny’s fraternity, you should come.” Johnny, being both your long time mutual friend (who’s demeanor is way too nice to fit the stereotypical frat boy image, really) who has since stopped asking Mark out of respect for his “med school grind”. 
“I’m already planning on it,” he responds, and you’re surprised. 
“Since when do you actually accept party invitations?”
“Since yesterday, because I’m tired of Haechan bothering me about it.”
You silently cheer, of course, you expect nothing else from Haechan.
“I never knew it was so hard to get booze.”
“It’s not hard if you’re 21.”
Scoffing, you turn your head to face the boy across from you. As if he can feel the burn of your gaze on his forehead, Haechan stops typing on his Macbook and lifts his eyes to meet yours. 
“No shit Sherlock, but last time I checked, we both weren’t 21.”
The sun had set a half an hour ago, and despite having spent the whole afternoon together, you and Haechan have had yet to come up with a way to secure the drinks you promised your friends for tonight’s pregame. With both of you being certified schemers representing your respective friends, you guess it wasn’t that big of surprise that the responsibility was left on both your shoulders. It beat scavenging alone, and spending time with Haechan wasn’t so bad either, when you two weren’t trying to kill each other. 
It was already late, and Haechan had deemed Ubering to the nearest packer store that sold Soju (the sweet sweet liquid of choice) was too much work. You on the other hand, had dismissed that option for a completely different reason. The issue in question was the flimsy, borderline pathetic excuse for a fake ID Haechan planned to use at the packer store. 
“Hey it works!” he protested. “You just act like you’re already legal and they don’t even card you. Easy.”
You roll your eyes as Haechan theatrically reenacts his last trip to the packer store.
“I asked him how he was doing, and he told me school sucks. I say to him, ‘Tell me about it,  thank god this is my last year!” and as if to emphasize his next point, he flicks his wrist in the air, ID snuggled between his index and middle finger. “And I was on my way. No issue at all.”
“That’s because he didn’t even see your fake I.D stupid. He would’ve called you out on your bullshit in an instant.”
Out of all the different options available, you could not fathom why he chose his fake ID to show that from all the places in this world, he was from freaking Hong Kong. There were fifty states to choose from, other English speaking countries, and he chose to pose as an  international student on a student visa. He could most definitely look the part, but after looking at the ID he proudly slaps on the common room lounge desk, you deadpan. The yellowish tint to the card was way too suspicious to be taken seriously.
“I wish we could just ask Mark,” you sigh, and Haechan looks at you like you’re stupid.
“He’s 20, ya dimwit.”
“I know, that’s why I said I wish. You have serious hearing problems.”
Haechan stops typing on his laptop to shoot you an especially heated glare, and you’re reminded again why he’s #2 on your fight list, right above Yebin. First place was taken by the girl you almost actually fought at that one University party a town over, wherever she is you hope she’s having a terrible day.
“If it were not for the rules of this land, you’d be dead right now Haechan.” 
Haechan places his head in his palms, and flutters his eyelashes disgustingly. 
“But you love me.”
“Yes, as much as Mark loves social events. Speaking of Mark, how on earth did you get him to leave his cave?”
“It didn’t take much,” and before you can call him out for lying, he shushes you.
“Okay, maybe a few days of nonstop begging.” Haechan says as his eyes dart across the laptop screen. You raise your eyebrow. “And I might have threatened to release pictures from the photoshoot his mom made him take when he was younger.”
“I expected nothing less from your evil, evil, mind.”
He scoffs. “Hardly. Just resourceful.”
Resourceful he is, because Haechan is the one who ends up finding a plug for the alcohol that night. 
A can of four loko, a bottle of soju, and a few shots later, you should be hammered, wasted even. But after 14 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days into college, your tolerance is pretty high, so you’re really just plain drunk. Even so, you’re a little messy (no surprise). You’re not in a state to be trusted with any errands, so you don’t understand why Haechan asks you to pick up Mark along the way to Johnny’s fraternity. 
“Why do I have to do it?” you whine, putting your hand over your forehead, and Haechan only laughs at your dramatic display of despair. 
“Because Johnny messaged me that Mark isn’t there, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting him flake on me this time. ”
You point a finger at him, and he stifles a snort when you’re off by a couple inches. “Letting him flake on me, me, me as in you! It’s not my problem.”
But there’s no use in arguing with Haechan, and you know it. That’s why you find yourself stomping your way up the second floor of Mark’s dormitory like you’re in elementary school again, having just been scolded by your mom and being forced back into your room.
You knock at his door impatiently, and it feels like forever until you hear some shuffling, and see the door knob twist open. To be honest, it’s probably just a few seconds, but time is different when you’re intoxicated.
Before you even see him, it smells faintly of  shampoo and detergent, so you’re not surprised when he opens the door and you see his hair is still half wet from the shower. He’s definitely party ready, and when you mean party ready, he’s wearing the same loose black tee and grey joggers he wears to sleep. His socks don’t match and you try not to laugh, because it would be a bad look for you, to show up intoxicated, and apparently crazy. 
“Oh (y/n), what are you doing here? Oh shit is today Friday? I totally forgot, Haechan is going to kill me-'' He looks at you and then pauses, scrunching up his nose. “Have you been drinking?”
“No.” you say sarcastically, but it definitely falls short of Mark because he looks at you like he does not believe you. Good, because he shouldn’t.
He sighs, and ushers you in his room. It’s dark, with the only light emitting from the little steel lamp on his desk, which is covered with his notes, pencils, a textbook, and some highlighters. When you finally make your way to his bed (with difficulty) he sighs again, and you silently scold yourself for having that mini drinking contest with Haechan. If you thought you could handle your alcohol well, Haechan was an absolute monster. 
You nearly screech when Mark flashes a mini flashlight in your face, and he tells you to calm down before someone thinks he’s committing murder. He holds your face still with his index finger resting on your cheek and his thumb lifting your chin. You try your best not to squint when he tells you to, instead focusing on his face. He’s so close, you can feel his warm breath on your face. If you weren’t already so flushed from drinking, you suspect you’d look beet red now. 
“Well, your pupils still dilate normally, so I don’t think you have alcohol poisoning-”
The world is moving a little, so you plop backwards on his bed— albeit a little harder than expected because he rushes over to you and looks concerned. 
“-but I don’t think that’s the problem here.” he finishes. 
Your eyes are closed, mainly because his bed is really comfy. “I’m here to pick you up.” and as if to emphasize your point, you wildly start pointing in all directions, hoping it would land on him. 
You open your eyes when you feel him grab your finger and turn it thirty degrees to the left, just  stopping at his chest. Your sense of direction must be really bad, because it turns out you were pointing at nothing. 
“I don’t think we’re going anywhere for awhile”
“Noooooo” you wail, and Mark lets go of your hand to sit back down on his desk, and unsurprisingly, begins reading his textbook again. How he is able to focus with you in the background, you don’t know, but it must have taken years of practice.
At this point, you decide to take matters into your own hands. You shove yourself off the bed and grab his arms from behind him. His roller chair scoots a few inches before he stops it.
“You’re not exactly making great case for yourself here”
“Stop making excuses!” 
You aim straight towards the armpits, and you’re confused at the lack of reaction, so you reach over to squeeze his knee. Almost immediately, he crumples over, almost falling off the chair. 
“Can you-” he says mid laugh, “please” he gasps, “Stop that!”
You respond by attacking his other knee, and it’s over. He falls off his chair and you go down with him. The difference is that he recovers quickly, and starts tickling you back in revenge. 
You’re sensitive, so it feels like you’re dying. You try to use his arm as leverage to push yourself up, but next thing you know he’s toppeling over you. You close your eyes and wait for your head to kiss the cold hard floor but it never comes, because Mark's hand cradles your head, breaking the fall.
When you open your eyes, he’s closer than ever before, noses touching. Lips a mere centimetres away and in a weird embrace, you resist the urge to close the distance. 
Mark has always been good looking, especially now, so close to you. You don’t know why you’ve never noticed it before.
When he pulls away he’s flustered, and for the first time, so are you. 
It’s an awkward silence, with you still on the floor as he stands up, rubbing the dusk from his knees. He scratches the back of his head and offers you a hand 
“Let’s head out,” he says.
“Yeah, let’s.” you echo. 
Although Haechan berates you for being more than a little late to the party, he’s overjoyed that you somehow managed to show up with Mark. Not that he didn’t have faith in you anyways, he tells you. It’s just that Mark is married to his Biology textbook, and she runs a tight ship. By the time you reached the frat with Mark, you’ve sobered up enough to enjoy yourself normally, 
It’s when you wake up in the morning, that you’re not okay. It’s not okay, because you dreamt of Mark, and that’s weird, because you and Mark were just friends, right? And you always will be. 
It’s not a big deal because friends dream of friends. Dreams are a product of your own desires environment, you tell yourself, it’s perfectly normal because you spend so much time with him.
What is not normal, is when you see Mark the following Monday, and are worried about it. You’re nervous the whole time, and it gets worse when you slide the little watermelon filled tupperware container across the table in apology for last Friday. He likes his watermelon cut up into little cubes, you remembered (why do you remember?), and you avoid his eyes, pushing a stray piece of hair behind your face. 
Mark, oblivious as usual, doesn’t really notice anything until 10 minutes in, as if your lack of rambling surprises him. Munching on the cubes, he asks if you’re okay.
“Yeah, I am.”
No you are not. You are utterly fucked. 
“But you need to promise me you won’t judge or make fun of me for it”
“Just say it already, Jesus.”
“It’s just so embarrassing.”
“Oh my god, are you in love with me?”
“No!” 
When placing your hands in your face, Haechan grants mercy on you, patting you on the back instead of teasing you further.
“I don’t know what else could be so important that you need to talk to me in person. Unless…. it’s about Mark?”
His hands stop soothingly rubbing your back and instead starts slapping it, waiting for you to laugh along with him. When he doesn’t get a response he gasps. Turning his head sideways to face you, he pries your fingers apart.
“No fucking way.”
“Right?” you moan.
“I was just joking, but I can’t say I didn’t expect it.”
You remove your hands from your face and look at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Like, you’ve known each other forever. You spend a lot of time together too. Someone was bound to catch feelings eventually.”
You don’t respond, instead choosing to sulk.
“You know I’m right. You just don’t want to admit it because you’re the loser in this situation.”
Right he is, because you’ve been avoiding Mark for the past few weeks like the plague. You’ve told him that you’ve been busy with your final term paper (you’re not, you’re an engineering major why would you have one?), and although he was a little confused, he was probably also a little thankful because the MCAT was only a month away. 
As you tell him about your plight, Haechan listens thoughtfully, “mhming” and “ahh-ing” at all the right places.
“I don’t see how ignoring him helps you at all. I would say to just talk to him about it, but it’s Mark, he probably hasn’t thought about you that way at all.”
“Thanks,” you grumble. “So I’m basically one of the boys.”
“No really, mans might as well be the anemone from Nemo, I’ve never seen him interested in anyone.” Haechan sighs. “This is a tough one.”
“I’m sure I’ll think of something, but I might have to get creative.”
“I’d like to see you try Hyuck.”
It’s 9pm Sunday night, and there’s a knock on your door. It’s strange you think, because it’s a Sunday, and it’s a little late to be doing anything.
When you open the door, there he is, Mark Lee in all his 5’9’ glory, with a little bag in hand, in it your favorite milk tea. 
“It’s Sunday.” you say, intelligently. 
Mark just chuckles. “Yes it is, and your point?”
You step aside so he can walk in, and you’re embarrassed at your current state. For once, you’ve finished your assignments early, so you’ve spent the past four hours in your pajamas watching K-dramas and snacking on honey chips. You must look like a bum.
Mark on the other hand, always looks good, even in some old dress slacks, and an old t-shirt with some holes in it. He smells faintly of antiseptic, so he must have just come from a volunteering shift at the hospital. 
“It’s nice of you to drop by,” you poke the straw into the bubble tea. “And thank you for the bubble tea.”
“You’ve been busy recently so I figured you’d need it for the caffeine content, but it’s not like you sleep anyway.” he jokes. “How’s the term paper going?”
“The term paper? Oh right, the term paper. It’s alright,” you lie. “Just a couple of pages left. Beats having to take the MCAT though.”
Mark looks tired, with his hair slightly overgrown and his dark circles hallower than usual. You feel bad—he has a habit of overworking himself; you’re usually there to check on him but lately you haven’t, and he’s kind and thoughtfull enough to bring you something because he thinks you’re stressed.
“Yeah tell me about it,” Mark takes a seat next to you on your bed, head hitting the wall with a soft thump. “It’s going to be all over next week though, I can’t wait. I’ve missed you though.”
Busy silently cursing at yourself for the way your heart flutters at his admission, you forget to respond. Mark frowns, places his hand on your thigh in an attempt to soothe you, and it has the opposite effect—you think you might go into cardiac arrest. 
“Is something wrong?”
“N-no.” you stammer. “Just stressed. ”
Mark makes things worse by leaning in closer, gently placing the back of his hand on your forehead. “You’re kinda hot.”
“I am?”
“Yeah, like I think you may be running a fever.”
He hops off the bed, and rummages around in his little black bag, and pulls out a thermometer. He places a little sleeve on the end, and motions for you to open your mouth. When it beeps, he takes it out of your mouth and looks at the result.
“Your temperature is fine, but you should rest. I’ll see you soon okay?” He pats your head. “Take it easy, I know you’ll do great.”
You might not have a term paper, but what you do have is a physics final. 
The desk area is littered with eraser dust, crumpled paper, and half filled styrofoam cups of coffee that have since gotten stale. You swear to god that Physics was a subject meant to torture, not enrich the lives of college students. At this rate, you were seriously debating dropping out to become a stripper. 
Haechan, not sensing your dismay, disrupts your plans to drop out by telling you something that puts a damper on the rest of your day, as if Physics wasn’t doing that already.
“Have you noticed that Mark’s been hanging out a lot with that one girl lately? What’s her name? So-bin, Yee-ben, Ben 10, ”
“Yebin,” you snap. “And don’t ever disrespect Ben 10 like that again. ”
Haechan lifts his hands up, “ I agree she’s a total bitch, but man is she hot.”
“Aren’t you supposed to make me feel better, not worse?” 
Haechan’s face softens and for once in his life, looks a little sorry. “All I’m saying is if you don’t do something soon, someone might do it for you. I overheard her saying something about her and Mark going to spring fling together.”
He’s not wrong, but Mark, at Spring fling? At a Darty? Willingly? His idea of a good time was studying.
“You’re kidding,” you scoff.  “As if he’d be caught dead at something like that.”
“I don’t know (y/n). He doesn’t really have much else to do now that the MCAT is over.”
Right, the MCAT. He took it last week. You mentally slap yourself for not asking how it went. 
“Speak of the devil.” Haechan says quietly, motioning behind you.
There she is through the glass, Yebin, pulling a seat next to Mark, not before sneaking up behind him and planting a fat kiss right on his cheek.
Maybe if this were a movie, you’d cry all weekend and he’d make it up to you; But this is real life, so you secretly cry for a week and sulk for the rest of the month, blaming your puffy eyes on seasonal allergies (In real life, Mark can’t make it up to you because he did nothing wrong. He’s also not even aware that you like him, but that’s besides the point).
Despite Haechan’s attempt to convince you that it could’ve been just a friendly kiss, a greeting kiss, a whatever kiss, you insist that you’re done with your little crush, that it had shriveled up and died. Although not so convinced, Haechan drops the subject all together and instead resorts to comforting you in his own way, which mainly just consists of making fun of you about other things.
Mark is a touchy subject, and you’re still avoiding him. Why? You don’t really know. You know it’s not fair to Mark, who is probably very hurt and confused at your lack of communication. Nonetheless, he doesn’t question it, and is so infuriatingly mature with his emotions that you suspect that he even respects it, because he stops texting you after a while. 
You feel bad about stonewalling him, leaving him in the dark, but really, what would you say to him? 
“Sorry-I-haven’t-been-talking-to-you-it’s-just-that-I’m-in-love-with-you-and-I’m-butthurt-that-you-have-a-girlfriend-of-course-it’s-not-really-your-fault-but-”
You shudder at the thought, because it’s just plain embarrassing. 
But really, you’re not the best at expressing your emotions—you’ve never been. Frankly, you’re tired of expressing your emotions because it never got you anywhere. Not with your mom, not with your dad, and definitely not with Yuta, who you dated for a year and half a year just to dump you like you were nothing. 
It’s not worth it, to put your emotions on the line for anyone, not anymore. You locked your heart away a long time ago, and you were a fool to let it come out last time, and you like to think you learn from your mistakes.
At least, that’s what you think, until you return home one Sunday night from the library and see a little cup of your favorite milk tea at the door, with a straw neatly balanced on the top. 
When spring fling rolls around, you still haven’t spoken to Mark, and if your friends catch on, they don't mention it. They know by now that you prefer to deal with things alone, to digest them for what they are and then promptly moving on—you know, like processing a death. 
It doesn’t really matter, you think. You and Mark have always been friends, and will always be friends. Nothing more, nothing less. And when you get over yourself, things will be fine. 
But really, how can it be fine when your whole world stops every time Mark looks at you?
You try not to dwell on it, even now weeks later. You’re busy getting ready to go out, blotting your lipstick on some tissue paper in your friend Yuna’s bathroom. 
“(y/n), you look amazing.”
When you turn to look at yourself in the mirror she’s right; The mascara you put on your lashes really brings out the color of your eyes, and your skin (thanks to Yuna’s highlighter compact) is literally glowing. You feel really pretty.
You turn to smile at her. “Thanks to you.” you tell her, and she gets bashful, pushing you out of the seat and ushering you out the door. You make it down stairs no problem, but she calls you as soon as you walk out the door.
“Yes, I have blotting papers with me, and no, I am not dating Haechan I’ve told you thousands of times-”
“What about me?” 
You turn around to find Haechan leaning against the dormitory wall, already waiting. 
Embarrassed, you tell her you need to go and hang up the phone. 
“How long have you been standing here? Hopefully not too long.” You apologize, but he assures you it’s all right.  
“Are you sure your friends are fine with you leaving them early to go with me?”
“Yes Haechan, they’re just happy that I have someone to go with.” you sigh. “Almost too happy.” 
He laughs, after looking at you, he pauses. “You look nice.”
“You do too, Hyuck.”
If you didn’t know any better, you would say he seems embarrassed at your compliment. 
When you walk into the venue, you’re not surprised at how spacious it is. You’re used to your school going all out, from the kale salads and now, spring fling. They might as well call it spring semi-formal, because everyone is dressed their best. 
You see Johnny at the end of the punch table, and he waves, motioning for you two to join him. 
“And my favorite couple,” he greets you two, and you almost smack him upside down the head. 
“Relax, I’m just kidding.” and he leans in for a hug. “How are you (y/n), I haven’t seen you in a second.” 
“I’m good, just been super busy. You were so right, Professor Kim has been really keeping me on my toes in Physics 430,” you laugh. “Every time I walk into the classroom I can feel my life flash through my very eyes.”
He laughs, and you all laugh with him. Johnny tends to have that kind of effect on people.
“How’s Mark?” he asks, and you cringe. “It’s been a while.”
You laugh nervously  “ I haven’t seen him in a while either.”
“Oh really. Don’t you see each other every week?”
“Well we used to,” you panic. “Just not anymore because, you know, I-”
“Because you’ve been so busy,” Haechan finishes.
Johnny gives you two a strange look but continues talking anyway.
“Well that’s life. Poor boy’s been studying for the MCAT like his rent is due tomorrow.”
“More like everyday.” Haechan snickers. 
Johnny doesn’t hesitate to flame Haechan for his insolence, and begins teasing him for almost failing Calc II (Calc II was kind of hard you admit but that is an admission that will die with you), meanwhile, you’re whisked away by Yuna and her entourage. You glance at Johnny and Haechan, who bid you farewell with a nod of their heads.
It’s fun, you’re having a great time dancing, and eating mini hot dogs on a toothpick (you guess your university had to cut corners somewhere). When Roxanne plays, you and Yuna go wild, nearly knocking over a waiter over with a silver tray. You have so much fun, that you forget that Mark Lee exists until you make eye contact across the floor. 
It's no surprise that he’s with Yebin, who looks annoyingly prettier than usual, with her makeup all done and satin dress. She’s pulling him in the opposite direction, but Mark seems to pay no mind, instead staying in place, looking at you. A moment passes, and you see him excusing himself. When he begins to head your direction. You panic. 
Before you can even react, you feel an arm wrap around your waist, pulling you close. When you finally turn to see who it is, you’re nose to nose with none other than Haechan.
“What are you doing?” 
“Just go along with it,” Haechan whispers through his teeth. Your hands are pressed against his chest, and he grabs one of your arms, placing it around his neck.
“Go along with what? Have you lost your mind-” 
Before you can finish your sentence, his lips press against yours and your mind goes blank. He tastes like peppermint and aftershave, with his lips soft in the center and just a little chapped around the edges.  
When you two finally part, Mark is nowhere to be found, and you don’t know how to feel. 
“Haechan I-” you stammer. “I need to go.” 
You hurry off, and he doesn’t follow you. 
When you’re outside, it’s  cold; the air is brisk and definitely doesn’t help steady your breathing, it only makes it harder. It’s a lot to process, Mark, Yebin, Haechan. It’s a lot, and you feel like you’re in emotional overdrive, with all the feelings you’ve been trying to keep in for the past few months coming back to bite you.
You sit down at the edge of the fountain outside the venue, and you nearly get soaked. It misses you by mere inches, with the ceramic fish looking at you almost mockingly. You don’t care, with all the thoughts running through your head right now, you think you might go insane. 
You don’t know how long you’ve been sitting there at the fountain when you feel something wrap around you, warm like it was just taken out of the dryer. It smells familiar, like cologne and faintly of antiseptic—it smells like Mark.
You don’t look at him when he sits down next to you, legs open, hands crossed. And he doesn’t look at you. It’s radio silent.
“So you and Haechan, huh.”
“So you and Yebin.” you echo. 
Mark looks at you for the first time, confused. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Oh that.” He shuffles awkwardly. “I don’t really like her like that.”
Your head raises in surprise, and you face each other for the first time in months.
“I thought you guys had a thing.”
Mark scratches the back of his head. “Well we do, but it’s just in her head” he says, and you can’t help but laugh. “She came onto me last week, so I finally set things straight.” Noticing your reaction, he just shakes his head. 
 “I don’t think it worked though,” he adds.
“I would think, you’ve always been too nice for your own good.” 
“I just didn’t want to hurt her feelings, you know?” he murmurs. “I feel terrible.”
“You’re not a terrible person just because you don’t like someone back.”
“Maybe not, but I believe not wanting you and Haechan to be together does.”
It takes a moment for his words to register within you, and even after you process them, you’re not sure what to say.
“We don’t like each other like that.” you interrupt him.
Mark looks visibly confused. “Then you and Haechan aren’t??” his voice falters.
“No more than you and Yebin. I promise you it’s not what it seems like.” you tell him and it finally clicks. You’d have to thank the idiot later. Right after you slap him.
Mark doesn’t question it, not even when you start crying. You don’t question it either, unsure of why you’re crying. 
“You’re so stupid,” you sniffle. “I’ve liked you for so fucking long.” 
Mark pulls out his pocket square to gently wipe the tears from your face, and places his hand on top of yours. 
“You’re ridiculous, you know that? You could have just said something.” his says softly
“I didn’t want to ruin anything. We’ve always just been friends.”
“I think we’ve always been just more than that.” he says, leaning in, hands cup your face gently. 
 “Just took some of us a little longer to realize.”
....
“That was very nice of you,” Johnny says. 
“Yeah. Very nice.” Haechan echos. 
“How long has it been, that you’ve liked her for? Three years?”
“Two going on three.” 
Johnny lets out a low whistle, and looks down at the younger boy worriedly. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
Haechan glances at you and Mark through the glass, outside the venue. With Mark whispering in your ear and you laughing, you seem so happy; happier than you’ve ever been with him.
“Yeah, I am. More than okay.”
345 notes · View notes
dannypuro · 3 years
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I would be delighted by a breakdown (a la the instrument one you just did) of each of the something telling verse's chararacters' relationships to cooking / baking! Thank you for blessing us with bonus content & good luck with finals!!
of course of course of course there is nothing that i would like to do more! thank u! (Something Telling verse: modern au with canon-era, time-zapped enjolras)
grantaire is a given. he loves cooking because he is at heart very much a snob and who better to cook his food than himself (and also the set of 8-12 takeout restaurants he orders from all the fucking time)? his love language is food. his only form of self-care is food. etc etc etc. he absolutely owns more than three aprons but does not always wear them because they were all gag gifts from his friends and they all have suggestive slogans on them and sometimes that is simply not the vibe. hot insufferable kitchen man.
enjolras is also a given. this is a man who has never ever learned to cook and is not going to start now. be real. he grew up a boy in a decently wealthy family in the early 19th century and then lived on his own at a time period where it was perfectly acceptable to never ever cook for yourself and just eat what your landlady cooks for every meal. think college boy but add a time period where food was just genuinely worse. no wonder he fell in love with grantaire the second he made him instant ramen. he will slowly absorb cooking knowledge from grantaire but it will take a very very very long time and he will not be aware of this fact.
combeferre is a stressed-out medical man and he has no time for fancy cooking, but he’s used to making edible things on a student budget and now he has slightly more money and slightly more time so. like. he can make a pasta dish. he can cook a nice simple meal. he has adequate knife skills. this is a man who can be trusted in a kitchen, but maybe should not be given artistic control.
jehan cannot cook. at all. get real. they are a rich, ex-child-star who uses their stove for decorative purposes. they have literally never cooked anything. they eat out or get takeout for every single meal, or they bother grantaire until grantaire invites them over for dinner. the mere idea of them cooking gives grantaire and combeferre immeasurable anxiety.
courfeyrac knows how to make, like, two fancy, impressive dishes, and he can only do it very slowly because in reality his knife skills and kitchen competences are POOR. all the rest of his food is really just sad mid-20s man food. chicken. chicken and rice. orzo (vaguely burnt). pasta, grocery store pesto. a lot of frozen, pre-made meals that are kind of expensive and therefore surprisingly good. also a lot of delivery. he just feels like restaurants are more fun and all the rest is just... not his concern. his food is restaurant food and then filler food (home-cooked), miscellaneous. 
marius........... oh marius. marius SHOULD know how to cook, because he’s broke, and he can’t afford to eat out or order in or get pre-made shit. however. he eats like a broke college student. ramen. ramen with egg. egg. egg with white rice. white rice. courfeyrac eventually just managed to convince him that it was easier for them to share meals (aka it is better for courfeyrac’s soul when marius is eating things that save him from scurvy.)
cosette has never needed to learn how to cook. of course she hasn’t. she’s in grad school and jvj is a casserole dad with separation anxiety. he stocks her freezer every week. she goes home for dinner like every other evening. she wouldn’t know how to boil water and when she has to she calls her papa and jvj just comes over and does it for her. she’s the person who brings baked goods to social events but also she knows nothing about said baked goods or how they are made. somebody’s like “hey cosette! these are great cookies, what kind are they?” and she just.... “😬 they are.... soft ones.....” and has to text jvj frantically for the sake of her reputation. she also owns multiple aprons. she wears them while she reheats the food jvj made her. god bless.
bahorel can cook but he has also been just a little bit too influenced by gym bro culture. like, he eats normal food and doesn’t worry about it, especially when it comes to takeout, but also he thinks that Chicken Only And A Protein Smoothie is a normal thing to eat for dinner, much to grantaire’s disappointment and rage. feuilly will eventually bully him out of this and he will once again be culinarily tolerable. just give him time.
feuilly can cook, but he was also so genuinely broke when he came to paris that he got used to cooking on a shoestring budget and never really realized that he could stop doing that when he got a better-paying job. bahorel has been sneakily trying to feed him for years. lots of “haha bro i guess i accidentally ordered your favorite dish again :^/ guess you have to eat it or i’ll throw it away and that would be food waste :^/ no i will not eat it myself” which was not very subtle but feuilly actually really appreciated it so much. once he and bahorel start dating he gets a lot more comfortable with baz paying for his food/groceries/whatever.
joly, bossuet, and musichetta are..... Threats. they love to cook! especially all together! it’s a fun throuple activity! they do it every night! However. cooking is a fun game for them, not a serious culinary skill. they do not use recipes. they do not stick to one cuisine per dish. they do not know how food chemistry works. they are not interested in learning. their food is actually pretty decent (sometimes) and it’s very interesting, but they are completely terrifying to watch in the kitchen. bossuet injures himself every other day. musichetta is a force of chaos. if you leave a dairy product outside of the fridge for longer than 20 seconds joly will have a stress aneurysm. in other words... they are having fun leave them be. grantaire has to physically remove himself from the vicinity whenever they do anything food-related.
anyways, my askbox is OPEN to questions/prompts/headcanons/etc. please send me asks so that i may continue to procrastinate on my finals 😗
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dameferre · 3 years
Note
can we see a snippet from the "penpals!" courferre one :0
of course! i will warn you this will. most likely never see the light of day BUT it’s based off of ‘the year of secret assignments’ by jaclyn moriarty, a... kind of ridiculous book i bought at a charity shop at like. age 10? or something
basically these three sets of teenagers are assigned pen pals at a neighboring school, and hijinks ensue, with one set of penpals giving each other secret assignments (hence the title), the other set of penpals being a girl who writes to a guy who uses a fake name (that plotline ends horribly, it would not have done so in my fic lmao)
one finally one set of penpals (a boy and a girl) decide to start having practice dates, so the guy can hone his skills and ask out a girl he likes, and the girl can critique his form, and... i mean i think we all know how this goes.
anyway, it’s half in letter format, half actual writing the story. here’s a snip! (under the cut because i. couldn’t help myself)
Official Assessment of the Second Meeting By Chance executed by The Lord of Flowers, Combeferre, henceforth referred to as the Subject, as reviewed by Courfeyrac the Ravishing, henceforth referred to as The Operative.
NOTES
When the Operative (and Guest) approached, the Subject smiled very nicely. It was a sort of surprised, warm smile that lit up his face. Did the Subject practice his ‘oh I was hoping to see you and I’m so glad I have’ smile in the mirror?
The Subject did a very good job of consoling the Guest, and as it turns out, the Subject’s height is not as offensive as previously thought, as he holds an umbrella perfectly.
The Subject was much more relaxed this time, and funny, and his hair fluffed a little in the humidity which was adorable. He had a great way of explaining things to the Operative without being patronising, and teased admirably. The Operative spent a good 80% of the walk laughing, but upon writing report can’t remember a specific instance of hilarity. The Subject should have more memorable jokes next time.
Overall, great work Combeferre. You’ll have Feuilly falling over himself to get to you in no time.
Yours,
Courfeyrac the Ravishing
--
Courfeyrac,
You seem to be losing your touch; that last review lacked the mildly insulting bluntness I’ve grown so accustomed to. Does this mean we’re becoming friends?
Anyway, I’m now, as you would say, ‘balls-deep in tech week’ and halfway through my descent into the deepest pit of hell. The entire production is an original script written by a friend of mine, named Jehan Prouvaire, who decided to rewrite the final scene this weekend. They’re my friend, have been for years, but even I wanted to murder them slowly. The cast is hard at work trying to learn the scene, while I had to stay late last night redoing all the cues.
The worst part of it is, the new ending is fucking fantastic, so we can’t even stay mad at them.
It’s exhausting. Literally exhausting; I got three hours of sleep last night.
Anyway, I’m writing this as a way of avoiding calculus homework. Not that I wouldn’t write to you if I didn’t have calculus homework, but it is harder to just ramble on about my life now that we’ve met in person. I don’t think I ever would have told you about Feuilly if we had met before we started writing. There was something in the anonymity that made it easier, like writing into a diary. I hope you don’t take this as an insult- what I mean to say is that now that I know you, I want you to like me. And by extension, I want you to know a lot less about exactly how lame I am.
Anyway, I wanted to say I won’t be able to make a meeting by chance this week, though I know telling you that ruins some of the fun. If I’m around next week, which is really looking less and less likely every time an actor misplaces a prop or mic pack and I am forced, once again, to weigh the pros and cons of murder, I’d be happy to accidentally run into you on my way home from school.
Side note- Avi(my brother) comes home next week, which lines up nicely with Mom’s birthday and means he’ll be able to see the show. It’ll be nice to have him back. I think you’d like him; he’s the attractive one in the family, and the extrovert. He’s also a mechanical engineer who medal-ed in track when he was my age. Basically, he got all the good genes, but he’s too nice to admit it.
Anyway, calculus beckons.
See you on the other side, Combeferre
p.s. Only you would practice a smile. Mine was genuine, I swear.
--
My Dearest Combeferre,
FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE STARTS TOMORROW HELL YEAH
I mean, yes, technically the other guys on my team have been practicing for two weeks but I have sadly been out of commission. BUT NOT ANYMORE BABY THE BITCH IS BACK
This will help distract me from the pain and yearning as I wait a whole week to see you again. I’ll be wistfully wandering the moors before Saturday, mark my words.
I’m also fascinated by the idea of a brother who’s you, but more attractive. Does it hurt to look at him directly? Do strangers fall in love on the spot? Is he officially considered a menace to society because he’s caused traffic accidents and ruined weddings by walking past at the wrong moment?
Someone should put a stop to him before things get out of control! No man should wield such power.
The idea that you, of gorgeous cheekbones, perfect hair, jawline, and eyes and face in general, notorious multi-tasker, valedictorian and walking encyclopedia, not to mention polyglot, could think someone else got the good genes means either you are humble to the point of actively lying to yourself or your brother is a minor deity.
Courfeyrac, I can hear you saying, flattery really isn’t necessary.
But it is! Enjolras, who I’ve mentioned before and is my best friend in the whole world, is gorgeous to the point of being inconvenient to look at. I’m a notorious flirt, I know this, and I’m good at it, but we’re not even in the same league when it comes to making people question their sexualities. He walks into a room and you can see half the people inside mentally decide they’re bi-curious. He’s also a raving lunatic and antagonistic asshole, which he openly accepts and takes pride in, but try to tell him he’s attractive and he looks at you like you’ve just suggested he’s got wings or a tail. So what I’m trying to say, I think, is that I’m used to people not realising how good looking they are. And bludgeoning them with compliments is my way of dealing with this.
Anyway. Getting sidetracked.
I’m flattered you use me as a method of procrastination! I’m gonna make myself a button that says ‘more interesting than calculus’ and wear it with pride. Also, is writing to pen pals not mandatory at the Academy? We’re given a half hour block during the study period. When we first started, Enjolras said the whole thing was “infantile and outdated and a waste of time”, but at this very moment he is on page six (6) of his latest aggressive correspondence to his mystery R, even though I saw what R sent him last time and it was, I shit you not, an envelope that was empty except for a tiny (approx. 3 centimeters long) rubber chicken. For context, the one before was a thorough analysis of wage inequality written entirely in pig latin.
I hope one day I meet this person, even if immediately afterwards they steal my kidney or turn me into a newt or whatever minor trickster gods do these days to pass the time when they’re not torturing my best friend.
Anyway, gotta go, stay sane, don’t kill anyone unless you really have to, and if so lemme know and I’ll help you get rid of the body. I know a guy.
Courfeyrac
p.s. I already like you, idiot.
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jebazzled · 3 years
Text
it ain’t your muse! (shut up & write, ft. rihanna)
You nerds are always talking about your muse. My muse this, my muse that, I have no muse, my muse went the way of the dinosaurs, if my muse comes out of its burrow and sees its shadow I won’t be able to write for six weeks.
Shut up about your fucking muse!
It is true that you might go through periods where it is hard to find time and energy to write, or negative experiences in a writing community might leave you with anxiety surrounding writing. But by and large, writers block is something you can overcome! 
Please, for the love of god, let me help you. 
Writing is a muscle, and you’ve got to exercise it if you don’t want it to atrophy. 
This tutorial is a bit of tough love about y’all and y’all’s diddly-darn muses, and some advice for snapping yourself out of it!
So here’s the thing about writing, my loves. You have to actually do it. 
TERRIBLY inconvenient, I know.
I’m not here to tell you how to manage your work-life balance or how to manage your time. If you’re not writing much because you straight up don’t have time to write much, my advice is simple: pare down on your characters, focus on the plots that matter most to you, and spend some mental health juice on reminding yourself that there isn’t an RP Prom Queen, and even if there were, it’s better not to live or die by that bizarro crown. 
But if you’re having trouble writing because of Your Muse... I’m cracking my knuckles. 
We’ve all written with folks before - or been that folk before - who need a very specific set of circumstances if they’re going to write: they need time to Pinterest, need to listen to a specific playlist, need to get in the mindset, need the thread to scratch a very specific itch and need all of it to come together before the moon passes out of a waxing gibbous. As a fellow dev ho, I understand the appeal of writing to suit a mood, of vibing to a playlist, of prioritizing the stuff you’re going fucking feral for, of having the stars align while you do the thing. But if you’re like this when you’re writing for other people - 
well, you’re making things difficult for both you and your writing partners! We can’t control the external constraints on our time, e.g. work and school, and we can’t always control the nonsense our psychology spins to keep us from writing. But some things are within our control, and by god, if there is any control to be had in the year of Mother Sappho 2021, don’t you want it? 
At least some of your writers block is probably dumb as hell. So let’s beat the shit out of that part.
Anyway, if you’re yakking on and on about how your muse demands a bottle of red wine and a scented candle and fairy lights and soft socks and the blood of the servant, willfully given in order to spit out 200 words, or whatever... 
it’s not that fucking deep.
Writing is a muscle. It’s like any other muscle: you need to exercise it. 
If you’re training for a 5k, you don’t sit on your couch listening to “Eye of the Tiger” until race day. You get your ass off the cushion and pound the pavement. You probably start by alternating walks with short bursts of running. You probably don’t work your way up to actually running 5k at a time for a few weeks. And once you’ve run that first 5k, you don’t go sit on your couch to listen to “Eye of the Tiger” until the next race. You keep running to stay in shape for the next race.
Writing is like that. 
What you write does not have to be perfect. 
You can work on the post for six weeks and there will still be things you could change. You know what change your writing partner would have appreciated most? If you’d posted it for them three weeks ago. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. 
Cut yourself the same slack you cut for your writing partners. Do you yearn to keelhaul them if their reply isn’t worth a National Book Award? No, because you’re not an asshole. They’re also not an asshole. Everyone is reasonable here. Write something that responds to what they gave you and that gives them something to work with. Not every single post has to be capital-I Inspired. ✨
What you write does not have to be a vibe ready for the Goop newsletter. 
I was a creative writing major in college, and I was always having to turn stuff in for class that wasn’t exactly what I wanted to work on: a short story set in another country when I just wanted to write a play with puppets, an essay about food when I would rather write one about a weekend drive, etc. 
Sometimes, you write what you write when you write it not because it’s getting you hot and bothered but because you’ve owed a reply for A While and you feel bad about keeping someone waiting. It will still be fun, because you chose to do that thread with your character and someone else’s character for a reason, and that reason stands, even if your monkey brain is yearning to play with that slime that makes fart noises when you put it away. 
(Pro tip, here: don’t do threads you don’t actually have any interest in writing! It is less awkward to tell someone, “I am not interested in my character weed whacking your character’s lawn” than to waste their time with 10 posts of it before telling them, “I am not interested in my character weed whacking your character’s lawn.”) 
The more you write, the easier it is. 
Let’s talk about running again. A couple of years ago, I went on a bit of a kick with the running. I ran at least three times a week. I would bring my running shit with me to work so I could run in the park near my office. I would make running dates with friends. I would reward myself with a bagel from my favorite cafe if I did a run. And you know what? Once I got myself past the hurdle of pulling on my running clothes and lacing up my shoes, I enjoyed myself. When I ran 5k without slowing to a walk, I was proud of myself. When I told myself, “let’s do another loop at the park!” and stopped to take a photo of the sunset, I enjoyed myself. I would not have enjoyed myself if I hadn’t hit the goddamn pavement.
Put your ass in your fucking chair. I don’t care if you don’t have the right scented candle. Write 50 words. Right fucking now. I’ll wait.
Write another 50.
Now write another 100.
How long did that take you? Some days, it might take you 90 minutes to write 200 words. But that’s 200 more words than you would have written in 90 minutes of browsing Pinterest waiting for an angel to come down from heaven and write this post for you. 
All that bullshit you do to Feed Your Muse? It’s stalling, you idiot. 
The more you make yourself write instead of just thinking about writing, the easier it will be to actually fucking write. 
I used to sit and stare at posts for hours and hours and hours before submitting them, so worried about the post being good enough. When I moved to a neighborhood with an aboveground train line, I was able to write on my morning commute, and writing every morning - even if only the 200 words I could crank out on mobile in 30 minutes before work - got me out of my weird writers block crutches and security blankets. It didn’t take as much effort to write, anymore. I wrote over 200,000 words in 2019, and over 300,000 words in 2020, when I had barely any commute at all to use on writing. I didn’t magically have endless hours of free time. I just wasn’t wasting my free time pretending that being on Tumblr counted as writing. 
Tough love: doled out. And now:
TIPS & TRICKS FOR BEATING “””Writers Block”””
Stop acting like Writers Block is real. It’s not that it’s not real, but by telling yourself that you have Writers Block, you’re making it worse for yourself. You’re making excuses for yourself. I used Writers Block to stall writing my Topics in Creative Writing: Folktales portfolio for 3 months, and you know what happened? I still had to turn in the fucking portfolio, because the person I was writing for didn’t fucking care about my fucking Writers Block. And you know who had to sit her ass in a chair and write 30 pages of folktales in a 24 hour period? Me. It’s almost like my Writers Block was just PROCRASTINATION. 
Set a timer. If you’re looking at your list of replies owed and you’re feeling like it might be easier to “do character dev” and “build a playlist” than to write your posts, break the task into smaller pieces. If your server has a sprint bot, use it. If not, set your own timer.  Organize your list of threads with the ones you’ve owed replies on the longest at the top. Set your timer for 20 minutes and see how much you can write for the oldest post you owe. Not done? Set the timer for another 20 minutes. Keep setting that timer until that post is done and you can drop it in the tags channel. Now do the same for the second oldest.  CRANK! THEM! OUT! If you find that it’s depleting your creative energy, that’s not unusual! When I get to this point in my own posting habits, my oldest replies owed are usually for Albus Dumbledore, a character I write specifically because I hate him. It is often easier to knock out all his posts in one chunk rather than shift voice, so this ends up working out nicely. 
Don’t indulge your stupid stalling tactics. Do you typically get sidetracked by Pinterest? Put your phone away and close that tab. Do you get absorbed in lining up the perfect music for writing a post? Write in silence, asshole. Do you need to be in your favorite chair with the right lighting? Go sit on a park bench and write on mobile.  It’s nice to write in idealized environments. I rented a treehouse last summer to write 10k on a novel! I get it! But you absolutely can write in other environments, if you have to. And if you can get yourself to write on a dark skin on your iPad at an airport in the Midwest while waiting for a flight - well, shit, think of how much you’ll be able to write on a laptop when your diva ass demands are properly met!
Don’t take on shit you don’t want to write. I fully admit that these tactics feel a bit like homework/chores/a to-do list for what is of course a fun hobby. You know how they say “love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life?” If you don’t take on plots, characters, and threads that don’t have a lick of interest or excitement for you, this shit won’t feel like a hassle. 
Hope this whips all you little miscreants (myself included) into shape! Now quit your yapping and start writing. 
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princesskokichi · 4 years
Text
korekiyo, kokichi, rantaro, byakuya, and shuichi with a crush who messes up their name
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this is such a pure ask and i am in love with it
literally this was so much fun to write omg thank you !!! - mod kokichi
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[ K O R E K I Y O ]
- you,, you usually refrained from saying anyone's name, but especially korekiyo's
- if you could get away with it, you'd just find a way to avoid it all together
- it wasn't because you felt like you would be cursed if you said his name ! or anything like that !
- you were just,, slightly afraid to say his name
- because you, well, you couldn't remember it very well. you were kind of bad with all names.
- and you didn't want him to feel like you were insulting him when you say the wrong name, so you just don't, to solve the problem
- but, ah, eventually the procrastinator has to get the work done eventually, and every plan fails at some point
- you were hanging out with korekiyo at the library, talking about the mummification process that the ancient egyptians used
- he was sitting at the table closest to the bookshelf, his back turned to it as he read his book while idly chatting with you
- someone was on the ladder, messing around with the books ( this looks way too familiar,, oh no )
- you weren't paying much attention to them, figuring that they knew what they were doing
- sometime within a few minutes though, they misplaced a book, and it felt from the shelf, aimed straight for korekiyo
- s / o : " KONEKIRE, LOOK OUT ! "
- he didn't even notice the book, and it hit him square in the shoulder, but it didn’t look like was in pain from the book, but rather on whatever you just called him
- he just kind of stood there dumbfounded for a moment
- korekiyo : " what did you just call me ? "
- after that, he honestly gave you a lecture about how to remember names properly
- it lowkey makes him chuckle every time you get his name wrong, purely because he can't understand why you can't grasp his name
- he'd never tell y ou but the amount of research he's done about having a bad time remembering names is,, unfathomable
[ K O K I C H I ]
- he takes it as a joke to be honest ??
- it didn't register to him that this was a thing that you did to everyone
- and he'd get a little salty when he learns that it's not an inside joke and that it's just how you are with all names
- like, he thinks that you're trying to insult him every time you mistake his name for something else, so he often goes along with it and teases you for thinking that joke would work on him
- it was only until you once called him " kocookie " instead of kokichi that he lost his shit
- in your defense, you were together in the kitchen while kirumi and teruteru fought over who made the best food
- and you MEANT to say " kokichi, can you give me the cookies ? "
- but what you said was a little more jumbled, and made a lot less sense,,
- s / o : " kocookie, can you give me the ki -i ?? "
- you had stopped dead in your tracts, just feeling that there was no redemption from this
- kokichi : " kocookie ? you aren't even trying now, s / o ! seriously, think before you speak ! "
- s / o : " ,, hey, that was totally planned. it's your new nickname, kocookie. "
- kokichi : " well, it's a lame nickname ! give me a nickname that fits my personality ! "
- s / o : " koliar just doesn't sound as cute as kocookie, sorry. "
- yeah, he walked into that one, but he had this stupid grin on his face, so you knew he wasn't upset
- after that, you were only ever allowed to call him kocookie, or just cookie for short
- he would get seriously butthurt if you said any other name but that one, and would correct you a hundred times until you got it right
[ R A N T A R O ]
- he really tried to correct you for the first hundred times you missaid his name
- at first he thought it was because you were bad with names, and he'd politely remind you of his full name, just in case you actually thought that the way you incorrectly said was actually right
- and then he thought it might be because you try to speak too fast, so he'd warn you to slow down while talking
- he was so chill throughout your entire experience, and found it incredibly endearing
- he seriously felt like he was tutoring you like a mentor would his student
- s / o :  " ramtara - can you help me with this problem ? "
- rantaro : " i can, but that's not my name. "
- s / o : " i know ! i just, uh, i dunno. i got this. give me a second. sanrio ? "
- rantaro : " that's the company hello kitty is from, not my name. "
- s / o : " ah, yes, of course ! i was just joking. would you perhaps tell me what your name is ? just so, you know, i can tell that you know ! "
- rantaro : " it's rantaro amami. but you were close ! last time you called me ' megumi ', which is  a girl's name and not even close to my actual name, so you're getting closer ! "
- these little interactions would be almost daily, and he can't lie and say he doesn't enjoy it
- he finds that little quirk of yours incredibly cute, and would sometimes lightheartedly tease you about it softly whenever he felt like it
- he would eventually give up, however, and opt for a nickname
[ B Y A K U Y A ]
- mad bOOIII
- at first when you said his name wrong, like buyakuma or something stupid like that
- he had looked at you as if you were the scum of the earth and corrected you in a really snotty fashion
- that was before he realized he had a, uh, a ᶜʳᵘˢʰ on you
- ew, just saying that made him feel gross
- relationships and feelings were gross to him let's be honest
- but he did, indeed, have feelings for you, which is something that he couldn't deny to himself
- every time you would mess up his name after he recognized this thing that he considers a fault in him, he felt this weird feeling in his chest
- was he upset that you couldn't remember his name ? did he find it to be part of your charm ? did he think he was going crazy ? the last one was the only question he could answer with a yes for certain
- it's not like him to waste time on something useless, and by god he found correcting you to be useless, so he just let you do your thing
- a few times he would catch one of the people around you correct you, and you would gasp a little bit and nod eccentrically, stealing a few glances over at him as if you were trying to make sure he didn't notice
- he always pretended that he didn't see you, of course
- after a little while of this going on, he literally confronted you about it
- he had paid enough attention to see that you do this to everyone, but he was a little exasperated that you couldn't remember h i s name
- that ended with a bit of embarrassment on both sides, but that's a story for another time ;)
[ S H U I C H I ]
- he got so emo about it omg poor babieee
- literally
-  he was so convinced that you didn't like him
- you didn't even bother to remember his name, and it bothered him to no end
- he would confide in kaede, maki, and kaito about it
- they would all try to tell him that you were just like that, and that you made that mistake for everyone
- but stiiiiiill, why couldn't you remember his name ?
- he took it as almost a surefire sign that you didn't like him back
- after all, it didn't make sense to him that you would forget the name of someone you liked
- so when he got the message in his locker telling him to go to the empty classroom with some chocolates, he fell apart thinking about how he was going to have to reject someone because he wasn't interested in them, he was interested in you, and you weren't into him like that
- hopefully he would still be able to keep the chocolates,,
- during lunch, he snuck away from his friend group ( all who were aware of your plan, of course, but they couldn't tell him that )
- he walked around the school for a few moments, forcing himself to get the confidence to walk in there, profess his love to you so the person who liked him could understand he already had his heart set on someone else, and walk out of there
- it kinda worked out that way, too
- shuichi slammed open the door, and before it clicked who it was, shouted " i'm sorry, but i don't have feelings for you ! i like s / o ! "
- you stood there for a minute, waiting for him to realize who it was
- s / o : “ shuchia, what the - ? “
- that was,,, ,, that's a memory you'll never be able to forget. you'll definitely be telling your children that story one day
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donquixotehomura · 3 years
Text
Endeavor x Reader All Is Fair In Love And War
This fic includes a hell of a bad writing shit show so sorry for the bad writing that you have to go through, I can't stand my own writing lmao, Endeavor is kinda OOC I think.. Idk, I get stupidly poetic at some points and I have weird wordings for some things, Hella long and boring, This is a fucking K-Drama
Bruh like I had about a month to write this but I procrastinated till the last day having only a starter with 2.5K words and wrote the rest in one day, a total of 11K... Bruuuuh if anybody reads this I'm sorry for your time and the cancer.
TW: yandere themes, blood, gore, descriptive violence, toxic relationships, heartbreak, death, offensive language, cursing, just a lot of bad triggering stuff, mentions of suicide, name calling.
This is during the Endeavor redemption Arc about two weeks before Endeavor VS HighEnd/Hood after that Manga spoilers start.. If you get to that point tho, you're close to the end congrats you made it.
Reader is an independent person with a strong personality, she's  strong willed and arrogant, you can say she's a more mature Bakugou with common sense lmao
This Will Contain Manga Spoilers
You yawned in boredom trying to stay awake, your eyes briefly glancing at the person who's currently speaking to all the pro heroes sitting in the room, hero commission meetings weren't only boring, they were also a waste of time you could've been patrolling and stopping villains saving civilians, but no you had to go to a different city for the meeting 'didn't these old hags and geezers hear of online meetings? We could've saved a lot of time if we didn't have to come here, what is this the 21st century?' you thought as your eyes drifted towards him, the guy who easily made your cold heart beat erratically.
Endeavor sat there not showing any emotion other than his normal intimidating expression his presence was impossible to ignore with his aura and signature flames, you could tell he didn't want to be here either but he did his hero work dutifully, your eyes trailed over his strong arms that were crossed over his chest, what made it even harder to look away was the fact that he was wearing a suit which is a rare occasion but the meeting was formal, the fabric strained to stay intact, you felt that of he flexed or took too deep of a breath the fabric would just tear apart and the buttons would go flying off, you kinda wished this would happen as you let your thoughts wonder.
How it'd feel to have those hands caress your body, to hold you tightly as he lifts you up supporting your weight, how his musculare arms would be wrapped around you as you ran your hands all over his musculare chest, you let your thoughts wonder as your eyes drank him in basically undressing him, you craved him, everything about him, not just his body, his mind, his soul, his heart, his love, you internally sighed, it's not like you both had any chance of that anyway, you snapped out of your trance feeling someone's eyes on you, looking up you realized it was Endeavor himself who was staring at you, you knew you were caught red handed and there was no getting out of it so you went with it and just smirked at him, sending a small wave.
You weren't a shy or meek person at all, you don't easily back down and your arrogance often put you in bad situations, like this one right now were your having a staring competition with Endeavor, a few silent words being sent between you both including him telling you to stop eyeing him up and focus on the meeting and you refusing and questioning why he's staring at you, your silent conversation would have went on if Aizawa didn't nudge you telling you to focus hey gave him a glare "don't tell me what to do" you growled and he just ignored you, looking back at Endeavor he was focused on the meeting again.
You sighed and put your attention back on the speaker but your attention wasn't at him, you started thinking about Endeavor and yourself, your memories together, even tho that was a distant memory.
Flashback
You panted running as fast as you could, the sun was blazing down on you with no mercy, you were sweaty and tired after an hour of this 'dammit dammit this is bad this is such a pain in the ass' "(y/n)! It's over you know!" you heard him call out behind you and started willing your body to run faster, you were almost there, just gotta- your eyes widened as he ran past you at an inhuman speed at this point "dammit! Oi get back here!" you yelled after him as he ran past the line and stopped, he stood there arms crossed staring at you triumphantly as you passed the line and put your hands on your knees panting, you looked up at him and stood up straight, he was panting and sweating as well, him having more stamina than you definitely proved to be useful in this situation "I win" he said smugly and you weakly glared at him half heartedly "damn you, how the hell do you have so much energy after all this training? It's so fucking hot!" he chuckled "I'm used to the heat little vixen" he smirked and you huffed "right right, so what should we do now?the rest of the class is still way in the back" you said straightening up as he smirked helping you and lead you to the benches "let's wait for them here it'll take them along time before they catch up to us" "true, we are the strongest in the class after all"
(character introduction by Mic)
Todoroki Enji Quirk:Hell Flame, he can create fire out of nothing and manipulate it to his will, it's useful in long ranged to short ranged attacks, while it's a very versatile quirk it has some dangerous drawbacks such as hyperthermia and burning the user. (we know the details ya'll.. Hehe... We're all Endeavor bitches here.... At least I know I am)
(L/N) (Y/N) Quirk:Demon Queen, she can transform into demon like creatures fully or partially (think Mirajane from FT... Even she has nothing to do with me coming up with this quirk) the demon form boosts her durability, strength and speed, she can also create shadow like substance that comes from her skin (this one is heavily influenced by venom yet I had the idea for a longer time and it worked in a different way), while the demon form is close ranged and strong in combat the shadow is long ranged and more versatile and can be used for sneak attacks, it is however weak against fire types which makes for a very interesting combat against Todoroki Enji.... Oi Shut it!.... Oh yeah she is also very hostile!... OI!, she also has phschokinesis and Telepathy
(I tried leaving the quirk blank as I hate it when authors apecify the quirk but I had to when I needed certain abilities for some parts... Sorry guys)
Enji chuckled "indeed" he sighed and looked at you as you threw aside your gym jacket remaining in your sports bra and gulped down some cold refreshing water "damn, sensei is really making us go through hell and back recently" you said stretching "well we're in UA after all, they're teaching us everything important" Enji said as he followed your every move, glancing at him you smirked "like what you see Enji?" he blushed slightly and got closer to you "so? What if I do? Can't I admire my beautiful girlfriend?" he said pulling you into his chest, while you both were sweaty it didn't matter to you, you smiled at him and pecked his lips (you're kinda tall ok, I assume he was shorter than this in high school) "oh I don't mind at all, as long as I get to admire my handsome boyfriend in return" exchanging a few kisses both of you were even more breathless now, just as it was getting more heated the idiots (your classmates) started arriving at the finish line, annoyed, both of you parted and glared at your classmates, while they were non the wiser as to why they were being glared at by the two most terrifying and powerful students in all three years of UA classes, they were deeply terrified and avoided you both in favor of keeping their lives.
"aright class that's it for today, as always Todoroki and (L/N) are ahead while-" you didn't really listen to the teacher talk and looked at Enji "so where should we go tonight? I wanna have some us time before the exams, we'll both be busy, especially that our agency has weird ass timings for summoning us" you said sighing "well there's a festival and it'll start tonight, maybe we can go I know you like those things, even tho they're filled with people" he said, you hummed thoughtfully then smirked at him "you mean I'll get to see you in a Yukata? I'm definitely in" he grumbled and sighed "yeah yeah, very funny, I don't get what you like about me in Yukatas anyway I look ridiculous" you chuckled "actually I love seeing you in a yukata you look very hot in them" he glared at you unamused "very funny (Y/N) very funny, you do know you'll have to wear a kimono as well right" he smirled as your expression turned into a mortified one "hell no" "its tradition my dear you'll have to wear it" you sighed hanging your head down, as the teacher dismissed the class "fine" you grumbled annoyed making him laugh in amusment " so cute I'll see you at the gates"  he said and walked towards the boys showers "OI who are you calling cute pyro? I'll kill you!" you yelled after him and he only chuckled in amusment at your outburst "I swear to God that jerk has a death wish" you grumbled heading into the girl's showers, meanwhile the entire class stood there watching the same thing that happens everyday that they should be used to it by now but every time they all gawk at your interactions like people would at a very unnatural show at the circus "guys... What kinda relationship do these two have? Are they supposed to be lovers?" one guy asked bewildered "I mean... I think? They're both demons all the time so I think this is demon love?" said one of the girls "this is so odd... They interact like they want to rip each other's throat out" said another girl "I'm too tired for this man, let's just go change and leave, I'd like to go to my very easily understandable life at home for toady" said one guy and everyone else agreed as the crowd left.
They have the right to think that your relationship is wrong and very odd, after all neither of you would show their true self in front of them, your affection and love is saved for behind closed doors, both of you are too proud and care about your tough image to show affection infornt of others.
These were the good times, neither of you knew what was coming your way, and how it'd shatter your relationship
That night both of you showered and showered and got dressed as you were doing your makeup you felt arms wrap around you "hey there" you said looking at your boyfriend in the reflection of the mirror "hey my love" he said making you blush and he chuckled at you "you done yet?" "nope, still have to do my hair" you said while putting on your eyeshadow, he humed and grabbed your brush and started styling your hair "hey... What are you-" you went to object by he stopped you "helping, I'll do your hair while you do your makeup, we'll be done faster" he said and you sighed "fine, just don't make me mess up" he hummed not answering and continued styling your hair, somehow you both worked in harmony and easily.
A little after you put the last touches on your makeup he was done putting up your hair and put a golden hair pin in it, one that you haven't seen before, you looked at your hair and at the pin fascinated by it "wow, this is... Really beautiful" you stood from your chair and turned around looking at him with a smile as he blushed lightly "I saw it and thought of you so I got it" he avoided looking at you in the eye you went up to him and kissed him gently "thanks love, I love it" he smiled pulling you in a hug, as you helped him with his Obi (the belt) he looked at you with such admiring look "what?" you asked feeling nervous from the staring "nothing, nothing at all just watching my hell queen" he smirked at you and you hid your face embarrassed 'damn him, knowing how to fluster me' "sh.. Shut up" he laughed pulling you to his chest as you both stared at each other's eyes exchanged a few kisses (your lipstick has sealing agent OK? OK).
A couple minutes later you parted, putting the last few touches you grabbed your stuff, phones, keys, wallets and went to the festival, throwing comments at each other like always, arriving at the festival you looked around watching all the stalls and couples and friends going around, it was too crowded which was a pain in the ass for the both of you, but you decided to ignore them and went around, gokmg around, trying foods, sweets and playing games, you getting extremely pissed at some people here and there, a lady in particular who was sticking her nose in your business "you know for a lady, you sure do have a filthy mouth" Enji said smirking "shut it ashes! She pissed me off" you said still angry "I don't mind, you're cute when you're angry my vixen" he said smirking making you blush and narrow your eyes at him "Todoroki Enji if you fear for your life you better stop fucking calling me cute" you said glaring at him, he put his hand on your head patting it slightly "there there, don't be like that I was just joking" you pushed his hand away and huffed, "you're on thin ice Endeavor" you said "is that so (H/N)? Well I better be careful then" he said pulling you to him, he was really warm "yeah you better" you said calming down and getting lost in his eyes as he leaned down kissing you.
Both of you slipped away to an abandoned side of the festival to.. Uhh... Stargaze yeah that... Nah ya'll did the horizontal tango.. Except it was vertical, as he held you up, your back on a tree for support. (I suck at writing smut.. Go to the festival smut Enji fic, I don't remember what the exact name was but the content is, you and Endeavor are dating, go to the festival, then hookup on a tree cause you ain't wearing panties, you aren't wearing them here either)
The festival went well You both had fun and teased each other competing over who's best at winning games and ended up going home with a lot of prizes.
Good memories are the best you can always look back at them and smile, but if you've lost the person you made the memories with, then they just become a painful slow poison that flows through you, slowly killing you.
It was during your work studies as third years when it started, you both went to the same agency, while the pro you went to was the top, he wasn't exactly a good person, extremely misogynistic bastard, who's ego is too fragile to admit a woman can be strong, which is why he despised you, like a snake he kept poisoning your boyfriend, filling his head with what he knew would get to him, tricking him into thinking you're using him, that he's getting weak cause he depends on you to have his back while fighting, like a devil on his shoulder he keeps telling him more and more lies, he made sure his plans are effective by firing you from his agency so now, student you had to find herself another agency, every agency in the same area accepted you by looking at your records, yet once they saw the name you were denied, you didn't understand why and remained without an agency for weeks which was bad for a third year, you found out that it was because of him he either bribed or scared all the so called pros from taking you, till one who didn't give a shit about him accepted you, the problem was, that you were four cities apart from Enji, which put the long distance strain on your already strained relationship.
It was a sunny day, unlike the cliché it was dark and stormy and raining, you both met after a long time apart, and while your convo started calmly, it quickly escalated to a full blown fight.
"YOU LEFT ME! YOU DECIDED TO GET AS FAR AWAY FROM ME AS YOU CAN! FOUR CITIES? WHAT THE NEARBY CITIES RAN OUT OF HEROES?" an infuriated Enji yelled at you, with the distance and how grueling the work was, you two didn't have anytime to meet at all, "Enji calm down for fucks sake! Allow me to explain I didn't have the time-" he interrupted you furiously "didn't have the time? What you're done using me? After everything! After everything that happened, how I trusted you, how I confided in you, how I always fucking ran to you when I needed someone! You don't even call anymore either! Not even a phone call, What you're bored of me now? You found someone else? Of course you did! You can't keep your legs closed you slut" you slapped him hard your hand hurt but it didn't matter, your heart hurt worse.
If only he listened, he'd have known it wasn't your choice to go so far.
"how dare you! How dare you accuse me of cheating you asshole! I'm always loyal to you because for some fucking reason I'm in love with you! You think I didn't try to be around you more? You think I didn't deprive myself of sleep for days just to take extra shifts and have the time to come back here for you? How can you claim to love me if you won't trust me? Did you forget what we went through together? How I always stood by your side nomatter what? You're a selfish greedy bastard who's only capable of loving himself!" you yelled angrily at him.
If only you knew, if only you knew, that this isn't his thoughts that this isn't his opinion.
Both of you not backing down both of you boiling with rage that's going to burn down your relationship like his beautiful quirk, that you loved so much and thought fit him so much, with his attitude and how he's always going forward like an out of control fire, he always seemed like a God of the sun to you, now his quirk was making him into Hades himself, king of hell and death, the one who shall drag you to hell to torment you for your sin of loving him.
"you're so fucking bold pretending to be a Saint! You're a manipulative bitch, You think you can just walk all over me woman? You're beneath me! There's no reason for me to stay with someone like you, who's going to set me back I don't love you this was all a mistake! An illusion I've lived in for so long" your anger disintegrated morphing into heartbreak and sadness, you two fought a lot, and while calling you a cheater and a slut hurt, you still had your love, you would forgive him like you always did, and likewise he'd forgive you like he always did nomatter how bad you both went against each other yes it was toxic, but both of you were broken, and this is how you functioned... But saying he doesn't love you is what actually broke you, what cemented this argument as the worst of your relationship, the end of it.
He seemed to realize what he said albeit too late, still arrogant you refused to cry in front of him "I hate you! We're over Todoroki! I wish I never knew you! I despise the day we met! I curse the day we became friends, you can go to hell!" and still arrogant Todoroki didn't try to take back what he said, and refused to show his hurt over you saying how you hated him and his existence, how this brought back some unwanted memories." great! Then We're over! Thank God" he yelled and marched past you.
Both of you broken, both of you saying things you shouldn't have said 'please comeback! I love you! I forgive you' you internally cried clutching your heart.
'just turn around, fucking turn around, go back to her she's your safety, go back to your angel.. You stubborn arrogant bastard!' Enji scolded himself, looking back he saw you walking away, head hung low, he knew he hurt you, as he willed his body to follow you, reaching out a hand he almost called out for you 'she makes you weak' he heard the pros voice in his head 'she's going to drag you down' 'she's using you' and although he knew non of this was true, he didn't call out for her, he turned around and continued walking, having the same internal fight with himself.
'comeback to me please! My sun!' turning around you looked at his retreating figure willing to calm out for him, yet to stubborn and too hurt to let word out, seeing him still walking away with such anger and intensity in his posture and such determination, determination to what? 'to get away from me? He's that eager?' your tears fell as the pain inside you grew, turning around you ran away, away from him, away from his pain, from his burning love that always felt welcoming now feeling scorching hot like it'll burn you to ashes.
Five seconds
Five seconds, was the difference between them, if he looked at her retreating form for five more seconds he'd have seen her turn around with a broken and longing, loving look.
Five seconds, if she's looked at him five seconds earlier she'd have seen him with his hand outstretched for her
Five Seconds
After hours of walking around aimlessly they decided to go home, well Enji did (Y/N) went to her friend's apartment which she had the key to, Enji sighed seeing the empty apartment they both shared, their home together, after going about their day like zombies doing their homeworks, training, studying like they're on some sort of auto pilot, they went to bed, alone for the first time in years, it really downed on them then, it's over, their home was gone, they both broke down, home was with their significant other, home was were they felt the love between the two of them, as they both cried alone, showing their hurt and weakness.
After hours of crying and begging for the other to come back, they both stared at the ceiling sending a curse to the heavens that broke them, that decided they didn't suffer enough in the past but had to suffer more, as Todoroki Enji looked at the small velvet box he was clutching onto, he opened it looking at the beautiful (gem) ring that he planned to give to her.. Well if she said yes of course "which you would have, wouldn't you my vixen", meanwhile said woman was curled in her bed unable to shed anymore tears, clutching her stomach she let out a dry chuckle that turned into a sob "it's OK my little angel, I love you, I'll always be here for you, sorry daddy won't be around, he's not a bad father I swear, I'm the bad mother, he... He doesn't even know you exist.. I'm sorry I know... He would have loved you"
Untold secrets, surprises that'd have brought laughs and tears of joy, brought pain onto two poor unfortunate souls that night.
END FLASHBACK
You sighed remembering these memories brought a heaviness on your chest, your refused to think about it anymore, otherwise you'd cry, now that would be hard to explain, why would the demon queen hero cry at a.... 'wait what are they talking about?' you thought focusing on them "while there's a massive increase in crime after the events of Kamino ward a couple of months ago in a lot of these areas there's a considerable drop in crime in these areas, we think it's due to the hero agencys there, as the zones are where the Endeavor, (H/N), Hawks, Edgeshot Miruko and lot more agencies and work areas are" 'ah right, crime stats, we're at that stage means next stage is... A word by the mentioned heroes... Great I wanna go back to kicking villain ass already, I have such high status cause I was doing my work not sitting in meetings.. This shit is useless, and seriously? You think? Of course it's because All Might retired AND was revealed to be a skeleton.. Haha... OK it's not funny... Nah it is... Speaking of which... I'm assuming Endeavor is pissed from becoming the top by default... Damn I hate becoming Two by default... Well damn... Would you look at that... Were where we promised No.1 Hero Endeavor, No.2 Hero (H/N)... Things didn't go as planned.. But we got there haha... FUCK! '.
You directed your eyes back at Endeavor, it hurt, really hurt, hearing on the news that he have been married, you really thought you could reconsile, yet he was avoiding you like the plague, like he hated your very existence, at first you decided to let him calm down and get his thoughts together, then you got busy with your child, after about a year his avoidance to you sky rocketed, he went from not looking your way for more than a couple seconds to totally ditch the room you are in the second you walked in, you pushed the thoughts to the back of your head and focused back on the speaker, and it was time for the heroes to speak, so Endeavor went first, speaking about efficiency and tactics and sidekicks, yadda yadda 'damn I forgot... He could be so boring sometimes... He's lucky I love listening to his voice anyway' you smiled slightly, not exactly listening to what he's saying more like listening to him, next was Hawks a new kid basically which wasn't here either 'heh kid can't even get to a meeting-oh dear I didn't just-... Fuck.... Damn kid is good tho he rose to the top real quick, good for him, if he keeps that up he'll pass All might himself... Now wouldn't that be cruel to Endeavor... And to me... That's gotta suck.. A kid surpassimg me? Heh yeah right' focusing now on other things to distract yourself from your memories you made a mental note to try harder somehow, maybe take on new districts, you were next, after making a comment about how you don't really like making speeches you went on and gave a small (kinda) speech, (can't think of anything) arrogantly expressing how good you are and how it'll just get better, you threw a few comments about being efficient and throwing shade on the other speakers while smirking at Endeavor who glared at you.
Later
"damn I am glad this is all over, I was starting to get a headache" he sighed walking out "it wasn't like you were focused (H/N)" you heard from behind you, turning around you came eye to eye with Endeavor, well chest even tho you were wearing heels and already tall, he towered over you (bruh like I'm 6'1... He ain't that much taller than me lol.. He intimidating tho) "well hello to you too Endeavor, what makes you so sure I wasn't focused?" you said crossing your arms, his eyes did a quick scan of you, you wore (idk choose what you want just make it formal, I hate when authors tell me what to wear lmao...) while you did the same to him" well you were too busy checking me out " he said crossing his arms as well, both of you not backing down 'as always' both of you thought.
"I wasn't checking you out, I was just looking" "for what exactly?" he narrowed his eyes "I don't know, to see if you're still in one piece, especially after all the madness that is Hosu and Kamino, that was kinda a bad situation while I was there in Kamino I wasn't in Hosu, All For One is a nightmare but Stain.... Its said he froze everyone with his blood lust" you smirked "well I handled it" he said growling "yeah I fucking saw that" you said "so.... How's it going? Other than the Hosu thing what did you do recently? And Kamino of course" you asked, he looked at you for a second as if thinking you're not serious about asking him but he sighed seeing you're serious "well, Shoto came to my agency for the internship, the school allowed first years to do them because of recent events" "right the USJ attack" you said.
"I heard through a trusted source that him and the green haired kid and the Iida kid are the ones who beat stain actually, right?" you said looking at him "how did you-" he was shocked then sighed "yeah, they did but because they didn't have their hero license they would have been expelled so it had to be covered up someone had to take the credit, and it happened to be me, I hate taking fake credit" he said annoyed "yeah, I know you always wanted to be the best by your own standards" you said and he looked at you with a soft expression, 'you always know me so well huh, can't believe some bastards actually think I took the credit because I wanted the fake glory' he thought while admiring you 'even after all these years' he sighed, you felt his gaze on you, as you fell into silence, trying to avoid the awkwardness you changed the subject "by the way Shoto doesn't seem like the type of kid to break the rules like that, and wasnt he supposed to be with you?" you asked and he hummed "the other two went there first then the Midoriya kid texted Shoto his location, he just left me on the street and ran there" he said shaking his head, you laughed slightly and nodded "yeah he seems close with that kid, especially with the sports festival fight" you said then suppressed a laugh "what?" he narrowed his eyes at you "nothing you're just kinda.... Funny.... SHOOTOOO" you said trying to copy him but breaking into laughter before that "OI... That's not suppossed to be funny" he grumbled "whatever you say" you said taking your breath.
You looked at him expecting him to be at least annoyed by your antics, yet he had a soft relaxed expression, you smiled at him "what?" you asked softly "nothing, it's just... It's been a while since I had a good conversation with someone" you smiled "really?, well good to know I'm up to your standards" you said, you two chatted for a while after that as you walked around the streets.
Endeavor couldn't help but crave you, your heart, your Love, your body, he wanted it all back, "and then that vigilante kid jumped into my fire to get the woman that was controlling the bees, I can't believe these vigilantes" he continued with the story you nodding "well it is reckless and out of the law to be a vigilante so I'll have to agree with you" you said as you both walked around, both of you having your hero suits with you, well... He just activated his quirk burning the suit to reveal his hero one underneath, now that shocked you for a second, while you (idk however you guys wanna do it, my OC has a pretty small suit... Kinda revealing lol.. So it doesn't take much space.. Can be carried anywhere... She also had it under her clothes.... Its kinda like League of Legends Jinx.. Kinda not totally).
You both attracted a lot of attention, and as always he just ignored them, you'd just wave at a random person, not out of accepting their over excited idiocy, but because you enjoyed watching them fall to the ground from how they're over reacting 'hehe.. Vixen' you thought, as he was telling you another story a bank alarm went off, both of you rushing there to stop the burglary but as you got there the thieves were all on the ground passed out, you both blinked in confusion, with your reaction time you should have gotten here fast "And next time think twice before breaking the law, because you'll find me in your way everytime, and it'll be over before you know it" yelled the hero that stopped them, flames engulfed her in a similar fashion to Enji's, her hair being on fire as well, her hero suit seeming to be the same as him except hers has the top half like a top showing her entire middle and arms, it worked in favor of showing her toned abs and biceps, while it'd have been inconvenient in the cold for anybody else, her flames eliminated that possibility " Fourth Rank Hell Queen Hero Inferno" Endeavor said looking at her "oh?.. ENDEAVOR SAN what brings you to my district? Oh and (H/N) too what a surprise.... wait what're you two doing together?" she asked jumping and landing infront of you two, standing at a height identical to Endeavor himself "pleasure to finally meet you, flame hero I gotta say you're my role model, we have the same quirks you see? You inspired me to become a hero" while you stared at both of them.
Endeavor heard what he always heard from his fans yet that girl wasn't being a fan girl, she spoke with bride and arrogance, she really meant her words yet she was professional and wasn't being an ass kiss like others, he took her outstretched hand shaking it "glad to hear it, more importantly glad to have a fan who can actually speak and use her brain" he said and she chuckled and smirked "damn must be my lucky day, getting such an acknowledgement, anyway what're you doing around here? You're kinda far from your agency, are you on a mission of some sort? Need a guide?" she asked "did neither of you really turn off your falmes on your hands?" you mumbled, both of them seeming to hear you they looked at you "flame heroes" said Inferno "(H/N) you're aware I'm fire proof right?" "right" you said wondering how she made him agree with her so fast.
"anyway... Why the hell didn't you attend the meeting?" you turned to her and asked her, she sighed "I was busy, every crook in the city lost their damn minds today" you said "it's mandatory to attend Inferno you could have left them to your sidekicks" she sighed "jeez Okaasan chill, I couldn't leave, my sidekicks are taking care of some things, there's just that much chaos around" she crossed her arms "right right still-" "besides if I went I would have just had to sit there while you ogled at Endeavor anyway" "OI! ZIP IT KID!" you yelled then glanced at Endeavor who gave you an amused look "wasn't staring huh?" he smirked "don't listen to her" "oh so you did~" she teased "NO!" "yes she did" "oooohhh damn" "shut up, and you need to catch up on what was said in the meeting" "you can brief me later woman"  she sighed "ne Endeavor San you were there as well right?" Endeavor looked at her " I was" "great maybe you can brief me too, ne tell me, not that I'm complaining but you don't talk to people that much, yet you're holding such along conversation with me, why's that?" Endeavor seemed surprised himself "me and your mother knew each other a while back we were just talking and then ran into you" he answered and she nodded Satisfied "wait... Mother... You knew Endeavor and didn't tell me? You could have let me meet him years ago!" she said " well we didn't talk for a while.. A few years that is" and as the conversation went on you guys stepped away from the scene, a totally different thought going through Endeavor's head and a similar yet different thought going through yours 'Okaasan? She's her daughter huh...so... Back then... '
FLASHBACK
A couple weeks after the fight they graduated high school and both of them focused on thier careers, she never came back to their apartment, they both had worked part time jobs and full time in summer since middle school and saved up, getting a good head start to their rent and the bills they'd have to pay, they'd have to work during UA and it'll be hard but they'll manage, as long as they get away from those hell holes, the ones they were raised in, wouldn't even call it home... It was hell, and they both escaped it into this haven they shared, well.. Not anymore.
As time went on, and as he realized how stupid his mentor is, it is true he depends on her on the battle field alot, but she depends on him too, they're both the power couple of the hero world Endeavor and (H/N) with how similar/opposing/complimentary their quirks are, they can deal with any situation with speed and efficiency no one else is capable of, he realized how he was a Fool for listening to his mentor, with a determined mind he left the agency after the day was over, walking in the cold weather, wasn't any trouble to him with his quirk, yet it brought a smile to his face thinking about her and how she loved (or hated if that's your preference) the winter, and the snow flakes, how even if she isn't cold (or cold) she'd still hold on to him wrapping her arm around his waist as he wrapped his around her shoulders, he smiled at the memories of them together, 'damn... We have a memory associated with everything' he sighed.
Buying her favorite flowers, a gift that he knew she'd like, at least he hoped she would with how mad she'd be at him, and a speech of apology that he prepared and embarrassimgly practiced, and the ring 'just in case' he thought 'just in case it all goes well, and I spontaneously propose I have the ring' he smiled, he really didn't mind if he'd have to beg for forgiveness, he acknowledged that he instigated the fight and escalated it while she was on the defensive, while he didn't let her even talk, he loved his Persephone and he'd throw away his ego for her.
Arriving at her house he sighed, it's been over a year, it shouldn't have taken me so long he thought, as he sighed going up the small steps and raising his hand to knock, he saw something that made him freeze on the spot, like his blazing quirk was replaced with ice, through the window by the door, he saw his beloved, as beautiful as ever with a child in her arms, an infant, a very small one at that, she smiled at the baby in her arms as she cooed softly for it, he couldn't see them clearly but there was someone sitting on the other side of the couch, 'no... That's not it, she's just babysitting or holding the baby for one of her stupid friends' he thought trying to convince himself that it's not true, as his thoughts raced he was interrupted by the cries of the child, he watched them again as she pulled the child closer to her chest giving it her nipple as it started feeding and stopped crying, it hurt hurt like having every bone in his body broken, hurt like he overheated himself 10 times over, hurt like acid running through his veins, with all the pain and heartbreak all common sense escaped him, that the child may be his, it looks like it's a couple months old, he failed to notice that the shadow of the unknown third party is her annoying cheerful friend who for some reason have always been at their home, she didn't even chatter with them she would just stay there with them. (best friends be like... Your home is my home too ha).
Turning around he walked down the steps, his fury so intense that his quirk burned uncontrollably disintegrating the gifts he brought for her, except a single red rose that he had added to the flowers collection ironically due to a comment about his hair from her, the red rose had Slight burns on it and it laid on top of snow covered in ashes.
Five Seconds
Five seconds, If you looked at the window by the door five seconds earlier you'd have seen him.
Noticing a sudden brightness that disappeared outside your friend looked at you questioningly, the light seemed to grab your little girl's attention as she stopped crying becoming fuzzy as she twisted around in your arms reaching her hands up curling her hands in a graby motion, you shushed her as your friend went to check.
Walking outside (F/N) saw the rose and the ashes she realized what might happened, and as she contemplated it she realized that if (Y/N) finds this she'll be broken again, she'll go after him and he won't even let her explain, they'll fight again and he'll abandon her again, seeing her broken for the first time was painful enough, she sighed picking up the rose and tucking it away in her jacket creating a wind draft that blew the ash covered snow away "what is it?" came your voice from being her "is something out there?" you asked looking at her "no... Its nothing" she said closing the door.
Shrugging you went back to calming down your baby "you look so much like your daddy, my sweet little burning flame, my Kouen" you sang to her softly putting her to sleep, she had her dad's hair and eyes, she was stubborn even as a baby, she was born prematurely and heavily underweight, which is why she looks so small for a 6 months old, the doctors told you she might not make it but as you spoke to her daily in the incubator, telling her to fight and live, she kept fighting and you managed to return home with your baby, your reminder of your lover, such an amazing thing you two created, oh how you wished she met her dad, how you wished to see him carry her "you are looking for him aren't you? You're wondering where daddy is, God you'd have been such a daddy's girl" you cried as you talked to her.
If only... If only he rang the bell that day, if only your friend told you what she found then maybe, maybe it'd have gone differently.
END FLASHBACK
By now you had walked to Inferno's agency and went to her office (look ya'll gonna be having some conversations that don't belong in the streets OK? OK)
"So Okaasan?" he asked "hm? Oh right, (H/N) is my mother, what didn't tell him you got a kid... Damn that's cold" "hush "Endeavor San did she tell you about me?" "she didn't" he said looking at you "it didn't come up" you said, "oh OK then... if that's the case allow me to reintroduce myself, the Hell Queen Hero Inferno, daughter of the Demon Hero (H/N), no clue who my dad is tho, never met the guy" she said shrugging, "Inferno, that's enough" Endeavor seemed intrigued "you never met your father?" "nah never, mom says it's complicated" she shrugged, both of them looking at you "what?.. What do you want? I'm not opening this subject again Kou" "Kou?" Endeavor looked at her "ugh dammit woman! The Name's Kouen or Kou-Kun, Kou sounds too soft and childish" she crossed her arms "Kouen, enough" "Kouen? Like flames or prominence" Endeavor asked "hm? Oh yeah like that she wouldn't tell why she named me that either, gotta have to do with my flame quirk" she said emphasizing on it by manipulating her flames, turning it off as well.
"see? I do have hair I just choose to keep it on fire" Endeavor stared at her, now without her flames he can see her more clearly, the red short hair on her head, not a shade different from his own, her sapphire eyes that had the same shine to them, her facial features while feminine yet harsh, resembled his own way too much, the confident posture, the way she talks, somehow.. Somehow his same attitude, "interesting... so if you don't mind me asking how old are you?" he said "oh I'm 28 mom had me at 18.. Kinda irresponsible don't you think?" "irresponsible indeed" he said and she nodded turning her flames back on " yeah, she said she knew my quirk since I was born, good thing she went after my fire quirk not Demon Quirk, as you might know I have a hybrid quirk, her Demon and Flame, would have been weird" she said (Her quirk is a perfect mix, she has the perfect hybrid quirk) "agreed, so (Y/N) care to join the conversation?" Endeavor said looking at you who was standing there silently, you sighed "yeah, going the fire way was the right call" "you guys are on first name? Damn what'd I miss?" she asked "Kouen dear... Care to go over there for a sec? I need to talk to Endeavor about something" you said using your authoritive voice, even tho it was rarely effective "why? What do you wanna talk to him about all of a sudden that's a secret?" "Kouen please.. Now" you asked again "Inferno, care to give us a moment, I have something to ask her too" Endeavor said and she looked at him and sighed "sure thing, I'll be over there, just yell for me when you're done" with that she walked away.
Endeavor looked at you questioningly crossing his arms "so you have a daughter, a flame quirk daughter who's 28?"
You looked at him quietly, guilt and anxiety filling you " yes.... I do" you sighed "and she doesn't have a father, never met him and you never told her who he is" "I didn't want her to go chase him, in case he didn't want her, I didn't know... What he wanted" you sighed looking down, taking a deep breath you looked up at him, instead of anger or anything of the sort you saw patience, and hope "is she..." he asked, not dating to complete the question in fear of disappointment in case if the universe is just that cruel to him "she's your daughter" you said "I was pregnant, that day.... I was going to tell you... But then we had that fight and I just... " you took a deep breath "I didn't know what to do, whether to tell you or not, not like you'd listen to me anyway, you started avoiding me after that" he sighed "I did, God... I can't believe that I... Missed Twenty Eight years of my daughter's life.. Yet again... It was my fault" he said looking to the ground "Enji no... It was both of our fault, we should have listened to each other, we've always been so.... Aggressive and hot headed, we dug our own graves basically I should have told you maybe... "  "I knew" he interrupted you.
"what?" you looked at him, he hung his head down, taking a deep breath he looked at you, regret and pain in his eyes "I went to your house, over year after it all ended, I nearly knocked but then...then I saw you, sitting there with someone next to you, sitting there with an infant in your arms you looked so happy and content, with some other guy, with his child, Cobra's (your work studies Pro) words ringing in my ears, that you're not loyal to me, that you used me and didn't love me."he said looking at you" even... I even went to you that day cursing him and his teachings, his false ideals, cursing what he did to us, you know I found out he fired you? He told me that you quite" he  said "God you're such an idiot you know that?" you sighed then looked at him "I know" he said looking at you "wow he even admits it" you smirked.
"That day... When you saw another guy with me... You didn't really see them right?" you asked he looked at you confused shaking his head "thought so, well that was (F/N) she was staying over to help me take care of your very fuzzy stubborn ass daughter, damn she's stubborn as hell as you can see" "I should have checked, I should have known, I KNEW that you're loyal to me, just I should have asked you" he said, his flames all going out "man you really deserve a slap for all this, or a punch" you sighed shaking your head "you're right, I do, you can go ahead I was a terrible boyfriend, an even worse father to her, and to my other children he said taking a deep breath closing his eyes and opening them again.
"later, not in front of your daughter.. Now why don't you go introduce yourself?" he looked at you shocked "what? You're not mad at me? At all?" "No, I'm not..we've already spent so long mad at each other, look where it got us, let's just throw away all the anger and just... Live, and you're not off the hook yet... your next mission is to go to your daughter and tell her you're her dad, to be fair I do have a lot of the blame, when she was a child she connected the dots, how we were in the same year and how she's basically a copy of you, and the quirk.. God... She didn't even ask she straight up Said 'Endeavor is my dad' and I spent the entire day proving her wrong... So it's not only on you and damn is that kid smart"  you said crossing your arms sighing.
he looked at you in shock "so she knows?" "pretty sure she does, she's just pretending to have bought my lie" "right" looking behind him he looked at her, she was standing at the other end of her office looking at you both intently, waiting for this 'talk' to be over, Endeavor signaled her to come over and she walked to you guys "sooo... That looked deep... This isn't a business talk at all... Looked personal" Kouen said she stood in front of you "no it isn't" you said "Enji?" "more first name basis? Wow" she said looking at him "Inferno... So I don't even know how to say this, and I'm terrible in these things but... Look Me and your mother used to date in high school, we broke up, due to my mistake and.... I'm your father I know I haven't been there for you at all, I don't have the right to ask you to forgive me but I'll try.. I'll try to be the father you imagined me to be a hero that you're proud of- huh" not letting him even finish she hugged him "I've always been proud of you, that's the first thing I told you when we met dammit" she said holding on to him tightly, "you didn't know, when I met you today I knew it's my chance to reveal who I am to you, that's why I told you all that ya know? I ain't that chatty with people" Endeavor stood there not knowing what to do for a second he was shocked, but slowly he wrapped his arms around her, pulling you close as well the three of you stood there just holding each other.
The heavens are done punishing him, the heavens are done punishing you, apparently now... Now you can be together, even if it's a bit complicated.
TIMESKIP
Kouen met Shoto and apparently they both bonded, in some weird way, Natsou and Fuyumi as well "well we lived in the same house as him yet we didn't see him so there isn't a difference between us at all" Natsou scoffed "Natsou that's not appropriate! Come on" Fuyumi said "it's OK, Fuyu don't worry about it" Kouen said "he's stating his opinion" they all talked for a while before Kouen had to excuse herself "sorry guys I have to go, I have a meeting with Hawks and Dad in Kyushu, you guys are going to your mom right? Want me to drop you off?" she asked "no it's OK we got it" Natsou said "You don't wanna be late for meeting up with Hawks right Ne-chan?" Fuyumi teased making the older girl go red "O...Oi shut it... I'm going to meet dad not that fried chicken" he flames turning on Fuyumi giggled as Natsou wiggled his eyebrows "ah huh right right, more like a hot fried chicken" Natsou said "JUST GO ALREADY YOU TWO" she yelled making them laugh at her while she marched away from them using her flames she propelled herself forward flying to Kyushu (ya know like FIRESTORM in Flash and Legends).
LATER
The attack goes the same with addition to Inferno helping in slowing down high-end when Endeavor was temporarily down, put getting tossed onto buildings as well, and her helping with the flying up cause she's fire proof unlike Hawk's feathers, she separates right before he turns hood into a mini sun, in her fall she notices Dabi in the distance, yet when She lands she ig ores it to make sure dad is fine first, cries tears of joy when he's standing, goes to him and is ready to smack a hoe whne Dabi shows, he isn't fazed until Miruko shows up like what happened in the Manga.
TIMESKIP
A couple weeks after, Endeavor leaves the hospital, While Kouen didn't have the same injuries as him she got a pretty bad hit which endangered her life, the heavens decided to be merciful again and let her live and walk out there with HIM "you know, mom is going to kill us right?" Kouen said, Endeavor shook his head "that's what I'm dreading" he sighed making her laugh at him as they both went home, Endeavor still lived at his house but he'd come to their house from time to time, now he went their cause (Y/N) said she'll take care of her two heroes "after she kicks their asses she means" Endeavor muttered as they reached the house, as they got in (Y/N) told them to rest, not five seconds later they both had to dodge the chancla (lmao) "dammit woman!" they both said simultaneously "nuh uh, you two don't get to sync on me! And you two don't get to get THAT injured on me" smacking both their heads hard she returned to making the food as they complained about her hitting injured people.
You sighed making them their dinner, normal homemade ramen for Enji, a death penalty of spicy ramen to Kouen, you smiled softly hearing them talking about how she's too rough on two injured heroes in the line of duty, sighing your thoughts drifted to his other kids and his wife, yes you knew their story, yes you knew what happened but you couldn't help but feel you're stealing him from his wife somehow, like you're the bad person, but yet again what happened to you two wasn't fair, the cruelty of the universe stole him from you so you shall steal him back, you're fighting a war, a war with destiny, and you shall win, it's fair right? Yeah it is, you grinned its all fair when it comes to love "it's all fair in love and war my love~".
After dinner was served you guys just rested all day, with them both asking you for stuff "I swear to God you two sound like whining 5 year Olds" you said getting them another thing, five minutes later they were about to ask you something "next one who asks for something ridiculous I'll break another bone of yours!" you threatened shutting them both.
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"love you" both of them said and smirked at you
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"fine what do you want?" dammit.
TIMESKIP
The window opened as the mysterious figure climbed in through with ease, looking at the peacefully sleeping woman, with hatred, she looked so beautiful, so perfect, so disgusting!
The figure grabbed the woman with ease covering her mouth, as she struggled she couldn't break free, she couldn't move, they were so strong, everybody peacefully asleep, unaware of the horror that's happening, looking at her attacker her eyes widened, she was in shock, her attacker smirked, the white haired woman tried to scream but she couldn't, the gloved hand that covered her mouth wouldn't let up "hello Rei-San" said the (h/c) woman with a sickeningly sweet smile, "you might be wondering why am I here... Well... Let's just say this... After so many years... I've been reunited with the love of my life and I won't let anybody get in my way... You are an obstacle, unfortunately for you... I'll have to get rid of you" you sang as you knocked over the base that held the beautiful withering flower "what a shame.... You were also doing so great... But you had a sudden psyche break.... And you decided to... End it all... End the pain" you sang sweetly, using your quirk to control her, her struggling stopped as she got up quietly, tearing down object after object, throwing around such precious letters that she had, pulling her hair, scratching her self, she looked down grabbing the broken shards of glass, she looked at you with hopeful puppy eyes, too sweet innocent, with such fear behind them, begging you to let her go, you nodded go ahead and she smiled "yes Master" she said in a sweet obedient voice, looking back down her hands, she brought the glass to her wrists and started cutting, cut after cut after cut till her arm was covered in cuts, then her other arm as tears slipped passed her fearful yet giddy eyes, her white clothes were covered in beautiful crimson color, her legs were next, looking at you again "come on baby.. Don't be afraid, it'll feel good I promise~" she smiled again, grabbing the pen from the floor she held it tightly in her hand making a string fist, pushing it full force she stabbed her eye, pulling it out she looked at you "master" "it's OK baby go ahead~" you smiled in approval, with a grin she aimed the pen again "thank you Master" she said in her cute obedient voice sending the pen through her other eye, pulling it out she dropped it to the floor "Master?" "I'm here. My sweet pet.... Now sit there like a God dog" "Hai" "dogs don't talk.. Hmm... Oh I know... We can just.." Raising her hand with the glass she stuck her tongue out, pushing the piece of glass through she cut through it till it was off, vocal cords next, somehow knowing where to cut exactly, reaching the glass she started cutting through them, choking on her blood and beading out, she sat there obediently, as blood and tears fell from her eyes, "good girl... Now.. Die" she sat there for a couple more seconds then dropped dead, drowned in her blood and having bled out, as the crimson surrounded her, you almost felt jealous " don't worry my little puppy, you can keep (F/N) company in hell hehehe~"
Going out the window like you came in, leaving no trace at all of your existence you smiled as you looked at the moon "my beloved is mine now... And mine alone"
TIMESKIP
You were sitting in the living room watching the news, this being your day off, you looked up at Enji and smiled "hey my love, come join me" he smiled at you, drying his hair having just came out of the shower, he only had pants on, as you admired his strong muscles he sat next to you, giving you a sweet kiss unlike the passionate ones you usually shared "you looked at him and smiled "what? You seem to be in a very good mood today did something happen?" "it's nothing" Enji answered looking away "I just... I'm happy... I got you back my Persephone" he said making you giggle "my beloved Hades, I'll always come back for you" cuddling closer together you decided to find a movie or something to watch.
Later
You both just sat there, watching movies, and messing around... Doing some adult Tango, you were both just relaxing when Enji's phone rang, you both ignored it for a while but then he looked at it due to the persistence of the caller, looking at it he saw Shoto's number he answered "SHOOTOOOO" you put your hand on your mouth to cover your laugh "what is it?" "come to mom's hospital quick" came Shoto's panicked voice "what?.. Why what's going on?" "I don't know, I came to visit her but they won't let me in, there are police cars around, they're saying I shouldn't go in there" "OK... Calm down... I'm on my way" hanging up he got up to get dressed, you looked at Enji "what is it?" "I don't know, Shoto called from the hospital there's something wrong" he said sighing "SHOTO'S AT THE HOSPITAL? Is he hurt? Is one of kids? Was it another villain attack?" you panicked, he smiled, God he loved how you worried about these little kids it made his heart flutter, then shook his head "no they're OK, they're at Rei's hospital, he said they won't let him in and there's police cars around" you looked at him shocked "shit... Is Rei OK?" you asked "I don't know that's what I'll have to figure out" he then looked at you weird "wait... Did you just ask if Rei is OK? And with such concern?" you huffed "we're actually friends just so you know" you crossed your arms "is that so"he said watching you get dressed" yes, we talk a lot.. I go there when I have time... I'm coming with, I wanna make sure Rei is alright" "alright then hurry up" you glared at him as you quickly got dressed "well excuse me my suit isn't as easy as yours" soon you both left for the hospital, one unaware of what awaits at their destination, the other playing her act very well.
Later
Arriving at the hospital the three kids were standing there anxiously as the fourth was trying to calm them down "guys, come on it may just be because of the recent villain attacks and all that" Kouen tried calming them down, the second you two walked in they all ran up to you "Oyaji make them tell us what's going on in here?" Shoto started immediately " I got this, calm down, where is the person in charge here?" walking up to Rei's doctor after spotting him "what's going on here?" he asked him "what's with the police and preventing the kids from going in?" the Doctor looked at them with a sad and devastated look, "sir, there was.... Something happened yesterday, during the night, we're not sure what may have triggered her but-" the Doctor was evading, getting impatient Natsou stormed past the guards taking them by surprise unable to stop him, like a domino effect, he was immediately followed by his siblings, and Enji and you, reaching the room first taking a look inside " Okasa- huh?" he froze, a look of terror in his eyes, "Natsou what's wrong?" Shoto reaching him second he looked inside and like his brother he froze, Kouen was next seeing the scene before her she was shocked, snapping out of her trance just in time to pull Fuyumi's fave into her chest to stop her from seeing, but she got a glimpse, and it was enough to throw her into tears "w... Wait.. What.. What was that? O... Okasan?..what" as Kouen hid her sister's face both you and Enji stared in shock at the scene before you, the scene seemed to be out of a horror movie, a nightmare the the silence was deafening, till a scream of pain erupted from Natsou, followed by Shoto, and Fuyumi, your tears just falling silently "Rei... What the hell" you looked at the doctor grabbing him by the collar "what the hell happened here!" you glared at him, it wasn't a question, it was a a demand for and answer "she... She did that" he fearfully admitted "what?" "the hell are you talking about?" as he now got attacked by the questions of everybody each yelling and screaming and demanding answers "I don't know... We found her like that in the morning, she seemed to have some sort of psyche attack, it's undetectable, it happens to a lot of people from different ages, and lives and jobs, she destroyed everything around her then did this" he fearfully let out "destroyed everything? That must have made a lot of noise, why did nobody check on her?" Endeavor asked glaring at him "I don't know, I wasn't here at night" "then who was" Inferno asked glaring at him "I don't know.. I don't know" "there isn't a single drop of blood in some of the scattered things, the ones further away from her, the destruction was done before she bled, meaning if you Checked the commotion you'd have caught her before she did anything" Inferno stated, while that increased the chaos, it wouldn't change anything, she's gone.
At the funeral, a lot of tears were shed, a lot of pain and anguish, a lot of perfect acting, a lot of comfort for the hurting friend, that lost her new friend, a lot of comfort from her beloved.
If only, if only on that day (F/N) told you what she found, then Rei would have lived, then these kids would have been yours, if only she spoke, then she wouldn't have been in hell with Rei.
FLASHBACK
"(Y/N)... Come on stop..." your friend struggled, "then tell me, what're you hiding" you said, holding her tightly "I'm not hiding anything" she said struggling to get away, your quirk was way more superior to her air manipulation, she could only manipulate small portions, while your demon quirk did a lot, "yes you are" you said, using your quirk you put her in a trance, "confess" "It was my fault the dog got out, I left the door open" "dumb bitch, Kouen will kill you" "yeah, but I'm more scared of you, you'll kill me of you find out" you narrowed your eyes at her "if I find out what?" "that I didn't tell you... About Todoroki" you looked at her now curious and angry "what about him? (F/N)" fear filled her eyes "that he he came here" "WHAT?" you see in shock "the hell did you do? Why did you never tell me?" "because he left, he saw you with Kouen, he saw you with the baby, I think he thought it isn't his and that you moved on so he left, when I went out to check that flare of light, I found ashes, all over the snow, I found a single half burned red rose, so I hid it it, I hid it all, I knew you'll run after him, I knew you'll fight and that he'll break your heart again I couldn't" she said crying, you looked at her with anger and hate "so he came here! Before he moved on, before he married and you didn't tell me, that's why he started avoiding me so much, he thinks I moved on from him, now he's married, and has two kids, my chance is gone.. Because of YOU" you yelled in anger releasing your control "please I was just trying to help-" "silence!.... 7 years! 7 years I could have had him! 7 years we would have lived together! And for more years to come! You're a fucking whore! What were you jealous of me? For having a lover? While nobody even looked at you?" you yelled "that isn't it! I was just" "just what? Worried about me? I've always fought with him, that's how we always have been, you tried using your brain, that's the problem (F/N) you're a stupid bitch who ruined everything!" your friend cried "I just tried to help" she got up to leave but froze, your control on her again "now where do you think you're going?" you looked at her smiling maniacally "we're not done here"... 5 months.... 5 months you tortured her, 5 months for the 7 years she took away from you, you would have went longer, but she was too weak, and died.
If only
If only, you didn't try to play the hero, General studies trash 'if only you trusted my strength and told me what happened... Then we wouldn't have gone through that'
END FLASHBACK
Everybody went home that day, depressed, questioning what happened to her all of a sudden, the havens are really cruel huh... They had to take such a delicate loving woman in such a cruel way, as each one of them ran to their lovers for comfort, one woman was in no need of comfort, for she was a demon in human disques.
TIMESKIP
This is after the Endeavor hero agency arc, after the Ending attack.
Man you felt tired, it's like you were frozen but it was quit the opposite, you layed on the ground coughing as blue flames surrounded you "how sad... Hero" you heard the teasing voice of Dabi "you really are weak.... Don't deserve your rank at all" he said pinning you down sitting on top of you to prevent your movements, "look at you.. So pathetic" "if you're gonna kill me then do it already, a hundred other heroes will take my place, and bring you down" you grunted and coughed out blood, Dabi looked at you shocked for a second then laughed maniacally "man that is good... That is good (H/N) they usually, beg for their lives by now.. But no actually, I'm not doing this to stop the heroes.. I'm doing this to hurt him" he grinned you looked at him shocked "what?" "well killing you will hurt Endeavor badly, I'd have gone after the one that looks like him but it's harder to fight fire with fire I have other plans for her anyway I need her alive for them.... oh? Don't tell me you don't know? Well I'll explain to you, before you die you have the right to know anyway.... " ya'll insert his reveal and the message that was broadcasted by the hacker guy it's too long to type and this is too long already.
" so... As you can see here... Dear beloved woman of my father killing you will hurt him, and her, her flames of revenge will burn bright, as she tries to kill her mother's killer, would she have the heart to kill her dear brother? Would dear dad let her? Would he stop her? Or would he join her? Would his perfect creation Shoto take his brother's side? Or would he take the side of a half sister he just knew and a father that he despises, what about Natsou... And Fuyumi too... Oh and Okasan you know it's wormg to try and steal a married man? Well I'm not one to judge...hahaha.. A lot of possibilities here, too sad you won't live to see them" as he spoke he started burning, stronger and stronger, by the time he was done it was excruciating, "you're... wrong" you coughed "huh?" "you're wrong Touya" you smiled at him, a maniacal smile rivaling his own, paralyzing him... "What the hell is wrong with that woman? She's insane" "you made a big mistake Touya~" you sang his name, he froze 'the hell?' "what the hell are you talking about? Why aren't you screaming in pain? Why aren't you dying!" "hahaha hahaha the thing is... You just threatened my darling, and I just..... Can't let you live to do any of that haha haha" you laughed pushed him off, fear crawled up his back, paralyzing him, as you walked closer to him, the flames burning your flesh you just grinned at him "wh... What are you!" "me?... I'm the demon dero my dear... What exactly did you think demon hero meant?" he leaned down towards him "those who fought me, and were worthy, got to see it, my other form" you laughed looking at the scared Dabi "don't worry it's not that baad~ my beloved Enji saw it before, he said it's not scary" you grinned as your form shifted, into a much taller creature, it was covered in shadows, eyes glowing red, sharp massive teeth glowing "demons are made of fire Touya~ we don't burn in fire, we strive in it, we crave it!"
Dabi stared at the demon in fear as the demon reached its claws for him, just before he was grabbed, a portal opened suclimg him in, the demon screamed in anger, losing its Prey, its OK.. However... It'll get its chance again someday.
After All
All Is Fair In Love And War
Right?
"...... After All Touya is such a beautiful name~" Dabi or Touya sang as he danced on top of Machia "come dance with your son in hell Endeavor"
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"... I really enjoyed what I did to Hawks actually... It was very satisfying"
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.
.
Meanwhile the broadcast explained everything, including the illegitimate child of Endeavor, and the scandal with Endeavor and (H/N)
As Enji just froze, and Shoto fought, Kouen was torn between her revenge and her brother, her family... They wouldn't want her to kill Touya.
As the battle progressed she made up her mind, she'll get revenge, for Her lover, he hurt Hawks, he destroyed his quirk, he tarnished his image, he nearly killed him, he put him in pain and suffering.
It wasn't fair, what happened to him, but she'll fix it. She'll kill Dabi for him.
After All
All Is Fair In Love And War.
END ?
DAMN FINALLY!
(I don't specify a gem as you can choose your fave as I prefer rubies due to their intense red color... With a black band instead of silver.. Introducimg my dream ring lmao... Also in Japan proposals aren't the same as in US and other similar countries but this was a more obvious way of showing the events)
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madamebaggio · 4 years
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Notes: So...
Let’s talk for a second.
Remember I said I was procrastinating so hard that I was considering resurrecting old works?
Yeah… This is one of them… lol
It was going to be a Sansa/Willas/Oberyn, then it became a Sansa/Willas and now I’m not so sure.
I’ve stopped quite a while back on it with just two and a half chapters done, so I’ll just post it here and you guys tell me what you think.
Sounds fair?
***
Willas Tyrell quietly chuckled as his friend Oberyn Martell kept pretending he was an innocent human being. Oberyn’s “trust-me-I’m-a-saint” face never failed to amuse Willas.
The Tyrell was about to tell his friend to cut the shit -not with these words, because Willas would never be this crass -when they heard the library door opening.
“I should give up on having a sex life.”
“I should wash your mouth with soap for even suggesting it.”
Oberyn and Willas exchanged curious looks. The first voice was clearly Sansa Stark; her charming accent was unmistakable. The second was Margaery, obviously.
The two older men were hiding in the library, escaping the party. Olenna Tyrell gave the classiest parties in King’s Landing, but they were also crowded with hopeful socialites trying to grab a husband, and Oberyn and Willas were prime game. Therefore, this was a tactical retreat, before they inevitably had to go back to the party.
The young women hadn’t seen them because the men were behind a bookcase, sitting side by side on armchairs. As a matter of fact, they also couldn’t see the two ladies, but they could hear their conversation quite clearly.
“Well, it’s been… Disastrous, for a lack of a worse word.” Sansa continued.
“I’m pretty sure ‘catastrophic’ is worse than ‘disastrous’.” Margaery informed her, quite matter-of-factly.
Willas saw Oberyn opening a grin at that.
“Marge, I’m serious.”
“I refuse to believe that. It can’t have been that bad.”
“It was.”
Willas was wondering what he should do. This was obviously a very private conversation, and they had no right to be listening to it. Sansa was a reserved person and she’d probably feel embarrassed if she knew they could hear something so personal.
“I mean, sure, there was Joffrey…” Margaery was still talking.
“Do I need to say more?”
No, she didn’t. Willas hated the little piece of shit with a passion, and so did Oberyn. It was quite clear his friend was fighting to hold in his comment.
“Selfish little prick, treated me like crap all the time, including the two times we had sex. But at least the second time made me realize I needed to get rid of him fast.” Sansa’s tone was derisive in a way Willas had never heard before. Normally she was a really sweet girl who wouldn’t use a single bad word.
Though… If anyone deserved every single bad word ever invented it was Joffrey.
“Then there was Harry, who thought that his big…”
“Cock?” Margaery offered innocently.
Oberyn pressed his lips together, now really fighting to stay quiet.
Sansa sighed. “Yes. He thought that meant he’d already done his part and everything else was up to me.” They heard Margaery making a noise of disgust. “Besides that, he never took care of me before it…” Now she was sounding really embarrassed. “So it was always painful for me.”
“What a waste.” Margaery grumbled. “Harry doesn’t deserve to have a big cock.”
Sansa’s chuckle was completely humorless. “No, he doesn’t.”
“Did you have sex with Baelish?”
Willas and Oberyn shared identical looks of complete shock. Were they really talking about Petyr Baelish?
Sansa sighed again. “Thank the Seven no. I’m grateful I was never that stupid.”
“And you escaped Bolton.” It wasn’t a question.
Willas arched an eyebrow at Oberyn, asking if he knew of that one, but his friend just shrugged, also looking confused.
“Yes. He tried to grab me, but Robb punched him on the face.”
“Your brother is so hot.” Margaery fawned.
They giggled together and Willas couldn’t hold in a smile. He liked the fact that Sansa Stark was a true friend to his baby sister. It was just one of the many things he liked about her.
“So they all sucked.” Margaery concluded.
“Well…” Sansa dragged the word and Willas could almost see her biting her lower lip as she decided if she should say something or not. “There was Jon…”
“YOU FUCKED YOUR COUSIN?” Margaery said it so loud, that it wouldn’t be shocking if Olenna came in to hear the rest of the gossip.
“Almost.” Sansa let out a long-suffering groan. “We were drunk at a family party, he was feeling shitty, I was feeling shitty… We were talking, next thing we know we were snogging…”
“Then what?” Margaery demanded and Oberyn was almost falling forward on his seat, wanting to know as well.
“He…”
“What?”
“He… Gave me… He…”
Willas furrowed his brow, wondering at what she could possibly be trying to say.
“He ate you out?” Margaery offered.
“MARGE!” Sansa screeched.
“You can just say it.” Margaery teased.
“Yes, he did and it was amazing, but… When I was about to… Reciprocate… He called me ‘Ygritte’.”
“Ouch! Talk about killing the mood fast.”
“He was feeling bad, it was the red hair. At least he said it before we actually had sex, so, there’s that.” It was easy to realize that even Sansa knew this was a weak compensation.
“And you got great oral out of it.” Margaery tried to sound cheery about it.
“Yes, but it was also the first and only time ever.”
“Wait! Are you honestly telling me…”
No, this couldn’t possibly be true. Sansa might be younger than him, but Willas wasn’t blind; she was a goddess. How could it even be possible…?
“Do any of the previous mentioned boyfriends sounded giving to you?” Sansa asked dejectedly.
Margaery’s sound of disgust was answer enough.
“Anyway. This disastrous ending is why I’ve never told you about Jon.”
“Makes sense.” Margaery conceded.
“And that’s it.” And fuck, if this was the extent of Sansa’s sex life he was angry on her behalf. 
What was wrong with the boys out there that a woman like Sansa would feel so damned unloved? Willas was quite aware she’d been a bit of a brat when she was younger, but then again, so had Margaery. Sansa was smart, charming and absolutely gorgeous; she deserved much better than that.
He didn’t even have to look at Oberyn to know he was thinking exactly the same thing.
“Don’t say that.” Margaery’s voice was gentler now. “You’ve just had rotten luck so far.”
Sansa snorted. “That’s one way of calling it.”
He heard his sister humming something. “What you need is an experienced guy to give you a few orgasms and restore your confidence.”
Oberyn was nodding along with that particular suggestion, but Willas was more interested on Sansa’s answer.
“Sure, do you keep one of those in your pocket?” She snorted, opting for sarcasm.
“There’s always Oberyn.” His sister offered.
The man in question arched an eyebrow, now clearly delighted by the turn of events even as Sansa screeched in protest.
“I’m serious.” Margaery insisted, with her musical laughter. “He has the fame of being a sex god. It can’t possibly be a lie.”
Willas wasn’t one bit amused by this whole conversation, but Oberyn was clearly having the time of his life.
“How would you know?” Sansa challenged.
It would be a terrible moment to find out his sister had slept with his best friend. There were some things he’d rather never know.
“I met Ellaria. She’s not the type of woman to pretend to have an orgasm just to spare a man’s ego.” Margaery indicated reasonably. “And she was not complaining about him at all. In fact, the things she told me…” Her voice trailed off suggestively.
“He’s older than me.” Sansa indicated, but it didn’t seem like a protest at all.
“But he’s not old.”
“I’m not considering this.” Sansa said, but it sounded like she was talking more to herself.
“You’d have to be dead not to think about it.” Margaery insisted. “Come on! If sex was a person, it’d be him.”
That got a giggle out of Sansa. “So what? Should I just walk up to him and say…” She trailed off so Margaery could complete.
And his sister didn’t disappoint. “Cure me from my orgasm deprivation.” She proclaimed dramatically.
Oberyn shrugged, seemed sold on the idea. Willas gave him a warning look.
“You’re the worst.” Sansa said, but she was laughing.
“You love me.” Margaery sang aloud.
“But… maybe you’re right.” Sansa mused. “Not about Oberyn, I think he’d see me too much as an inexperienced little girl.” Willas was the one to almost snort this time. Sansa might be younger than them, but Oberyn would not see her like a little girl in a thousand years. “But maybe I do need to find a man just to…”
“Fuck?”
“I give up on you.” She declared. “Let’s get more champagne.”
They heard the click of heels, then the door opened.
“How about Willas?” Margaery suggested, as their voices started to get farther.
Now Oberyn was giving him one hell of an annoying look.
“Marge!” Sansa barked a laughter. “Are you seriously pimping your brother out to me?”
“Are you saying my brother isn’t…” But the rest of Marge’s question was cut by the heavy door closing after them.
“Don’t.” Willas spoke immediately, because he knew Oberyn well enough to know where this was going.
“I wasn’t about to say anything.” Oberyn told him, the huge devilish smile on his lips immediately denying his words.
“Oh please.” Willas gave him a flat look. “You’re dying to make some inappropriate comment on this whole situation.”
“I resent that.” Oberyn somehow replied with a straight face. “How do you know it’d be inappropriate?” He challenged.
“Because I know you.” He replied dryly. “Besides that, what we heard was an extremely private conversation. If there was any way we could’ve revealed ourselves without embarrassing Sansa, I’d have done it.”
Oberyn sighed. “You’re right, of course. She’s quite sweet and I don’t think she’d be happy if she knew we heard that.”
“No, she wouldn’t.”
“Don’t you feel like beating them all up, though?” Oberyn immediately added. “How is it possible that they all had her and managed to be so bad about the whole thing, she’s considering quitting on sex all together?”
“She’s young.” Willas said, though it sounded weak even to his own ears. “She just needs to find a better lover next time.”
“Don’t make it sound like she’s a child, Willas.” Oberyn rolled his eyes. “She’s… What? 23?”
“24.” Willas corrected.
“And these bad experiences will just make it harder for her to choose next time. She needs to know how good sex can be, so she can feel more confident about it.” Oberyn insisted.
“Oh really? So what are you saying exactly? And choose your words carefully.” Willas warned.
He realized soon enough his mistake; he’d been too vehement on his defense of Sansa’s honor, and now Oberyn was looking at him like he was a particularly interesting bug.
“Oh Willas, that’s so adorable of you.” He cooed.
“Shut up, Oberyn.” The other man grumbled.
“You’re sweet on the lady.”
“Don’t be absurd.” Willas protested. “She’s way too young.”
“Hardly that young. You wouldn’t be taking advantage, if that’s your concern.”
“After what I just heard? I think I would.”
Oberyn let out a long-suffering sigh. “Why are you always so eager to play the martyr?” He wanted to know. “If you like the woman, ask her out.”
“No.” Willas said firmly. “Now let’s talk about something else.”
Oberyn’s look made it quite clear he knew what was going on in Willas’s head, but he humored his friend by changing the subject.
Thank the Seven.
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torisfeather · 4 years
Text
Flufftober 3 - College/University AU
Prompt by @vex-bittys
You can read it on fanfiction.net or AO3
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Today, we have a college AU with Virgil, Janus, Patton and Logan. I don't know what the ship name is... Moxieloceit?
Anyway, here's something about the struggle of procrastinating when all your partners push you to do the best you can.
---------------------------
"Everyone in favor of killing the teacher who decided this was a reasonable assignment says I."
"I."
"I."
"I think we all need a break," Patton sighed, shutting his laptop closed.
The three others stretched where they were sitting, or hunching over the table in Virgil's case. Logan checked the time on his phone. "The snack bar is open."
"Yes!" Patton cheered quietly as he started putting his stuff away in his bag.
"I thought you hated the food there," Virgil inquired.
"It's the closest option, which means we will waste less time walking," Logan explained shrugging. "Plus, it's the cheapest place in town."
"Oh, yeah, it's not like I could offer you a meal from anywhere else you liked better," Janus said with a smirk, rolling his eyes.
"Pass," Logan just said, slapping away the hand reaching out for his hair.
Janus was a lucky rich boy with a ridiculous budget he got from his parents. He wasn't that much of a spender, really, he actually saved a portion of that money for later use, and spent the rest on self-care. Or on anything promoting anarchy.
He also used it to help his boyfriends out, but the three others had learned the hard way Janus was like a fae: favors from him always implied something in return.
Chores, generally. Although massages and long cuddles were a close favorite.
They all packed up their things and walked down the stairs in the university library building. Logan's eyes darted around for any information poster he'd missed, like every time he came here. It was endearing how invested he was in the events on campus.
They left the building and took the short walk across the square to the snack bar. It was pretty much empty at this hour. Virgil and Logan quickly ordered their usual coffee, plus a chocolate bar for Virgil and an apple for Logan. Janus watched with a smirk as Patton hovered around the supersized muffins. "They sure look delicious, don't they? Oh, they even got the hazelnut ones today!" Janus purred.
Patton whined. They were his favorite thing on the menu, but also the most expensive, even if they were quite cheap compared to everywhere else. And the hazelnut ones were always the first to go… Patton tried to resist. "I'm almost out of money, I need to hold on until Tuesday…"
"Oh, that's too bad! Well, I can always help if you want…"
"Jan, stop being a snake and cut to the chase, I want to sit down!" Virgil grumbled from a few steps away, breaking the spell.
"Ugh, fine…" Janus stepped up to the counter and asked for a hazelnut muffin and two hot chocolates. Patton didn't say anything, he was this close to conceding anyway.
All four of them sat down at their usual table, and Janus handed Patton his snack.
"ThankyousorryI'llmakeituptoyouIpromise," Patton muttered before taking his first bite and melting.
The hazelnut muffins were stuffed with chocolate paste, and Patton could already feel himself twitch from how rich and sweet it was. He moaned in delight, smiling and trying not to drop crumbs on himself.
And then, he stopped, noticing all three of his boyfriends were staring at him. "What? What did I do?"
"This was the cutest shit I've seen all day," Virgil admitted.
Patton blushed, smiling shyly.
"And that statement is objective too, as far as I can define the adjective 'cute'," Logan pushed.
"Just seeing that was worth paying for the muffin," Janus agreed.
"You guyyyyys, you're so sweet!" Patton almost cried, dropping down on his closest boyfriend's lap. Which were Virgil's.
The emo chuckled. "I just want to make out so bad right now."
Patton shot back up. "Nope! Muffin first!" he said, starting to eat again.
Janus stretched. "How about we just go home and snuggle and watch a movie?"
"Well, that depends on how far everyone has gone through the assignment. It is due tomorrow," Logan said.
Virgil collapsed on Patton's shoulder. "Mine is just going to suck anyway."
"Virgil, please stop being fatalistic. How far are you?" Logan asked again.
"… I've started the second part."
"Good! I'm almost finished, so I can help you," Logan smiled. "Janus?"
"I've started the last part."
"Great. Patton?
"I'm almost done too!"
"Okay, do you want my opinion on it?"
"Naaah, it's okay, Virgil needs your help more," Patton smiled, finishing his muffin.
Logan gave him a skeptic look. "Okay, but remember to look it over again."
"Oooor, how about we just go home, enjoy our evening, and then finish tomorrow?" Virgil offered.
"We don't know if we'll have time tomorrow, plus we may not get enough sleep if we wake up earlier for this," Logan objected.
Janus gave Virgil a soft look. "Plus, you'd feel stressed out until tomorrow and you wouldn't enjoy the evening anyway, mister procrastinator. Once we're done, you can relax as much as you want."
Virgil's head sank between his shoulders and he looked away. "Okay, sorry…"
"Aw, come here!" Patton said, pulling Virgil closer for a kiss.
Virgil closed his eyes, melting into the embrace. When Patton pulled away, he leaned in for another kiss, which Patton allowed him.
And then Logan separated them. "No more kisses until you're done!"
"Oh my god, leave me alone!" Virgil grumbled, frustrated.
But Patton smiled at him apologetically. "Think about it Virgil! A couple hour of work, you get helped, and you get as many kisses as you want after. So?"
Virgil blushed. "Okay, fine, I guess…"
Patton squealed and hugged him, and Logan smiled. "Well, here's another extremely cute thing."
"I see three cute things," Janus corrected, and stood to hug his boyfriends. "Now let's get this over with so I can pull you onto the couch and make out with you all night."
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vydante · 4 years
Text
Restart | Avengers x Male! Reader | 10
Fandom: Marvel
Pairing: Avengers x Male! Reader (romantically: multiple)
Plot: Dr. Strange said there was only one possibility of winning the battle against Thanos.
But when (Name) is forced into the past and into his younger body, he’s suddenly given the chance to start over and prevent the future from happening again.
So which route are you going to take? Are you going to risk the future and take preventative measures, or live life with the Avengers for the next 4 years, knowing what will soon come?
A/N: Important A/N at end. Short, but we get to see Rhodey!
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Uncle Rhodey visited today.
You don't actually call him that- you're old enough now where, if you started, it definitely would be less endearing and a bit weird, but nowadays it was always either Rhodey or Jimmy. Besides, it's even weirder considering you're technically almost 30, so there's that. Of course, back then though, there were moments when you slipped up, much to your embarrassment and his amusement. 
You'd either be sleep-deprived or distracted most of the time. Mumbling a tired 'Hey Uncle Rhodey' and not noticing the grin on the faces of whoever was in the room with the two of you. It didn't happen often- maybe once every other blue moon- but it happened nonetheless.
But despite being literal years since you've called him that, this was one of those moments where you just couldn't help yourself.
"What's up squirt? Looks like you've seen a ghost."
(Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Fast. Oh God, why was he falling so fast?
"Uh, little," there's a strained grunt, "Little help here? I'm- I'm flying dead stick...!")
"Uncle Rhodey..."
Right in front of you stood Rhodey, who grins at you with underlying concern in his eyes. He looks good, no matter how much shit you always gave him for wearing polo shirts. Definitely less aged, too... Not as tired. There's a pep in his step you forgot he had as he moves in to give you a hug. 
("Rhodes!" Your ears strain as your dad yells into the commlink, though that was nearly drowned out by the drum of your heart thundering in your chest. High in the sky, you take to an instant nose dive and descend.
With each pulse, Rhodey's only falling and falling and falling, and he's not slowing down any time soon. He doesn't respond to your dad. Faint sounds of what may be him losing his breath make you scream out for him too.
You're opposite of Tony as you both try and catch up with the suit. In the corner of your eyes, you see Falcon diving down too. Mother fucker.
You fall and fall, and so does Rhodey. 
The distance between you and Rhodey gets closer and closer, but so does the distance between Rhodey and the ground. It's a race, you bitterly thought in hindsight. You vs. Tony vs. Wilson.
Only Rhodey wins first place.)
You knew it's been years since his fall. But even then, every time you looked at Rhodey, flashes of a falling metal suit lingers in the back of your head. The pounding in your head only gets worse when Rhodey's standing in front of you without leg braces on.
"Aw, guessed someone missed his uncle, huh?"
You know he's just teasing you, but God did you want to tell him how absolutely true he was. 
(You ignore DAHLIA's concerned whisper of 'elevated stress above normal parameters.')
Wordlessly, you hug him maybe a bit tighter than you normally would. You try to find the words to reply back, something snarky ("This 'squirt' can give you the smackdown of your life, Jimmy."), maybe even something honest ("Yeah, I did. I missed you. Fuck, I missed you so much."). Just anything would do, but the flashes of a human-sized crater with a red suit hovering over makes you want to hurl, so you just kept your mouth shut and buried your head in his shoulder. You feel him pat your head gently.
(The thud echoes in your ears. 
You're, what? Maybe 70 feet above him?
But yet you heard that thud as if you were dead center of the crater.
Time slows down to forever as you finally touch down and sprint over to your dad, ignoring Wilson's approaching figure.
Tony nods at you ("Rhodes is in critical condition, ambulance ETA 5 minutes...", says DAHLIA), but he says nothing as Wilson mutters an apology. Dad's fuming, and quite frankly, so are you.
You stalked over to him and socked Wilson right in the jaw, gauntlet still on, and took no shame in the satisfaction you felt as you watch him get knocked back a good distance. It's even better when he doesn't get up.
Good. 
As much as Rhodey would admonish you for your train of thought, you'd have no trouble forgiving Wilson if he was the one lying unconscious in the crater instead.)
"Oh yeah, did I not tell you?" You let go of Rhodey but keep in close proximity to him as your dad strides in holding a StarkPad. He greets you with a kiss to the cheek, and you weakly push him away with shaking hands. You pray no one notices your short breath and sweaty palms. He chuckles and stands next to Rhodey, who's already got an exasperated but amused smile as he looks at Tony.
"Rhodey-bear's got military leave- what was it, 2 weeks?"
"3, actually. For a so-called genius, you sure do suck at getting information right."
You stand there, still uncharacteristically silent as you watch them banter. They start walking but you stayed back, watching them strut out of the room as if no one else existed.
You didn't follow them as everything around you blurred; all except for Rhodey's legs. Legs that weren't being supported by a pair of Stark leg prosthetic. Legs that hadn't been completely detached of all feeling and movement from the waist down.
Legs that were still healthy.
You haphazardly leaned against the wall and tried to focus on the floor as the walls wobble around you. The pounding in your head is practically tearing your skull apart.
(The file haunts you.
You gaze at the hologram floating in front of you, and you desperately try to look elsewhere.
There are pictures of potted plants adorning the files. There's a bunch, and none of them really correlate with one another. There's also a series of pictures, remnants of an explosion and ashes of what used to be a pot sprinkled in there too. There are ones of humans- people you don't recognize save for a few. And again, there's also pictures of an explosion, black ashes covering walls with no remains next to them.
Your finger itches to reach out and open the file further, damn near desperate to do anything to rectify what happened to Rhodey. It burns in your soul, knowing that a solution was just this close to you, so damn near close, yet so far away.
You didn't need to open this file if none of this happened. If Rhodey hadn't been paralyzed from the fall. Rage seeps into your fingers as you grip the table painfully, knuckles white.
If only Romanoff wasn't so prone to Roger's baby blues and knew how to keep to aside. If only Rogers had just signed the damn Accords. If only Maximoff could just get it through her thick skull Tony only wanted to keep her safe from the public.
If only Barton just kept his head down and stayed in retirement. If only Wilson didn't dodge, damned what'd have happened to him.
If only...
(If only you had been faster.)
A scream erupts deep within you as you swipe everything off of your table. You slam your fist into the table repeatedly, not noticing the red smearing, the searing pain, or FRIDAY and DAHLIA's concerned voices as your wails drown the world out.
You don't notice how Pepper abruptly shows up to your lab, disheveled in her pajamas and hugging you from behind tight. You don't notice how she managed to bypass your blackout mode and how the glass window panes clear up again. You don't notice the wetness seeping into your back, or the slight shake of her trembling hands.
You don't notice how you stopped screaming and started shaking, sobbing into your mother's shoulder as she whispered nothing short of comforting words in your ears. 
You don't even notice Rhodey's gaze as he arrives, unsteady in his leg braces, looking at you and Pepper with a haunted, condemned expression.)
You jolted out of your thoughts as your dad calls out to you from down the hallway. You try to steady your voice, but with each sharp intake, it's not as easy as said.
"Uh, yeah, yeah, uh- comin'! Coming..."
Ignoring your shaking hands, you jog over to where they are, pushing and repressing those memories back deep into the corners of your mind. That's a whole can of worms you'd be more than happy to ignore indefinitely.
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Now that you think about it, it’s kind of cruel being told that your death was necessary to win a war. Out of millions and millions of possibilities, you had to be taken out of the equation for it to work.
Alone in your lab, you lay placid among your beanbag chairs. It's been a few days since Rhodey's come by to visit, a few days since your sudden migraine that was your flashbacks. Nothing much's happened since then. You hung out with Rhodey, saw glimpses of the other Avengers here and there, but other than that... There wasn't anything that was urgent in your schedule.
And that deeply unsettled you.
Things've been moving at too slow of a pace, and quite frankly, you've only got so much time before the clock ticks to zero. And in hindsight, there was a lot that you had to be prepared for.
There was Project Insight, Ultron, the Accords...
And there were the individual people themselves you had to worry about. The twins, T'Challa and T'Chaka- along with Wakanda as a whole-, Peter, Strange, Danvers...
You already feel a dull thumping on your forehead just thinking about it all, and you didn't even mention everyone else.
Slowly getting up from your beanbag chair, you trudged to your main seat and rolled over to your tables. It's a mess; there are papers strewn about, some having to do with starting your senior year in high school, others are of mission reports. There are even stupid little sticky note doodles while you were procrastination once; a testament to how much time you've got, and how much of it was spent wasted.
You pushed all of them out of the way in one sweep, uncaring if any of it fell on the floor. 
"J.A.R.V.I.S., blackout mode."
“Of course, young sir.”
The window panels darken, and J.A.R.V.I.S.’ voice quiets. The accent lights in the corners of your lab change from a calming pale blue to a neutral white, an indicator you’ve set up within the past few days. It helps tell you which A.I. is currently in the room. You know that if J.A.R.V.I.S. knew, he wouldn't say anything to anyone else (particularly your dad) about DAHLIA, but just in case.
Eventually, you’ll introduce the two sometime. DAHLIA says she doesn’t care if she meets J.A.R.V.I.S. or not, so you pretend not to notice how much lighter her voice is every time you mention her ‘uncle’ of sorts.
"DAHLIA, you up?”
It was satisfying to watch the neutral white LED lights blink into lime green. It means ‘new beginnings’, or so DAHLIA says. It’s nice in a way- that was the same color you had assigned to her in the future, too. Only this time it was by her own virtue.
”I can't remember a time where I wasn't.”
You rolled your eyes.
The sass.
"You, start up a new project and title it 'Renaissance'. I think now's the time to kick it into high gear."
The holograms around you flicker back to life, a soft green illuminating everything in your sight. A distinct folder pops up with the right title and opens up to a blank file. You’re almost buzzing in your seat as you began creating and titling new documents.
”Sure thing, doll. Anything you want me to start beforehand?"
You pause.
There were lots of things you needed to get done first before you even thought about doing anything else. There were people to recruit, a whole nation you needed to get in contact with, and the drafts of the Accords to be written.
But, for now, you’ll start small.
"Yeah- I, uh, need you to start a global search for someone.”
She hums, and in the corner of your eyes, you see a new file pop up. There’s a rendering of the globe with millions of dots littering the countries visible to you- there are even ones around the planet as well. Cameras and available satellites, you realize.
Atta girl.
”Their name?"
A pair of blank steel blue eyes flash in your mind. Once did anger bubble in your throat when you saw them, but now only pity is what's left in you as you recognize nothing but emptiness behind his eyes. While this was for the greater good that he was found as soon as possible, you'd be lying if you said it wasn't also for the man himself.
The sooner you get to him, the sooner he gets the proper help he deserves.
Reeling yourself back in, you promptly ignored your shaking hands and the flashes of a gleaming arm wrapping itself around your throat, eyes cold and uncaring.
”James Buchanan Barnes.”
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A/N: This chapter is the final chapter of the first 'arc', so I've decided. There is a high chance that this story will not be canon complicit from now on. (Also, this chapter is shorter compared to the last chapter, and not as high quality- for that, I'm relatively sorry, but not really.)
Word of warning, we might also get more Team Cap critical (as shown in this chapter), but I promise if that's the case, I'll try not to make it a reoccurring theme in this story. 'Resentment is corrosive, and I (live for it) hate it.' - T.S.
I'm planning on bumping up the speed at which the story is progressing- like, fast. My plan is that the next arc (10 canon chapters, maybe some special chapters) we'll deal with CA:TWS, AOU, and maybe CA:CW all in one go if I go with my current plans for AOU. (That also means each chapter will be significantly longer, too.) 
And as for the romance- I'll also try to include more scenes that aren't as subtle as hell (like the one with Steve and Thor before the last chapter). We'll see what goes on beyond that as we progress. Feel free to leave any suggestions as to how the plot should progress (or even suggestions for the romantic scenes lol). :)
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Masterlist
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Tagged: @unsolvetheheckoutofit
179 notes · View notes
graciebirdie · 5 years
Text
good news guys, apparently when i have homework that isn’t math procrastination gets me in the sort of a tiny bit okay way and not the freak out way.
so here have yet another time travel fic
***
Stiles woke up with a start.
He blinked rapidly as he tried to comprehend his surroundings.
It looked like... his childhood bedroom.
He hadn't been in his bedroom in his dad's house since the whole neighborhood had been totaled during an earthquake seven years ago.
Was he having a vivid nostalgia dream?
Probably not. If it was a dream a werewolf would be climbing through his window. That had been an almost nonstop occurrence from the time he found out werewolves were real to the day he moved out of his dad's house.
No, he didn't think he was dreaming. He sat up in bed and picked up his phone that was charging on the bedside table.
He flicked on the screen and gave a deep sigh when he saw the date.
It was not the day it should have been.
He should have been in 2004 but instead he was in 2011.
Specifically the day before Laura Hale had been killed.
He felt rage bubbling up under his skin, fury that he wasn't in the right place at the right time.
He had been very specific with the spell, he should be when he wanted to be.
But he wasn't and now he there wasn't anything he could do about it.
The spell was gone, never to be used again. The warnings about the spell had been clear but he hadn't been able to resist and now everything was wrong, wrong, wrong.
He heard a loud thump from the hallway and his dad yelled "Stiles! Get your laundry basket out of the hallway Jesus Christ."
Stiles' heart flipped.
His dad.
He felt a suspicious sting in his eyes and flung himself out of the bed and out of his room.
"Hey." he said breathlessly, staring at his dad standing there with his hands on his hips and an unimpressed look on his face.
"Have you been up all night?" he asked eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Phush." Stiles said, waving his hand dismissively. "I need to enjoy being able to pull all nighters while I can, I won't be able to forever you know."
What a surreal conversation to be having. After five years and the first thing he says to his dad is 'phush'?
His dad rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I know it's the last two days of winter break but don't spend all day sleeping okay? You have school on monday."
Oh god, high school. There was no way in hell or heaven that Stiles was going to be going back to high school again.
"Hey what time do you get off work tonight?" Stiles asked, wincing internally about the mere idea of dropping not just the werewolf bomb but a fucking time travel explosion.
His dad gave him a confused look. "Probably around eight. Why?"
Stiles shrugged, hoping it came off as casual. "Just wanted to know what time I should get dinner ready."
His dad hummed but didn't look very convinced. "If you say so. I've got to get to work now, make sure you actually do your laundry, don't just leave it in the basket."
Stiles saluted him and watched as he walked down the stairs. "You got it pops. Have fun at work today!"
Stiles heard a muttered 'if only' and walked back into his room in amusement.
He closed the door and then leaned back against it, putting his arm over his eyes and fought against a sob.
He stood there, shaking a little as he listened to the front door opening, closing, the cruiser starting up, and then his dad driving off to work.
He spent a few long minutes just breathing in shuddery watery breaths before he finally pulled himself together.
He might not be in the place he'd originally intended to be but now that he was there he wasn't going to waste this second chance.
And that's exactly what it was. A second chance. Stiles was going to do things, if not right, then at least smarter than last time.
He grabbed some clean clothes and tried not to wince at his teenage fashion sense. While it hadn't changed all that much over the years he liked to think he got better at wearing clothes that fit him. He supposed having body issues had been one of the bigger problems he'd had in high school, before werewolves that is.
After werewolves he'd sort of just stopped caring about what other people thought of him. It was shocking how much shit stopped bothering you after you've been almost murdered enough times.
Clothes acquired he took a very long very hot shower, and although he had to get out and go get his dad's  shampoo and body wash from his bath room because Stiles only had heavily scented Axe shit, it was still a wonderful shower.
Once he was clean, he realized he was starving so he bee lined for the kitchen, absently grabbing his laundry basket on the way because really, what was it doing in the hallway? That made no goddamn sense even to Stiles.
He made a ham sandwich and at it one handed while he used the other to write out a grocery list. Judging by the fridge contents, or lack thereof, no one had gone shopping for at least a week.
He supposed he could squeeze some shopping in between doing his laundry, deciding if he should just suck it up and do online school, saving Laura Hales' life, and visiting Peter in the hospital.
He probably even had homework he'd procrastinated on.
And he'd have to write a speech to give his dad, just to make sure he covered all the important parts.
Stiles sighed.
It looked like he was going to have a very busy day ahead of him.
***
He found Laura standing in front of the remains of her old house.
Stiles tried not to think about how weird it was to see her alive for the first time.
He could still vividly remember what she looked like as a dismembered corpse.
You really do never forget your first.
"Laura Hale?" he asked with a smile, hoping he didn't come off as creepy.
She turned to look at him, a flat expression on her face. Obviously she wasn't impressed or interested him in.
That was fine. He'd change one of those things soon enough.
"What." she said without inflection, just like Derek had.
Stiles fought back a wave of hurt at the thought.
Instead he smiled brightly at her and said, "I'm going to tell you something that's going to make sound absolutely insane."
She got a small little frown of annoyance on her face, just like Cora used to.
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down, not saying a word.
"I'm from the future." Stiles said plainly, doing jazz hands to accentuate his point.
She sneered at him. "Fuck off."
Stiles shrugged. He'd been expecting that reaction. At least she hadn't punched him.
"Believe me or not, I don't care. I only care to tell you one thing." Stiles said with a nonchalant shrug.
She bared her teeth at him a little but didn't tell him to fuck off again.
"You're going to be murdered tomorrow, just thought you'd want to know." Stiles said casually.
She hissed out a breath and raised her fist threateningly. "Leave me alone you sicko!" she yelled in fury.
Stiles held his hands up and backed away from her. "Hey don't shoot the messenger. I really did just want to tell you to take care of yourself, that's all." he didn't wait for her to reply before he hopped back into his jeep and drove off.
It didn't really matter if she believed him or not, the idea was in her head now and really that had been all Stiles really wanted to do in the first place.
Besides, it would probably work better if he went to the source of the problem.
***
Stiles slipped into the hospital with the ease of someone who'd snuck out of hospitals more times than was probably healthy.
It was almost laughable how there wasn't anyone around to see him walk into Peter's hospital room, or rather it would be laughable if it didn't mean that the place was woefully understaffed. There probably weren't enough nurses to take care of all the patients which meant that there was probably neglect going on.
That filled him with the sort of fury only someone who had had a loved one die in long term care could feel.
Peter was lying in bed, eyes closed looking like he was asleep but Stiles had no doubt that he was wide awake and wondering who the hell Stiles was and what he was doing in his room.
Stiles walked right over to the bed and climbed up onto it, sitting on his knees and leaning over Peter to look down at his face.
"Peeettter." he whispered.
Peter didn't even twitch and Stiles smirked at how much he must be freaking out over having a stranger looming over him.
Stiles knew he was making a hell of a first impression.
He reached out very lightly ran his index finger down the bridge of Peter's nose. His breathing didn't even chance.
Stiles had to admit that was pretty impressive.
"Hey, Peter." Stiles said, voice still very low just in case someone decided to actually do their job and check up on their patients.
He leaned even closer, putting his mouth right next to Peter's ear both because he knew it would be even creepier but also because it put his neck right in biting range and that would make Peter fell a little more in control of the situation.
It wouldn't matter how strong Stiles was if Peter got his teeth into him that would be that.
"Look Peter, I know you haven't been having the best time the last few years and normally I wouldn't care how you decided to become an alpha but the chain reaction really turned my life to shit so I was hoping you'd be willing to hold off for say, two more months at the maximum because..." Stiles paused here for dramatic effect and to let Peter try and figure out what was going on. "I know where the alpha pack is."
While Stiles was sure the temptation of the alpha pack wouldn't be enough to make Peter give up the easy target of Laura Stiles of course had more incentive.
"I know playing your alibi game for a while longer would be hard so I was thinking it might be fun for you to suddenly have a 'miraculous recovery'. Can't you just picture the look on Kate Argent's face when she hears she let her ego get in the way of taking care of a loose end? Wouldn't it be satisfying to have her do all your hard work for you, dealing with all her little accomplices before you put that final nail in her coffin, when she realizes she played right into your plan? I won't stop you, you know. You could do what you wanted to her and I won't bat an eye."
Stiles had to admit he'd never imagined he'd be playing the devil on Peter's shoulder. Besides, it was true, he hadn't even cared all that much the first time she'd died, or the second. Hell, if Peter asked Stiles would probably even help, just because Kate Argent was the worst kind of monster, the kind that thought actions didn't have consequences.
"Just mull that over." he leaned back up and climbed off the bed before he unfolded the blanket he'd brought for Peter.
He laid the blanket out across Peter, making sure to smooth it out just because he could. The blanket was soft and warm and absolutely saturated with Stiles' scent. It served a nice two fold purpose, to make sure Peter wouldn't forget what Stiles smelled like, and to remind Peter that Stiles existed, that he wasn't some ghost or product of his imagination.
The fact that it would be better than the scratchy blanket the hospital had was really just a bonus. While he was smoothing out invisible wrinkles and glance up at Peter's face with a smirk.
"Don't forget to bring this back when you come to see me." he said, voice full of confidence that Peter would be able to find him by scent alone.
Blanket in place he turned and started for the door before he paused, hand on the handle, to say "Oh, I told Laura to expect you, just so you know."
He walked out of the room, smirk firmly in place. He could practically hear Peter's furiously cursing.
Oh yes, Stiles was sure he'd made quite the impression.
He wouldn't be losing Peter's attention for a while.
There was just one last little end he needed to tie up, to really make it so that Peter wouldn't have any other choice than to do what Stiles wanted.
He walked right up to the nurses station, not pausing for a moment at the sight of one nurse sitting at a computer. She didn't look up at him, didn't glance up as he walked around the desk to use the computer behind her.
He poked at it for a few moments, trying to find the employee records, find the address of a certain night nurse.
He suspected that the computer didn't actually have what he wanted but it still gave him exactly what he asked for.
Stiles did so love having magic.
He walked out of the hospital with no one but Peter having known he was ever there.
***
Nurse Ratchet worked night shift so she was home when Stiles walked right into the backyard of her nice little town house and slipped through her unlocked back door.
He walked through the house and up the stairs, sneering over how normal it all looked, and slipped silently into her bedroom. She was fast asleep.
He almost felt bad for not giving her a fighting chance but with his luck if he woke her up she'd somehow manage to get away from him and just cause more trouble in the long run.
His gently slid his index finger along her forehead and watched impassively as she started to seize.
Just a few minutes and one brain aneurysm she was dead, natural causes happened to the best of them.
Of course he couldn't just leave without making sure that someone would find her little black book.
He found it in a false bottom of her bedside table and thumbed through it, eyes widening as he realized that she was a more prolific angel of death than he'd originally thought.
He didn't stop to count how many entries there were but she had to have had a hand in at least fifty deaths over the last fifteen years she'd worked at the hospital.
It was horrifying, and he wanted to bring her back so he could kill her again.
A quick relatively painless death had been too good for someone who killed people that couldn't defend themselves.
He sighed and shook his head. It was too late for that now.
He slipped the notebook into his pocket and resigned himself to another trip to the hospital.
***
He listened with half an ear as his dad bemoaned nature for taking away his chance to arrest a serial killer, but he was mostly playing attention to the forms he needed to fill out for online classes. Once he had everything filled out he waited for his dad to take a sip of coffee before he slid the papers across the table.
His dad blinked at them, eyebrows raised in surprise. "What's this?"
He smiled sweetly. "Online school."
His dad sat his coffee cup down and picked the papers up. "Um, any particular reason why you want to do online school and why you didn't talk to me about it before now?"
Stiles shrugged casually. "It just sort of came to me and you know how I get sometimes."
His dad narrowed his eyes. "Sometimes..." he muttered, squinting at the papers as if he was trying to see the catch.
"I'd still have to attend lectures, they would just be done over the computer." Stiles pointed out helpfully.
His dad sighed and set the papers aside to give Stiles his full attention. "Okay, out with. What's going on?"
Stiles tried to look serious and said "I'm done."
His dad waited and then waved his hand, motioning Stiles to continue talking.
Stiles thought for a moment, weighing whether or not he should just explain everything to his dad. Last time he hadn't it hadn't worked out well for their relationship. They'd worked it out in the end, eventually, but it had never really felt the same. He chewed his lip nervously and eyed his dad. "So, what if I told you I time traveled from the future and don't want to deal with going to high school for a second time?"
His dad instantly looked horrified. "Stiles..." he said carefully.
And Stiles sighed. He knew what he was about to say, what he was about to suggest. He could practically see stress lines forming on his face from just the one sentence.
Stiles waved his hand and for a moment his dad's face was slack before it went back to patent expectation.
"I want to give it a try." Stiles said with an uncomfortable smile. "If it doesn't work out in six months I can go back to public school."
His dad sighed and shook his head but he picked up the pen laying in front of Stiles sighed the paperwork.
"Kid, you know if you ever need to talk to me, you can." he said, giving Stiles a slightly sad but encouraging smile.
Stiles smiled back. "Yeah, I know dad."
***
Stiles was wandering around the preserve with a ziplock of stake in one hand and an empty, magicked pack on his back.
Things were going pretty well, for some reason.
Scott was only mildly sad that Stiles wasn't in school anymore, apparently he had a brand new girlfriend who, according to Scott, was an angel.
Stiles' dad was making more of an effort to spend time with Stiles, Stiles suspected that he'd thought Stiles asking to be taken out of public school was some kind of cry for help.
Laura Hale was still alive and there hadn't been any reports of dead bodies in the woods.
Peter hadn't come by to see Stiles but that was okay, he wasn't expecting him to yet.
There wasn't much left on Stiles' List that was time sensitive but there was one thing he wanted to do sooner rather than later.
He followed the soft pull of the tracking spell he'd cast and after following Malia around for more than an hour she finally seemed to decide to stop running away from him, probably curious about what he was up to.
He sat down on a large exposed tree root and opened the ziplock to let the scent of the meat into the air.
He pulled a few of the small chunks out and tossed them around him, hoping to tempt Malia into coming close enough for Stiles to see her.
"Hey, Malia. Come and get some stake. I made it nice and medium rare, just for you." he called.
He saw the slightest rustle of a bush, for a moment a tiny snout poked out before it disappeared again.
That was fine. Stiles had all day.
***
Malia didn't like the magic bag, she didn't like the house, she didn't like the backyard, and she especially didn't like Stiles.
Stiles knew she'd get over it eventually.
He was more concerned with how his dad was going to react to Stiles coming home with a 'dog'.
He crossed his arms and stared Stiles down through narrowed eyes. "What the hell kid?"
"She's obviously scared and abandoned! I couldn't just leave her on the side of the road!" Stiles said pleadingly.
Malia growled from where she was hiding under the couch, both helping Stiles' case and hurting his chances of his dad accepting her. If he thought she dangerous he'd say no but if he thought she just needed a gentle hand he'd be more accepting.
Something in Stiles' face or Malia's behavior must have convinced him because his shoulders dropped and he rubbed his face in his patented 'What am I getting myself into?' gesture.
"You're going to take after her?" he asked, sounding resigned. Stiles nodded enthusiastically. "And if you don't I'll take her to the humane society myself." Stiles nodded even harder.
His dad sighed in defeat.
***
Stiles woke up to someone pounding on the front door.
He rolled over and groaned, throwing his arm over his eyes and wondered if he ignored them long enough they'd leave him alone. But the pounding didn't stop so he eventually got up.
He threw the door open, not caring at all that he was in his ratty pajamas and sporting morning breath. They'd woken him up they could deal with him the way he was.
"What the hell do you want? Some of us don't wake up at the crack of dawn you know." he snarled, glaring Laura and Derek Hale down.
Laura sneered at him. "It's after one in the afternoon."
Stiles shrugged. "What's your point?"
Laura looked completely done with his shit and pushed past him into the house, wrinkling her nose as she passed him.
Derek hesitated to follow her, glancing from her to Stiles and back again nervously.
Stiles sighed deeply and stepped out of the way, sweeping his arm out and said "Come on in I guess."
Derek awkwardly slid past him into the house and practically flew over to stand next to his sister.
Stiles stared at them, baffled over Derek's attitude, or rather, lack thereof.
He closed the door and walked over to the couch, flopping down onto it and staring at the two Hales, waiting for one of them to start talking.
Laura pulled a long slim crystal out of her pocket and held it in her palm. "Tell me you're from the future again." she said, staring Stiles down like she expected him to deny it now that there was a witness to his crazy.
"I'm from the future." Stiles said in amusement.
The crystal in her palm glowed softly for a moment and Laura stared at it in shock.
She sat down hard on his dad's armchair. "Fuck." she hissed.
Stiles hummed softly in agreement.
He felt something sharp snap against his ankle and he hissed, pulling his leg off the floor and glaring down at the space under the couch.
"Malia be nice! We have company." he scolded.
Malia stuck her pointy little nose out and chittered angrily.
Stiles sent Laura and Derek a fake apologetic look. "Sorry about her, she's still learning manners."
Derek leaned forward actually looking eager, nose twitching adorably. "What is it?"
"She's a coyote." Stiles said in amusement.
"Why the fuck do you have a coyote in your house?" Laura asked, baffled.
Stiles rolled his eyes. "She's not a normal coyote. She's a werecoyote who's having a bit of an identity crisis."
"I've never met a werecoyote before." Derek said, getting up and kneeling on the floor to try and see Malia.
Stiles slid across the couch so Derek could shuffle closer, whispering sweet encouraging words at her, and gently coaxing her to come out from under the couch.
Stiles glanced over at Laura to see how she was reacting and saw that she had a soft proud little smile on her face.
Stiles felt an old familiar pang of sadness for Derek. He'd rarely seen him act like that, so calm and peaceful. It made him look at Derek's relationship with Laura in a new light.
He'd always known that Derek loved his sister but seeing the way he was when she was around was enlightening.
Laura looked at Stiles and raised a pointed eyebrow.
Stiles smiled sweetly at her.
Her eyes narrowed. "You never told me who wanted to kill me."
"I didn't?" Stiles asked, eyes widening in mock surprise.
She didn't look impressed. "You know you didn't."
Stiles hummed in thought.
Peter hadn't made a miraculous recovery yet but Stiles wasn't surprised. It had only been just over a week, he was probably trying to get back as much strength as he could, make up a plan and a few backup plans, before he let Kate know she should come back to Beacon Hills and tie up loose ends.
The problem with telling Laura about Peter was that Stiles didn't know how she would react. And Stiles knew for a fact that his these aren't the droids you're looking for magic trick didn't work on werewolves.
"Well, do you have any ideas about who it could be?" Stiles asked, interested in what she had to say and stalling her at the same time.
She glanced at Derek but he seemed like he was pointedly ignoring them, paying more attention to scratching Malia under the chin with his finger tip.
On the one hand now that he'd seen the way Derek acted with Laura alive he actually cared a little if she died but on the other hand there was every possibility that if she knew she might take matters into her own hands while she still could. Or not help Peter once he woke up.
Stiles huffed and decided that if she went after Peter she'd deserve what he did to her and if she didn't let him in the pack, Stiles would just handle that.
He'd rather deal with Peter being annoying than Peter being actively murderous.
"When was the last time you saw your uncle?" he asked pointedly.
Her mouth dropped open, eyes wide in shock while Derek's head shot up and he looked between Stiles and Laura in horror.
"He wouldn't..." Derek whispered, and then winced when he realized that he and his sister had left Peter all alone and defenseless and that Peter very much would if he had to.
"So Peter killed me, ah, before?" Laura asked, drawing herself up contemplatively.
"You left him here to go crazy, what did you expect?" Stiles asked, amused at her mixed emotions.
Laura's jaw clenched. "I expected him-" she cut herself off with a glance at Derek.
That was interesting. Stiles supposed she must know about Derek's accidental hand in the fire and didn't want to add any guilt on him.
Stiles hummed. "Well he woke up and wasn't very happy with you."
Laura looked away in thought.
The three of them were quiet for a few minutes, Laura was probably thinking about what to do with Peter while Derek had managed to coxe Malia out to sit next to him. Stiles let her stew.
Finally after it seemed like she couldn't come up with a good way to handle the situation herself he said "I already told Peter that I told you he wanted to kill you."
Her head snapped up and she narrowed her eyes at him while Derek made a soft barely audible unhappy sound.
"So he's already awake then?" Laura asked.
Stiles smiled at her.
For a moment she looked haunted and Stiles almost felt sorry for her.
"If it makes you feel better I have a way to make him less mad at you." Stiles said with a smirk.
She bared her teeth at him in a snarl.
"Cora's still alive." Stiles said plainly.
Laura's eyes when huge and her mouth dropped open while Derek gasped and pulled himself onto the couch next to Stiles.
"She is?" he asked eagerly, leaning closer. "Where is she?"
Stiles looked at Laura pointedly. "It'll take you a couple of weeks to get her, that should be just enough time for Peter's temper to cool off." he paused and smiled at Derek. "Especially if you go see him and bring Malia."
***
Stiles was outside in the backyard, staring up at the full moon.
He could practically feel the anticipation in the air.
Peter had woken up a week ago and Kate Argent had gotten into town that morning.
Malia and Derek were at Derek's new loft and his dad was at work so Peter should be showing up any minute.
He felt Peter before he saw him, even in the bright moonlight he was still a shadow.
Stiles tipped his head to look at the part of the fence that backed into the treeline.
"It's about time!" he said with a grin. "I've been expecting you for weeks!"
He could practically hear Peter's eye roll. "You sent me a distraction, remember?"
He slipped out of the shadows and across the lawn to drop the blanket Stiles had left him. It was still warm from Peter's body heat and Stiles shook it out to wrap it around himself.
To Stiles' surprise Peter dropped down to sit on the grass next to Stiles instead of looming threateningly over him.
He was quiet for a long time, just staring at Stiles and Stiles sat up so they could be face to face. It was a bit odd to see Peter with his scars again but considering the first time Stiles had seen him he'd had them he thought it was an interesting full circle moment that probably didn't mean anything.
"Thank you." he said finally.
Stiles eyes widened in shock. "For what?" he asked, baffled.
Peter looked amused. "You gave me family, pack again."
And for as long as Stiles had known Peter he'd always known that he cared about his pack, in his own way, but it had never occurred to him that if he'd just had some when he first woke up that he might turn out a bit more sane.
Stiles tipped his head and narrowed his eyes. "Are you still planning on doing something about Kate Argent?"
Peter grinned at him, showing teeth that seemed a bit too sharp. "Of course I am."
And yeah, okay, he was still Peter.
Stiles grinned back and wiggled a little closer. "Are you going to let me help?"
Peter leaned closer, meeting Stiles halfway. He slid his nose against Stiles' cheek and huffed out a little laugh. "Of course you can help, I think you've more than earned it."
Stiles hummed and shifted again to brush their mouths together in the way he'd always wanted but never got the chance to.
Peter gently pressed closer, softly urging Stiles to lay back down in the grass. "Although I'm am mad you got your hands on my nurse before I could."
Stiles giggled and pulled Peter right down onto him. "I'll make it up to you." he promised and kissed him again.
152 notes · View notes
cutesuki--bakugou · 4 years
Text
Destination Procrastination
Main Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x Koge Naegi (OC)
Rating: Teen
Words:  2815
Genre: Fluff / Humor
Warnings: Cursing
a/n: @aizawasbedtimestories helped to inspire this wonderfully cute idea, so I just had to do it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Just cute fluffy early-relationship stuff that I live for. 
“What do you mean you need help? Utsuro, you’re a whole year ahead of me, I don’t know what the fuck you’re learning in math!” Bakugou glowered down at Koge as she stood patiently outside of his dorm room door, her entry blocked by her agitated boyfriend. “And you just showed up out of nowhere, what if I had shit to do tonight!” 
“Do you?” The simple and direct question from the petite woman instantly brought heat to Bakugou’s ears. He expected such a response, but what he didn’t expect was for him to want to give in to her request so easily. They had only been dating for a couple of months at this point, and though they had been best friends for most of their young teenage lives, how close he had gotten to her romantically had been a bit staggering. He had thought that it was maybe a little too fast, and though all these feelings were new, he wasn’t necessarily scared of them. Instead, Bakugou knew damn well that if she came inside his room right now, there would be no studying. 
Koge was easily distracted, especially by him. There would be an attempt at first, but it wouldn’t last. No, she’d start rambling on about something pointless, or talk him into turning on a movie of some kind so they could waste their night away. Which, if he was honest, was something that he would enjoy much more than studying math. Trying to use the excuse that he didn’t know what she was learning wouldn’t work, as he had already bragged to her how advanced in the curriculum he was, leaving all those ‘extras’ behind. So sure, he could help her, if he could keep her on track. 
“No, I don’t.” Bakugou responded in the same blunt manner as her question, narrowing his eyes at her as he leaned on the doorframe, hands shoved into his sweatpants pockets. “But still, it’s common courtesy to ask first!” 
Tilting her head casually to the side a bit, Koge hummed softly, rocking back and forth on her feet. “Well, since you have no plans, will you help me study? Please? This shit is really confusing!” With a frustrated huff, Koge glared down at the large textbook in her hands. “I’ve never been good at math…” 
“And what do I get out of it?” 
Shifting her backpack off her shoulders, she presented it to him. “I bring tribute in the form of chips and candy for the all mighty uh… Boom-Boom God.” 
Unable to resist an amused chortle and smirk, Bakugou took the bag from her, starting to open it as he turned to go back into his room. “Enter then, mortal.” Smiling, Koge made her way into the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. 
“You should be nice and want to help me even without incentives, Katsuki.” 
Bakugou gave a click of his tongue as he dug out the snacks, putting two bottles of soda onto the small table next to his bed. “Who said I wouldn’t have? You were the one that brought them.” His attention was pulled down to her as she stopped beside him, placing her hand softly on his back. Knowing that was a silent wish for affection, he released the bag to put an arm around her torso, leaning in to kiss her lips softly. “Are you actually going to focus, though, Utsuro? Or are you going to be distracted the entire time?” 
Tossing her book down onto the bed, Koge hugged him tightly, prompting another kiss from him. “Hmmmm, I dunno, Katsuki. Will you get distracted?” 
“No!” The third and final kiss was rough and playful, before he released her to continue searching the backpack. “You put me to a task, I focus on that shit.” 
Giggling, Koge flopped to sit on the mattress, scooting back until she was leaning up against the wall. “Uh huh, sure.” 
“What, are you challenging me, Utsuro?!” 
“Yes!” Koge smirked, slapping her hand against the cover of her textbook. “Whoever tries to give up first has to buy dinner next--” 
“-- I always buy dinner anyway--!” 
“--Deal?” Koge held out her hand, waiting for him to shake it. With a huff, Bakugou glared at her for a moment before he took her hand, giving it a rough shake that nearly moved her whole body. 
“Fine! Here’s your stupid notebook and pen.” Bakugou tossed them onto her lap once pulling them from the bag, snatching his favorite spicy chips before settling in on the bed beside her. “So what’s the problem?” 
“It’s these equations…” Koge flipped to the correct page in her textbook, pulling it to the side a bit so that it was balancing on both of their thighs. “These are the questions that were given to us for homework, but I can’t figure out what the heck you’re supposed to do to solve these dumb things! I’ve read it over and over. It makes sense for a second, but the instant I try to work on the problems, my brain farts.” 
Bakugou took a moment to read over the problems and the section on how to go about solving them, silent until he had finished the chapter. “These are pretty similar to what we are going through right now, too. Pen--” With a snap of his fingers, Koge placed the pen in his hand and scooted her open notebook towards him, watching him curiously as he began to write out the first problem. 
“Take these sections and split them into four... solving for x each time… Combine them back into two sections….” How easily Bakugou went into calm teacher mode was something he could never really figure out, but if he were honest, he enjoyed it. At least, while he was explaining what the steps were. He knew that the instant anyone showed any confusion after that point, he had a tendency to snap and get frustrated. But, Koge was a decently quick learner, so he hoped his methods were easy for her to understand. “Now you have this number here, and then it’s easy to solve from there. It’s just stripping it down.” 
Giving a confused hum as Bakugou circled the answer he came up with, Koge opened the very back of the textbook to double check. Sure enough, his answer was correct. “Wow Katsuki, you got that so easily! No matter how I tried, I couldn’t find that number.” 
“I know my shit, Utsuro. You came to me for a reason, didn’t you?” Handing her back her pen, he glowered down at her as she merely shrugged. “Excuse me?!” 
“Well sure, I know you’re super smart, but I also have no other friends that could help me. Nene is kind of uh… Math isn't her thing.” 
“You’re calling her stupid.” 
“No! No, I’m not! She’s just… She’s not good for studying with. But you always do a great job teaching me, so of course I come to you for help. The fact that you’re my super cute boyfriend has nothing to do with it.” Kissing his shoulder softly, Koge turned her attention back to her work. 
“Nothing at all?” Bakugou began to much on his chips, watching as she attempted to copy what he had done for the second question. “Not even one percent?” 
“Maybe like… ninety-nine percent. The other one percent is strictly academic.” 
Chuckling, Bakugou held out a chip towards her mouth, which she ate without question. “Whatever, you loser. No, no, you use this number here--” Bakugou tapped on the correct number, leaving a light red powdery smudge from the chips on her notebook paper. “--Shit, my bad. Whatever, that’s not your final homework paper, anyway.” Trying to wipe it away with a swipe of his hand, he only made it worse, which made Koge burst out into giggles as his cheeks flushed. “Fuck!” 
“It’s okay, Katsuki.” Koge wiped away what she could before she continued with the problem. “I’m going to rewrite all of the problems in a prettier format once I get them all figured out.” 
“Tch, you and your aesthetic. Just turn in what you write the first time, it’s such a waste of time to make it all… nice.” 
“Is not! It’s professional and nice to turn in your work so it’s easy for our teachers to understand. And then when I get it back, it’s easy for me to keep it for notes and see what I did, or keep track of corrections that the teacher makes. It’s better than your chicken scratch- ah, hey!” In retaliation to her teasing him, Bakugou gave her pen a flick while she was writing, creating an uneven line across the page. “- Rude!” 
“I do not write in chicken scratch! My handwriting is fine! At least it’s not excessively perfect like yours is. You write slow, like a damn old hag. No, Utsuro, this number here and that section divided to find x!” Bakugou corrected her again, though his frustration both from her teasing and mistakes was already starting to peak. “Turn that fraction into a decimal!” 
“You’d better fraction your attitude, mister, or I’ll be multiplying your serving of whoop-ass.” Koge gave his pointing finger a smack with her pen, ignoring his growl as he took his hand back. 
“That doesn’t even make sense!” 
“Puns don’t have to make sense...”
“Yes, they do.” 
“Shut up.” Mumbling as she tried to focus, Koge placed her book and notepad down on the bed, leaning forward over it with a heavy sigh. “This number… here… and… dang it, what is that squared…?” 
“A square.”
Huffing, Koge glowered at Bakugou over her shoulder, though she only got an annoyed glare back as he stuffed chips into his mouth. “You’re on fire today.” 
“I’m on fire always.” Bakugou held another chip to her mouth, which Koge ate again before focusing on her work. 
“You are,” Koge pulled her hair over one shoulder, finding it annoying how it tickled her back. “Smokin’.” 
A comfortable silence fell between them as Koge continued her work, with Bakugou watching and waiting for any mistake or sign of confusion. Occasionally, he fed her another chip, which she ate without question, and by the time she finished five of the ten required questions, the bag was empty. 
Getting a bit frustrated, Koge groaned out loudly, slumping down and hiding her face in the book. “I hate this…” 
“When’s it due?” Bakugou ran his hand up and down along her back, his focus mostly on his phone. Sighing, Koge stayed in her position, obviously enjoying the rub down. 
“In two days. But I have an essay due on the same day, which I had been focusing on instead for the past week. Second year is hard! Mm, that feels good, a little harder?” She groaned out in satisfaction as Bakugou pressed harder into her skin, massaging her sore muscles. “That’s the good stuff…” 
Bakugou scoffed, feeling a bit of heat rise into his ears as he continued. There were still things that they were getting comfortable with when it came to physical touch, and although boundaries were coming down quicker than expected, things still tended to embarrass him. Surprisingly, they had only recently gotten more into the simple and horrifically sinful act of cuddling. Yes, cuddling, something so sickeningly cutesy that he could never openly admit that it was something he enjoyed. Not only did he like to do it, but it was something that he found himself craving. 
Just laying down and holding Koge was oddly relaxing to him. Stroking her skin or running his fingers through her hair while she rested against him was like silent therapy, giving him a chance to clear his mind and truly rest. They could talk about anything within the privacy of their embrace, to work through emotions or personal problems that they couldn’t share with anyone else. He wanted her in his arms as often as he could, and much to his annoyance, that included right now. But he knew that if he even tried to bring it up, he would lose the bet they had set at the beginning of all this, and he couldn’t let that happen. 
“Giving up already, Utsuro?” He let his hand slide up to her neck, stroking along her hairline with his thumb. 
“No! I only have a few more to do, but I hate it.” 
“Finish.” Reluctantly taking his hand from her skin, he playfully flipped her hair over her head so that it was spread out and uncomfortable. Ignoring it for the moment, Koge whined as she stretched her arms out in front of her, popping stiff joins in her arms and shoulders. Without a word, she shifted up onto her hands and knees, crawling over his legs as she tried to reach for her soda with as little effort as possible. Of course, laziness only made it more difficult, so she was barely able to reach the bottle even as she stretched out as far as she could. 
Her torso hovering over his legs, Bakugou had to lean to the side a bit to avoid her leg, which lifted in an effort to make her more balanced. “Utsuro, you’re such a lazy fuck.” Smirk crossing his lips, he grabbed onto the calf of the leg that was supporting her, giving it a yank backwards. With a squeak, Koge was brought down onto his legs, whining with the impact of his knee to her gut. 
“Ow! Katsuki!” Koge glared up at him as he snickered, barely able to keep hold of her soda bottle that had almost been lost over the edge of the bed. “We aren’t in kindergarten anymore, picking on me isn’t a sign of affection!” 
“Oh, it’s not?” Bakugou gripped onto her thigh right behind her knee, giving it a good squeeze. Koge instantly burst out into laughter, kicking her legs and squirming to try and get away. “I thought that’s what you liked about me, Utsuro!” 
“N-no, I don’t! Ow-- Katsuki-- wait!!” Her laughter became more uncontrollable as his torture moved up to her ribs, her bottle of soda lost to the floor as she tried to push him off instead. Able to twist her body, she settled between his legs on her back, resting her feet against the wall above his shoulders. “Stop, I might kick you in the face!” 
“You’d regret that if you did!” Bakugou finally stopped his tickling as she requested, ignoring her feet as the fell to rest on his shoulders. “You’re getting distracted from your work.” 
“Because of you!” Koge pointed an accusing finger at him. “You attacked me! Ow, don’t bite my ankle! You’re such a piranha!” 
Chuckling, Bakugou gripped both of her ankles, bringing her feet down to rest on his chest instead. “You’re just so bite-able, Utsuro. Like a fucking saltlick.” 
Koge sighed as she wiggled her toes, slipping both of her arms under his legs to squeeze them tighter against her sides. “Only horses light saltlicks, Katsuki. Are you a horse?” 
“Shut up. Do your homework.” Even though he commanded this, his hands traveled up a bit under her sweatpants, simply stroking from her toes to the middle of her shins. Koge smiled, turning her head to kiss the bare skin of his leg softly. 
“But this is so much more fun. I like laying with you like this.” 
“Does that mean you’re giving up?” 
Pouting, Koge hummed softly in thought, glaring at the book and notebook still open beside them. “Then that means I lose if I say yes… I can’t let you win so easily.” Releasing his legs, Koge instead let them rest over her stomach. “But I just don’t want to do it anymore.” 
Taking her feet off his chest, he let her legs fall so they were instead on either side of his hips. “So…?” 
After a moment of contemplation and glaring at the ceiling, Koge let out a heavy groan. “Fine! I quit--wha-!” The instant the words left her mouth, Bakugou grabbed her by the arms. In one swift movement, he pulled her up onto his lap before wrapping his arms around her torso and falling over to the side. Koge was giggling by the time they landed, nuzzling her face into his chest as he squeezed her close. “Ooh, is this what you wanted?” 
“Yes,” Bakugou grumbled as he buried his face in her white hair, his hand sliding up her back to caress her figure to him tightly. It was what he had wanted from the very beginning, to hold her close and let all the days worries fade away for them both. “You punk.” 
“You could have just told me that’s what you wanted, Katsuki. Screw studying, I’d rather cuddle, too.” 
“And that’s why you suck at math.” 
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Note
can you do a ship prompt for polypie but like mission goes super wrong and one actually dies for like real and,,, sadnesss
(First of all, I just wanna apologize to anon for how long this took?? I kept forgetting to take my medicine because I was off my medicine,,,It literally only took a few hours to write I was just too busy procrastinating and being gay (also adhd but shh.))
The Asylum Case
Rating: PG-13, SFW
Ship: Poly P.I.E. (Ghost/Toast/Spooker/Colon)
Warnings: Lots of angst, Major Character Death, Descriptions of intense pain, Sadness >:3 (Tell me if I missed anything!)
Summary: Ghost recounts exactly how he got into his current predicament, which is dying.
Word Count: 1,829
They’re approximately 30 minutes into the investigation when everything, in Ghost’s humble opinion, goes to shit. “But every P.I.E. investigation goes to shit!” you say. Yes, that is, in fact, true, but Ghost has decided that bleeding out on the floor - very slowly, might he add, which is decidedly not fun - constitutes the creation of a new category of “gone to shit”. “But,” you say, “Why not just respawn?” and again, usually, Ghost would do just that - but there’s just one issue; he can’t. Let’s rewind.
They entered the decrepit asylum, joking and teasing and generally enjoying each other’s company - unsuspecting of the horrors yet to come. Once they were inside, the ghost wasted no time in introducing itself; it screamed its sob-story from nowhere in particular, voice bouncing off the walls and echoing down each corridor, all lined with empty cells. Ghost thought he heard sobbing from the one beside him, and so, using the keys the caretaker - who had been the one to call them to investigate, and who looked about as old and decrepit as the asylum - had given him, unlocked the door and (ignoring the disapproving sigh from Toast, and the alarmed yelps from the other two) entered. A girl sat huddled in the corner, long, matted, black hair cascading over her small form, blocking her face. Her tattered white dress hung loosely, and one sleeve slid from her small trembling shoulder as he approached and knelt down. A familiar dread washed over Ghost as he gently asked, “K-Katrina?”
Abruptly, the girl stopped shaking, before giggling once, twice, and then, neck cracking violently, her head shot up and she stared into his eyes with a wide, manic smile. He edged away, wondering why the others hadn’t entered, hadn’t said anything, hadn’t even made a sound since he’d approached Katrina, but he couldn’t look back, not now, because when he stumbled to his feet, backing away, she followed, neck craning oddly to one side. “Katrina-” he started, pleading, “Kat, hey, it’s me, Johnny! Remember?” He fumbled for the door handle, careening into the hall when it opened. No one else was there.
“Yessssss,” Katrina hissed, drawling, “I remember youuuu…” but she didn’t slow her advance; instead, she just kept hurtling towards him. As he ducked beneath a wild swing of her claw, he glimpsed it - the small, red, rope-pattern lines wrapping around her neck, exposed by its unnatural angle - and choked back a sob. “God, Kat, I’m sorry - I’m so sorry!” he heard himself plead. She didn’t seem to hear him, only muttered, “Johnny, Johnny, I remember, yes I remember Johnny. Johnny!” and took another swing. He scrambled back, gritting his teeth when a razor nail clipped his shoulder, and Katrina’s crazed grin widened. Something inside Ghost twitched at the sight, but he pushed it down, he didn’t have time to panic. “Toast?” he called as he scrambled down the empty hallways, “Spook? Colon?!”
No one answered, and Ghost felt his heart sink.
He fumbled with the keyring, detached it from his belt loop - which proved to be much more difficult while his hands shook violently - and jammed a key into the first lock he came across, throwing open the cell door and slamming it behind him, locking it back.
The old door’s hinges creaked dangerously with the force of Katrina’s hands slamming against it, and Johnny could only pray they didn’t give out under the stress. Slowly, the banging subsided and, hand over heart, he sighed in relief. Pulling out his phone, he hit Toast’s contact, and pulled the phone to his ear, listening to it ring. It clicked, and Toast’s blurted in a near-shout, “Sir, where the fuck are you?!” in the background he heard a short hysterical laugh, and Ghost felt one of his own bubble out past the tightness in his chest and the burning in his shoulder. “Just getting chased by a murderous vision from the past - you know, the usual.”
“Are you injured?”
“She nicked me, but its nothing serious.”
“Don’t do anything dangerous,” Spooker said in the background, “A ghost said we can’t respawn here and we don’t want to chance them being right.”
“Where are you, Sir? We’ll come find you.”
“Er,” Ghost muttered, trying to recall where he was, “I’m in a locked cell right now, not sure what floor - I think it’s B-hall though, so first floor probably,” he paused, putting on a cheery, guide-like voice, “Just follow the sounds of screeching and growling, and you should see a crazy lady pacing outside the door,” he said peeking through the small, barred window. Katrina spotted him and slammed a palm against the door, snarling. “take a sharp turn there and - remember this step because it is crucial okay? - sock her right in the face.”
Toast barked out a sharp, brittle laugh, “We’ll do our best.”
“I’ll see you in a few, I’m gonna hang up now because I don’t want to attract too much attention - these ancient hinges don’t exactly appreciate the abuse we’re putting them through.”
“Alright Sir, be careful.”
And careful he was, but you can’t exactly count on ghosts to obey the laws of physics, or even manners, really, because out of the blue, there was the caretaker, and boy did he look smug. “What a lovely reunion between old friends,” he croaked, “It’s almost enough to warm my cold, dead heart!” then cackled wildly. When Ghost didn’t so much as blink in surprise, he sobered, snapping at him, “Why aren’t you surprised? Everything went perfectly, none of you suspected a thing!”
“Dude, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I hunt ghosts for a living; this plot-twist happens every other week.”
“Damn! Well, either way, you’re gonna die here, so I guess it doesn’t really matter. Dead men tell no tales and all that.”
“Again, hate to do this, but literally every case a ghost says something along the lines of “Ohohoho you’re gonna die anyway, so it doesn’t really matter!” and here I am, alive and only slightly harmed.” Another bang reverberated around the room, and Ghost shuffled uncomfortably but couldn’t look away from the immediate threat.
“Oh, uh, exactly how many cases have you done?”
“Dunno,” Ghost shoved his hands into his pockets, “I’ve been doing this since I was like, sixteen, and our schedule’s kinda all over the place because you can’t really predict when a ghost is gonna show up, but we get at least three to seven cases a week, and about half of them are real.” Another slam, followed by creaking and a final loud rattling sound.
“Huh, half, really?”
“Yeah, people are stupid.”
“Agreed. Speaking of stupid, you let your guard down.”
“Oh.” Things seemed to slow down, a sharp pain stabbing through his back. He looked down, watching three claw-like fingers withdraw from his chest, leaving three little holes all the way through. He collapsed, head falling to the side as he coughed wetly, tasting iron. Almost calmly, he watched as blood pooled around him, before glancing up to the doorway, where the door had been ripped open, and now teetered ominously on its hinges. Katrina loomed over him, blood coating her claws.
And that’s it, that’s how he got here. Seconds later, he hears someone shout his name, and he feels the caretaker’s presence vanish. Katrina glances back, but it doesn’t give her enough time to react before a bullet rips through her solid form, followed by another, then another. She screeches and stumbles back, blindly tripping over the lump of Ghost while trying to shield herself from the incoming bullets. He groans as she falls over him, kicking his wounds. The puddle beneath him ripples, blood traveling in tiny rivers through the imperfections in the concrete floor. Absently, Ghost notes that his sight has gone fuzzy at the edges, and black static is creeping in. Katrina lets out one last screech before disappearing, and as soon as she’s gone Toast, Spooker, and Colon all rush to his side. He smiles weakly as Colon pulls his head into his lap, eyes watery. The other two looked similarly panicked, and Ghost finds himself wheezing, “Hey, it’s really not that bad, okay? You guys can just carry me out of here and I can respawn.” Blood bubbles in his throat as he speaks, and he has to turn to the side to cough it up when it scratches at his throat.
The others glance at each other and Ghost frowns, confused. “What?”
“If we moved you now,” Spooker explains, chewing his lip, “you’d probably die of blood loss before we got outside. And I’m not a doctor but I’m pretty sure you have a punctured lung.”
Ghost’s brows furrow and he laughs sadly. “Sucks to be me I guess…” he ignores the liquid gathering in the back of his mouth, swallowing. “Anybody here magically know first aid?”
They all grimace, shaking their heads. “Ah, well, worth a shot,” he rasps. He feels a tear drip down, catching on his jaw. His chest burns; a hot-cold sensation that tears through him every time he breathes. He can’t focus his eyes anymore, but he looks at the blurry figures he knows are his closest companions - the loves of his life - and smiles, even as more tears follow and he chokes down a gasp of pain. Someone’s holding his face and speaking to him gently, and he can’t understand the words, but he thinks it might be Colon, so he looks up at him. At the same time as a pair of lips meet his temple, and then again and again, until he’s being peppered with kisses. He can feel the body under him shaking now, and through the white-hot burning and the growing ringing in his ears, he makes out stammered apologies and ‘I-love-you’s, and he feels it aching in his bones because it’s not their fault, he did this, and he wishes all the way down to his core that he could go back, that he could undo the pain he knows paints their faces, but he can’t - he’s going to die here, slowly, painfully. The ringing is piercing now and the black static has spread to cover most of his vision, and he thinks he might be screaming, or apologizing, saying goodbye, but he can’t hear anything over the ringing so it’s possible that when he tries to tell them “I love you too” it comes out garbled and incomprehensible. His throat is raw now so he must be screaming, and it’s all so loud until suddenly everything stops.
There’s no ringing, or panic, or crying, or pain. Just empty blackness and total silence. He can’t move, because there’s nowhere to go, there’s nothing here, there’s only void. That is, until the sound of a single raindrop, followed by another, then another, breaks the silence, and like waking up, Ghost blinks, and finds himself standing in front of a grave.
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