#so this idea popped into my head and it'll probably be a series

[jujutsubaby]

after hours (part 2)

☆ pairing: satoru gojo x afab!reader, toji fushiguru x afab!reader ☆ summary: you update your friends and they cannot believe what happened between you and toji. but one of you friends, satoru gojo, is acting weirder than usual...could it be? nooo, nooo, it can't...right? ☆ warnings: 18+! MINORS DNI! dirty talk, implied power dynamic, sexual tension ☆ tags: modernAU, academiaAU ☆ a/n: sorry for the lack of smut but i swear it'll be worth in the next part 😈 but hope you enjoy the love triangle between toji, gojo, and y/n that's forming! spoiler alert: there miiiight be a potential three way coming soooon ~ ahaha i don't wanna say anything 🤭 🖤🤍 series masterlist 🤍🖤

"NO. FUCKIN'. WAY...", shoko gasps, jaw open, as you tell her about what happened last night with toji over a matcha latte with oatmilk. you take a sip, savoring the earthy, bitter beverage, and give shoko a serious look.

you, shoko, and your friends always grab beverages from cafe amanai every morning, serving as a meeting point for everyone's busy lives. usually, it's used to air out mild inconveniences, from poor grades to missing keys, but today, it is being used to dissect what the hell happened between you and toji last night, to your obvious dismay.

"yeah, and now i'm getting dinner with him and megumi and going to his parent teacher conference." you say, looking slightly distraught, as you contemplate the ramifications of hooking up with your extremely attractive neighbor. "was this a bad idea?"

"was what a bad idea?"

you and shoko whip around to find satoru gojo strolling to your table, wearing his signature black round glasses and unruly white hair. he glides down in the seat next to you, literally butting his head into the conversation.

you sigh deeply and slowly sink your head onto the table surface, knowing full well that once satoru gets up to speed, he's never going to shut up about it. "ohhhh satoru, don't make me say it again..." you whine.

"let's wait until suguru comes back from flirting with the barista to tell them. i don't wanna update them twice." shoko kindly offers, patting your head and softly running her fingers through your scalp.

your head shoots up the minute your hear about suguru flirting. according to satoru, suguru never drank coffee until the day riko complimented his bangs, and ever since then, suguru would do everything in his power to stop by cafe amanai and order a latte. in the process, you, shoko, and gojo got unbearably perplexed at the idea of the suguru geto, the hoity-toity moral compass of the group, having a crush, on not just anyone, but the cafe owner, and everyone's favorite barista: the gorgeous, raven-haired riko amanai. you all really try to be subtle, everyone craning their necks in unnatural directions, trying to decipher what embarrassingly awful one-liner suguru was going to say to riko instead of just asking her out.

"can you guys not embarrass me for just one day at this place? just one. it's all i'm asking for." suguru says sorely, popping out from the opposite direction of where you all were staring, startling everyone into mumbled apologies ("i wasn't even looking", "had to stretch my neck after benching 300", "i don't even care about you and riko").

"anyway, now tell us...what's the bad idea?" gojo prods, grinning at the excitement of restarting the gossip session. oh my god, why is he so nosy?

"i mean, okay, it's complicated so don't judge me and i really don't know how it happened but-" you start, before shoko cuts you off.

"y/n fucked our hot neighbor, toji. remember him? the one i was telling you about that probably is a gigolo-"

"shoko, he is NOT a gigolo! stop saying that about him!" you say irately. "he probably has...some respectable job that...is classified or...something", you defend, trying your hardest to defend toji in front of your friends. why were you so keen on defending this guy after one random hookup?

"the one who's son you BABYSIT for?!" suguru yells incredulously a bit too loudly, that results in your shooting daggers at him. "y/n, you have to know this is some fucked up power dynamic thing, right? he's paying you to babysit his son. there's no way what you're doing will end well." suguru chastises, scrunching his eyebrows in genuine concern.

"so about that..." you start, realizing just now how idiotic you're about to sound admitting that he has not paid you for the past week and decide to pivot. "it's just babysitting, suguru, okay? chill, it's not that serious."

"also, he hasn't paid her at all last week." shoko states nonchalantly. you give her a crestfallen look, wishing she had said quite literally anything but that.

satoru, who had been suspiciously silent up until now, roars in laughter hearing this, while suguru groans. "wait hold on. you're telling me people pay him to be a gigolo but you're giving him that pussy for free?" satoru says in between breaths, clearly finding your predicament more than amusing.

"i'm going to kill you guys." you say, rubbing your temples, already trying to remedy the headache at bay.

"poor y/n," shoko teases, "she's not ready to be a step-mom." she chuckles as you narrow your eyes at her. "kidding!" she smiles, with her hands up, feigning any remorse. everyone, including youself, start laughing lightly at the situation you're in, and you notice shoko's eyes widen with excitement and warmth as she sees utahime walk into cafe amanai. "utahime!" she waves, catching utahime's attention. utahime darts over to your table and plops next to shoko, and do something that shocks satoru and suguru to their core. aww, look, they're kissing! oh wait no, they're fully making out. oh, they should get a room.

"excuse me?!" gojo, who is so baffled by the sight in front of him that his sungalsses are completely off, says.

shoko and utahime break out of their short kiss, and utahime narrows her eyes at satoru as if he was a pest (you have to admit, he sometimes is), seemingly annoyed by his intrusion. "oh umm, this is utahime, as you guys know. um, she and i are dating. that's all." shoko taciturnly says. "anyway, we have to go, now." she turns to you. "i'll see you at home and you better tell us everything." you laugh and nod, standing up to give utahime a quick hug before they left.

you turn around to two stunned faces, as you explain to them that shoko and utahime had been dating for over a month now, and that they did not tell either of them because, well, they were both a bit obnoxious, especially together.

"just because you're right doesn't mean i'm any less shocked!" suguru says, eyes still wide and processing the fact that one of his best friends was dating someone and he had no clue. "okay, i actually don't even have time to process this right now. i have to make copies for the class i'm TA-ing for." suguru says, as he quickly throws his untouched cup of coffee into the trash and speeds out. "see ya." he waves before he speeds out of the cafe.

you sigh tiredly, knowing that whenever you're alone with satoru, things get...a bit weird. you guys are friends, of course, but you would be lying if you said you didn't feel the tension in the air abruptly change slightly when it was just you two. there were plenty of times when you went over to satoru's and played video games or drank beers like the old school friends you were, but it would always end veeery touchy feely (like the time you fell asleep with your head on his lap or that one time he said it would be a good idea to cuddle "for warmth" because the heat was broken).

but this was just because you guys were like, super super good friends, though...right? in any case, you knew for a fact you and satoru were not into each other because you both fooled around with other people, so case closed.

"so...how was it?" satoru asks, with a stupid grin on his face. you can sense he's about egg you on about something you did not want to talk about, but you decide to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"how was what?" you say, shifting in your seat slightly and playing with your fingers. you take a sip of your lukewarm matcha as you turn to look at satoru.

"how was the sex with toji?" satoru clarifies. you almost choke on your matcha, but quickly regain your composure.

"wouldn't you like to know, lover boy." you say, slightly annoyed and yet bemused why satoru would even ask that question. ugh, why does he even care? can't he let this go? he was the one making fun of you the most about this anyway!

"woah, okay sorry for trying to make sure you at least had fun before you made a bad decision with some broke dude who doesn't have a real job." satoru says, raising his hands defeat and putting his sunglasses back, obscuring his bright blue eyes that always made you wish you could stare at them forever. wait, what?

"he allegedly doesn't have a job, okay. and also, being a gigolo, allegedly, is still a job." you say, once again baffling yourself as to why you're feeling so defensive of toji, especially more so in front of satoru. why is he being so weird about this? you've told him about guys you've slept with before and he barely even cared.

"what are we? in court?" he snorts, shaking his head slightly in amusement.

"why do you care?" you accuse, finishing up the last sips of your matcha before setting the cup down and anxiously playing with your fingers.

"i don't care...i just..." satoru trails off, as if thinking about what he wants to say next carefully. "i just wanna make sure he's treating you well, that's all."

"well, if you must know, we didn't have sex." you respond, your heart beating a bit faster as you're borderline talking about raunchy activities in public.

"whadcha guys do?," satoru asks shamelessly.

at this point, you're so over satoru's bullshit. "he ate me out okay! what other personal stuff do you want to know about me? how would you feel if i asked you how many times a day you jerk off, huh? not so amusing now is it?!"

"did you cum?" he asks. his smile is beaming and he's holding back a chuckle, as he enjoys seeing you getting all riled up because of him. he knows he's pushing your buttons, but he just can't stop. it's too fun. and you look too cute when you're angry at him.

"you're so fucking unbelievable!" you spit, as you abruptly get up and grab you empty cup of matcha and your bag, heading towards the exit. entering the bustling city, you see satoru catching up to you in your peripheral and walk even faster to the crosswalk, but not fast enough. satoru catches up from behind easily and places his hands on your shoulder, as you whip around and give him a death glare.

"what do you want?!" you ask irately.

"umm...i'm your ride to class, remember?" satoru says sheepishly, flashing you a grin.

could this get any worse? you roll your eyes. he is correct, and technically you could take the bus but it'll make you too late for your class, and walking is just out of the question. you sigh in annoyance. "where's your car?"

the walk to satoru's porche is short, but within that time, you both manage to make up as you always do. such is the waves your guys' relationship rides: daunting when it happens, but calm once the storm passes over. by the time you're at satoru's car, you both are laughing hysterically.

"fuck off! no way suguru said that to riko!" you exclaim, responding to satoru telling you that suguru responded to riko's "good morning" with the biography of his barber who cuts his bangs.

"his ass folds so easily when it comes to his bangs," satoru says as he turns on the ignition and starts driving. satoru thinks about the first time he met suguru and how they got into a minor argument because his bangs were the first thing satoru noticed. satoru's mind wanders, and he thinks about the first thing he noticed about you: your smile and laughter. the way you tuck your hair behind your ears whenever you get anxious, the way you play with the ends of your hair when you're flirting and you think you're being subtle, the way your nose scrunches when you're concentrating deeply, and especially the way you, without fail, always fall asleep leaning against him during movie nights.

"hey, y/n," satoru starts softly, "you busy tonight? thinkin' we study for our final next week and maybe watch a movie. have you watched saltburn yet?"

"ohmygod i haven't but i really want to!" you say excitedly, thinking about how shoko has been begging you to watch that movie since it came out. wait, parent teacher night. you frown. "oh wait actually, i'm not free tonight, but let's do tomorrow?" you offer sweetly, praying satoru for once is not nosy enough to ask what you're doing instead tonight.

"whatcha doing instead tonight?" he asks without skipping a beat.

"...i'm babysitting tonight." it's not use lying at this point, but you know it's embarrassing to say you're getting dinner with his son and going to a parent teacher conference.

"oh right, the thing you do for free now", satoru says, rolling his eyes. he could egg you on and press your buttons again. he hasn't decided if he will again just yet.

you decide to change the subject, not wanting to start yet another argument with him. "anyway, you wanna head to the barcade tomorrow before the theater to get drinks and hang? i think shoko and utahime are coming and they said something about inviting suguru, too" you ask, knowing full well what his answer will be.

"how could you fucking ask me that? how could you ask me if i want to go to the only barcade in this city after what fucking happened to me the last time i went there?!" he accuses you. you sense the irateness of his voice, knowing full well this is how he gets whenever you bring up the local barcade with him.

basically, earlier this summer, the four of you went to the flashing new barcade that opened downtown, thinking you would all have a couple drinks and play some arcade games. according to satoru -- you and shoko were, at the time, dry heaving in the bathroom from one too many AMFs (satoru's idea) -- some guy came in with his kid (you still didn't really believe this part because how was a kid allowed in a bar?) and not only "bullied satoru" (satoru's words), but also made off with his drink and tickets. you still aren't really sure what the big deal is, but you find it funny, nontheless, seeing satoru still get sour about that barcade.

"geez, sorry, i didn't know you were still upset about it." you say, raising your hands and eyebrows in defeat.

"i literally talk about it once a day in the group chat. i was finally gonna get you that jigglypuff plushie you always wanted with those tickets!" satoru confesses, and you almost feel a bit bad for him. almost.

"well, you can try again tomorrow night then", you wink, before satoru pulls up in front of the building where your class is. you hear satoru humph in defeat, and you know you'll see him tomorrow night at the barcade. you thank satoru for the ride, but right before you close the door, he calls out your name.

"hey y/n also, sorry 'bout earlier at the cafe.", he says (he doesn't sound sorry at all, you think. this is definitely a ruse to say something stupid), "but i needed to tell you something before you left. the answer is two but if i'm bored, probably three."

you stare at him blankly. what was he on about? "what?" you say, perplexed.

"it's how many times i jerk off in a day. just thought i should let you know since you asked," he says, with a cheeky smile on his face. cue something stupid! bingo!

"bye satoru." you say immediately, closing the door of his porch and crossing the street. god, satoru was one of the most annoying people you knew. why does your face feel so hot?

you try really hard not to think about what satoru just said, knowing he was just being his usual cheeky self. satoru touches himself twice a day? when does he do it? in the morning? who does he think of? does he think of you? what the fuck, y/n -- think about something else? remember you came all over toji's face?

woah, okay. that was a lot, even for you. you have no idea where that thought came from, and you're pretending like it never happened. you're pretending like your panties aren't getting damp thinking about satoru's flushed face and his large fingers reaching down and grasping his hard, veiny -

your thoughts are interrupted by a text on your phone:

toji: see ya soon, pumpkin. wear somethin' nice for me, yeah? ;)

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen toji #toji fushiguro #toji zenin #toji x reader #toji fushigro x reader #fushiguro toji #jjk fanfiction #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen smut #jujutsu kaisen gojo #gojo #gojo saturo #gojo satoru #jjk gojo #gojo x reader #jujutsu gojo #satoru gojo #saturo gojo fanfiction #saturo gojo x reader #saturo gojo x y/n #toji fushiguro x y/n #saturo gojo smut #toji fushiguro smut #gojo smut #gojo x y/n #satoru gojou #gojou satoru #gojo x toji x reader

[roosterforme]

The One Where He Puts His Foot in His Mouth | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley takes his stress out on you, and you let him know that's unacceptable. 

Warnings: Angst and Smut

Length: 3100 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

This was written to accompany my series Is It Working For You?

Check my masterlist.

Bradley was feeling stressed out. He had moved everything from the barracks into his new house, and there were boxes all over the place. The new furniture he ordered was scattered in every room, waiting until he had time to assemble it. The clutter was killing him, setting his nerves on edge. He usually liked to keep a very tidy living space.

And on top of that, you had agreed to move in with him in December, just a few weeks from now. He wanted you here, he really did, but you'd already moved some of your random stuff in, just adding to the mess.

So he collapsed on the couch to collect his thoughts while you cooked dinner in the kitchen. 

"I have a great idea, Roo! How about we have some people over for a Friendsgiving dinner the day after Thanksgiving? We can cook our turkey that day instead! It'll be so fun!"

He grunted from the couch. It really didn't sound like all that much fun to him, but he definitely wasn't going to tell you that. "Maybe just Phoenix and Bob?" he suggested, tossing an arm over his eyes. 

"Yeah, I guess I'll see who is available," you told him happily. "This will be great. We have a week to plan everything."

------------------------------------------

Thanksgiving was the best holiday Bradley could remember experiencing in his life. He spent it with you. Only you. He had fun helping you make a lasagna since you were saving the turkey for when Phoenix and Bob came over for dinner tomorrow. Then you snuggled with him on the couch, let him watch football for a few hours, and gave him a blowjob. By the time dinner was ready, you had opened two beers, set the table and called him over to eat. 

"I love this domestic shit, Baby Girl. Living with you is going to be awesome," he told you as he pulled you onto his lap at the dining room table. 

You laughed and gave him a kiss before pulling your plate closer and taking a bite. "I can't wait to be fully moved in with you in just a few more weeks."

Bradley took a bite as well and groaned, because everything you cooked was always delicious. "Gonna be perfect. Just like this, every day. You and me. No fights. Just sex and happiness."

"Sounds good, Roo."

-----------------------------------------

The following day, Bradley had to report to base for the morning, but you were off for the whole day. You had slept over and got right to work in the kitchen first thing, making Friendsgiving dinner. He popped in to get some coffee as he was leaving. 

"This looks like a lot of food, Baby Girl," he commented as he filled his travel mug. 

"Does it? I was thinking it might not be enough." 

Bradley looked around at the ten pound bags of potatoes, boxes of stuffing mix, bundles of carrots, and piles of baking supplies. He could barely see his kitchen counters. 

"I mean, I guess you're the expert," he told you with a kiss to your temple. "I'll be back after lunch."

But when he returned from work, he was even more baffled. The house smelled incredible, but there was so much damn food. You had five pies lined up on the table, timers were going off, disposable bakeware filled the island, and you looked very frazzled. 

"Need any help, Sweetheart?" he asked cautiously. 

"No, I'm good. Everyone will be here in about an hour." 

Bradley scratched his head. "What do you mean by everyone? It's just Phoenix and Bob, right?"

You turned slowly to look directly at him. "No.... it's a few more people than that, Roo. Weren't you listening the other night when I told you that?"

"Listening when? The night I was putting together all of the furniture I bought?"

"Maybe?"

"Well no, Y/N, I probably wasn't paying too much attention to this Friendsgiving thing. Because I thought it was just Phoenix and Bob."

You looked a little panicked, and Bradley immediately felt bad. He ran his hand through his hair. "I just wanted to get the house in order before we had a bunch of people over, but I'm sure it's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm going to get a shower and get dressed before they arrive," Bradley mumbled as he stalked into the bedroom which was still a mess of stuff. 

He took a nice long shower, shaved around his mustache, and got dressed, finally able to calm himself down. It would be no problem to open his house up to a few more people. They were all friends anyway, so no harm done. And it wasn't your fault you had been trying to talk to him when he didn't let you know he was concentrating on the furniture.

You and he would get better at communicating over time, he was sure of it.

But when he walked out into his kitchen, it was literally filled with people. And there were more people coming through the front door. He saw Fanboy, Coyote, Phoenix, Hangman, Bob, Payback, and Maria. Plus a few of your other coworkers from your new lab. There were at least fifteen people in his house. 

"What the fuck..." he muttered to himself as the doorbell rang. He watched you prance over and open the door, revealing Mav, Penny and Amelia. 

So this is why you thought there wasn't going to be enough food. "Holy shit," Bradley sighed, making his way to the refrigerator and grabbing himself a beer. 

"This is so nice, thanks for having everyone over," Phoenix told him, giving him a quick hug. 

Bradley just grumbled. "I thought it was just you and Bob coming. I don't know why she invited everyone we know. The house is still a mess!"

Phoenix's eyes went wide. "Oh, well, don't look now, but um.... yeah...."

Bradley followed her gaze toward the front door where you were letting Cam and that fucking douchebag Kyle into the house. Into Bradley's house. He watched Kyle bend down a little and give you a hug, running his hand across your back. It looked innocent enough, but Bradley really hated that guy on sight. He glared daggers at you. "Y/N."

You jumped away from Kyle's grip around your waist and your eyes met Bradley's.  

"Welcome everyone!" you announced with a nervous smile as you looked at Bradley. "The food is all ready, so please help yourselves! Paper plates are on the counter!"

"Y/N, can we talk for a minute?" 

"Sure..." you said cautiously, and Bradley followed you into the bedroom as everyone else started to pile food onto plates. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? There are a hundred people in my house, including Kyle, and I didn't know any of them were going to be here! Who the hell else did you invite?"

"That's it! Nobody else is coming!" you promised, running your hands up and down his arms to calm him down. "Can you just come back out and try your best to be pleasant? Please? And we can talk later?"

"Fine," Bradley managed through gritted teeth. He would just glue himself to Phoenix for the remainder of the evening, and he would make it.  

So he got a plate of food and listened to everyone compliment your cooking. He couldn't disagree with them, but he liked it better when it was just the two of you. And what was Kyle doing here anyway? Why had you invited him? At least he was avoiding Bradley like the plague. 

Maverick tried to make conversation, but Bradley was in a sour mood by this point. Basically everyone was avoiding him now except for Bob, who was either too kind to leave anyone out or too clueless to catch onto Bradley's mood. 

And now Kyle had you alone, near the back door. How much longer was Bradley going to have to play nice? He decided he wasn't going to.

"Hey, Sweetheart," he said as he walked over to you. Then he pulled you against him and kissed you hard, pressing his fingers into your hips. He teased your mouth until you sighed.

"What was that for?" you whispered after he released you.

"Just wanted to kiss my girlfriend, that's all." He winked at Kyle as he ran his hand along your lower back and ass. Kyle swallowed and then wandered off into the kitchen.

"Oh my goodness, I thought you came over here to kiss me because you wanted to, but you were just trying to make Kyle jealous!" you hissed at him, pulling out of his grasp. "Come on, Bradley!" 

"What am I supposed to do, when he so clearly wants to fuck you! It's so transparent!" Bradley replied, waving his arms in the air.

"God, can you please not do this right now? Look, everyone is eating the pies. Can this wait until dessert is over and everyone leaves?"

"Sure," Bradley agreed with a growl. He picked up a plate and filled it with pie slices. He figured the more he had to eat, the less that would be available for everyone else. And slowly but surely, everyone started to filter out of his house. Kyle was unsurprisingly the first to go. Good riddance. Penny and Mav offered to stay and help clean up, but Bradley assured them it would be just fine if they went ahead and left for the night.

You were actively avoiding him at this point, going so far as to try to get Phoenix to stay longer. 

"Nope, it's time for Nat to leave. Bye Nat, and please take them with you," he said, gesturing to all of the guys.

Phoenix pulled Bradley aside on her way to the door. "Can you stop acting like a dick? Your girlfriend was sweet to invite everyone over. And I'm going to say this as nicely as I can; if you want to have a girlfriend at all, then I suggest you act a little better in the future."

Bradley stood silently in the middle of the living room, and watched you give everyone hugs as they left. When you closed the door behind them, Bradley was about to apologize to you.

"Oh my God, Bradley!" you shouted before he could get a word out. "What the fuck is your problem? I was trying to have a nice time!"

His blood was instantly boiling again. "Then why did you invite Kyle? I can't fucking stand the way he looks at you!" he shouted.

"I didn't! I think he overheard me inviting Cam and Maria and just decided to tag along!"

"Really?" Bradley asked, taking a few steps closer to you. "Are you sure you didn't invite him here to get me all riled up like this?"

"Yes, I'm sure! Oh my God, it doesn't even matter, Bradley!" 

"It sure as hell matters to me. I don't want him in my house!"

You took a step away from him. "In your house?"

"Yeah! My house!"

Your eyes narrowed to slits and you planted your hands on your hips. Bradley had the fleeting thought that perhaps he'd made a mistake.

"So when I move in with you in a few weeks, what does that make me?" you asked, deadly calm. "Your girlfriend, or your fucking personal chef? Do I need to run everything past you first so I don't do something you don't like in your precious house? I guess this is a good example of why I wanted to pay you rent!" 

"Sweetheart, that's not what I meant," he said, taking a cautious step toward you.

"You told me you wanted this to be our house, but if you've changed your mind, then maybe I can move in with Cam instead. I'm sure he won't try to dictate to me what I'm allowed to do where I live!" You eyes were flashing with anger. Bradley was fucked. He'd never seen you this mad before. 

"Baby Girl, I didn't mean-"

"I already gave up my lease with Maria! So if you're going to start acting like a fucking clown all of a sudden, I'd rather you tell me now instead of after I move my stuff in here! That way you'd be saving me time finding a new place to live and a new boyfriend!"

"Don't say that," Bradley hissed, backing you up to the wall. His hands were on your hips, pinning you in place. "Do not say that to me." His breathing was ragged as he watched your eyes grow wide.

He watched you lick your lips as your eyes dropped to his mouth. "Don't tell me what to do," you whispered, and Bradley couldn't take much more.

"Stop it," he said quietly, shaking his head. "You belong with me. Stop saying you don't."

You glared up at him. Your hands found their way to his chest, but instead of pushing him away like he was afraid you were going to do, you pulled him closer. "Make me."

Bradley pinned you in place, one hand on your hip and one around the side of your neck. He kissed you hard on the lips before pulling away again. He looked down at your beautiful face, an expression of pride and stubbornness filling your features. He gently stroked your neck with his thumb. 

"I want you here. With me." 

"To be your personal chef?"

"No, to be my girlfriend who I get to dote on."

You licked your lips and sniffed, but you didn't try to move. "You had a funny way of showing that today. You can't tell me what to do. And I don't care if you think Kyle wants to fuck me. I don't want to fuck Kyle, so that's just going to have to be a good enough answer for you. Or I'll find somewhere else to live." 

"Don't," Bradley growled.

"Then show me you want me here," you whispered, and he had you hoisted up in his arms immediately. 

"I want you here," he said roughly, enunciating every word. "I want you fucking everywhere with me, Baby Girl." He kissed your mouth as you wrapped your legs around his waist. "I'm sorry I was a jerk."

"Show me," you insisted again, grinding against his abs. He kissed you, palm at the back of your head, keeping you in place while he sucked your lower lip between his teeth and nibbled. You moaned into his mouth, and he felt so possessive of you. He needed you to know you made his life better. 

Bradley laid you down on the couch and climbed on top of you. He kissed your neck as he worked at the zipper of your jeans. "I want you here, because I love you." He slipped his hand inside your underwear and you moaned.

"I don't care if you never cook for me again," he added. "I'll make us cereal for dinner every night, and I'll never complain."

You smiled slightly up at him, clearly trying to keep your expression angry. He wasn't going to have you living anywhere else. No matter what. 

He kissed your chin gently as he circled your clit with his fingertips. "God you're wet, Baby Girl. You like arguing with me? Makes me hot too." Although he didn't find this too surprising, he wasn't planning on fighting with you to get this reaction in the future. You needed to know you could trust him.

You just moaned and tipped your head back as Bradley slipped a finger inside you. 

"I want you here, Sweetheart. I'll apologize to everyone if you want me to. Even Kyle. And you can have them all over again, too. You can do anything you want."

"Bradley," you whined. He slid your jeans down your legs, followed by your underwear. Then he unzipped his jeans and pushed them down a bit until his hard length was free. 

"Baby Girl, you gotta stay here with me. I need you," he whispered as he pushed his cock into your wetness and bottomed out. "Oh, fuck." He let himself go; if you wanted him to show you he wanted you here, then he would do just that. He fucked you hard, gently peppering your face with kisses.

Soon you were a whining, needy mess under him, squeezing his entire length as he started fucking you slowly. You felt so good, you always felt like this. He couldn't believe he'd yelled at you. "Sweetheart, I love you. Tell me what you need."

You chewed on your lip glancing down to where his body connected with yours. "You better make me come," you told him, grabbing his shoulders and guiding his mouth back down to yours.

He would do that. He absolutely would. He kissed you sweetly, pulling one leg up over his hip. Then he fucked you into the couch cushions, bracing one foot on the floor. He fucked you hard and fast until you were close, then he brushed his fingers gently across your clit. He slowed his pace down and kissed your neck. He could feel your pussy squeeze him tighter as your orgasm started and your moans got louder.

"I'll make you come all the time in our house. Just say you'll stay with me," he whispered next to your ear. You whined as you came, grabbing at his shirt and his neck. 

"I'll stay," you gasped, and Bradley let himself tumble over the edge with you.

A few minutes later, you started stirring beneath him, his cock still inside you. He lifted his head from the crook of your pretty neck and looked at your flushed face and puffy lips. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk today. I honestly thought you knew how stressed out I've been feeling about moving in here and getting everything ready. I should have made it clear that I only wanted a few people to come over."

"I'll be more explicit next time, Roo. I promise. Now do you believe me that I didn't invite Kyle?"

"Yes, I believe you."

"You can understand why I didn't want to turn someone away?"

"Yes, of course. I'm an idiot."

"Will you stop acting like a baby?"

"Yes, I will."

"And did you get this all out of your system? I don't want to see you like this again."

"I hear you, Baby Girl. No more."

You pushed his weight off of you and he stood, quickly pulling you to your feet as well. "Come eat some pie with me," you murmured as you pulled him into the dining room.

Bradley watched his cum drip down your legs and swore to himself he wasn't going to fuck this up. He loved you too much.

---------------------------------

Thanks for reading along! And thank you to @bradshawsbitch for all of your help!

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#bradley rooster bradshaw x baby girl #bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster x female reader #rooster x you #rooster fanfic #rooster x reader #top gun fanfiction #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #rooster bradshaw x female reader #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw

[lilacmingi]

SCROOGE

My works are 14+ ONLY. If you’re under 14 DO NOT interact with me or any of my works

Pairing: Grumpy Seonghwa x Christmas enthusiast fem reader

Word count: 3,480

Note: Another imagine from my Christmas series on Wattpad from 2021 <3 since this imagine originated on Wattpad, there will not be any continuations

You brought your hand up, tapping your knuckles against the door of your soon-to-be home. The hinged barrier swung open, revealing Seonghwa, the owner of the apartment.

"Hi. It's Y/n. We went out for coffee last week to talk about me possibly being your new roommate." You told him.

"Yes, I know. I called you yesterday saying you could move your stuff in."

"Right." You chuckled, nervously. "I don't know why I said that."

"It's fine. Do you need help?"

"Yes, please. It's not much, but it'll take me a while to move it all by myself."

Seonghwa stepped aside, allowing you to roll your suitcase inside.

"Wow. This place is nice. Very spacious." You commented.

"Thanks. Let me show you to your room."

You followed him down the hallway to the empty bedroom that would soon be full of your stuff. When you saw an ad for the opening online, you were quick to contact Seonghwa because you heard the room was mostly furnished. There was a queen sized bed that just needed sheets and a comforter, a few shelves and a desk. Just the basics, but it was enough for you.

You thanked Seonghwa and placed your suitcase by a wall before leading him to your vehicle where he helped you take out boxes, carrying them up to the apartment.

As much as you wanted to talk with him and get to know your new roommate better, you couldn't. Carrying the boxes from your car and to the apartment left you breathless.

Seonghwa walked behind you, his eyes catching sight of writing on the box he was carrying. Glancing around the side, he saw the words CHRISTMAS STUFF scrawled on the box in bold sharpie. His top lip curled in disgust. Just thinking of the holiday made him want to hurl. Too much cheer, too much happiness, too much music, and too much for him. You seemed like a nice person, so he tried to give you the benefit of the doubt and attempt to look on the bright side.

She's just got this one box. She's probably not one of those overly cheerful people who are obsessed with Christmas. He thought.

You let out a huff as you set down the last box.

"Finally. Thank you for helping out."

"No problem. I'll leave you to it. If you need any assistance, just let me know."

"I will. Thanks."

Seonghwa gave you a small nod before closing the door and leaving you to yourself.

"Okay." You rubbed your hands together. "What first?"

It didn't take long for you to get settled in. Before you even knew it, you had all your boxes empty and everything was put together. You had your sheets and comforter on the bed and put all your little knickknacks and other items onto the shelves. You smiled to yourself as you took a gander around your new room. Thought you had just moved in, the place was honestly already starting to feel like home.

You had been staying with Seonghwa for almost a full month now. It was nearing the end of November and you couldn't help but notice the lack of Christmas decorations in the apartment. Normally, people would have their trees and decorations up by now, but the whole pace was bland and didn't give off any holiday cheer at all.

"I noticed you don't have any Christmas decorations." You mentioned as you waited for yours and Seonghwa's ramen to cook.

"I'm not really a Christmas person." He answered.

"Oh." You frowned. "Well, to each their own."

As you stirred the noodles in the pot of boiling water, an idea popped into your head.

You decided right then that you were going to take it upon yourself and decorate the apartment, making it look festive for the holidays.

The next day, you left to go Christmas shopping. You had brought a few Christmas decorations with you from home, but it wasn't enough—you needed more.

A few hours later, you returned to the apartment with an armful of bags. Thankfully, Seonghwa didn't seem to be around as you lugged the newly purchased items to your room.

Once you had everything unpacked, you started to decorate, stringing garland along the shelves in the living room, placing little nutcrackers along the windowsill, all while listening to Christmas music.

You hummed along as you strung tiny fairy lights across the coffee table, maneuvering them around the tiny reindeer and snowmen figures.

You heard a door open, followed by the shuffling of feet. Turning around, you saw Seonghwa standing at the end of the hallway that connected to the living room. You thought he wasn't home, but it appeared he had been in his bedroom the whole time.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Decorating." You answered with a smile. "I didn't think you'd mind."

"I don't love it." He answered. "But you live here too, so I guess it's fine."

"Ah. Good." You turned your attention back to the task at hand, bobbing your head to the festive music.

You heard Seonghwa's soft footsteps for only a moment before the sound ceased.

"Could you turn off that noise?" Seonghwa asked, seeming a bit irritated.

"Oh. Sure. Sorry."

"It's fine." He muttered, walking out of the room.

You did what Seonghwa asked and turned the music off, opting for headphones so you could listen in peace and enjoy the music without disturbing him. His reaction kind of stunned you. He said he wasn't a Christmas person, but his reaction almost made it seem like he hated the holiday. You didn't think about it too much, as you still had a box of Christmas stuff from your house to put up.

By the time you were done decorating, the place had a cozy and festive feel to it, one that made you feel warm inside. Seonghwa may not care much for Christmas, but there's no way he can't like the bright and festive decorations you put out. A proud smile spread across your face as you admired your handiwork.

Seonghwa returned to the room, walking over to the wall where you had hung two stockings. His face scrunched in distaste as he lifted one of them up.

"What is this?"

"That's your stocking." You told him. "It has your name on it."

"Well, I don't want it."

"What? I painted our names on the stockings myself."

"I didn't ask you to get me a stocking."

"You didn't have to."

He grumbled in response.

"You know, it's proven that Christmas decorations lift your mood." You told him.

"Not mine."

"We'll see about that."

A few days later you and Seonghwa were sitting in the living room watching TV. Your eyes drifted from the screen to a huge empty spot in the living room. As happy as you were that you decked the place out with Christmas decor, something was missing.

"We need a tree." You commented aloud.

"No we don't. What you did is plenty."

"Come on, Seonghwa. You can't have Christmas without a tree."

"If you wanna go, by all means, knock yourself out, but I'm not going."

"Don't be such a Scrooge." You ruffled his hair playfully. "Plus, I could use an assistant to help choose the perfect tree."

Seonghwa gave you a hard glare, but stopped when he saw the bright expression on your face. As badly as he wanted to say no, he couldn't.

"Alright, fine. If it'll make you happy, I'll go." He gave in.

"Wonderful!"

Once the both of you were all bundled up, you jumped in the car and drove off to the nearest Christmas tree farm.

"There it is!" You pointed.

You pulled your car into a parking space and stepped out into the lot. A sign at the entrance of the tree farm read: Get your Christmas trees here! You hurried across the small parking lot, Seonghwa dragging behind. Closing your eyes, you took in a deep breath, enjoying the scent of the trees.

"Do you smell that?" You asked.

"Not really." Seonghwa muttered.

You ignore his response, scanning the selection of evergreens.

"Let's look at this tree." You pointed. "It looks really nice."

You walked over to said tree and began inspecting it, running your fingertips along some of the the needles as you walked around the fir. Upon inspection, you shook your head.

"There are some dead limbs on here. We don't want that."

"Of course we don't." Seonghwa remarked sarcastically.

You continued your search, passing by trees that didn't catch your eye. You finally came to a stop when you spotted the perfect tree. It was the perfect height, not too tall, but not too short either. The fir was perfectly healthy and had deep green needles.

"This is the one." You stated.

Glancing around, you called one of the employees over, showing him the tree you wanted.

"Alright. We'll get it all wrapped up for you." He told you before walking off.

As you waited, you spotted a man dressed as Santa Claus sitting in a large, red chair under a small awning. There were no kids around, so you decided to have some fun.

"Hey Mr. Claus." You greeted the man as you approached.

He smiled warmly. "Hello, young lady. What would you like for Christmas?"

"Oh." You were surprised he asked. "I didn't expect that." You chuckled.

"Why? You're never too old to get a Christmas present from Santa."

You smiled, then began to think about what you wanted. You knew Santa wasn't real and that this wish couldn't be fulfilled, but you wanted to tell the man anyway. You leaned in, whispering something in his ear.

"Oh a very kind wish." He responded with a nod.

His eyes trailed over to Seonghwa who was watching you from a distance, a soft expression on his face and a slight twinkle in his eye.

"I have a feeling it'll come true." Santa told you.

Oblivious to Seonghwa's staring, you gave the man in red a gentle smile.

"We'll see."

You returned to your grumpy roommate who put on his usual sour expression when you walked up.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Oh. I was just talking to Santa." You answered with a shrug. "I thought it would be fun."

"Aren't you too old for Santa Claus?"

"Apparently not." As you answered Seonghwa, you spotted a small stand nearby serving hot cocoa and gingerbread cookies.

"Ooh. They're selling hot chocolate. You want some?"

"I don't know."

"You're seriously gonna turn down a delicious, hot, chocolatey drink? It's chilly out here. A hot cocoa would warm you up."

"Alright, fine. I guess I'll have one."

"Perfect." You smiled and headed over to the small stand, ordering two medium hot chocolates.

The man working at the stand had your drinks ready before you knew it. You started rummaging around in your bag for cash only to stop with you saw Seonghwa reach across the counter with money in his hand. You glanced up at him, but he kept his gaze ahead as he grabbed his drink. You followed suit, taking your beverage. The warmth from the liquid seeped through the cup, radiating onto your cold hands. You took a sip, the sweet, cocoa coating your tastebuds and warming you from the inside out. You let out a hum of satisfaction before taking another sip.

"Thank you for paying. You didn't have to, but I appreciate it. That was very nice."

"It's no problem." Seonghwa answered as he sipped on his cocoa.

About that time, one of the tree farm employees approached you to let you know the tree was ready. Behind him were two other employees with your tree resting on their shoulders.

"Thank you so much. My vehicle is this way." You motioned, leading the group to your car.

They tied the tree snugly to the roof, ensuring that it didn't fall off on the trip home. You paid the man who you spoke with about the tree and bid him goodbye, wishing him a Merry Christmas as you left.

"This stupid tree is making a mess." Grunted Seonghwa. "Look at all these pine needles."

"That's just part of it. We can always clean it up later." You told him, reaching for another ornament. "Why don't you help out?"

"I'm not decorating."

"At least put this one on."

Seonghwa sighed, pushing himself up from his spot on the couch. When he reached for the ornament, he stopped. Pinched between your fingers, hanging from a silvery string was an ornament of Toothless the dragon. Seonghwa blinked a few times before bringing his eyes up to meet yours.

"What do you think?" You inquired with a bright smile. "He reminds me of you, so I thought it was fitting that I buy it."

He didn't answer—he couldn't.

"Oh. Check this out. I got one for myself too." You pulled out another ornament, this one depicting the Light Fury.

If Seonghwa's eyes weren't wide already, they sure were now. Seeing you grinning brightly, holding both ornaments made his cheeks warm. Did you not realize that the two characters were in love in the movie? Were you aware of what you were doing?

Based on the cheery gleam in your eye, you were completely oblivious to the fact and he didn't know if that made the situation better or worse.

"Seonghwa?" You called.

He blinked himself out of his daze, returning to reality.

"Sorry." He murmured, taking the ornament from you.

"Look at the bottom." You urged.

He turned it upside down. Written in tiny, white letters was, Our first Christmas 20XX

Seonghwa's face was on fire at that point. First the matching ornaments, now this? It was all becoming too much and it didn't help that he had a massive crush on you.

"It's..." He started to speak again, but the words were stuck.

"You're speechless." You chuckled. "I'm glad. Why don't you hang it on the tree?"

He slowly moved towards the fir, hanging the ornament on a branch. He momentarily debated about going back to the couch, but decided not to.

"I don't mind helping out." He told you, his voice coming out quieter than he intended.

Your face lit up at his offer.

"You mean it?"

He nodded.

You let out a small squeak of excitement. "Grab an ornament and put it wherever." You told him, gesturing to the box of festive tree decorations.

He then began pulling ornaments out of the box, strategically placing them onto the tree, making sure each one was spaced out just right and filled in any gaps.

Once the tree was finished, you stepped back and got a look at it. The lights you had strung around the fir were ready to be plugged in. You couldn't wait to see what the tree looked like all lit up. As you prepared to plug in the Christmas lights, you noticed Seonghwa was out of the room. Before you could call his name, he came rushing in with a handheld brush and dustpan, dropping to the floor to sweep up the needles littering the hardwood panels.

"Sorry." He chuckled softly. "I can't stand it."

Once he cleaned up the needles, you placed the tree skirt around the metal base that held the evergreen.

"Alright." You clasped your hands together, grabbing the plug once again. "Are you ready?"

"I suppose." Answered Seonghwa.

You shoved the plug into the outlet, the tree coming to life, giving off a warm glow and illuminating the room. A soft gasp left you as you marveled at the festive sight before you.

Despite the merry spectacle in front of him, Seonghwa's eyes were on you the whole time. The lights on the Christmas tree reflected off your large eyes, making them twinkle in wonder and doubling your cuteness. He could feel himself falling even harder for you, which wasn't totally a bad thing.

"You know what we should do next? Bake cookies."

Seonghwa was quick to regain his composure, acting indifferent and pretending like he wasn't just ogling at you.

"I've had enough Christmas for today, thanks." He responded.

"Baking cookies isn't a Christmas thing." You told him.

"Still. You can bake them yourself. I'm not interested."

Truth is, he was interested. He hated Christmas for so long and suddenly you come along and start changing his mind in just a few days. The idea was nearly impossible for him to comprehend.

"Are you sure? This is my last offer." You told him.

Seonghwa sucked in a deep breath, weighing his options. If he baked cookies with you, then he would be able to spend more time with you, which he really wanted. So, in the end, he agreed.

In all honesty, he enjoyed baking with you. Did you make a mess? Yes, a little, but the important thing is you both had fun and also made some delicious chocolate chip cookies.

You were right. Baking cookies isn't just a Christmas thing, but it did somehow feel festive, which Seonghwa, for once, didn't completely hate.

Christmas approached quicker than you had anticipated. You didn't have anywhere to go or anyone to hang out with, so you opted to stay home and have your own little Christmas party with Seonghwa. He wasn't too keen on the idea, but you knew that you would somehow win him over as you had with other festive things.

You managed to talk Seonghwa into letting you play Christmas music. To your surprise, he was more easily persuaded than you expected.

You were currently baking gingerbread cookies that Seonghwa helped you make. The two of you sat in the living room playing board games and card games while the cookies baked in the oven. Seonghwa had just beat you at an intense game of UNO when you heard the oven beep from the kitchen.

"Oh! The cookies are done." You pushed yourself up from the floor. "I'll be right back."

You exited the room, going to the kitchen to take the gingerbread cookies from the oven. They looked incredible. Each one was perfectly shaped like a little gingerbread man. The next step was to decorate them, then they would be ready to eat.

"Hey, Seonghwa. If you wanna come help decorate the cookies they're-" You came to a stop when you saw him standing by the tree near the window.

"Look." He pointed. "It's snowing."

You walked over, standing beside him and peering out the window. Sure enough, there were large, fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky in a flurry, coating the street below in white powder.

"Wow." You marveled. "This is perfect. A white Christmas."

"Y/n." Seonghwa called out softly.

"Yes?"

Seonghwa took your hands in his, taking a step closer just as a slow Christmas song begin to play, the music filling the room.

"Can we dance?" He asked.

You nodded, sliding your arms around his shoulders. Being in such close quarters made you feel a bit bashful, so you tried to distract yourself by focusing on the song.

Seonghwa held you close as the two of you stood by the window, swaying to the music and watching the snow fall outside.

"Look up." He told you.

You did as he said, lifting your gaze only to spot mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

"I thought you didn't like Christmas." You remarked with a smirk.

"Not entirely."

You knew what was coming next and you were more than ready for it.

"What about decorating the cookies?" You asked, your eyes glued to his lips.

"The cookies can wait."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he closed the gap between you, placing his lips gently on yours.

Your hands that were previously resting on his shoulders moved to his hair, gently running your fingers through it. You could feel Seonghwa's body relax under your touch, meaning that he was enjoying it. You couldn't help but smile a little against his lips.

"I have a confession." Seonghwa uttered once he pulled away.

"That you like me?" You grinned.

"Besides that." He chuckled shyly, his cheeks tinted pink.

"What's the confession?"

"You made me appreciate Christmas. I've never really been a fan of Christmas. It's just too merry, too happy, and too bright—but seeing the way your face would light up whenever you would do anything Christmas related, made me see things differently."

You couldn't help but smile at his confession. Truthfully, you had noticed a change in him over the past month, and knowing that you played a part in that made you happy.

"So, that means you'll participate in Yuletide traditions?" You asked, hopefully.

"Perhaps."

"Then let's go decorate those cookies." You took his hand, attempting to lead him to the kitchen, only for him to swiftly pull you back towards him.

"First, one more kiss."

Masterlist ᝰ — enjoyed this imagine? reblogs & comments are very much appreciated!

DO NOT steal, plagiarize, copy, repost, alter, or translate my works in any way

#ateez imagines #seonghwa x reader #park seonghwa #seonghwa #hongjoong #kim hongjoong #yunho #jeong yunho #kang yeosang #yeosang #choi san #mingi #song mingi #wooyoung #jung wooyoung #choi jongho #jongho #seonghwa imagines

[bluestar22x]

Lost And Found

The Outcast - Part 1: Lost And Found

Summary: You stumble upon a man at death's door.

Pairing: Pero Tovar x F!Reader

Rating: 13+ (eventually 18+)

Word Count: 2,700 (ish)

Warnings: Fowl language, pov changes

Author’s Note: This one just popped into my head out of nowhere. I have so much writing for other fics that I should be doing instead, but my mind had to make this up. It'll be a short series, but how many parts it will have, I have no idea yet.

xxx

Pero Tovar had never felt colder in his life. Though he was bundled in a winter coat and wearing its hood, the chill had still managed to seep down into his bones and numb every bit of his body. It had not mattered whether the skin was exposed or not. His wool lined boots had done little to prevent his toes from freezing up after the first six hours.

They were probably frostbitten by this point, he thought dimly, but was too far gone to be properly concerned. He had to focus just to stay mounted on his horse as he slumped forward over his thick neck, gloved hands weakly entwined in the stallion's long black mane as he trudged slowly through the deep snow. It had been at least a day since they'd fled the town, still snow continued to fall blindingly fast and the wind continued to howl.

It was all William's fault, Pero thought bitterly. He was the reason why he was going to freeze to death in a snowstorm instead of dying on a battlefield or at least in a cozy bed. If only he'd stolen the black powder so they could retire. If only William hadn't finally abandoned him for some pretty damsel on the coast, tired of living only for profit, the next fight.

They'd parted on good terms, he'd even encouraged him, but fuck that bastard for listening. They were supposed to be a team. Brothers even.

If William had been with him when he entered the nearby town they could've taken them, the group of soldiers who had attacked him upon recognition. He'd fought for their enemy, and him being a hired swordsman did not matter. They'd wanted him dead for having killed friends of theirs. When he'd realized he would be no match for their sheer numbers, he'd been forced to flee the town and head for the mountains. He knew how to traverse such landscapes, but the area was new to him, and with the added lack of visibility during the storm he eventually realized that while he'd escaped the soldiers, he'd simply traded one bad situation for another.

Lost. He was utterly lost. And he had nothing on him to start a fire, not having planned to camp out in the forest at this time of year.

Without a way to start a fire and no shelter in sight, he didn't dare stop moving, knowing that if he did his number would likely be up soon after. As long as he was in the saddle, conscious, he was alive. As long as he was alive, there was hope.

As night approached for a second time real fear started to creep into the back of his mind, the reality of his situation grim. Deep down he sensed that if he did not find shelter quickly, he would not see dawn.

He desperately scanned his surroundings for any place to hide in. A cave, a valley with natural barriers to keep the wind out, an abandoned cottage or barn. Anything at all would've been better than wandering through the storm.

But he could barely see more than a few feet in any direction, and all of what he saw was barren besides the accumulating snow and a few shady things that might've been trees in the distance. Trees that were far too spaced apart to be of any use.

His eyes were getting dangerously heavy, sleep threatening to take him without his consent, but he bared his teeth and shook his head in retaliation.

"You will not die here tonight," he growled to himself with all the determination he could muster up. His teeth clacked together, his body quaked like the ground below did on occasion in the southern lands, but he pressed on.

He lasted what was likely only a couple more hours before he stopped shivering, a bad sign he knew, and then his mind blessedly blanked. He became completely dazed, staring out at nothing, feeling nothing, with no final words to speak. Not that anyone would've heard them anyway. He was at his end, and nobody would know when he took his last breath.

Not even himself.

x

It had always fascinated you, how fast mother nature's mood could change. One minute she raged, the wind ravaged, and the snow fell seemingly endlessly, and the next she found her peace, letting the sun rise and the wind deaden.

There were still flurries that early morning, on and off, and the air was still frigid, but that did not deter you from setting out bareback on Clover, your blood bay mare that had a white head marking shaped similarly to the plant that was her namesake. You'd decided you needed more meat to store away for the long winter ahead, especially with how ferocious this last storm had been. It was only the beginning and your gut told you it would only get worst.

Clover was still quite young, barely an adult, but calm for her age. She moved quietly through the forest near your cottage as you peered between trees and glanced at the ground below for any signs of wildlife, bow in hand.

You had to rely on your sight that day since the deep snow would mute most of the typical sounds wildlife made. At least any tracks you found would be guaranteed fresh, you mused.

For three hours Clover plodded through the woods as you scanned the surrounding area with no luck. You knew there were plenty of wildlife in the area, even in winter, but for whatever reason they were apparently extra wary and well hidden that day. Maybe because the snow was so deep and fresh. You doubted if even the rabbits could move around without sinking into it.

You didn't want to turn back, but you were starting to go numb, and rather than losing a few fingers and toes you decided it best to head home early to warm up by the fire. You'd have other days to hunt, and even if you didn't you could probably survive all winter on the vegetables and berries you'd harvested in the autumn and the leftover meat from your last deer hunt if you were careful about your portions. At least that was what you'd told yourself to ease your mind of anxiety.

You decided to take a short cut home through the meadow that broke up the forest, not far away from the cliff edge of the mountainside you lived on. You wouldn't dare travel through that section when it was snowing, but on a clear day there was no chance Clover would get close enough to the deadly drop to put you both in peril so you went for it.

When you and Clover entered the meadow, you spotted a muscular black horse in the distance, standing in the middle of the area like it was on guard, but you could see no other horses nearby for it to protect.

As you neared him, you realized the horse was tacked up with a saddle and bridle, so he couldn't be a domestic horse gone wild as you'd first assumed.

Where was his rider? You thought with concern. The nearest town was a day's ride away on a good day. Had someone dared to attempt to travel through the mountains during the storm? Or had this horse been running around with tack on for a long time?

Your questions were answered when you got within several yards of him and noticed the body by his feet. You halted Clover, stunned.

He was a man, or had been, you could tell. Though he was half buried in the snow and hooded, you could still see part of his masculine face and the long scar that marked the skin above and below his left eye. He was on his back, eyes shut, cheeks reddened from windburn, and he was as still as the dead, so you assumed he was.

You hopped off Clover's back and approached his mount cautiously, not wanting to startle the horse away. You couldn't afford to feed another horse through the winter, but you could at the very least rid him of his tack and leave him with better survival odds than when you'd found him. A horse as loyal as him, as one who stuck by his rider's side when they fell off, deserved at least a chance.

The stallion snorted and stared at you with concerned dark eyes when you were near enough to touch him, and shivered when you ran a hand over his neck, but did not flee.

"Easy, boy," you whispered, trying to soothe him with your voice and touch. "I'm just here to help."

He stomped his front feet and backed away from you, circling around to nuzzle the back of his rider's head.

Your heart ached for him. You imagined all he wanted was for him to get up, for them to continue their travels together.

"I'm sorry I was too late to save him," you said remorsefully - right before a quiet groan slipped from the man's mouth.

You jumped in surprise, and your eyes widened. Had you just imagined that? No. You could see it then, as you stared at the man, the shallow breath he took before you.

You gasped and fell to your knees. "You're alive! Holy shit. Can you speak?" You shook the man's shoulders, but he did not respond, and it became clear to you then that though he was still breathing, he was not conscious at all of his surroundings.

You chewed on your lip, pondering what to do. He likely would not survive without intervention, and you knew no one else would come along, but you were still hesitant to take action. It's not that you hated men, but rather that you didn't trust them. You weren't sure it was wise to bring him to your cottage to warm him up and treat whatever ailments the cold had given him. But what other choice did you have that you could live with? Besides, he would be in no shape to harm you when he first woke up, if he ever did.

You also didn't like the idea of waking up to a dead stranger on your floor.

"Hell," you grumbled. Despite your apprehension, there was no way you were going to leave this man to die. You had a thing for saving the needy. Your heart too soft for the world's evils. It was largely the reason why you lived alone.

You brushed some snow off the man and threw your coat over his torso. "I'll be right back," you promised him, springing to your feet and climbing back onto Clover, immediately kicking her into a canter, the fastest speed she could manage in the snow, as fluffy as it was.

As soon as you arrived at your cottage you hooked her up to the small sled you owned, a bunch of strong branches tied together that you used to drag dead deer and firewood to the cottage. You figured it should hold up long enough to drag the man back to safety.

It took far longer than you liked to return to him, but luckily he did not seem in a state any worst than he had been before you'd left.

After you arrived came the hard part. You were a strong woman, thicker than most, and fit, biceps better toned than some men you'd seen go to war, but the man was broad shouldered and he was wearing armor and weapons under his winter coat that caused him weigh as much as a prized buck, so it took a good amount of effort to tug his dead weight onto the homemade sled. You managed, but on your way back home with him in tow behind Clover and his stallion trotting alongside you both, you wondered how you were going to get him indoors.

It took time, but inch by inch your were able to pull him into your cottage and lay him down to rest in front of the fireplace in the main living area. You wanted to sit down next to him and catch your breath, but you knew time was of the essence. You started a fire and loaded as much wood as you could fit into the space. You then stripped the man of his armor and all his weapons (two swords and a few knives) before finally ridding him of his wet clothes, leaving him stark naked.

You tried not to think inappropriately about his handsome face, his muscular and lean body, and his endowment as you examined him, searching for any possible damage. You decided in the end that he was lucky. Besides old scars that littered his body and some bruising along his abdomen that you knew couldn't be from exposure, he didn't appear to be too hurt physically. He'd managed to escape severe frostbite by some miracle, though his face was going to be angrily red for a while.

Maybe he had a good shot at surviving after all. Then what would you do? Logically send him away as soon as spring arrived, earlier if the snow in the passage melted. If you didn't have to kill him first. You'd defend yourself if you had to, but you were hoping it wouldn't get to that point. You had managed to avoid killing people all your life, and you didn't want to start. Especially with someone you'd put an effort into saving.

You covered him with fur lined blankets, placed one under his head, and tried to get him to drink water, only managing to wet his lips before you gave up and left to tend to the horses outside. You untacked Clover and the black stallion before sending them into separate pastures, Clover with her mother, Meadow, and the stallion alone. After they were settled in you spread out hay for the horses and carried the tack into the barn where you kept the feed for the horses and the goats you raised for milk. The little mischievous black and white creatures, all ten of them, were housed together in a paddock behind the barn for the winter. You fed them too before returning to check on the man.

He was still unconscious, but actively shivering. Progress. You set out his clothes to dry then watched him as you ate a meal of deer meat and berries, sympathy making your stomach flip. You couldn't imagine how much it would suck coming back from nearly freezing to death. It would be better than being dead, you figured, but you'd still hate it, and he still looked so cold.

Taking pity on him, you stood from the chair at your dining table and slipped under the fur blankets, hugging his side closely. It was awkward, being that close to a naked stranger, but facts were facts. Body heat would help him. Besides, you were clothed, so there really wasn't a reason to think of it too weirdly. Or to have any wild thoughts.

As he warmed up and once more stopped shaking, you relaxed a bit, letting your mind wander off away from your initial thoughts of how strange the situation was to how nice it was not to be alone in your home for once, even though present company couldn't talk back and smelled like his horse - which honestly wasn't so bad. He must have bathed not long before his misadventure, you thought.

Your mind eventually dove into the past. You remembered how you'd shared a bed with your older sister when you were little since your parents were too poor to get you separate ones and then how you'd shared a bed with your childhood sweetheart when you'd both turned sixteen and had slipped away to a local tavern to explore each other's bodies, social rules be damned.

You hadn't shared a house, let alone a bed of any sort, with anyone for any reason since, and that made a shockingly long time. Almost embarrassingly when you thought about the romantic aspect of it, until you remembered why you were so isolated and the shame melted away as quickly as it had sneaked in.

You glanced up at the man's face as he began to mumble in his sleep, words unintelligible, his chapped lips twitching under a well kept mustache. You wanted to touch those fine lips and the short, narrow beard that lined his jaw, but you resisted, instead laying your head against his shoulder.

You didn't notice that you were dozing off until sleep had already won.

xxx

Tagged: @harriedandharassed

xxx

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

xxx

#The Great Wall Fanfic #Pero Fanfic (Mine) #X Reader #The Outcast Series

[blackjack-15]

Hi I just got through reading all of your liveblogging posts about The Bear! It was a delight to read all of your real-time predictions that ended up coming true, you really had this show’s number from the jump lol. Do you have any predictions for next season? Most fans think Carm and Syd are headed for an explosive confrontation, but are any other storylines, scenes, character beats, etc. that you think we might see?

This is super nice of you, anon! thank you so much for following my chaotic ramblings XD and hey it's a lot easier to know what might happen in the show when they've got such competent writers/directors! tho they surprised me a fair number of times (i don't think i'll be over the interplay/intercuts of claire, carmy, and syd at the end of 2X07/start of 2X08 any time soon), which keeps things fun

as far as predictions for next season...i think it's hard to say without having the first five minutes of S3 in front of me (they do such a good job setting up the tone and conflicts of the season in the first little bit of S1 and S2!), but i've got

a couple things i'm pretty sure about:

-more REM songs (only thing i'm 100% positive on)

-more kitchen/cooking time for our mains, especially carmy. last season's renovations + cliche john hughes nonsense kept him mostly out of the kitchen from ep 3 on, and i'm 99% sure he'll be back with a knife in hand come S3

-nat giving birth to a girl (i'd love it but am not solid on predicting she'd be named some derivative of 'mary' (or a name meaning 'victory', such as nicole), given the berzatto family prayer).

i know the temptation for her to have a boy named after michael is strong b/c it's TV, but this series (rightly, in my mind) tends away from Lionizing the Dead simply b/c they're dead, and after spending S2 breaking down mikey (and showing mikey and nat's relationship, which like ever berzatto relationship wasn't super healthy), i'm hopeful and trusting the writers to avoid this. it wouldn't make me hate the show or anything, but it would honestly disappoint me unless done in a way (i honestly can't think of what way) that would make it okay. plus pete kinda screams girldad to me, and seeing carmy and richie with a little niece would be incredibly precious

-sydcarmy dustup of some kind, but i doubt it'll be as explosive as we've seen in the past, mostly b/c syd was stressed but exhilarated by success at friends & family and b/c i think carmy's (lack of) mental health will be brought up in relation to it

-solidifying of a secondary staff at the bear to let our regulars breathe a bit and have the bear feel like a real, functioning kitchen, not a mom and pop greasy spoon -- this started at the end of s2 but it needs to continue

-cicero setting the tone of the first few months of The Bear (and probably his commentary on carmy's relationships) -- we're not out of the realm of Complete and Utter Failure yet, lads, and the money is gonna come due -- whether by the guise of Friendly Uncle Jimmy visiting with Nat, or the mask of Cicero the Loan Shark coming out in full force

-art storyline with carmy figuring out what will replace the awful painting (i'm going to guess it'll be something of his design, but it'll at least be something he feels represents him, given the comments last season)

-major theme of carmy figuring out what he wants vs what others want for him. him analyzing his relationship with claire by himself -- or, my preference, talking it out with Tina, who he seems to be able to open up to pretty well -- is part of this

things that have to happen but i have no idea how/to what resolution:

-carmy and richie addressing the "donna" fight/comment. it's gonna be multi-ep (neither one is great at complimenting the other to their face and tend to do it behind the other's back, but richie is especially bad at it), and it's gonna hurt.

-pete spilling the beans to Someone (not nat but not sure who) about donna being at f&f

-resident claire's poor little hurt feelings from trespassing into the kitchen and eavesdropping on then leaving carmy in the middle of a really, really bad attack (yes i'm phrasing it that way because it's true <3)

-something about tiff's upcoming wedding (marcus getting contracted/recommended to make dessert for it would be painful but oh so crunchy)

-carmy meets syd's dad. he's proud of her and her success and you know he's gonna want to meet her business partner

nebulous predictions:

-ebra's storyline with him carving out a niche at the sandwich window getting screentime

-tina coming more into her own and maybe getting a designated storyline (about what? no idea)

-more gary nonsense. man lives the wildest life and we see almost none of it

-carmy working through what cooking means to him and what it means in relation to the bear/the berzattos/sydney

-nat's water breaks/she goes into labor at the bear. not sure the baby will actually be born there (i'd guess probably not on the whole), but the process will Begin there

-syd distraction/love interest storyline. not even her dating particularly, just her attention being Split and having the shoe be on the other foot for carmy as they navigate what being business partners means outside the kitchen

-fak time. he's a little uncertain, a little wandering in the restaurant, and he was a major...antagonistic force, let's say? in S2. his place in the world of the bear needs clarification and harmony, and his identity needs solidity and sureness

things that aren't impossible/improbable but would be a Little Treat for Me specifically:

-chef jess being invited to the bear by richie (let the man have people outside the bear and his kid/ex! garrett may come too i'll allow it)

-the return of louie my beloved (helping out at the sandwich window? he makes a good foil to Young Carmy, so i would like to see him more -- carmy in Full Mentorship would be a thing to see, and it would be a being-better-than-mikey-was-to-him thing as well. it's narratively crunchy and provides lots of room for growth, but can be done in ways that don't involve louie, so that's why it's here)

-syd's best meal + comment about being a regular at The Beef coming back. do i think they eventually will? yes. am i aware that my desire for them is prolly stronger than it narratively should be be predicted? also yes. could this easily be combined with carmy meeting syd's dad? yes and i will break the sound barrier

-carmy drawing a dish syd comes up with. a hand-drawn menu for the bear would be Incredible, and syd's face looking at a sistine-chapel-style drawing of a dish she came up with? tremendous, chef

thing that i want to be brought up more than Anything but don't predict it'll be touched (at least directly):

-carmy yelling for syd during his attack in the walk-in (i'm sorry you can't have the man yelling "MARCUS GET ME SYD. GET ME SYD" and expect me not to want it on a billboard

that got long, sorry anon, but there we go -- 4am rambling off-the-cuff about S3...only months to go, hopefully....

#the bear #anti claire bear #asked and answered #sorry this is like a novella but i can't keep my mouth shut! y'all know how it goes #syd x carmy #i refer to her as 'resident claire' because 1) no surname and 2) referring to her place in the bear universe as a Type rather than a person #she's not claire a fleshed out character; she's the resident claire; the archetype that is a vehicle for conflict + growth #also because i am as catty as the day is long and i can be! been in fandom too many decades not to call it as i see it #that and it's her job title so like it works but it works in so many different ways #it's like poetry it rhymes dot jpeg #i might be way off base but i'm p sure i'm at least on the field

[marinerainbow]

Imagine Poppy and Foghorn Leghorn!! XDD I can only picture a silent cartoon of Foghorn just talking onandonandon- as he does- and Poppy's just there unable to get a word in edge-wise for a whole 10 minutes, until Wile E Coyote pops his upper body into the screen and offers her one of his signs XDD

She's takes it gratefully and holds up to the audience while Foghorn's still talking... it's just says 'Help'.

🤣🤣🤣

That, or Barnyard Dawg (BD for short?) just walks on over and thumps the rooster one 😅

Oh my goodness, poor Poppy XDD I can imagine this! Probably during Mr. Acme's funeral (one of the deleted scenes was Acme's funeral, and Foghorn was there. Pops would attend the funeral too, even if she didn't really know Marvin). Or they're just on the streets. And Poppy... She'd feel bad that Barnyard Dawg had to knock the chicken out, but at the same time she's also relieved she can actually say something now XD don't worry, she'll help drag Foghorn off to the side so he doesn't get stepped on or anything.

In fact, I think this could be one of the gags in her cartoons- if she was a comedy toon (or I could make a comic/cartoon series of her life); being talked over, not getting a word in, allowing for plenty of ridiculous misunderstandings or just eye-rolling jokes. Kinda like in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, when the lawyer is interrogating McBadger, but Badger can't even say anything because he's constantly interrupted 😅

Also! If I may add onto this with two suggestions. Poppy running into Elmer Fudd, and Wile. E. Coyote.

Remember that post you made about hoping Poppy will stay safe during rabbit season? Weeeell, there's a reason she doesn't like going into Uptown during rabbit season- not that she can escape it, she can't exactly skip work. All the hunters up there seem to go back to their cartoon roots and start looking for rodents like her to shoot. Fudd is on her trail and starts looking around for her while she's just trying to get to work. She's hiding behind some conveniently shaped object. The hunter is closing in on her hiding spot, so Poppy does the only thing she can think of to do... She starts quacking in hopes it'll throw him off (look, they're all toons, she reasons that this'll work because it'd be funny to the audience if it did XD)

As for Wile, the encounter I've got in my head is that he approaches her the sane way he did Bugs... By knocking on her door and politely telling her that he's going to eat her now and there's no escape 😅 Poppy is panicking, but then Wile mentions the customary two minutes to say her prayers, and she thinks of an idea; she'll act like she's accepting her fate, but insist that she needs to spend her two minutes inside. Wile let's her (again, they're toons XD), and Poppy of course takes that opportunity to climb out the fire escape and run as fast and as far away as she can (and she's a rabbit. She's fast). All while counting down the two minutes she has XD

#asks #Poppy #my own OC's #my own characters #Looney Toons #Foghorn Leghorn #Elmer Fudd #Wile E Coyote #WFRR #Who Framed Roger Rabbit #can Wile give her the 'help' sign when Pepé goes after her? xD #Barnyard Dawg

[britishsass]

Death Game Stories: Part 2

I said I'd keep going, so let's keep this train going! My first post was about the PARTICIPANTS in the death game. (Please click that if you want to see part 1!) This part, therefore, will continue down my list of four parts of the death game: Gameplay!

[Image ID: The "Seek a Way Out!" screen from Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma. There is dynamic typography, with a graphic of an exit sign on the right and a key at the bottom. End ID.]

This one is probably the hardest to really boil down into categories like I'd want to. Even so, there are multiple types I can say to start with.

1. Kill the other participants.

This one is self-explanatory. These games often end up with a "Last Man Standing" ending, with just the protagonists alive. It's also a rather common plotline, showing up in:

Judge (manga)

Hunger Games (books)

Battle Royale (movies)

Incite Mill (manga)

Danganronpa (video game)

Future Diary (manga)

Btooom! (manga)

This plotline often ends up with a lot of fight scenes, arguments, and dead bodies. It's often impossible for everyone to live, as well-- Although some people might try. (More on that in the next post.) The main aspect of this gameplay style is this: The participants are the ones to kill the others. There can be outside motivations, but the participants must be the ones to actually kill most often.

2. Win smaller games.

This one frequently will use demented versions of well-known games. I use "games" as a loose term, as well. It's more often in money-based stories, with some examples being these:

Death Bell (movie): Multiple small puzzles.

Zero Escape (video game series): Multiple escape rooms.

Squid Game (tv show): Multiple children's games.

As the Gods Will (manga): Multiple children's games.

Die Now (manga): Variety of games.

Choose or Die (movie): Multiple choices.

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor (anime): Multiple games.

Alice in Borderland (manga): Multiple games.

Gantz (manga): Multiple hunts.

There are so, SO many for this one. Doing multiple rounds, often with different games, is a very popular option. It's a good way to shake things up a lot, after all. However, it does take a lot of creativity to keep coming up with interesting options, so it can be difficult as well. In video games, though, this is a good way to build up the gameplay loop.

3. Survive longer than the others

There's some games where people keep getting picked off, but it's hard to say anything else about it. For some examples:

King's Game (manga)

Would You Rather (movie)

It's a bit hard to come up with more off the top of my head, but these ones are examples of where the goal is just to live a while longer.

4. Escape!

This one can be an aspect of other gameplay types as well, fun fact! In fact, it usually is. Here's a few of the ones where it shows up, and if it has another type as well.

Zero Escape (video game series) - Also a Type 2.

The Hunt (movie) - Nope.

Cube (movie) - Nope.

As the Gods Will (manga) - Also a Type 2.

Saw (movies) - Depends on the movie and the game.

Alice in Borderland (manga) - Also a Type 2.

It's a good one to include with hunters and prey, or to have a lot of traps throughout. As a general goal, though, escape makes a lot of sense, so it's frequently used as a background goal. And, as you can see... Type 2 works wonderfully with that.

~

This is just a basic list, of course! There are other ones. Sometimes, it's a single game (Ready or Not, Circle) and sometimes it's more complicated than that (Your Turn to Die). Even so, those are just some options that show up throughout pop culture to draw ideas from.

Next post: We discuss the responses of the participants. It'll be shorter than the others, but it's still an important part of the death game as a whole.

To see that, click here!

#death game #death game plotline #writing advice #writing prompts #the owl writes #the owl posts #I wish I could better explain this one! #there's so much here! it could be so cool! but it's a GIANT subject

[vee-xxo]

Grocery trip

Warnings: a few bad words lol

Rating??: idk there's not much romance yet, slice of life ig

Y/N and the Bakusquad go out to buy ingredients for todays dinner. Not a lot happens yet but we get to know Y/N and what the dynamics and relationships between the characters are for now. (Including Y/N and Bakugou ofc <3)

Okok so, this is my first ever fanfic that I've ever written and published. I'm planning to make this a long series and I hope you'll like it!! Its 4:28am where I am right now so sorry if i sound tired or my writing up here seems messy!!

Basically, this story will be based on the idea that I posted earlier, about a Bakugou x reader story where Bakugou is the one who "fixes" the reader. It'll probably end up a bit more complex later on but just bare with me pls!! If you have any questions or recommendations for things i could put in the story later on, please PLEASE let me know!!!

ALSO ITS VERY LONG

Part 2: Coffee

All Parts Masterlist

Y/N was sitting on her bed in her dorm, mindlessly scrolling on her phone. It was 5:30 in the late afternoon, and there was nothing to do. She slowly let herself fall over and felt her head hit her puffy pillow.

"So fucking bored....."

She mumbled to herself. She turned off her phone and tossed it aside to stare at the ceiling. She could faintly hear Mina and the other girls talking and walking around outside, the noises all dimmed down from the thick walls. Slowly, she felt her eyelids drop lower and lower, until her eyes were completely closed, so that she could listen to the sounds of her classmates around the dormitory.

There were Mina, Tooru, maybe Jirou?

She was a bit surprised to also suddenly hear some of the boys. There were Kirishima and Kaminari. Also Sero. Or maybe someone else?

Suddenly, Y/N was forced back to join reality as her door was swung open without warning.

"Y/N!"

"Jesus fuck, what??"

The pink skinned girl in the doorway wore her usual bright grin. "Wanna come with us to the grocery store? We need some stuff for dinner and I thought you might be bored just slunking around your room all day long."

Y/N laughed a bit as she lazily got up from her bed and grabbed her phone. "You sound like my mom."

Mina scoffed playfully as she watched Y/N fix up her hair a bit. Then a familar redhead popped up from behind Mina. "Is she coming with us?" Kirishima asked, to which both girls nodded in response.

"Yeah, hang on I gotta put on some shorts underneath first." Y/N added quickly. "Oh okey!" he nodded before quickly scooting out of sight to give Y/N some privacy.

She was wearing a long black hoodie which covered everything down to her mid thighs, though of course, a pair of shorts underneath were a must for going outside like this.

Mina entered the room and pulled the door to when it was only a split open in case someone outside had any other questions. After Y/N had put on some comfy biker shorts, she also pulled one some white socks before almost falling over in an attempt to quickly force herself into her pair of van slip ons.

Once the two girls had left Y/N's room, they greeted the boys. Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero. "All ready?" Sero grinned.

"All ready!" Mina replied, with Y/N nodding beside her.

"Oh come on Jirou, why not??" They saw Kaminari holding his hands in a begging manner while giving Jirou puppy eyes.

"Sorry, no can do. We need to finish it until tomorrow." Jirou waved her hand

"Are you guys talking about the homework Aizawa gave us this week?" Mina joins the conversation. Jirou looks at her and smiles apologetically.

"Yeah, I got so caught up with a bunch of other stuff I almost completely forgot about it. Sorry I can't come with you guys." She sighed, gave everyone a small wave and then disappeared into Uraraka's room to -probably- do the homework with her.

"Alright guys, can we get going now?" Kirishima asked impatiently, while adjusting the headband he was planning to wear along the small trip.

"Yeah yeah, c'mon dude." Sero answered and pulled a mildly devastated Kaminari by the back of his collar.

The girls gave each other a look before following the rest of the gang downstairs.

As they passed through the main area of the 1-A dormitory, Y/N spot a familiar spiky haired blond boy sitting on one of the sofas. His back was curled like a shrimp and his eyes were glued to the screen of his phone, naked feet resting on the coffee table in front of him.

"So Bakugou isn't coming with us?" She askes a bit loudly, causing his eyes to snap up as he turned to give her his typical scowl. Already aggravated.

Kirishima and the rest turned to look at him aswell, "I dunno, is he?" he half-questioned.

"Why the hell would I? I don't wanna tag along on your stupid shopping trip. You're already more than enough anyways." Bakugou replied, ready to just turn back around until Iida suddenly interrupted.

"Calm now, people. You especially, Bakugou. It's already getting a bit late, let's not cause any unnecessary ruckus. Also, take your feet off that table!" He affirmed as he held a very stiff hand up to Bakugou.

"WHO ARE YOU TO-" Bakugou's began to yell, only for the others to completely ignore him.

"Yeah, don't worry man! We were just about to get going!" Kirishima grinned at their class rep.

Iida nodded. "Alright, just make sure to be quick, it's already getting dark outside. Have you got your phones? A list of the needed ingredients?"

"All with us, rep!" Sero assured while Kaminari held his two thumbs up. As the group started walking toward the big exit door, finally having gained the class mom rep's permission, Y/N made sure to look over her shoulder, make direct eye contact with Bakugou and stick out her tongue with a dumb smile.

She barely contained her small giggle at the sight of his irritated face when she quickly turned her head to look forward. When her eyes met with Mina's, her grin stayed on.

Mina only smiled softly and shook her head as in saying "Seriously?"

As the gang walked toward UA's exit gate, Y/N decided to feel a bit more talkative.

"Man, taking Bakugou along would've been way funnier." She fake pouted while crossing her arms.

"And louder! My poor ears!!" Kaminari whined while covering said ears dramatically.

"In that case I would've been glad that Jirou couldn't come with us. Imagine her pain!" Sero added with a slight frown. "I don't think her quirk works like that, Sero." Mina then said.

"Yeah SERO!" Kaminari retorts, acting like he knows any better.

"By the way, that homework Jirou mentioned, did you do it yet?" Kirishima joins in.

"Uhh next question?" Kaminari says, avoiding all eye contact.

While the others continued chatting their own ears off, Y/N looked around. They had now passed through the entry gate and left the UA schoolgrounds. The shop was only two blocks away, a short, comfortable walk.

The sky looked beautiful, a vibrant orange painted itself across the horizon, right where the sun had started to sink down and disappear behind the high mountains of Japan. The opposite direction was already pulling on a dark blue shade, not yet revealing any stars though.

She unconsciously took a deep breath in, surprised by how fresh the air felt in her lungs. The warm, late summer temperature gifting the teens with a comfortable atmosphere. How odd it was, feeling so peaceful...

The start of summer had been so stressful, to put it lightly. What they thought was going to be a fun, relaxing trip at the summer camp, turned first into extreme training and then into a massive villain attack. And finally, to an epic but bittersweet ending battle between the worlds strongest hero and the worlds most vicious villain. Thus, leading to the retirement of All Might.

Of course this was traumatizing to many people. But one would never really understand how horrifying it was to be right in the middle of it. When suddenly poisonous gas, blue fire and overpowered zombies with chainsaws on their arms forced fear into each student there. When the night ended with children hurt and even someone missing...

Y/N was there when her friends were shaking in fear of what was happening. She was there when Bakugou disappeared, when the heroes attacked Shigaraki's base. When Deku, Todoroki, Iida, Yayorozu and, of course, Kirishima, came to the rescue, knowingly breaking the rules and endangering their future as UA students.

She saw it all.

And now she was here. Only a block away from a small grocery store, at which she would get ingredients with her friends, to cook dinner for their class. Their class of which everyone was safe and sound.

"Right Y/N?!" Mina spoke loudly, directly into Y/N's ear.

"Wuh?" She could only respond, clueless of what her best friend was talking about. Earning some chuckles from the boys.

"You're always teasing Bakugou for the way he acts and stuff, but you're not actually that different." Mina explained.

"Hahh???" Y/N hahh'd.

"See?" Kirishima grinned.

Y/N just shook her head with a slight scowl.

The teens had reached their destination and entered through the automatic doors. Kaminari, of course, bit his lip and squinted his eyes at the screen that hung from the ceiling of the store, showing them that the security camera had them in it's vision.

"Right, so..." Kirishima clears his throat while pulling a skrunkled up piece of paper from his pocket. "We need carrots, pork or beef, and well, curry." He said, somehow reading the messy handwriting on the 'piece' (more like pieces) of paper.

Y/N stepped forward and looked at him confused. "We brought five people to get three things?" Kirishima scratched his head and chuckled nervously. "Well..." He gestured to Sero and Kaminari. "These two really just wanted to get extra snacks."

Mina and Y/N just stared at the boys. "Ah." "Yup."

"YO ASHIDO! THEY GOT YOUR PINK POCKY AGAIN!!" Sero yelled from three aisles away.

"O-M-G FOR REALSIES???" And there she nearly flew to where Sero's voice came from.

"Mina-" Y/N tried to tell her to slow down, but then she was already gone, leaving Y/N and Kirishima standing there.

"Ah." Y/N repeated dryly.

"Wanna get the curry?" Kirishima asked with a sorry look. "Yeah."

As the two went to find the needed ingredients together, Kirishima made sure to hold some easy smalltalk with Y/N.

"So, how's it going?" He started casually.

"Pretty good I guess." Y/N responded. The redhead watched her face from the side as they walked. "You guess?"

"You know what I mean!" Y/N glared at him and slightly hit the side of his arm, not nearly hard enough to hurt him though. Kirishima chuckled a bit. He often teased her for whenever she added 'I guess' or 'I think' at the end of every sentence. And while Y/N could get seriously annoyed pretty easily, Kirishima knew that he, and a few others in their class were far enough on her good side for her to not immediately start hating them like the always claimed. Kinda like Bakugou.

Like Bakugou, huh?

Kirishima thought to himself. This was often mentioned by the Bakusquad, and sometimes even some of their other classmates. Sure, Y/N wasn't nearly as violent as Bakugou. But she always had witty remarks and was quite proud of her many skills. She had good grades, good looks, but a rough personality. Now, when she was with Mina or him she did act a lot calmer, but there had been many times where she'd abruptly stomped out of the room and slammed a door after yelling at someone or simply being too tired to deal with people. But if she had a quirk like Bakugou, who knows just how scary she could get.

The group had finally found together again once they were all waiting at the checkout.

Curry, pork and carrots were placed on the conveyer belt. Along with six bags of chips, some energy drinks and two pink boxes of strawberry pocky.

The snack trio nervously grinned at Y/N who was glaring right back at them. Kirishima also grinned nervously at the slight tension that had formed in the atmosphere. "Hey, its no biggie guys! I'll pay it alright!" he tried to calm everyone down, though he was interrupted by the clacking sound of a divider being pushed between the curry and the chips by none other than Y/N.

"They can pay for their own stuff." She said, her glare softened, but only a little.

The problem seemed to be solved until Sero, Mina and Kaminari could be heard mumbling about the poor amount of coins they had brought along.

"Wait but if you chose four bags of chips, I shouldn't be paying more, Kaminari!" "Dude! I literally can't, I only have twenty yen!"

"Uhh, guys-" Kirishima was about to change back the plan when suddenly...

"FINE! I'll pay for your trash."

"Oh no no no Y/N! It's fine they'll figure it out! Really!" Mina immediately tried to intervene.

"Yeah! She's uh... Totally right!" Sero and Kaminari grinned, nervous again.

"No." Y/N simply said, a bit like a pouty toddler.

Before anyone else could intervene, Kirishima had paid for the ingredients, and Y/N had kept anyone besides herself from paying for the snacks.

The walk back was a bit awkward. Kaminari, Sero and Mina had thanked Y/N several times now, but the slight scowl hadn't disappeared from her face. So now they had decided that simply changing the subject was probably the best idea.

As they walked back toward the 1-A dormitory, Mina suddenly held one of the pink pocky boxes up to Y/N's face.

"I got one for you by the way!" She grinned.

Y/N stared blankly at the box, before finally taking it from Mina's hand.

"Thanks." She said.

"Anything for you, bestie!" Mina cheered at her.

And slightly, very slightly, the corners of Y/N's mouth finally curled up.

Mina celebrated her victory by joyfully biting off a bit of her own pocky and letting out a sweet hum.

Once the group had reached the dorms, they were immediately greeted by Iida already waiting by the door.

"It's good to see you back! I was worried something might have happened to you, since it got dark so quickly!"

"Oh, to us? Never!" Kirishima laughed as he waved hello to whoever else was in the main area right now.

"You idiots! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG??" Bakugou yelled.

"My ears!!" Kaminari cried dramatically again.

While that happened, Mina and Y/N handed the ingredients over to Yayorozou who had just come out of the kitchen.

"Thank you! Will you guys be helping with the cooking too?" She asked.

"Sorry, no can do! This guy over here still got some homework to do!" Sero informed her, while dragging Kaminari along in a headlock.

"Oh so late? Okay..." She responded as she watched the boys leave.

"We'll help." Y/N and Mina said, already pulling up their sleeves, ready to cook for over twenty teens.

Just as Yayorozu was about to thank them, Bakugou pushed past them, grabbing the ingredients.

"Outta my way." he mutters.

"Hey! We said we're helping!" Mina gasped.

"Uh hello?" Y/N's annoyance returned.

"Yeah well, get to work then, slowpokes!" Bakugou yelled, unpacking the ingredients, a kitchen knife somehow already at hand.

The girls looked at each other, before simply joining him with the cooking.

Y/N stood next to Bakugou. She layed the pork out on the cutting board and adjusted her sleeves so they wouldn't slip down.

"Hey! I was gonna cut that!" Bakugou suddenly spoke, really loudly, directly into her ear.

Y/N squinted at the volume before turning her head to stare directly into his eyes.

"Yeah well, TOO FUCKING BAD?!" she yelled, louder than him.

The other girls halted immediately to give each other glances, unsure if they should intervene or not.

"You're already cutting the damn carrots, put the rice up to cook and whatnot! You think I don't know how to cut a damn piece of pork?!" Y/N continued.

Bakugou only growled as he watched her quickly chop up the pork before he could do anything about it.

"Just shut up, you damn extra!" He grumbled. There wasn't really anything else to say, and he was not going to blow up the freshly bought ingredients that he had already been putting enough work into.

Mina and Yayorozu looked at each other, then back at them, then back at each other.

Both hotheads were certainly grumbly now, but it didn't seem like the situation would escalate any further.

They quickly finished up the food and called anyone who hadn't eaten already to get their dinner.

Within all of that, there was a short moment in wich Bakugou and Y/N were alone in the kitchen. Y/N was washing her hands as Bakugou was getting himself a bowl.

"You're so unfun." Y/N mentioned quietly.

"Ha? The hell's that supposed to mean?"

Y/N thought about his question. She wasn't really sure.

"You should've come with us to the store. Must've been boring here."

Bakugou didn't respond. But he listened, still glaring at her like he usually did.

She turned to look at him. Little did he know, she was trying hard not to seem awkward.

"Well, I guess you're not that bad when you're quiet like this."

He would've yelled or atleast called her a name if it wasn't for the way she smiled at him.

It wasn't exactly soft, nor was it witty or teasing like it usually was. If anything, she looked plain bored, maybe tired?

It was hard to read what she meant when her expression was like this. It could've been sarcastic or teasing, but also just completely genuine.

He just looked at her, brows furrowed, clearly saying that he had no idea what any of this meant.

Then, she quickly pushed herself away fron the kitchen counter and pulled her sleeves back down, making her way out of the kitchen.

"I'm not hungry, so tell if it tasted good tomorrow! Goodnight." She said, refusing to look back at him.

Bakugou watched her leave with a slightly irritated look.

"Weirdo."

He mumbled, shaking his head.

A girl who's strong, gets good grades and is hotheaded. Similarily to him. She didn't mind telling him off. She never seemed scared of him, she even teased him, starting fights on purpose. There had been many times where he had chased her around the dorms, hands flickering with small explosions. Yet she just laughed as if they were simply playing tag or something.

And then she'd randomaly say shit like this. Vaguely complimenting him on the randomest things, before quickly leaving the scene and then acting like nothing happened the next time they crossed paths. He'd say it annoys him...

But does it?

#bnha x reader #bakugou x reader #mha katsuki #bakugou katsuki #mha bakugou #mha x reader #x reader #☆y&yf☆

[factoseintolerant]

ted-isms (in reverse)

#ted lasso #jason sudeikis #hannah waddingham #rebecca welton #my gifs #tlgifs #reverseted #so this idea popped into my head and it'll probably be a series

[myafterlifeisbetterthenyours]

OBSESSIVE STOLAS x Male Imp pt.5

(Hold up!!! Before you read this, at the bottom I've left links to the first 4 parts. Go read them first, so youve got all the back story.)

((This is a long fanfic and will consist of multiple parts.)

True to your word, you sent him the address later that day.

You agreed to meet up in the afternoon, telling him the meeting up time to meet.

Stolas had suggested a dinner date, but you had turned that down for some reason, telling him you had a better idea.

You had actually asked him on a date.

So happy was he, the rest of the day seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, the owl caught in a blissful haze.

Eventually it was dinner time, where the prince found himself eating alone, again.

He hadn't eaten with his family since, well you know.

He chose something simple.

Leftovers.

Grabbing the plate of last night's roast, he popped them into the microwave.

As he waited for his meal to heat, he quickly scrolled through his phone.

He was checking your voxtigram again, enjoying the collection of photos of you.

As he looked through he found the picture of you and Blitzø, the sight sending a pang of regret through his chest.

It was strange to think, just a day ago, he'd been head over heels for the Imp. Totally infatuated with him, and now... now he knew the truth.

Blitzø saw him as a meal ticket,nothing more.

He was just way to get to the living realm. What an idiot he'd been, a few kind words, a bit of sex there and he was totally under Blitzøs spell. He felt like an idiot.

His eyes shifted to you, and such warmth bloomed through his chest.

But you. You were genuine. You didn't want money or power, you wanted to make him happy.

You wanted to actually spend time with him, he wasn't just a meal ticket to you, he was someone worthy of love an attention.

He knew you weren't in love with him, not yet, but you would be, he'd show you just how worthy he was of your love.

His thoughts were interrupted by his dinner finished heating up.

He ate in silence, Stolas spending the whole time staring at the pictures of you.

After dinner he went for a shower, the hot water cascading down his body, the heat reminding him of the warmth you brought him just a day ago.

His thought slid to his time with you, fantasising about how intimate, how delicate and seductive you'd been.

The complete opposite of Blitzø.

His thighs ground together, his breath picking up as he slid a hand between his thighs.

He imagined you, holding him close, treating him like that delicate work of art, bringing him pleasure he didn't know existed.

Pleasure racked his body, his breathing hitched. And before he knew it, a mind shattering orgasm wracked his body.

After recovering from his little self pleasuring, he cleaned himself up and got out of the shower.

Walking into his room, he fell on his bed, feeling quiet satisfied. Curling up in bed, he fantasied about what the next day could hold for him.

He had a dreamless sleep that night waking up later than he had the morning prior, finding himself again, well rested.

Getting up, he went about his usual morning routine, all the way until he chose his outfit.

You had said something about wine, so did that mean it was more of a fine dining establishment. But you had said a pizza place right? So was it more of a casual, family restaurant.

He spent nearly half an hour thinking it over before he just decided to text you.

Stolas: Is there a dress code for tonight? I'm just picking out my outfit and don't want to come over dressed, I want something that to wow! you.

(Y/N): Hehehe, not really. Pick something casual and probably bring a coat as well, It gets kinda chilly out there at night.

(Y/N): We'll only be staying at the restaurant to eat, then I've got something planned for afterwards elsewhere.

Stolas: Is that so? And what have you got planned, something exciting I hope.

(Y/N): Nu uh, no hints. You'll just have to wait till tonight.

Stolas: Not even a little hint? 🥺🥺🥺

(Y/N): Nope, but I can promise it'll at least be the most romantic thing an Imp has ever done for you.

That kinda stung, bringing many unwanted memories to the forefront of his mind. You quickly texted again,

(Y/N): Fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything like that. I just, doubt an Imp like me could match the typical royal date.

Stolas: it's alright, I understand what you meant.

(Y/N): But I can promise it'll be the most romantic thing someone's done with you on a budget.

Stolas actually laughed at that, falling onto his bed like a teenager. The two of you exchanged a little more info, before he finally picked an outfit.

He chose a fairly simple outfit; A stylish pair of jeans, a simple red and black T-shirt with a rather attractive heart pattern across it and then it was one of his favourite leather jackets with a beautiful fur collar

He left the manor grounds just as the sun began to set, the city night-life around the manor already beginning to pick up.

It was a fairly short drive, most people knowing to stay out of the way of a royal limousines.

Finding the street and location you'd described, he had the limo park in front of a rather unassuming building, not really looking any different from the hundred other boarded up buildings on the block.

Getting out, he stood there for a few minutes before he heard you call out. 'Hey good lookin, looking for a good time?' Turning around, he found you approaching.

You carried a simple wicker basket, wearing a humble, yet fitting attire,

You wore a stylish black T-shirt that seemed to just cling to all the right places, your jeans were faded, but not enough to warrant throwing out. And a pair of simple black shoes.

When you got closer, the demon piped up, 'If you were planning a picnic, the basket kind of gives it away.' He told you playfully.

You released a laugh, shaking your head. 'Nah, all that's already set up. I just don't wanna carry everything from here to there by hand.' You told him simply.

'Ooooh' he cood, 'and what is it your getting here, hmm?' He asked, playfully gesturing to the building.

'Oh you know, this and that, you'll be surprised how much they serve here.' You told him just as playful.

Stolas stood up before looking around, 'Speaking of what they serve here', I can't help but wonder where "here" is, this doesn't exactly look like a restaurant.' He told you, gesturing to the rather dull wall of buildings before you.

You just chuckled, looking up at the prince before telling him, 'Dont judge a book by its cover, dear prince of mine' you told him playfully.

You hadn't realised it, but when you called him yours, it sent a wave of euphoria through the owl that he simply couldn't describe.

His mind was addled, the owl clutched himself as he watched you speak, to caught up in this feeling to catch what you said.

He was snapped from his stupor, when he found you were looking up at him, seemingly expecting a response.

The owl panicked, snapping to attention and blurting out, 'Of course, words to live by,' before he just stood there, smiling like an idiot.

You stared at him for several moments, the awkwardness so palpable you could practically see it in the air.

After another moment, Stolas shook his head, 'S-sorry, uh, what was that last thing?' He asked, trying to salvage the situation.

You chuckled, shaking your head, 'nothin, let's go shall we?' You asked him, stepping forward.

He followed close behind, following you into a nearby alleyway.

He followed in silence, but as your path grew longer he decided to ask where you were going. Only for you to suddenly stop and turn towards a large metal shudder.

Looking up at him, you did a little knock on the shudder, before just standing there.

A few minutes pass by before Stolas whispered, 'what are we waiting for?'

You laughed at that, before telling him, 'He always takes a minute to get here... any second now.'

A few seconds go by, just as Stolas was gonna pipe up again, the shudder suddenly shot up, revealing an middle aged Imp carrying a shotgun.

The Imp stared at him for a few moments before looking down and spotting you, 'Oh (Y/n)! Didnt expect you so early.' He told you, lowering the shotgun, 'who's the string bean?' He asked bluntly.

You just laughed as Stolas became indignant, looking himself up and down before asking himself if he really look like a string bean?

''This is my...' you hesitated for a moment, the owl held his breath, waiting for you to finish the sentence

'... my date' you finished, 'this is my date "Prince" Stolas.' You told him firmly, enough pride in your voice to make Stolas flush.

The Imp looked him up and down, 'A prince huh? Damn (Y/n), really pickin up your game' The older Imp gave you a rather lecherous grin.

You scoffed, stepping forward and asking 'Can we come in or are we just gonna stand around talking all night?'

The elder Imp just huffed before stepping out of the way.

The two of you walked into a somewhat narrow stairwell, the prince having to crouch walk to squeeze in there.

'Sorry 'bout the tight fit there your highness, we usually only get Imps down here, it'll be more roomy downstairs.' The old Imp spoke up as they made there way down the stairs.

Stolas chose not to reply, choosing instead to just take it in stride.

It was another minute of walking down the cramped stairwell when they suddenly entered a much larger chamber, the owl able to stand up.

Once he'd stretched his back, Stolas got a good look around, and found himself transfixed by the splendour of the place.

Honestly the place could probably give most of the restaurants he'd been too a run for there money.

It was a large hall, clearly some old structure with black bricks making up most of the walls.

A number of quaint little lanterns hung from the roof giving the whole chamber a pleasantly dim atmosphere.

A series of tables filled the centre of the chamber, each one decked in a cloth, with its very own candle lit center piece.

The architecture created smaller arches along the walls, many of them gave way to small booths where other Imps were enjoying there meal. While others were filled in by wine wracks, each one filled with a variety of bottles.

'My it's... it's...' before Stolas could finish, you cut in, 'yeah... I know, it's not exactly the rits, but for an Imp run business, it's pretty sophisticated.' You seemed disappointed, likely having interpreting his stunned silence as disappointment.

Stolas quickly cleared that up, telling you 'it's beautiful, I've never seen a place like it.' He told you honestly.

Looking down he found you positively beaming.

Reaching out, you grabbed his hand. You dragged him along like an excited child, taking him to what was obviously the front desk.

Placing the wicker basket on top the counter, you binged the bell.

A moment passed before a shorter and clearly much older Imp walked out. Upon seeing you there face lit up, 'Oh (Y/N), so good to see you.' They said cheerfully, pulling out a medium leather bound book from under the counter, they looked up and said, 'Lets see. Ah! Here you are. One table. A high ceiling and a strong bottle, correct?' They asked pleasantly.

You just nodded, them quickly putting the book away and began leading you away.

He found himself led into another chamber, this one much smaller but still just as pleasant.

In this one, a quaint little chandelier, giving the room a pleasant warm glow.

The older Imp quickly left, promising to bring menu's upon his return.

You led him in 'Beautiful place, isn't it?' You asked, seeming a hundred miles away.

'It is' He agreed, never taking his eyes off of you.

It took a few moments, but eventually you locked eyes, a smile growing across your lips.

After a moment, you seemed to snap back to reality, quickly walking over and pulling out one of the chairs, 'Your highness' you told him, an almost seductive tone to your voice.

'Such a gentleman' he spoke playfully, taking his seat.

Pushing him in, you walked around and took your seat.

Sitting down, you leaned forward, the two of you sitting in silence for a moment, neither of you sure what to say.

Eventually you spoke up, 'Can... can I ask you something?' You asked hesitantly.

Stolas, seeing the mood shift, leaned forward, responding with 'of course you can... what is it?'

You took a moment, placing your mouth behind your balled fist, 'I just... I just want to know... What is this?' You asked somberly.

That took him off guard, 'I, uh... I thought this was a date,' he tried to lighten the mood.

You did smile at that, but it was short lived, the sombre look returning.

'No... I mean like, you and me. What is this?' You asked him.

Stolas found himself at a loss.

What were you?

This was a date, wasn't it? So that would make you a potential couple? But he was already married... so, what the hell did that make you?

He sat there for longer than he'd like without an answer, before he felt he just had to say something. 'I don't... I don't know.' He told you honestly.

'I mean, this is a date? And I uh...' He didn't know were to go.

Out of options, he decided to do something that hadn't gone the best for him lately, but with you he felt it would be his best course to take.

He was gonna go with his gut.

'I want there to be something.' He told you, 'You make me feel like... like I deserve to be loved. Like I can be loved... Something I haven't felt in quiet a while.'

'I haven't felt like I really deserve anything in... Hell.... Decades?' He was tearing up now, his voice thick with emotion, 'I don't know if I deserve love, (Y/N).'

'I only ever seem to end up hurting the people I care about.' Tears formed in his eyes, the owl gripped his head, 'Lately I feel like a curse. Like I can only bring pain and misery to those around me... and after what I've done, I can't help but feel I deserve it.'

He looked up at you, a little smile across his face, 'But you... you make me feel like... like someone cares about me... Like someone cares about what I want. And you don't want anything from me... your not just using me as a means to an end... You care about me.' He was shaking now, a gentle tear sliding down his cheek.

He sat there for a moment, on the brink of tears, just as he felt you grab his hand.

Looking down he found you gently grasping his hand. You slowly inspected it, gently running your fingers along the long slender digits.

'You know...' you began, unease in your voice. 'I had no idea what I was doing, that first time.'

'I wanted to cheer you up, make you smile.' You let out a little chuckle, 'And as cliché as it might sound, I could tell you just wanted someone to love you, to make you feel something.' you smiled up at him.

'I knew you needed some kind of affection and I... I couldn't just let you sit there, drowning in despair. So I did it, I gave you the love you needed' You told him, your voice getting a little unbalanced.

You looked up at him, your throat tightening and voice becoming shaky, 'And if after that first time together... I after what we did... you had said you wanted to just pretend like nothing happened. I would have accepted it. I could have accepted that.' You told him firmly.

'Theres so much misery around me, so many suffering for no real reason. So if I could make you happy, even for just a moment. I'd be happy.' A smile spreading across your face.

'I don't know what's gonna happen next.' You told him. 'And I don't know what's gonna happen next.'

Your voice grew firmer, as did your resolve. 'But I wanna get closer to you and you wanna get closer to me. So how's about we just... see where this goes?' You asked him.

Stolas was a little shocked, 'You... you'd really do that, just give it a shot, to be with me?' He asked incredulously.

You just nodded your head, a little smile across your face, 'I... I wanna be with you Stolas, if that's alright with you?' You asked almost playfully.

Stolas couldn't help but laugh, vigorously nodding his head, 'Yes, Yes, a thousand times Yes.' He told you getting to his feet.

His emense height allowing him to lean over the table, locking you into a passionate kiss.

The Owl couldn't help it, he pressed into the kiss, so much so he was scared he might hurt your lips.

But he just couldn't help it, he was feeling such passion right now, all he could think to do was get as close to you as possible.

Hey Hey. Doing some old stories now. I've got so many requests I think I'll just relax a little, do them at my own pace.

This is the 5th part of my series Here's the link to my other chapters

OBSESSIVE STOLAS X Male Imp Pt.1

OBSESSIVE STOLAS x Male Imp Pt.2

OBSESSIVE STOLAS X Male Imp Pt.3

OBSESSIVE STOLAS x Male Imp pt.4

so check that out. I'm gonna be doing some more of my own original works lately, but feel free to leave a request, just don't expect me to get to it any time soon. Any way, hope you enjoyed the story. Bye Bye.

#helluva boss headcanon #helluva boss #headcanon #x reader #helluva boss x reader #helluva stolas #stolas x reader #stolas

[talkfantasytome]

We're Not Monsters - Just for Tonight

More shenanigans. Cassian and Azriel learn about a "new" show before dinner, and afterward there's a bit of a surprise for the whole house. 👀

Warnings: Cassian can never help himself... | Word Count: 2,704

Previous Part | We're Not Monsters Masterlist | Read on AO3

a/n: Not sure I executed as well on my idea for the ending-ish stuff as well as I wanted, but I hope you like it! I was so excited by the thought. Which probably means I failed drastically. 😂

And, no, I'm definitely not using this fic to try and convince anyone I may have mentioned Buffy to recently that they should definitely watch the series. 😇

I didn't edit, and I don't see me doing so soon since ACNH updated early. 👀

"Oh gods, will you stop that?" Nesta finally huffed.

She and Cassian had gone back to the living room when Emerie left, and while she attempted to read, Cassian had decided to watch TV. If one could call it that. He changed channels every few seconds, barely even giving whatever show was on a chance.

"There's nothing good on," he groaned, throwing his back against the couch as Nesta rolled her eyes.

"How would you know? You're not actually watching anything."

He turned his face and looked over at her, throwing her a half-smile. "I just do. I know quite a lot of things."

Nesta flattened her face as he winked. She sent her book upstairs to her bedside table with a soft pop and then stood up to rummage through the shelves of DVDs that were built into the wall around the TV. Finding what she was looking for, she slid the first disc into the player and switched to the right HDMI setting.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" Cassian cocked his head, the questions so clear in his stare Nesta swore she could actually read them there.

She strode back to the couch and took the controls from him as she sat. "It's a classic. And should be right up your alley."

"I'm a werewolf, remember? Not a vampire."

"There are werewolves…eventually," she offered. "And plenty of other types of demons."

"Fine. Let's see what other myths you all seem to have about us," Cassian sighed. He grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it against his chest, the muscles in his arms flexing at the movement and drawing Nesta's eyes for a moment. She hoped she brought them back to the TV before Cassian noticed. "At least I know it'll be better than Twilight."

"You know about Twilight?"

"I live in a demon realm, of course I know about Twilight. We were all required to read her first draft - before any editor ever looked at it."

Nesta couldn't help but snort out a laugh. "I'm guessing she didn't get anything right?"

"Actually…I don't know," he admitted, perking up slightly. "Maybe Az and I should test out some of the theories you lot come up with." A wicked grin began to form on his face at the thought. "Okay, play - I definitely need to watch this now."

With another roll of her eyes, Nesta clicked 'Play' and the show began, immediately drawing Cassian in. He threw question after question at her as they popped into his head, but she refused to answer, only ever saying, "Just watch and maybe you'll find out." She couldn't hold back the small smile on her lips or the amusement in seeing how excited he got.

Nesta loved this show, and she'd be lying if she said it didn't thrill her when she successfully introduced it to someone else.

"Is that Buffy?" Gwyn all but shrieked when she and Az walked in about halfway through the first episode. She hopped onto the couch next to Nesta and snuggled close to her.

Nesta turned her face and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "And what have you two been up to?"

"Talking," Az grunted, flopping down on the side of the sectional that didn't directly face the TV. "So. Much. Talking."

Cassian laughed while Gwyn sat up a bit straighter to explain. "I just wanted to know more about the demon realm, what they do, and how it all works."

"And every detail in between," Az muttered.

"Well, you don't have to talk anymore. Actually, I would prefer it if you didn’t," Cassian requested, his eyes back to being glued to the TV.

Az lifted his head at the comment, looking over at Cassian curiously. "I'm sorry, how did-"

"SHHHHHHH! Willow just disappeared with a vampire!"

Nesta had to slap her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing loudly, and she noticed Gwyn doing something similar with her knees pulled up to her face.

"Vampire?" Az whispered, his eyes finally drifting toward the screen. He remained quiet after that, until the episode ended and both boys were enthusiastically requesting the next, Cassian shouting at the screen for the cliffhanger.

They'd only just started the second episode when Emerie and Mor returned, Emerie scolding Nesta and Gwyn for daring to watch Buffy without her.

"I'm sorry, but I had to find a way to distract him." Nesta nodded toward Cassian. "Before I tried to find a way to kill him."

Cassian yipped in mock offense, which sent the rest of the room laughing.

"You will make it up to me," Emerie demanded, and Nesta and Gwyn agreed instantly before their housemate walked into the kitchen with her full bags of groceries. Mor stayed behind, leaning against the archway.

"So…what exactly is going on here?" she asked, motioning between the four beings on the couch. "Are they really demons?"

"Vampire!" Az corrected just as Cassian shouted, "Werewolf!"

Nesta snorted softly before looking up at the pretty blonde. "AKA, yes, they are. They're just not full demons."

Scrunching her face, Mor replied, "Do I even want to know what that means?" Nesta just shook her head softly, knowing it would be hell to try and explain it to Mor. She was intelligent, for sure, but most things about magic went over her head. Or she didn't pay enough attention to absorb it. "Well, anyway, don't you ladies miss out on this opportunity." With a wink and a silky laugh, Mor turned and joined Emerie in the kitchen.

Cassian's and Azriel's faces both snapped to hers and Gwyn's at Mor's comment, the two girls gaping at the now empty archway, purposefully looking anywhere but at the boys.

"What opportunity might that be?" Nesta didn't have to turn to know Cassian was wearing that cocky smile that had her seeing red and losing her breath all at once.

"Obviously, the go ahead to continue watching Buffy even though Em has to cook," she lied, finally looking over at him with narrowed eyes.

His own gaze rolled down her torso, lingering on her hips and legs for a second before trailing back up to meet her stare. "Uh-huh, sure sweetheart." He turned back to the TV but didn't lose that stupid, gorgeous, grinding half-smile for the rest of the episode. Nor through dinner after that.

It wasn't until they were cleaning up, Cassian having offered to help Nesta with the dishes - a task she and Gwyn split since Emerie always did the cooking - when something shifted. He was just a step behind her, only a few feet from the sink when she heard the sound of porcelain clattering against the marble counter. She dumped the dishes she'd been carrying in the sink and pivoted, her eyes widening as she took in the look of pain on Cassian's face.

"Cassian?!" she cried out. Nesta rushed to his side, placing her hands on his shoulder as she tried to push him up a bit and get a better look at his face.

He simply groaned as the others ran into the room, Az in the lead. He furrowed his brows at the scene before him, then walked over to the sliding glass door. "Shit!"

"What is it?" asked Gwyn.

He let out a loud sigh before responding. "It's a full moon."

"How big of a problem is that going to be?" Nesta couldn't hide the panic in her voice as Cassian let out another strained sound.

"It's not, really, more just something Cassian's not used to," Az explained. "In the Underworld, we don't have a moon, or anything that can control the werewolves. They can shift whenever they want, but are never forced to…I'm guessing up here it might be the opposite."

A growl erupted from Cassian's lips, and suddenly he was shoving Nesta away and stomping into the living room. Nesta couldn't stop the panic that flooded through her at the sight of his hunched over body, or the sounds that he continued to make.

"This seems like a problem!" Nesta was out the room before she finished scolding Az, who was only a step behind her. They followed the snarls and grunts to find Cassian on his hands and knees, his features shifting as an onyx fur spread across his skin.

Nesta looked away, unable to watch as his body changed. There was no cracking of his bones, thankfully, but it was still quite a disturbing site. Her eyes were shut tight for a solid minute before she felt the room shift to an apprehensive calm. She could sense a large presence watching her, standing before her. Finally, she lifted her face, opening her eyes and meeting a pair of large, hazel ones, both familiar and new.

She couldn't help but gasp as she beheld the giant wolf in front of her. The long snout, the pointed ears, the solid midnight fur. Nesta swallowed as she watched him, waiting. The wolf stood at least an inch taller than her on all fours, his broad, strong body stiff, his face tense.

Nesta inhaled sharply, her heart beating straight out of her chest as time stilled. As she waited for Cassian to make the first move.

Which he did, sitting back on his hind legs and softening his face, his tongue dangling out of the mouth she could have sworn was smiling.

"Yeah, by the way," Az started with a chuckle, "he's relatively harmless as a wolf."

"Harmless?" Nesta repeated.

Az shrugged. "I mean, not if he feels threatened but, more often than not, this is what you get." Cassian barked in agreement.

"Whoa, he's huge!" Emerie exclaimed.

Mor chuckled. "Really not all that different from his other body."

"What do we do with him?" Gwyn asked, joining them in the living room.

"Based on his focus, I think that's Nesta's to figure out." Az's voice was full of mirth as he spoke, grinning mischievously toward Nesta as she glared back at him.

Cassian yipped again, his grin growing wider as he padded his front feet excitedly on the floor, continuing to watch Nesta intently.

"I don't know what to do with him!" she argued. "I'm a cat witch."

"Is there another type?" Az teased. "Look, he's easy. He'll whimper if he's sad or needs to go out, and since I played fetch with him earlier - sort of - I don't think he'll need to play again, so really he'll just want to cuddle."

Nesta grew suspicious suddenly, her brain replaying all the things Cassian had already said to her. "This feels like a set up."

"Oh, it definitely is," Az agreed delightedly. "They keep their minds in wolf form, for the most part, but they gain that dog-like focus and determination. So Cassian knows what he's doing, but he's unable to stop." At that exact moment, Cassian leaned down, nuzzling his head against Nesta's hand. She couldn't help but notice how soft his fur was, or the way he groaned contently as she scratched his ear.

"Guess we're spending the night watching more Buffy," Nesta sighed, earning an excited hop from the wolf.

The group gathered on the couch, Emerie, Mor, Az, and Gwyn scrunched on one part of the sectional as Cassian sprawled out on the other with Nesta. He rested his head on Nesta's lap, and she tried to fight it, but each time she pushed it off she'd find it back there within a minute. Eventually she gave up, stroking his head and back absentmindedly, his fur silky between her fingers.

After another two episodes everyone began yawning, Mor and Emerie heading upstairs before that second episode even finished. Nesta was about to start the conversation about where the boys should sleep when Cassian began to whimper, now standing on the ground.

"He has to go-"

"Yeah, I got that!" she interrupted. Nesta stood and led Cassian back into the kitchen, turning on the back light before she unlocked the sliding door and let him out.

He was impossible to see in the dark, even with the light on, but Nesta knew he wouldn't run away. Not if what Az said was true and wolf-Cassian was basically a very attached puppy.

Sure enough, barely two minutes later the humongous wolf was barreling toward her. She shut the door behind him, locking it before shutting off the outside light and the lights in the kitchen as they made their way through it back toward the living room.

"So, you two boys good on the couch?" she asked through a yawn, stretching her arms above her.

Az nodded. "I might watch what I missed from that first episode, and then maybe check out some of your movies, if you don't mind? Vampires don't sleep well."

"Go right ahead," Gwyn offered from where she stood in the hallway just outside the living room, pulling blankets out of the linen closet. "Just, don't keep the volume too loud."

"Works for me, see you in the morning." Nesta waved and made her way to the stairs, getting a total of one step before she heard a whine from behind her. She turned to see Cassian sitting at the base of the stairs, true puppy-dog eyes looking up at her. "Oh, no. You're sleeping down here."

She could have sworn he was pouting.

"Awww, that's so cute!" Gwyn cooed.

Nesta took another step up. "He's still not joining me."

The whimpering grew louder, and Nesta could hear his paws padding the ground again, but she tried to ignore him as she made her way up the stairs. She managed to get halfway up, to the first landing, when the whining became too much, the sound breaking her heart as if he really were her puppy.

Looking over her shoulder, Nesta motioned for him to join her as she said softly, "Come on." A chuckle from the other room had her leaning over the banister and shouting, "Don't you dare say a thing!" But the laughing didn't stop as Cassian ambled up the steps, following Nesta to the last room on the left.

She flitted about the room, pulling out a nightgown and taking down her hair as Cassian sat by the bed on his hind legs, waiting.

"Just, stay there." Nesta went into the adjoining bathroom to take care of her regular bedtime routine and change. She'd pulled out her longest nightie, but that didn't mean much, the pale blue piece barely reaching mid-thigh.

When she came back out into the room she didn't miss the way Cassian's eyes trailed her, a deep sound in his gut escaping in a way that had Nesta scrunching her face slightly. It was cute, but at the same time, he was a wolf. And, in wolf form, it was hard to think of him as that gorgeous, godlike man that she saw standing in the center of her living room earlier. To be excited by such a reaction. At the moment, he was just a very adorable, massive puppy.

There was no way he'd fit on her bed.

Nesta pulled the covers back and slid in, arranging the pillows so that she could sit up against them and read for a bit. Grabbing her book and settling her comforter over her legs, she looked toward Cassian. "You can sl-oof."

Apparently, Nesta was wrong.

Cassian jumped up onto the bed almost as soon as she seemed situated. He twirled once before curling up tightly and placing his head back on Nesta's lap happily.

"Cassian," she sighed, but she never finished her thought as he let out a happy moan when she stroked his head. "Fine, just for tonight."

Nesta felt his chuckle against her legs. She rolled her eyes and opened her book, starting to read as she continued her small ministrations. Within minutes his breathing had evened out and she could hear a soft snoring coming from him. Nesta thought it would annoy her, but instead it seemed to calm her, lulling her into a sense of comfort as her eyes began to droop.

She barely got her book closed and light off before she slipped down on her pillow and drifted off to sleep, her hand still on Cassian's furry head.

a/n: For the record, I wasn't dissing Twilight nor attempting to insult anyone who likes it. Heck, I just watch my yearly Twilight marathon (though, yes, I do consider that a guilty pleasure). However, they weren't exactly the best written books. 👀 And, yes, I do find aspects of it lacking. So, to me, the idea of an unedited first draft of it is kinda horrifying. Sorry, but considering how many typos I found in Breaking Dawn after it was published...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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[tamewkii]

Stalkers

five: I'll teach you

pairing: armin x reader

summary: armin arlert and y/l l/n stalking each other not knowing they go to the same college, this tea is pipping hot

warnings: a long written chapter! alot is happening in y/n's head rn, this was so fun I hope this isn't shitty holy jeez

a/n: ignore the time stamps, doing this while being chased by this timer on the app

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After receiving his last message I took my phone away and continue to focus on the teacher whose been lecturing another student, just right infront of me.

"so, tell me Sasha..." Mr. Keith mumbled loud enough for the people around him to hear, "...what is it that you have in your hand there?," he said with an angry glare, eyes looking like it'll pop out at any moment, he was pissed, obviously. "uhh... takoyaki?, takoyaki!, takoyaki." Sasha replied pausing after every word she uttered, though it was kind of muffled to really point out what she said because she was munching on the food while talking, "I never allowed anyone to eat in class" "ohh umm, I don't have a good excuse but, want some?" she took out her tiny lunch box filled with takoyaki, handing it over to Mr. Keith with a tiny smile. "Oh and I have mayonnaise if you want! it tastes better with it though, and sauce! forgot what it's called but it's sooo good! here!-" as she picked the takoyaki with a toothpick giving it to Mr. Keith, it fell. "shit shit shit" she picked it up and offered him again, "five second rule".

"Sasha are you sure you don't want anyone to wait for you?" Sasha was holding cleaning equipments and was preparing to put on her gloves, after the takoyaki scene she was told to wash the toilets in campus "I'll be fine y/n, it'll probably take a few hours but everything will be aye okay! anyway you look rushed bestie, gotta meet someone?" "Armin is asking if he could teach me chemistry today, as there'll be an exam coming up he was worried I'll end up getting bad grades" I explained, she took it the wrong way ofcourse. "So it's a date?" "no stupid," she giggled, not believing me and kept telling it's a date "yeah whatever, enjoy breathing pee n' poo air" I sarcastically said while passing by and gave a light pat on her right shoulder, heading to the entrance we both said our see ya soons and do the next thing we need to, "I'LL COME BY YOUR DORM AFTER I'M DONE" "OKAY".

As I skipped down the hallways my mind was only occupied by the things that'll happen once I see armin, by that I mean a scenario about what I WISH that'll happen. We'll drink coffee and eat snacks, getting to know each other, him teaching me chemistry, saying that he likes me and I'll respond with "yeah, I also like you, in fact, I've also been stalking you for the past few months!"— or maybe not because it'll sound weird making it feel really awkward between the both of us, not like my imaginations will happen anyways. After what like happen to be an hour of walking and daydreaming I exited campus and went to find armin.

He wasn't anywhere near the entrance so I decided to wait at a bench and started to fiddle with my fingers. After five minutes I see a man running towards me with two Starbucks cups in his hands trying so hard not to spill anything, "hey y/n!" the blonde said aloud once he was close, "armin!?" confusion written all over my face "hah, I thought I was late, here's a drink" he panted and gave me a cup, "I, didn't said anything about buying drink though" "exactly why I got two drinks, I was only coming along with Eren until I got this idea" he said shyly not making eye contact, "that's very sweet of you, let's go then" I said not wanting to waste any more time I pulled him arm and drag him to my dorm.

It has been thirty minutes after we arrived, books clutered all over the table, armin's drink remains only the ice cubes, two bags of snacks beside us, he only opened one though. And what about me? my face was planted on the table crying obviously not understanding anything, "y/n stop sobbing, please" he pleaded with frustration in his voice, "but I d-didn't understand anything I read" I said, this isn't what I had in mind, I stood up and walked around the room with hands behind me, doing the old man walk for short. As I continued to walk, I heard giggles every now and then which I know only comes from armin, his giggles were soft but bubbly, very cute, gotta set it as a ringtone— no not now.

"What is it" looking directly at his ocean blue eyes "is there like something on my back?" I continue nearly stuttering, "no, I just think it's funny looking at you walking like an old man when you're still young" he replied as he raised a hand and place it under his chin for support. Who wouldn't blush? people're crazy if they didn't blush after hearing him say that, "ya know what's not funny? me failing this test" as I looked outside from the window I continued "my life was great", after saying that he bursts into a fit of laughter rolling on the floor holding his tummy, "HAHA- OH-OH MY GOD HAHAHA P-PLEASSE", camera from behind him catches his blurry figure and focuses on me as the sun illuminated my face, I smiled "I hope you choke, arlert" and looked back outside.

Fooling around was fun with armin, he took a break and we got to know each other surprisingly it was exactly in the scenario I made awhile ago. It was a good fifteen minutes after asking each other questions he spoke up, "hey y/n, have you really not notice that we take chemistry call together?" his gaze looked sad as he hugged his knees "well I never really noticed much people in class, probably just people I've known already, why'd you ask?" I tilted my head waiting for his answer "it's nothing, just wanted to know" he replied and stood up heading to the table and sat down "c'mon I'll teach you, and help you pass that exam" a grin creeping up his lips and gestures me to sit beside him. It felt nice, being around him feels like I'm free it's ridiculous, feeling giddy, fast heartbeat, getting butterflies, it's like in every romance story I never thought I could be in.

"Hey y/n I'm here-" "shhh" I shushed Sasha as she opened the door, "what!?" she whisper yelled as she shrugged with her backpack hanging on her shoulder and a bag of flamin' hot cheetos in her left hand, I coded her to look at my bed to see there lies a sleeping armin curled up in bed covered up in a blanket. Her face immediately looks like that shrek meme I have in my gallery, "so... not a date?" she sat down right across me as I'm doing the tasks armin told me to do, not looking up I replied "was your date with toilets a blast?" she rolled her eyes and chuckled. Everything worked out as planned surprisingly, not that I planned anything from the start, thankfully the confession part didn't happen or else I'd cry myself to sleep out of embarrassment.

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[tardytothepardy]

Fruits Basket - Vol 23

It's the final banquet babyyyy

(i hate how blurry that picture is but my camera just wouldn't fucking focus)(also yeah i colored in the speech bubbles, they were kinda confusing without context and didn't have anything to do with this specific frame)

So everyone's gathered in the main Sohma house, and no one really knows what's going on. They have no idea what to expect. Hiro notes that the grown-ups are "the ones who can't sit still today". Some miscellaneous stuff happens but I'm not sure if it's worth talking about? After the miscellaneous stuff, it is announced that Akito is ready for everyone to see, and out she steps in a kimono (I bet it's red; she'd look great in red, I think) and asks where Shigure is, because he apparently dipped out. Ritsu is in complete awe, does Akito partake in the same hobby he does? No, Ritsu, this is who she is.

There's a brief flashback to the previous book, where Shigure gave her something, and said "I guess you could call it a farewell present." Akito did not take kindly to that at all, and lashed out, accusing him of being the first to abandon her. He asks where she got that idea, he meant that she's finally becoming her own person, rather than the person her father wanted her to be, and his gift was something to commemorate that. Welcome in the new Akito, and all that.

Back to the present, Akito explains that the rest of the Juunishi were able to become their true selves, beyond the curse, and so she decided to as well. She tries to apologize, but she can't-- she knows that won't make up for anything that she did, at all.

It goes back to that memory with Shigure (this chapter is just a series of flashbacks and flashpresents) and he teases her, saying that he didn't know he was so important to her, and Akito insists that wasn't the case, that he was the one that she was most afraid of, the one that strayed the furtherest from her, bond or not. He says he had to keep his cool, be nonchalant, because otherwise he'd explode (ka-blooey). He says that he's childish, and doesn't like getting hurt, he hates losing, and he can't stand sharing things. This causes Akito to basically go Ó///Ò in realization, and he confirms that realization (the realization being that he likes her as well, in case you didn't catch it. It kinda took me a second on first reading, and I'm not exactly explaining this the best), and says that if Akito wants to reject him, now's the time, that if she comes to him again, it'll become a Thing. They'll become a Thing.

Back to the meeting, Akito says that she still wants to live with the Sohma family, because there are still things she feels she needs to do. She still is, at the end of the day, the head of the family, it's her duty (probably). She plans on talking to Ren, which I imagine will go well. After the meeting (I think, I don't think it's before, though timey wimey stuff is difficult), Akito is with Shigure, and he's asking if she wants him to stay at the main Sohma house, and she asks if he's angry about it. The vibe I get from him is "yesn't", honestly, but hey if they're happy, I guess it's fine.

Next chapter!

So there are two exposition characters (I'm sorry but that's really all they are) at school, and one of them sees Kyo. She gets excited, maybe she can go talk to him, and the other thinks he's waiting for Tohru, his girlfriend, to finish up with her tests. The first girl goes, "Whaaa?? When did that happen??", and the second says that it happened shortly after Tohru came back from the hospital. The first girl's hopes and dreams are apparently destroyed, I guess she liked Kyo.

It pans back to Tohru, now finished with her test, and the teacher, Mayu, wishing her a good summer vacation, it'll be her last. She also asks if something happened in the Sohma family, because a certain He seemed a little happier when she saw him yesterday. Tohru took "he" to mean Kyo and Yuki, and was basically like "yeah I guess so". Mayu played it off, yeah yeah those two that's definitely who she meant yeah totally see you next school term byeeee.

At the house (Shigure's house), Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru are talking about the meeting, and how it felt like it came out of nowhere. They were surprised that Tohru already knew about Akito, but she had to pretend she didn't for Akito's privacy (you don't just out people, that's rude). She asks if it was that much of a shock, and Yuki says he's mostly dumbfounded, though there has been a lot going on lately, a lot to think about. Kyo says he feels weird about it, simply because now he knows he's been violent with a woman all this time, but also says something about if Akito was a man, Kyo would be in trouble if there was another guy who liked Tohru. I'm not really sure where he got that idea, but Yuki thought it was pretty funny. It made Tohru realize that the air between Kyo and Yuki had cooled off significantly, and they seemed to be more at ease with each other than they ever had before (i mean in the beginning yuki would sneeze and kyo would be like "and i took that personally", so yeah they've changed a lot). She asked Kyo what had caused that change, and he told her that Yuki beat the crap out of him, and knocked some screws loose, but it was okay. They needed to be loosened.

Later, it seems that Kyo and Tohru went to Kazuma's house, where Kazuma said "I have no regrets. At this point, I'm prepared for death at any time.", because he's happy, y'know? But Tohru and (that other guy whose name completely escapes me wtf) protest at that, saying that you can't say things like that, it's not true! The other whispers to Kazuma that he can't die yet, because when they get married and have kids, he'll be a grandparent, which he seems to like the idea of. He tells Tohru that he eagerly awaits that time, but since Tohru didn't overhear it, she just awkwardly agrees that she also can't wait. (Kyo kinda caught on though)

Izusu comes in, says, "This is stupid, by the way", then walks out before anyone can respond. Tohru follows after her, and Kyo asks what Izusu was saying. Kazuma says that a lot has happened recently, and not everyone is going through the same thing.

Going with Tohru, she finds Izusu in another room, saying that she doesn't get it, how can he (Kyo, presumably) act like nothing's wrong, after all that's happened, and how Tohru can do the same, after she got so hurt?! Those kinds of hurt don't go away easily. Izusu continues, and says that if she had to choose to forgive Akito or not, she wouldn't, because she can't. She doesn't want Akito to apologize, and she can't help but feel like she's doing something wrong, because she can't make herself accept everything and move on. Tohru reassures her that there's nothing wrong with her, she didn't do anything wrong. Izusu wonders if her demeanor will turn Haru away, if it will disappoint him. Tohru says that there's no way that Haru could hate her.

The scene changes to Akito, who is talking to that one old lady who pops up every now and then, but I've never seen her name, who says that Akito went to see Ren again, but heard that she wasn't able to really talk to her. She says it would be faster to chase her out of the house, but it's also possible that Akito complicated things by staying at the house. She continues, saying how it must be nice being young, and being able to change your life so easily. She notes that she was born with the Sohma family, and raised with them, and has lived at the house for sixty years, she couldn't change her life now. Akito says that no one can change every thing, and no one would be asking her to. Maybe all she needs is a helping hand. In the end, the maid simply walks away, but y'know, not everyone wants to change, or feels like they can, it's fine.

In the next chapter, it seems like it's the date with Tohru and Kyo that Uotani and Hanajima decided to tag along with. Kyo is thinking back to that moment when he tore off his bracelet, and how afterward, Tohru picked up all the beads. She put them in a little bowl in her room, next to the picture of her mom. In the moment, he could only watch as she did it, and in all honesty he wouldn't have minded if she had tossed them into a fire, but it also occurred to him that he might regret not having them. As he watched Tohru pick up the beads, he thought of it like she was "protecting both the me of now and the me of the future". Alternatively, and this one is a bit spoopy, she was gathering the memories of the people over the (many, many, many) years that had worn that bracelet. Either way, he realized that loving someone isn't just about loving the person as they currently are, but as they were, and as they will be.

That's what he thinks anyway.

I mentioned the date but I didn't talk about it at all. They went to a zoo, Uotani got excited about seeing elephants, and they went to a place with cats, and the cats did not care either way about Kyo. It was neat. By the end of the day, Tohru went off to use the bathroom, leaving Kyo with Hanajima and Uotani. This is when Hanajima asks Kyo if he's going to take Tohru away with him. She knew the time would come, eventually, when she, Uotani, and Tohru, would part ways, but it still hurts to think about. Uotani says that, despite how they might act, they do like Kyo, even if they think he's a bit of a dumbass (Uotani's words, btw), and it's because they both think he's a good guy. He just has to take care of Tohru, because she's like family to them, so he'd best not fuck up.

When Tohru comes back, Kyo says there's a place that he wants to take Tohru before going home. Can we go see what Yuki's up to first? Okay yeah we're going to do that now, we'll get back to Tohru and Kyo, don't worry.

So Yuki's at Kakeru's place, and it seems that they're talking about their college plans. Apparently Yuki's going to a college pretty far away from where they're currently at, but if they have subjects that he's interested in, it's fine. (I don't think it's ever said what exactly those subjects are. Like, what's his major? Do I really care? Eh. But it's still nice to know. Same thing for Kakeru, what is he doing?) When Yuki says he'll be living on his own, Kakeru asks if he can manage, he doesn't want to go for a visit and see an emaciated Yuki (living on like,, partially-cooked instant ramen noodles, and several scattered half-empty water bottles in a nest of laundry and schoolwork). Yuki is more optimistic, saying he's going to learn by doing (so that means those cups of instant ramen will be completely cooked). Apparently he told Machi about it and she's fine with it, though she would not be fine if she heard Kakeru saying that anyone is "climbing the stairway to adulthood" which honestly I wouldn't be fine with that either, that just sounds stupid.

Komaki asks how Yuki's going to get the money to live somewhere, and Yuki says that he considered asking his parents, but in the end he asked Ayame to help. Ayame was overjoyed to help, and went nuts to find a place that would suit Yuki's needs (Or be the foundation of his "empire", as he phrased it).

When asked about college, Kakeru said he'd go, not because he really wants to, but mostly because people keep telling him to. He was planning on taking over Komaki's family business (they run a laundry service), but he supposes he'll go anyway.

Later, Machi shows up with a package of meat, which Komaki was very excited about. Kakeru trotted out his "stairway to adulthood" line on Machi, and Machi punched him in the face along with the meat, she somehow balanced the meat on her fist to smash into Kakeru's face, much to Komaki's distress (over the meat, not Kakeru).

Anyway, let's go back to Tohru and Kyo.

Kyo took Tohru to the graveyard, and they're standing at the Honda's family tombstone(memorial? thingie? idk), and he says that after he graduates, he wants to leave, because he's spent his whole life up until pretty recently avoiding life, and not letting himself get involved in things. But now that he's a normal person, he wants to live in the world as a normal person, with Tohru, and because of all of this, he wants to go outside of this place that he's been his whole life. Tohru asks where he's planning to go, and he says that Kazuma knows someone with a dojo, but it's really far from where they presently live. He says he's planning on going there first, attending the dojo while he works, and then one day, he'll inherit Kazuma's dojo, using the experience from the first dojo. He hesitates on asking Tohru to break away from everything and everyone she's known to go off with him, but Tohru agrees, and says she wants to go with him, as soon as possible.

There is one thing that Tohru wants to tell Kyo, and it's that she's sure that her mom never hated him. Even if she did say that she would never forgive him, Tohru is confident that she didn't say it out of hate, she knows it. She will go along with Kyo, even if it hurts to leave everyone else, because it would hurt her more to be apart from him (🥺). To end this section, Kyo says that he'll keep the promise he made to Kyoko about Tohru, all that while back, and he'll keep it for his whole life.

(don't mind me i'm just screeching and wheezing simultaneously this shit is too much i'm gonna die)

Onto the next section, it actually has to do with Kyoko and Katsuya. Mostly Kyoko, and her last thoughts before she died. At first, it was weird. What's going on? She can't hear anything, she doesn't even really hurt. Why is it so dark? Oh crap, Tohru! She can't leave yet, she doesn't want to leave Tohru alone, she only just got into high school. She hopes that she loved her enough, and that Tohru knew that, though she wished she could have had more time to love Tohru. She finally understands, though, that leaving people behind and being left behind, they're both so hard. She hopes that someone can be there for Tohru, to protect her, stay with her as she cries.

She then sees Kyo, and recognizes him as the little orange-haired kiddo she used to talk to sometimes, and hopes that even if he forgets about her, that the next time Tohru gets lost, Kyoko wants him to find her, even just once. If he doesn't do that, she'll never forgive him(that's what she meant, out of what he heard, by the way). She hopes that he can somehow take her place, and protect Tohru, and let her be happy, let her be loved by lots of people. Even if she gets lost or makes a mistake, Kyoko wants Tohru to be proud of the life she lived.

Then she wakes up in a place. I don't really know what the place looks like, but I imagine it as a light blue shimmery place, and she can see someone walking towards her, from a distance. Katsuya. Suddenly she's young again, with her long hair and uniform, and she can be with the man she loves again. (🥺😭 dissolves in my tears)

There's a time skip, now Tohru, Yuki, Kyo, Hanajima, and Uotani have graduated, and it soon after shows Tohru and Kyo cleaning up their rooms, and reminiscing about when Tohru first arrived. A lot has changed in that time, it's incredible. Tohru thinks on how she will miss everyone, and all the things that have happened (in the span of a year, right? This all mostly happened within a year or two?). Kyo then says that everyone loves and appreciates her, and it's not like she'll never see any of them again, it's just the start of something new. Then Tohru's stomach grumbles and she gets embarrassed (oh no im hungry how embarrassing 😖)

We then jump to Yuki and Machi, and Yuki gives Machi a key to his new place, because he doesn't want her to think that he's cheating on her (why would she think that???) and then nearly fuckin yeets it out the window when she says that she's not worried that he'd do that. (So he does want her to have trust issues? Yuki, dude, you're confusing me on this) I think that Machi is a year behind Yuki, so she won't be starting college the same time as he will, but she promises that she'll follow after him and be back with him as soon as she can, which is very sweet.

This whole section is mostly jumping from one group of people to the next, so I think I'll try to summarize:

Ritsu and Kagura are talking, it seems that Ritsu is giving Kagura his old kimonos. He's cut his hair shorter, and he mentions how Shigure apparently has quit being an author, much to the relief of his editor, Mitsuru. Kagura asks if Ritsu is going to marry Mitsuru, which leaves him very flustered. Kagura still is hung up on Kyo, and says that she'll see Kyo and Tohru go just to see Kyo. She won't well wish them, because she knows that they'll be happy regardless.

Hiro and Kisa are walking past Shigure's old house, speculating on what is going to happen to it. Hiro says he thinks it will stay as it is for a while, which makes Kisa happy. She hopes that it can stay up and that a new household can live in it. She then starts crying, thinking about Kyo and Tohru leaving, but she says that she will smile when she sees them go, on the next day. Hiro tells her to not be upset over crying, that she can cry as much as she wants, because he knows how much Tohru means to Kisa.

Haru, Izusu, and Momiji are talking, and Haru mentions how Hatori said that eventually, Shigure's gonna get punched in the face, but he never did. Momiji says that it didn't happen because they are all more mature than Shigure. He says as an aside that he doesn't think it should be allowed that Kyo is "taking away" Tohru, because he's being selfish, and that he wants to pinch Kyo. Haru asks why he shouldn't do it tomorrow, and Momiji says that he can't do it in front of Tohru, but this whole thing has given Momiji a new sense of motivation, to find the best girlfriend in the world, and then he'll show her off to Kyo (not the best motivation to find a partner but okay). Izusu pops up by saying that she thinks Tohru should break up with Kyo. I'm not sure why though.

It's shown that Hanajima is working at Kazuma's place as a cook, which is something that Kyo was not pleased to find out, but despite his best efforts, The Guy Who is Also There at the Dojo Whose Name I Cannot Remember can't figure out how to get her to leave. Kazuma says that he will miss Kyo, but he won't worry about him. He's in good hands now.

Uotani is on the phone with Kureno, saying that she'll send his regards to Tohru and Kyo. She also says that she will miss Tohru, but she's also excited for her, for the both of them. She asks if the cherry blossoms are blooming yet, and that she'll have to make her way out to see them (and Kureno) soon.

Ayame and Mine are sending well wishes gifts in the form of big flouncy dresses, for Tohru (who I imagine would be flattered but I doubt she would wear them). Mine says that now that the time has come, she finds this sensation of "children leaving the nest" to be lonely, and Ayame agrees, and says that's exactly why adults put obnoxious amounts of love into cardboard boxes with instant ramen, socks, maid outfits, what have you. (They then say that they're going to send similarly flouncy dresses to Yuki, who I doubt will respond kindly)

Mayu and Hatori are on a date, and he offers to take her with him on a summer vacation to Okinawa. He says he's never been on a "decent" vacation, and that he wants to see the country. Mayu starts cracking up at the idea of Hatori in a swimsuit, then sobers quickly at the idea of herself in one, saying that her figure isn't ideal for a swimsuit (from the way she talked about herself I think she'd be all the rage in early 2000's Western fashion).

Akito says that she's not going to see Tohru and Kyo leave, saying that if she wants to visit Tohru, she'll go and see her, but I imagine it's also for the sake of everyone else that would be there.

Finally, we end with Yuki going to talk to Tohru. He tells her that he's happy about all that has happened, and that he's glad that he has gotten to this point. He says that he was weak, that he couldn't handle being around people, but he wanted to be loved, and be needed. All he ever did, he says, is want. But during that crucial time, Tohru appeared, and fulfilled that wish without even trying. He learned so much from her, and she gave him what he needed, and that's how he is able to be the person he presently is. And he also finally says that she was basically his mother, in a way. He wonders if she was like that to everyone, with how warm, welcome, and gentle she is to everyone she meets. He goes on to say that in this time, when everyone is parting ways, everyone is thinking of Tohru, wondering if she's happy, if she's crying, if she's doing well. Finally, he thanks her, and says that he's so glad that he got to meet her, and that she was there for him, and for all of them. (He also actually says her name, which he's never done, I don't think. It's always been "Honda-san", but never "Tohru", but now he's said it. There's really not an English version of that, as far as I'm aware, but from what I know, it is a pretty significant thing.)

There's a little bit of an epilogue, showing a child walking into a house, asking where Tohru and Kyo are. A woman replies saying, "That's Grandma and Grandpa to you!", but the child pouts and says that Grandma said she could call her by her name, and that they left her behind again on their walk. The woman tells her to not get in the way of their "lovey-dovey alone time", and there's a final establishing shot of Tohru and Kyo walking together, holding hands, with Kyoko's words: "Repeat the good, and the bad. Do it all, and pile on the years."

And that's the end!

I think I'm heartless, because I didn't cry at the end. I wanted to, but I didn't. Overall, I really liked this series! It was a lot of fun to read, a lot of shit goes down, it was a rollercoaster. Thinking back on how the story started, knowing some of the events that occurred before the story started, it all kinda leaves a bitter taste in my mouth (mainly the teasing that Kyo gets about him "training in the mountains", and knowing what was actually going on, it's kinda hard to laugh now 😬). One thing that I was kinda expecting the story to mention, but never did, was Izusu's mark on her back. It looks like some kinda of scar, but I never saw anything addressing it. Now that I think about it, it could have been from a number of things, but it was never said explicitly, which I think is weird. I think I'm gonna leave it here (I'm typing this last portion on my phone at 3:45am so it could be better).

#tohru honda #yuki sohma #kyo sohma #kagura sohma #akito sohma #kureno sohma #shigure sohma #hiro sohma #kisa sohma #izusu sohma #hatsuharu sohma #hatori sohma #momiji sohma #ritsu sohma #hanajima saki #uotani arisa #kyoko honda #katsuya honda #machi kuragi #ayame sohma #kazuma sohma #kakeru kuragi #fruits basket #furuba #fruits basket volume 23 #fruits basket vol 23

[fillingthescrapbook]

Rewriting The CW's Kung Fu, Part 9: Reflections and Moving Forward

And we have reached the end of our Kung Fu journey. If you haven't seen where we began, here's a handy guide to the previous posts:

Part 1: The Characters

Part 2: The Pilot

Part 3: The Mythology

Part 4: The Story Map

Part 5: Act I

Part 6: Act II

Part 7: Act III

Part 8: The Finale

Before I start with the lessons I learned and my other reflections, I want to thank @flailingbloo for all of her help and support in this endeavor. Without her to talk to and commiserate with, I would probably have gotten stuck in Act II forever and everything I've written would've been riddled with spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. So my eternal gratitude to flailingbloo. And now, we begin:

Lessons.

Going into this writing exercise, I already knew it was going to be hard. Writing stories is time-consuming, it's nerve-wracking, and it takes a lot of research...and patience. Writing, especially for television, is also not a solitary task. I mean, sure, the writing itself needs to be done alone--but everything that comes before, during, and after the writing needs input from so many people.

Although I have a lot (and I mean A LOT) of complaints about how The CW's Kung Fu was handled and written, I do have a lot of respect for the work that the writers put into their scripts. And I do appreciate all that they have done to have a show like this produced.

Doing this rewrite, I learned that it's really important to make the main character likeable. Like, every episode I broke down, I had to ask myself: is Nicky likeable here? Is she someone who viewers would want to root for? Like, for me she is, but only people who read what I wrote can say for sure. My perspective is now a bit skewered because I have bias.

Second, story maps are very helpful. There were times, especially during Part 6 (where I wrote breakdowns for Episodes 6 to 9) where I kept getting road-blocked by where I want the story to go. So I went back to the story map over and over again, to remind myself--where does the story itself need to go? How do I help the characters get to the point where they're ready for what needs to happen? (This is also where flailingbloo helped the most for me. Like, she really reminded me why I was doing this rewrite in the first place. Because I care about Nicky and the show. I wouldn't have funneled so much of my time and effort into this if I didn't.)

Another thing I learned, or rather re-learned, is the art of letting go. I created the character of Stanley to recur throughout the series as a reminder of who Nicky was and who she is becoming. And then I finished writing the first act without even mentioning him. By the second act, I was ready to use him finally--but, after multiple false starts, I realized Stanley was one of the reasons why I was having a hard time pushing Nicky's story forward. Because I kept trying to go back to the past. So I decided in the writing of the second act to shelve Stanley completely, only to find him popping up in the second to last episode in a, at least I hope, more organic way.

The last thing I learned in this exercise was that, whenever a new character needs to come in, I have to look at my existing characters first to see if any one of them can fulfill the role I needed for the story. Like, creating new villains for Nicky was fun, sure--but, at the same time, I realized that there were already existing villains that could recur. Like the Triad, who played villains in two more episodes after the pilot; and Henry's martial arts class at the community center became the source of two existing storylines from the actual show.

Reflections.

Do I think what my rewrite is better than the show? To me, yes. But, again, I am very biased. That said, I am proud of how I utilized the characters that the show created and didn't really give much importance to. Dennis, when he was introduced, felt like a rich character that could provide a very different point-of-view from the Shen siblings--but he was mostly relegated to being eye-candy. And I thought I gave him more meat by making him more involved in Althea's sexual harassment storyline, while also involving him in Nicky's stories.

That said, I also realize that I wasn't able to play up Nicky and Evan's past relationship as I was writing the episodic breakdowns. I was able to give them a lot of opportunities to explore their chemistry together, as I did with Nicky and Henry, but I kind of dropped the ball as a writer on guiding those planted moments into something more significant. Granted, I only wrote breakdowns and not actual scripts. Maybe I could've explored the romance angle more with a little sprinkle of direction and dialogue.

As I went deeper into the rewrite, I do see how easy it is to fall in love with characters as you write them. It's very easy to trap yourself into wanting villains to be more well-rounded. I keep having to remind myself that I don't have to redeem everyone. Just Nicky. Which became harder and harder as I went further and further into the story.

Another thing that became difficult as I went on? Keeping the mythology from just bursting open. That's how Henry, as I wrote him, evolved into becoming the son of a guardian--just so there's a reason for him to be so invested in Nicky's quest, while also having someone who can explain things to our main character. I'm actually really proud of that evolution.

All that said, I also have to recognize that I rewrote the show with the benefit of hindsight and the lack of budget constraints. In the real show, there's a group of writers who each have their own ideas of what the show should be. (This is where a head writer--not a show runner--would come in handy, so they could reel in the story to what needs to be told.) With more writers comes more chances for inconsistencies to happen. (And this is where a script supervisor, or a writing assistant, could come in handy.) And then there's production notes and budget. Not to mention, you know, the whole pandemic that's still happening. I didn't have to think about those things while doing this rewrite.

So, again, I want to give the writers kudos to actually producing scripts. I hope they haven't lost their minds--or their will to write--just because there are people like me who nitpick at everything. That's what people who love things do. We nitpick because we care.

Moving forward.

I do plan to stick with the real show for Season 2. I hope it's planned better. I hope they get researchers (plural!) and a writing assistant to help in the writing room. I hope the writers would sit down with the cast to discuss and develop the characters more. And I really hope they hire a better fight choreographer and fight director for the second season. (Like, rehire the people who choreographed and filmed the flashback scene in... Episode 11? The one with Nicky's maternal grandmother and Pei-Ling's own mother?)

I hope that the Nicky-Henry relationship gets explored realistically, and if a potential new love interest is ordered, they get introduced in a way that isn't antagonistic. Make them more well-rounded characters too, please. Make us want to root for their success. And while I think Nicky doesn't have an iota of chemistry with Evan, I do like Evan himself as a character. So I hope they get him more involved in future storylines--as an outsider looking in, sure, but also as an honorary member of the Shen family.

With regards to the Shen family, I do hope that we get to explore their relationships and dreams more before the show drops the reveal about Mei-Xue's daughter. I want Althea to have a cohesive storyline that doesn't pause for no reason. I want Ryan to explore being Asian AND gay as a first-generation Asian-American. And give the Shen siblings some recurring friends. They don't have to be semi-regulars (unless there's a story that can be explored) but let's not keep the Shens in a bubble. It was weird in the first season. Especially for Althea whose friends only showed up for her bachelorette party and never again. Not even when she was panicking about wedding preparations, which, considering how rich Dennis's parents were? They wouldn't let Althea be in charge of anything. They would hire a Chinese wedding coordinator. And an expensive and hard-to-book one at that. They donated an entire hospital wing, for crying out loud.

I want Jin to have an actual character, and not just be the supportive dad who loves his kids very much (admittedly my own rewrite also made this same mistake). And I want Mei-Li to be consistent as a character. Like, no more surprise twists about being the descendant of a legendary warrior without proper foreshadowing and plot-planting please.

Dennis shouldn't just be eye-candy. The same applies to Kerwin. Sure, I get that shirtless men are a must in a CW series, but please give their characters some meat too. Dennis's nerd-side was never showcased in the show, and Kerwin had that poor little rich boy background that didn't get explored either. Because the show was too busy keeping him and Zhi-Lan tearing each others' clothes off--when they're not tearing other people down.

Also, don't drop the ball on the tease that Bian-Ge is now everywhere. If I understood correctly, Bian-Ge is Kung Fu's version of Qi. If yes, then I hope they treat it respectfully as a force of nature--and not just the source of magic. The flowers from Bian-Ge itself can be magical, sure, I have no problem with a fictional flower being a McGuffin.

Finally, I hope the show also explores other Asian communities and cultures. Like, Kung Fu is great--but imagine if Nicky had to face someone who is versed in Silat Melayu? Or someone who uses Arnis? Someone who practices Kalaripayattu or Lathi Khela? Or Kuntao? Imagine Nicky having to use Wing Chun against someone who uses Karate or Krav-Maga? Asia is a big continent and there are so many different types of martial arts found from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. Kung-Fu is an umbrella term, so it'll be great to see the different styles found under it.

... This went long again. Sorry about that. Funny thing is, when I started this whole rewriting plan? I thought it would take three posts, tops. And look at us now. Nine posts deep, and it seems I still haven't run out of things to say. So I'm cutting myself off before I completely wear out my welcome.

But if you've read all my Kung Fu posts, please do reach out. Let's discuss the show and what it can do to produce a better second season.

#Kung Fu CW #tv talk #my words

[fumbling-fanfics]

Imagine having a second child with Viktor Drago...

So I wrote this because @lady-olive-oil was insistant on killing people off, lol. Love you Liv!

I also kind of forgot I wrote this so there was more I wanted to write but I forgot those parts.

**********************************************

You weren't meant to give birth so early. But here you were sitting in a nice relaxing bath, Lily on the bathroom floor drawing more pictures for Viktor while you soaked. If you were honest the contractions had started early in the morning, but they varied between 4hrs and 3 minutes apart. So you had ignored them. But now it was 2 in the afternoon you were pretty sure you were having contractions - the proper ones.

"Lily baby, can you pass mommy here phone please" her little head popped up beside the bath with a big smile. "Are you going to ring daddy? Can I talk to him?" she asked as she disappeared out of the bathroom.

Viktor should have been the one you were going to call but he wasn't.

"I'm going to call Aunt Jenny" you smile kissing her forehead in thanks letting her get back to her drawing. "I'll make Aunt Jenny a picture too" she states, paper rustling about. You pressed the call button next to Jenny's picture (a picture of her and lily at the beach) and waited for her to answer.

"Thank god you called. I'm so tired, I'm literally falling asleep at my desk… What's new?" she sang.

"Code Red" you whispered down the phone.

"Huh?" you can hear the frowns of confusion on Jenny's face. "Oh, Lily, I can go get her from preschool" you could here her moving around more on her end.

"No, Lily's here with me-"

"Hi Aunt Jenny!" Lily called from the floor, voice echoing off the bathroom tiles.

"Oh" Jenny was frowning again.

"The other code red, the new one. The second one" you watched Lily for a reaction but she was absorbed back into her drawing.

"Shit" Jenny shouted.

"Shit, shit, shit! SHIT! Are you sure? It's not those fake ones, those pickle hiccup contraction things" she panicked, you could hear things being knocked around and a draw open and then slam closed.

"You mean Braxton Hicks, and no"

"You're not due for like another 2 months, I'm looking at my calendar. It says on my calender" you could hear her voice go up an octave in panic. You were pretty sure she was also poking the calender too.

Jenny was down as your second birthing partner, after Viktor of course. But since Viktor was away for a fight that was still wasn't due for another 6 weeks, Jenny had happily (and in a drunken state) assured Viktor she'd be your number two should anything happen. But it would be fine because nothing would happen because you still had two months to go.

"I know, I know...Can you maybe come anyway, and maybe it'll be fine by the time you get here"

"Of course, I'm leaving now" she hung up quickly.

"Will Auntie Jenny bring me jellies" Lily asked, pencils poised in her hand.

"Maybe" you laugh, glad she oblivious to what's happening.

By the time Jenny arrived you were out of the bath and sitting in the living room on your yoga ball wondering if you should call Viktor or not.

He'd flown back to the states to fight again, and really concentrate on getting ready as this opponent was almost equal in size to Viktor. You knew if you called him he'd freak out and even fly back (or walk if he had to).

"(Y/n)!!!" Jenny practically screamed, slamming the door closed. You could hear her but not see her. Lily sprinted off to find her Aunt, and reappeared on Jenny's hip.

"Are they for real?" she asked looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I think so, they've just got worse"

"Auntie bought me jellies!" Lily waved the box and then wriggled out of Jenny's arms and ran off. At least she was occupied.

****

“Is it okay to make a call?" you asked in the back of the ambulance. The female paramedic nodded as she carried on writing things down.

Jenny was following in her car with Lily and your hospital bags.

You pressed the call button and held the phone against your ear. There was a series of tial tones, including the international one.

"Hello" it was a quick, short answer.

"Ivan, it's y/n" slight relief washed over you hearing his voice.

"Hello. You want to speak to Viktor?"

"No, no, no, no, no" there were too many no's for Ivan's liking - he felt worried but the fact you weren't crying and he could understand you made him worry a tiny bit less.

Ivan said something in Russian but you couldn't hear, it was muffled, like he had his hand over the mouthpiece. There was the sound of a metal door slamming closed and then silence.

"What's wrong?"

"The baby, its early" there was a long pause from both of you - you both didn't know what to say.

"I'll get Viktor"

"No don't...I mean I know he needs to know, but not right now. You know he'll get on the first plane back, won't think twice about the fight. I can't let him do that." Ivan said nothing but also agreed. But he also wanted to tell his son. Congratulate him, tell everyone in the training room - he had another grandchild.

"I'll let him know it was all my idea not to tell him, just try and act like everything's normal. Please?“

“Are you okay? Are you at the hospital?" the concern in Ivan's voice broke you and you started to cry.

"I'm fine. I'm on my way in an ambulance"

"Are you on your own?" he sound panicked. "Where's Lily?"

"She's following in a car with Jenny" Ivan remembered Jenny from when she came to the beach that day. Ivan was struck by how caring Jenny was with Lily - making sure she ate and drank enough while still having fun.

"She must call me" you nodded even tho Ivan couldn't see you.

"Here" the paramedic handed you a tissue to dry your eyes. "Don't worry, everything's gonna be okay"

***

Olivia May Drago, born 2 months early but otherwise healthy.

Jenny had called Ivan to let him know everything was okay - you were okay, Lily was okay (but probably had new found profession as some sort of Antinal Nurse specialising in premature babies) and that Viktor's new baby girl was okay too. It was only when Jenny came back into the room, an hour later did you realise she had been talking to Ivan for an hour. "He's so funny, Ivan" she said with a smile on her face. You raised a quizzical eyebrow at her as she peered into the neonatal cot to look at Olivia. "Did you just say Ivan's funny?“ you asked, maybe the drugs were making you hear things." Yeah, the jokes he cracks. But otherwise he says he's glad everyone's okay. I said I'll call him tomorrow"

"You should go, it's late" Lily had crashed out on the bed in the room reserved for partners to sleep on.

"No way, do you know how hard it was to get this parental leave. HR officially hate me, so I'm going to use every moment to stare at this beautiful girl" she cooed, picking up Olivia from her cot.

Lily had been born 4 weeks early, so Jenny had fought tooth and nail to have the right to use shared parental leave to help you look after Lily and the baby assuming Olivia would be born early too, despite not actually being a parent to either. She had initially demanded full maternity leave, but had settled for 3 and a half weeks "shared parental" leave. "That's what they get for not having a watertight policy" she'd smugly smiled sipping non alcoholic wine with you when she told you when you met her for lunch just after Viktor left to prepare for the fight.

You were trying not to cry but the harder you did, the quicker your eyes filled up with tears. So when you blinked they came streaming down your face. "Hey, don't you start crying because I'm gonna start crying again" Jenny moved to perch on the edge of your bed still holding Olivia.

"I know you feel bad, but don't. Everything is okay, you're okay, baby's okay. Lily's okay. I'm okay" the last part made you laugh and you brushed the tears away.

"But we need to make sure Viktor's okay, and that means not telling him just yet because we app know what will happen. I'll just keep taking a million photos and videos so he has stuff to watch. Here, hold her" Jenny passed you Olivia and grabbed her phone to take pictures.

"Do I look a mess?" you asked, aware that not only had you given birth 6 hours ago but you had also cried one too many times. "Actually, you look so good. Which makes me slightly hate you" she placed her phone down and then made grabbing hands at Olivia. "My ovaries hurt when I don't hold her" she blushed.

***

You where now sat in the hotel suite that had been reserved for Viktor. Lily was laying on the floor - half on top of the fluffy rug, half off - drawing more pictures for Viktor. You were sure she was on over 100 at this point, but it kept her occupied, you enjoyed listening to her stories behind them and writing them on the back of the picture for Viktor to read later.

She was currently drawing the picture of him winning his current fight - the one that was meant to start in 45 minutes.

You were sat on the overly large sofa breastfeeding Olivia, after having to shout at Buddy Marcella and the entourage he brought for you to leave. He'd brought a nanny with him - just in case you wanted to leave Lily and Olivia to go watch the fight. He was driving you crazy more than usual.

You didn't need help, you just needed space and for not a single soul to mention to Viktor that he had an earlier than expected baby girl he'd never seen. You'd also spoken to Ivan at length who had been extra hard and stubborn on your behalf making sure everything and everyone would be perfect.

***

Just as the fight started Olivia woke up with a cry. You half didn't mind as she'd been asleep for a long time, as if she was waiting for the perfect moment to announce her presence in the world. She was very quiet for a newborn.

You noticed that Viktor seemed to be fighting differently, quicker, even harder, like he just wanted it to be over.

But that wasn't surprising. When Viktor had agreed to the fight, there were a few additional requirements that Buddy had added in. Endorsements and a whole bunch of extra PR stuff, including promo stuff with Adonis Creed.

"Hey!" you called to Buddy. He turned around with that stupid grin on his face. "Just remembered my husband's a person and not just your cash cow" he'd then proceeded to try and butter you up but it didn't work.

***

As the ring filled with people from either team and the official referee to call the match you spotted Buddy climbing into the ring. You held your breath as you watched him whisper something to Viktor. Ivan appeared and pushed Buddy away, but you could see Viktor was getting impatient and just wanted the result said. You watched Ivan place his hands on Viktor's shoulders and he calmed down a little. The referee appeared and the camera angle zoomed back showing Viktor and his opponent standing either side of the referee.

You didn't let your breathe go until the referee held up Viktor's arms and the crowd cheered. Lily jumped up dancing around with her picture in her hand. "Told you daddy won" she wiggled her hips side to side and threw the picture in the air along with her crayons.

***

Now you felt sick. Sheer panic and you tried to organise your thoughts and your words to explain to Viktor that you were sorry for not telling him that Olivia had come early, that you cried after every phone call with him because you wanted to just tell him. But you were glad that you didn't, that there were no distractions.

"Lily, come here please" you call, her silence not always a good thing. She skips from the bedroom, her face covered in melted chocolate. Then she stop rigid, eyes wide. "Daddy!“ she screams, sprinting past you. You turn, this isn't how you wanted him to find out. "Grandpa!“ Lily screeches, almost another octave higher. She doges Viktor and throws herself at Ivan.

Viktor doesn't seem to mind that Lily skipped him. He's staring at you or Olivia, or both of you as you rock Olivia in your arms. She's quiet now, as if nothing happened. He drops his bag and slowly walks closer to you. When he reaches you, he pulls you against him, his lips rest on forehead which makes you cry.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there, I'm sorry you had to do this on your own" Viktor tenderly hugs you, careful not to squash Olivia.

You pull away to wipe your face with one hand, surprised at how relaxed Viktor is. "My dad told me. I made him when I saw he had a lot of calls from Jenny, I thought something was wrong" you looked to Ivan, but he was busy cleaning the chocolate from Lily's face.

***

Everything was calmer. Everything was fine. Viktor sat holding Olivia, with Lily on his lap. They talk in hushed tones over a sleeping Olivia. Both falling quiet every so often to stare at the peaceful baby.

Viktor was stunned by how beautiful his second baby girl was. Her tiny nose, her tiny mouth, her ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes. Lily's mind was slightly blown by Viktor telling her she was once this small, even he was too.

Together they couldn’t stop looking at Olivia. Every now and then Lily gently kissed her sister - telling Viktor all the things she planned to teach her little sister - coloring within the lines, eating jellies that Aunt Jenny brings etc, eating all the chocolate you could find in a hotel suite.

By the time Ivan got back with food for everyone, it was his turn to fuss over his new grandchild. "World's happiest grandfather" Ivan announced taking Olivia from Viktor. He sat down on the couch with Olivia while you pulled out your phone to show Viktor the million photos you'd taken while he was away.

**********************************************

Tags: @ellixthea @lovelymari4 @chaneajoyyy

@honeychicana @beaminglife @amelatonin @themyscxiras @crushed-pink-petals @jojolu @endless00paradise @est1887 @cajunpeach @melinda-january @profoundlynerdywolf @deathonyourtongue @designerwriterchic @itsbqueenthings @alicesfracturedmirror

#viktor drago x black reader #viktor drago fanfic #viktor imagine #viktor drago x reader #viktor drago fic #viktor drago

[simplytinu]

I had one of those "in severe pain but my mind's still ticking" ideas while I was in the shower. I had and still have terrible menstrual cramps that leave me completely distorted and in tears every single month.

It's a wonder I got any sleep, I still woke thrice at different times at night because of the pain but I made to this morning, with my hair still on my head and my sanity in check. Yay! 😅

One day, I'll probably talk about this. There's gotta be a name for the extremity of the pain because it feels unnatural but oh well, some other time.

Now, let's talk about my announcement. Whilst in the shower last night, I was thinking about my YouTube channel and ideas for videos because I haven't uploaded any in a while and I wanted to make some changes.

I recently unveiled my book and the wait-list for it. I made a whole long cool post on it. Check it out later on my TL.

So transmitting that to YouTube, I decided I should a series and talking about my writing process.

I'm writing a business book so I'm pretty much relying on my brain, experience and research so it can be accurate.

I figured it'd be nice to take you with me on the writing process since I'm still writing it, the struggles I had, tears and everything in between as series of videos but there's really no point doing all this if nobody wants to see it.

That's why I'm tabling it here. If you'd like to see my series, please just drop a comment and be sure to subscribe to my channel so you don't miss it.

I'll start it maybe next week if I feel any better by then. It'll be sorcery to try and shoot anything in this state. I'll just end up at the hospital. 😂.

Oh and I've enclosed a picture of my book and the link to the post I made about it. If you'd also like to join the wait-list. It's down there too.

Mark reduces the reach of posts that have links in the caption that's why I always put them in the comments section. The last thing I need is for nobody to see what I'm writing. Heh.

Okay, that'll be all for now. Off to go pop pills, drink herbal teas and whatever else I can find to stop this pain from driving me nuts.

#writing #author #writing is hard #but we’re getting there #waitlist #are so good #please join #thank you #i love you #my first book #yes #big deal #business books #ain’t easy to write #but we did it