#got lazy with the lighting and shading lmao

[snarky-art]

Ouroboros

#loz #legend of Zelda #totk #tears of the kindom spoilers #tears of the kingdom #Zelda #princess Zelda #light dragon #botw #botw 2 #breath of the wild #procreate #illustration #digital art #artists on tumblr #got lazy with shading and shit so calling it here lmao

[libraryofgage]

Good Vibrations Two

This AU got a lot more attention than I expected actually hfjdks I'm so glad everyone likes it!

Anyway, here's part two! We get some concert, some peeks at how Robin helps Steve navigate social situations, and a little Eddie having an itsy-bitsy crisis over Steve's fashion choices.

Have fun! And, as always, if you see any typos, no you didn't (especially for this one since I wrote most of it on my phone actually lmao)

----

Steve stares at the shirts laid out on his bed, arms crossed over his chest. Choosing jeans had been easy, but choosing a shirt is giving him trouble. What do you wear to a metal show at the local dive bar for a small-town band in which the lead singer is a long-time and way-out-of-your-league crush that you've been holding a candle for since the first time you saw him laugh on top of a cafeteria table?

You definitely don't show up in a plain black shirt, that's for sure.

The lights in the hall outside Steve's room flicker, switching off and on three times. Steve just barely notices, which means he doesn't get his pants scared off when Robin appears in the doorway, grinning at him while pocketing the key to the front door he'd given her months ago into a messenger bag. "Hey, dingus," she says, striding into the room and flopping onto the bed.

Steve rolls his eyes, yanking the shirts out from under her and laying them once more over Robin's stomach and legs. "What shirt should I wear?" he asks.

It takes a few seconds for Steve to look from the shirts to Robin, and she patiently waits until he's staring at her to say, "Just pick one. Nobody's gonna care what you're wearing."

"I care," Steve says, frowning as he looks back at the shirts. For the aforementioned crush reason, Steve cares very much about the shirt he wears. "What says 'Hi, we've never talked before but your music is the only thing I can hear and I think your hair is in desperate need of quality shampoo and also I've been halfway in love with you since, like, sophomore year'?"

Robin considers the question for a long moment before picking up a red sweater. "This one says 'I'm horny'," she offers.

Steve blinks, staring at the sweater for a few beats before laughing. "But I'm not," he says.

Despite looking at Robin, she happens to angle her head toward the sweater, and her response is lost on Steve. He frowns, waits until her jaw has stopped moving, and says, "I didn't get that."

After Robin first learned about Steve's deafness, he'd been overly anxious about asking her to repeat things. Somehow, it was worse to constantly ask when the person knew he couldn't hear well, if at all. But Robin had never shown annoyance; she'd just adjust her posture, make sure Steve could see her lips, and repeat her words. She does all of this now, and Steve gets to read her joking response, "Yeah, but you will be."

And, yeah, she has him there. Steve huffs and collapses onto the bed beside her, sacrificing the shirts. "I'll need a jacket," he says, turning his head to look at Robin so he can read her response.

Instead of words, though, he sees her face light up, and she jumps off the bed. Steve sits up, watching as she digs in her messenger bag before pulling out a t-shirt. "Remember when I stayed over a few weeks ago? And you let me borrow a shirt? You should wear it!"

Thankfully, Robin waits until she's done talking to throw the shirt in Steve's face. Honestly, he only understood a few words ("remember," "borrow," and "wear") but he's gathered enough context clues to get the gist of things.

He spreads the shirt out, humming at the Iron Maiden design. It's not one he wears often; for the most part, it's a shirt he wears on lazy days at home because of how soft it is. But as he's studying the design, Steve is suddenly hit with a stroke of pure genius.

He quickly changes into the shirt and then grabs a varsity jacket (not his letterman, but one he'd seen at the mall and bought on a whim because it used a nice shade of yellow) off his desk, tugging it on over the shirt but leaving it unbuttoned. After a few more seconds of digging around, he finds sneakers under the bed and tugs them on.

"Okay," he says, turning so Robin can see the outfit from every angle. He comes to a stop when he's facing her once more, hands buried in his jacket pockets, and asks, "What do you think? How's it look?"

"I think you'll give Eddie a crisis," Robin replies, wrinkling her nose at the varsity jacket. "Not, like, a bad one. But he'll probably ask where you got the shirt from."

Steve grins, thinking that sounds about perfect, and turns to study himself in the mirror. It's a surprisingly solid blend of metal and jock, and it makes him feel oddly confident, the same way he felt the first time he did his hair just right and everyone complimented it.

"Perfect," he decides. "Let's go."

----

The ride to the Hideout isn't exactly quiet, but it's not like Steve can talk and drive at the same time. So it's filled with music blasted as high as it can go on his car stereo, causing the whole vehicle to vibrate with each beat. When he finally turns the car off after parking, Robin grimaces as she rubs her ears.

She waits for Steve to be in front of her before saying, "We're putting the windows down next time."

"Oh. Sorry," Steve says, rubbing the back of his neck a little awkwardly as Robin dismissively waves off his apology.

"No, it's fine, I'm just saying. Now, let's get inside before they start."

With that, she loops her arm through Steve's and drags him into the Hideout. They're hit with a wave of cigarette smoke, spilled beer, and sweat as they walk through the door, the combined smells making Steve dizzy. He frowns, leaning closer to Robin as she squeezes his arm. He feels her thumb tap him twice, their code for asking if the other is okay.

"I'm fine," he mumbles, nodding to a table in the corner. "Let's go sit. I just need to get used to...everything."

The lights are weird, too. Despite the place being dim, the few lights that are on are flickering, and Steve is having trouble processing all the new information his (working) senses are taking in.

Thankfully, Robin pulls him over to the table he pointed to, a small circle near a stage of dubious sturdiness. It looks like it can barely hold the instruments, much less those plus the people who will play them. There's an amp on the side of the stage near the table, which means they'll have the perfect spot to feel the music's vibrations. Steve slides into one of the chairs there and closes his eyes, resting his arms on a table that is surprisingly not sticky.

He feels Robin move the other chair next to him, slide in, and start pulling things out of her bag. When Steve opens his eyes again, there's a notebook between them and a variety of pens in all different colors spread out across the open pages. Robin has already picked up a red pen and is writing with it as Steve chooses a purple one.

When Robin is done writing, she taps the page so Steve can read, "Want something to drink?"

"I'm not sure we can trust the glasses here," he writes back.

"The fact you're calling them "glasses" tells me everything. Just sit tight."

With that, Robin drops her pen, winks at Steve, and heads over to the bar where a woman is wiping the counter. Steve watches her for a few seconds before looking around at the other people in the place. Most of them are sitting in groups, talking amongst themselves. Most of them also have mustaches or beards, making it downright impossible for Steve to read their lips.

Instead, Steve just gets a dull kind of rush in his ears, an ever-present background noise he can't escape. Soon enough, maybe because he's thinking about it too much, a high-pitched ringing starts up in his right ear, growing and growing in pitch until it's all he can focus on. Steve grimaces and looks down at the notebook, trying to keep his shoulders relaxed so he doesn't look as tense as he feels. The ringing persists, and he rubs his ear like that's going to help.

His ear is still ringing, though it has started to diminish, when a water bottle is placed in front of him. Steve jerks, forcing himself to calm down as Robin slides into her seat again with a mug of beer that's more foam than anything else. "They're about to start," she says, waiting until Steve has nodded once to show understanding before taking a sip.

Steve looks up at the stage and wonders how he missed Eddie and his friends arriving. As his friends are setting up behind him, Eddie is resting one hand on the neck of his guitar and using the other to hold the mic close to his mouth. Steve can't read his lips, but Eddie's grin is a little contagious as he says something to a guy by the bar. The guy must say something back, because Eddie bursts out laughing, his head thrown back to show off a neck Steve wants to bite.

A tap on his arm brings his attention away, and he looks at the notebook to see Robin has scrawled out a transcript:

"Eddie: Thanks for coming out tonight, everyone

Guy: Fuck off, Munson

Eddie: Love you, too, Jeremy"

Steve snorts, looking up to see Robin's equally amused smile as she continues to write on another page. When he glances at the stage, Steve sees Eddie still talking into the mic, his eyes roaming over the audience until they reach Steve and Robin. Eddie seems to grip the mic tighter, and he holds Steve's eyes for a few seconds, giving just enough time for Steve to wave awkwardly before Eddie looks away. But his smile seems a little bigger than before, and Steve is happy to let himself think he caused it.

When he looks down again, Robin has finished writing, and she nudges the notebook closer to him. Eddie must talk fast, because her writing is almost indistinguishable from chicken scratch in dirt that a cat got dragged through. Thankfully, Steve is an expert at this point.

"Eddie: Anyway, you know the drill. We'll start with some Metallica, treat you to Iron Maiden, throw in a dash of Black Sabbath, and then grace you with a Corroded Coffin original. If you don't like it, not my problem."

Steve feels the beginning of the set as he finishes reading. He sits a little straighter, planting his feet firmly on the floor and placing his palms on the table with his fingers spread. Robin is still writing next to him, most likely transcribing the bits and pieces of conversation she can hear for Steve to read later and laugh at. She doesn't try to get his attention while she does, already knowing it won't be worth it after Steve has shifted into Music Mode.

In the same way that people can tell what song is playing based simply on the first note, Steve can sometimes tell based on the strength and length of the first vibration. In the same way people know the lyrics of songs after listening to them enough times, Steve knows the vibration patterns like the back of his hand. In the same way people who hear their favorite songs played live can tell when a note is wrong or a lyric is sung too fast, Steve can tell when the drummer or bassist makes tiny mistakes that wouldn't be caught otherwise.

And Steve loves it. He loves how his entire body thrums with each vibration that travels from the amp. He loves how he can close his eyes and picture a story based on the music, one that probably doesn't match the lyrics but tends to replace them in his heart. He loves that this is something he can still share with his friends, even if most of them don't realize how different his experience with music is.

So, for all the little bumps and dips that occur in the vibrations as Corroded Coffin plays, for all the tiny slips that certainly go unnoticed by anyone else, and for all the fact that Steve doesn't get to hear Eddie's voice, he can confidently say he loves the show. He's never heard the songs played like this before, and it helps diminish the gut-deep desperation for new music.

And then Corroded Coffin starts a new song. It's one Steve doesn't recognize, one with vibrations that are completely foreign to him, and he jerks his head up to watch Eddie play his guitar in an opening solo. It thrums across the floor, climbing up his legs and spreading in waves from his palms on the table. Steve feels goosebumps chase after it, a new wave washing over him when the guitar solo ends with a particularly strong vibration that's immediately followed by the drums and bass.

Eddie throws himself into the music, moving and twisting and strutting around the stage like he's playing to Madison Square Garden. Steve can't look away, the lyrics incomprehensible but replaced by the jerk of Eddie's hips and the tilt of his head and the little half-spin he does on his heel.

It ends too quickly with one final, reverberating strum that lingers in Steve's bones, burrowing into his marrows as Eddie pushes his hair back and grins into the mic. He says something breathlessly, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly as he tries to catch his breath, and Steve knows he's gone.

He's hopeless.

He's desperate.

He needs more Corroded Coffin, more Eddie, in whatever form he can get.

----

For the first time, Corroded Coffin gets genuine applause after playing. Usually, the patrons of the Hideout will politely clap (if they even notice the set is over) for about two seconds. Tonight, however, Eddie and his friends are graced with excited clapping, a few shouts, and one very strong whistle from a small table to the left of the stage. And it spreads because even rough biker dudes can fall to peer pressure when it's that enthusiastic.

So, yeah, genuine applause all because of Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley who, Eddie thinks, is surprising company for the former King of Hawkins High. No matter how unexpected, he should still thank them and ask what they thought of the set now that it's over. He carefully sets his guitar on a stand and glances over his shoulder, catching Jeff's gaze and flashing a grin. "I'll be right back," he says before jumping off the stage and heading over to Steve and Robin's table.

As he gets closer, he notices the notebook and pens spread out, colorful writing filling the pages and Steve grinning with amusement as he reads it. Robin is watching him like she's waiting for him to understand an inside joke already so they can laugh about it together. If Eddie didn't already know Robin was like him (band camp, summer after his junior year, during an unfortunate game of Seven Minutes in Heaven where they awkwardly stood in a closet together before Robin commented on his black bandana), he'd wonder if something was going on between them.

"How'd you like the set?" Eddie asks when he reaches the table, suddenly nervous enough to tug on a lock of his hair and pull it in front of his mouth.

Robin looks up, but Steve doesn't. He's still reading the notebook, snorting at whatever is written there like he didn't hear Eddie. It's not until Robin elbows him that he raises his head, eyes widening when he sees Eddie. "Sorry, could you repeat that?" Steve asks, his gaze dropping to Eddie's mouth (Eddie definitely isn't imagining that) and faltering some.

"I asked if you liked the set," Eddie says, frowning slightly as Robin grabs a pen and scribbles something on the notebook. It's too small for him to read, but he doesn't miss how Steve glances down for less than a second before his eyes light up with realization.

"Oh!" he says, looking back at Eddie and flashing a charming grin. "It was great. You guys are so loud, and I've never f-uh, heard anything like your original song before."

Eddie catches the way Steve fumbles, faltering like he wanted to say one word but forced himself to say another. Something is tugging at the back of Eddie's mind, but he can't quite grab onto it just yet. For now, he leans forward, placing both hands on the table so he can be closer to Steve. "You listen to metal often, Harrington?" he asks.

Steve stares at his mouth for a few seconds before nodding, and Eddie feels the thrill of learning something completely unexpected. "I like Black Sabbath best, but Judas Priest and Guns N' Roses are close seconds," Steve says.

"Yeah?" Eddie asks, "What do you like most about it?" He wants to know. Does Steve Harrington (King Steve, Steve "The Hair" Harrington, Steve fucking Harrington) like metal for the same reasons he does? Does he like the stories and the passion and the heavy theatricality of it all?

Steve seems to hesitate, possibly thinking about how to answer, before finally saying, "I like how it's music I can feel. When I listen to metal, it digs into my bones. Other music doesn't."

Somehow, Eddie's grin gets impossibly wider, and his cheeks are hurting from the sheer force of it. He's about to say more when Robin glances at the clock and swears under her breath. "Shit, I promised Mom I'd be home ten minutes ago," she says, grabbing the pens and recklessly throwing them into her bag.

It's the movement that seems to catch Steve's attention, and he looks down at Robin's hands before looking up at the clock. "Oh, fuck, your curfew," he says, looking at Robin like she hadn't just said the same thing two seconds ago.

"Yeah, no shit, dingus," Robin says, pausing long enough to speak while looking straight at Steve before throwing the notebook into her bag, too. She jumps to her feet and hauls Steve out of the chair, making his varsity jacket fall open to reveal an Iron Maiden shirt.

And Eddie thinks his heart just about stops. He doesn't know why, but seeing Steve in a metal band shirt under an undeniably jock jacket makes him feel....something. This is, like, sacrilege, right? How dare Steve Harrington allow Metal and Jock to meet? Doesn't he know the two styles clash? Or, well, they're supposed to clash, but Steve somehow wears them well, and Eddie thinks he's upset and annoyed by the fact.

Before Eddie can analyze that feeling, Steve says, "Sorry to run, Eddie. You played really well. Let me know when the next show is."

There's a lot to unpack there, too. Steve Harrington wants to come to another Corroded Coffin gig. Steve Harrington is sorry he has to cut the conversation short. Steve Harrington thinks his band played really well. Before Eddie can say anything in response, Robin is dragging Steve away, throwing a goodbye over her shoulder.

Eddie doesn't want Steve to go without something, though, some kind of departing word, so he shouts, "See ya later, big boy!"

Steve doesn't look back, but Robin nearly trips over the doorway. She then pauses long enough to say something to Steve, watching with sheer delight as he splutters and glances at Eddie before dragging her through the door. Eddie couldn't stop the grin if he tried, and he didn't try.

Later, when Eddie is sprawled on the floor of his room, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about Steve's stupid combination of Metal and Jock, he'll be struck by a sudden, consuming thought. What if Steve was wearing just the Iron Maiden shirt? What if he wore just the jacket?

Eddie swallows around the sudden lump in his throat, his mouth going dry as he scrambles to his feet and gets ready to take a very, very cold shower.

----

Tag List (the tag list is completely filled up! There definitely wasn't enough room for everyone who requested a tag orz

Please follow the tag "good vibrations Steddie" or put on notifications for my blog to see when new parts are posted :D)

@hallucinatedjosten, @queenie-ofthe-void, @r0binscript, @jewellthebooknerd, @paintgonewrong, @vacantwatchers, @newagemyth, @gutterflower77, @just-a-tiny-void, @littlebluejane

@whenindoubtb72, @different-tale-student, @sharingisntkaren, @current-steddie-brainrot, @willim-billiam-byerson, @nuggies4life

@lostgurl-12, @anomalygal, @synonym-for-strange, @sani-86, @missmagillicuddy, @ilikechocolatemilkh, @thoughtfulbreadpolice, @harringrieve, @awesomeimportantfan, @fredtheemoplant, @warlordess, @therealscarletpumpernickel, @gsvshsjsbs, @mightbeasleep, @mollymawkwrites

@lil-gremlin-things, @honorarybrit81, @sonny-ray-of-goth, @potent-idiocy, @fandomcartographer, @heartsong18, @lingeringmirth, @ko0kyco0kies, @ccomandercody, @spiderman-stilinski, @l0st-strawberry, @xxsky-shockxx, @stilesstickitinme, @boxsam, @thepansexualsnake, @37-screamingfrogs, @yourmom-isgay, @brainsteddielyrotted, @plasticcrotches, @hannahhook7744

#steddie #steddie fic #steddie fluff #good vibrations steddie #deaf steve harrington #eddie munson #robin buckley #steve harrington #stranger things #my writing

[myosotisa]

deep end - s.h.

Steve Harrington x Reader

‖ summary: You and the gang have a pool day and some bad memories come up.

‖ tags: angst, hurt with very little comfort, post season 4, everyone lives (but that don't mean they ain't got trauma lmao), no y/n, no pronouns, reader is referred to as "honey". depictions of PTSD, anxiety/panic attacks. tw for fear of drowning. past tense? present tense? the fic is tense, that's for sure.

‖ word count: 2k

Today, May 6th, 1986, was a good day.

Up until very recently, most of the days had not been good at all. Spring break had done a number on all of you – nightmares, panic attacks, flashbacks. Some worse than others.

But today was a good day.

At least, until it wasn't.

Summer sun had invaded Hawkins and left everyone sweating and seeking shade after even a few minutes outside. AC blasted indoors and opened windows begged for a breeze to come through and bring some solace from the heat. The community pool was packed shoulder to shoulder and nearly impossible to get into – but that was fine.

Because Steve Harrington had his own pool.

Eddie, Lucas, Dustin, and Max were all already in the suburban backyard by the time you showed up with Robin. Steve had joined the other boys in the shallow end to start up a game of chicken – Dustin on Steve’s shoulders and Lucas on Eddie’s. Max sat on the pool’s edge with the water up to her shins, not able to get in further with the cast still on her right arm, and rolled her eyes as her friends tumbled over and into the water just to get back up again.

Robin went to go and sit by Max while you let yourself into the Harrington home, a container of drinks destined for the fridge just inside. By the time you had them chilling and pushed back out into the oppressive heat, Steve had pulled himself out of my pool to wait for you.

“Hi honey,” he said with a sticky sweet smile, ducking in to press a kiss to your cheek and dripping water on your cover-up.

“Hey handsome,” was your easy reply, Steve's smile lighting up further at the compliment. You called him handsome all the time and he still reacted like he'd never heard it before.

“Harrington, come on!”

His smile fell slightly as he rolled his eyes, shrugging at you before jogging back over to the pool.

You were just about to pull out your book and set up on one of the deck chairs when Nancy and Mike pushed through the fence gate.

More happy greetings, a hug from Nancy, and some chatting about the things she'd brought with her. Mike stripped off his shirt and shoes before walking over to the pool steps beside Max, submerging to his chest as he watched the others continue their game.

Robin came over and helped you and Nancy blow up the 3 inner tubes she had brought – Robin having to rescue you both with her superior musicians lungs. She quickly claimed the green dinosaur float, falling into it in the water as Dustin and Mike started to squabble over what kind of dinosaur it was supposed to be.

While you had originally grabbed the unicorn float, with it's pink hair and blue horn, you were quick to notice the longing glances from Nancy and offered a trade. She never would've ended up asking for it – she thought it was too childish to actually want the unicorn float – but you didn't miss the giddy grin on her face as she traded with you and settled into the pool a lot more gracefully than Robin.

So, with your strawberry frosted donut float and book in hand, you laid out on the sticky plastic and began to roast beneath the summer sun.

You and Nancy both had paperbacks cracked open while Robin seemed content to attempt a nap beneath her shades. Max busied herself by using a foot to gently push your floats around like a slow and lazy game of bumper cars. Mike finally succumbed to peer pressure and joined in with the boys playing with a volleyball toward the deep end and everything was good.

Everyone was smiling and laughing. Warm and lazy with the heat of a good, summer day.

Focused on a particularly intense chapter, you hardly noticed someone approaching your float until a wet chin draped itself over your arm.

Steve was looking at you with that lovesick smile again, his hair wet and pushed back as his tan skin glowed beneath the golden rays. “Enjoying your book?”

“I am, thank you very much.” But still, you placed it down on your stomach and turned your attention to your pretty boyfriend. “Are you having a good day?”

“Might have a couple bruises tomorrow, but not a big deal.” He hooks a wet arm over the side of your float, anchoring himself to you, and the skin along your thigh breaks out in goosebumps from the sudden brush of water.

“Steve, that's cold!”

He barely conceals a laugh, grin growing wider, before he tilts further toward you. “What, this?”

Was the only warning you got before he shook his head out like a dog, water flying from the ends of his hair and sprinkling all over you.

You nearly squealed, shoving him off and shouting about him getting your book wet, even though the smile on your face betrayed you.

After a few minutes of insisting it was funny as you fake pouted, and then Steve giving you some pathetic puppy dog eyes, you accepted his half hearted apology and settled again – one hand intertwined with Steve's as he held onto your float.

“Nance seems fine,” he said quietly, bringing your attention to the brunette. You had told him earlier you were worried about today, about bringing her back to the pool she spent two years barely able to look at, but she seemed perfectly at ease on her unicorn float. Just slowly turning page after page as she continued through the fantasy romance novel you’d lent her last week.

“Yeah,” you agreed, exhaling a relieved sigh, “I'm glad. She deserves it, y'know? We all do.”

Steve's hand squeezed yours, bringing your attention back to him on your other side. “You're the best, you know that, right?”

Not expecting the compliment, you got slightly flustered with the praise. “No, that's you,” you joked with a light flick to the tip of his nose.

He released your hand in mock offense, pushing your float slightly away as he put on a dramatic frown. He inhaled to reply, mouth parting, before he suddenly disappeared beneath the surface of the water.

The next few moments played out in slow motion.

In reality, Lucas and Eddie dove under the water to sneak up behind Steve – each of them grabbing an ankle and tugging him under as a practical joke.

To Steve, his heart stopped.

His chest constricted as his heart rate doubled, eyes squeezing shut as the panic gripped him tight and he waited to be pulled through the gate and thrown out on the other side.

Water filled his mouth from his half completed inhale as he was dragged under – his eyes widening and immediately beginning to burn from the chlorine.

But he wasn't in the pool anymore. It was dark; so, so dark and cold. He couldn't see anything through the murky water as he sunk lower and lower. The vice around his ankle held tight as he gave a kick, continuing to pull him back down to hell again.

To you, the world flipped on its side.

The last thing you saw before Steve went under was a flash of panic in his wide, brown eyes. Just like that night, on the boat. When he got dragged down and didn't come back up again.

“Steve?!” Your call is shrill, very quickly panicked as your adrenaline surged and your body tensed for a fight. It gets the attention of the rest of the group but you don't notice – eyes hyper focused on the spot he was before he disappeared.

In reality, you could glance down and see him in the clear water, just barely a foot below the surface. But you're not there in the Harrington’s pool. You're on a boat at Lover’s Lake and the man of your dreams just disappeared into the murky depths below.

“Steve?!” You scream again, rolling off your float and into the cool water, just like you had that night. I have to go after him, I have to get to him.

You vaguely register someone calling your name but you’re diving under, eyes burning instantly as you continue to look at Steve.

Eddie and Lucas have let him go now after sensing some sort of commotion from above, but Steve isn't moving. He isn't trying to swim up, though he is slowly ascending toward the surface. He's completely frozen there in the water, curled in on himself defensively.

You grab him and he grabs you in response, his nails digging into your bicep painfully as his eyes shoot open again. He doesn't even seem to realize its you before the two of you break the surface again.

Steve gasps for air – choking slightly on the water that was still in his mouth – and then starts to cough as he grabs tightly to you with both hands.

Your heart is pounding against your ribs like a hummingbird as your eyes rapidly scan him for the battered bruising across his throat, the blood coming from his mouth. “Steve? Can you hear me? Are you hurt?”

Robin is by your side an instant later, her head and shoulders still dry as she comes around the side to place a gentle hand on Steve’s shoulder while he coughs out chlorinated water.

Steve gives a stuttered nod as the coughing stops and he's able to take another deep breath in, his grip on you loosening to not be so painful as he closes his eyes. His inhales are coming through quickly, his eyebrows drawn together tight like he's in pain.

Your tunnel vision begins to scope out and you catch sight of Lucas and Eddie looking pained and apologetic in your periphery. They're both treading water in the deep end as you turn on them, anxiety and panic filtering out quickly into rage.

“What the fuck is your problem, huh?!” You snap, causing both of them to jump. Lucas's eyes are wide as saucers and Eddie looks like he's half tempted to book it just from the look on your face. “What the fuck kind of trick was that?! Maybe I should pull a gun on you, Lucas, just for fun. Or maybe, Eddie, I'll loop a rope around your neck for a few minutes and see how the fuck you like being reminded of almost dying!”

Both of them wince, drawing back from your outrage, which only makes you want to advance.

“H-honey,” Steve stutters beside you, half scolding and half terrified as he tries to put on a brave face. “It was just a joke.”

You turn your wild eyes back on him, body still reeling in fight or flight mode, as you realize his hands are trembling and the wetness to his eyes isn't from the pool at all. While you could easily continue to scream at them (which, when you're in a rational headspace again, you will feel guilty for), you focus in on Steve.

“Come on, let's go get you dried off, okay?” You offer much quieter, hovering close to him to try to keep you both grounded. He gives another shaky nod and lets you lead him over to the steps and out of the pool.

No one in the group says a word as you wrap him in a towel and then drape one over your own shoulders before sitting both of you down on one of the deck chairs. He continues to tremble slightly beside you as you tuck yourself tightly to his side, resting your head on his shoulder as you try to comfort him (and yourself).

We’re safe here. We’re okay. We’re going to be fine.

Everyone else watches silently as your paperback continues to collect water until it sinks down to the bottom of the deep end.

It was a good day. Until it wasn't.

-

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#steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington angst #steve harrington hurt/comfort #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fic #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fic #myos ideas #myo4harrington

[thewinterpillarhashira]

i owe everyone a smol collection and commentary to wips/scraps i did before, during and after the fime i went into ur average cliche hollywood cringe emo phase

^^ THIS. oh my god, where do i even start about this.

MY GOSH this was like, the last thing i did b4 i fully succumbed to burn out as a whole LMAO

i made this becoz i got inspired by marc brunet doing yoneyama mai’s style vid that passed by my feed as i scrolled through hoards wanting even a single dose of motivation to prevent what i knew was an upcoming artblock.

and y’know me, i HEART yoneyama sm. so seeing that was my absolutely yumyum cup of tea—temporarily 😭

u see, EVERYTHING WAS GOING SO WELL⁉️ until i reached my limit at (unsurprisingly) hair shading.

needless to say, this was scrapped becaz—sure, the idea was overall wonderful—but the way i did the blue moon weed flower and the lighting was just NOT it for me at all. nuh uh (i essentially went through a major sob story era after this BUT i convinced myself it was just a phase—and guess what? IT WAS!! showed myself i own me n i do me 🗣️ WHOS THE ALPHA⁉️😈)

(..i aint ever physically, mentally, emotionally nor spiritually recovering from typing that.^)

^basically, after struggling to find myself for a while, i soon fortunately managed to get back to it in the slightest!;) andddd so, recently, i alas decided to do something just for me.

no more frieren fridays(+apothecary dairies) were honestly hella extra upsetting when it happened during an existential crisis moment. but hey, i got to finally draw some characs i rlly love!

these are some 30 min warmups to both challenge and to have fun myself considering its been quite some time since ive picked up my pencil and done smth worth my while.

personally content with this. moreover, it genuinely helped a lot for me to start drawing stuff again;)

^now a quick sketch i did with a palette that was somewhat out of my comfort zone.

if you’d notice, i usually use pastel colors when i do things—which i realized as i reminisced my journey and the friends we made along the wa-

in short this was a lil tryout i didto NOT do’at 💪

nothing much to say here other than that this is my forgotten genshin oc whom is now practically a test dummy for me to use whenever i have to experiment colors bcuz she doesn’t have an official one (yet…jk thats never happening sux to be her 😂🤣)

^notbing much I've got to complain about here

it's literally just a mulihaohao art style study

with ri as stelle lmao

i merely got too lazy to get it done

will prob finish....ext year-

..last but DEFO the least, a hu tao with miku fit sketch i ditched

#foolishnyx #OKAY I HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR THIS. #i had NO clue where i wanted tje lifhting to go. #I HAD EVERYTHINF PREPED #or so i thought #BCUZ TURNS OUT I WAS SO EXCITED TO DRAW RHE IDEA THAT I FORGOR THE MOST BITAL KEYPOINT THAT KEEPS ME GOINF DURING COLORING #THE DAMN RENDERING N ALL!!!1!1 #so yea i gave up #genshin impact #hoyoverse #hatsune miku #hu tao #genshin hu tao #hu tao genshin impact #hu tao fanart #sketch #wip #scrapped art #artists on tumblr #digital artists on tumblr #😢😢😭😢😭😢😡😡 #sousou no frieren #frieren at the funeral #frieren: beyond journey's end #frieren fanart #frieren ubel #land frieren #ubel frieren #genshin impact oc #genshin oc art

[yae-energy]

pick up the phone pt3: fifty shades freed

synopsis: my take on weather they’re a caller or texter

cast: satoru gojo, ieri shoko, kento nanami, toji fushiguro

cw: cursing, toji slander 😋

a/n: these titles are such a joke 💀,,, anyhow, yeah

—

gojo - both (texting leaning)

- this man is busyyyy

- as mich as he loves calling and prefers to call he just never has time to

- spam texter

- sends those “u up?” texts

- but not even on no booty call shit LMAO, he just wants to talk cause late nights are the only times he’s free

- sends lots of those facebook gifs cause he thinks they’re funny

- double texts if you don’t answer

- always facetimes you in his spare time cause he wants to see your face

- apple pay come in clutch !

- mf always sends you money

- tiktoks galore

- “i miss you 🙁”

- will stay on the phone while he’s doing litterally anything just so he doesn’t have to hang up on you

—

shoko - caller (facetimer)

- she is too lazy to type LMAO

- sends lots of vm’s

- like almost every other message

- sleeps on the phone with you but it’s never on purpose, she just dozes off fr

- she finds your voice comforting

- usually calls at night cause she figures you aren’t busy then

- plays games with you while you guys call (usually cause you ask to play with her LMAO)

- randomly starts singing if it gets quiet 😭

- always has some sort of music going on in the back

- lots of good lighting when she facetimes too

- is always snacking/drinking on something

- twirls her hair when she talks to you

- lots of random bathroom breaks

—

nanami - caller

- is only a caller cause you are

- uses it like a debriefing LOLLL

- like he asks about your day and wants you to go into extremeeeeee detail

- like tell him how many bathroom breaks you had or smth 😭

- he wants to know how you felt at every point of the day

- asks if you ate/drank water. loves knowing you’re taking care of yourself

- lowkey loves to gossip 😭😭😭 mf NOSEY ASB

- like he acts like he don’t care whenever you talk about your work drama but he will constantly follow up and try to see if the story developed

“so whatever happened with that one coworker?”

- and he tries to play it off but you know he just wants to chit chat

- will not sleep on the phone with you

- mans has a strict bedtime schedule,,, BUTTT

- he will give you the same speech every time y’all hang up

- says the “dont let the bed bugs bite” shit cause he thinks it’s funny

—

toji - texter

- don’t expect him to answer any call

- or text really

- like we see where megumi gets his bad texting skills from 😭

- mf got that dnd on allll dayyy

- apple pay king cause he thinks it makes up for him leaving you on read

- “hey u up?”

- def means it in a booty call way tho

- prob got you saved as “side ho no.34 ❤️ (the favorite)”

- bro be so unserious when he texts you

- like he’ll hit you up but then complain about you talking to him 🙄

- asks you to send pics of yourself so he can see your face

- will leave you on delivered immediately after tho

- calls you once a month for y’all’s monthly check in

“yeah yeah, luv you too”

—

tags: @megurulvr @honeybleed @jujuyii @chinieh @jogeto @mypimpademia @miirene @planetlunaa @neptunes1nterweb | tag form

#saint laurent productions #jjk headcanons #jjk hcs #gojo headcanons #nanami headcanons #toji headcanons #shoko headcanons #gojo x y/n #gojo x black reader #toji x y/n #toji x black reader #nanami x y/n #nanami x black reader #shoko x you #shoko x black reader #x reader #x black reader

[yourlocaltiredartist]

kinda got lazy with the shading here but i saw the opportunity to do pretty lighting and took it lmao. anyways credit to @somerandomdudelmao for CAS au! (and also i used some panels from the comic as reference for the cape bc that shit is hard)

tap/click for better quality :)

#cass apocalyptic series #cas fanart tag #rottmnt #art #digital art #illustration #rottmnt fanart #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt casey jr #casey jr #crow does art

[glitterdustcyclops]

tagged by @solobagginses and i will literally never not take the opportunity to fill out surveys about myself lmao

Get To Know Me!

Nickname: britt, chocolate, choco

Age: 29

Height: 5'7"

Sign: ☀️♋🌙♓⬆️♌

Last Google Search: apparently "galaxy nails" i was painting my nails earlier and wanted some reference pics (and my stupid peel off base coat already peeled off so all that effort was WASTED)

Last Song Stuck In My Head: Papercuts - Landon Conrath (no idea why because i don't actually like this song all that much)

Sleep: is a concept i'm familiar with, yes. lol cuz of my job i have to wake up at 7-8 during the week but does that stop me from staying up until 2 or 3 regularly? fuck no.

Dream Job: pretty lucky that i get to actually do one of my dream jobs, i'm a ux specialist. but the secret fantasy answer is owning my own charming queer-friendly cafe/bakery.

Wearing: a shirt from my company and some jimjam pants

Favorite Songs: impossible. but some of my fav songs lately have been "Wolf" by Skott, "Old Soul" by Saint Motel, "The Loneliest Time" by Carly Rae Jepsen, "夜来香" by Teresa Teng, "Pace of Light" by Shanghai Restoration Project

Favorite instrument: first the flute because that's what i played, then the rest of the woodwinds, then violin, then percussion, then guitar, then french horn, then the rest of the brass section :P

Aesthetic: oh i've got loads but the truest one of my heart is, hmm, how do i say "pastel glitter space witch, with a touch of cottage core for good measure" or i guess, whatever is going on in this tumblr tag

Favorite Authors: Alexis Hall, Douglas Adams, Joy Demorra, Cat Sebastian, Sarah Gailey, Johannes T. Evans

Favorite Color: mint green, other shades of blue/green, and pink

Favorite Animal Sounds: okay this is a bizarre question i love it. basically all of my favoritest animals are sea creatures which are not typically known for their sounds (whales excluded) so...hmmm....oh WAIT!! GOT IT!!! frog sounds!! such a wonderful variety of croaks and bellows and screams. well done frogs.

Last Song: "Talking to Yourself" by Carly Rae Jepsen

Last Series: idk if it counts but i've been bouncing betwixt game changer/make some noise as suits my whim for the last lil bit. if we're talking fictional television programs me and my dad watched the premier of the new season of the mandalorian last night?

Random: i'm double jointed* which means my hands can do this

*have recently learned that "double jointed" isn't actually a thing and this is actually just joint hypermobility, so. that's a fun fact for you. as you can imagine this made playing the flute An Ordeal sometimes.

as always i'm too lazy to tag anyone but if you wanna do this feel free!! and tag me so i can see your responses cuz i'm nosy 👀

#about the chocolate

[gensh1nimpactsimp]

1.

A sandy dreams

Souda x FEM reader

Fw premise idk if I did this right lmao

3RD person pov

It was a nice day to go swimming y/n, was walking along going to the beach/pool

To take a swim wearing a f/c swimsuit it fitted y/ns, body good you were finally at the beach walking along the sand goin to a good spot under the shade setting down water bottles a towel to lay on a towel to use to dry off your bag which had sun-screen dorm keys a bit of snacks extra clothes and what ever you want y/n, dusting off your hands talking off your hat placing it in your bag looking up to see hajime, nagito, Akane, ibuki, playing volleyball nagito, getting hit on the head a bit of times looking over to your right seeing mikan, Mahiru, Gundam, twogami, Nekomaru looking over them seeing peko, and fuyohiko,

Looking to your left seeing kazuichi, walking and seeing teruteru, spying on the rest slightly looking at kazuichi, blushing kazuichi, was walking up to you

Y/ns, pov

I got up quickly going to the ocean to swim but being stoped by my crush

Kazuichi:"hey y/n have you seen miss Sonia,* he said my blush fading

Y/n:"oh yea she's near the entrance.."you sounded a bit sad watching kazuichi, walk to miss Sonia, I went in the ocean

Kazuichis, pov

Kazuichi:"miss Soniaa," I watched as miss Sonia, looked at me then looking away ignoring me

kazuichi;"I'm not here to bother I'm here to ask something"I said miss Sonia, looked

Sonia:what is it?" She said sounded a bit annoyed

Kazuichi:"I uh wanted wanna know how to ask y/n, out"I said blushing slightly miss Sonias, face lights up a bit

Sonia:"ah alright"

After explaining cuz I'm to lazy

Y/ns, pov

I got out of the ocean walking to my towel and grabbing my water putting it back then grabbing another towel to dry off with stepping on the towel on the ground bending down to sit grabbing my favorite snack and about to eat it till kazuichi, walking up to me

Kazuichi:"h-hey y/n, I wanted to tell you something"

You looked at him

Y/n:"what is it"you asked

Kazuichi:"u-u-uhm ILOVEYOU" he said quickly blushing showing my favorite thing I wanted for years

Y/n:"could you say that slower"you asked

Kazuichi:"I love you"he said blushing even more I can't say I was not surprised

Y/n:"w-what"I said blushing madly

Kazuichi:w-would you like to b-be my girlfriend?.."he asked I stood up he was a bit close grabbing the sides of his face and kissing him kazuichi, was surprised but happy

End

Author note

I had someone help me with this story on discord I'll tag there blog

@forbidding-souda

Stutter count:5?

[inkedtae]

Color themes in RAC (3)

“ Brows furrowed, you pout, “What’s wrong with how I dress?”

“White suits you so much better.”

Is that why all the dresses he bought you were some sort of shade of white? Confusion taking over your features, you look back at him over your shoulder and argue, “But you wear black too.”

“This isn’t about me.” “ (Geraldson Residence)

Taeddy tells her that she’s changed the way she dresses. He’s noticed it, he’s observed her, and he doesn’t like it. Despite being a bit confused by his reaction, Angel doesn’t think much of it.

However we know Taeddy loves white on Angel, or soft pastel colors. Pastel colors, like soft pink are girly, feminine and cute. It suits Angel. Black is tainted, dark and mysterious. It doesn’t suit her in the slightest. In D-D-D-Dim Sum, Angel wear a white silk dress chosen by Taeddy. Silk is a sensual, sexy material. White represents youth, purity etc… you get my point. He loves showing off her curves, while still maintaining that innocence that he loves so much about her. I live for it lmao. I previously mentioned that Taeddy loves the combination of soft, feminine colors with mature, suggestive materials. In Lunch break, Taeddy buys three different lingerie sets for Angel. One is white, one is blue and the last one is pink and made out of silk. Blue is a soft color that represents peace and tranquillity (LOL right after they argued). Pink is very feminine and she wears silk again here hehe !

Here is a brief analysis of the outfits of the characters of RAC that I haven’t previously talked about. Also it’s very much possible not everything has a meaning ! Again I was just bored and having fun^^.

Geraldon Residence Taeddy - brown cardigan: gonna be honest, I 100% didn’t know what brown represents in literature, I had to Google that one. So apparently it’s comfort and stability ? I’m not sure what to make of it in this chapter though.

Dim Sum Taeddy - BLACK car, that color again, with green undertones, idk if the green means anything though

Marco Polo Marco Lee - beige suit: perhaps symbolizes simplicity and calmness (source). So Marco’s a pretty simple man ? Idk we haven’t seen enough of him to tell (I don’t really want to see more of him though). Also I sometimes think of beige as a dirty white. A fake white, a tainted white. Still don’t really know what to make of those observations though.

Actually nvm “…His kind eyes…” you described his eyes as kind, so maybe he’s just a simple, nice man… at least at first glance ???

Marco Polo Taehyung - light blue suit: Calm, peace, tranquility, harmony, unity, trust (source). It’s so ironic to me that he wears blue on the day he shows obvious hostility and jealousy towards Marco LMAO.

“ “You trust me?” he asks, pretending to whine the way you do.” “ again there’s trust here ?

Buzz Off Angel - red lace: again passion, desire intensity. Perhaps the first time Angel initiates something sexual with Taeddy, I think it’s a fitting color for the given situation. She kept cus it was expensive, so maybe she doesn’t like the piece that much (cus it’s not truly her style??) but feels expensive and classy in it. Again Angel’s underlying insecurities resurface. She wants to surprise him by looking sexy in a way she thinks he might like (again looking at the women he’s slept with in the past, it’s unsurprising).

100% sure Taeddy finds Angel hot as fuck no matter what she wears, or what color she wears but he’s definitely got a soft spot for white and pastels.

Buzz Off Angel - bunny nightgown: Just wanted it to mention it cus it’s just so cute and so Angel.

Lunch Break - Bangtan Building: got too lazy to analyze it but I think there’s nothing to tell really. Primarily blue and grey, symbolizing technology and modernity. It’s fitting.

Lunch Break - Taeddy’s Office: again got too lazy. Just gonna say that the fact that his office is so high up obviously means that he’s powerful and ‘above’ others. “The tiny cars look like toys, and the people like frantic insects.” Toys and insects - wow. It’s very hot, an overwhelmingly powerful man. 😭😭

Lunch Break - Taeddy: long black coat, black sweater, black slacks, nothing more to say.

Road trip tae: grey hoodie and black slacks (and black boxer briefs LOL) so like grey can be for modernity I guess. I’m not sure if there’s an underlying meaning behind this one outfit tho?

Not me giggling to myself as I read this because wow have you been spot on with a lot of what is written here! You’re totally right about how Taehyung is observing her and about what he likes to see her in. I explain that quite a bit in the last two asks you sent. 

Now for the rest of the outfits. I am gonna go through them like you had, and just reaffirm what is correct or what is simply on the right track! 

⤜ Geraldson Residence     ⤑ I did want to emulate a very comforting and stable presence! I wanted to give him a warmer hue, and thought brown would be the best shade to do so. 

⤜ Dim Sum      ⤑ So, I have been creating this character in Taehyung’s image and wanted to make a little nod at his ‘real’ self with the notions of green here. I imagine the same shade of green inside the car to be the same shade as his microphone.     ⤑ The idea of a black car here is just to reaffirm his mature personality and character.

⤜ Marco Polo     ⤑ Everything you said about Marco Lee is pretty much correct. I also think of beige as a dirty white and your thoughts on that are 10/10. Don’t second guess yourself on it. He does have kind eyes, but you find that he is not really such a stand up guy. Not like Taehyung, any way.      ⤑ Everything about Taehyung here is correct. Blue was meant to be tranquil and trusting. Both beige and blue are standard polo game fashion for high society like this as well.  ⤜ Buzz Off     ⤑ All correct!! 

⤜ Lunch Break     ⤑ Again, all correct. Blue and grey was also a nod at their song ‘Blue and Grey’ which I think Taehyung had a really big hand in writing. His office is for sure meant to reflect his power as well!

⤜ Roadtrip     ⤑ Taehyung just likes muted colours. The comfort of the hoodie is meant to juxtapose the structure of the slacks and show his transition from the city to the country life. 

#letters #blipbloopiwannaeat #rotten angelcake kth #red string theories

[doyouknowthemossinman]

guys i’ve once again jumped fandoms (well not jumped but like, added to the list of tabs open in my brain)

anyway this is moonsnail i’ve been re-reading wings of fire and i decided i needed an oc because why tf not.

no shading, pls excuse bad background i was lazy. also no i did not forget the webs between their claws i just didn’t color them differently from their undersides :’)

they’re a sea/night hybrid born in like. maybe a really poorly guarded hatchery so nobody noticed the one almost-purple/black egg among the blue ones. their mom is probably a soldier or guard (name maybe whitecap? i like it idk. maybe she’s a pretty light gray-blue to fit), and their dad is a traumatized survivor of that one time the nightwings all had to live on that terrible volcano lmao (i want to name him cometwatcher. he likes looking at the sky). vibes like a child of divorce bc obviously dad can’t visit the ocean. they grow up kind of ostracized by the seawings because they’re fucking purple and sparkly.

i think they’d be absolutely infatuated with tsunami just from seeing her outside the palace? like queen coral’s not awful but she probably isn’t a fan of hybrids. (i haven’t read past book 5 so i wouldn’t know if she ever says anything abt it lmao). so here comes this hot chick who’s gonna be queen and is already friends with another nightwing hybrid!

moonsnail and sunny would get along SO WELL. i think sunny would be jealous that moonsnail came out with more nightwing features so they had a longer time to accept that they were half nightwing.

they speak aquatic really well because they tend to do it even on land sometimes. they got so used to not being allowed to really talk to anyone that they just resort to aquatic anyway. their shiny scales under their wings ALSO glow because why tf not. dragons who can’t tell that they’re half nightwing confuse them for royalty

they have decent mind-reading ability, but only like surface level thoughts. they can’t see dragons’ memories or anything crazy. they were hatched under a full moon. i can imagine whitecap knowing that they might develop nightwing powers and taking her egg a little closer to the surface to hatch (and risking someone knowing that it’s her egg)

they like spending time in the super deep parts of the ocean because it’s like it’s always night. they also like sunning but that kinda gets ruined by prejudiced seawings they grow up with.

anyway yeah this is moonsnail and i love them

#wof #wings of fire #original character #wof oc #wings of fire oc #long post #mossarts

[amelia-yap]

another redraw because im unhinged 

#ruby rose #weiss schnee #whiterose #white rose #rwby #my art #apologize for the crappy anatomy but hey it looks way better than the first one #till this day i still hate it with a burning passion #got lazy with the lighting and shading lmao #its 3am and i cannot be stopped from barfing out wr art #man i really need to learn how to draw bgs #p lea se ignore the hand #and the legs #i swear i tried

[zylistic]

I drew Cleo as Anna of Cleves because I’ve been screaming about it in Discord and I will not rest ‘til it happened so I did it myself

No text version:

Likes and reblogs are very much appreciated!

Don’t repost and I’ll stabby stab you.

#hermitcraft #hermitblr #zombiecleo #cleves!cleo #she could step on me and id say thanks #go listen to six #please #this has been a psa #thanks #art #my art #heyitsroby #can you tell i got lazy with the shading and lighting #so i resorted to a spotlight? #lmao well know you know #get down

[loreenlights]

here’s ϴ

#i ask myself can i cel shade? #art #dragon art #dragon bust #red dragon #i did not mean to get this into it lmao #loreen lights theta #love my garish red and gold oc #okay I admit I got lazy around the belly scales #oh well #artists on tumblr

[realcube]

speaking 💗 uwu 💗 to the haikyuu!! boys pt 2

part 1

characters: suna, matsukawa, kyōtani, tendō & akaashi

tw// illness, swearing, sexual references, cwinge   

Rintarō Suna

bitch- he was shocked

he was feeling sick so you were taking care of him while he lay on the couch looking like the cutest lil’ potato you’ve ever seen

so while you were handing him the soup you made him, you said something along the lines of ‘here’s some wuv-filled soup for my poor honey~’ in the uwu voice

that was the best he felt all day lol

like honestly, you expected him to cringe which is kinda why you did it but he was all for it lmao

‘wait- please do that again, (y/n).’ suna groaned, slowly taking the soup from your hands 

you snickered, gently stirring the spoon to cool it down slightly, ‘no. now drink up.’

you picked up the spoon to jab it at his mouth since he was clearly too lazy to drink it himself, but his lips didn’t part no matter how desperately you poked 

he shook his head, keeping his lips together 

you rolled your eyes, dropping the spoon back into the bowl, ‘stop being a baby and drink the soup!’

suna continued to shake his head, ‘not until you do the voice again.’ he said, his voice hoarse and low.

‘bitch.’ you muttered while rubbing your temples, you were way too tired to deal with his clownery today 

‘please, (y/n).’

‘why are you so needy all of a sudden?’ you pouted, trying to think of something to say in the voice that wasn’t too embarrassing

‘i don’t know.’

‘uwu eat your fuckin’ soup, bi--’ you couldn’t even finish your sentence before wheezing at how silly it was to say something like that in ✨the voice✨ 

suna chuckled, immediately pulling his arm out from underneath the blanket to slurp up your delicious soup

the bowl parted from his lips as he let out a refreshed, ‘ah’ then dropped his gaze to meet yours, ‘you’re so cute.’

Issei Matsukawa

he would look you dead in the eye and smirk 

‘what’s wrong with your voice?’

WAIT BUT DON’T TAKE IT THE WRONG WAY BC HE JUST SAID THAT COZ HE PREFERS YOUR NATURAL VOICE LIKE PLEASE DON’T CHANGE IT YOU SOUND SO DIVINE 

‘nothing~’ you hummed, still holding your voice at a higher pitch

matsukawa quirked a brow, wondering if he was missing something

the thought occurred to him that maybe this a prank of some sort and you were waiting for him to give an interesting reaction

well, i mean, he’d hate to disappoint so-

he leaned forward to place a kiss on your cheek and wrap you in hug

‘what are you tryin’ to be all cute for, angel?’  he muttered against the sensitive skin of your neck 

a light blush dusted across your cheeks so you buried your face into the crook of his neck to hide it, ‘i don’t know.’ you replied in an awkward mix of your natural voice and the uwu voice

matsukawa snickered, rubbing up and down your spine with the large palm of his hand, ‘so you’re not gonna tell me, huh?’ he asked, playfully flicking your spine, resulting in a slightly whimper escaping your lips

‘is this a prank?’ he inquired further, holding a tight grip on your waist so you were unable to pull away - not that you wanted to anyway.

‘kinda.’ you snickered at how surprisingly quick he caught on

‘i fucking knew it.’ he chuckled, pushing you away from him to pressed a rough kiss against you lips, ‘but keep your real voice, angel. not to sound like a simp but it’s one the sweetest things i’ve ever heard.’

‘simp.’

‘shut up.’ he smiled and lightly flicked your back once more 

Kentarō Kyōtani 

he thought it was a sex thing-

you were just showing him your new-found talent while he was blushing furiously and just like ‘shut up, (y/n)! we’re in public! 😡😳’

and you just kinda shuffled awkwardly ‘what does that have to do with anything?’

‘you can’t just do stuff like that in front of everyone!’

he’d probably pull you onto his lap and cover your mouth with his hand to silence you

in his mind, the uwu voice = calling your s/o ‘daddy’ or ‘mommy’

like- just a bit too taboo to do in public-

you were so confused

‘kyōtani, get you’re filthy, dry hand off my mouth right now’

he wasn’t exactly sure what you said considering that his hand served the purpose of muffling your speech but he did hear that you called him by his full surname opposed to just ‘kyō’, ‘baby’  or ‘babe’ hence, you were probably angry 

‘i’m going to move my hand but i swear to god if you do that fucking voice again.’ he growled into your ear, that alone probably should’ve made you feel threatened but knowing kyōtani, he’s all bark and no bite; well, at least when it comes to you 

he slowly removed his hand from your mouth and you just shot him the deadliest glare 

he’s never going to recover from that one tbh- your eyes alone just scarred him for life 

without a word, you grabbed your bag from under your desk to search through it for a moment until you pulled out a small bottle of lotion

‘give me your hands.’

‘no.’ kyōtani rolled his eyes; he didn’t like the idea of putting lotion on his hands bc it’d made his hands slippery and if his hands were lubricated how was he supposed to GRIP?

‘i wasn’t a question.’ you scoffed, grabbing his hand and squeezing a dollop of lotion onto it, ‘have you ever moisturized in your life? your hands are so ashy.’

‘right, okay.’ kyōtani murmured, not even bothering to answer your silly question

‘ashy hands~’ you absentmindedly cooed in the uwu voice while spreading the lotion evenly across his palm

after realising what you hand just said, you immediately shifted your gaze onto kyōtani to see if he was livid >:)

but actually, he was painted a deep shade of red with his head turned away from you 

‘you’re going to hell.’ he hissed, not daring to meet your gaze just in case his face erupted in a blush once more

‘i’ll see you there~’

Satori Tendō

he’d look you dead in the eye and try to copy you lmao

like what else was he supposed to do? lmao

plus, he was sure of the fact he could do it better than you ✋

‘uwu-’ he choked on his own spit as that hellish sound left his mouth

‘TENDŌ!!’ you wheezed, covering your mouth to prevent an ungodly noise escaping, ‘sir, your vocal cords-’

‘wait do it again, do it again!’ he encouraged, clasping his hands together to plead

you snickered before raising the pitch of your voice once more, along with throwing up a little peace sign, ‘you’re such a swut!’

now it was tendō’s turn to wheeze

after a while, he was finally able to compose himself and attempt to imitate ✨ the voice ✨

‘you’re a whore!~’

you gasped, slapping a hand over your mouth, ‘WAIT, SATORI THAT WAS SO GOOD!’

tendō quirked a brow, shuffling in closer to you, taking your hand in his and placing a kiss upon the tips of each of your fingers absentmindedly, ‘really?’

‘yeah’ you nodded rapidly, not even bothering to hide the blush that was spreading across your cheeks at his random kisses 

‘i love you, baby~’ you hummed, pursing your lips in hoped he’d pick up on what your were asking for

‘i love you way more~’ he cooed, leaning in and connecting his lips with yours

honestly, y’all probably never use the voice again after that 

(other than when you play a prank on ushijima :P)

but it’s a fond memory lol

Keiji Akaashi

you did it as a prank but akaashi thought it was for his attention lol

he was just sitting at his desk, ‘studying’ hard (by ‘studying’, i mean he was blankly staring at his notes while thinking about you) while you were sitting on his bed, taking a well-earned break

then you saw a girl on your fyp try the prank out on her bf and ofc you had to try lmao

i mean, it was harmless :)) unlike some of the other pranks floating around

the only thing that could possibly get hurt during this prank was your pride

so you immediately tried it out

‘angel~’ you cooed, trying your best to keep the voice on and stifle a snicker as you watched him visibly perk up upon hearing you, ‘are you hungwy? do you want me to make you some snacks?’

akaashi turned around his chair to look at you and shoot you a sweet smile

HIS SMILE OEIHNFEVBEI pls it’s so holy 🥺🙏

anyway, he replied in his equally as angelic, mellow voice, ‘i’m fine, love. thank you though, you’re so sweet.’

you nodded in response, thinking that you weren’t going to get much of a reaction out him so you were about to go back to scrolling until he inquired further

‘by the way, what’s with the voice?- don’t get me wrong, it’s cute; i’m just curious.’

you let out a sigh, a smile gracing your lips as you figured that you’d end the prank here- you were too impatient to continue lol

‘it was just for a little prank thing.’

an understanding ‘ah’ fell from akaashi’s lips before he got up from his desk and slowly slinked towards you, cupping your face in his soft hands, caressing your cheek gently with his thumb as his lips teasingly hovered over your own

‘well, i’d be lying if i said i’m not fond of it.’ he hummed, his gaze fixated on your eyes for the most part but every few seconds it’d drop to send brief, longing looks at your lips 

he stole a quick kiss before backing away slightly, his hand staying glued to your cheek for as long as possible 

‘i’ll go fetch us some snacks- i’m suddenly craving popcorn.’

he left you in his room alone, blinking rapidly while trying to process what just happened

you just unlocked suave! akaashi

#matsukawa hcs #suna rintaro x reader #kyotani x reader #tendou x y/n #akaashi headcanons #akaashi x reader #haikyuu x gn!reader #haikyuu x gender neutral reader #suna x y/n #suna x reader #suna x you #akaashi fluff #tendou x reader #tendou imagine #kyotani fluff #matsukawa fluff #matsukawa x y/n #matsukawa x you #matsukawa x reader #kyotani x y/n #kyotani x you #suna scenarios #tendou scenario #matsukawa scenarios

[444tsumu]

HAPPY 100 MARS!!!/&/&: AHHH! okay so i’d love a tier three if you didn’t mind! i wanted to know which 3 characters would smoke ouid and what you think smoking with them would be like? ily tysm!

▭ WHICH CHARACTERS SMOKE WEED?

includes matsukawa, hanamaki, suna

warnings drug use, explicit content, doing things under the influence, implied sexual content, slight nsfw.

authors note lol ik some people don’t like the whole “w*ed” and dr*g use hc but it’s all fiction and based on my own personal opinion (: i don’t mean to offend anyone lol i smoke too <3

This is a long one, beware <3 also it’s also my dream blunt rotation LMAO

                          𖥻 MATSUKAWA, ISSEI !

definitely the philosophical stoner

always has a question or an answer

depends on how much he’s smoked though

eyes get really red and he looks really hot

prefers backwoods over regular papers

always smoked regular papers though bc woods are bad for you (:

does that thing where they lick the paper and look at you at the same time

the hottest man smoking ever god please

always makes sure to have you sitting on his left so that he passes it to you first

loves smoking people out

doesn’t really care if you put in money or not

if issei is around, everyone is getting high

smokes makki’s unemployed ass out like everyday lmao

loves to hotbox

lights you up for the first time and tries to get you into another galaxy

“if you’re gonna get high, at least do it right”

definitely funny as fuck when he’s high

always definitely ready to fuck

very touchy when he’s high

will hold on to you for a long time and forget he’s doing it

but if you make him let go he genuinely feels the skin contact nearly rip off

calm down mattsun your possessiveness is showing

tries to explain all the different types to you but forgets mid sentence

literally cannot formulate a single structured thought

definitely leans in to make out with you more than once

loves shotgunning with you

already lazy but when he’s zooted he’s UNBEARABLE

he really does wanna fuck but ends up smoking too much with you because you played chicago and forgot

doesn’t really get hungry for food but munchies?

ate all of the snacks

has no remorse for his actions either

stares into the deep nothing for like 10 minutes

just to snap out of it and look around suspiciously

“do you guys hear that….?”

“…..no?”

“………..the paint is screaming at me?”

ok buddy don’t ruin this for everyone else

knows how to french & ghost inhale

has argued with makki many times over the earth being flat

doesn’t really think it’s flat

ends up believing it is after makki told him the world was actually dome shaped

has a grinder shaped like a dragon ball

not a peer pressuring kinda guy but thinks everyone should get high at least once

definitely gets iwa and oikawa to try

loves getting oikawa high cause he thinks the guy is fucking hilarious

laughs at everything

just a great guy, especially when he starts smoking

falls into a weed coma and doesn’t wake up for like 3 days though

treats it like it’s a regular hangover

definitely falls asleep with his entire body on top of you and no remorse for the weight

says “i’m fried” and isn’t embarrassed about it for whatever reason

he’s hot so no one judges him

                      𖥻 HANAMAKI, TAKAHIRO !

definitely a comedian when he’s high

always the funniest guy in the room

when him and mattsun are together though?

undefeated

him and issei both smoked for the first time together

after that though?

they became unstoppable

don’t get me started with after volleyball season ended

prefers bongs because he thinks he looks cooler lmao

everyone assumes makki is high but they don’t know he actually gets high

offers to smoke you out cause you’re hot lmao

makes fun of you when you cough

even though he still coughs

hates hotboxing because he can’t handle it

but refuses to pussy out so he’s always the first one to agree

in his own words

“my mother didn’t raise no bitch”

makki please

ideal smoking partner

is one of those people that fuck the passing rotation up because he refuses to pass it to anyone but you

secretly does it because he doesn’t want anyone else’s lips touching yours

prefers to smoke with just his close friends but doesn’t mind a session

doesn’t like shotgunning cause he starts thinking his breath smells bad

gives in anyways because he doesn’t want you doing it with anyone else

loves when you put your legs on him

the pressure gives him chills

makes jokes 24/7 because he likes hearing you laugh

can’t french inhale but mattsun taught him how to ghost inhale and he hasn’t stopped since

takes videos of himself cause he thinks he looks cool

realizes he looks like a fucking idiot but fuck it we ball

falls into a weed coma with his head on your lap and his phone unlocked and still on

does that thing where he lights it up with it in his mouth and looks really fucking hot while doing so

has a breaking bad rick & morty rolling tray and is really proud of it

gets really into music when he’s high

will sing along to all the songs while he’s packing the bong

as i repeat

looks hot while doing so

definitely a hungry high

orders food before you even get to ask

“makki, want some snacks?”

“oh nah it’s cool, i already ordered mcdonald’s”

“????? we just finished smoking????”

prefers smoking over drinking but will do both when he wants to go big or go home

eyes get really low

talks kinda slow but really deep and it’s fucking hot

laughs by throwing his head back and it’s really cute

gets cold when he’s high

it doesn’t matter the season

he gets fucking cold and it makes no sense

so he’ll need your body heat to warm himself up (;

                            𖥻 SUNA, RINTAROU !

a confused high

no doubt about it

this man never knows what the fuck is going on

ik everyone complains about the stoner!suna hc

but i think it’s fucking hot lmao

always has like 2 blunts rolled and on him at all times

is one of those people that will use any excuse to do it

“……(sighs) i’m gonna go take a smoke break.”

“suna we just got here??”

“exactly”

likes joints and edibles the best

not much of a hungry high or munchie high

but he hyperfixates on a certain food and will eat it until there is nothing left

ate an entire pack of gum in one sitting before

definitely watches cartoons the minute he starts to feel the buzz

rarely talks unless to pass it to you or make a single joke that has you about to pee yourself

he doesn’t say much but when he does?

the man leaves an impact

hates smoking with other people

doesn’t like when they fuck his blunt/joint up

hates smoking joints rolled by other people unless he watches them do it

always complains when you ask to smoke with him but secretly loves it

shotguns with you and acts like nothing just happened

hello sir how dare you make me fall inlove like that

forgets everything so don’t try to say anything important to him

zones out because he’s too busy imagining fucking

but then forgets about fucking and starts thinking about what’s on the tv

can’t hold a conversation but will go in-depth as to why spongebob squarepants was more than just a sponge

“no you need to listen to me, patrick star is much more than just his best friend—”

“….rin what the fuck are you talking about?”

“you’re asking me like i know? pass the blunt.”

definitely got into smoking in high school but didn’t actually do it like that until college

lies on his drug tests lmao

smokes after every win as a celebration and smokes after ever loss as a reliever

lmao seek help sir

definitely tries to get you to take your shirt off when he’s in the moment

swears it’s because he’s doing you a favor but really just loves how you look in his clothes when he’s high

doesn’t really know when to stop because he’s never greened out before

all his supplies is a simple shade of black

he’s a simple man

can do all the smoke tricks

but won’t do it in front of anyone cause he hates when people point it out

likes hotboxing because it gets him higher faster

is actually friends with the guy he gets weed from lmao

his perfect date with you was that one time you guys stood home and did nothing but smoke and watch family guy

tears up every time he thinks about it

has a picture of himself with two blunts in his mouth and his eyes really red and it’s really fucking hot

giggles even though he tries not to

uses pens when he can’t physically have weed on him

doesn’t really like it because the pen high makes him knock out after a few pulls

once rin falls into a weed coma???

don’t even think about trying to contact him cause that man might as well be dead

doesn’t wake up to save his own damn life

you can smack him and the most he’d do is probably groan and turn his head lmao

#matsukawa headcanons #hanamaki headcanons #suna headcanons #matsukawa hcs #makki hcs #suna hcs #issei matsukawa #hanamaki takahiro #suna rintaro #matsukawa x reader #hanamaki x reader #suna x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu x reader #au #hq headcanons #hq mattsun #hq makki #hq suna #hqhcs #haikyū!! #haikyuu!! #xxxmars #tw/drugs

[kurokoros]

spider lily | part one

Rated: M (violence, language, etc)

Words: 7K

Pairing: kuroo x fem!reader/oc?

Summary: No one can outrun the past. Kuroo already knew that before he started bounty hunting. [cowboy bebop!au]

AN: Written for the @the-smut-pile​’s western!au collab. This is barely a western, but the word “cowboy” is used so it counts. This fic is going to be multiple parts. The romance doesn’t come in for a while, just a heads up. I’m sure there’s more I meant to say here, but my brain is mush. I wrote most of this in the last three days and need a nap lmao

The dealer is watching him.

Eyes burn into his back as the bartender sets another glass of whiskey in front of Kuroo. In the mirror above the bar, Kuroo watches as one of the players, a middle-aged man with a cigar, requests another card. The dealer flips the card, revealing a Jack, and the man curses. A bust.

The dealer ignores the seething player, a look of boredom on his face. He’s thin, his hair parted to the right. Early twenties at best, but his eyes are tired and apathetic as they start to wander around the room.

It’s subtle. The dealer’s gaze doesn’t linger on Kuroo for long—it almost doesn’t linger at all, a stutter in that smooth glance around the room. If he wasn’t waiting for it, he might have missed it. But Kuroo has been painfully obvious tonight, making a show out of staring in that mirror every time a new card is drawn before making his move. It was bound to catch someone’s attention eventually. He just thought it would be sooner.

Kuroo spins the blackjack chip in front of him. White and turquoise blur together as the piece of ceramic whirls around on its edge. Gold glints under the dim lights above him.

A waitress passes the blackjack table behind him. The dealer glances at her. His mouth moves. His chin dips towards the bar where Kuroo is sitting.

“Kuroo.” Static crackles in his ear. His fingers twitch, seizing around the still spinning poker chip. It comes to an abrupt halt. Topples onto its side. With a sigh, he rests his elbow on the counter, props his chin up on his palm, and brings his drink to his mouth. “Anything?”

The whiskey burns in the back of his throat. “Not yet,” he says under his breath, glancing at the bartender to make sure he’s distracted. His fingers brush against the studs in his ear, following the steel bar attached to one of them until he reaches the attached earbud.

A disgruntled sound buzzes through the miniature speaker in his ear. “Then what are we wasting our time here for?” Tsukishima demands. The words aren’t minced, irritation mixed with his typical haughty tone.

“Getting bored out there, Kei?” Kuroo asks the younger man, keeping his tone light and amused. He specifically uses his first name, goading him. “I told you to come inside earlier. You still can. Unless you’d prefer to sit in the ship and sulk.” He takes another drink. “Besides, haven’t I told you to be patient?”

Tsukishima is silent on the other end.

The lapse in conversation stretches out. Kuroo’s gaze trails away from the card table behind him as he seeks out the rest of his crew in the reflection of the mirror over the bar. They’re still waiting where he left them, on opposite sides of the gambling floor. Akaashi is tucked close to the back wall, nursing his own drink and casually watching a game of poker, making no move to play himself like Kuroo has in the hour they’ve been here already. On the other end of the room, Bokuto is eyeing one of the card tables, starting to wander away from the slot machines and naturally gravitate towards the center of the room where a larger game of poker is being played. The prize pool has been steadily growing, attracting more attention as the night wears on.

They just have to wait a little longer for their target to show.

Eventually, Tsukishima huffs. “How do you even know Ikeda will be here tonight? He’s running. There’s no point in going to a high-traffic casino.”

Kuroo’s eyes narrow at the snappish tone, but he decides to let it slide for now. “Source said he’s headed this way,” he reminds Tsukishima. “You don’t come this close to Titan without stopping by Blue Castle. Not with a pool like that on the line.” He glances at the table Bokuto has been eyeing. “It’s up to a couple hundred grand already. He’s desperate for cash. Places like this don’t ask questions. Don’t give a shit so long as the house keeps winning.”

“And if you’re wrong?”

He shrugs, gaze wandering away from Bokuto. “Guess we’re fucked for a while.”

Tsukishima snorts. “How reassuring.”

Movement catches Kuroo’s eye in the corner of the mirror before he can ready a retort. There’s a man with dark hair shoving his way through the crowd of people gathered on the gambling floor. No, not shoving. The crowd is parting for him, scurrying out of his way as he storms across the room. Expression set in a scowl. A scowl that’s locked on Kuroo’s back.

Right on time.

He drops his hand from his face, sitting up straighter on the stool as the man comes closer. “Seems like security is finally coming to get me,” he tells Tsukishima off-handedly, abruptly ending the conversation. “Oh, and tell Kou to stop eyeing that table. His poker face is shit.”

Tsukishima pauses, like he wants to ask Kuroo what he’s talking about, but decides it’s simply not worth the effort. A grumbled response eventually comes over the radio, but Kuroo has already stopped listening. Low static buzzes in his ear as Tsukishima switches channels on his headset.

For once, he’s glad for Tsukishima’s lack of interest, though it isn’t bound to last long.

Kuroo grins into his drink as the man drops onto the stool beside him not a moment later. “About time someone got you, Iwa.” He tilts his head to the side, lazy gaze meeting a familiar stern expression. Green eyes glare back at him, and his smile widens. “I was about to bring the house down.”

A snort. “Like hell I’d let you walk away with that much,” Iwaizumi tells him. The tension in his clenched jaw loosens, but the scowl stays, and it doesn’t make him look any less disheveled. His clothes are rumpled. Shirt buttoned haphazardly; the sleeves rolled up. Iwaizumi jerks his chin towards the chip Kuroo has gone back to idly toying with in his free hand. “What are you up to anyway? Hundred thousand?”

He leans forward to look past Kuroo and braces his elbows on the counter, gesturing to catch the bartender’s attention.

“Two,” Kuroo corrects, glancing at his acquaintance. “What can I say? I’ve always had good luck.”

That gets him a chuckle. Though, it’s more disbelieving than amused. “Bullshit.” Iwaizumi shakes his head. A faint smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Counting cards doesn’t make you lucky.”

Kuroo shrugs, a wicked glint in his gold eyes. “Not getting caught does.”

The corner of Iwaizumi’s mouth twitches. “Yeah? How’d that work out tonight?”

“I’m still winning.”

The bartender places a drink down in front of Iwaizumi without a word, though he hesitates on the other side of the bar. A curious gaze strays towards Kuroo. The young man flinches when gold eyes snap up to meet his.

“On the rocks?” Kuroo comments as the bartender is called away by another patron. He watches the man leave, aware of the gazes lingering on him now that Iwaizumi is here. Bokuto must have mentioned the other man’s presence to Tsukishima because that familiar buzzing sound vibrates in his ear. “Didn’t think you’d be one to drink on the job. What would he say about that?”

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes as he downs half the drink. The single ball of ice clinks against the edge of the glass. Kuroo watches it bob in the amber liquid. “I put up with his dumb ass twelve hours a day. He owes me this much.”

“That why you look like shit?” Kuroo asks, giving him another once-over. He smirks when he sees something he hadn’t noticed before. “That shade of red looks good on you, by the way.” He gestures to the lipstick stains half-hidden behind Iwaizumi’s collar, low on the side of his throat. “Sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing.”

“Piss off.” Iwaizumi glares at him, flustered. A flush starts to creep up his neck, but it doesn’t get under his skin the way Kuroo wants it to. They’ve known each other too long for that. “What are you doing here, Kuroo?”

He takes some satisfaction in how quickly Iwaizumi changes the subject. Pleasantries gone.

Flicking the rim of his glass, Kuroo wonders how much he should say right now, mindful of the audience listening. “Passing through,” he finally settles on, watching the ice in his own drink bob. He sends Iwaizumi a pointed look. “Hopefully, we won’t be here long.”

“We?” Iwaizumi repeats, eyes narrowing as he furrows his brow. It dawns on him a second later. “You’re here on a job. Fuck.”

The glare aimed at Kuroo doesn’t soften as he waves off Iwaizumi’s concern. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Tell him that,” Iwaizumi spits back at him. He leans back on his stool, rubbing his temple. “You’re lucky Kunimi sent the waitress to me and not Kyoutani.”

Tsukishima is silent over the headset, but Kuroo knows the younger man has been listening intently since he got back, just in case Kuroo slips up and says something he shouldn’t. But Kuroo has practice. There’s always someone listening.

Kuroo taps the blackjack chip on the bar counter, tracing the Blue Castle written across the coin in an elegant scrawl. “Blond guy in the back?” With a twist of his fingers, he sends the chip spinning again. “He’s been watching me since I walked in. Looks like he wants to kick my ass.”

“You’d deserve it.” Iwaizumi looks at Kuroo. “You gonna make this easy for me?”

The chip stops spinning and falls on its side with a quiet clatter. A turquoise crown is printed in the center.

“Why not?” Glancing in the mirror one last time, Kuroo makes eye contact with Akaashi. Static buzzes in his ear, the radio crackling again. Before Tsukishima can speak, Kuroo casually flicks the switch on his headset, silencing the static. He downs the rest of his drink and slides off the stool with a lazy stretch. “It’s been a while since I saw the Great King.”

Iwaizumi leads him to the elevator.

Neither speak as they wait for it to reach the bottom floor. Kuroo takes a subtle glance around the room. The blond that Iwaizumi mentioned—Kyoutani—is still watching him. So are Akaashi and Bokuto, who have strayed from their positions closer to the door. While Bokuto seems more confused than concerned, there’s an uneasy look on Akaashi’s face. His mouth moves as he speaks to Tsukishima over his earpiece. Kuroo doesn’t bother trying to read his lips.

The ding of the elevator draws Kuroo’s attention back to Iwaizumi, who waits for him to enter the box first.

It’s been a while since Kuroo has been in Blue Castle, but as his gaze roams the panels of heavy glass surrounding the box, he figures not much has changed. The elevator juts from the main building. Three walls made of Saturn glass that reflect the neon lights from streets below. The doors slide shut as Iwaizumi follows him inside, and Kuroo leans against the wall, head tilted back. The ceiling is made of glass too.

From here, he can just barely see the stars.

Iwaizumi fishes a set of keys from his pocket. Thumbing through them, he stops when he finds the one he’s looking for: small and silver, a crown etched onto the side. The key slots into a lock at the bottom of the button panel, and the button for the fourth floor glows blue when Iwaizumi turns it.

Kuroo glances at the other man as the elevator starts to move, hands casually slipping into the pockets of his suit jacket. “Is there going to be a gun pointed at my head when I get to the top floor?”

“No promises,” Iwaizumi says, leaning back against the wall as well. The muscles in his jaw clench as he rubs the back of his neck. The lipstick stains on his neck are smeared, not nearly as noticeable as they were before. “You know how he is.”

Leaning in closer, Kuroo squints his eyes, a sly grin on his face. “You missed a spot,” he tells Iwaizumi, who glares at him.

“Fuck off.”

Kuroo’s chuckle is cut off by the doors to the fourth floor opening in front of them. There are no guns pointed at him. No guards. No dogs. Just an empty hallway leading to a set of double doors.

He hopes his shoes scuff the ridiculous marble floors as he follows Iwaizumi out of the elevator. They’re startling white, inlaid with streaks of gold.

Iwaizumi doesn’t bother knocking on the doors. He shoves them open wide, grumbling something under his breath that Kuroo doesn’t pay much attention to, immediately focused on the wall of windows across the room and the man perched behind the large, white desk centered in front of them.

He’s sprawled lazily in his chair, slumped against his desk, and unsurprised by their sudden arrival. “You truly have no tact, Hajime,” he complains, sighing as his head of security enters the room. Iwaizumi rolls his eyes as the other man runs a hand through his brunet bangs. “Though, I suppose that can’t be helped.” His lips curl into a practiced smile when his dark eyes land on Kuroo, his expression brightening as he lifts his head from where it was cradled in his hand.

“Oikawa.”

“Kuroo.” The returned greeting is clipped. Oikawa sits up straighter behind his desk. “What a surprise.” He raises an eyebrow, silently observing his old acquaintance, his stare critical as he looks over Kuroo’s rumpled suit: jacket left unbuttoned and tie loose around his neck. “You look like shit,” he says, as Iwaizumi closes the set of doors and leans against the wall beside them.

Kuroo huffs. “Good to see you too,” he responds, sarcasm thick on his tongue as he walks further into the office, eyes wandering around the space.

It’s open. Clean. Decorated in blues and whites and golds. Expensive, but not tacky. Even Oikawa is wearing a nice blue button-up, looking more presentable than either Kuroo or Iwaizumi. The man in question slides his work aside, gesturing for Kuroo to sit in one of the sleek armchairs in front of him.

“How long has it been since we saw each other?” Oikawa asks him, clasping his hands together on his desk, head tilted to one side in thought.

“Almost two years.” Kuroo eyes the chair before sitting on it and stretching out like an overgrown housecat. “Back on Ganymede. When everything was going to shit.”

Oikawa hums low under his breath. His gaze seems to darken with the memory. The room feels colder suddenly. Heavier. Oikawa watches as Kuroo absently spins one of the rings decorating his fingers. He changes the subject. “You’re working with a team now. I suppose you always were a natural leader.”

Kuroo shrugs—grits his teeth. “I keep picking up strays. Bad habit.” He nods towards the paperwork shoved to one side of the desk, piles in various states of disarray. A small crack in the façade Oikawa likes to put on. “How’s the casino these days?”

It doesn’t catch him off guard like Kuroo hoped. Oikawa’s brows furrow, his smile slipping. “You don’t care about my business ventures.”

“You don’t care who I’m working with so long as they aren’t after you,” Kuroo counters.

The stare Oikawa levels him with is matched by Kuroo’s own, gold and brown clashing. It’s Oikawa who backs down first, though Kuroo knows better than to call it a win. “Fair enough,” he concedes. “Now, are you really going to make me ask why you’re here?”

“Bounty’s for some guy named Ikeda,” Kuroo tells him. “From what I’ve heard, he was a dealer for some kingpin on Callisto who took over within the last year, after the Widow Maker Conflict.” Kuroo’s eyes narrow. “He made off with four-hundred-thousand worth of some shit called Paradise. Nasty hallucinogenic. Some places are calling it Reaper. I don’t know much about it yet.”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi exchange a look over Kuroo’s shoulder. “So, the kingpin wants this Ikeda taken out?”

“No.” Kuroo shakes his head. “ISSP put out the bounty because they think he’ll talk. They want to get rid of this shit before one of the Mars’ Syndicates gets ahold of it. Bounty is set at over half a million right now.”

Iwaizumi scoffs by the door, arms folded across his chest. “They think the Syndicates don’t already? Dumb fucks.”

The sneered comment is followed by stark silence.

Behind his desk, Oikawa sighs. “I see,” he mutters. What little of his smile was left falls away, his lips pressing into a thin line. “The bounty does make it harder for the dealers to put out a hit instead. Too many people will be looking for one man. Once this Paradise ends up with one of the Syndicates, it’ll practically be untouchable. It makes sense they’d put out such a high bounty for it. Why do you think he’s coming here?”

“That pool downstairs is at almost five hundred thousand, right?”

This time, Iwaizumi outright laughs. “Ikeda thinks they’ll let him pay it back? They’ll make him bite the curb. Poor bastard’s good as dead already. If the kingpin doesn’t take him out now, one of the Syndicates will after he’s already in custody.”

“We got here early thanks to a tip from a friend of mine,” Kuroo explains, looking out the window. “As of about five minutes ago, every bounty hunter in the area is headed this way. By the time they get here, my crew downstairs will have caught Ikeda and left for the Juno station. Titan is going to be crawling with bounty hunters before long,” he tacks on. “And you don’t come to Titan without—”

“Without stopping at Blue Castle,” Oikawa finishes for him, tone dry. He rolls his eyes. “I’m aware.”

Kuroo leans back further in his seat, a grin already tugging at the corner of his mouth. There are no ships in sight yet, but he knows better than to think they aren’t coming. “With no bounty left, they’ll have nothing better to do but drink and play blackjack.”

Oikawa doesn’t look convinced. “They’ll be broke,” he says simply. “All of you bounty hunters are. What good does that do me?”

“It’s not my problem if they don’t know when to quit.” His golden eyes cut away from the window, catlike gaze settling on Oikawa. “Besides, when has that ever stopped you from letting someone rack up a gambling debt before?” Kuroo asks.

“I paid off yours, didn’t I?” Oikawa throws out casually, gaining a scowl from Kuroo in response. He ignores it, glancing down at his paperwork instead, then at Iwaizumi, before returning his attention to the bounty hunter on the other side of his desk. “And why wouldn’t I go after the bounty myself if he’s worth that much?”

Kuroo’s response is immediate. “You don’t like to get your hands dirty unless you need to. This one isn’t worth your time.” He shifts his weight on the chair, grinning. “And you still owe me a favor from back then.”

This time, Oikawa frowns. His eyes narrow in irritation. “I thought we settled that back on Ganymede?”

“You owed me two.”

Iwaizumi snorts, grinning as Oikawa sends him a withering look.

Instead of arguing like Kuroo expects, Oikawa pauses as he considers what Kuroo has told him so far. It does make sense. The bounty isn’t worth it to him, not when he’s unprepared. Even so.

“Why didn’t you join the poker game downstairs?” he asks. “The pool right now is more than your cut of the bounty. You could have taken it and run. Left someone else to deal with the bounty. It would have been easy for you.”

Kuroo smirks. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Oikawa clasps his hands together, fingers linking together. “What exactly are you planning, Kuroo?” he asks, leaning forward and resting his chin on his hands.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Kuroo promises.

“Somehow, I don’t believe that.”

“You don’t have to.” He shrugs. “All I’m asking is for your boys to stay out of my way.”

A pause. Oikawa is still frowning at him. “And if they don’t?”

“Tooru,” Iwaizumi cuts in again. He still hasn’t moved from the spot he took up near the doors, staying out of it but remaining close. Just in case. Kuroo and Oikawa are too similar sometimes. Slick-tongued. Both of them piss Iwaizumi off like that. “It saves us a mess to clean up ourselves. Besides, business is business.”

Oikawa purses his lips, acknowledging Iwaizumi, but keeping his gaze firmly on Kuroo.

Instead of answering, Kuroo reaches under his jacket. Iwaizumi tenses where he’s leaning up against the wall, but before he can reach for his gun, Kuroo places a stack of blackjack chips on Oikawa’s desk and slides them across. Over a dozen ten-thousand-dollar chips clatter against the wood. “The house always wins, right?”

Oikawa lets him leave, dark brown eyes trailing after Kuroo as he heads for the door.

He stops beside Iwaizumi. “There is one more thing.”

“Oh?” Oikawa muses. “And what’s that?”

The ground floor is still bustling with activity when Kuroo and Iwaizumi step out of the elevator. A quick glance around the room tells Kuroo he hasn’t missed much. The all-in poker game hasn’t started yet, but there are more people milling around now, lingering closer to the middle of the room. He doesn’t see Ikeda, not yet anyway. It won’t be long until he crawls out of whatever hole he’s hidden away in.

He just hopes that’s before more bounty hunters start showing up. Despite what he told Oikawa, Kuroo isn’t so foolish as to think he’s the only bounty hunter with friends in the ISSP. If he wasn’t already headed towards Titan, they might have been too late getting here.

Catching sight of Bokuto’s hair in the crowd below, Kuroo claps Iwaizumi on the shoulder. “Until next time,” he says, offering the other man a parting grin. “Also, I should probably warn you that Bokuto tends to break things. I’m sure Oikawa won’t mind paying for the damages himself, of course. As part of that favor.”

“Fuck off.”

Iwaizumi shakes Kuroo off, much to his delight, and he chuckles as he heads back towards the bar he’s supposed to be posted at. He doesn’t make it far before he pauses, hesitating before he reaches the floor. Iwaizumi quirks a brow at Kuroo’s behavior but watches silently as the other man stands there for a moment, only a few feet away from Iwaizumi. “Hey, Hajime?” Kuroo calls over his shoulder without turning around. “Thanks.”

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes. “Whatever, space cowboy.” Leaving Kuroo there, he turns towards the back of the room where Kyoutani is posted. “Don’t go gettin’ yourself killed now.”

An amused huff slips past Kuroo’s mouth. “No promises,” he says under his breath.

It’s not until he makes it back onto the gambling floor that Kuroo switches his earphone back on. Predictably, white noise fills his left ear. That static sound ends when a furious voice breaks through.

“What the hell was that?” Tsukishima sneers at him, louder than usual. Kuroo wasn’t gone long. Fifteen minutes at most. But it was just long enough to piss the younger man off. “Why did you cut me—”

“Tell Kou and Keiji to get back into position and wait for my signal,” he says, calmly cutting Tsukishima off. “And then connect all of the lines. If you’re going to stay outside, make sure you have eyes on the front at all times. The final pool starts in about twenty minutes. Everyone is all-in. Ikeda will be here for it.”

Tsukishima is quiet for a long time. Kuroo knows he’s pissed the younger man off, but right now, he doesn’t care.

The radio in his ear crackles one more time. “Fine.”

It’s easy to drown out the chatter in his ear as he sits at the bar. Bokuto’s voice fades into background noise, Akaashi’s occasionally filtering through as he responds to his partner. Tsukishima hasn’t spoken since he linked the coms, still pissed at Kuroo.

He’ll have to deal with that later.

Sighing, Kuroo runs his fingers through his hair and leans back.

A whiskey glass clinks against the counter in front of him. Kuroo’s gaze jumps towards the sound. Ice bobs in the glass. Slowly, his hand falls away from his head. A frown tugs at his mouth.

The same bartender from before stands across from him. Under Kuroo’s gaze, he shifts his weight back and forth on his feet. “It’s on the house,” he says as Kuroo raises an eyebrow at the drink he didn’t order. “Enjoy.”

Kuroo stares at the glass for a moment, but he doesn’t dwell on it. If Oikawa wants to waste good liquor on him, who is he to complain about it?

Raising the glass to his mouth, he takes a drink. The taste that bursts across his tongue almost makes him choke. Kuroo struggles not to laugh, biting his lip to keep from coughing.

Apple juice.

“Bastard,” he mumbles, a small smile tugging at his lips as he shakes his head.

It must be just loud enough for the microphone to catch, because Bokuto’s idle chatter cuts off abruptly. White-noise buzzes in his ear before Bokuto calls out, “Kuro?” A glance in the mirror shows that Bokuto is already looking at him from across the room, head cocked to one side curiously.

“It’s nothing,” Kuroo says, brushing him off. “Try not to break too much tonight, Kou. It’s coming out of your cut this time.”

The sudden shift in topic makes Bokuto gasp, his pride on the line. But before Bokuto can whine about being called out for occasionally being destructive, Tsukishima speaks up, his familiar bored tone smooth over the speaker in his ear.

“Kuroo,” he says nonchalantly. “Ikeda is here.”

Using the mirror, Kuroo scans the room. At the very edge of the glass, Kuroo catches a glimpse of a thin man with mousy brown hair standing near the entrance, eyes darting around the room. He’s making himself more obvious than Kuroo was. Jittery. The kind that brings problems with him where he goes. Even if he hadn’t warned Iwaizumi and Oikawa, they would have noticed him themselves immediately.

“I see him. Three o’clock.” The others call affirmatives once they have eyes on their target, and Kuroo mulls over what they should do. They need to get out of here quickly. Once more bounty hunters arrive at Blue Castle, they’ll be in trouble. “Bokuto. Akaashi.”

“Want us to cut him off?”

Kuroo shakes his head. “No. Let him get close. We don’t want him running.” He doesn’t dare face Ikeda directly; he looks jumpy enough to take off if he notices. Instead, he follows him in the mirror. Just like he told Oikawa, the bounty heads straight for the counter, exchanging what little cash he has for Blue Castle chips. He’s closest to Bokuto, still lingering near the poker tables. “Kei, is there anyone following him?”

“It looked like there might have been three men tailing him on the street. They just walked in as well.”

Akaashi speaks up from where he’s carefully hidden himself in the shadow of the back wall. “They’re looking for someone,” he says, watching the trio of men’s eyes roam around the room, gazes more shrewd than if they were simply entranced by the sights. “Bounty hunters?”

Kuroo catches sight of them a moment later and grimaces. It only takes one look for him to know they have a problem. “Hitmen,” he corrects. So much for it being harder to put out a hit. Ikeda must have information that’s too valuable for him to be left alive if they’re sending this many after him. “Shit. Cut them off. Don’t lose them in the crowd.”

“You got it!”

“And you?”

Kuroo slides off his barstool. “Just leave Ikeda to me.” He pauses before grabbing his glass from the counter, taking it with him.

Bokuto and Akaashi linger further away, keeping their eyes on the hitmen trailing Ikeda, while Kuroo heads straight for the poker table. Ikeda skirts around the edge of the same table, moving to the side furthest from the doors, expecting to be followed. It would be smart. Except Kuroo is coming from behind him.

It should be easy. They’ve dealt with more difficult targets before. Craftier. Stronger. More desperate. As soon as Kuroo gets close enough, he’ll subdue Ikeda. Bokuto and Akaashi should be able to handle the hitmen by themselves if they’re working for some low-level kingpin on Callisto.

Halfway across the room, Kuroo bumps into someone on his right.

“Fuck,” he hisses. His drink sloshes in the glass, spilling over his fingers. The man who ran into him swears as well. Amber liquid stains the side of his white shirt. As his arms jerk away from the sudden cold, the sides of his jacket shift.

There’s a gun holstered at his side.

Kuroo’s eyes snap up. The other man is already looking at him. Jaw clenched. Eyes narrowed. His fingers twitch at his side. He hadn’t been on the first floor all night. They didn’t see him come in.

“Son of a bitch,” Kuroo says.

“Kuroo?” someone asks over the radio.

He sighs. “There are four of them.”

He throws what’s left of his drink in the other man’s face and lurches to the side as the fourth hitman draws his gun and shoots. The loud bang startles everyone in the room. Kuroo doesn’t see where the bullet goes as he ducks out of the way.

The gun is still trained on him when Kuroo rolls back onto his feet. There’s more distance between them now. A long blackjack table caught between the two of them. The hitman sneers at him. The gun levels with Kuroo’s chest. His finger pulls back on the trigger.

Kuroo lashes out with his leg. His foot collides with the underside of the blackjack table. It’s thrown onto its side. Two of the four legs lurch off the ground. Balanced precariously like that, the table blocks the bullets aimed at him. Wood splinters upon impact at point blank. Blue and white poker chips fly through the air.

All hell breaks loose.

There are screams in Blue Castle as the other hitmen draw their guns as well. People stumble from their seats on the gambling floor, shoving to get out of the way of gunfire that doesn’t come. Bokuto and Akaashi are faster.

Two of the men are caught off-guard and taken down.

Kuroo doesn’t watch his partners grapple for their guns. His eyes sweep around the room in search of Ikeda. He’s already taken off, racing towards the side door leading out to the alleys surrounding Blue Castle. He spits out a curse. It’ll be hard to catch him if he gets outside.

The hitman across from Kuroo seems to realize the same thing. Still blocked by the table, he trains his gun on Ikeda instead, ready to take the shot.

As the other man fires his gun, Kuroo throws the whiskey glass still clenched in his hand. The bullet smashes into the specially made Saturn Glass which explodes with the impact, delayed by only a second. Shards of glass rain down. The bullet’s trajectory shifts off course; it ends up embedded in the wall inches from Ikeda as he throws himself out the side door.

Before he can take another shot, Kuroo throws his weight against the upright table. It topples onto the hitman, knocking him onto the ground. One of the wooden legs snaps off.

Oikawa is going to be pissed.

Kuroo doesn’t have long to dwell on that. One of the other three hitmen pushes through the crowd. Before Kuroo can grab his own gun, the other man is already halfway out the door.

He makes sure to step on the table as he races after them, knocking the wind out of the man beneath it.

Kuroo throws the door open, letting it bang against the side of the building. The alley is empty. Both men are gone.

“Shit,” he sneers. “Kei, any movement on the west side of the entrance?”

“None.”

He runs to the right.

From what he remembers, this alley leads to a dead end behind the casino. An area sectioned off by the man who owned Blue Castle before Oikawa. They should be trapped there. If not, the wall should at least slow them down long enough for him to catch up.

Kuroo rounds the corner. A bang. He throws himself against the alley wall. A bullet buries itself in the bricks behind where he was standing. Kuroo yanks out his own gun, leveling it with the hitman’s head.

Before he can take the shot, the hitman pulls Ikeda between them, turning his gun on their bounty instead.

“Drop it. Now,” he demands, shoving the pistol against Ikeda’s temple. “Or he’s dead.”

Ikeda inhales sharply, tensing. Wide, terrified eyes try to meet Kuroo’s, but he doesn’t spare the bounty a look, keeping his eyes locked with the hitman’s as his finger hovers over the trigger.

Kuroo’s grip on his own gun is loose. He raises an eyebrow at the threat. “What do I care about that?” he asks. The hitman’s eyes widen. His shoulders slacken momentarily in surprise. Ikeda tenses as Kuroo continues. “He’s dead either way, right? That pool inside is worth more than this bastard is.”

The hitman hesitates, his brow furrowing in confusion. “But you’re a cowboy, aren’t you?”

Kuroo shrugs with one shoulder, gun still pointed at the hitman. “I’m not here to save anyone,” he says truthfully. A smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth as the pistol moves just an inch away from Ikeda’s head. “Besides. You really think you’re faster than me?”

He pulls the trigger.

Blood splatters across the side of Ikeda’s face. The hitman cries out as a bullet buries itself in his shoulder. He drops the gun. Kuroo shoots him again as he stumbles forward, this time in the leg. He hits the ground with a thud and doesn’t move.

Kuroo doesn’t lower his weapon until Ikeda stumbles back against the wall and slides down onto his ass, his legs giving out.

“Thank you,” Ikeda croaks after a minute of silence. His hands tremble as he curls further into the brick wall behind him, and he watches as Kuroo nudges the hitman with the tip of his shoe.

He kicks the man’s injured shoulder when he doesn’t react the first time, satisfied when the man groans, long and low under his breath. Good. He doesn’t feel like dealing with a body today. Too much of a hassle with the paperwork.

Kuroo leans back against the opposite wall of the alley and takes out a cigarette.

Ikeda sucks in a shuddering breath. “Thank you,” he says again before Kuroo can light it.

Kuroo stills. “Don’t.” His voice is calm. Firm. “I meant it. You’re probably dead either way if you’ve pissed off the syndicates.” Ikeda flinches as Kuroo’s eyes finally snap over to meet his. “There’s not much the ISSP can do to protect you from them. You should have known that when you stole almost half a million worth of product.” He laughs at the face Ikeda makes, but there’s nothing humorous about it. “Hell, it might have been kinder to let him shoot you here, compared to what they’ll do after you’re taken in.”

He turns his back on Ikeda, lighting his cigarette. “You guys done inside?” he asks over the radio.

Akaashi answers. “We’re taking these three back to the Cat. Do you need help?”

“Nah, I should be—”

He stops abruptly.

Glancing over his shoulder, Kuroo finds a gun pointed at him again. This time it’s Ikeda holding it.

“Kuroo?”

He wets his lips. “Give me a minute,” he mumbles back.

Ikeda aims the gun at Kuroo’s head, trembling finger hesitating to squeeze down on the trigger. “I don’t wanna die,” he tells Kuroo, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Slowly, Kuroo raises one of his empty hands to his ear, silencing the radio. Ikeda’s hand won’t stop shaking. “You think running away forever is any better?”

By the time Kuroo gets back with Ikeda and the hitman he took out, the others are already lounging around in the common area of the ship. The other three hitmen are tied up on the floor, their wrists cuffed behind their backs. Tsukishima is lying on one of the couches, wearing his headphones as he plays some handheld game, Akaashi leaning against the wall beside him. Bokuto is sitting cross-legged in front of the hitmen. A grin spreads across his face when Kuroo walks into the room.

“About time you got back, man! We were ready to leave without you!”

Akaashi sighs. Ignoring Bokuto, he looks at Kuroo as he shoves the last hitman with the rest. Ikeda, he lets sit on one of the chairs in the room, though his hands are bound in front of him.

“What do you want us to do with them?” he asks, nodding towards the four.

Kuroo crouches in front of them, brows furrowed in thought. “Might as well keep them,” he decides. “I might be able to swindle my guy into giving us a bonus for these bastards. Doubt they’re worth much though.” Shrugging, he stands and stretches. “Ah, well. Guess that’s not our problem.”

Akaashi nods, and Bokuto scrambles to his feet beside him. “Want us to take them downstairs?”

“Keep them separate,” Kuroo tells them. The last thing they need is for one of them to get their hands on Ikeda before they can turn him in.

Bokuto gives him a two-finger salute before he helps Akaashi pull the men to their feet. They don’t put up much of a struggle as they’re herded out of the main area. Ikeda, too, follows them without making a fuss. His face is still streaked with blood, his eyes puffy and red.

Kuroo doesn’t look at him for long.

“You seem to know a lot of people,” Tsukishima comments after Akaashi and Bokuto are gone with the others. He’s still playing his game, but his headphones are down around his neck.

“Must be my sparkling personality.” Tsukishima scoffs under his breath, and Kuroo levels him with a look, catching Tsukishima’s gaze before he can turn away. When the younger man stays quiet, Kuroo narrows his eyes. “You got something to say, say it.”

Tsukishima doesn’t hesitate this time. “Why did you turn off your headset?”

“Now, that’s a secret,” Kuroo tells him, starting to smile. When Tsukishima sends him a blank look in return, Kuroo doesn’t bother to keep it up. “I had business with an old friend. I didn’t need some kid listening in.” It’s the wrong thing to say.

“Right.”

The snappish tone has Kuroo gritting his teeth. “Is that a problem, Kei?”

The younger man rolls his eyes. “Whatever,” he says, getting off the couch. “The ship is on autopilot to Juno. I’ll be in my room.”

Suddenly exhausted, Kuroo drops onto the couch opposite where Tsukishima was sitting. A soft trilling sound comes from the open hallway leading toward the bedrooms. Kuroo’s head lolls to the side. A small smile tugs at his mouth as a fluffy, black cat pads into the room. Sumi chirps as soon as he sees Kuroo. The cat trots up to him, rubbing against Kuroo’s legs and winding around his ankles. He purrs loudly.

Clicking his tongue, Kuroo pats the seat beside him.

Sumi makes a sound as he hops onto the couch, immediately crawling onto Kuroo’s lap. “What the hell are we gonna do with him, huh, Susu?” Kuroo asks, rubbing the cat’s cheek. Sumi purrs louder, leaning more of his weight into Kuroo’s palm.

Predictably, Sumi offers no answers. Kuroo sighs as he runs his fingers along the cat’s spine, fingers brushing through his long hair.

Closing his eyes again, he leans his head back, thinking about what Oikawa said before. There was a reason he couldn’t have Tsukishima listening in.

He stopped beside Iwaizumi. “There is one more thing.”

“Oh?” Oikawa mused. “And what’s that?”

Kuroo glanced over his shoulder, baring his teeth in a grin that was too wide. Too sharp. “I was never here.”

At his desk, Oikawa arched a brow, chin resting on his laced fingers. An amused smile tugged at his lips. “Of course not,” he agreed easily, brushing off the unspoken threat and pacifying Iwaizumi, whose hand had twitched towards the gun at his hip. “How could you be?” Oikawa continued. “After all, you’ve been dead for three years.”

#kuroo x reader #kuroo x oc #hq fics #hq x reader #the smut pile collab