#i was also starting t at this time (last semester) which may explain the way ny grades were slipping

[trannakinskywalker]

I wish I still had more credits to go so I could see mr hot teacher again

#i cohld have gotten an a #but he was so distracting #i thought i was a little crszy being obsessed with him but then i found out the whole class was #well the girls and gays #there was just something about that nerd ass man omgg #he was balding which is HOT and he was over 6 ft. and kinda dressed like a prof in thr 70s? #his pants were so tight i could guess at his religion. and his ass was the kind ancient romans would go to war over (real historical fact) #i was also starting t at this time (last semester) which may explain the way ny grades were slipping #as well as getting the star wars brainrot which was only exacerbated by this being a science fiction literature class #and i wrote a 2500 word essay on darth vader while neglecting my other 3 classes lol #which i did get an a+ on UGH JUST PROPOSE TO ME

[hotnbloodied]

Petite!Yan X Reader

!Warning! This post contains yandere themes and topics that may be uncomfortable to people who are sensitive to the topic, read at your own discretion.

TW: implied stalking, obsessive behaviors, manipulation, murder(not of reader), slight gore(?). <let me know if I missed anything>

!!READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!! MINORS DNI!!

Your laugh was his drug, he loved listening to you laugh. That glowing round face on that adorable plush body of yours. If it was up to him he’d want to keep himself wrapped around you forever but you two were just friends. (For now.) He was always made fun of for liking the cuter things in life, Sanrio, pastels and frills. His home town was small and everyone basically knew everyone, that’s why he went to a big university but making friends was never easy when one has been an outcast for so long.

It wasn’t until his second semester that he met you. When he chose to join a club as a way to make friends, you were also a part of it and you were really clumsy as he was soon to find out. It started when everyone was making cakes, as it was the theme for this week's activity and everyone was given the choice of trying to do it from scratch or using box mix. This wasn’t Petite!Yan’s first rodeo in baking so he started doing what he liked such as sifting the flour and beating the eggs.

He noticed you right when you opened the box cake mix and just dumped all the contents you were holding at shoulder length into a bowl that was on the counter. Causing the powder to fly everywhere and only some of the box cake mix to enter the bowl. It was extra hard to have not noticed you since you were stationed right beside him which led to the aforementioned powder that didn't land in the bowl, to get all over his station, coating his ingredients and part apron to be dusted with your cake mix.

You profusely apologize to him and try your best to explain through your flushed expression that you’ve never cooked or baked before. He laughed (when was the last time he did that?) and assured you it was okay, in fact, he thought it would be a good idea to help you through the step by step of everything. By the end of it all he had his adorably decorated cake that looks like it could have come from Pinterest and your cake, that looked like what you’d expect from someone learning.

After that experience you and him talked more outside of the club, he learned that you were sociable unlike him so you introduced your friends to him which he greatly appreciated but even though this was what he wanted, why did he still feel so empty? His heart tinged every time you laughed with someone else and his mood sours when he sees you smile at someone else. (It should be all his.)

In his pursuit to find ways to spend as much time with you as he could he found out that all the food that you eat was prepackaged food from the store since you couldn’t cook to save yourself. He took it upon himself to make sure you ate home cooked food regularly by making you lunches, not only that, he convinced you to let him teach you some basic cooking skills, adding to the time the two of you spent together where he could bask in your presence. On top of also the time he spent with you with the friend group at school.

During the week, the friend group would all convene at someone’s house, usually whoever was the one offering, and study together. That's if you and Petite!Yan didn’t have cooking club that day. Then afterward you and Petite!Yan would eat dinner together. During the weekend you went on shopping trips with Petite!Yan since you commented that you liked his style a lot and wanted to dress more like him (which unintentionally added fuel to his delusional fire.)

Petite!Yan couldn’t help but fall into the rhythm of monopolizing your time. But it came to a head one day when the friend group saw someone new, a tall boy with an edgy feel to him. PetiteYan’s alarm bells started ringing when he noticed the pink dusting your face when you talked to the boy and how the new boy seemed extra soft around you. (Petite!Yanisn’t delusional! He’s got the weeks of observation notes of you to prove that something is up!) Slowly, to his dismay, your wardrobe which was on the cuter side (thanks to him!) changed slowly to adopt more black clothes and edgier fashion.

Not only that, you were spending more alone time with the boy, when you used to spend it with him! This boy was a bad influence on you. He had to bring you back to his– the light side, before it was too late! But he needed to be smart about this. One day, when he saw that the boy was alone he realized that it was now or never before walking up to him. Petite!Yan told him that you were looking for him and could bring him over to where you were. Only for Petite!Yan to bring him to a secluded area and tasering him before tying his body up and dragging him to the trunk of his car and driving to the woods. Petite!Yan wasn’t the strongest but he was running on pure adrenaline. Before the boy could wake up, Petite!Yan took out a large knife that he kept exactly for an occasion like this and sliced the boys’ throat causing a terrible gurgling sound to escape his mouth. The sound was gross, so much so that Petie!Yan couldn't bare to listen to it. To end his misery faster than the boys, he jammed the knife into the boy's chest, aiming for the heart and getting frustrated every time he struck the ribs instead. Killing someone was harder, and messier than he had thought it would be, who knew?

By the end of the stabbing spree Petite!Yan looked at his deed, clothes and skin drenched in blood. Petite!Yan’s work wasn’t done but he was surprised with how he felt at this moment, he honestly thought he would be panicking more. But all he had on his mind was what came next in this plan and how he would have you all to himself again. He took the shovel from his car and started to dig, deep enough to his satisfaction. Climbing out of the hole he checked the boy for a pulse, when he felt none he shoved the body into the hole before covering it up with dirt again. By the time that Petite!Yangot home, he was exhausted and collapsed on his bed. 

Days turned into weeks, everyone was wondering where the boy was. His family came forward and pleaded on the news. The friend group was devastated, which especially included you. Petite!Yan hated seeing you like this, but took up the role of your comfort provider without a moment's hesitation. Making sure you still ate, drank and showered regularly. The study group disbanded for now and you didn’t feel up to going to the cooking club but Petite!Yan still came over to check in on you. You might not know it now, but his tactic of comforting you was working. He was becoming the rock that held your life together in this trying time, making sure you still had food in your stomach and giving you a space to talk about your mental state openly with him. Eventually, he’ll have you in his grasp fully. He was willing to play the long game, because once you are his, you are never escaping.

#yandere #yandere male #obsessive yandere #obsessive love #male yandere #male yandere x reader #gender neautral reader #gn reader #tw yandere #yandere blog #yandere boy #yandere x you #yandere x reader #yandere x y/n #y/n #x y/n #yandere fanfiction #yandere oc x reader #yandere oc x you #yandere x darling #reader #x reader #yancore #yanderecore

[theridgebeyond]

hello. fellow occupational therapy student here. i am in my second lvl 2 rotation with a few weeks left and a capstone internship next semester. i haven’t started seriously reviewing for the board exam yet bc fw keeps me so busy… if it’s ok to ask, did your school have you take the certification exam before graduation or is that something you had to do after? Maybe you are currently working on it? if so, how is it going?

hi there!! Thanks for asking!

I may have gone a little off the deep end answering your question, so PLEASE do not feel overwhelmed reading this! Don’t read it all at once, either! I just wanted to share my experience with the hope that it helps you out.

Since every program is different, it’s worth noting that I got my MSOT degree from a small healthcare university over 2 years. My university didn’t expect us to take the NBCOT until after we graduated — they even paid for each of us to have a subscription to Pass The OT (which was sort of helpful, but I much preferred the AOTA’s study materials, even if they were $100). My cohort and I all had the chance to take the test at our own pace. I took mine (and passed) in June, while others have just taken theirs this week.

Before we left on fieldwork, my professors told us not to study for the NBCOT at all! I’m so glad they did, because I would have been majorly stressing. You’re absolutely right, fieldwork keeps you so busy!!

The next few paragraphs are gonna be pretty long and rambly, but basically this is a break down of how I studied for the NBCOT—idk if this information will be helpful to you, but I think it’s helpful to have an idea of where to start! Everyone studied different, so don’t take my routine as the One and Only way to pass the NBCOT.

The way I studied, I scheduled my exam 6 weeks out so I would have two weeks to find a routine, fumble around with different material, and take my time to recover from fieldwork and graduation. Then I studied religiously for a solid month, setting goals for each week and each day. I didn’t give myself time limits, but generally scheduled my days to have one morning study session and one afternoon study session… I’m pretty sure I studied 3-6 hours a day depending on how focused and motivated I was. I also have myself 1-2 days off per every 7 days for the sake of my mental health — these tended to be randomly set whenever I had plans with family or my brain needed a day off, rather than a strict on Monday-Friday/off Saturday-Sunday kind of thing.

The materials I used were the NBCOT’s free study pack (with the $550 price of the exam), the Pass The OT pack from my university, and the AOTA’s pack. The AOTA was a LIFE saver. Their practice questions are the closest to the real thing, including the clinical scenario ones! I reviewed all the lessons on the AOTA pack, and took notes on the practice questions I got wrong. Then I’d find YouTube videos or tutoring recordings from Pass The OT on the areas I wasn’t confident in, and explained the concepts to my family (or my dog). Teach-back is SUCH a vital study tool! Once I finished all the AOTA lessons, I went back over my notes and synthesized them into one page per topic of the most important information (or at least the stuff I still couldn’t remember).

I also took notes on test-taking tips. Becoming familiar with the test and with what the questions are actually asking is almost more important than actually knowing the material. They’re testing your clinical reasoning, not your ability to regurgitate facts about ulnar nerve injuries, so you will encounter conditions you’ve never heard of on the real exam. Having an arsenal of strategies prepared in the event that you’re clueless will help you keep your cool and answer well.

The last 2 weeks, I was literally just taking practice test after practice test (mostly just the ATOA’s and NBCOT’s tests… Pass The OT’s tests weren’t that helpful and they were very different than the real thing). My goal was to work up my stamina to be able to answer 50 questions without needing a break (aka five minutes to stare into space before continuing). I also kept time management in mind. I didn’t get a passing score until my very last practice test, so don’t stress if you don’t get the scores you want at first.

Finally, do NOT study the day before the exam. Flip through your notes if you must, but spend the final 24 hours on taking care of yourself and boosting your confidence. You know the information. You’ve studied this information for the past two or more years. You survived fieldwork, so you know that you’re a good OT. All that’s left is to do the thing.

I know I just dumped a LOT at you all at once, but seriously, don’t stress about this! Focus on your fieldwork. When the time comes to prepare for the NBCOT, you’ll be ready. I hope this answered your question, and took some of the mystery out of the certification exam!

Good luck on the last few weeks of your rotation and on your capstone internship!

#long post #ask #occupational therapy student #occupational therapy #occupational therapist #NBCOT #NBCOT study tips

[moonflower-31]

I Won't Forget You - Spencer Reid x Reader

(This is gonna be a series, so keep an eye out for this one if you like it.)

Summary: So imagine you're in the CM universe if you will. And you're just graduating from the academy. You're looking to join the BAU. You have hyperthymesia, the ability to never forget anything. Except for rare occasions. After the final exam, you run into one Dr. Spencer Reid. Eventually, you get accepted to shadow the BAU on a trial run as an agent. But you have a past that may endanger those you work with. Also, you love Spencer. Cause who doesn't?

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female Reader (this makes sense only for storyline, sorry 😞)

Masterlist

Please leave comments! I love reading them ❤ 💕

~~~~~~~~

Nervous. So dreadfully nervous you were and am. But here we are. No turning back now. 

"Hello, cadets. And welcome to your final exam for your graduation. We hope all of you do well. The FBI, as you know, has many branches. 56, to be exact. We hope that for those of you who pass, that you'll find your calling in one of our offices. For those of you who don't, don't fret. We always allow you to retake the last semester and the exams. The FBI is in desperate need of new agents." The speaker in front of me is seriously loud. Though you don't dare speak up about it. 

Associate Deputy Director Gail Franklin spoke with such elegance. She obviously has had practice, you think to yourself as you watch the grey-haired woman speak atop the raised portion of the testing room. You couldn't count how many people even if you tried. And you don't forget anything. 

"Psst!" 

You groan quietly and try to ignore your idiot but golden-hearted friend who couldn't sit still. 

"Psst! (Y/N)!"  

You ignore him again, focusing on Franklin's closing commentary.  

"I wish you all good luck. Please refrain from beginning your exam until all test-takers have received their tests. Thank you." She then proceeded to turn and begin her trek out of the room, the click of her heels being the only reminder she was even here. 

"Psst-! Come on, (Y/N/N)!" 

You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose. Finally, you turn your head and give your dear friend a very annoyed look. "What is it, Gabe? Like seriously, you couldn't sit still through one teansy tiny lecture? From the ADD herself?" You tease, pulling out a #2 pencil from your bag. Sure, most everyone will be using pens, but you remembered that the test scanners prefered graphite.

Gabriel whined teasingly at your jap. "No fair, (Y/N/N)! I just wanted to talk to one of my best friends. That too much to ask?" He sassily remarks, flipping his floppy golden-brown hair. 

You rolled your eyes and couldn't help but feel a smile form on your face. You loved him like a brother. But that also meant he annoyed you like one too. 

"You couldn't have waited till she was done?" You couldn't help but question him further. It was one of his weaker points. Under pressure, he tended to get uncomfortable. 

"Nope." Popping the 'p' he blew a kiss at you. "Anyway, how prepared do you think you are for this test? I almost made it an all-nighter trying to cram everything in again. Fuck me and my terrible memory." You grinned and giggled under your hand. 

"Gabriel, I told you, if you ever needed help studying I would be there. You're gonna do fine." 

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say. You didn't even have to study with that god-given gift of a memory you got." 

You bite the inside of your cheek, faking a slight chuckle. Everyone thought remembering everything was a superpower. Sure, if you call superpowered headaches and occasional dizzy spells a super-side-effect. 

So, yes, you had the 'gift' of having hyperthymesia. The disorder where you never forgot anything. Of course, there were a few rare occasions, like you could only remember a handful of memories from before you were four. But other than that, you had nothing from your earliest childhood. It made you feel semi-normal. 

"It isn't a gift, Gabe. It's only a gift in the academic field. And I'm lucky to have a 'genius' IQ." You huffed in response to Gabriel's little comment. 

"Yeah yeah, but you have a filing cabinet for a memory. So why study? You have it all up there." He asks, taking the test packet from the assistant that had finally made it to him. 

"Studying, as a science, is a great way to improve your memory, quicken your speed of processing data and important information, and you stretch your mind's capacity for learning. Also it helps me understand a topic better. Just like anyone else." 

You take the packet from the assistant and widen your eyes slightly at the size. It was massive. At least the size of your tiniest textbook. You could almost hear Gabriel whimper next to you as he saw how big the packet was. At least you all had three and a half hours. And it wasn't required to get through all of them. Just try to do your best on the written response ones.

You turn to Gabriel and hold out your fist. "Good luck." 

Gabriel sighed and gave you a smile before pumping his fist gently against yours. Soon after he made a dramatic explosion noise that only you could hear. You roll your eyes and shake your head again, turning your full attention finally to the large test in front of you. 

Here goes nothing, you tell yourself. 

○●♡●○  

Remarkably, you think you did okay. Of course, you finished the test in the first hour and a half, but who's counting? Certainly not you. 

You rub your aching wrists from so much essay work as you exit the testing room. Even with an unbeatable memory like yours, your hands were still human. So they hurt like a bitch. 

You sigh and take a quick seat on the bench outside the room, probably sticking out like a sore thumb in a crowd of other cadets who weren't in your graduating class. But you tried not to pay it any mind. You were used to being the 'odd man out'. 

You check your phone and smile down at the message your other friend, Iris, had sent you. She wasn't testing for the FBI like you and Gabe. No she was a barista with some mean skills at mixing new drinks. She wanted to open her own cafe and Gabriel and you wanted to support her. She'd been there for you every second of the last five years. You owed her at least a little thanks. 

When you look up, you couldn't help but notice a tall, lanky looking man with long, curly hair walking towards you as he looked for…something. You couldn't tell. Probably a map. He had a gun holstered on the side of his belt along with a blurry ID you couldn't read from so far away. But it looked like it said FBI. 

You stifled a soft snicker. This guy could say he was a teacher's assistant and if he didn't have the gun on him, you would've believed him. 

And that's when you caught his eye and instantly you recognized who this lost puppy was. More specifically, who he belonged to. 

"Hi, uh I'm Dr. Spe-" he began, looking a bit nervous as he began to introduce himself. 

"Dr. Spencer Reid. From the Behavioral Analysis Unit. I've heard of you." You accidentally interrupt. "Sorry. I don't forget names easily. I don't forget them ever, really." 

Nervously, you rub your hand on your neck, waiting for his response. And surprisingly, it wasn't one you expected. 

Spencer widened his eyes a bit in wonder that someone knew of him that he hadn't met before on a case. And she knew which branch he worked in. He blushed a bit, growing a tad tongue tied. 

"S-sorry, I'm Cadet (L/N)." 

Spencer raised an eyebrow. He wondered why you didn't give him your first name. But he didn't pry. It was your personal business. And besides, it wasn't like he needed to know your first name. 

"U-uh yeah, actually. I-I wanted to ask you if you knew where I could get a glimpse of a map. Just so I can find my way around. I'm here for a 'lecture' that I'm helping give the graduating class of FBI agents." He couldn't help but brag a tiny bit. "It doesn't start for another 3 hours, but I like to be prepared." 

You smiled up at this tall nerd. And an incredibly cute one at that. He was so out of place you sympathized with him. He was basically you. In like, every academic scene you've ever been in. 

"Understandable. I'll be seeing you there hopefully. I'm a part of that class." You grinned. "But yeah, here's the map," you say, pulling up a digital map on your phone. Spencer leaned over your shoulder and looked it over. You couldn't help but shiver slightly at the sound of his breathing so close to your ear. It felt eerily calming. 

"Really?" He asked after he pulled away from your shoulder. "T-thank you for the map, by the way." He adds last-minute. You giggle gently and nod. 

"Yep. The test only started an hour and about 45 minutes ago, so I gotta wait a little while." Groaning playfully you shrug at him, crossing your arms to get more comfortable. You wouldn't lie, he was seriously cute. Of course, you'd seen him before on your secret internet dives. But in-person was so much better than sitting behind a screen gawking over a photo. An ID photo no less. 

"You already finished?" 

There it was. The immediate doubt of your intelligence everyone had when you accidentally showed your smarts. You sighed. "Yeah. Kinda hard not to with an IQ of 167 and a memory that pretty much never fails." You shrugged nervously, looking away as you braced yourself for his incoming doubt. 

"Oh. Hyperthymesia, right?" He inquires. You blink a few times and look at him like he just said something so foreign you didn't know how to respond. 

"U-uh...y-yeah. It's rare, but I got it. How'd you know?" 

"It was more of an educated guess. See, you bite the inside of your cheek when you're nervous," he points out. You in fact, were biting your cheek as he spoke. "And you seem unintimidated by me despite knowing of my position. You only grew nervous when I mentioned anything academic. Which proves to me you're used to being the smartest kid in the room. And having to explain why every time." He finishes, leaving you a gigantic puddle of impressed and embarrassed that he had profiled all of that from only a few minutes from conversation. 

"Geez, didn't expect to get profiled today. You're really good at it, you know. Well, I mean you would be. 'Cause you w-work for the BAU." You begin to ramble, groaning internally for suddenly turning into an awkward blob in front of this professional. 

Spencer smiled a bit wider and let out a soft laugh. "So, y-you want to work for the BAU?" 

You look at him puzzled for a moment before you remember that he'd been profiling you for the past five or so minutes. "Right, profiler…" you mutter. "Y-yeah. It's kinda been a dream of mine for years. Police officer never really appealed to me. I wanted to get into the real deal. Catch the hard criminals. Give myself a challenge, you know?" You rattle off, realizing just how comfortable you'd grown to Spencer in the short conversation you've had. 

Spencer nodded. "It was always a dream of mine as well. I was kinda groomed for it." He admitted. "S-so… any jitters at all? Did you know that t-the common feeling of nervousness or 'butterflies' is actually caused by the reduced blood flow to the abdomen. Your stomach's sensory nerves sense the lack of oxygen and blood and it produces the fluttery feeling you get before a test or before a big performance." 

You smile brighter. "Really? I never thought of that. I always just thought it was a signal your brain sent or something. That's interesting. I'm kinda glad I won't forget that." 

Spencer felt his surprise increase again. You hadn't cut him off. There was no 'Sorry I asked' or awkward asking if he always did this. You actually listened. And you wanted to hear more! He didn't think he'd ever find someone willing to listen. 

"H-heh…" Spencer chuckled. "W-well did you know that most people will forget 50 percent of the information you've been taught in one hour will be forgotten? A-and in 24 hours more than 75% of the information is gone. That's why studying is so important. It helps retain that information so it doesn't 'slip' as easily." He begins to rattle off again, quite glad he found someone who actually wanted to hear his statistics. It was a good cover for his nervousness about talking to this incredibly gorgeous woman. 

You tilt your head in interest, laughing gently. "That's what I keep saying! Yet everyone always asks 'Why study if you remember everything?'" You exclaim, making a whiny voice expression for the impression of absolutely every bully you'd had ever. 

A darker skinned man, who was much more gifted physically walked over as you and Spencer continued your conversation. He wrapped an arm around Spencer teasingly and nodded to you. 

"Hope this pretty boy ain't bothering you baby girl." He greets. "He's great once you get to know him." 

Spencer just looks annoyed at this man's sudden presence. "Seriously, Morgan? We were actually having a conversation before you butted in." He grumbled annoyedly. Then you remember the face. This was SSA Derek Morgan. You'd seen him in some pictures with Spencer. He wasn't too bad looking. In fact, you knew Iris would climb him faster than a squirrel did a tree. But Spencer was a bit more your type. 

Morgan raised an eyebrow and smirked at you. "Oh really? So now pretty boy's talking to girls?" He teases, letting Spencer free from his suffocating hold. He then extends a hand out to me. "Derek-" he started. 

"Derek Morgan. SSA from the BAU. Yeah, I know about you." You grinned. He looked you up and down a bit in the same interest that Spencer had. That soon was replaced by a confident smile. 

"So you know of me." He said in a clearly flirtatious tone. "Don't tell me you've been searching up my pictures in your freetime, babygirl." He flirts. 

You roll your eyes and take his hand, shaking it firmly. "No, I haven't. Though I have heard of you from my classes. But if I'm honest?" You begin. "I'm really wishing I could forget that comment." You sassily respond. He laughed. 

"No one ever forgets, Babygirl." He grinned. 

Spencer sighed and turned to Morgan in annoyance. "Morgan." He deadpanned. You looked towards him and giggled a little. It was clear Spencer had wanted to talk to only you. Maybe it was something to do with the statistics. You had a feeling that he felt he was finally being listened to. 

"What? I'm just introducing myself to one of the new cadets." He insists, raising two hands up in defeat. 

"Did you just profile me without my permission?" You ask him with fake offense. He laughed. 

"Did I need to ask, sweetheart?" He asks. You chuckle. 

"Guess not." You shrug. 

"What's your name, beautiful? A pretty face has got to have a pretty name." He flirted. 

"I'm Cadet (L/N)."

Morgan raised an eyebrow, fully ready to ask why the hold-up on your first name when Spencer thankfully saved you an explanation. 

"She didn't share it with me either. Probably a mode of trust." He explains. Morgan shrugged. 

"I'll find out eventually. You'll give it away." He insists. 

"Uh huh, sure I will." You tease. 

"Reid, Morgan, we need to prepare." You hear a third voice call the two men away from you. You stand a bit on your tiptoes to get a good look at who it was that was speaking. 

Aaron Hotchner walked towards the three of you almost with a purpose. So much confidence in one man. 

"Who is this?" He asked. 

"I'm Cadet (L/N), Agent Hotchner. It's a pleasure to meet you." You greet, holding out a hand to him. Hotch raised an eyebrow at you in interest before shaking your hand in earnest. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I've heard of your excellent grades and work in your studies. I hope to see you among the enlistees requesting the BAU." He greets, letting his hand fall back to his side. 

"That's the plan, Agent Hotchner." You chip pleasantly. Morgan seems genuinely surprised.  

"Wait, you're interested in the BAU? Profile me." He insisted. You blush from the sudden spotlight. 

"W-what?" You ask. 

"Morgan, that's enough." Hotch warns. 

"Leave her alone, Morgan." Spencer expressed. 

"No, it's fine." You assure. "Well, from the looks of your attire compared to your colleagues, I'd say you hate wearing formal clothing. Prefer to be comfortable. Your consistent flirty personality is mostly a show, as you wouldn't really flirt with someone you just met the way you flirted with me. So you either have someone in mind, or have a partner at home. And besides that, the way you greeted Dr. Reid proves you think of him as a younger brother, and you treat him like the brother you never had." You finished, a pleading voice in the back of your head screaming at you in hopes that you hadn't gone too far. 

Instead of being offended, Morgan began to smile and grinned, clearly impressed. "She's actually pretty good." He comments to Hotch, glancing to Spencer and then back to you. "You'd make a good profiler." He compliments. You smile happily and full of relief at him. 

"I sure hope so. Anyway, you should probably get going to the auditorium. The mics are a pain to tune and figure out, so I'd get it done now." You giggle slightly. 

Spencer nodded and smiled at you. "T-thank you, again. Cadet (L/N)." 

You couldn't help but blush a tad as he said your title. "Of course, Dr. Reid. Anytime you need directions." You tease. 

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "What about me?" He teased back. You mock think about it for a moment before you reply. 

"Sorry, I think you can figure it out, pretty boy." You joke, winking at him. He smiled brightly at your sass, chuckling a bit. 

Hotch then got your attention very easily. "It was a pleasure to meet you again, (L/N)." 

"You too. Good luck on the lecture." You bid them all fair well and turn around to take your seat again. 

"Ooh, somebody's in looove~!" You hear Gabriel sing in a sing-song voice. You chuckle and shake your head. 

"I am not in love, Gabriel. You just started eying the pretty boy I was talking to. You know, handsome black guy?" You tease. 

"Hmm, yeah, probably. But seriously. I saw you looking at that other kid, the professor's-aide-looking guy, like he was a mountain of sugar. And I know sugar." He teased, sipping a coke he had obviously bought after the test. 

"Oh shut up. Have you heard from Iris yet?" You ask. 

"Nope. She's probably busy over at The Bean. We should go visit. Tell her about your rendezvous with Mr. Teacher's aid." Gabriel snickered. 

"No, we are not telling Iris anything. You know how she gets. She gets all protective, and then nobody wants to go out with me cause they're all scared of her." You groan, stealing his coke for a moment. 

Gabriel smirks at you. "So you admit that you like him?" He teases. You immediately realize your mistake and groan, covering your reddening face. 

Gabriel chuckled and wrapped an arm around your shoulder. "Come on, sugar-tits. Let's get out of here for a lil' bit. Come back for that 'lecture' in like an hour." He teased. You bring your hands away from your face and sigh. 

Did you really like him? Maybe. It was probably just an internet crush. Nothing more. It wasn't like it could get worse. 

#spencer reid x you #spencer reid x reader fic #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid #criminal minds family #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fandom #criminal minds

[thefanficmonster]

Late Nights

Andrew (The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope) x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Fluff, a bit of Angst

Summary: Late nights are famously accompanied by deep conversations. The type to keep you up like a full dose of caffeine. Those are the best, most relaxing and freeing conversations you’ll ever experience. Good thing Andrew and Y/N are the perfect company for each other when it comes to those exact talks.

Requested by Anon. Hello! I’m sorry there is no specifications on your request. You requested for some Andrew x Reader fluff and this idea immediately dawned on me haha. I hope you like it and I’m so terribly sorry for the wait. Hopefully the final product makes it worth your while. Looking forward to hearing your feedback and receiving any other requests you may have! Love, Vy ❤

A random notification sounds from my phone, scaring me out of my peaceful, dreamless slumber. Oh wait, I’m not in my bed. I’m sitting at my desk, surrounded with sheets of paper with notes I’m supposed to memorize by my 8 AM exam. Speaking of that exam, it’s in less than five hours. I’ve been studying for what feels like days, but my head still feels as empty as it was at the start of the semester. The way I see it, I have two options: I can either die from a caffeine overdose or from the heart attack this exam will cause me. No in-between and no other options. Just death. Maybe not in the literal sense, but if you ask me, burn-out should be considered death and that’s exactly what I feel right now. And the fucking exam hasn’t even happened yet, for fuck’s sake! 

I lift my head to look at the clock on the wall and instantly get dizzy. Thankfully, I’m still seated. Damn, this calls for more caffeine.

“Hey T, can you -“ I look behind me in search of my roommate who’s supposed to be pulling this all-nighter with me. Needless to say, she has perished. 

I already have an idea of where she might be, but the sticky note she has left on my dresser confirms it.

~ Daniel has more notes. Come to the floor lounge 

Oh, hell no. I am not that committed to passing this exam. I am not about to be a third-wheel for five hours and feel miserable afterwards. Correction: More miserable than I’m already going to feel. Good thing there are two staircases on either side of the floor so I don’t have to pass through the lounge in order to get to the dining hall. That’s the only place I could obtain coffee and if I don’t I might just die right here on this desk.

I put my slippers on, throwing a jacket over my pajamas as well. It’s January and the dorms could not be colder. I swear to God, they are trying to build our immunity and resistance to cold one freezing night at a time. The heating doesn’t do much even if it’s on, which is a rare occurrence considering it’s faulty and doesn’t work 80% of the time.  I leave the dorm, quietly shutting and locking the door behind me before taking the right hallway instead of the left. I wander around the dimly lit hallways, some of which don’t have lighting at all, my arms folded over my chest in a pointless attempt to bring myself more warmth than the jacket is able to provide me. No matter what I do, I can’t get rid of the intense shaking that started from my torso and has now spread as far as my bottom jaw.

I navigate the halls, mumbling curse words to myself while doing so. Having taken the long way, I have an extra two minutes or so of freezing before I can find myself in the warm and cozy dorm. Taylor and I bought a small heater for Christmas cause we were not having it with the shitty heating system. Must say, that’s a better investment than all the money I threw to be here.

The dining hall is dark as usual. The only lights are the exit sign and some small lights on the vending machines. And the glorious coffee machine! I can just imagine myself turning into a heart-eyed emoji looking at it. 

“All-nighter?“

The voice is so sudden and so out of place, it startles me to the point of letting out a half-scream and immediately backing away towards the entrance of the dining hall. 

“Hey, it’s ok. It’s me.“ A light appears at one of the tables, illuminating the person holding it.

I sigh in relief when I finally get a good look at the person opposite me. It’s Andrew - a classmate and friend of mine. We have creative writing together and a few other classes. We’re in the same friend group as well. I started hanging out with him more through Taylor’s boyfriend Daniel who’s roommates with him. I’m glad I met them both, they are really fun to be around. However, recently, Andrew hasn’t been himself. It might be a stretch, but I think it’s because of the upcoming field trip our creative writing professor John has organized. I have tried asking him what has been bothering him but he always brushes off my concerns by claiming nothing’s wrong.

“Jeez, Andrew. You scared me half to death.“ I place a hand over my racing heart, taking a deep breath to calm myself down, “You’re lucky I didn’t chuck anything at you.“

He has the audacity to laugh. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.” He puts his phone on the table, flashlight facing up at the ceiling, “What are you doing here, anyway?”

I return to my previous task, “Getting coffee, can’t do without it. What about you? Do you just hang out here, waiting for student-zombies to scare?” I get my four cups of coffee, balancing them in a very risky way to where he’s sitting. “Want one?”

His eyes widen, “These are all for you?” I nod, “And they are all just straight espressos?” I nod again, “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

I scoff, “That’s plan B. For now, I’m just trying to stay awake.” I knock back one of the cups, trying hard not to cringe at the unpleasant flavor due to the lack of sugar. “You didn’t answer my question.” I say after getting over the initial battle to get the coffee down without puking.

He hesitates, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the tabletop. I can tell he has spaced out, leaving me unsure of weather I should nudge him again or let him return to reality at his own time.

“I, uh....I had a nightmare.“ He says despite his eyes still carrying that thousand yard stare. “Daniel wasn’t there, and I didn’t want to stay alone in the dorm, so I came here. A lot more open. Not so suffocating.“

I frown, “What was the nightmare like?” I don’t try to hide my concern, there is no reason to do so. I want him to know I care, that I am and I always will be there for him. Even if it’s just as a friend, I will take what I can get. This is not the time to be thinking of anything more than being a good friend and helping Andrew.

He shrugs, his eyes slowly lifting to meet mine. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last cause he shakes his head, breaking eye-contact again, “You’ll think it’s ridiculous.“

I put my hand on top of his, stopping the repetitive tapping of his fingers. This causes him to reconnect our gazes. After a two second confirmation that he won’t look away, I speak up, “You could tell me elves chased you around with axes and I still wouldn’t say that, Andrew. Come on, talk to me.”

He sighs, nodding his head. I take this as a positive sign and give him an encouraging smile. Instinctively, I start withdrawing my hand as I lean back in my seat. To my surprise, he turns his hand, taking a hold of mine when he begins to speak.

“They started a week ago, when John told us about the trip to Little Hope.“ he still hesitates, but I still consider it progress. “It’s always one of two nightmares - it’s either a housefire which non of us survive or...I can’t even explain the other one.“

I give his hand a comforting squeeze, “Take your time. I know it’s tough.”

“Um, we are at this ruin of a house and we, well, you guys get attacked by these deformed, demonic monstrosities. I can’t get to you. I can’t save you. Darkness takes over my brain and all I hear is horrified screams and calls for help. And then I wake up. Terrified.“ 

I am terrified just picturing it, let alone experiencing it. I’d probably sob like a baby and refuse to go to sleep ever again. “That’s horrible, Andrew. I’m so sorry you have to go through that.” I pause for a second, “Little Hope is a place with terrible history, I can’t blame you for being so hesitant about going. I’m a sucker for these types of places, but I completely understand your angle.”

He chuckles, “Yeah, I believe I overheard you saying you’d like to visit Centralia.“

I can’t help but smile, “Oh, I’d love to.”

Suddenly, completely out of the blue, he gets a spark in his eye. He becomes livelier, almost like new life was breathed into him. Pushing back his chair, he stands up and takes the remainder of coffee cups. “Well, that’s not gonna happen if you kill yourself.” Without batting an eye at my baffled expression, he throws the cups in the trashcan near by. “Let me help you with the studying. Two work better than one, after all. I’m sure you’ll grasp everything better if you have an actual person explaining it to you. Also, I’d like to make up for the time you wasted here with me.”

I get up as well, “No need, seriously. I can figure it out. Apart from feeling so energized I could run a marathon, my brain is working a lot better now. You go try to catch some z’s.” I wave my hand dismissively but he catches it mid-motion, mumbling a quick ‘come on’ before leading me out of the dining hall and towards the staircase I took earlier.

                                                           *  *  *

It’s been about two days since that night and history is over here repeating itself. I am, once again, pulling an all-nighter, this time alone because no one else from my friend group shares this class with me. You’d think I would have learned my lesson and would start studying at a reasonable time, granting myself both peace of mind and a better functioning brain, but NOPE. Actually, I’m beginning to think I can’t study at any other time of day. The late nights/early mornings give me the best atmosphere. Those hours before dawn are the quietest I’ve ever had the chance to experience - for studying and just chilling on the roof of the dorms. The dining hall is still a place I frequent. I can’t help but hope to run into Andrew every time I walk in that big, eerie room. I haven’t been so lucky, though. We got the results of our last exam today and I was, and still am overjoyed for the grade I got. Not only was it a passing one, it was a SOLID passing one. I can swear, if it wasn’t for Andrew’s help, I would’ve failed it with the lowest score in the class.

“How does this work...?“ I mumble in frustration, reading through the poorly written notes I’ve made. Full disclosure - this is my nap class. This is the class I spend spacing out and - as its title suggests - taking naps. I am surprised I have as many notes as I do. 

Taylor, being the great friend she is, refused to budge from our dorm, determined to help me in any way she could. I appreciate the gesture, don’t get me wrong, but having another person would defeat the purpose of being up this late, so I talked her into sticking to her original plan - hanging out with Andrew and Daniel at their dorm while I fry my brain cells.

Just as I’m about to take a sip of my third coffee for the night, my phone starts ringing. I look at the phone screen that’s displaying Andrew’s name and straighten up in my chair, ready to launch myself out the door in case he needs my help. Screw the exam.

“Hello? You ok? What’s wrong?“ I blabber into the phone after picking up the call

“Hey, sorry for bothering you. Hope I didn’t wake you up. Um, I had another nightmare....never mind. Sorry for calling.“ His voice is shaky and hesitant, almost as if he’s speaking with zero air in his lungs.

My concern shoots through the roof, “Don’t you ‘never mind’ me! And don’t apologize! Meet me in the dining hall in five minutes.” I jump to my feet, pulling my jacket on with my unoccupied arm.

He sighs, “I’m already there.“

I nod distractedly, momentarily forgetting that he can’t see me, before leaving the dorm. I power walk the familiar hallways, the only reason I’m not running being the late hour and the trouble I’d get in for the noise.

I stop right outside the dining hall doors, giving myself five seconds to compose myself so I won’t look absolutely unhinged when I walk in. I get that it’s pointless, considering I have massive bags under my soulless eyes, but a girl can try.

Pushing the door open, I am met with small, flickering dots of light hovering over one of the tables. The outline of Andrew’s silhouette is also visible, but nothing more. It takes me a second to realize the lights I was looking at were three small candles.

“Andrew?“ I whisper-call his name while I’m still at a distance of about ten feet, cautious not to freak him out by approaching without making my presence known.

As I near the table, the candle-light illuminates his face enough for me to be able to see that he doesn’t look at all like what he sounded like over the phone. Something about his gaze when his eyes meet mine screams ‘I’m so glad you’re here’, but then again, that might be wishful thinking. Apart from that, he looks rather normal - not like someone who just had the most horrific of nightmares. Actually, I think I can see a hint of a smile forming at the corners of his lips.

“Hey Y/N.“ He greets me, “Ready to study?“ He points to the several notebooks and sheets of paper neatly stacked on the table. Next to that pile is a similar one of snacks. 

My eyes widen, “Wait, what? What is this?“ I narrow my eyes at him, “Is this your way of dealing with the nightmares or something? It’s completely ok if it is, don’t get me wrong...“

He shakes his head, the smile now fully formed on his face, “No, Y/N. I actually haven’t had a nightmare since that night you found me here. This...” he motions to the table, “...is several things. First of all, a celebration for your passed exam. Second, a thank you - cause I believe you’re the reason the nightmares stopped. I just needed to talk to someone about them and you were the only person I could do that with properly. And third, I know you have an exam in a few hours, so I wanted to help. We make great study-buddies, don’t you agree?”

I’m honestly speechless, “You schemer.” I’m smiling and blushing like crazy and I couldn’t be happier to be surrounded by darkness at this moment. “How did you even get these notes? You’re not in that class.”

He gives me a conspiring smirk, “That’s classified info.” He hands me a coke can, “No more coffee for you tonight.”

“You interrupted me on my third cup, but better late than never I guess.“ I giggle taking the handed soda and taking a seat on the chair opposite him. “Thank you so much, Andrew. Really, it means a lot to me. How am I supposed to repay you for this?“ I can tell he’s about to protest so I hurry to stop him, “No, no, no. You can’t change my mind on that.“

He sighs in defeat I can only guess is fake, taking the smirk on his face into consideration. He contemplates whatever’s on his mind for a second, buying himself time while he opens a soda can for himself. I copy his action, opening mine as well. “Um, well, there is one way I can think of....” he trails off, avoiding eye-contact. The brief moment I manage to catch his gaze I give him a nod, encouraging him to go on. “How about calling this a date?”

I am shocked. No, ‘pleasantly surprised’ is a better term to use. ‘Overjoyed’ an even better one. 

The blush I thought couldn’t get any darker or more wide-spread just proved me wrong. Despite the chilliness of the dining hall, my face, neck and ears are on fire. Once again, a big thank you goes to the darkness that surrounds us.

Instead of showing off how surprised and happy I am, I lift my soda can in the air, “It’s a date then.”

His smirk turns into a relieved smile as he takes his can, clinking it against mine, “It’s a date.”

@sparrow-gg  @artlovingbre  @chairtiger

#the dark pictures #the dark pictures man of medan #the dark pictures little hope #the dark pictures house of ashes #the dark pictures anthology #dark pictures little hope #dark pictures anthology #the dark pictures anthology little hope #little hope #man of medan #until dawn #supermassive #supermassive games #video games #video game #video game fanfic #little hope andrew #little hope john #little hope angela #little hope taylor #little hope daniel #andrew x reader #little hope andrew x reader

[sortasirius]

Prompt: Sam sets Dean up on a blind date. Dean is reluctant but Sam talks him into it. Dean meets Cas at the diner/wherever and hates to admit it, but the guy is kinda really hot and he's really enjoying their conversation. Before they've finished their meal, a girl/guy approaches their table. It's the person Sam wanted to set Dean up with. Cas realizes he got a text message half an hour ago from his actual blind date, who had to cancel at the last minute. Heheh :D

Boy I really swagged in fifteen minutes late with Starbucks on this one huh?  Sorry for being AWOL, y’all, life got me a little down recently but I’m feeling better, love you all eternally and here’s some absolutely shameless AU fluff.

Thank you so so much for prompting me this, literally any and all prompts are welcome at all times always <3

Words: 1341

“This is embarrassing,” Dean whines, staring at Sam who’s staring at his phone, paying Dean no mind.

“It’s not embarrassing, lots of people go on blind dates.”

Dean rolls his eyes, Sam was purposefully missing the point here, he shouldn’t have to explain why this was embarrassing, why having your younger brother, who is in college, set you up with a blind date with someone he met at a party is embarrassing.

“I don’t think I’m ready.”

Sam looks up from his homework, equal parts exasperated with American History in the 1800s as he is with Dean himself.  He takes a long swig of coffee, sweeps his hair out of his face, and fixes Dean with a stare that makes Dean feel like he’s being x-rayed.  He turns away from Sam’s eyes, looking out at the park they were sitting in, Sam insisting that only commuting to and from work wasn’t enough fresh air for him, and had dragged him out to the park by their shared apartment to study in Sam’s case, to crush 40 levels of Candy Crush in Dean’s.

“You’ll be fine, they’re really nice, I think you’ll like them.”

“You really won’t give me any details?”

“Nope.”

Dean sighs heavily, looking around for some inspiration, some excuse as to why he can’t go on this date.  He just doesn’t do dating, much less the type of dating that should be left in a nineties rom com.  He comes up empty.

“Fine, but you have to do dishes for the next week. And laundry.”

Sam grins into his history books.

“Fine.”

Dean isn’t nervous as he walks into the little diner, because he doesn’t get nervous, thanks for asking.  He doesn’t pick the seat at the booth the hostess shows him so he can see the door on purpose, he just happens to like to sit this way.  He’s also not tapping his foot on the linoleum floor and twisting his hands together, because that would mean he cared about this, which he does not.

The diner’s familiar, which is a blessing and a curse, because he knows what’s good but also can’t look at the menu for something to do.

This is dumb.  He feels like he’s twelve.

The door jingles, and Dean’s head snaps up.  The guy speaking to the hostess is a little shorter than Dean, but not by much.  His hair is dark and sticking up in all directions, he’s got a killer jawline, and the type of stance that says he knows he’s hot.  He leans toward the hostess with a smile, and she stares at him for a second too long before leading him straight towards Dean, and he has to fight the urge to stand up and throw himself through the glass window to avoid this whole thing.  Damn Sam, he really knew his type.

“Hi,” the guy says, and Dean tries his best not to stare at the way his dark jeans hug his hips and the way his t-shirt is just a little too small across his chest and shoulders.  Fuck.

Dean takes the hand that’s offered and the guy slides into the booth across from him.  His eyes are bright blue and so intense that Dean feels his throat constricting like he’s having an allergic reaction.  This is going to be a fucking disaster, he had not expected this guy to be this hot.

“Hey.  I’m Dean, nice to uh, meet you.”

“Dean, that’s a nice name.  I’m Cas.”

“Cool, hi Cas.”

Dean will not let this be awkward, this guy is too hot not to take back to his apartment.

“So, what do you do?”

“Straight in with it, then?” Cas smiles a crooked smile that Dean melts a little at, “I’m a writer, I work for the university as a professor.”

Dean liked that he put the title of writer before professor.

“That’s cool, what d’you teach?”

“English and literature, depending on the semester.  What do you do?”

The conversation is far easier than Dean had expected.  Talking to Cas is as easy as breathing, and they go from one topic to the next with ease. From sports, which Cas knows nothing about, to literature, where Cas spends five minutes doe-eyed over Dean as he talks about his love for Vonnegut and Tolstoy.  Dean doesn’t even really taste his bacon cheeseburger, which is a real shame because they’re the best in the city.

“I have to say, you aren’t what I expected,” Cas smiles at Dean with bright eyes and Dean feels himself turning red.

“Yeah you really aren’t either, not that I’m complaining or anything.”

“Glad to hear there aren’t any complaints.”

Dean grins, taking a bite of his burger and not even caring if he’s graceful about it.

“Who would I go to with complaints?”

“Hm?  Oh, you’d have to take that up with the HR department, but they’re on an extended vacation at the moment,” Cas taps his own head, making a face that makes Dean choke into his fries.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had an HR department, it’s just sheer chaos up here.”

Cas laughs this full laugh that makes Dean laugh as well. He hasn’t found someone this easy to talk to…ever, except for Sam.  As much as he dreaded this meal, he’s dreading the end of it even more.  He thought “connections” with people right off the bat were made up by Hollywood to sell tickets to bad movies, he had never expected to connect with someone this fast, but the idea of the date being over made his palms get sweaty.

“Listen, I don’t wanna assume-” Dean begins, right as a pretty girl with long blonde hair comes up to their table, breaking the little bubble of bliss that had developed over the course of their conversation.

“Hi, so sorry to bother you, are either of you Dean?”

Dean looks her up and down, surprised.  He doesn’t recognize her, and he’s not one to forget someone he meets.

“Uh yeah, I am.”

“I think we were supposed to meet for lunch forty five minutes ago?”

Dean looks from Cas, to the girl, to Cas again.  Cas’ brow is furrowed with confusion as he goes digging through his phone.  Dean watches his eyebrows knit, his eyes widen, and his mouth fall open as he looks up to stare at Dean.

“Um.  My blind date texted me half an hour ago saying he had to cancel.”

They stare at each other, it feels like Dean’s brain is trying to catch up.  The girl, Dean’s actual date, is watching them, looking more curious than annoyed.

“So…”

“So we weren’t meant to be on this date.”

Dean blinks several times.  Fuck it, maybe this was down to fate.  He turns back to the pretty girl and gives her his most charming smile.

“I’m so sorry.  Can we, uh, reschedule?”

She eyes them, and Dean hadn’t even realized he and Cas were leaning across the table, as close to each other as the plastic would allow.

“Uh, yeah, we can.  No problem.”

“I really am sorry.”

She smiles awkwardly and heads out the door.  Dean immediately puts his face in his hands, Cas starts laughing.

“What’re you laughing at?”

“That was so awkward, I thought you were going to shrivel up right there.”

Dean rolls his eyes and picks up a couple of fries, pretending to ignore Cas, like he’d known him all his life.  Cas pulls himself together after a couple of minutes, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand.

“What were you saying, before your actual date interrupted ours?”

Dean blushes again.  But again, fate right?

“I was saying, I didn’t want to assume anything, but are you free later this week?”

Cas grins, and takes Dean’s hand in his.  His hand is warm and solid and Dean does not want to let it go.

“I’ll check my schedule, I may have a couple of blind dates to cancel, but I think the HR department can fit you in.”

#my writing #destiel #spn #supernatural #deancas #anyway send me all prompts pls and thnk u #anonymous #lilly answers

[canariie]

“Do you want to have ramen?”

Rating: T for Rangiku’s implications ;)

Synopsis: Toushiro invites Momo over to his place for ramen, not quite understanding the full social implications he has brought upon himself.

Word Count: 2276 words

Setting: College AU

Prompts: Hitsuhina Week 2020 - Day 2 Reveal / AU

Author’s Note: My first submission for @hitsuhina-week ever! I always love writing AUs since Hitsuhina mainly suffer in canon :’( 

This was inspired by the ramen scene in the K-drama Crash Landing Onto You! Also, I have been thinking about a College AU for Hitsuhina recently so this would be one scene of it! I hope you enjoy!

— 

Toushiro looked at the clock again for what seemed like the fifth time. Where is she? He busied himself his apartment, fiddling with the sparse furniture, but everything was already orderly and in place. Toushiro had already spent all day cleaning up to have his childhood friend, Momo, over. The two had just finished their first-year final exams yesterday and had not had the time to properly catch up yet.

He had offered to have her over for dinner—just instant ramen, Toushiro by no means was a chef. He also knew that since he lived alone they could have more freedom than if they hung out than at her 2-bedroom apartment with Momo’s roommate around. Not that they were going to be loud or rowdy—unlike Toushiro’s neighbor, Rangiku Matsumoto.

Earlier that evening. the second year had brought it upon herself earlier to loudly knock on his door, demanding to borrow a broom for herself.

“Oh, someone’s cleaning up?” Rangiku smiled cheekily. “Are you having anyone over?”

“It’s just Hinamori.” He thrusted the broom into her hands and responded curtly, “Now take this and go before she gets here.”

“Really? I want to see Hinamori-chan too!” The blonde girl stepped inside. “Maybe I should stay too!”

“No!” The word left Hitsugaya’s mouth before he could stop himself and he could feel his ears go hot. He was eager to see Momo but didn’t want his neighbor to know that. “We’re just eating ramen, so there won’t be enough…” he said as he attempted to compose himself.

Rangiku smiled knowingly, “Relax Captain, I wasn’t planning on it…especially if you’re going to have ramen. There’s no room for more than 2 people in that,” she replied cheekily, her voice dripping with implications.

Toushiro narrowed his eyes in skepticism, not liking the tone of her voice. “What are you talking about Matsumoto?”

Her blue eyes filled mirth, happy to see the confusion on his face. “Do you not know what ‘having ramen’ means Captain? And I thought you were a genius!”

Toushiro scowled at the comment, clearly not happy to be ignorant—even if it was something Rangiku knew. “What do you mean?”

And so, she explained, laughing as the white-haired boys face turn redder and redder. All this new information left Toushiro flustered and he hastily pushed Matsumoto out of the apartment, still undeterred in her laughter at his embarrassment.

Since then, Toushiro had occupied himself with cleaning up the living room and setting up the kotatsu as a way to firmly forget that conversation. It annoyed him that he had no idea of such a concept—and if he didn’t know, Momo definitely didn’t know.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have feelings for his childhood friend—he had realized for several years how he felt about the sweet brown eyed girl. But Momo didn’t know and he valued their friendship too much to jeopardize it by letting her know. Toushiro knew how much Momo relied on his presence in her life, especially after what happened to her in high school, and he couldn’t risk being anything more the friend that she needed.

A knock erupted his thoughts (though much softer) and Toushiro opened the door to a pair of arms and paper bag in his face. “Ahh Hitsugaya-kun!” came the muffled voice of his childhood friend, “it’s going to fall!” He quickly grabbed the bag right as it tipped into forward towards him. “Hinamori! Did you buy the whole grocery store?” He inspected its contents and saw she had brought vegetables, meat, and tofu—basically everything but the ramen noodles which he had offered.

Momo laughed as she took off her shoes. “Well, we just finished finals and I know you wouldn’t have much groceries inside so I decided to stop by and pick up some ingredients as well as,” she held up a plastic bag that was hanging on the crook of her elbow, “some celebratory drinks!”

Toushiro raised his eyebrow. “Isn’t this a bit much Hinamori? I thought we were just eating ramen?”

He followed her into his kitchenette and set down the ingredients as she scrummaged through the drawers for a bottle opener. “Hitsugaya-kun, we just finished our exams of our first semester of college! We must celebrate it fully!” For further emphasis, she poured two shots and held one out to him. Toushiro took it with a skeptical glance at his childhood friend. “Hinamori, you don’t even drink that much…” Her tolerance was abysmally low and any full drink would knock her out completely.

“I know, I know! But I wanted to really celebrate tonight!” She leaned herself against the kitchen counter. “I also wanted to thank you for helping me study for my exam, even when you had your own exams to study for.” Momo looked at him through her eyelashes, her brown eyes gleaming. “Thank you, Hitsugaya-kun. I really appreciated it.”

Toushiro could feel his ears go red and he looked away. “It was no problem.” He could never turn away that look of her hers: her soft smile and warm eyes. For years, though she may know it or not, whenever Momo gazed at him like that, Toushiro could feel his will breaking.

That’s how he helped her study: with her knocking on his door with a pleading look in her eyes and her textbooks clutched to her chest, there was no way he could say no. Not that he would have; Hinamori had helped him in countless ways, though she may have not realized it, just by simply being her cheerful self. She was selfless, kind and always put others, like him, above herself—a trait he initially found annoying but later on an endearing quality that made him want to protect her more.  

That’s why he took the shot still extended out towards him, though hesitant he could see the anticipated gleam in her eyes. “To the end of finals…” Toushiro said weakly though it didn’t stop Momo from cheering loudly before taking her own. He eyed her as he drank his, albeit not as quick since he was fully aware of his tolerance to alcohol, not as low as Hinamori but definitely not high.

Momo let out a sigh of content. “Let’s get started shall we!”

---

Though the two were tired from just finishing a week of finals, all the fatigue seemed to wear away as they moved around the kitchen. Toushiro was by far not a great cook and only ate what required the minimal cooking. He could only shrug his shoulders as Momo threw a disapproving look over her shoulder at his empty fridge before placing some of the ingredients inside. She moved around with an ease, taking out the pots and pans to prepare the ingredients for ramen without hesitation—almost as if she lived there, which Toushiro rather liked.

They fell in a comfortable rhythm of light conversation in between the chops of vegetable and the pan sizzle of meat. From plans for the holiday to news about classmates, all the conversation fell neatly in between light jokes and the appetizing aroma of a long-awaited home cooked meal. Toushiro made sure to keep an eye on Momo as she was intermittently taking shots in while adding the chopped cabbage and beef to the pot. He debated moving the knives away as she started to accidently spill things, almost knocking the whole bottle of soy sauce into the pan. While Momo wasn’t looking, he moved the sake bottle out of her sight, hoping she’d think she had misplaced it.

“Ahh it looks so delicious!” Momo squealed as Toushiro cracked the last ingredients of eggs to the pot. “I can’t wait to eat it!” She moved closer to catch a whiff, almost moving in front of the pot but Toushiro caught her shoulders and pulled her back. “Be careful Hinamori! It’s still boiling!”

She furrowed her eyebrows and craned her neck up at him, “Hitsugaya-kun, I wasn’t going to actually put my face in. You know I am older than you, right?”

Toushiro didn’t want to take chances as he could see the glazed look starting to form over her brown eyes. “Yes, I know Hinamori,” he acquiesced, “and as the older one you can go set up the table to eat. I’ll bring the food over.” He could hear her mumbling to himself “now he’s kicking me out” but she obliged anyway, taking the plates and turning on the TV to a random late-night movie.

Toushiro brought out the pot of instant ramen—though it could hardly just be called instant anymore. The childhood friends had elevated it to a new level, at Momo’s insistence, with semi-boiled eggs, spinach, rice cakes, beef slices and thinly shredded green onions. Though Toushiro was displeased to see that Momo had found the sake bottle and had generously poured herself some more shots for two of them, he was happy to see her taking in a whole serving of food into her bowl.

The two fell quiet as they ate with gusto, now realizing how hungry they were. With the warmth of the kotatsu table, the white light of the TV and the filtered moonlight through the blinds, the tranquility of the moment allowed them to truly relish their food..

“Thank you for having me over, Hitsugaya-kun,” Momo said as she put her chopsticks over bowl. “I really enjoyed cooking with you today.” She smiled appreciatively, though Toushiro could still see a hint of fatigue in her face.  

“I should thank you for going shopping for more ingredients. I was only planning to follow the instructions on the back of the packet.” He took a drink from his glass of water but stopped as he remembered. “Which by the way, let me know how much the bill was so I can pay you back for half.”

Momo waved her hand dismissively as she took another sip of the sake. “Don’t worry about that! You do so much for be, it’s the least I can do.”

He held her gaze. “Well, at least next time we do this, let me pay for the ingredients. It’s the least I can do since you cooked most of it.”

Momo laughed. “Shiro-chan, you really don’t give yourself enough credit. But, if you insist, then it’s fine.” She rested her chin on her hand as she yawned sleepily. “Guys just don’t think about this stuff normally. Like when I had ramen with Abarai-kun and Kira-kun—they didn’t even think about buying eggs!” she giggled.

At the back of Toushiro’s mind, he could hear Rangiku’s words from earlier on, and he felt a twinge of envy.

He cleared his throat. “Hinamori...you should be careful not to ask anyone else to have ramen with you.”

Momo’s bottom lip stuck out as she pouted in confusion, “But why Shiro-chan?”

Toushiro ignored the nickname, not wanting to derail from the point he was trying to make. “Because it has implications..”

“What kind of implications?”

Toushiro could feel his ears heat up. “Of more than just eating ramen.”

The brunette tilted her head in confusion. “I don’t understand…what else does ‘eating ramen’ mean besides eating ramen?”

He sighed in exasperation. “It’s more of the activity that follows after…”

“Like what?” Honestly, this girl was too clueless for her own good.

“When one finishes the ramen…they usually stay the night…” He left out the last part hoping she would understand.

“And sleep?”

Toushiro wanted to bang his head on the table. Now, he wished Rangiku was hear to explain. “But not of the sleeping kind.”

There was a pregnant pause before Momo erupted in sleepy giggles. “Shiro-chan, I don’t think that’s always the case. Friends can have ramen together! I think Rangiku-san has been giving you too many ideas.”

He made a sound of protest, almost knocking over his bowl of ramen. “She does not give me ideas!”

“Like you and I! Aren’t we just friends having ramen?” A few moments ticked by where they stared at each other until her voice turned somber. “Unless, is there something else going on, Shiro-chan?”

At that point he didn’t know what to do. The TV noise fell to a background static and thoughts raced through his mind. He didn’t want her to have any ramen with anyone else, well, because he wanted her.

“Hinamori I—”

Her head fell against the side of the couch, eyes already closed in sleep. Toushiro almost had to stop himself from slamming his head on the table and settled in heaving a huge sigh of disbelief. Of all the times she had to pass out. After gathering his wits together, he cleared the table and turned down the volume of the TV, not wanting to disturb her. Toushiro quietly stood up and moved over to Hinamori’s side, placing one arm behind her back and another under knees. Her head lolled to one side against his shoulder and he could feel soft puffs of air against his neck, sending heat up the back of his neck.

Toushiro carefully moved to his bedroom and placed her down, making sure to prop her head up on the pillow and cover her with a blanket. Knowing Momo, she was going to be knocked out the rest of the night and in no shape to go home; Toushiro just hoped that she would sleep through and forget the last part of their conversation.

For now, he’ll blame Matsumoto for putting these ideas in his head and hope that in the meantime, Momo wouldn’t have ramen with anyone else but him.

—–

Authors Note: I did a little research and it seems the “having someone over for ramen” is prevalent in South Korean culture. However! When I watched Naruto: The Last, the girls would always giggle whenever Naruto would ask Hinata over for ramen so I assume in Japanese culture, there is probably similar implications! If anyone knows, please let me know! I mainly enjoy putting Toushiro in a difficult position as secretly-in-love-with-their-childhood-friend and never able to do anything about it haha

Hope you enjoyed! :)

#hitsuhina #hitsuhina week #hitsuhina week 2020 #momo hinamori #Toshiro Hitsugaya #hitsugaya x hinamori #hitsugaya toshiro #hinamori momo #sorry for any typos #i tried to get this out as quickly as i could haha #canariie: my fics

[rucbarthatbowtiesarecooldw]

Saturday Afternoon Session

Guide Us O Thou Great Jehovah

Sustaining of church leaders

If I Listen With My Heart

 Elder Jeffrey R Holland

John 14: 26-27 etc

Care more about each other and heal each others wounds.

This latter day depression is more a loss of self confidence.

How do we find the covenant of Peace? By turning to Him who said He would have mercy on us and with everlasting kindness bring peace to our children.

Practice peace in a personal way – applying peace through the healing balm of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The help and peace we need is not the kind the world give us – but the powers of heaven which we can access by living according to the principals of righteousness.

Patience, longsuffering, gentleness, love unfeigned.

Wickedness never was happiness.

The price is a currency of tears and regret.

ABUSE IT NOT OKAY – EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL, MENTAL, OR SPIRITUAL.

Everyone has the right to be loved, feel peaceful, and find safety at home. Please may we try to maintain that environment there.

No one can use a sharp tongue and unkind words and still sing on tune the song of redeeming love.

 Elder Jorge T Becerra

Insistent and intentional ministering

Make it into a friendship and don’t force people before they are ready for what you are offering them – can apply to gospel and relationships

EVERYONE IS NESSECARY AND NEEDED IN THE CHURCH – those who may be strong and those who may be struggling.

People in the future including those who are yet unborn will be blessed by those who continue on or return to the covenant path

Elder Dale G Renlund

Some unfairness cannot be explained

How can I alleviate unfairness?

Even though it was unfair Christ choose to suffer for your sins and for mine

They haven’t revealed how or when – but they will

Christ will consecrate the unfairness for our gain

Focus on developing faith in Jesus Christ – that He has both the will to make it right and the power to do so.

Have compassion, try and make things right in the sphere of our power to do so

Like walking a mile in anothers shoes? See things through others eyes

Empathy, understanding, charity

Right now we are Gods hands and that is how He does something?

We will not be judged by what we say, but by how we treat the vulnerable and disadvantaged.

All that is unfair about life will be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ

Rather then becoming bitter let Him help you become better

He understands all unfairness

 Come Ye Children of the Lord

 Elder Neil L Anderson

Our journey did not begin at birth. And it will not end when we take our last breath at the end of mortality.

Children are loved by God

side note: While I would not personally get an abortion, I understand it can be the only choice some people have in some cases so just love everyone in my opinion and let it be between themselves and God. I need to worry about my own salvation – not someone elses – and I have no right to judge anyone.

The savior loves each precious child

 Elder Thierry K Mutombo

Don’t be blinded by the subtle craftiness of men

The Savior will be the light to all who hear his words

 President M Russell Ballard

You need to know both the Father and the Son

Knowing that we are loved by HF will help us know that we belong

side note: All of my close friends moved two hours away right when covid started so I completely feel this isolation and a lot of the time don’t feel like I belong. My ward boundaries were then completely redone as well and it’s so hard to make friends now. My closest family is also over an hour away and I don’t have a car so I can’t see them. I have a cousin who goes to the same college as me but he recently got married and so they mostly think of each other and when they go down for family dinners they forget about me. Haaha yep not like I’ve had multiple breakdowns this semester

Hope in Christ is not wishful thinking – it is an expectation which will be realized

 At least I belong to God’s family??

1 scriptures and latter-day prophets confirm everyone faithful in keeping covenants will have the opportunity for exhalation

Missed #2 again ugh haha

3 waiting upon the Lord implies continual obedience and continual progress towards Him – implies action, is not a waiting room

4 God offers eternal life to all His children – all of those who accept the Saviors gift of repentance

5 our confidence in these assurances is rooted in our faith in Jesus Christ – all promised blessings are made possible through Him

We all have God given gifts and talents which can be used to build up the kingdom now

 shut up i was not crying this whole talk nope. 

 Rejoice the Lord is King

#ldsconf #general conference #genconf #tumblrstake #church of jesus christ of latter day saints #april 2021

[tachimybananase]

Hiki & Howl

Original work by yours truly I’m working on this fic for 4 or 5 years now. This is the 3rd reboot, which some might find annoying or stupid, but since I’ve developed a lot as a “writer”, I want to make my existing works better (well, hopefully ^^) If you’ve read this before, please consider reading it again, because it’s very different from the last version! I hope you’ll enjoy this story and like the characters, they mean the world to me. :) You can also find me on Wattpad and AO3.  Summary: Hiki grew up in a strict Yakuza family with a harsh father and an abusive mother. After a traumatizing event, he lost all hope to ever find true happiness. Until, one day, a stranger came into his life and turned everything upside down.

Chapter 1 - Fate

"Hello, I'm here to meet Ueda-san. I have an appointment." A blond man in a black Audi Q7 sat waiting in front of a big iron gate. It took a moment after he had answered the intercom before the gate began to slowly open. "Follow the road until you reach the main building," a deep voice told him. The man did as he was told, following a graveled path for about five minutes until he arrived at a plaza stationed in front of a grand mansion. The mansion's architecture displayed a distinguished amalgamation of traditional Japanese charm and modern flair. He parked his car, got out, and adjusted his suit and tie before pushing up his glasses and walking to the entrance door. Giving no thought to hesitation, he rang the doorbell to which a buff, bald, gorilla of a man in a black designer suit answered. "Follow me," the man ordered, so he entered the house. They walked through the entrance hall and followed a long hallway, passing several doors before they finally reached their destination. The gorilla opened the door and gestured for him to walk inside. "Wait here," he growled. Doing as he was told he sat down on a black leather sofa, where he soon found himself alone. The room was bright and big, but the interior was quite spartan. Next to the sofa was a chair and a coffee table. On the wall to the right was a cupboard with an expensive-looking vase and a framed picture on it. Through the large glass door right across from him, he had a good view of the big, well-kept garden, which looked more like a park sizewise. Driven by curiosity, Howl got up to take a closer look at the picture on the cupboard. “Oh, a family portrait,” he mumbled to himself. The parents were sitting on two wooden chairs in the middle surrounded by five kids. The mother looked completely indifferent, and the father had a threatening aura. He knew that man’s face from the newspapers. It was the person he had an appointment with, and he wondered if the rumors were true. Are they really yakuza? Well, they sure look like it , Howl thought as he looked at the family in their expensive-looking, traditional yukata. Out of their five children, only two were smiling. One of them a teenage boy. He stood behind two smaller boys that looked close in age, his hands placed on their shoulders. He guessed the smaller boys, who were holding hands, were around ten. The bigger of the two was smiling as well, while the other looked shy, almost intimidated, but very cute. There was also a teenage girl that looked like she was pouting, and another boy that looked slightly older than her, with the same earnest expression as his father. Such a big family, but aside from those three boys in the corner, there was no feeling of happiness or wholesomeness whatsoever. Suddenly the door opened. Someone entered the room and Howl turned around. "Oh, there's someone in here, I'm sorry for disturbing!" A young man with long, rose blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, bowed. "I-I wanted to take a shortcut to the garden." He pointed at the glass door. "I assume you're waiting for my father…" "Yes, I am. My name is Harada Howl, nice to meet you," Howl answered. "N-Nice to meet you, I'm Ueda Hikaru," the boy replied politely but shy. Woah, he's cute , Howl thought instantly and suddenly realized… "You look like one of the boys in this portrait. Is this you?" He pointed at the smallest boy who looked intimidated. "Oh, yeah. That's me. Um, your name… It's quite unusual..." He changed the subject, but then he suddenly bowed. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I didn’t mean to be so intrusive.” "It’s fine, don’t worry. My mother was a big fan of the book 'Howl's Moving Castle' by Diana Wynne Jones, and she was a little extravagant, so she named me and my sister after the main characters." Howl replied as he was used to this kind of conversation. People often asked him about his name, which usually made him feel annoyed at his mother for not giving him a more common one. But weirdly, he wasn’t annoyed by that boy. "That's awesome, I immediately thought of that book! That’s why I asked. I love it too, it's one of my favorite stories,” Hikaru exclaimed. "You like reading?" Howl asked and pointed at the book the boy was holding. Hikaru nodded eagerly. "Yes, I love books. It's like living another life… Good books take you away from reality and let you forget where you are, who you are, and even that you're reading at all..." he replied with glowing cheeks and a spark in his eyes. "Your excitement is very refreshing, Ueda-kun," Howl said and smirked. "Oh, umm…" Hikaru blushed and looked down, obviously flustered. "C-Can I offer you some tea while you’re waiting? My father's men aren't very hospitable." "But weren't you on your way to the garden? I don't want to trouble you," Howl replied. "Oh no, I just wanted to go for a walk… I can do that later." "Well, in that case, I would love to have a cup of tea, thank you. But only if you join me." "Sure! Do you like green tea?" Hikaru asked eagerly. "I love green tea," Howl smiled warmly, which made the boy freeze with a surprised expression. Then he blushed and rushed out. Howl slumped back down on the sofa. "What the heck… My heart is beating like crazy…" he mumbled to himself. Is it because of my appointment? No... I’m not the type who gets nervous before meeting a potential client. Then… Is it because of him? I mean… He is really cute, Howl thought. This is a first. Thinking of a guy as cute? Strange... Dammit, I should focus on my appointment, but... After a few minutes, Hikaru came back, carrying a black tray with a teapot, a cup, and a plate of cookies on it. He placed it on the coffee table and sat down next to Howl. "Here you go, Harada-san," he said as he poured him a cup of the healthy brew. "I made the cookies myself, I hope they’re to your liking," Hikaru added nervously. Howl took one of the cookies from the plate and tried it. "Ueda-kun, they're delicious! Hands-down the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had," he praised him. "Ha-Harada-san, are you making fun of me?" The boy asked skeptically. "Not at all! My father's family runs a chain of sweets shops, so you can trust my verdict," Howl winked. "Maybe you've heard of Harada Sweets before?" "Y-Yeah... Um, well, I'll take the compliment then, thank you. I'm very happy that you like them." He looked down shyly and blushed. Howl's heart was throbbing wildly as he was completely bedazzled by this boy's brisk cuteness. He noticed that Hikaru seemed very insecure, but Howl didn't know at the time that it wasn't like him to talk to others so uncoerced. That he usually didn’t speak much at all, but that there was something about Howl that made Hikaru feel comfortable enough to almost forget about his shyness. "Ueda-kun, may I ask how old you were in that picture?" Again, Howl pointed at the photograph on the cupboard. "You're the youngest one of the bunch, right?" "Oh… I was ten when it was taken. I'm the smallest one, but my brother Hajime, who's standing right next to me, is one year younger than me," he explained. He looked sad and Howl wondered why that was the case. “Sorry if my questions make you feel uncomfortable. I’m too nosy.” “No, you’re not, it’s fine, really! I just don’t like looking at that picture. It was taken a year before my brother Satoshi passed away. The one who’s standing behind me.” Howl looked at the broadly smiling boy in the picture. “I’m sorry, my deepest condolences. That was very insensitive of me...” “You couldn’t have known, it’s fine,” the boy replied. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it…” He brushed a strand of hair behind his ear insecurely. "So you're 17 now?" Howl changed the topic to hopefully ease up the boy’s tension again. "I turned 18 on the twenty-second of April." "Oh, that was only three weeks ago… Happy belated birthday!" "Th-Thank you." Hikaru blushed. "Are you attending University yet?" "I'm going to attend T-Uni starting September. Since my birthday is after the start of the spring semester, I decided to begin in September." "T-Uni? That's funny, because…" Howl started, but suddenly the door opened and the gorilla entered the room. "Ueda-dono wants to see you now. Follow me," he said. “Hikaru-sama, you shouldn’t be here,” he added growling after he noticed the boy. “I’m sorry, Kitamura-san. I’ll clean up and leave.” The gorilla nodded and left. Hikaru got up and bowed to Howl. “It was nice talking to you. Um… Sorry, if I bothered you, though.” Howl started panicking internally, he wanted to talk to that boy more! He got up and frantically rummaged around in his pocket, pulled out a flat silver box, opened it, and took out one of the business cards that were inside. "Ueda-kun, I would like to meet you again to continue our conversation. I really enjoyed talking to you. Please call me or send me an email, okay?" The stern expression on Howl’s face as he formally offered him the card with both hands startled Hikaru. He hesitated for a moment and looked at the card without saying anything. It read: 'Harada Howl - Founder and CEO of Castle Tech - IT and Smart Home Security'.   The people that usually came to their house weren't exactly of the upright kind, and it could have been a dummy company, but Hikaru didn't want to be rude to the man, since he had been kind to him. So he took the card and Howl’s earnest expression turned into a relieved smile. “Hey, what’re you waiting for, follow me,” Kitamura barked at him as he reentered the room. They quickly said their goodbyes and Howl left. Hikaru sighed and put the card into his jeans pocket. What a strange guy , he thought as he cleaned up. But he liked my cookies… He smiled, took the tray, and brought it back to the kitchen before he finally went on his walk.Hikaru liked the big garden behind the house, especially the part that was the furthest away from the main building. No one ever walked that far, so he had it all to himself and no one who would disturb him. Hikaru preferred sitting underneath his favorite tree over being inside the house. The atmosphere there was always kind of dark and cold and his father often had 'business partners' over, most of whom were unpleasant people. He didn't feel at home there… Or welcomed even. As he had reached his little hideout, Hikaru made himself comfortable on the ground between the roots of a big cherry tree and took a deep breath of the warm spring air. Then, he suddenly realized something. "Crap, I forgot my book in the room because of that guy…" He sighed, annoyed at himself. "That guy…" Hikaru leaned back against the tree and looked into the cloudy sky while thinking about that stranger. He looked like a foreigner with his blond hair and blue eyes. He was also abnormally tall, at least for Japanese standards. Hiki estimated his size to be around 1,90m. The man’s appearance was quite impressive, not only because of his size. He wore a dark blue suit with a white shirt and a dark blue vest that flattered his blue eyes and the cut underlined his broad shoulders. His expression was stern, which was emphasized by his black, square-shaped glasses. Yet, he was surprisingly friendly. His smile and his deep voice felt comforting. “He liked my cookies,” Hikaru grinned, but then shook his head. "What am I thinking about…?" He clicked his tongue. It had been the first time that one of his father's associates was nice to him in a non-creepy way. The clientele normally consisted of other Yakuza Clan leaders or members. Growing up as the son of the head of one of the biggest clans wasn't easy, especially because Hikaru despised violence and weapons. His siblings were better at accepting their lifestyle, but he just wanted to get out of that house as soon as possible. “Oh right, he gave me his card…” The boy reached into his jeans pocket and pulled it out. "Harada Howl, huh…" He stared at the card for a moment and wanted to put it back, but then he hesitated. "He was very kind and polite, I should at least thank him for that, right? Yup, definitely. Manners are important," he told himself, took out his phone, and started typing a message. [Thank you very much for praising my cookies earlier. Best regards, Ueda Hikaru.] He tapped the send button, but then jolted. "Wait! No, that sounds stupid, how do I delete this?!” He panicked, and as he tried to find out how to delete a message on the app he was using, his phone suddenly started buzzing. "Wah!" Startled by that, Hikaru dropped it on the ground and looked at the upwards directed display. “It’s his number! Why is he calling?!" Hikaru's heart was pounding so hard, it felt like it was about to burst through his chest. He reached for the device, but the moment he picked it up, it went silent. "I missed it…" He wasn't sure why, but he felt sad. He sighed in frustration when his phone started buzzing again. "Y-YES?!" He answered so eagerly that he cringed over his own behavior. What the hell is wrong with me , he asked himself. "Ueda-kun...? Are you there?" "Yes, it's me! I’m here!" "Can you talk or are you busy?" "It's fine…" "What are you doing right now?" "I'm still in the garden…" Hikaru leaned back against the tree, happy to hear the man's voice. "Isn’t it lonely out there?" "I don’t like people, they’re troublesome. Being alone outside in nature is much better." Did I just say that I don’t like people?! He’ll think I’m a freak , Hikaru thought, panicking. “Yeah, I don’t like people either, but I have to be social due to my job…” Hikaru’s heart throbbed with happiness. “Really...?” “To be honest, I’d rather spend my days writing code alone in my office than socialize. Talking to people is straining, but not talking to clients would be kind of bad for my business.” “Yeah, probably…” Hikaru smiled broadly as he felt understood in that regard for the first time. “Where are you right now?” “I'm in my car on my way home to Tokyo, that’s why I thought I'd call since I can't type and I didn’t want to wait for an hour before answering. Luckily the meeting with your father was over quickly. He knows exactly what he wants, which makes it easy to work with him.” "So it went well?" "Let’s say, your father is quite a character, but yes, it went well and we’re gonna work for him in the future... Honestly, I've never met someone like him before, and to be blunt, I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing." "It sure isn't. So… That means you're not one of them?" "T hem ? Oh, you mean Yakuza?” Howl asked bluntly. “Yeah…” So it is true , he thought. “No, I’m not and that's not my usual clientele, but having him as a client will actually be great for our growth, he has a lot of influence... As long as they don't want me to do anything shady, I don’t care what my clients do in private." Hikaru felt relieved. "What does your company do?" "It's just boring IT stuff, mostly. Among other things, we develop Smart Home Security Systems and such. We're going to set up new IT systems at your father's offices and install a new Home Security system..." Howl kept rambling about his line of work for a while and, though Hikaru didn't understand most of the technical terms, he wasn't bored for a single second. He enjoyed hearing Howl talk so passionately about his profession, and couldn't help but smile the whole time. "Jeez, I’m babbling, sorry,” Howl interrupted himself at one point. “To continue where we left off earlier, you said you’re going to attend T-Uni in September, right? What faculty?" "Education, I want to become a teacher," Hikaru replied. "Is that so?" "Yeah, my Brother-in-law is a professor and he always talked so passionately about his job, it inspired me." "I see. Well, good luck and work hard, Ueda-kun." "Th-Thank you, I'll do my best. My grades are quite good and I'm really looking forward to my University life." "Are you going to move to Tokyo? It would probably be more convenient than to travel by train every day, right?" "I want to, but I wasn't able to find a job there yet, and there are no free dorms currently.” "Can't your father pay for your rent?" Howl asked bluntly. "Well, he could and he even offered it, but I don't want to rely on his money. It’d make me indebted to him, that’s why I worked hard for my scholarship. I should explain why being independent of him is important… You know, in our world, you’re supposed to take the path your family chooses for you. Basically, you have to work in the family business… My father decides what exactly you’re going to do and his will is our law. But I didn’t want to waste my life doing something I hate, so I made a deal with him that allowed me to take my own path.” “A deal?” “I had to fulfill certain criteria like getting straight A’s in school, present him a life plan and such, which was fine and somewhat reasonable. But if I depended on his money and did anything he’d be displeased with, he could just go and cut me off financially. I'd be forced to come back here and work for him after all. With a job, I would be able to stay in Tokyo and live my own life no matter what.” “So you’re creating your own safety net, huh…” “Yup, that’s the plan. Even if it’s a shitty job and I’ll have a tiny, run-down apartment, anything is better than this house. I really have to find a job, I wanna move out as soon as possible. And the commute would be horrible. By train, it’s one and a half hours each way every day..." “I’m impressed, Ueda-kun. Your determination to stand on your own two feet at such a young age amazes me.” “R-Really?” Hikaru blushed and was glad Howl wasn’t able to see it. “Absolutely! You could live a comfortable life, but you’re choosing the hard way. That’s honorable in my opinion.” “Th...Thanks…” Hikaru replied flustered. “Wait, wasn’t there something you wanted to say when Kitamura-san interrupted us? I just remembered… You said it’s funny that I’m attending T-Uni, because… And then Kitamura-san came in.” “Right, I wanted to say that my sister is a T-Uni alumnus.” “Oh really? Right, you mentioned a sister when we talked about your name. You said you’re both named after the main characters in the book, so her name must be Sophie…?” "Correct. She's my twin and moved to Hokkaido after graduating. She works as a dojo instructor. She’s incredibly talented when it comes to martial arts." " That sounds impressive! But isn’t it tough to live so far apart when you’re twins?" “I do miss her, but she’s working for a prestigious dojo and a famous sensei who’s won many awards, she couldn’t say no to that. We talk on the phone often, though. We’re still very close.” “Do you have any more siblings?” “No, we’re the only family that’s left. Our parents passed away and we only have an aunt who partially raised us. But she lives in the UK… We don’t have a big family like you, unfortunately.” “Well, I might have a big family, but I’m not close with all of them. I’m closest with my brother Hacchan.” “I’m trying to recall the family portrait… He was…” “The one next to me who was holding my hand. He’s very protective over me, even though I’m the older one,” Hikaru smiled lovingly. “We also have a childhood friend, Kaito, who’s my age, and like a brother to me also.” “It’s important to have someone you’re close to.” “Yeah… Especially if you don’t like people,” Hikaru chuckled, and Howl did as well. “That’s true…” They continued to have a very long conversation and both didn't realize how much time had passed. Howl had gotten home, had had dinner, but they were still on the phone together. "Ah-choo!" Hiki suddenly sneezed, interrupting a heated conversation where they were discussing the latest episode of a drama both of them were watching. "Oh, bless you! Wait... Ueda-kun, are you still outside?!" "Yeah, I haven’t moved an inch…" "Jeez, go inside, it's dark already and the nights are still cold! I hope you won’t get sick..." Hikaru smiled, happy that Howl cared about his well being. "I will, sorry." He got up and walked back to the house. When he had reached his room, someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder from behind. Hikaru jolted and almost dropped his phone again. "Wah, what the…? Oh, it’s you… Jeez, you scared me!" His younger brother Hajime was standing behind him. He was the complete opposite of Hikaru. Hajime was tall, strong, and had a toned body due to the martial arts he did. Hiki on the other hand was very slender and looked rather frail. Not unhealthily skinny, but also not muscular at all. So naturally, everyone mistook Hajime for the older one. "Niichan, there you are! Kai came over to play video games, wanna join us?" "Umm no, not today, sorry." Hikaru tried to hide his phone. "What're you up to," Hajime asked curiously as he noticed his brother’s weird behavior. "Noth-... AH-CHOO!" "Eh, are you getting sick again? You should take a hot bath. Want me to-" "No, no, it's fine, really! I'll just go to bed, I'm sleepy, goodnight! And say hi to Kai for me." He turned around and hurried to his room, leaving a startled Hajime behind. Hikaru sighed loudly after he shut the door. "Are you still there Harada-san?" "I am, are you okay? What happened?" "Nothing, just my brother. Where were we?" Hikaru slumped down on his bed and they continued talking for a while longer until the boy started nodding off.On the next morning, Hikaru woke up with a throbbing head and moaned as he got up. He felt horrible. In addition to his throbbing head, his nose was stuffed, his body hurt and his throat felt sore. “Guess I caught a cold after all,” he said to himself with a husky voice. "Jeez, and I fell asleep with my clothes on… Wait! Did we even hang up last night? Oh no..." Hikaru realized that he must have fallen asleep while Howl was still on the phone. His feverish cheeks became even redder. "How embarrassing!" He coughed and took his phone. “A message!” He opened it and read: [Ueda-kun, I hope you're okay. I'm sorry, but I hung up the phone after you fell asleep. Well, I listened to your breathing for a while, which sounds creepy, but it felt so relaxing… Can I call you again tonight? I haven't had that much fun in a long time...] Hikaru's heart skipped a beat. It's fun for him to talk with me , he thought excitedly and typed in an answer. [I feel the same! Sorry for falling asleep (⌒_⌒;) Call me whenever you have time.] Unexpectedly, he received a reply right away. [Can't wait. I’ll call you in the evening after work, around 8.] Hikaru was so happy, he almost forgot how sick he felt. “Niichan?” His younger brother suddenly knocked on the door and opened it. “Are you ready for breakfa- Woah, you look awful!” “Thanks, Hacchan. Good morning to you, too,” Hikaru replied sarcastically. “I knew it! I knew you caught a cold! You were hanging out in the garden for way too long again. How often do I have to tell you to at least take a blanket with you? You know how easily you get sick,” Hajime scolded him. “Anyway, stay here, I’ll go and ask the chef to make some rice porridge and tea, no objections! Do you still have cooling pads? If not, I’ll ask Kai to bring some from the konbini, he’s coming over after work as usual...” “I have a whole box left in my drawer...” Hikaru mumbled. “Alright. Rest now, I’ll be back in a bit.” The boy slumped back down into his pillows as his brother rushed out. “Not gonna put up a fight, too tired…” he huffed to himself. But he appreciated Hajime’s mothering a lot since their actual mother wasn’t exactly the loving type. Hikaru made sure to thank him when he brought the steaming hot meal and freshly brewed tea. Despite his bad health, he was excitedly looking forward to his new friend’s call, but his condition only got worse over time and he slept most of the day. In the end, Hikaru missed the call.He was devastated when he woke up the next morning and saw the missed call on his phone. “I bet he’s mad now…” Hikaru muttered, struggling while trying to sit up, weakened by his cold. He couldn't help but tear up as he gave in and just laid there. “I hate this… I hate myself…” he whispered frustrated and disappointed in himself. He hadn't even noticed that his brother and his childhood friend Kaito had entered his room to look after him. "Niichan, are you crying? What happened, are you feeling worse? Want me to tell Sasara to drive you to the hospital?" Hikaru shook his head. "I’m sad… I really like him, you know… I wanted to talk to him more and maybe even see him again, but now he's probably super mad at me because I didn't pick up the phone last night… Or he thinks I hate him , which I don’t," he sobbed. Hikaru didn’t want to tell them about Howl, but the words just slipped out while Hajime and Kaito looked at each other in confusion. “Finally someone I got along with who isn't my brother or my best friend and I screw it up just because I have to get sick again. Great timing, Hikaru! Well done, you weakling! Dammit…” Hikaru cursed, talking more to himself than to Hajime and Kaito. "What’re you babbling about?" "Maybe he’s hallucinating because of the fever. I mean, he’s done that before... Or he’s just going crazy," Kaito said in his typical nonchalant manner. "I’m so sad," Hikaru sniffled. "The day before yesterday, I met someone and he liked my cookies and accepted me, didn’t judge me… But he probably hates me now and I deserve it!" "Niichan, who the heck is he?" Hajime asked concernedly. Hikaru sat up, moaning. "Ugh, I’m dizzy…” He took a deep breath. “His name is Harada-san. He totally gets me, and he’s just so cool, and it’s sooo much fun talking to him," Hikaru swooned with a runny nose. "Ew, gross…" Kaito remarked at that sight and threw a tissue at his friend. Hiki blew his nose weakly and continued: "He had an appointment with father because something, something, computer stuff.” Hiki nodded knowingly. ”He likes computers more than people. Just how I like… Anything more than people. Okay, I like some people. Like him ... He was waiting for father and I offered him tea and cookies... He really liked my cookies, did I mention that…?" Hiki grinned dreamily. “Wait, he’s one of father’s business partners? Niichan, those people are dangerous, what the hell’s gotten into you?!” “He’s not like that, Hacchan. No, no. He’s a good guy. Very good. A good cookie...” Hiki giggled. "What’s with the damn cookies all the time? You're such a weirdo..." “See, even you think that I’m a weirdo. But he doesn’t!” Hajime stepped closer and placed his hand on his brother's forehead. "Jeez, you're burning up, Niichan! Come on, lay back down." Hiki diligently did so and Hajime tucked him in. "I'll go and get you breakfast, you need to eat something, you’re completely delusional. Kai, can you stay with him?" Kaito nodded and sat down at Hiki's desk which was covered in books and notepads. "Hacchan, please don't tell mother that I got sick again, she’d kill me..." Hiki mumbled drowsily. "As if I would do that," Hajime replied, clicked his tongue and left the room. “Hey Hiki, I didn’t want to say anything in front of your brother, but you sound like you have a crush on that guy,” Kaito said, but all he got in reply was snoring. “...Rude. Well, maybe it’s all just nonsense because of the fever… Last time you were down with a cold, you talked about a purple elephant with green wings and antennas that was taking you for a ride over Mount Fuji...” Kairo dismissed his assumption. But then his eyes fell on one of his childhood friend’s notebooks on the floor next to his bed, which had the name ‘Howl’ written all over it, with notes added such as: ‘likes chocolate chip cookies and chips’, ‘has a twin sister named Sophie’, ‘born on February 7th’, ‘likes the color blue’... “Jeez, Hiki... Let’s hope this is going to end well…” Kaito mumbled, frowning. "Crap, he didn't even eat or drink anything," Hajime cursed when he reentered the room a few minutes later and saw that his brother was sound asleep. "Just put it on his nightstand, he’ll eat it later.” “You know that he won’t, I’ll have to remind him. He’s so negligent when it comes to taking care of himself.” “True… Hey, that was some weird stuff he said, huh? Will you keep an eye on that?" "Definitely. If what he said wasn't a fever dream, then there's someone who obviously has some sort of interest in him. And a guy at that... Older than him too," Hajime clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "But it didn't sound like it was another Yakuza, so he should be safe, right?" "I don't know. It's weird that Niichan is so into someone he just met. It's not like him at all, you know how shy and reserved he normally is towards anyone, even other family members. This is concerning..." "Or maybe you're just overprotective? Maybe you're overthinking and they just get along well…? He doesn't have any friends besides us, so maybe he finally decided to open up a little more…" "Kai, you’ve known him since you were four… Do you really believe that he all of a sudden decided to become sociable? Niichan, who barely even opens up to us?!" "Okay, not really. But what are we going to do? He's not a kid, we can't tell him not to talk to strangers…" "Yeah, but…" Hiki's buzzing phone next to his pillow interrupted their discussion. Hajime leaned over and looked at the screen to see who was calling. "It says Cookie-san… So it wasn’t a fever dream..." "Are you gonna pick it up?" The second Kaito had finished his question, Hajime had grabbed the phone and answered the call. "Listen, whoever you are! I don't know what kind of game you're playing with my brother, but you better not have any shady intentions, or I'll find you and tear you a new one!" "Ah, you must be his little brother... Hacchan, right? My name is Harada Howl, nice to talk to you." "My name is Hajime! What do you want from him? I swear, if you’re from a rival group and hurt him in any way… You know what my family is capable of, right? You’re gonna regret the day you were born!" "Growing up in certain social circles probably makes you raise suspicion against others easily, but I'm a decent guy,” Howl replied calmly. “I’m not in that line of work. I run my own successful IT company. I'm not a crook, and I have no bad intentions regarding your brother. I respect that you want to protect him, that's what family does, and your brother speaks very highly of you. The two of you seem very close, but he’s eighteen, he can make his own decisions..." Hajime was surprised and even impressed by that man's straightforwardness and calm manner even after being threatened. "What exactly are your intentions?" "I don't have any. I just enjoy talking to him. It’s fun, interesting, and invigorating… He has a great personality and I would like to get to know him better." "Tch. You sound like you have a crush on him," Hajime said provocatively. "My brother isn't gay, so don't get your hopes up. You should just leave him alone." "Can't do that, sorry. Like I said, your brother is old enough to make his own decisions. If he tells me to leave him alone, then I will respect that. But brother or not, you don't have the right to tell me that in his place. Though you can rest assured that even if I had a crush on him, I would never force myself onto him. Anyhow, is this interrogation over? Because I would like to talk to him now." "He… He's sleeping off a cold,” Hajime replied honestly, startled by the stranger’s words. "I see, so that's why he didn't pick up my call last night. I will let him recover then. It was nice talking to you, Hacchan-kun. Maybe I'll have the pleasure again. Goodbye." "Hacchan-k…? I told you, my name is-... He hung up…!" Hajime looked at Kaito dumbfounded. "What happened? What did he say?" Hajime needed a moment to process their conversation. "...I hate to admit it, but I guess he's cool. Very blunt, but he seemed honest. I don't think he's a threat to Niichan... I'll still keep an eye on this whole situation though. Come on now, let's leave so he can get some rest." “He is resting… He didn’t even flinch. Once this guy’s asleep, it’s like he’s in a coma…” “I know, but do you wanna stay and watch my brother sleep, or do you wanna go to my room and make out?” “Hmm… Not sure what's more fun...” Kaito replied teasingly. "I'll show you what's more fun," Hajime growled, grabbed Kai's hand, and dragged him out of the room. For the next few days, Hiki was down with his cold. Due to his weak immune system, he was used to getting sick easily, but this time it hit him really hard. He had a very high fever and was out cold most of the time. Thankfully, Hajime and Kaito took good care of him. They wanted to call a doctor, but Hiki declined because he didn’t want their mother to get wind of it. They had a very strained relationship, and she hated when he became a bother to her. Hiki desperately wanted to avoid one of her tantrums, so he assured them that he’d be fine. After three days of mostly sleeping, he had finally recovered. Though, even his illness couldn’t keep him from constantly checking his phone to see if Howl had at least sent a message. But there was nothing. Hiki figured that this new friendship was over before it had even really started, and it made him incredibly sad. He thought about sending Howl a message to apologize but didn't dare to. "Jeez Niichan, stop sulking over some stranger…" Hajime rolled his eyes after he had entered his brother's room to check up on him. But all he saw was a blanket ball on the bed. “How are you feeling today?” "I'm not sulking. My fever is gone, I feel much better. Thank you for taking care of me, Hacchan, you're the best,” the blanket ball replied with a muffled voice. "I know, I know." Hajime smiled, happy about his big brother's praise. Hiki sat up and uncovered himself. "Where's Kaito? Don't you have karate practice today? He usually watches you…" "We had a fight…" Hajime sighed and slumped down on Hiki's bed. "Oh really? What happened?" "I wanted to make out earlier, but he didn't... And then I… kinda told him to stop bitching - OW!" Hiki had reached out and smacked his brother on the back of his head. "You're an idiot! Apologize, now!" He glared at Hajime. "I know, it was extremely shitty of me, and I feel really bad about it, but he won't pick up his phone…" "So what? Go to his house, it's just down the road! Hacchan, you need to understand that now that you guys are more than just friends, you have to be a little more careful with your words and actions. You’re so perfect for each other, please don't ruin it. I wish I had what you guys have…" "...Really?" "Of course! I mean, just because I never had a love interest doesn't mean I want to be alone for the rest of my life. I want someone who I can love and who loves me back…" "I really love him, that's why I can't help wanting to touch him all the time- OW! Niichaaaan, stop that!" "Hacchan, seriously, I know you’re only 16, but get your teenage hormones in check! If you love him that much, and I know you do, treat him with the respect he deserves. I can't believe that I really have to tell you that!" "Hey, I’m turning 17 next month! But you're right. I'll go over and apologize in person. Maybe I should pick some flowers on my way there..." "Now that's more like you, Hacchan!" Hiki patted his brother's head. "Niichan, my hair~" Hajime got up and walked over to the door. "What are you going to do today? Are you gonna stay in bed again?" "Hm… No, I think I'll sneak out and head over to Ramen Jiji." “I’ll go with you!” “No. You go and apologize. You don't have much time anyway, your practice will start soon, so hurry up.” “But you shouldn’t go to town all by yourself. Ask Sasara-san to drive you…” “I don’t want a guard, it’s awkward.” Hajime sighed. “So stubborn... But you barely ate anything in the past few days, so a big bowl of Jiji’s stamina ramen would do you good… Just be careful, okay?" "Yup." Hiki scooted over to the edge of his bed. "But first, I'll take a shower…" "And… You should call him," Hajime mumbled. "Huh?" Hiki's heart skipped a beat. "Call whom? What are you talking about?" Hajime rolled his eyes. "That guy you were swooning over when you were running a fever. If you like him, call him. Anyway, talk to you later.” He turned around and quickly left the room. Hiki blushed. He had absolutely no recollection of talking about Howl. ‘If you like him, call him’ , he thought. “As if that’s so easy…” Hiki sighed, got up, and went to the bathroom to get ready. Afterwards, he snuck out of the big, fenced property through his usual secret exit to go on the thirty-minute bike ride away to his favorite restaurant. Hikaru cursed the remoteness of their home every time he went there. Riding the bike for that long was exhausting to him, especially after lying in bed for days. Though the scenery of the countryside and the great air kind of made up for it. It was one of the rare moments when he felt free. At least a little bit. After Hiki arrived at his destination, huffing and sweaty, he sat down at the counter and placed his favorite book, that he had brought along, on it. The shop was quite busy, so he decided to start reading until the waitress had time to take his order. He loved going to that small and cozy shop. It was a little run down, but that just added to its charm, and the staff was always very kind to him. Plus, to Hiki, Jiji made the best Ramen in the world. "I'll be right there, Hiki-kun," the waitress shouted over when she noticed him. "No hurry, Kida-san," Hiki replied. "Ueda-kun?!" A deep voice behind him startled Hiki and he jolted around. His heart stopped when he saw the person standing there. "H-Harada-san? What are you doing here?" "I had an appointment at one of your father's offices nearby and got hungry… Since you're here, I assume you're feeling better?" "Huh?" "You were sick, weren't you? Are you okay yet? You look pale…" he frowned concernedly. "I-I'm okay… But how do you know?" "May I?" Howl asked before sitting down on a chair next to him after Hiki had nodded. "I called the other day, and your brother picked up your phone." "Hacchan? He didn't mention anything…" "He told me that you were sick, so I wanted to give you time to recover before contacting you again. But… I couldn't stand to wait anymore and wanted to call you yesterday. Unfortunately, something came up at work, and in the end, it had gotten very late. I was planning to call you this evening, but now that I met you here, would you like to have lunch with me?" Howl smiled and Hiki’s heart skipped a beat. "I-I would love to," he sparkled, happy and relieved. Howl's chest tightened. He's way too cute for his own good , he thought. Howl didn't plan on making any advances towards Hiki, but seeing him again in person, he was now 100% sure that he had fallen for that boy. "Alright, Hiki-kun. What can I bring you today," the waitress asked smiling as she approached him. "Um, I'd like a bowl of stamina ramen, please," he replied. "And for your friend?" "Can you recommend anything, Ueda-kun?" Howl asked. "Hmm… Everything tastes great here, to be honest. But maybe… Jiji’s special Tonkotsu Ramen? I mean, if Tonkotsu is something you like, you should try it, Jiji’s is the best!" "Sounds great, I'll have that," Howl told the waitress, who nodded and walked over to the kitchen. In the meantime, Hiki and Howl switched to one of the tables in the back for more privacy. "I'm really happy to have met you here, Ueda-kun. I wanted to talk to you more and I would like to have more of your delicious cookies… Jeez, I sound like a creep again…" "N-No, not at all! If I would've known that I'd meet you here, I would've brought you some. Next time, I promise," Hiki smiled broadly. "Next time? Love to hear that," Howl said and returned the smile, which made Hiki's heart throb, and he swallowed hard. What the heck was that, he thought, startled by his own reaction. "Oh, by the way… I stopped at one of my family's branches and got you this." Howl rummaged around in his dark brown leather briefcase and handed Hiki a black box with a golden peony emblem, and the writing 'Harada Sweets" on it. "Good thing I forgot to take it out after I bought it." "W-What is this?" Hiki asked dumbfounded. "Open it… I didn't know if you like them, but I decided to give it a shot." Hiki opened the shiny box and inside was a mix of colorful Japanese sweets that were shaped like flowers. "Uwah~ Namagashi! I love Namagashi, and these are especially pretty, thank you Harada-san!" Hiki sparkled. Howl cleared his throat, touched by the boy’s blitheness over such a simple gift. "I'm glad you like them. And thank you for having lunch with me, food always tastes better with company." "I agree! And… Well... I enjoy talking to you too,” he stuttered blushing. "Here you go..." The waitress suddenly showed up and placed their ramen on the table. They thanked her and Howl took a bite. “Oh wow, it’s really good! I haven’t had Tonkotsu this good in Tokyo!" “I know, right?” Hiki grinned and slurped in some noodles. “Oh, hold on… There's something on your cheek…" Howl reached out, wiped a little soup smudge off of Hiki's cheek, and licked it off his thumb. "W-What are you doing?" Hiki asked with a shocked expression. "It was a reflex," Howl replied, realizing that he might have gone too far, while Hiki's heart was beating like crazy and his face was glowing red. "Sorry for crossing a line,” he added and quickly changed the subject. "What was that book you were reading earlier, by the way?" "Book...? Oh, it's called Midair, Deep Sea by Usami Akihiko. He's my favorite author! It's one of his older works, they're a bit sad and gloomy. His more recent publications give off a lighter feeling, but I really like this one. He's a great author, he was the youngest person ever to win the Aomori Award," Hiki babbled. "I see," Howl smiled. "Ah, I'm sorry. I got carried away again..." "It's good to have something you're passionate about. Nothing to apologize for," Howl encouraged him. "Passionate… Like you and your computer things?" "Yeah… I've talked about that a lot, huh… I know it's boring, I get carried away too, I guess," Howl smiled apologetically. "It wasn't boring at all… It's good to have something you're passionate about. Nothing to apologize for," Hiki quoted him grinning. “Okay, you got me there,” Howl chuckled, glad that his action from before hadn’t ruined the mood. They continued talking about everything and anything and enjoyed their time together. There wasn't a single moment of awkward silence or anything alike, and they didn't even notice how time passed, just like during their call the other day. But then, all of a sudden, Hiki's phone started ringing. "Oh… Please excuse me, that's probably Hacchan checking up on me…" Hiki said, but then his soft expression hardened as he looked at the display. Howl was a bit startled by that since the boy almost looked like a different person. "Yes, Harumi? Oh... Okay. As you wish, I'll be there in half an hour… I’m sorry, I can’t be there sooner, I… Yes. Okay... Understood." He hung up and looked down on the table. Howl thought he seemed daunted, which made his heart throb heavily. "I'm sorry Harada-san, but I have to leave now.” Hiki got up. “Right now? Why so sudden? I hope nothing bad happened…” “That was my sister, she needs me to take care of her daughter. Something came up, and it's their Nanny's day off." Hiki sighed, he was devastated. He would've loved to spend more time with Howl but it couldn’t be helped. He knew that if he'd refused to follow his sister's orders, she would make his life a living hell. She was just like their mother. "I see... What a shame, I would've loved to spend more time with you. But I guess it can’t be helped," Howl said, and again, the boy’s heart skipped a beat. It was as if he read Hiki’s mind. "I’m so sorry, I have to hurry. They don't know that I'm here, I'm actually not allowed to leave the property without a guard. The bike ride back will take half an hour, so..." Hiki wanted to take out his wallet to pay for his meal, but Howl stopped him. "Please… That's on me." "B-But…" "Let me handle it as compensation for the tea and your delicious cookies the other day," Howl smiled. "Um… Okay. Thank you very much." Hiki blushed again and bowed. "I really, really enjoyed talking to you, Howl-san." "How about I drive you back home? Your bike would fit in the trunk…" "Huh? No, I don't want to trouble you," Hiki replied politely, but secretly hoped Howl would insist on it, just so they could spend 15 more minutes together. “No objections. I probably kept you here for longer than you would’ve originally stayed, so let me make up for it. Now let’s hurry so you won’t get into trouble." “Thank you,” Hiki smiled, happy that he would actually get those 15 extra minutes with Howl. They carefully placed Hiki’s bike in the Audi’s trunk and got into the car. Weirdly, they didn’t talk much on their way to the Ueda estate. Howl mentioned the beautiful scenery, but Hiki frantically thought about what he could use as a reason to meet with Howl again as soon as possible. “Ah, please stop here,” Hiki suddenly said. “If you drive me up to the main entrance…” “Yeah, they’d know you snuck out. But isn’t this too far from the house?” “There’s a hole in the fence over there. I’ll have to run, but this is the only way in.” “What about your bike?” Howl asked as they got out of the car, and he took it out of the trunk. “I always hide it over there in the bushes. Thank you so much, Harada-san. For everything…” Hiki said and turned around to leave, wanting to ask him when they could meet again, but his shyness was too overpowering. “Ah, Ueda-kun!" Howl stopped him and he jolted around. "Y-Yes!?" “I would like to meet you again soon… There's a festival in Machida this weekend, I saw a poster somewhere this morning. Would you like to go?” “I would love to,” Hiki gleamed. “Great! How about 7 pm? I could pick you up here...” “Let's meet at Machida station instead. There are guards patrolling the area around the property at night, they'd see the car... The train station is safer.” “Alright. Saturday, 7 pm at Machida station. Can't wait,” Howl smiled. Hiki smiled back broadly and nodded enthusiastically in agreement before he turned around and left in a hurry. While he was watching his niece, Hiki thought about Howl and their conversation. That man’s face always had this earnest expression, but when he smiled, he looked so kind and even cute. Though to him, he also looked cute while wearing that earnest expression. Is it even appropriate to think of someone as cute who’s seven years my senior , Hiki wondered. He also thought about how he smelled really nice, how big his hands were, and that his deep voice had such an interesting sound, which was even more intense and mesmerizing when he wasn't talking through a phone… Hiki suddenly shook his head to clear his thoughts as he built a lego tower with his niece. Why did he feel so drawn to this stranger? He had never experienced feelings like that before… “Hikaru-oji, stop daydreaming or I’ll tell mom that you did a bad job,” his seven-year-old niece complained, and for the rest of the time, he focused on the spoiled little girl. After he was done complying with his uncle-duties, Hiki went to his room and dropped on his bed. Normally, he was exhausted after watching that kid, but this time, he felt ecstatic. "Ugh, why am I so happy…?" he whispered as he touched his cheek where Howl had wiped off the soup. "Please let Saturday come quickly."

#hiki and howl #my fic #gay #yaoi #lgbt #romance #slice of life #yakuza #drama #fluff

[fizzypunks]

its a date but its not a date

fandom: My Hero Academia/ Boku No Hero Academia word count: 3.8k/oneshot rating: t summary: hizashi takes shouta to a little festival and insists its not a date... just pure fluff bc <3

ship: Aizawa Shouta/ Hizashi Yamada | Erasermic

note: this reads better in AO3 because it keeps formatting for italics, which tumblr does not!

AO3

___

Yamada Hizashi wasn’t a timid person – it wasn’t even a quirk thing, it was just his nature, and it was something he was proud of. Sure, he’d been called loud and obnoxious, and some have been less than kind about his quirk when it’s gotten out of control. His quirk control wasn’t great for a very long time, but none of what he’d been called or heard had really changed the way he carries himself, and that  includes  his extroverted nature.

 He was, however, a panicked person, when it came to matters of  interest .

 Love. 

  Whatever .

 And, because love was the one thing that made him think twice about what he says, what he does or doesn’t do, that has landed him in the exact predicament that he’s facing right now.

 Hizashi tapped his pen against his essay, the half filled pages of his stationary blurring together into a mass of lines and half-assed penmanship. He’d been staring at it for the past five minutes, when he’d given up on trying to ignore his annoying problem.

  Shouta .

 It’s been getting harder to ignore the stupid pull of something he’s recently identified as  yearning  that comes every time he thinks of his best friend. Stronger than any hurricane gale, it pulls in every thought he has until there are no more to be had. Just Shouta, and his messy hair, and the eyes he thinks are pretty despite always being so blood-shot.

 Hizashi groans, faintly feeling heat spill across his cheeks. “God, why must I be so fucked?”

It’s not like he’s even asking him out on a  date  – no, he’s not bold enough to do that in their last year  and semester of school– there’s no need for distractions like that right now, whatever outcome may or may not come from it…. no, he’s just asking to take Shouta to the Autumn festival at the park, because Shouta should do something fun and get out of his room and not explode from stress.

 The poor guy has been spending all his time studying and stressing and sleeping even  less , so of course Hizashi would want to help his friend out and get him to relax.

 Yeah, that’s what it was – one friend asking another friend out because stress is bad.

 That doesn’t change the nervous skip in his heart right now, as he sits at his desk and thinks about…

 Hizashi groans again, tipping back in his chair and hooking his foot against the back of his desk so that he’s less likely to tumble. Theoretically, at least.

 Why does it feel so  significant  right now? He’d asked Shouta to do countless things with him! He’d gotten him to agree to go to the movies a bunch of times, and to a party or two, and, most recently, he’d even been able to rope him into going to a karaoke club! He didn’t sing, they left earlier than he’d planned, but Shouta had fun!

 Hizashi narrowed his eyes at the white ceiling and the ceiling fan that whirled past his vision, playing with the very edge of the wooden panel that kept him from tumbling onto his carpet.

 This wasn’t supposed to mean anything, but somehow it did.

 It felt like a declaration, no matter how he phrased it in his head, and he doesn’t understand the logic behind it.

  Fine. Whatever! I’ll just ask, and be blunt, and do it right before I leave so there’s no room for thinking, and it’ll be okay! 

 Something like,  “Hey, Shouta, let’s go to this festival! It’ll be so much fun! PLUS, I think you’ll look cute sharing cocoa with me!”

 Hizashi’s eyes widened, his foot slipped in that one moment of lost focus, and he fell –

 “ Fuck!”

 It was a little too loud, bordering on quirk use, but he had other problems to think about beside  that .

 He rubbed the back of his head.

 “Man…”

 If he can’t even imagine it the right way… how was he supposed to  actually  ask? It would be pretty stupid to try when he knew he could act a little too carelessly and, potentially, damage the good friendship they had going on.It was probably better left un-asked.

 Unsaid, un-asked, and out of mind.

 ~

 It was most certainly not out of mind, that is clear.

 Shouta is sitting across from him, half-mast eyes scanning the copy of his English text book in a way that looked a lot more performative than informative. Their booth was tucked more toward the back of the cafe, and it would normally be a bit more secluded and quiet, but midterms brought students from the woodwork and into any coffee-scented establishment, which their happened to be.

  What great luck.

 All around them was the sound of machines grinding coffee, books being shifted around, and light conversation in between bouts of half-silences – and a heavy vale of constant movement that proved to be less than ideal for studying, despite all the students trying to do  just that .

 It was to be expected this time of year, but it was still enough to bother Shouta. He concentrated better with silence, and he happened to be struggling a lot more on English than he does on his other subjects.

 Hizashi, thankfully, understood the material enough for the both of them and then some, and already finished his homework – the papers in front of him were notes, ready to be explained the moment Shouta needed it, with hand-writing that was still pretty bad but…

 For Shouta, he’d made an effort. The result was somewhat-legible scribbles lining the papers, and when he referenced it, Shouta didn’t have to ask too many questions about,  “what is this right here?”

 “I’m not going to pass.”

 Hizashi turned his eyes to Shouta, like he hadn’t been trying to find a reason to look at him longer. He was wearing a big, thick red scarf, which his hair was somewhat tucked into. He didn’t look up, he just kept his eyes on his text book. His irises weren’t moving on the page.

 “Oh man, don’t say that! How’d you think you’re gonna pass if you don’t believe in yourself?”

 “It’s because I don’t believe in myself.”

 Hizashi grabbed his warm cocoa and took a sip, if only to busy his hands with  something . “Shouta! I don’t like this type of negativity!”

 “Well, you’ve chosen the wrong friendship then.”

 “Or, maybe, the  right one!”

 Shouta looked up, and Hizashi held his gaze. His eyes had been given a break over the past few days of written work, so the redness that often lined them was almost completely gone.

 His skin looked soft too…

 His hair, it was fluffy and cute, also..

 “Hizashi?”

 He’d been staring and not talking and he leaned back into his seat like a magnet to metal. He started laughing, holding his drink up to his face. “Well, maybe I can cheer you up! What are friends for, right? And maybe it will turn that attitude around, ya think?”

 “You’re not making any sense?”

 Hizashi hated that it was true but there’s no going back now – his mouth was ten steps ahead of him anyway, and not even  he  could stop it.

 He smiled widely at Shouta. “I mean, maybe I’m here to make sure you don’t stress yourself out so much! You always do so much but never  check  yourself, and I’m here to fix that!”

 Shouta huffed, head bobbing just a bit. Then he smirked and Hizashi had to concentrate on his breathing. “And how do you propose you’d do that?”

 Oh, it was so easy – this was the opportunity the  gods  gave him after seeing him fall on his ass just a few days before.

 Hizashi leaned forward, and set his elbows down on his notes, a hot cocoa between them. “One word.  Festival .”

 Shouta’s eyebrows quirked down just a bit, and he tilted his head to the side, his hair tilting with him. “Festival?”

 “What do ya say? The park next to my neighborhood has one this weekend, and it’s free, and there’s food, and I really wanna go!”

 Hizashi grew pink at the admission, fought against the urge to cover his mouth, but Shouta didn’t comment. 

 Then, a little surprisingly, instead of arguing or finding reasons why it wasn’t logical to take time away from studies so close to exams, he gave him a smile.

 A small, intentional,  Shouta  smile. “Sure.”

 Hizashi tried to not sound over-enthused – just nodded his head and almost squeezed his cup too hard. “Yes! I finally got you to agree to do something!”

 “You always get me to do things.”

 “Yes, and I did it again!”

 Shouta rolled his eyes, and turned his attention back down to the English he’d never really understand.

 ~

 Hizashi was certain he looked fine. He wasn’t sure if it was  great  , but it was probably fine, and  whatever.

 Beside, had many other things to worry about, that were a lot more important than whether or not his shirt matched his shoes. Like, for one, how he still couldn’t quite shake the feeling of  significance .

 It was back, that nagging intrusion into his thoughts that insisted that something was supposed to be different this time. As he looked over his outfit in his body mirror, pulling over his heavy, long jacket, he had to remind himself that there was nothing different about today. Even if he really, in his heart,  wanted  there to be something different. 

 Huh.

 So maybe the difference was the  amount of yearning – Hizashi sighed, thinking about his feelings last year and comparing them to now. 

 He huffed, a huge sigh finally making itself known.

 Yeah, the feelings he had now were bigger and grander than they’d been last year and they threatened to take over his life if he let them…

 Hizashi sighed, rubbed his hands over his face, and pushed his hair back only to reveal his pink, flustered expression to its fullest.

 “Sweet lord, have mercy on me! I am an idiot with a crush!”

 He collapsed onto his bed and waited out the last of the thirty minutes before Shouta was going to arrive at his door.

 ~

 Shouta knocked, and Hizashi was already ready – his heart doing flips like he’d never experienced, but oddly enough, it didn’t feel bad. It felt exciting, and loving, and when he opened the door to the crisp autumn air, it felt like  home .

  Stop that!

 Shouta, for all his questionable outfits, looked  nice . And he always looked nice, but now he was wearing black boots, and brown khakis that somehow sort of matched Hizashi’s own, and a black tee underneath a black jacket.

 He never went anywhere in the cold without a scarf, either, and today was no exception. A red variety  was ceremoniously draped around his neck, loose enough to not be covering his face.

 Hizashi tried not to beam, but felt the shape his eyes took at the other and knew it wasn’t working. “Ready?!” He asked, a little too loud.

 “Yes… you said it was close, right? At the park?”

 Hizashi nodded, stepping out and slipping his hand into a pocket to make sure he had his keys and wallet. Confirming quickly, he shut the door behind him, again, with a little too much enthusiasm.

 He was  buzzing . Some type of energy that he normally had built up in him, that he normally kept pretty good reins on, was taking over –

 He was so excited, but, even more – he was just  happy .

 He looked to Shouta, and smiled, and then led the way down his steps and onto the quiet street. The sky was clear, save for some cloud further down on the horizon. The trees were starting to make themselves barren, and the smell of wood burning fires started to break out as soon as the sun hit its peak.

 The neighborhood, secluded and at peace, was quiet, and Shouta walked beside him in comfort.

 Hizashi never struggled to say anything, and now is no different – except it is, when he thinks he’ll say something dumb like  “hey i like you so much, you make my world right, also I love you. ”

 He can’t say that. 

 But he really,  really wants to.

 He’s wanted to for years, and he’s almost said it more than once, and now he’s let the silence build around them…

 Shouta often takes mercy on him, and so he did it again this time. Their pace was slow and there was a little bit of space between them, and he sighs. “This is really nice.”

 Hizashi smiles, keeps his eyes on the road as it winds forward. “I’m glad you think so! We’ve stressed so much, it’s a good weekend getaway, don’t you think?”

 Shouta laughs – it’s more of a chuckle, but it’s a laugh where Shouta is concerned. “Yeah, you’re right. I needed this, a lot, I think…”

 They reach the corner, looking for cars that weren’t coming. The crest of trees a few blocks ahead could be seen above rooftops, and that’s where Hizashi fixes his gaze. “Me too,” he says softly, and leaves it at that because he’s always on the verge of  too  many words.

 “You seem really… energized.”

 Hizashi fumbles with his hands, pretending to warm them up and not like he’s nervous. “When am I not!”

 Shouta hums, and it’s so deep and close that it makes Hizashi wish he could just…

 But then Shouta reaches out, and grabs at the hands Hizashi is cradling in front of him, blunt and to the point. He takes Hizashi’s left hand and slots their fingers together in his right, and Hizashi knows he can feel the clamminess…

 He looks back, sputtering, his heart erratic, “Shou – wha– I’m –”

  Does he know this is messing with me?

 And Shouta, in that calm, stupid way he always carries himself, smiles. “Maybe that’s what I’m here for.”

 He squeezes their hands, and Hizashi must look confused because Shouta laughs.

 “You always try to bring me up, so I think I can help bring you calm… You seem nervous, so,” he looked at their hands, swung them just a bit for emphasis. “Calm.”

 Hizashi feels every bit of himself crumble, falls away like a cliff against a storm, and smiles because it’s all he can do. He blushes and he can feel how it spreads, and he doesn’t say anything because every sentence ends in  I love you .

 ~

 The festival was a pleasant and home-y affair, and after they’d gotten there, they’d learned that it was quite bigger than either of them anticipated. Though it was still a neighborhood one, hosted by the local families and park itself, it was still filled to every corner.

 They’d gotten there during the peak of the sun, but it quickly descended as they wove in and out of the scattered foot traffic. The air was crisper where the lake sat in the center of the park, and the trees casted half shadows around the food and merchant vendors.

 They were walking around for less than an hour before the lanterns and torches were starting to light around them.

 Shouta still held Hizashi’s hand, and once he’d accepted the lovely fact, he’d loosened up enough to feel like his mouth wasn’t going to get him into trouble.

 “Wow! Shou! Look!” He pointed out, across the deep blue lake, to the hovering lights that surrounded it. 

 Shouta hummed warmly. “It looks very nice.”

 Hizashi was still smiling, still enamored by the lights as they floated out across his vision – the way the cool air from the dipping sun brushed against his skin and somehow made all the warmth in him  that  much warmer.

 He quickly cast his eyes down to Shouta, and found him looking at him.

 Hizashi’s ears burned and he looked away really fast, heart thumping deep in the cage of his chest.

  Oh don’t you dare say it. Don’t you DARE.

 “Um…” He said softly, intentionally because otherwise his quirk might get the best of him – he didn’t know if he was embarrassed by his enthusiasm, or by the way Shouta was watching him, but it all went away when Shouta tugged them along the side of the lake.

 It’s a few more moments before Hizashi gathers up the right words to say – the ones that aren’t gushy and filled with emotions he’s certain Shouta wouldn’t reflect. 

 “So!” He starts, looking around now that they were near the cluster of food stands. The air was filled with burning wood, meat, sauce, alive with the sound of simmering and laughter. “Want food? My treat! We can’t walk away without trying everything at  least once!”

 “I didn’t know you were rich enough to do that.”

 Hizashi chuckled. “I’m serious, though. Whatever you want!”

 Hizashi ignored the eyes tilted his way, right before leading off to Hizashi’s right. Hizashi turns around enough to look at the little stand and it’s cloth menu.

 It was a takoyaki shop, with different bao, and there was no line. 

 Hizashi smiled, and it was his turn to tug Shouta forward. He couldn’t really  look  at him, not just yet any way, but he could hear the light lilt in his voice when he ordered from the kind eyed older man at the register. Hizashi made his order quickly, and paid, and they walked away with various stacks of food.

 It wasn’t even a question where they’d go, and they found a spot under a tree to sit with their food. 

 The grass was cut, and the little hill they sat on overlooked a great deal of the sprawling festival that surrounded them. Up here, the voices that surrounded them, the chatter, the laughter that Hizashi was not interested in, was duller – muted, and when Shouta hummed in hungry appreciation at his bao, it made his heart ache all the more.

 He snuck a look to his right, graced by the mercy of Shouta closing his eyes. He’d just taken a bite, had unravelled most of his scarf to do so, and was now enjoying it for all it’s worth.

 Hizashi’s eyes softened at the sight.

  God.

 And Shouta opened his eyes, in his direction like he just knew.

 Hizashi looked down and took his bao. “This looks good! I should eat like this more.”

 “You should take me to more festivals, too.”

 Hizashi choked a bit – he recovered fast, and cast a glance toward Shouta. “Sure thing!”

  This feeling... 

 Maybe this is what he had been feeling – the lead up to whatever moment this was. The way Shouta really took the time to look at him, not through him. Like he was paying attention.

 Maybe…

 Hizashi held his oversized bao in both hands and looked forward. It suddenly didn’t feel like such a bad idea to speak. To say whatever it was that he was going to say, because for Shouta, it would always be okay…

 Didn’t make him feel any more at ease, not with the stupid thought in his head that maybe he was misreading whatever today was. Who knows, maybe Shouta always paid attention to him like this? And sure, the hands thing… that was new, but maybe Shouta just really likes holding hands but he needs to be comfortable with the person, and now after three years he’s  finally comfortable with Hizashi?

  If you’re gonna say something…

 “Hey,” he started. 

  Say it now.

 “I’m having a really good time.”

 He doesn’t take his wide, blown-out eyes from the festival. It was dark enough that every lantern stood out like little stars, and the breeze was so nice…

 “If you want… we can, um, do this again. I’ll find another festival, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be free this time, but I’ll try! And I’ll see if I can sneak in some home made food too so we can spend more money on like, cute stuff from the merchants. I saw this plush down there, actually, and it was a  cat , so maybe –”

 No, Hizashi wasn’t a timid person – but,  still , it was probably for the best that Shouta was the first one to move. He grabbed Hizashi’s hand, urging it away from the bao so that he could hold it again. 

 He’d pulled his attention to the forefront, and his eyes to finally meet his, and he realized that Shouta had moved so much closer…

 The dark of his eyes was so close, and he was  smiling …

 “You talk a lot when you’re nervous.”

 There wasn’t a way to hide the flush, so Hizashi looked down, feeling too open. “I’m sorry…”

 He couldn’t see his eyes, but he could see his smile. “I like it, though.”

 “What about if I say I like you...  Will you still like it?”

  Please…!

 Shouta didn’t leave him any time to doubt.

 “It makes it a lot easier… for me to say I like you, too… yeah, I’d like it…”

 Hizashi’s entire body was fireworks – explosions and exclamations and that same buzzing energy that gripped him every time he thought of Shouta. He grinned, and looked up to see Shouta was just as embarrassed and flustered as he was.

 He’d normally have to look away, but he assumed he had permission now, and…

  God you’re so pretty…

 His eyes, his eyelashes, the way his eyes bend against his smile and how he’d never seen him smile like this before… 

 Hizashi abandoned the bao in his lap and pushed away the hair that framed his face, slowly, not sure if it was too much to hold his face – 

 “I’m – I’m sorry, can I?”

 Shouta nodded. “And you can kiss me too, in case you weren’t sure…”

 That was all the reason he needed.

 He’d had so many reasons, so many countless reasons he  loved him...

 He cupped his jaw, still acutely aware of the way Shouta was still holding on to his hand in the grass – 

 It was cold, that was true, but right now he was warm with nerves and excitement and  love , and he leaned in –

 His breath, so warm –

 His lips, so soft –

 And neither of them were particularly experienced or daring, so after a few seconds when he finally parted their lips just a bit, they pulled away, just enough to speak.

 “Mmm, you taste like bao,” he said, and then wished someone was there in his brain to stop whatever dumb shit was trying to get out.

 Shouta just laughed. “So do you.”

 The rest of their night was spent on that hill, kissing and talking and, eventually, finishing their food. When they finally left, Hizashi found that plush cat at the vendor near the entrance of the park and gave it to Shouta. Shouta blushed, and Hizashi glowed with comfortable warmth, glad that he can now get cute things for his boyfriend.

#erasermic #yamada hizashi #aizawa shouta #aizawa #writing #oneshot #mha #bnha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #long post #xpost #prompted for fluff and autumn... #my discord server is so nice ahhh #fluff

[lilibetts]

Sometimes A Girl Just Wants Some...

Falling in love with Riverdale, Theme 2: Spicy

Part 1/3

The 14th of February. A fraught time for the serially single in New Haven, to hear Veronica describe it.

“The end of Cuffing Season is nigh!” she proclaimed, holding an enormous dildo aloft.

(“That’s Colt,” their boss, Zelda Spellman, had explained when she hired Betty, upon seeing the younger woman’s wide-eyed fascination. “He’s a replica of a porn star’s penis. A very popular order, but also a very popular return.”)

In true Veronica Lodge fashion, she didn’t seem the least bit put out by this development. Next to her, Kevin Keller seemed markedly somber, but that was because his own casual boyfriend had ditched him on the very last day of January.

Betty, however, was indifferent in opinion to it all.

From her seat next to their workstation, she held up her pink mug with the penis-shaped handle in a toast. “Cheers, I deleted Findr from my phone,” she announced before taking a gulp of lukewarm coffee.

“Betty!” 

��Betty!” 

Both Veronica and Kevin were aghast.

“It’s barely February. What happened to TwentyTwenty being ‘The Year of Horny Betty’?” asked Kevin.

In her defense, she’d made that New Year’s Resolution last December, after one of those ‘look at your life, look at your choices’ epiphanies that left her life seeming very lacking. The reality of putting herself out there on a matchmaking app and meeting with the rare specimen who didn’t seem completely terrible and who seemed to have an actual body that was not 100% an ugly penis, however, had been nowhere near as exciting as she’d expected.

She was saved by Kevin’s computer chiming. “Sorry, satisfaction waits for no gossip.” He tapped a few keys and answered the incoming call. “Good afternoon and welcome to the Toyz R Us Customer Support Helpline. My name is Kevin. How may I help you today?”

Veronica’s computer chimed too and she pointed an expensively manicured, accusative finger in Betty’s direction. “Don’t think you’re getting away with this!” She hissed before taking the call.

Toyz R Us only had two brick-and-mortar stores, but it did fairly well with online sales in New England. Betty had only taken the job because she needed some extra spending money around the holidays, and she’d stuck with it into the following semester because she liked the new friends she’d made and found the atmosphere surprisingly enjoyable. At least she got to put her writing skills to good use, even if it was for composing informative, yet enticing descriptions of sex toys.

Of course, her parents had no idea she worked here, and if she was careful enough, they never would.

Veronica’s call ended much more quickly once the man on the other end realized she wasn’t Cheryl. Unfortunately, Cheryl Blossom’s brusque and insulting phoneside manner was such a turn-on to a specific subset of men that she really could’ve started her own side hustle and made bank. Ridiculous bank.

“No sir, I can’t tell you how much thicker it will make your penis. We do recommend that if you use a penis pump, you do so regularly and continually,” Kevin advised before tapping a few keys and removing his headset. To Veronica and Betty, he exclaimed. “That idiot just asked me how much bigger the penis pump would make his dick...my god, how would he think we’d know?”

Betty snorted as she stood, penis-mug in hand. 

“Hey!” Kevin called after her. “We weren’t finished!”

“My break time’s over!”

There actually were a few minutes left of her break, but she had a good reason for being sneaky. You see, it might be Valentine’s Day, but it was also a Friday, and Fridays at Toyz R Us meant freebies in the Friday Reject Box. Due to the sheer volume of products that got moved between Christmas and Valentine’s Day, management had provided them with *two* Friday Reject Boxes.

Betty was a college student at heart—if she was going to support her newfound lingerie and sex toy habit, she had to avail herself of cheap and free products whenever possible. 

Carefully sticking her head out around hallway corners, Betty tiptoed around the building like Nancy Drew herself, on the lookout for her coworkers. 

It had taken her about a month of working here before she stopped feeling embarrassed by the products, although she tried to always approach it as any other job...with professionalism.  Still, there was something illicitly thrilling about being twenty years-old and working at Toyz R Us that made Betty feel like a truly independent woman, more so than moving 350 miles away from her hometown.

Betty wasn’t inexperienced, exactly, but she’d been raised a very straitlaced 'good-girl-next-door' and while college had done wonders for her independence and self-affirmation, she still struggled with the idea of discussing sex with her friends/coworkers.

Luckily, she made it to the table holding the Friday Reject Boxes without running into anyone, and Betty wasted no time starting to rifle through them. Hurry, hurry, before anybody else comes and sees you.

In the first one, there was a Fingo Nubby finger vibrator, a very intimidating looking Booty Camp Training Kit that featured three sizes of anal plugs. She didn’t care for the pink crotchless tights but she grabbed the package with the lavender babydoll that had small slits for the nipples and a matching set of panties with an open crotch. That went on the table, and, after assessing the toys in the first box, the Sweetheart Choker and finger vibrator was added to the small but growing pile of goodies. Just the thought of playing with those was already turning her on. With hot cheeks, she turned to the second box.

Since she started working at Toyz R Us, Betty had been exploring her own sexuality, giving more consideration to what actually turned her on and put aside the time to make herself feel good.

She was distracted from the quick nature of her mission when she noticed a stack of dvd cases towards the bottom. “Ooh,” she cooed, intrigued. “The Seduction of Heidi.” That was added to her pile. She skipped The Best of Ron Jeremy and picked up 49 Positions for Lovers, whose cover promised better sex for couples. Well, the way her sex life had been going lately, Betty needed all the help she could get. 

Deciding she had enough, and that she really should be nice enough to leave some things for her coworkers, Betty gathered up her loot and spun around, only to collide with the hard body of the man who had been standing behind her. She yelped and felt a few of her selections spill out of her arms as she nearly stumbled backwards into the table.

Strong arms grabbed ahold of her, righting her, and Betty’s eyes widened when she realized who it was.

“Jughead,” she croaked. “Have you come to look through the Reject Boxes?” 

Jughead Jones was more or less her mentor on the Content team, in some ways her boss. It was him to whom she showed her first product descriptions for approval, him who she worked hard to please. Over the months, they’d gotten to chatting from time to time, and that had been how she found out he was working on writing his first novel.  

Over the weeks, they had shared their personal work—chapters and articles—for the other to comment on. Jughead encouraged her, Betty cheerleaded him. She came to admire him...his intelligence, soul, personality...and she liked to believe he did so for her, as well. He was thoughtful, too, in a way that threw her because none of her boyfriends had been this attentive...it had always been her that listened and took care of people. Jughead turned the temperature up in their office and kept it relatively higher than he was comfortable with because Betty had kept shivering and working with thick cardigans and hoodies on. He remembered how she liked her coffee and made sure their room had a steady supply of scrap paper and colored pens so she could work out word choice and technical phrasing before typing anything up.

One thing was for certain: she was ponytail over heels in lust with him.

She wanted him to do things to her. Things.

Jughead stood there and adjusted his crown beanie ever so slightly. “Uh, yeah, I’ll just…” he trailed off and, to her horror, he bent down to pick up the things she’d just dropped. All she could do was watch as he straightened up and glanced at the educational dvd and the choker before handing them back to her. “Here, Betty.” 

She couldn’t even look him in the eye, so she stood there, intensely aware of the flush climbing up her chest and into her cheeks.

Betty wanted to die.

“Thanks. Uh...I better go get back to work. I’ll see you when your break’s over. Bye!” She couldn’t get away fast enough.

Once she turned the corner, however, Betty did not head back to the Content room. Instead, she slowly craned her head around the corner, just enough to see Jughead as he bent over one of the Friday Reject Boxes. Scarcely daring to breathe, she watched as he quickly grabbed two dvds. Squinting, she recognized them. Scooby-Doo: A XXX Parody, and The Twenty: Self Pleasuring, which featured a bunch of solo female masturbation scenes.

Well.

She knew what tonight’s masturbatory fantasy was going to be about.

#bughead #avarosier writes #riverdaleevents

[sleepyxcoffee]

@thewitchersecretsanta gift for @youkaineko !

Ultimately, this was all Master Varin’s fault.

It hadn’t, Vesemir explained, been mandatory for young witchers to hold a degree until 1990, when Master Varin had returned after spending six years obtaining a Bachelor’s in Chemistry whilst still doing all his… witchering. He had proclaimed the experience “eye opening” and “a good way to get to know humans” and some other bullshit Geralt didn’t fully understand.

Geralt had succeeded in evading the Trial of Uni, as he and Eskel had taken to calling it, for a grand total of two months after his Grasses, until Vesemir had all but scruffed him and dragged him to a computer with UCAS opened up. His only solace in the whole situation was that he and Eskel were applying to all the same universities.

Except then Eskel got a full scholarship to the University of St Andrews, which the trainers weren’t letting him pass up on, and Geralt… didn’t get a place at St Andrews.

Which was how Geralt had ended up at Edinburgh instead. It was still Scotland, at least, so it wasn’t that far from Kaer Morhen over on the Shetland Isles, or Eskel in St Andrews. It was a city, which was… less than desirable, but Geralt could work with that.

He could.

What he wasn’t so sure he could work with was the fucking disaster of a man he had ended up flatmates with. The others seemed alright - Shani and Priscilla gave Geralt his space, and didn’t bother him too much. They didn’t seem to mind that he was a witcher either.

Jaskier, on the other hand…

The best part was, Geralt hadn’t even met Jaskier in the flat. For the first half of his first semester, Room 4 in Flat 12 of College Wynd had remained blissfully unoccupied. Shani and Priscilla did their own thing - Shani was rarely in the flat anyway, being a medicine student with a ridiculously full schedule - and Priscilla spent most of her time doing her theatre society things. The girls were at least kind enough to not throw any parties in the flat, after the time Geralt had nearly murdered Priscilla with a glare for doing so.

No, Geralt met Jaskier outside the dean’s office, of all the possible places.

It was November, and Geralt had heard of some strange, possibly vampiric, activity occurring on the outskirts of Edinburgh, thanks to a contract for a witcher put up by the Metropolitan Police. Unfortunately, he was also the only fully trained Wolf witcher situated anywhere near Edinburgh, and he’d be damned if he let a passing Cat or Griffin or anyone hop in and take the kill. Remus had passed through last week, but he was all the way down in Yorkshire by the time the reports came in. The UK was large, and the Wolf School was only a hundred or so members strong. They didn’t have enough witchers to permanently station anyone in cities, their witchers instead roaming up and down the country.

Also unfortunately, Geralt had about five different assignments due the next week, but the police were getting antsy, nobody could find the stupid vampire, and nobody could even identify it. Geralt had wanted to just get up and leave to take the contract, but Vesemir insisted he had to go ask the dean for permission to miss his classes first, and also for an extension on his assignments, because Melitele knew Geralt might take a while.

So, much to his annoyance, Geralt had ended up sitting outside the dean’s office during one of his free periods, fidgeting and playing with his medallion and his hood pulled over his distinctly white hair, shadowing his cat-slitted eyes. Just because everyone knew he was a witcher didn’t mean he wanted to put himself on show.

Then a tall, slim man wearing a frankly ridiculous red raincoat over an even more ridiculous yellow crop top and absolutely horrifying high waisted jeans and incredibly impractical Ugg boots (it was Scotland, how were his boots not soaked through?) sat down next to Geralt.

“Hi,” he said cheerfully, in an obnoxiously posh accent. “I’m Jaskier.”

“Hmm.” Who named themselves Buttercup in another language?

Jaskier laughed. “Hmm. What an excellent name. I love how you just sit there and… brood.”

Geralt turned pointedly away from him.

“Come on, you can’t keep a man with…” Jaskier waved his hands wildly, “...a screwdriver in his pants waiting.”

That caught Geralt’s attention. “What?”

Jaskier rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Uh, yeah. Say, what are you here for?”

“Absence request,” Geralt said shortly.

“Right, those, yeah,” Jaskier laughed again and sank down in his seat. “I’m uh - well, I may or may not have stabbed my flatmate with a screwdriver while I was putting together this thing from IKEA?”

Geralt stared at him.

Jaskier’s arms flailed again, and he made an odd sound. “He’s okay - unfortunately - he just ended up bleeding a little and started screaming and our RA walked in, and, yeah, I’m here now.”

There was a moment of silence. Geralt… didn’t know what to say to that. He settled for sinking further into his chair.

“...so, uh. What do you need leave permission for?”

“Job.”

Jaskier made an interested sound. “Ooh, cool! I should get myself one of those. What’s your job?”

“Killing monsters.”

“Huh?”

Geralt was saved from having to answer further when the dean opened his door. “Geralt Rivia!” he called. Geralt stood and pulled back his hood.

“Here,” he said gruffly.

Jaskier gasped and leapt to his feet. “Oh my god, I know you! White hair, yellow eyes - you’re that witcher! Jerald Rivia!” Geralt speed walked into the dean’s office. He gave Geralt a confused look, but stepped aside to let Geralt in anyway. “Jerald - hey, wait, that’s how you say your name, right - wait, don’t leave! Hang on! I’m sure you have a treasure trove of stories -”

The dean shut the door, and Geralt sighed in relief. “What was that all about?” the dean asked. Geralt shrugged. “Right. Well then, Geralt, what did you need to see me for?”

Once the dean had granted Geralt his leave with minimal fussing (scary witcher eyes worked wonders), Geralt brushed straight past Jaskier to return to his dorm room, despite Jaskier’s attempts to reach out to him. He had a vampire to track.

***

The vampire, as Geralt now knew two days later, was a katakan. And not just any katakan - an old, experienced katakan who had left Geralt sore, out of Black Blood, and highly toxic. The smarting in his leg told him Swallow or even White Raffard’s was probably called for, but the white hot throbbing of his veins told him White Honey was a much better idea.

Geralt groaned as he stumbled into the flat. Shani and Priscilla were, predictably, asleep - it was four in the morning, after all, but there was a third heartbeat coming from the kitchen. Instantly on high alert, Geralt kept one hand on his steel sword as he opened the kitchen door.

Dancing in front of the countertop was… Jaskier? What was the strange man from the dean’s office doing here? He was dressed in shorts and a loose T-shirt, and, humming, put a metal bowl in the microwave.

“Stop!” Geralt exclaimed. Jaskier yelped and dropped a fork - which had, God help him, been going into the bowl. “What are you doing?”

“Geralt! Is that any way to greet your new flatmate - sorry for getting your name wrong, by the way - hey, what are you doing -” Geralt shoved past Jaskier to yank the bowl out of the microwave and slam it onto the counter. It contained… what might have been mac and cheese. “What are you doing - you’re getting monster guts everywhere!”

“You can’t microwave metal,” Geralt snarled. “It’ll blow up.”

Jaskier blinked once. Twice. “Well. Ah. Thank you for letting me know - you’ve just saved our flat. A true hero. Say, what are you covered in?”

“Katakan.” Geralt stepped away from Jaskier and shrugged off his swords. Jaskier’s eyes trailed them curiously.

“Katakan. So, that’s, what, a type of necrophage?”

“Vampire. Their true form looks like a giant mutated bat but they can disguise themselves as humans, and their healing is slowest when the sun is highest. Violent. Nasty.”

“You don’t say,” Jaskier mumbled, eyeing Geralt thoughtfully. “And what about you? Why are your eyes all… black? Is that your witcher true form or something?”

Geralt… had nearly forgotten about that. He pulled out a White Honey from his belt pouch and chugged it. Immediately, the warmth spread through his veins, and he felt the toxins clear. “Witcher potions. Too much is toxic for even us.”

“Oh wow, your eyes are going back to gold.” Jaskier peered at him curiously, then made a face and leaned away. “You reek. You need a long hot shower. I refuse to live with that stench.”

Geralt’s thoughts came to a grinding halt. “You live here? Since when?”

Jaskier scratched his head awkwardly. “Since, well, yesterday. Because I stabbed Valdo Marx, who completely deserved it by the way. Unfortunately, he’s fine.”

...Geralt suddenly felt unreasonably worried for his safety.

He was pleased to learn, however, that the screwdriver stabbing asides, Jaskier proved to be a surprisingly good flatmate. Sure, he seemed to be completely nocturnal, but he was quiet enough at night and didn’t make a mess. He talked a lot, but after the first five times he tried to engage Geralt in conversation, he left Geralt pretty much alone. Having lived at Kaer Morhen, that was all Geralt could ask for. Jaskier even tried to arrange flat bonding sessions, which turned out surprisingly well and meant Geralt actually spoke to Priscilla and Shani, even though one session had resulted in Geralt needing to Aard the oven.

The story had Lambert and Eskel cackling when Geralt told it to them over the winter break. It was supper time, and the three were sitting together sawing at hard meat which was probably at least a year out of date with their dinner knives. Things never did go well when it was Gweld’s turn to cook. At least this time there were no magic mushrooms.

“How do you fuck up cookies that badly?” Lambert wheezed.

“You made bread explode once,” Eskel reminded him.

Lambert waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, but that was on purpose.”

Just thinking of the incident made Geralt groan. That had been interesting to explain to Vesemir, and Rennes had been distinctly displeased. Poor Lambert had spent the rest of the week waking up an hour before dawn to run laps in the frigid Shetland air.

“Compared to you, my university’s been fine,” Eskel said. “I haven’t had to take any contracts. Monsters don’t seem to like St Andrews.”

“The Trial of Uni is really fucking stupid,” Lambert grumbled. “The world already knows we’re freaks. Why rub it in our faces?”

“I don’t think that’s the point,” Eskel replied evenly. “Geralt?”

“Hmm.”

Eskel sighed. “Talkative as always. But really, Lambert, it’s not as bad as some people -” at this, Eskel threw a pointed look halfway across the Great Hall at Clovis, who even more pointedly ignored him - “make it seem.”

“It’s no worse than Kaer Morhen,” Geralt agreed. “Up for a round of Gwent?”

Naturally, Geralt won his round against Lambert, and then his round against Eskel, and Clovis, and Gweld, and Aubry, and Remus. He then promptly lost fifty pounds to Vesemir, but he at least had a few new cards, which was enough to please him. Unfortunately, Gwent had fallen out of fashion with humans sometime in the last century (the joys of having ancient instructors), so Geralt would have to wait until he met another witcher to play another round.

He returned to Edinburgh in high spirits. Aubry had offered to drive him and Eskel back to university, seeing as he planned on working his way down to Wales anyway. The car ride was long, but Geralt entertained himself with even more Gwent and bugging Eskel. Eskel returned what he got, and more than once Aubry had to remind them to not start sparring in the backseat of his car.

“I’ve had her for twenty years,” Aubry complained. “I refuse to lose her to a pair of rowdy green witchers.”

Unsurprisingly, Geralt was the first to return to his flat. The term didn’t start for another week, but witchers could hardly afford to lounge around all winter, what with the amount of monsters in Great Britain. Geralt didn’t have his own car, and so he was dependent on older witchers driving him back to university, seeing as he didn’t want to walk nearly four hundred miles.

The benefit of returning to university early, however, was that he had time to take on a contract. Someone had called Kaer Morhen just before he arrived to report “strange supernatural activity” in an abandoned flat. Geralt allowed himself a night’s rest, then set out to the apartment with his two swords.

It turned out to be a noonwraith, and that on its own would have been simple enough; noonwraiths were annoying little buggers, but they were manageable. No, the problem was when Geralt belatedly realised there was an alp in the basement.

The ensuing fight was hard and bloody. In the end, Geralt came out on top, but not without a wide range of injuries which left him on the ground wheezing. Eventually, he mustered the strength to take some potions and stagger back home, but not before texting Vesemir to let him know the contract was done. The contract giver would transfer money to Kaer Morhen, and Vesemir would send him his share. All in all, it was a clean system.

Geralt managed to stagger back to his flat. It was nighttime, and not many students had returned, meaning the streets were still relatively quiet. Those who did see him gave him a wide berth, murmuring and pointing, but Geralt ignored it. He just wanted to get home. A hot bath sounded excellent - then he could treat his wounds.

Unfortunately, Geralt discovered upon his return that someone else had arrived. He cursed his luck as he closed the door behind him. There was a suitcase in the front hall, and the kitchen door was propped open by a chair. Geralt could hear a man humming. Jaskier. Great.

Perhaps he could sneak past without Jaskier noticing - 

“Hello? Who’s there?” Jaskier called, and Geralt winced.

“Just me,” he called back.

“Ah! Geralt! How was your - Melitele’s tits, what the fuck happened to you?” Jaskier exclaimed. He dropped the piece of toast he had been holding and rushed to Geralt, hovering next to him. “Do you need the hospital? Should I call 999? I’m calling 999 -”

“Jaskier,” Geralt said forcefully. “I’m a witcher. I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” Jaskier said fretfully. “Are you sure you don’t want me to call 999?” His hand hovered over the phone in his pocket.

“I’m sure. They don’t know shit about witchers.” Geralt started limping to the bath.

“Wait. Let me help stitch you back up, at least. I’ve got a first aid certificate.”

“Dunno what good that is,” Geralt grumbled, but he grabbed the first aid kit off the wall and threw it at Jaskier anyway. He stepped into the bathroom and stripped off his clothes and armour - he could deal with that later. Geralt stood under the spray of hot water, wincing as it ran over his wounds.

He decided to forego the soap and shampoo, instead gently scrubbing himself down to get rid of the blood and dirt. The noonwraith had been in that house for a long time, and with folks too afraid to go inside, it had become unbearably dusty. When Geralt came out of the bathroom, dry and dressed, he found Jaskier had set up the first aid materials on the dining table with a chair pulled up next to it.

“Sit down, Geralt,” Jaskier said, and Geralt did just that.

***

Jaskier was a quick study, and Geralt soon became grateful for his help, even though he refused to admit it. Sometimes, Shani, who was a med student, had to help with treating Geralt’s wounds, although she often complained he was better off going to A&E. Geralt reiterated that there wasn’t much A&E could do for him - his potions were enough.

Every week or so, Geralt would sit in the kitchen reading through his course work while Jaskier helped stitch him back up. He was chatty as ever, but at least he got things done.

“Come with me to open mic night, Geralt, Essi and I are performing,” Jaskier would say (and Geralt did attend open mic night, lurking in the corner), or “have you seen Professor Rejk’s new tie? It’s hideous!” (and no, Geralt had not, but he made a special point of paying attention to Professor Rejk the next time he saw him).

It was an easy relationship, one akin to the bond Geralt shared with Eskel, and yet completely different. Jaskier chattered nonstop, but he didn’t make Geralt talk, and he knew when to leave a question alone. It was companionable and comfortable, and for Geralt that was enough.

***

In March, a bug started spreading across campus. Geralt’s classes shrank in size as students and professors alike ended up bedridden with a horrible cold. He thought nothing of it - he was a witcher, after all, and witchers were functionally immune to human diseases.

Poor Jaskier, unfortunately, was only human, and he did manage to get sick. It all started when Priscilla caught the bug from Essi (who had caught the bug from Valdo, who had caught the bug from a music professor). Jaskier spent his free time caring for his friend, and by the time the week was up, Priscilla was good as new, and Jaskier was sneezing nonstop.

“You look terrible,” Geralt told him one morning when he walked into the kitchen for breakfast. Jaskier lifted his head to sneeze at Geralt, then set it down back against his arms. Geralt wrinkled his nose. “Disgusting,” he said as he pulled the egg carton out of the fridge. “Want breakfast?”

“Yes please,” Jaskier said, sounding very congested. “I don’t want to go to class.”

“Then don’t,” Geralt said simply. He took the frying pan out of a cupboard and set it on the hob, switching it on.

“You know what, maybe that’s not a bad idea.” Jaskier eyed the eggs wistfully. “Can I have scrambled eggs?”

“Hmm.” Geralt retrieved a bowl from the drying rack and cracked in several eggs, then whisked them. He added milk and salt to the bowl, and oil to the frying pan. Jaskier watched with hungry eyes as he cooked the eggs.

“Best roommate ever,” Jaskier declared as Geralt placed a plate in front of him. Geralt hummed and served up his own eggs.

“Where are Shani and Priscilla?”

“Morning run,” Jaskier said between mouthfuls of egg. The two ate in companionable silence, broken only by Jaskier’s coughs and sniffles.

“Go back to bed,” Geralt said when they finished eating. He gathered their plates and filled the sink up.

“Will you bring me tea?” Jaskier asked teasingly.

“Hmm.” Geralt put on the kettle, and Jaskier laughed in delight.

“You will! I knew you were a big softie all along!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Geralt said, hiding his smile. “Go back to bed.”

“I’ll be waiting for my tea,” Jaskier said in a sing-song voice. “Best flatmate in the world, bringing his invalid friend tea.”

“You’ve got a cold, not the plague,” Geralt grumbled, scrubbing their plates clean.

“You never know! Anyway, are you heading to class?”

“Hmm. I’ve got a contract after.” Putting the frying pan in the sink to soak, Geralt dumped a teabag and an unholy amount of sugar into a mug. He poured in hot water and passed the mug to Jaskier, who took it gratefully.

“I’ll be here to stitch you up after,” Jaskier said lightly. “Anyway, off with you, or you’ll be late. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah. See you later.” And as Geralt walked out the front door, he couldn’t help but feel as though he had found a second home.

#the witcher #my writing

[dangerouslcve]

Unforgiven - Taron Egerton

Pairing: Taron Egerton x reader

Warnings: None.

Summary: There is something so achingly familiar about Taron Egerton. He captures your attention from the moment you see him at Rada, your new acting school. He is the one bright spot in a place where people are constantly judged, the students and staff are rude, and security cameras watch your every move.  

Except Taron wants nothing to do with you- he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But you can't ignore nor shake the feeling that you know him. You were being drawn to like a moth to a flame. You need to find out what Taron is so desperate to hide, even if it shatters you...

Read previous chapters on Wattpad @ kayegerton

Disclaimer: I do not know what college is like.. Yet. But I did some intense googling. This story is for entertainment purposes only, it is considered an AU. With that being said, hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter Six - Inner Circle

    "People who are always late never understand the many ways in which they screw up the schedules of people who are punctual and normal," Emily explains to you as you both walk through the muddy grounds.

"Ha." a laugh erupted behind them, you looked back and felt your face light up when you saw Azaleas tan, skinny frame jogging to catch up with you and Emily. "Which twat said you were normal Emily," Azalea says to Emily narrowing her eyes before she pokes your arm. "Watch out for the puddle!" you come to a halt before landing in the big puddle on the yard.

"Can someone please tell me what is going on?"

"Wednesday night. Social night." Emily says flatly messing with her grey t-shirt. You look over at Azalea.

"I thought you said Social night was on Friday?" you asked and Z laughs pulling the hood of her black sweatshirt over her head.

"I told you, don't listen to me. I'm certifiably insane."

"So is this like a dance or..." you ask already imagining how graceful and confident Cam would be moving across the dance floor. Azalea hooted.

"A dance with boredom. This 'social' night is where group A performs for us - group B - and we will then have to judge group A on whether or not we liked the play or not." Azalea explains as she stuffs her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt.

"This got its name ya know 'social night', because we do get to socialize but only to your group when judging group B. Normally group B loses now because their best actor just switched to group A this semester." Emily elaborates on what Azalea just said and Z nods along. "God do you remember last semester?"

"The one where group B chose Little Shops of Horror and when they performed it they won?"

"So strange." Emily shakes her head.

"Tonight, my dear." Azalea drawled looking over at you smiling "We get off easy, all we have to do is snore through one of three acts performed by group A and then judge them on something they left out so when we perform Friday we will win." Azalea smirks before taking a quick glance at Emily. "Which one do you think it will be tonight Emmy? Romeo and Juliet, Mamma Mia, or Hair Spray?"

"It's Romeo and Juliet." Emily Groans and Azalea sends you a baffled look pointing at Emily.

"She knows everything."

"Hold on." you say tiptoeing around the puddle lowering your voice to a whisper as you make your way to bliss. "If you know you are going to make them lose without even watching them already, why rush to get there?"

Emily pulls open the door to bliss, inside was a beautiful comfortable area and the smell of pine filled your nose as you stepped across the threshold into the theater following Emily and Azalea to the third row in. Most of the kids were leaning against the wall chatting with each other or filling the seats. "This is why we rush to get here, I am certainly not sitting on the floor to watch a two hour long boring play." Azalea says taking a seat in a plush burgundy seat, Emily and you follow taking a seat on each side of her looking around. The theater was small but absolutely gorgeous.

"And not to mention if you are late you have to pass out weekly theater class notes that you also have to grade after this." Emily says leaning over her lap to talk to you.

"Thereby missing," Azalea says with a grin slapping the pamphlet down on your leg before she whispered, "The after party." Finally they got down to the heart of the matter. You laugh.

"I heard about that," you say leaning back in your seat crossing your legs. "The one in Cam's room right?" you still remembered the conversation you had with him this morning where he invited you to the party he was having tonight and during that time Taron had been walking down the hallway ignoring you - like always - but when Cam asked you to come to the party Taron glanced over his shoulder before he left the hall and nodded.

Azalea ran her tongue over her teeth narrowing her eyes at you but then she looked past you, almost through you. "Hey Zane!" She calls waving over at the tall boy stopping at your row of seats. Florence was seated three seats down from you, Azalea patted the back of the seat next to the teacher. "Come sit with us man."

Zane who had been shifting on his weight looking at the stage looked immensely relieved moving down the row taking a seat next to Florence pushing his glasses up on his nose no sooner than he sat down Florence looked at the boy with a smile on her face and began talking, "Zane I'm glad you are here. I'm wondering if you can help me with a small favor after the play. You see, the theater notes we give out are a very useful tool for ..."

"Rude!" Emily says popping her head up at the end of the row of chairs. Azalea shrugs taking a bag of popcorn she grabbed from her room before leaving for Bliss out of her bag.

"I can only look after so many new students here," she says opening the bag of popcorn throwing a piece into her mouth before tilting the bag to you. "Lucky you." you take a piece from her shaking your head smiling popping it into your mouth as the lights begin to dim you look around until your eyes land on Cam, you thought back to short dish session you had with Allie once and how she always said watching a movie with a guy was always a good way to get to know things about him, things that may not come out during conversation. Looking at cam you thought you knew what Allie meant. Their was something thrilling about glancing at cam out of the corner of your eye that made your heart soar, to see what jokes he thought were funny, to join his laughter with your own. When his eyes met yours you felt embarrassed being caught staring you felt the urge to look away but before you could Cam's face lit up with a bright smile. It made you feel unabashed at being caught staring, he put his hand up and waved at you. At least he didn't flip you off like Taron had done when he first saw you.

Taron had walked in the door with Roland late enough that the play had already began, late enough that the only remaining seats were on the floor. He passed through the beam of light that came from the stage where the actors were walking across stage speaking in posh accents. You noticed a sliver chain around his neck and some sort of medallion tucked safely inside his black T-shirt under his blue plaid shirt. Then he dipped completely out of your view, you couldn't even see his profile if you tried.

As it happened, Group A were really good during the play. It was hard for you to stay focused on the plot when Emily and Azalea were fighting in low whispers over who was better or worse. You on the other had felt this chill go down your spine as you watched the play but kept glancing at the two bright lights that lit the stage for the kids. It reminded you of something but you couldn't remember what.

An hour later Azalea stood banging on the door looking through the peep whole on Cams bronze painted colored door. "Yoohooo!" Z sings loudly laughing. "The festivities are here!" she took the rainbow boa off from around her neck and lifted her foot in the air. "Give me a boost." she says dangling her foot in the air. You hook your fingers together and positioned them under Azalea's converse as Azalea pushed off the ground using the boa to cover the hallway camera as she shuts the device off.

"That's not sus or anything." Emily says to Azalea.

"Does your allegiance lie with the after party or the authority party?" Azalea shot back.

"I'm just saying there are smarter ways to do it than how you just did it." Emily snorts as Azalea hops down slinging the boa over your shoulders smirking. You laugh and start to shimmy to the George Michael song you hear through the door. "Classic." Emily says and you laugh taking the Boa off your shoulders wrapping it around hers before she could say anything a whoosh of talking, blasting music and cams opens arms greeted them.

"You made it!" he says to you smiling excitedly, even in the dim lighting his lips had that berry stained glow. When he folded you in for a hug you felt safe and tiny, it was short lived. He turned to Azalea and Emily and nodded a hello, you felt proud that you were the only who got a hug. Behind Cam, the small room was cramped with people. Roland was in one corner at a turntable looking through records as a song from Motown begins to play. Azalea and Emily wasted no time shooting across the room towards Cam's desk which looked like to was a bar. Almost immediately Azalea had the champagne between her thighs laughing with emily as she tried to pull the cork off. You were shocked, Cam had only been back to the school for a couple of days and already knew how to throw a huge party the whole school attended and somehow everyone inside thought this was normal.

"Oh Y/nnnn," she sang climbing up on the table Roland stood looking through the records. "Get in here! I'm about to make a toast!" you laugh stuffing your hands in your pockets on your leather jacket. You blinked a couple of times so your eyes could adjust, students huddled over to the table, you couldn't see Emily but you could hear her laugh. Cam shut the door behind you and tugged on your hand so you hang back from the heart of the party making you smile.

"I'm really glad you came," he says laying his hand on the small of your back and bending his head so only you could hear him. "I jumped up every time someone knocked hoping it would be you." those lips looked almost tasty especially when they said things like that. Whatever had drawn cam to you, you didn't want to mess it up. He was popular and thoughtful and his attention made you feel more than just flattered, it made you feel comfortable with him. You knew if you tried to respond to the compliment you would stumble over your words and embarrass yourself so you just laughed which made him laugh before he pulled you in for another hug. You rest your hands on the back of his neck smiling as he hugged you tighter lifting your feet off the ground slightly. When he put you back down you smiled turning to the rest of the party as Cam's arm snaked around your waist. The first thing you saw was Taron but you didn't think he liked cam with the dirty looks both of them were sending each other during detention. Still, he sat cross legged one the bed, his black shirt clinging to his muscles. As soon as your eyes found him it was hard to look anywhere else, which made no sense because an absolute gorgeous and very kind boy was standing next to you asking what you would like to drink and the other infinitely less friendly guy sitting should not be the one you can't stop looking at.... And he was staring you. So intently with a cryptic squinting look in his eyes you thought you could never decode even if you tried.

All you knew is that everything else seemed to melt away and fall out of focus. It was just you and Taron. Staring at each other. You could have stared back at him all night if Azalea hadn't called out to you raising her cup in the air.

"To Y/n," Azalea said giving you a playful smile. "Who was obviously zoning out and missed my entire welcome speech and who will never know how utterly fabulous it was. Wasn't it great R?" She asked looking down at Roland who nodded giving her ankle a pat. Cam slipped a cup into your hand smiling never letting his arm drop from your waist. You blushed trying to laugh it off as the whole room echoed.

"To Y/n!" they all cheer and you smile nodding holding your cup up looking at Cam who was staring at you with a soft smile on his face. At your side Charlotte came up behind you and whispered a longer version of the cheers in your ear.

"To Y/n, who will never know." A few days before you would have flinched away but tonight you simply rolled your eyes and turned back to Cam excusing yourself as you made your way across the room taking a sip of the champagne Cam had handed you. You felt Taron's eyes on you as you made your way through the crowd taking a seat on the counter next to Emily who was chewing on a piece of licorice talking with Zane.

"Can you believe it, I'm actually having fun!" Emily says chewing happily.

"I'm Zane." the boy introduces himself extending his tan hand. You smile taking his hand in yours shaking it.

"I'm Y/n." you introduce yourself and he nods.

"I know, we have theater together." he says letting go of your hand and you nod before looking back at Emily. You take a licorice and bite down on it watching the party as you take a sip of your champagne. Not a great combination.

"So is Charlotte that evil to everyone or am I just a special case?" for a moment you thought she was going to give a different answer but then she pats your back smiling. "Just her normal demeanor my dearie."

"I wonder where they get all this stuff?" you wonder aloud looking at Cam's expensive vintage spin table, the spinning disco ball above everyone casting squares on everyone, and the free flowing champagne.

"Roland can smuggle anything into this school, ask and you shall receive type shit." Emily says looking over at you smirking. That was exactly what Azalea said.

"Okay all you rejects." Roland says loudly to get everyone's attention. The record player had been turned down so only faint could be heard as the room got quiet. "We're going to start the open-mike portion of the night, and I'm taking requests for karaoke."

"Taron Egerton!" Azalea hooted through her hands

"No!" he hooted back without missing a beat.

"Awww, the silent Egerton is sitting another one out." Roland says into the mic and you look at him smiling. He glances at you. "You sure you don't want to sing Tiny Dancer by Elton John?"

"I believe that is your song, Roland." he says a faint smile spreads across his lips but you got the feeling it was an embarrassed smile a 'someone else please take the spotlight' smile.

"He's got a point folks." Roland laughs "Though some of Elton's songs are known to clear the room." he plucked one of Elton's albums that read 'Don't shoot me I'm only the piano player'. "Let's go down south instead." he smirks. As the piano and guitar picked up the pace for crocodile rock Roland took over the stage making you laugh as you place your cup of champagne behind you clapping along with the beat. Emily cheered for him which only encourage him more. You looked across from you at Taron who was looking down at something, you kept remembering the image of him nodding to you in the hallway when Cam asked you to come here tonight. Of course now that you show up he made no attempt to acknowledge you. If only she get alone with him. Roland had everyone's attention captured so much no one had noticed Taron stand up from his spot edged himself around Cam and Charlotte and slipped silently out the door. This was your chance, you clapped for Roland before standing from your spot.

"Encore!" Azalea yells, then notices you standing from your seat. "Oh shit. Is that my girl stepping up to sing?!"

"No!" you laugh waving her off. "I need to go get something."

"Hurry back!" she calls as you scooted your way past cam where he crossed his arms.

"Want company?" he asked hopefully and you look at him for a moment. On any other errand you would have loved his company but not right now. Right now you needed to know what Taron's problem was and why you felt like you knew him.

"I will be right back." you say smiling before you could see the disappointment on his face you slip out the door shutting it quietly behind you taking in a huge gulp of air closing your eyes relaxing before they snap open when you hear his voice.

Taron. You would recognize that voice anywhere but you were less certain who he was talking too.  A girl.

"I'm sorry hun." the very familiar posh accent you recognized.

Olivia? Taron was sneaking out to see the dictionary definition of perfect Olivia?

"It won't happen again." she says "I swear to-"

"It can't happen again." Taron whispered his tone practically screamed lovers. "You promise you would be there and you weren't." Where? When? you were in agony but you continued to inch along the hallway as you did the two of them fell silent. You could picture Taron leaning in to her for a long deep kiss. A consuming envy spread through your chest. Around the corner one of them sighed.

"Your going to have to trust me Taron. I'm all that you got." Olivia said in a sickening sweet voice and you decided once and for all you hated her.

Tag list: @primaba11erina​ @turkish276​ @hitmeonmytspot​ @fuseburner​

#taron egerton imagine #taron egerton #taron egerton fanfiction #taron egerton x reader #taron #taron x reader #taron imagine #taron fanfiction

[starker-stories]

Long Lenses

It’s been awhile since I posted something new & original. This has been sitting forgotten in my WIPs for a bit. Lost it, found it, posting it.

Also on AO3

If you like what I write, may I recommend subscribing to my feed? After having lost my blog to my own idiocy, I kinda have a distrust of tumblr. I’ve had other issues here with things just disappearing for no reason. Plus when tumblr (or I) mess up, anything below a readmore disappears. So AO3 is the best place to read my stuff. It’s ALL there, long or short. 

Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Quentin Beck, May Parker (Spider-Man) Additional Tags: Cheating, College Student Peter Parker, Closeted Character, Arguing, Happy Ending, Manipulation, Closeted Tony Stark, Press and Tabloids, Secret Relationship, Homophobic Language, used only once, Outing, Offscreen Pepper Potts, Cheating isn't Starker

Summary:  “You’d much rather give the world the image of a happily married heterosexual man than to have the world know that you just go through the motions with her and are secretly as gay as I am,” Peter said bitterly. -------------------------------------------------------------------

“Stay,” Peter said, lying in bed still long before dawn on Sunday morning. He watched Tony dress.

“You know I can’t.” Tony made sure that his suit was appropriately rumpled, his shirt pulled out on one side, his tie askew. He took a drink, rinsed his mouth with the strong scotch. Sloshed a little out of the glass onto his shirt to make the picture believable.

“Stay.” Peter reached out his hand. Tony bent over and kissed Peter, who frowned. “I hate it when you smell like that. Almost as much as I hate the way you smell on Saturday afternoon when you get here. I don’t know what’s worse, watching you pretend to be a drunk or having you smell like her.”

“Peter, you knew the terms when you said yes.”

“And I knew the terms when you said you were going to leave her. When’s that gonna happen, huh?”

Tony sighed. “I hate it when you wake up.”

“You’d rather just sneak out and leave me to wake up to an empty bed,” Peter said angrily.

“Look, she knows I go out with friends on Saturday night. She hates it and gives me hell for it, but I’m here every single Saturday. I have ‘business meetings’ scheduled every Wednesday. Which, since she’s still my PA, she knows I don’t.”

“After which you’re always out the door before ten.”

“Peter, if you don’t like it, I just won’t do it anymore, okay?”

“I’m that fucking inconsequential to you?”

“You know that’s not true. I love you.”

“Not enough to leave her.”

“Things are complicated.”

“Of course they are. You’d much rather give the world the image of a happily married heterosexual man than to have the world know that you just go through the motions with her and are secretly as gay as I am,” Peter said bitterly.

Tony sighed and headed for the door. “Whatever Peter.”

Before the door shut, with a tear strained voice, “Will I see you Wednesday?”

His answer was a closed door.

It didn’t stop him from fixing dinner for two after his last class on Wednesday afternoon. Or waiting nervously to see if the door to the apartment Tony paid for would open by Tony’s key. Almost two hours late, it did.

Tony leaned over and gave Peter a peck on the cheek. “Sorry. I tried to get out as soon as I could, but things ran long.”

He always smelled like her on Wednesdays but this time her perfume was stronger than normal. “It’s okay. I just turned the lasagna down when I noticed you were running late.”

Tony sat at the kitchenette table and watched as Peter laid the dinner. “How was class? Professor Martinez still giving you a hard time?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Peter smiled as Tony poured the wine for both of them. “I thought I’d take fifteen hours next semester instead of twelve. Other than physics, the rest is a breeze. I can handle more work.” He paused. “Is that going to be okay? It’s going to cost more.”

“If you think you can handle the course load, you know I have no problem with that, baby. I want you to get whatever you can out of school. Fifteen hours a semester? And if you take summer courses, you can graduate in three years.”

Peter laughed. “One more than it took you.”

“Yeah baby, but I got all my prereqs done while I was in high school. You had to trudge through all that last year.”

“I just didn’t want to take summer classes, that’s all. You mentioned something about a yacht,” Peter said teasingly.

“Yeah, well…”

Peter tried to hide his disappointment. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It’s just that the press… every time I take the boat out, they’re out there with their long lenses. Fuck, last time they caught me and Pep nude sunbathing with a drone.”

Peter’s lips drew into a sharp line. He’d seen those pictures of course. Nude sunbathing wasn’t the half of what they’d caught. “Summer classes are fine,” he said tersely.

“I’m sorry baby.” Tony reached his hand across the table and took Peter’s in it.

Peter shrugged. “It is what it is, right?”

“I was thinking…” Tony smiled. “I’d take a hell of a hit in the prenup, but if she caught me with another woman… We still couldn’t be public, but as a single man I’d have a lot more time to spend with you.”

Peter brightened. “You’d do that?”

“Pretty sure she already suspects something. It wouldn’t be hard to convince her. To have some ‘well meaning’ friend of hers catch me with a girlfriend and tell her.”

“Then I’d just have to share you with your girlfriend. There’d have to be one, right?”

“Just for show.”

“Why can’t it just be us? No one would care.”

“I still do business in a lot of parts of the world where they do care.”

“I’ll never have you to myself, will I?”

“You’ll always be the only one who I love. Why do we have to fight? I get to see you so little, I hate to spend it fighting.”

Peter smiled. “I can think of much better ways to spend the next two hours.”

~~~~~

It wasn’t difficult to make a device to disguise his voice. Finding a payphone in a New York suburb was harder, but he hacked into the phone company’s computer and got a list of every functional payphone within twenty miles of a train stop. Getting there untraceably was another challenge. But trains were anonymous and cab drivers even more so when you behaved normally without anything odd to set you apart from dozens of other fares. The phone was a lot closer to the train station than he thought, so he decided that after his call, he’d just walk back there. Even more anonymous.

Finding a reporter with a grudge against Tony Stark wasn’t hard at all. Finding one who had the clout to push a controversial story past frightened editors narrowed the field down to one, Quentin Beck.

“Mr. Beck? I’ve got some news about Tony Stark you might be interested in.”

“I doubt it. I’d need sources and those dry up as soon as Stark starts throwing his money around.”

“He’s having an affair.”

“I thought you said news. Everyone knows that he cheats on his wife.”

“With another man?” Peter added.

“You have my attention. That’s a hell of an accusation. I’ll need details and undeniable proof.”

“Details I can give you. Proof, you’ll have to get on your own.”

“Details then,” Beck said tersely.

“They meet every week.”

“How do you know this?”

“I see him go in. I know who lives there.”

“How do you know that he’s not seeing a woman there? Because like I said, that’s no news at all.”

“The women living in that building are either old or with kids,” Peter expected Beck to take the bait sooner than that. He was having to improvise.

“Lotta women with kids screw around.”

“The only man living in that building is a queer. Stark’s gotta be at least twice his age. It’s sick.” It hurt Peter to have to refer to both of them like that, but Beck was still resisting.

“Address?”

Peter gave him the address of the building he lived in. “He’s there every Saturday. I don’t know if there’s any other time. I’ve seen him go in. My shift ends at two and I’ve never seen him come out, so he stays until after that.” There were three different all night businesses on the same block as his apartment. It wasn’t unbelievable that someone in one of them could’ve seen Tony go into his building.

“Who are you? So I can credit you.”

Peter laughed. “I’m not losing my job over this.”

“So you’re just a concerned citizen.”

“Yep. I don’t like perverts passing themselves off as good married men.”

~~~~~

It was easy for Peter to take the intercom in his apartment apart and disconnect the buzzer to let Tony in on Saturday afternoon.

“Something’s wrong with my door thing.” Peter explained as he came down to the door. He was barefoot and wearing shorts so short they were barely covered by the hem of his t-shirt. “I can hear the doorbell ring, but I can’t buzz anyone in. My pizza last night was almost sent back. Fortunately the delivery guy phoned me.” He leaned up and gave Tony a quick peck on the cheek as he shut the glass lobby door behind him.

“Glad to see you’re in a better mood tonight.” Tony smiled and caught Peter by the waist returning his peck with a more substantial kiss.

“I get to have you in my bed all night, of course I’m in a better mood.” Peter smiled, took Tony’s hand and led him up the stairs to his apartment which was over a block of small shops.

There was no arguing, no demands, no pouting. Peter had no idea if Beck actually took his tip seriously or not. But it was a last ditch effort to finally have Tony be his. Tony would never know how Quentin Beck got his information. He was one of the reporters who dogged him ceaselessly and one he hadn’t been able to control. Peter was fairly certain that Tony would believe it was just bad luck and Beck following him trying to get dirt on something else.

Upstairs, Tony took apart Peter’s intercom and found the singed wire he made to look like an ordinary short.

“Thank you. It’s so hard to get the super up to do anything around here. I’m not complaining. It’s a nice apartment, close to school, and right on the subway, so it’s perfect. But you know… they try to get away with doing as little work as possible.”

Tony laughed. “I should buy the building.”

“It’s a little down market for you, don’t you think?”

~~~~~

It was one of the best Saturday nights they’d had in a long time. Especially since Peter pretended to be very hard asleep when Tony got up to leave. He grumbled a little and turned over but then drifted (or seemed to) right back off.

Now all he had to do was wait for the papers. It was probably too late to make it into Sunday’s but Monday morning? Peter didn’t buy a copy. He didn’t want the evidence lying around his apartment. But the library at school had subscriptions to every New York paper. It wasn’t in the paper Beck worked for. Peter was about to give up, disappointed that his scheming came to nothing. Then he saw the tabloid. It didn’t have a byline for Quentin Beck, just ‘staff’. Peter supposed that when his editor shot him down, Beck decided that a paycheck was worth more than a byline.

The pictures were remarkably clear. Peter winced at seeing how clear his face was in addition to Tony’s. He winced harder when he read the article and found out that either Beck or the tabloid’s staff had discovered his name from the apartment’s records. And even worse, they had copies of checks from Tony’s private account that showed he paid Peter’s rent.

He ran home from the school library. There were reporters outside his door. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I forgot my chemistry text. I need to get back before my next class. Why are you here? Let me through! Don’t touch me!” He twisted out of the reporter’s grasp. He was shaking so hard he couldn’t get his key to work. They were shouting questions at him and cameras were going off around him. Three tries later, he was inside the lobby where reporters weren’t allowed to go. He didn’t wait for the elevator but ran up the stairs. He pulled the curtains shut and curled up in the middle of the bed, crying. 

Clearly, he had not thought this through. He had grossly miscalculated and he regretted his decision tremendously. Instead of doing something to assure him of finally having Tony all to himself, he might have driven him away permanently.

Peter sat staring at his phone, hoping Tony would call. It rang often, but he didn’t answer. Tony had a special ringtone. All other calls, even from his friends, he rejected. Tony didn’t call. Peter imagined he was busy trying to put out the fires on his end. After a few hours, he tried to call Tony. It rang once and then went straight to voicemail. He didn’t leave a message. He waited another hour to the same results. The next call, two hours later, he left a voicemail.

“Tony, I’m scared. They’re outside my door. I… I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say. I’m locked in and I’m alone and I don’t know what’s going on.” He was crying. “What happened, Tony? Please call me back. Please. I know… I know things have to be bad for you too. But I’m scared, Tony. I’m scared.” 

Not only might he lose Tony, but his whole life was about to be ruined. If they had the rent checks, they would find other things too. Like his school schedule. Like the fact that Tony was paying his tuition. That he’d set up an account for Peter to pay for groceries and books and other little things. Oh god, they might even find out his aunt’s name and number.

“May? Has anyone… Have you…” Peter was sobbing.

“Peter, what’s going on? I went to work and my friend showed me the paper. You and Tony Stark? Is that true? I know they can make pictures up to look like whatever they want.”

“It’s true. It was a secret. It was supposed to stay a secret. I don’t know how they found out. They’re outside my door. I could barely get into my apartment building.”

“He’s married, Peter. How could you!”

“He said he was going to leave her. He said he loved me.”

May sighed. “Sweetie, they don’t ever leave their wives, you know that. Men like Tony Stark… he buys and sells people like they were nothing.”

“He isn’t like that, May. He… he was going to leave her. He had a plan and everything. It was just going to take time. He loves me and I love him.” He sniffled and tried to stop crying. “Are you okay? They haven’t bothered you, have they?”

“I’ve had some calls but I hung up on them. But no one’s been here at the apartment though. Not like your place. The internet has the story already. I saw your picture trying to get into your building.” She paused. “Is it true he pays for your rent?”

“Y-y-yeah.” He was sniffling again. “And my tuition and everything else.”

“So you don’t have a job like you told me.”

“I used to. When I told you, I was an intern at Stark Industries, that was true. But it only lasted a few months before Tony and I… I’m sorry May. I didn’t want to lie to you, but it had to be a secret. He couldn’t have anyone knowing.” He started crying again. “Now everybody knows. And he isn’t calling me back.”

“Peter, even if everything you said is true, that he loves you and was going to leave his wife, he can’t call you right now. If… I don’t even know how to explain this to you… you’re young. You don’t know what it’s like to be married.”

“Not you and Ben… that never happened between you, did it?” Peter sounded afraid.

“No, no. Neither of us were like that. But you hear about it from friends. There are friends I have at the hospital whose husbands cheated on them. It’s… messy. It’s complicated. And that’s without being famous and the press hounding them all the time. This can’t be easy for his wife. Think about her. I don’t mean to be harsh, sweetie, but you just ruined her life.”

“I’m not the first affair he’s had,” Peter said defensively.

“But you’re the one he got caught with. And the only man.”

“Not even that.”

“Okay. But you’re the one she can’t deny or push under the carpet or pretend she doesn’t know about.”

“I don’t care about her,” Peter said angrily.

“That’s obvious,” May said, with a little anger of her own.

“It’s not my fault.”

“Whose is it? You knew he was married. The whole world knows he’s married. Sure, it took both of you, but you didn’t have to say yes. How long has this been going on?”

“About a year and a half.”

“Peter!”

“We’re in love. He doesn’t love her. He hasn’t loved her for a long time. Even before me.”

“I can believe that man has no morals, but you? I thought…”

“I’m in love with him,” Peter interrupted her. “That’s all I know. I’m in love with him.” Peter was sobbing. “You don’t know him like I do. Nobody does. He’s different when he’s with me.”

“Well, I’m not going to talk to anyone about it. I didn’t know anything and obviously, I still don’t know anything. I thought I knew you but…”

“You do. You just don’t get it. We fell in love. That’s not something you can control.”

“But you can control acting on it. I’m sorry you’re in the mess you’re in, but it’s a mess you made for yourself. You have to think of the other people whose lives you ruined by choosing to sleep with a married man.”

~~~~~

It was after midnight before Tony’s ringtone played on Peter’s phone. “Tony?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yeah baby. I’m so sorry. I should’ve known… I never meant for you to be caught up in this. The damn fucking reporters follow me everywhere.”

“Are you okay?”

“I will be. Like was going to happen with my plan, I’m gonna take a hell of a hit to the pocket by the prenup. She insisted on a cheating clause, knowing my lack of ability to keep it in my pants. But she never would’ve pulled that trigger unless something went public.”

“But you can manage that, right?”

“It’s not gonna send me to the poorhouse, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not. You know I don’t love you for your money. I hope you do.”

“I know baby. Bad joke. Sorry.”

“Are you still at home?”

“Nope. I mean, it’s still going to be my home once the separation’s over and done with. The building belongs to the company and the company belongs to me. I’ll need to buy out her share of the penthouse, but that’s not a problem. It was just prudent that I be the one to leave right now. Give her time to cool down, let the lawyers hash things out.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d call.” He paused. “Ever.”

“Really? Doubt me that much?”

Peter sighed heavily. “Things don’t usually work out well for the ‘other woman’.”

“Yeah, but the guy usually isn’t in love with the ‘other woman’. I love you.”

“Still? Even though…” He sighed again. “The other woman turned out to be the other man?”

“It’s kind of a relief, actually. I mean, yeah, life is gonna be hard for awhile, but then we can be together.”

“You still want that?”

“You still want me?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, Tony. I’m kind of in love with you.” He paused, twirling the fringe on his bedspread in his fingers. “My aunt kinda hates me.”

“I’m sorry. The whole homewrecker thing?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. She doesn’t understand.”

“It doesn’t help that the papers are… fucking ruthless. But what’s done is done. No putting this genie back in his closet,” he laughed wryly.

“I’m sorry Tony.”

“Not your fault baby. It just never happened before because I never stayed with the same person for more than a few nights. After a year and a half, my habits got picked up on. Traveling to the same place on a regular schedule. Someone was bound to catch me sooner or later.”

“So what’s gonna happen now?” Peter asked.

“Well, I could always have Happy drive by and pick you up to bring you to my suite at the Plaza.”

“What‽”

Tony chuckled. “Not like we have to keep it a secret anymore. Not like the whole world doesn’t know I’m into guys after today’s headlines. Not like she can sue me twice for cheating on her. The only question is how much heat are you willing to bear to be with me. Because it’s gonna get really hot for you, baby. They’re gonna dig out every nasty word in the thesaurus and print them.”

“Do I get to be with you?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Let them print,” Peter said with fierce determination. “I’ll send them a list in case their thesaurus isn’t complete.”

#starker #Von writes stuff #starker-stories formerly starkestories

[sugar-kisser]

Engagement Rings - Jeong Yunho

REQUEST: It's so cute gosh 🥺 can I request for a part  2 a bit more angsty where that 'crusty bitch' regrets his actions and wants home girl back? Happy ending please 🥺🥺🥺🥺 @iis4d​

warnings: cussings featuring: Jongho, Hongjoong, Wooyoung, Seonghwa, & San PART 1

The memory of last week’s events play over in your head as you stare at the small diamond ring on your finger. With your thumb you move the band from the inside part of your hand to move the ring around on your finger. You softly smile at the memory. The ring sits slightly heavier than the promise ring Yunho had given to you last year, but you only notice the difference when you think about it.

You look up from your hand and around you checking to see if Yunho is on his way over. He’s in his last class for the fall semester, which means Christmas is approaching. The two of you plan to travel to his parents house for this Christmas and then yours for the New Years.

You feel your phone buzz in your coat jacket and you pull your phone out and open your messages.

Yunho: Class is getting out ten minutes late, this presenter is taking foreverrrrrrr. I still haven’t even gone, and the professor is making me still go up.

You huff and quietly chuckle and tap on the little text bar to respond to him.

You: Poor Yunho. But don’t worry I’m still waiting at the picnic table.

Yunho: Yes poor me!! I love you! I’ll see you hopefully in 10 minutes.

You: I love you too.

You place your phone back into your phone and wrap your coat around you a little tighter as the small winter breeze picks up. You nuzzle you cheeks into the top part of your coat in order to keep your cheeks warm.

“Y/N?” A familiar male voice calls out to you. A little dusty switch in the back of your mind flips. Half your body tenses but you still turn to the oncoming trouble; oblivious to what could possibly happen. Your eyes widen at the sight of Wooyoung approaching you, his famous little boxy grin on display. You hadn’t thought about Wooyoung in almost two years, let alone see or hear of him.

“Wooyoung,” you greet with an almost forced grin on your face, “it’s been a long time.”

“It has,” he answers then his smile drops, “I’m actually glad I happen to run into you… I’ve been wanting to apologize for what I did.” His words take you by shock. Wooyoung rarely ever apologized to you, and when he did he did it just so you could eventually end up doing something for him.

“You want to apologize?” you repeat for the sake of yourself and to confirm that’s what you heard.

“Yeah,” Wooyoung tells you then points to the open seat on the bench beside you, “do you mind?” You shake your head and even scoot slightly over just so he has enough room and so you’re not too close to him.

“I want to apologize for cheating on you,” Wooyoung starts, “I should of never done that. You never deserved that. I made a complete ass of myself and lost something I really cared about and I knew there was no way I could make up for what I did.” You heart begins to sit heavy thinking back to the two and a half years ago when Wooyoung broke your heart. You can still clearly remember the cold look he gave you. It showed no emotion, no empathy, no regret for his decision.

“Did she end up breaking your heart and now you’re realizing how big of a dick you were?” You ask, the tone in your voice coming off rather rudely but it wasn’t your intention.

“Actually, no,” Wooyoung answers softly, unaffected by the tone in your voice, “I broke up with her when I heard about how you were doing. But I knew I couldn’t come back to you. I knew you wouldn’t want me back and that you would hate me… So I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking and changing myself to be better than I was then.”

“So why are you here telling me all of this if you knew that I wouldn’t want to see or be reminded of all of this?” You ask quietly as you scrunch your eyebrows together.

“Because I was hoping we could start over again. Which is a lot to ask but I promised I’ve changed, and I will never hurt you again,” Wooyoung proposes his idea- the trouble you were waiting for.

“Wooyoung, I-“ you start, “I’m engaged to someone else, and I’m extremely happy with who I’m with.” Your answer almost shocks Wooyoung, but he plays off his hurt and smiles.

“Oh, I’m sorry for coming off like that then,” Wooyoung awkwardly laughs, “may I see?” You pull your left hand out of your coat pocket and the cold air pricks at your skin but you hold out your hand and show him the ring. Wooyoung gently takes your hand and looks over the ring and smiles.

“I’m happy for you,” Wooyoung looks up at you has his other handles on top of yours. Before you could thank him, and in a swift motion, Wooyoung practically rips your ring off your finger. He stands and hurries the short three and a half yards to the water front of the university lake and throws the ring far into the water. You stand up to try to grab him, but it’s too late.

“No!” You scream. You feel your ring finger throb in pain, possibly broken from the ring being pulled off so violently.

“What the hell is your problem!” You yell at him, “you haven’t changed at all. You probably said all that bullshit just so you could get something from me!” You watch Wooyoung turn and begin to quickly walks back to you which you begin to back up.

“Hey what’s going on?” Yunho calls as he suddenly appears at your side, and he quickly notices Wooyoung, “what the hell are you doing here?” Yunho instinctively pushes you behind him while stepping out in front if you.

“I came to apologize to Y/N,” Wooyoung answers.

“Well scram you asshole. She never wanted to see you again after what you did,” Yunho growls. Wooyoung looks at you one more time, with that same cold look from two years ago, and walks away.

“Are you okay?” Yunho asks turning around after Wooyoung leaves both your sights. He looks you up and down before softly caressing you cheek. He lightly kisses your lips and gives you a sympathetic smile.

“I’m okay,” you whisper.

“Are you sure?” Yunho asks, and you nod your head.

“Okay. Let’s go get some coffee,” Yunho suggests and he takes your right hand and the two of you walk to your favorite coffee shop on the campus. You find you and Yunho a seat while he waits in line to order coffee. You quickly pull out your phone and make a group chat that includes your closest friends.

You: We have a big problem

Jongho: Problem? DO I FINALLY GET TO BEAT YUNHO’S ASS!?

Seonghwa: Jongho, seriously?

Seonghwa: Y/N, what’s wrong?

You: I saw Wooyoung. He came to apologize, but when I rejected him and told him I was engaged he ripped the ring off my hand. He threw it into the campus lake and I think he broke my finger.

Seonghwa: Oh my god. Does Yunho know?

Jongho: Do I at least get to beat Wooyoung’s ass?

San: I just woke up, what am I missing?

Y/N: No he doesn’t. He came right after he threw the ring in the lake and when Wooyoung was coming after me. And San read the messages, are you lazy??

San: maybe

Y/N: Guys I leave tomorrow afternoon. I don’t want Yunho to know what happened.

Jongho: Are you saying you’re wanting us to go into that nasty ass lake to look for your ring?

Y/N: It’s literally shin deep Jongho.

Seonghwa: I’ll help you. Tell Yunho you’re going out later today for last minute Christmas shopping with me. I can bring Hongjoong.

San: so are we going to ignore that Y/N’s finger is broken ??? or ?

Seonghwa: We’ll get that taken care of too.

Y/N: Does 4 work?

Seonghwa: 4 should work. We’ll meet at the coffee shop?

Y/N: That should work.

San: i’ll be there

Jongho: I’m still not getting in that lake

Jongho: But I’ll be there

You take a sigh of relief and put your phone into your pocket.

“You sure you’re okay?” Yunho asks as he sets down a mug filled with warm hot chocolate in front of you.

“Yeah. I’m okay,” you smile and reach for the mug with both your hands. You hiss as you put pressure on to your ring finger and quickly pull your hands away from the mug.

“Y/N, what’s wrong?” Yunho quickly sets his mug down and reaches for your hands.

“I- it was just hot,” you quickly lie, “took me by surprise, that’s all. I’m sorry for scaring you.” Yunho tightly smiles and slightly sighs.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with him today,” Yunho tells you, “hopefully he’ll never show his face again.”

“I hope so too,” you tell him honestly. Yunho gives your right hand a tight squeeze before letting it go and lifting up his cup to take another sip of his drink. The two on you quietly sit together and drink on your hot beverages in the semi-loud coffee shop. Usually the two of you would talk about your day of what plans you two had or were wanting to do, but after earlier’s events Yunho knew you might needed some time to push yourself past what had happened. While you on the other hand were more worried that Yunho would find out what really happened and you don’t want him to worry any more than he is right now.

“Seonghwa invited me out to do last minute shopping later today,” you tell Yunho.

“Maybe he can help get today off your mind,” Yunho comforts, “what time do you plan on going out? I was thinking about making dinner tonight.”

“Four, but I’m not sure how long it’ll take,” you tell him, “I’m only hoping two or two and a half hours, max.”

“Okay,” Yunho smiles, “I’ll still make dinner then. Are you just about packed? We need to leave for the airport about eleven in the morning if we want to make our one-thirty flight.”

“Kind of? There are a few more things I need to pack. Might also get a couple things while I’m out too,” you explain to him. Yunho nods his head and takes the last few sips on his drink.

————

You wait, almost, patiently outside the coffee shop for Seonghwa, Hongjoong, Jongho, and San. You managed to find something to wrap your finger in for the time being and it seemed to be holding up and it didn’t hurt as much as it had earlier. You pull your coat tighter and make sure your beanie is covering your ears from the cold wind.

“Y/N!” San’s voice calls out to you. You look up to find the black haired boy quickly approaching you. A scarf covering most of his face.

“Hi Sannie,” You greet. He instantly reaches for your hand and pushes back the coat and sweater sleeve and looks at your hand.

“Yeah, this looks broken. Like a clear fracture,” San examines, “does it hurt to move it? When it’s just sitting there?”

“Yeah yeah yeah medical major nerd, I know it’s broken,” you tell him. You pull down the sleeves and put your hands back into your pocket.

“You know I can save you money tending it myself,” San explains, “I’m almost a doctor.”

“You still have a year left of schooling,” you remind him.

“Arguing about his schooling again?” Seonghwa’s voice interrupts.

“Seonghwa!” You greet, “Hongjoong!” You quickly give hugs to both boys.

“Where’s Jongho? He said he was already here?” Seonghwa asks.

“He hasn’t shown up yet,” you tell him, “I’ll call him.” You pull out your phone and quickly dial Jongho’s number.

“Hello?” Jongho answers.

“Where are you? Seonghwa says you’re already here?” You ask him.

“I’m already at the damn lake looking around. I have been for like an hour,” Jongho explains and you can hear the clear movement of water, assuming Jongho’s walking in it.

“We’re on our way,” you quickly hand up the phone and look at the other three boys, “he’s already in the lake.” The boys all look at you in shock and you four quickly hurry the half mile to the lake to meet Jongho there.

“Jongho!” You call out to the boy who’s almost literally in the middle of the lake.

“Well don’t just stand there!” Jongho yells back. You watch as he continues to move his hands around in the shin deep water looking for your ring. You take a seat on the grass and Seonghwa pulls out rain boots from his bag and you trade your sneakers for them. The four of you quickly move through the lake and towards Jongho.

“Where have you already looked?” Hongjoong asks. Jongho then goes on explaining the areas he’s looked and based off where he has you four spread out and behind trudging through the water. You stop in an area and bend over to look through the muggy water. You can see the bottom of the lake, but the water isn’t exactly clear. You also only have about about two hours of sunlight before the sunsets.

You push your right hand into the water and they instantly cool down to the point where it feels like needles poking into your hand. You let out a small audible shaky breath before feeling around the bottom of the lake. You slowly inch around a small area, taking breaks to stand up and straighten out you back.

After an hour of searching you look towards the sun, inching closer and closer to the horizon and you not having much time left. You left out a huff of hot air which instant turns into a white mist. You look down at your red numb hands and try to heat it up by breathing hot air on to it momentarily. You also started to feel the low temperature of the water against your rain boots about 40 minutes ago.

“Are you getting too cold?” Seonghwa asks you.

“Just my hand,” you answer, “but it’s fine. Have you guys had any luck?”

“No. Jongho and San are looking on the other side of the lake though. Hongjoong and I just finished over there,” Seonghwa gestures to where he was before turning and pointing to Hongjoong, “and we’re moving over there.” You nod you head, take a deep breath, and then sigh.

“We’re going to find it don’t worry,” Seonghwa quickly and tightly hugs you before giving you one last smile and moving back towards Hongjoong. You begin moving to a new area, the water slushing around your boots.

“Y/N!” Someone’s voice calls out to you. You turn to the sound and you end up twisting your legs around each other and fall backwards. You let out a high pitch yelp before you hit the water, completely submerging under, slightly bumping your head on the floor since the water is only about a foot high. You quickly sit up and gasp for air and you feel the cold winter air instantly freezing you.

“Y/N!” Five voices call for you…. wait? Five? You’re quickly greeted by Seonghwa and Hongjoong, then San with Jongho close behind him, and lastly Yunho who immediately jumped into the water and ran over to you.

“Are you okay?” Yunho asks, completely out of breath as San and Jongho help you up.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” you tell him and he envelopes you into a slightly warm hug as you also begin to drench his clothes.

“What are you guys doing in the university lake?” Yunho asks looking at the four boys. The all look at you and you push away from Yunho to look at him in the eyes.

“Wooyoung threw my ring into the lake,” you quietly tell him. Yunho’s eyes slightly widen and is taken aback.

“How did he even get ahold of it?” He asks, his voice soft but almost demanding. Instead of answering him you show him your left hand with the now wet bandage around it.

“H-he uh… um… broke it,” you tell him as tears fill your eyes and you begin to cry. Yunho’s heart breaks just watching you finally break down. He wraps his arms around you slowly and holds you.

“I’ve been here since three. They all got her about four-thirty,” Jongho speaks up in the silence, “still no luck. We’ve about searched this entire lake.”

“Thank you,” Yunho tells them, “you don’t need to continue to look.”

“What do you mean?” You ask looking up at him. Yunho brushes the wet hair from your face and then strokes your head.

“Y/N, it’s just a ring. I can easily replace that,” Yunho laughs.

“But that was the one you proposed to me with,” you explain.

“I’d rather buy you a new ring then let you get sick and still stand here with a broken finger,” Yunho responds, “come on let’s get you to a doctor.” You sigh and look at the other boys.

“Thank you for helping me,” you tell them and open your arms and the four boys hug you all at once and you hold onto Yunho and the two of you step out of the lake, the others following behind you. Seonghwa hands you a towel from his bag and you exchange it for the boots and grab your other shoes. You walk to the parking lot not too far from the lake and you wrap yourself in a towel.

“Do you want to head home first to change and warm up?” Yunho asks as he hold your door open, you already sitting in the passenger seat. You nod your head silently. Yunho bites down on his teeth, upset that you’re upset. He lean into the car and kisses the top of you head before closing the door and getting into the drivers seat. Yunho drives you two back to your apartment and you sit in silence. The walk to the apartment from the car and into the apartment is silent.

“I’m going to take a bath to warm up,” you tell him.

“Okay,” answers as he walks into the kitchen setting your things he carried in down on the free counter space. He watches as your phone lights up and begins to buzz. He picks up the phone, answering it.

When you first got into he bath your body was so cold that the hot warm actually burned, but you’ve slowly warmed up to the water and could almost finally relax. You re-wrapped your finger while waiting for the water to rise in the tub and you light swing you left hand over the edge. You ran some of the hot water onto your face with your other hand, trying to warm up the last thing on your body before getting out. You change into the dry and much more comfier clothes you brought into the bathroom.

You exit the bathroom, dressed in one of Yunho’s hoodies and one of you grey sweatpants. You throw your hair up into a wet bun to keep it out of your face.

“Yunho? I’m ready to go, I just need to grab m-“ you stop yourself when you enter your living room, it covered in balloons and candles, and some sunflowers littered on the ground. You look around and you see four heads poking over the counter from your kitchen, you turn the corner and fully enter the living room where you see Yunho on one knee holding you engagement ring.

“You found it!” You squeal with joy causing Yunho to break into a shit eating grin and has to look away to laugh a little. “You don’t need to propose again Yunho.”

“But I want to. You didn’t have a good day and you should of,” Yunho starts, “so Y/N, the absolute love on my life, will you marry me?” You bite down on your lips to avoid the same shit eating grin Yunho has and nod your head. You run the rest of the way to him and hug him, tackling him over and the other boys come around the counter cheering.

“I can’t believe you found my ring!” You cheer as you lay on the floor with Yunho. Instead of putting it on your left ring finger, he places it on your right for the time being. Your lips meet his for a sweet kiss and you hear Jongho ‘vomit’.

“Stop it,” Seonghwa smacks him over the side of the head causing his to mumble an ‘ow’.

“I love you,” you tell Yunho as you pull yourself closer to him and nuzzle your head onto his chest. You rest your hand on his chest which he takes in his hand and his thumb rubs the palm of your hand.

“Don’t you still need to get your finger checked out?” San interrupts the two of you, causing you to groan in annoyance.

“We do, “ Yunho starts and stops San who opens his mouth, “and we’re going to someone who has a degree.” Everyone but San in the room laughs while the boy plops onto the couch to pout. Yunho helps you up and you say good-bye to everyone and give San a cookie to cheer him up as he leaves. You close the door and turn to see Yunho holding up a jacket and helps you put it on.

“You really didn’t need to do this. How did you even have time?” You ask.

“Right as you went to go take your bath Jongho called saying he found the ring so I requested that they grabbed all of this and come over and we all prepared it,” Yunho answers you, his cheeks changing to a soft pink and a shy smile peeks onto his lips.

“Well thank you,” you tell him and stand on your tippy toes to give him a quick kiss, “it’s more than what I could of ever asked for.”

#ateez #ateez scenarios #ateez drabbles #ateez au #ateez imagines #ateezxreader #atiny #ateez jeong yunho #ateez yunho #ateez jongho #ateez wooyoung #ateez san #ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #yunho #jeong yunho #college au #engagement au

[stellar-alley]

Everfalls

•Chapter 10•

This is based off of the artwork by oceanteeeth on Instagram! Also shout out to my Beta super.rose.cosplays!

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

(Summary: Bill’s past catches up to him which could endanger Eddie’s future.)

~

Bill Denbrough had gotten over his father’s death. Yes it hurt, he cried, but what hurt even more was watching the rest of his family deal with the loss. Georgie was torn up and his mother sometimes wouldn’t even leave her room. But they were healing and Bill was better. Yes he has gotten over the death of his father, Zack Denbrough, but he has never been able to shake the feeling that there was always something else he was missing.

The police that found him in the woods said he had been dead on sight. The doctors said he had a heart attack. Which just seemed… off, to Bill.

Zack had left for the weekend for one of his various hunting trips. Most people go out in groups, pairs, when they hunt, not Zack. It’s something he’s done tens of times. Every other time he returned without a scratch. Especially the whole death by heart attack. No one in his family has ever suffered from any heart problems and his father was in great physical shape. So this sudden heart attack, caused Bill to believe that something else might’ve been the cause of his father’s untimely death, he may not know what, but he knows it’s something.

The case had gone cold, if that’s even the right term. Since there wasn't really a case to freeze. His father died of a normal heart attack, case closed. So all of his belongings were returned to the family as they were not needed for further investigation. Then, a couple weeks back when Bill was out on the Hanlon's farm with Mike, he lost his phone, never to be found again. Bill opted to inherit his father’s old Iphone 8. His mother was just about to throw it away so he decided to put it to good use.

There wasn't much info on it to erase and Zack mainly used the phone for calling and texting his wife and son (Georgie was too young to have a phone). But when Bill entered his father’s photo album, he was left speechless by what he saw. It wasn't much, no, it was merely a simple photo of a white rabbit. A white rabbit with impossibly blue eyes.

White rabbits were rare, Bill had never seen one before in real life and even then, when you asked someone, they always knew about white rabbits but not many (If any) have actually ever seen one with their own two eyes. That and the fact that the photo was taken the day his father died.

While Richie was explaining the math homework to Bill that night after school, his eyes began to wander. They scanned the Tozier’s yard, eventually falling upon a small white rabbit that sat just behind the corner of their house. It’s icy blue eyes pierced Bill's soul. Suddenly a pit was created in his stomach, it twisted his insides and made his heart beat out of his chest.

Richie tilted his head like a confused puppy, “You good, Big Bill?” he waved a hand in front of Bill’s face to get his attention.

Bill’s mind cleared as he realized where he was, and what he had just seen. “S-Sorry Rich, can you g-give me the sp-sparknotes version? I can’t stay too long, Gu-Georgie is home al-lone” Bill stuttered a little bit more than normal. His thoughts messed up after he saw the rabbit. But nonetheless he carefully listened as Richie quickly explained the rest of the question.

Once they were done, Bill gave his friend a quick goodbye before booking it in the same direction the rabbit went. Richie talked for another couple minutes after he first saw the creature, how far could it have gotten?

~

Bill sunk behind the bush and hid when Eddie turned to look around him. The human held his breath in hopes of not being found, but he worried that whatever that is won’t be able to hear his heartbeat as it was practically beating out of his chest.

Yes, he was still reeling over the fact that he just saw some small white rabbit turn into a full fledged human. Eddie, that human is fucking Eddie. He looked down at his phone that he had just taken the photos on. He made a mental note to check them later when he wasn’t about to be discovered.

What would he do if he found me? What is he capable of?

Bill’s mind was spinning. He wasn’t even sure how long he had been sitting there. It was the cold wind of the night that pulled him from his thoughts. When he stood up and looked around, Eddie was gone.

Heading home was hard, Bill was the best biker of all the Losers, yet tonight he nearly tipped over twice and had trouble getting going. He couldn’t shake the image of the white rabbit out of his head.

Bill always knew his father hadn't died of a heart attack. He knew it had something to do with that damned white rabbit, somehow. Now he finally has a lead. Eddie.

~

Going to school the next day Bill's foot wouldn't stop tapping. Not during breakfast when he saw Georgie drinking milk out of his dad's old favourite mug. Nor did it stop on his bike to school, and it certainly didn't stop during lunch when he was the first one at the table watching everyone fill in and waited for the rest of the losers to come, for Eddie to come.

“You okay Bill?” Mike nudged his side. Bill jumped a little at the sudden attention.

Bill shook his head, “Just n-nervous. I've got this b-big project for history” he formulated the lie with ease, after his father passed, Bill had become a little too skilled in the art of lying.

“Need a hand? I had History last semester and I got a pretty good grade if you need help” He offered Bill one of his iconic ‘Mike Hanlon Support Friend’ smiles.

Bill returned the smile, “T-Thanks Mikey, but I should be okay” he noticed Eddie and Richie had entered the cafeteria as he finished his sentence. His eyes found their way down to his lunch where he began to focus on his untouched sandwich.

He waited until the duo got comfortable at the table before he tilted his head up and greeted them. “Ho-How was your n-night?” Bill mentally cursed out his stutter for getting worse under pressure.

Richie inhaled as if he were about to give a speech, “Well Billiam after you left my house I went and jerked it for a-”

“Beep Beep Trashmouth” Stan hissed.

Bill couldn’t help but notice the way Eddie tried to hide his smile as he raised a hand to muffle his giggle. “What about you E-Eddie?” Bill asked with a small nod.

“Oh! My night was fine, just studied and watched TV” He responded with a shrug.

Bill nodded in understanding. The human waited until the conversation became dull before he spoke his mind, “H-Have you guys ever suh-seen a white rabbit around he-here?”. He had to bite his tongue to ensure he didn’t smirk when he saw Eddie visibly flinch under the table.

“It’s actually pretty interesting cause they’re the rarest type of rabbit” Ben informed them with a little pride in his voice.

Mike took a moment to think over his answer before he spoke, “I’ve never seen any near the farm. Well, I’ve seen lots of rabbits, but never white ones” he realized.

“Weird…” Beverly’s voice trailed off as she stared at her uncapped water bottle she held in her hand. She then shrugged, unphased by the realization and took a swig of her water.

Neither Richie nor Eddie contributed to the conversation, and Bill noticed. He also noticed the silence conversation the two shared with their glances and glares. Bill didn’t mention it though, he can’t give them reason to start wondering about him, not when he’s this close to finding out what really killed his father.

The final bell of the day rang throughout Derry High as Bill and Mike walked out of their final class together, Writer's Craft.

“Hey Mikey?” Bill asked.

Mike turned to look at him as he caught his attention, “Yeah Big Bill?”.

“Can I tu-talk to you?” Bill requested as he paused before the boys bathroom and gestured for him to follow.

Mike followed without further question, because that’s the type of friend he was. Always there for everyone.

It was the end of the day so the bathroom was empty. Mike spoke first, “Is everything all-”.

“I think I have a lead on my dad’s murderer” Bill cut him off, getting straight to the point. Not a stutter in sight.

Mike’s face instantly scrunched up, “W-What? Bill your dad had a heart attack”.

“W-we don’t know for sure-”

“Yes we do! Bill I know it was hard but how many times have you come to me saying that?” Mike stopped mid sentence. He let out a small sigh before continuing, his voice held a tinge of sadness as he knew how hard it’s been for Bill. “There’s literally no other way your father could have died. He didn’t have any physical trauma and there weren’t even any fingerprints, it was just his heart” Mike tried to keep a calm tone, but it was hard.

Bill shook his head, “L-Look” He said as he slid his phone from his back pocket and entered his camera roll where he intended on showing Mike the photos he took of Eddie during the previous night. But when he clicked on his most recent photos, all of the ones he took of Eddie were white, as if he had taken then with the flash and it had whitened them out.

“W-What? Mike, no- I swe-ear they were here” Bill’s breathing began to quicken as he rapidly scrolled through his phone. NO, No, no, no, no…

He was about to speak when Bill’s breath hitched. Mike enveloped him in a hug. Bill buried his face in Mike’s shoulder.

“I know, it’s hard… Really hard.” Mike whispered as he began to rub slow circles into Bill’s back, “I know…”.

~

The conversation he previously had with Mike was on replay while Bill slowly walked through Derry. He kept a close eye on his target. He ducked behind bushes and hid behind trees in hopes of going unseen like he had last time. He followed a solid 30 feet behind his target, always staying out of sight.

He followed him through town, passed all of his friends houses and all of the main buildings. The houses became bigger and more spread out. Bill looked down at his watch, he’d been on this trail for nearly an hour.

Where are you going Eddie?

Bill glanced from behind a tree and watched as Eddie entered the forest. The human watched for a couple minutes before he continued behind him. Bill followed him into the deep woods and down an old overgrown path. He could see the end of the path ahead, so he sat behind a cluster of rocks, casually peaking out every now and then, only moving once Eddie left the forest. He made his way quickly to the end and hid behind a tall evergreen tree. He watched as Eddie walked out into the middle of an empty field and just simply disappeared.

“What the…” Bill’s eyes grew wide as he got to his feet. He waited and watched, slowly walking backwards.

Where did he go? What the hell just happened?

He kept moving backwards, his mind was so overwhelmed that he didn’t even notice the rock under his foot. He only noticed it once it caused him to trip and fall backwards. He landed on his back with his hands trying to soften the blow.

Fuck this

Were Bill’s last thoughts before he scrambled to his feet and fled.

Word Count: 1994

Billiam's villian backstory finally plays out MUHAHAHAHAHAH I hope you guys enjoyed! ANd that everyone is excited to see what comes next! Cause stuff is finally starting to happen and I'm so excited for y'all to see it!

Until then I'll see you next friday, So Long and GOodnight.

~

[Taglist]

@richietoaster @s-onora @that-weird-girl-blog @beproudtozier @ghostnebula @bellarosewrites @s-s-georgie @lermanslogan @iamcupcakefrosting @madidraw @gazebobullshit @thoughtfullyyoungduck @aangzukos @ambitiousskychild @reddieonwheels @breadheadscorpius

Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!

#it!everfalls #Reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #bill denbrough #bill hader #beverly marsh #ben hanscom #stanley uris #stan uris #mike hanlon #stenbrough #bike #hanbrough #it chapter 2 #it 2017 #it 2019 #it chapter 1 #it #it chapter one #it chapter two #incorrect losers club quotes #incorrect losers quotes #the losers club #losers club #fanfic #fan fic #fanfiction