#soooo after going back and forth for ages it feels good to finally be back in some capacity....missed you all ❤️❤️❤️

[mysicklove]

𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐄

DAY 10: SOMINOPHILIA

With: Levi Ackerman

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: gn! reader, sub! levi, nightmares + insomnia mentioned, oral (m! receiving), handjob in dreams, implied age gap, set in around season 2 timeline? im kinda forgetting which season erwin was in... kissing..lots of kissing, reader being puppy coded and levi is sick in love

A/N: sorry this is late!!!! i hope this also isnt too confusing considering it switches back and forth between his dream and irl. idk. also title is named after a song by The Mamas and The Papas that i LOVEEEE

Levi Ackerman finds himself plagued with nightmares. It was always like that though, since he could remember at least. Three to four nights a week he awakes in the middle of night dripping with sweat with his heart nearly beating out of his chest. He has grown used to the lack of sleep by now, it barely bugs him anymore.

That is, until he found someone to share his bed with. 

You were his light, as dramatic and sappy as it sounds, and something he will never admit out loud. But it was true, finally in this dim world he finds himself in, you came crashing in, brighter than the sun. He had fallen for you in record time, and you, drawn to his stoic and feisty aura, came tumbling down after him.

It's been a year now since you've gotten together, and Levi swears the nightmares are getting less frequent. 

Well, at least in the nights where you lay beside him. The nights where you hold him, and he has easier access to your heartbeat. The steady rhythm of your chest rising and falling. Alive.

He doesn't go into too much depth about the nightmares, but you know the general scene of them, usually relating back to his comrades deaths. He has mentioned that the recent ones involve you, and it makes your heart crumble for your beloved each time his voice cracks through the explanation. You don’t press too much on the matter – the nights he wakes up in a cold sweat, you are there to ease him back to sleep, reassuring that you and he are safe. He almost gets a full night of sleep with you around.

But alas, you aren’t all sunshine and rainbows, and neither is he. Nope, you happen to be one of the most erotic people have ever met (though, he hasn’t met many). A sick brat is what he calls you, or sometimes a disgusting pervert, if he’s feeling extra grumpy. The nicknames fly past your head, as you pepper his face with kisses. It was all in good spirit, is what you remind yourself at least. 

“Soooo, Hange recommended–”

“No.”

You pout at the man, pulling away from his chest to glare at him. “You didnt even let me finish my sentence.”

His cold face doesnt let up, even if his eyes hold a playful light to them. “I am smart enough to recognize that anything having to do with Hange is a bad idea.”

You playfully hit his chest, and the man raises his eyebrows at you. A smile pulls at your lips, and Levi cant help but stare whimsically at you. It was unfair, really. “Fine, get on with it, brat.”

“How would you feel if I woke you up with a blow job?” His reaction is immediate, first shock, and then as a couple seconds go by he seems to be much more inclined to agree, but then finally settles on an scowl.

“Why were you talking to Hange about these things?”

You cock your head to the side, tapping on your chin. “Well, I mentioned that your nightmares have started again, and they told me that oral sex helps stop them. Something neurologically with your dick and brain? I don't know.”

He stares at you for a couple of seconds, bewildered at your explanation. But, he realizes quickly what is up, and he immediately pinches the bridge of his nose with a long sigh. “They are fucking with you, idiot. Just trying to get me laid. Hange has always been like that.”

Your face falls at the words, and Levi swears you managed to master the kicked puppy look. He grabs your hands and pulls you back onto his chest, rolling his eyes when you hum into his skin. The warmth brought him comfort, and he finds himself more at peace. “I mean…It won't help with the nightmares, but who would turn down waking up to a blowjob?” Levi mumbles into your hair, while rubbing his hands up and down your arms.

You twist to look up at him, the familiar grin back on your face. “Yeah?”

He scoffs at you, an embaressed blush coating his cheeks. “Just dont wake me up early, alright. Just gonna piss me off.”

He swears he can see you wagging a tail. “Of course, Captain!”

Two weeks have gone by, and Levi has not woken up to your face anywhere near his dick. He has awoke to kisses along his cheeks, and neck, but that wasnt new, you were always disgustingly affectionate in your half awake state. He holds a content (half) smile for about ten seconds as he shuts the door of your room, only for it to drop when he sees Hange.

He wasnt the one to complain though, maybe you were just teasing him. You always did like to press his buttons. He wasn't going to give you the satisfaction of knowing he wants it. So, the dark haired man continues on, nightmares and all, through the weeks.

By the time a month came passing by, he knows that you forgot all about your stupid little promise – your stupid naive words that only worked to piss him off. He glared at you from across the halls for a whole week – never daring to actually show you real signs that he was upset. But after you accidentally caught him frowning at you from across the training grounds, he was immediately dragged back your shared rooms, and fucked lovingly, as you apolgized for everything you could think of that would piss the man off.

You didnt mention the blowjob, but Levi was content with the disheveled hair, and the hickeys and bite marks littering his body, so he forgives you. 

He forgets about the blowjob after two months. You were more horny than usual, so the two of you were at it multiple times a week. He would end up too exhausted to hold any real dreams, including his nightmares.

Levi was okay with it.

9 am. Levi, for the first time ever, was oversleeping. Of course when you woke up at 8 am, on your day off from training, and found your lover by your side, you couldnt help but be shocked. He was usually gone by 5 am to get to training. 

But you heard him woke up multiple times in the middle of the night. The nightmares were back. His shaky hands wrapped around you, and he panted into your neck, trembling like you've never seen before. You don't know what triggered it, but Levi seemed to have a really bad night. 

He deserves to sleep in. So, at fifteen past 8, you scamper to Erwins office and beg the commander for Levi to have a day off. He always did have a soft spot for you. For one, you brought happiness to humanities strongest, and also because his friend silently threatened him death if he was to mistreat you. Erwin agreed without much hesitation. 

You crawl into bed next to your lover, and begin to trace his content face. At least the nightmares were gone for the night.

Then, the realization hits you. This was the perfect time for you to finally do as promised.

You waited months because you wanted Levi to forget about your words. Of course, you assumed he forgot them after a couple of days, paying no attention to your promise, but you waited it out just in case. 

And now, the both of you dont have any plans today. A once in a lifetime experience, it has got to be.

So with one more glance at your lover, you kiss his cheek, hold back a small giggle, and slowly remove the blanket from his lap. Then, you slide yourself down on the bed, and carefully manevuer yourself in between his legs. He doesnt sleep with much attire, growing hot in the night. Plus with the addition of the cold sweat he often finds himself in, he learns that going next to bare was easier. 

You pull down his boxers, and are immediately exposed to a dark patch of hair. It's trimmed properly, but he prefers to have a little hair down their over being completely shaven. Something on the lines of protecting his dick from germs or whatnot. You dont listen to the details, only thinking about how hot it is.

The boxers make it past his thighs, and you glance back up at the man. He doesn't even seem to flinch when the cool air comes into contact with his skin. He snoozes peacefully into the pillow, his dark hair covering his eyes. 

His dick lays limp against his leg, and you pick it up slowly, careful to not wake him up. You run your fingers over it a couple of times, and then, holding the back of it with your fingers to support it, you run your tongue from bottom to top of the length. 

Levi doesn't move. You take that as a sigh to continue. 

Another stripe of the tongue, and then two more, and nothing happens. You grow bolder by the moment. You place his still soft cock into your mouth, and this time you do hear a reaction. Its a quiet sigh, but it was something. His eyes still remain shut.

Slowly, you begin to suckle on the tip, finding it easier to fit it in your mouth while soft. Your tongue roams the shaft, and you press sloppy, wet kisses to his veins. Blood rushes to his cock unconsciously, and Levi still has not stirred, even with his cock now hard. You chuckle with amusement, but dont stop your movements, now dragging your hands along his thighs to appreciate his body.

Levi was having a good dream. It wasnt like the past couple of nightmares, no, this one seemed to have a light hue. It was just the two of you, laying with your backs against grass. A open field, far away from everyone, and not a threat in sight. Titans were gone.

A peaceful world for the two of you. A world Levi craved. 

His hands trace your face, and he stares at you, admiring every crease and divot of your skin. You slide your way over toward him, leaning forward to kiss him. “I love you.”

He hums, eyes falling shut, as he wraps his arms around your body. “Yeah, yeah. Love ya too, brat.”

You giggle at him, and suddenly the smile on your face shifts. It turns soft, the tips of your mouth curling up in an almost feline way, while you eyes become hooded. He watches you lean forward and press your lips to his. The man doesnt stop you, gently kissing you back while your tongue slips into his mouth. Levi gulps when your hands trace down to his pants, and he quickly looks around the meadow, afraid to discover an unwelcomed guest. Of course there was nobody, it was a dream, not a nightmare. Your hand slips into his pants, and Levi’s back arches in the grass.

He twitches in his sleep and you smile fondly at the man. The tip of his cock rest against your cheek, as you admire him for a second too long, only to be rewarded with jolt of his hips from the source unknown, sending it slapping across your face. You hold back a laugh, and then grab at it again, mumbling out a, “Even a brat in your sleep, huh Captain?” 

You lean forward and wrap your lips around him again.

“D-Don't stop!” Levi groans out, hands clutching at your shirt while he squeezes his eyes shut. It doesn't stop the sun from getting past his eyelids, so he moves closer to you to hopefully block it out. You press your lips to his neck, nibbling at the space just beneath his ears.

“Would never,” You purr, and the man glances at your hand. His pants are pulled down completely now, and your pace was rutheless in its up and down motions. It sends him shivering, and covering his face with the back of his arm. He breathes through clenched teeth, and tries his best not to let out a whimper. The man hears your giggle, and before he could stop himself, the whine slips out.

The first noise of the morning was a low whimper. Not much, but definitely there, and unbelievably cute. You grip at his hips and try to take him deeper, but his hips thrusts back into your mouth with another paired whine. Your eyes widen, and you gag out at the unexpected movement, having to pull away to catch your breath. His dark hair whips back and forth, and he continues to make low mewling noises. “Huh, and you call me the pervert. What are you dreaming about, pretty?”

Levi moans into your mouth, wrapping his arms around your neck. His hips buck up into your hands, and you playfully bite his lip, earning a dramatic grunt in complaint. He grips your hair and pulls you back to his lips before you try and let out another teasing remark. Precum leaks onto your hand, and he swears that it provides more of the makeshift lube then usual. Your hand feels better than normal, strangely damp, and so warm. Did handjobs always feel this good?

He can feel his high approaching and his breaths come out quicker. “Gonna..cum. Fuck!”

You detach yourself from his lips. “No, no, no! Not yet!” You tease, voice light and almost giggly. It wasn't the first time you denied him of his release, but it was rare. You always di did pamper him. 

The man scowls at you, borderline on the cusp of baring his teeth. “Why?” He demands, short and simple, but shows exactly how peeved he is. Levi is more than surprised to feel that you didn't squeeze his cock in warning. No, still the warm, tight feeling, that does not make any sense to him.

“Can you do something for me first?”

A demand from you? Unheard of. “Get on with it, I-Im close”

Your hand movements become louder and louder, and it shouldn't sound like that. It's so lewd, and the squelching noise are never that loud. 

You press you lips to his ear, and a shiver runs down his spine at your breath, which is strangely cooler than usual. “Wake up, Captain.”

His eyes snap open immediately and he pants into the dark room. Levi hears it first, before he feels it. A loud slurping sort of noise, and the man feels his cock trapped between something warm, wet. 

A throat. Not a hand. 

He is quick to manevour himself to hold his weight on his elbows, and glances down at you, breaths coming out shallow and quick. You smile when you catch his eye, and for a second you pull away from him. You pepper his length down with kisses. “Well, well, good morning, sleepy head,” You mumble, letting another swipe of your tongue graze his thick blue vein. Then, with little hesitation, you dive back onto his cock, taking it as far as you can into your mouth.

“What are you–Fuck!” His legs instinctually bend outward, and his back arches. His head was still foggy in his half sleepen state. Was that all a dream? Was this real? He grips onto your hair, and does his best not to force you deeper onto his cock.

Levi could feel his orgasm approaching and rapidly, same as the dream. But this time it was real, and by god did it feel that way. His hips buck into your mouth and he lets out loud moans, tucking his face into the pillow to try and muffle them. 

He tries to ask for permission again to cum again, hoping that this time real you wouldnt lead him on. It comes out more as a command, but you just roll your eyes with a smile, the giggle in the back of your throat sending him spiral. 

“Cumming. Oh god. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He chants, and your eyes widen in shock, but you don't pull away from his cock. He was never the one to be polite in bed, the little brat was always barking commands and half hearted complaints. He must be really enjoying this treat if he was to thank you.

You dont have time to dwell on it much, because he forces your head lower onto his cock and cums into your mouth. You wince at the taste, but bear no mind to it as you watch your lover unravel. His back still continues to arch (which you will never get over) while his eyes are shut. The noises he lets out are soft, more of a mewl and a groan, but adorable nonetheless. His whole body trembles and his legs lay out wide, shaking under the force of the orgasm.

You pull away when he is done, and wipe your lips with the back of your hand. “Taste perfect as usual. Always so good on your diet!”

He rolls his eye at you, but it doesn't hold much bite considering that the man seemed to be basking in the post orgasm glow. “You are gross. I know that shit tastes bad.”

“Nope! Anything that the Captian makes is amazing”

He throws a pillow at your face, and you pout at him, a dramatic whine slipping past your lips. “Don't call me that, I am not even your Captain anymore, brat. And stop pouting!” He demands, pulling up his boxers before letting out a big stretch.

“Why are you so mean to me?” You complain, crawling forward to lay on his chest. “After I gave you head too!”

The frown does not drop from his face, but he does trace his fingers along your face. A silent token of affection that you purr into. “Took ya long enough. Thought you forgot about it.”

You fake hurt, taking in a dramatic breath. “Of course not! I would never lie to you.” The words are light, and holds a smile in them. “And hey, dont you think you are a little spoiled? Complaining that you got a blowjob too late.”

Levi doesnt even seem to react, his facial expression remaining neutral, and his words flat. “No ‘m not. Said thank you and everything.”

To this, you do nod, practically vibrating with affection to give. It was too hard to really be upset with him. “Super polite of you! I was so impressed!”

This does make him roll his eyes. “You really think low of me, huh?”

You poke at his cheek with a smile plastered on your face. “Aww cmon dont be dramatic again. You know I dont. Oh! Also, did it help with the nightmares?” You tease, knowing exactly what type of dream he really was having. “You sounded very….Scared in your dream.”

He seems to flush red, but alas, Levi was never the one to be on the losing foot. “....Yes. Seems like you are going to have to do this for me everyday. To stop the nightmares.”

You burst out laughing, and fail to see the small grin that creeps up the dark haired man's face.

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#mello.writes #Barkforme! #Kinktober 2023 #dom! reader #dom reader #sub! levi #sub levi #sub levi ackerman #sub! levi ackerman #levi ackerman smut #levi smut #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman x reader smut #aot smut #aot x reader #sub aot #sub! aot

[short-honey-badger]

Beautiful Cruel World

Soooo. JJK has got me in my feels. And after some going back and forth with @goth-mami-writer, this angst filled minific was born. Enjoy!

Spoilers! Proceed with Caution!

Summary: Nanami sees more than just the beach during his final moments

Every step is pain. The air against his melted skin stings, making the exposed muscles throb in time with his heart beat. Nanami Kento focuses on putting one step in front of the other. He needs to keep going. Needs to make sure the others survive. But he is so tired. His entire body aches, but the lack of vision from his left eye is the worst. 

Kento feels off balance, and he breathes deep to focus on his footing. He can't fall now. Not when he still breathes. 

“Malaysia,” he rumbles, and fuck. Even that hurts, but he pushes on, mind elsewhere instead of the cold steel walls of the train station. A beach, with blue water and white sand. Horribly reminiscent of the Domain he'd just escaped from. Nanami thinks morbidly. 

His ears pick up the disgusting sounds of Curses and transfiguration humans. He can't bring himself to feel anything for the tortured souls, not now. Not when all he can feel is agony. He focuses back on white sand and crashing waves. 

Nanami Kento’s body moves on instinct, fighting his way through the hoard of disfigured bodies that called out for help. His mind was elsewhere, far away on that beach in Malaysia. 

Kento crouches, splashing the water with a soft smile. It feels wonderful against his skin. His jacket is discarded to the sand shore, and he steps further into the ocean despite his shoes and socks still on. He feels free for the first time in what feels like ages. 

“Kento.”

The blonde freezes, eyes opening and mouth dropping as his dream suddenly becomes a nightmare. He can feel the gentle splash of another body joining him in the ocean, but he doesn't dare turn around. Nanami couldn't bear to face the one he loved. 

The ghostly touch of two hands comes to rest upon his shoulders, and he tenses at the touch. As much as he wants to, he doesn't resist the soft pressure, and soon, he is gazing up at you. 

You smile down at him, soft and full of devotion just like usual. One hand carefully slides across his face and into his hair, “Kento,” you whisper, and the man breaks. 

“My love, please forgive me,” His voice, always strong and reassuring, cracks in his anguish. He would never see you again. Your radiant beauty and the soft touch of your hand when you welcome him home after a long mission. The thought crushes him more than anything else up to this point, and Nanami finds himself clutching at your visage. 

“There was nothing that I could have done. Forgive me for leaving you in this cruel world,” he begs and drops his head, brow resting upon your stomach as he kneels in the water. 

Your hands tighten in his hair and gently bring his face up and away from your body. You look at him, eyes knowing and understanding, and Kento knows then that you will never blame him for his failure. That like every other time he has come to you, broken and bleeding, you would whisper how strong he is, how much of a hero he was to continue this dangerous life. 

Nanami Kento opens his eyes to the phantom of his dead best friend, ears picking up the sounds of frantic footsteps. He turns his good side and smiles softly at the sight of the pinkett. 

“I can't change the choices I have made to bring us here, but I can apologize for how unfair this outcome is for you,” Nanami murmurs, voice soft and full of love only for the one person who brought so much light into his dangerous life, “I'm sorry, my love.”

You tug him up, and Nanami follows. The two of you meet in a sweet chaste kiss before the blonde breaks it. You smile, hands cradling his face, and Kento takes both of yours into his own strong hands. The two of you dance in to crashing waves of the Malaysian ocean. 

“Itadori Yuuji,” Kento says loud enough for the teenager to hear him, “You take it from here.” 

#fanfic #reader insert #jujutsu kaisen #kento nanami x reader #nanami kento #jjk nanami #nanami x reader #angst #spoilers #nanami kento x you #nanami kento x y/n

[olreid]

hey I've been really loving your neverafter analysis - it made me feel like i wasn't complaining about nothing lmao and you word it much better than I could

so about that, you've mentioned the acoc finale a few times & if you have a post about that or any kind of commentary, I'm really curious to read it

<3 i dont think i have any posts from when i watched, ive deleted most of my acoc posts over the years bc they annoyed me lol. ive gotten several questions about this and will do my best to explain what i mean! it's not going to be super detailed due to i havent watched that season in literally 3 years but basically i just remember the very end of the acoc finale being really like. tonally jarring because the players were saying all this insane stuff about consolidating political power but it was being framed as a happy ending not only for the party but also for their subjects. the vibe was like, well it was tough going there for a minute but now the Right people are in charge, so it's all good now :) just no acknowledgement of the inherent violence of governance via monarchy, which again may be stupid to expect from the dnd comedy show, except for the fact that the content of the season was like. a painfully extended enumeration of The Violences of Monarchy. but i guess we learned nothing :) like let's just read from the wiki briefly about the events of the episode post-siege:

Cumulous asks Liam what is glowing in his pocket. Liam without hesitation eats the seed from Lapin Cadbury. He thinks of the change he most wants to see in the world and wishes that the creativity and magic of Candia would burst forth, and instantly Candia quadruples in size within its place on the Calorum map. Saccharina thanks Liam as the new queen of a lot more Candian land. Far off, Liam hears Lapin chuckling […] Lapin whispers to Liam on his way out, “There’s nothing wrong with being a seed guy.” A new age of Candia is born as Emperor Amethar of the House Rocks embraces his new title and brings a new age of peace to the realms […] Liam brings the Pontifex and Sir Keratin back to life in an act of mercy and locks them in prison for the rest of their lives. He leaves them, and goes back to being a seed guy […] Saccharina tries to find Cinnamon an alternative food source to Bulbian hearts, looking through all of Vegetania before returning to Candia. Just outside the castle, a tinfoil tree grows and a cranky Cinnamon eats the fruit from the tree and then grows gentle, regarding the world with love instead of hunger. 

all of this is soooo stupid and shoehorned to me... why is liam wishing for candia to grow four times larger besides that ally the player thinks that would be a good thing. WHY is liam resurrecting dead people and throwing them in jail framed as 'quirky' besides the fact that they have essentially already rolled credits and so are just ready to frame anything that happens as funny and nice because they don't want to like. get into the politics of it.

and that's not even getting into the rest of the wrap-up where like. all the bad stuff, all the outstanding conflict and tension that would naturally linger after the battle just gets done away with completely for the sake of an ending that is not tainted by even the faintest hint of complexity or violence (again, this is revealing and tells us a lot about what the table considers violent vs. what is so normalized as to not even register as violence in the moment). rather than having to grapple with having raised and domesticated a pet that feeds on people in a time of war and then still being responsible for that creature after peace has been declared, cinnamon is magically transformed into a creature that now only needs the fruit of trees to surivive. the events of the season usher in a reign of peace rather than a rocky period of distrust and repairing alliances or even open rebellion because that is the happiest ending for our royal protagonists, not because it necessarily follows logically from what took place in the finale.

all in all i feel that what the acoc finale wants to convince me of is that the season's conflict was largely a case of good vs. evil individuals rather than complex people caught in and trying to exploit violent systems, and that as long as the good people win out and have the space to rule as they want to, monarchy is not opposed to concepts like happiness or justice but indeed is highly compatible with them. we just needed a good king!!! earlier in the season it felt like there was space to question monarchy's claims to moral authority, particularly through saccharina's abuse and the outsider perspectives of her crew of outlaws. however, by the finale all of this critique has been subsumed into the narrative machine and we're back to cheering for the rulers of candia in their noble pursuit to conquer ever more land, something we hope they achieve because they have shown themselves to be pure of heart and sound in judgement. this was not a actually a forum to question whether a small group of unelected wealthy people should be allowed to govern just because they want to, but rather just an extended job interview for the rocks family, and they have passed with flying colors. anyway.

the reason i compared this week's neverafter to this particular acoc episode is that i think we are again seeing some of the limits of the table's political imagination, particularly as it relates to incarceration; imprisonment has been invoked repeatedly through the device of trapping people in timothy's book, which is either framed as a good or bad thing depending on whether it is done by a protagonist or an antagonist. if the authors or the fairies trap the characters in their respective stories, it's an abuse of power that must be challenged. however, if the party traps an annoying or superfluous npc, or a meddling princess, in their handy portable prison, it's (a) benevolent; the possibility has been raised that trapping characters in this way makes them happy, and may indeed be a way to give them a happily ever after; or (b) violent, but markedly less so than other available courses of action and thus merciful by comparison. there is no space to discuss the inherent violence of incarceration or entrapment even if it is used as an alternative to death, which IS INSANE in a season where the horror that kicked everything off was the horror that what the characters thought were their lives was actually a prison made of narrative.

across these two seasons i think we are seeing an inability or perhaps just an unwillingness to contend with the inherent violence of being held against one's will. the problem for the party seems not to be that characters experience various levels of incarceration by virtue of being trapped in narratives, but rather that the wrong people have been imprisoned while those who truly deserve the punishment roam free. the party, our protagonists, have been trapped in story despite their inherent goodness, while the true bad actors -- the fairies, the princesses, the gander -- are allowed to roam free. according to this logic, simply capturing and imprisoning everyone who advances a plan the party doesn't agree with will be a satisfactory outcome and should be enough to set the world to rights.

tldr it frustrates me as a viewer when d20 seasons make a point to explicitly raise and explore structural issues only to "solve" them at the last minute with individualist fixes that do nothing to address the root cause of said issues. it adds insult to injury when they try to tell me the ending is a happy one simply because it made the party happy, even if others had to suffer for that to be so.

#guy who said he would be brief. anyway #others are welcome to add their perspectives i know ive discussed the acoc finale with ppl in replies/dms/etc. before #short answer: It Was Not Good #asks #anon #acoc #neverafter

[sukirichi]

pink hearts

You only ever wanted a job as a babysitter to make ends meet – falling in love was out of the equation – but with the magic presented right in front of you, you weren’t going to push it away.

PAIRINGS. itadori jin x reader

WC. 10.7k+

NOTES. this fic is purely self indulgent, not requested, i wrote this for me so reader is mostly...well, me. okay listen I KNOW toji is the choice dilf but PLEASE daddy jin has my heart and i’m so soft for him like you guys don’t understand. this is my comfort fic now and jin’s made his way on my comfort character list, give this amazing man a chance, he’s amazing and so kind eeeee my heart is going to burst i love him so much lol + oh this is unedited as usual

masterlist !

The pink-haired man sat across from you, setting down the tray of two coffee mugs on the coffee table before you. He was of regular build, mostly on the lanky side, and his kind eyes peered behind glasses as he smiled at you. “So you’re the babysitter Mr. Gojo recommended?”

You stared at him. Shamelessly. 

Suddenly, your initial plan of impressing your employer by wearing a tight pencil skirt and an old white blouse after the assumption that they would be prissy and had way too much money on their hands felt useless. 

This guy wore a cream sweatshirt and black slacks, clearly happy and comfortable in his own home.

Upon being the subject of your stare, he only smiled awkwardly, clasping his hands in front of himself as he cleared his throat to let you speak.

“Oh!” you suddenly sat up straight, “Yes, yes I am. I’m sorry for staring. I just think you’d be this...young.” And modest.

“I understand. You’re in university, correct?” you nodded, leaning back in his seat, hand scratching the back of his head. His cheeks tinged a slight pink. “And you’re a close friend of Satoru’s, well...It’s not that I don’t trust his judgment or anything, but it’s my first time being a parent – and I’m a single dad, at that – so I hope you don’t mind that I’d like to see how you get along with my son first before I hire you.”

“Oh yeah, no, that’s perfectly fine!”

Satisfied with your answer, Mr. Itadori stood up with a bow, silently gesturing you to follow him down his hall. “Is there anything you’re uncomfortable with, or anything you don’t know much about? Changing diapers, giving the teething products, anything?”

“I’m the eldest in the family, four more hellish sun drops following afterwards. I think I’m good.”

He nodded at your answer, a small smile on his face. “That’s good to know. My last babysitter was the same age as you, but he didn’t know much about handling babies. I mean, neither do I, but a man’s got to learn, you know?” he laughed at himself, unaware that with each passing second, pink heart eyes gazed up at him admirably.

When you both reached a door that was left slighty open, Mr. Itadori lit up, bending down in front of a crib where his baby laid, small hands clutching at his feet. “Yuuji, baby, Daddy’s here. Are you ready to meet your babysitter?”

Your jaw dropped when he finally picked his baby up, the little boy clad in a tiger onesie and sucking on a toy. “Oh my gosh, you’re so adorable, come here!” you were more than glad when his dad laughed and gently passed the baby to you, who only gurgled in laughter when you cooed at him. “Oh, I want to spoil you and give you kisses, how are you this cute?” Well, it made sense he was cute, since his dad was as well. Yuuji made grabby hands at you, to which you happily obliged, leaning down so his tiny fingers could pinck your cheeks.

Unable to help it, you rubbed your cheeks on his touch, making the little boy clap his feet together, eyes bright with all the happiness and innocence in this world. You honestly wanted to cry right then and there.

“Your hands are soooo tiny, my goodness, I love you already! It’s so nice to meet you, Yuuji, you’re such an angel!”

“You like kids, huh?”

“Well, not so much with kids because toddlers have too much energy, but babies,” you gasped once you heard Mr. Itadori’s muffled laughter, greeted by the sight of him hiding his mouth behind his palm. Instantly, you smiled at him nervously, clutching the baby closer to yourself because he was so darn cute.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry if I’m being weird right now, I can’t help it! Your son is so precious!”

“Thank you. He’s the greatest blessing of my life too,” he beamed, turning to his baby with that soft look in his eyes that parents wore so well. “Well, it seems Yuuji really likes you. He’s friendly to everyone but...I’m surprised he’s warmed up to you this fast,” Mr. Itadori bent over to poke his cheek, the baby’s tiny hand wrapping around his dad’s finger. “Yuuji~ don’t forget I’m still your dad, okay? She’s the babysitter – she’s not your mom so don’t be too clingy, alright?”

You stiffened at his words, your eyes flickering back and forth between the baby and him. They had the same eye and hair colour, along with that aura of kindness surrounding them...it was hard to imagine what the mother would be like. Was she as bright and adorable too?

If yes, then this was an entire family of pink hearted strawberries!

“If...if it’s not too much to ask, may I ask where his mom is?”

Much to your surprise, his eyes grew forlorn, though the smile remained on his face. “His mom...is in a much happier place now,” was all he said – and it was enough – that you couldn’t dare ask more.

Mr. Itadori walked out of Yuuji’s room and into the kitchen afterwards, eyes squinting over the neat handwriting on a sticky note on his refrigerator. “Okay, so, I don’t know if Satoru’s told you, but I’m an engineer. I usually just work from home, especially now that I’ve got a baby, but there are still days where I have to go the office for presentations and meetings. I can’t guarantee that the babysitting schedule will be permanent – is it alright if I call you whenever?”

“Yeah, yeah, I mean, other than university, I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

“That’s good to hear! But wouldn’t this job get in the way of your studies?”

You shook your head, subconsciously pressing closer to the baby instead because he was just so warm and wouldn’t stop tugging at your collar. A part of you was also eager to get this job not only for the baby, but Mr. Itadori intrigued you as well. You knew it was wrong but you had to be honest with yourself, hiding this truth for him instead through a shaky smile.

“No, definitely not! I can just take my studies here – if you won’t mind, of course – and I promise I won’t litter or make a mess or anything. During babysitting hours, Yuuji will be more of a priority than my homework, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Mr. Itadori hummed to himself, rubbing at his chin. “If that’s the case, then I suppose you’re free to use the study at the end of the hall. There’s a baby camera there that lets you see Yuuji in every room, but if he’s asleep, feel free to use it.”

“Oh wow,” you blinked back in surprise, gently rocking a gurgling Yuuji back and forth. “You didn’t have to do that so uhm, thank you, really, I promise I’ll take care of your son very well!”

“I can see why Satoru recommended you now,” he shook his head with a smile, moving over to the litter of dinosaur stickers onto another list. “Here is a list of the things Yuuji likes and doesn’t like. He’s mostly active in the afternoons when I’ll most likely get called for work, and he’s a mess by then. He really likes playing and cuddles, and he’ll also demand to be carried most of the time otherwise he’ll cry,” he paused as his eyes slid over to you, lips pursed in thought. “I know you’ll do great but...don’t spoil my son too much, okay? I just don’t want him to uh...think that you’re his parent or something. Yuuji gets easily attached like that. If he calls you ‘mama’...please tell me about it, okay?”

“Yes, of course. I know my place, don’t worry.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” he raised in hands in surrender as he saw your eyes widen with fear. “Being a single parent is just hard, you know? I can’t help but always feel that maybe I won’t be enough for him, and as much as I can, I’d like to let my son he can rely on me at all times.”

“I think you’re a very great father,” you admitted rather shyly, “Your son is really lucky to have you as his parent. I can tell he’s going to be such a sweetheart.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me,” he placed a hand over his heart, then pulled out a business card from the back of his pocket. “Now, here’s my number and my work schedules. You don’t have to drop by during weekends since I’m always here, but I might need you every Wednesdays to Fridays. Can I have your class schedule as well? That way I know when’s the right time to text you if I need something,” Reaching into your bag that had a copy of your schedule, you handed it to him, the strawberry-haired man’s lips growing into a smile as he read over the content. “Well, what do you know? You study engineering too? Computer engineering?”

You winced, memories you’d rather not think of again resurfacing. “Please don’t call me a nerd. I’ve heard that enough already.”

“What’s wrong about being a nerd? I’ve always been a nerd too and I think I’m fine,” you swapped numbers after that, not even giving you enough time to recover from his comment. Not that being a nerd was a huge deal, but people always said it weirdly that you dreaded hat word. Hearing it from him though...it felt like a compliment. “Guess that settles it then. I’ll see you soon?”

Heart elated and spirits soaring into the sky that you actually got the job and the employer was a kind man, you nodded with a bright smile on your face. “Yeah, I’ll come by next week! Thank you so much for trusting me!”

“No, thank you for your service,” he responded back shyly, waving to you as you walked out the door. Not a few moments later, Mr. Itadori ran after you, his cheeks flushed pink from the shrot run. “Wait! Can I have my son back?”

Looking down at the baby in your arms who was too busy sucking on his thumb, your cheeks heated, extending your arms as gentle as you could while Mr. Itadori got his son back. He only laughed at your state, waving it off with a shake of his head. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! It just feels so natural to hold him!”

“You’ll be a good mother someday,” he commented almost absentmindedly. Meanwhile, you couldn’t stop bowing and apologizing with each step backwards, too distracted to notice that your heels dug into a small crack. You yelped as you felt the floor slip beneath you, Mr. Itadori’s instincts kicking in when he easily grabbed your wrist to pull you towards him, your foreheads almost knocking one another’s. “Whoa – watch your step. You could’ve fallen seriously there.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Itadori! I’ll try to be more graceful next time,” you bowed repeatedly, still so ashamed as you tugged your skirt down. “Why the hell did I wear heels anyway? It’s not like this is a law firm.”

“Please,” he smiled at you – and you swore in that moment that things were just going to be different – eyes closed and his whole face lit with light heartedness. “Call me Jin,” taking his son’s hands up, he waved the little arm as you walked out the door, still in a light trance of disbelief. “Say bye-bye, Yuuji!”

Even as you made it back to your bus stop, you still couldn’t get your mind off of the strawberry-haired father and son duo. Their home was just so...bright, you immediately felt safe and comfortable.

As your heart fluttered at the memory of Jin smiling at you, you placed a palm over your heart, willing it to calm down. That couldn’t be good, right?

“Earth to Y/N!”

You snapped back to life when your friend slapped you on the arm, smiling at her when she only huffed at your dazed out self again. It wasn’t irregular for you to space out like this, and you were more than thankful she was always there to bring you back to reality before you accidentally crossed a street when the lights were green or something.

“Sorry, what?”

“Do you know how many times we had to drag you away because you keep running into poles?” she rolled her eyes, “Sheesh, how would you survive without us? What are you spacing out for anyway?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just thinking about work and all.”

“Speaking of that, how’d the interview go? Was your employer as strict and condescending as the Zenins? The hell happened to those bastards anyway?” “I bet their child is going to grow up sexist or something.”

At the mention of Jin and his baby, your whole self lit up. “My employer is better this time around. He’s only a few years older than us; like five or seven, I think? He’s really nice too and dude, his baby is so. Freaking. Adorable,” you gushed, mimicking the gesture of rocking a baby around with your arms, eyes filled with heart-shaped characters. “Like a freaking strawberry in my arms! He’s so sweet too!”

“You and your attachment to babies,” she scrunched her nose in disgust – always having had an aversion to anyone younger than her. “I’ll never get it.”

“Babies are the best!”

“Yeah, until they drool and throw up on you,” as if the image procured in her mind, your friend shuddered, rubbing her hands up and down her arm to relieve her goosebumps. “I never want to be a mom.”

“You’ll change your mind once you fall in love with someone who’s amazing enough to make you want to have a family on your own.”

“You talk about that as if you’ve met that someone already!”

“Maybe I have,” you giggled stupidly to yourself. Of course you weren’t thinking about Jin – you just knew deep in your heart you always wanted your own family. Growing up from a large family and getting separated from them, it was uncomfortable to not be surrounded by crying and squealing, which was always accompanied with laughter and kisses at the end of the day. Now who wouldn’t want that? You waved your hand to your friend, trying to hide the apparent gushing behind your voice. “I’m just kidding. I just really love babies.”

“Whatever,” she closed the topic, and you didn’t protest, knowing full well your friend cringed at the mention of babies or children. “So are you coming to our study group tonight?”

“Can’t. Got work,” you shrugged, a light skip in your steps as you both walked to the campus. Thankfully, she mistook your enthusiasm with the excitement of getting to hang out with babies again, which was true, but something about meeting Jin again and possibly getting to know more about the sweet father was a huge cherry on top – one your friend didn’t have to know about.

“Shame. I heard that hot guy from Biology was coming too.”

“Fushiguro Toji? Wasn’t he scouted for the military?”

“Honestly, I’m more surprised he’s not a gangster,” she snorted, “But whatever. Text me when you get home safely, okay? If you don’t text within—”

“Yeah, I know, I know. Text you when I get on the bus stop, text you when I arrive at work, when I leave and when I’ve gotten home otherwise you’re calling the cops to report me missing or abused,” you stood up straight for a mock salute, brows furrowed in faux seriousness. “I know, ma’am. That’s drilled in my head already.”

“I’m serious. The world is a dangerous place!”

“Yes, I’ll text you!”

Wednesdays couldn’t come sooner. But when it did, you were far too excited. You’d never tell anyone you took the extra time to fix your hair and spritz on just a tinge of perfume, not wanting to overwhelm the baby.

You shot up from your seat right after class ended, hair flying in the wind as you bolted to the bus stop. Wiping away the sweat on your forehead and fixing your clothes with a pat of your hand, you took a deep breath, chanting inner mantras that today would be a good at work. You’d be contributing to society by caring for a child that would soon be the light of the future, and you were more than honoured. Clearing your throat, you pressed on the bell, humming to yourself as you heard the light patters of footsteps inside.

“Hey, you’re here!” Jin smiled at you, one you reciprocated wholeheartedly, and he opened the door wider while you took off your shoes.

He was still dressed in his sweatpants and a white shirt, looking utterly domestic and different from your previous employers that would glare at you if you touched their kid without sanitizing your hand twice first. Jin was like a breath of fresh air to you – one you breathed in with glee while you followed him inside.

His house was kept neat and clean, surprising you even more at just how immaculate to detail he could be despite his busy schedule. Was it because he was an adult or a parent now that people his age were just more organized and put together?

Whatever it was, you trailed around Jin like a puppy, eager to learn from his ways.

“I told myself I’d only ask you to come around if I’m away for work but I’m working on a huge project and my client is very demanding. He’s asking me to pass it this week already and he just sent me his plans last night.”

“It’s okay...Jin,” you stuttered over calling him by his first name like that, “You can focus on your work. I’ll take care of everything else.”

“Thank you! Yuuji’s in his room, by the way. He’s just had dinner so he’s still energetic – you can pull up the cartoons and lounge in the living room. He’ll be fine,” he opened his mouth to say something else when his gaze darted to your book bag, eyes widening. “Oh wait, you brought your schoolwork—”

“I’m good! I’ve already finished them during my spare time! I promise you really don’t have anything to worry about!”

“Oh, that’s cool, I guess,” he calmed down at your words, scratching the back of his ear before gesturing to his door. “Well, I’ll be in my room if you need me. I get really occupied and focused though, so just open the door if I don’t open it right away.”

“Noted,” You wasted no time in picking up Yuuji from his crib afterwards. It seemed the little man didn’t quite like being imprisoned like that because he was babbling nonsensically, fists banging on the edges.

Upon seeing you enter his room, Yuuji’s babbles got louder, small chubby arms reaching out to your extended ones. His pacifier fell inside his crib as he pouted at you, and how could you resist? Soon, you were happily nestled onto the couch on the living room, his favourite cartoons playing on the background.

His head swayed side to side as the songs came along, while you watched him with tiny giggles. You wondered if maybe your first day at work would be eventless like this.

You really thought you’d run back and forth doing errands and changing diapers, but that was your old babysitting experience – things were obviously different with Jin and his son.

Yuuji was quiet, but Jin was right, he was clingy. Not an hour later into the show, he crawled to your sides and settled into your lap, tiny hands grabbing at your shirt. He sighed as his cheeks rested on your chest, though his eyes still glossed over the cartoon. You felt like your heart would burst at his affection, and you patted his back gently to lull him to sleep.

Eventually, Yuuji fell asleep. You hadn’t even noticed it was dark out already, the cartoons only playing through loop.

You scooped up Yuuji closer to your arms before shutting the TV off, making sure to be as quiet as you could be while you placed him back on his crib. Smiling at the angel, you patted his hair before leaving the room, knocking on Jin’s door at the end of the hallway instead.

When he didn’t respond after four knocks, you thought he’d fallen asleep until you remembered his note.

Shakily, you twisted the knob open, a small smile on your face when you saw him furiously sketching something on his paper. An empty cup of coffee laid beside his table, eraser shavings everywhere. His room smelled like soft laundry detergent with the faint aroma of white caramel coffee – smooth and sweet like him – and it felt almost wrong to be in such a space that was clearly so intimate of him.

Not wanting to disturb too much, you cleared you peered from behind the door sheepishly. “...Jin? Oh. Hello.”

“Hey,” he blinked at you then rubbed his eyes, staring at you for a solid minute before his mouth formed into an ‘o’ shape. “Is everything okay? Yuuji didn’t destroy something, did he?”

“No, he’s fast asleep. I just came here to say I’ll be going home now. It’s past midnight already.”

“It’s that late?” Jin glanced at his wristwatch and adjusted his glasses, fingers swiping up to retrieve his keys as he wore his coat. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you stay this late, and you have school tomorrow too,” he groaned tiredly, though the apologetic smile on his face easily concealed his exhaustion. “I’m really sorry I lost track of time. Come, I’ll drive you home, it’s not safe this dark out.”

“But Jin,” you froze in his hallway, “What about Yuuji?”

“Do you live far from here?”

“No, the dorms are like five minutes away,” Jin pondered about this information, possibly hesitating that maybe it wasn’t his best to leave his son alone. You appreciated the thought, you really did, but you were worried for Yuuji too so you smiled at him, nodding to assure that he didn’t have to. “Jin, it’s okay, I can just take the bus. I’ve been doing that for a long time now and I’m really okay.”

Jin clutched at his keys, the frown on his face evident. “At least let me walk you to the bus stop? So I know you’re safe?”

“Yeah, that’s fine, I guess.”

“Let me just get extra covers for Yuuji. It might be cold tonight,” You waited until he came out with Yuuji warmly bundled up in his arms. The two of you walked side by side, baby Yuuji fast asleep in his arms with his head covered in a small cap. You blushed at the thought that maybe people would think you looked like a family, but before these foolish imaginations could consume you, Jin beat you to it. “I haven’t thanked you properly for today, by the way. Let me make it up to you sometime – you look really tired.”

You flushed deep at his words, shaking your hands in front of you. “Oh no, it’s fine, really! I’m just doing my job.”

“Yes, but caring for someone else’s child – whether you’re paid or not – is still a very selfless act and I can’t thank you enough for it.”

You looked away from how warm his smile was despite the biting chill of the night, turning away to bury your chin in your neck instead. “You really don’t have to do anything. I’m just happy to help.”

“If you insist then,” Jin waved at you as much as he could without waking his son up as you hopped onto the bus, with you watching from the inside. “Get home safely! Text me when you’re home!”

“I will,” you mouthed through the window.

Jin and Yuuji disappeared from your sight after that. All the way back home, the warmth and butterflies swarming your stomach wouldn’t disappear. Even as you flopped on your bed, you still kept tossing and turning, the bright light of your screen glaring at you to just send the darned text already.

Hey...or maybe hello? He’s older though... How do older people even text each other? He wasn’t that much older, but still...it kind of felt inappropriate to address him too casually.

Deciding to just screw it, you pressed backspace and settled for the most boring text, hitting send and flattening on the bed with a groan. Who knew texting someone could be that mind-boggling? Sweat beaded at your forehead as you stared at the plain I’m home, sleep about to take over when your phone buzzed afterwards.

I’m glad to know you’re safe. Sleep well, Y/N.

Looking over at your slumbering roommate, you grabbed a pillow to bite it and muffle your screams, legs flailing beneath you as you read his text over and over again. It wasn’t even that special, but Jin had wished you well – the hardworking and sweet Jin – sending your heart into overdrive.

Your roommate didn’t stir one bit even as you giggled to yourself, punching the bed while you replayed the image of his smile, the feeling of how warm he was walking close to you like that and the sound of his soothing voice that just messed with you on the insides.

God, you had it bad – and yet, why did it feel so good?

Babysitting had never been more fun. Even though the task was no longer new for you, you looked forward to working every single day. Your friends noticed your change in moods, but just downed it to the fact you were generally a cheerful person anyway and didn’t bother asking why, which you were thankful for because it wasn’t easy to admit it out loud you liked Itadori Jin, of all people.

Now that you looked back onto it, he wasn’t that special.

He was definitely the type of guy you easily overlooked in a train, but he would also be the type of guy who wouldn’t hesitate to give up his seat for someone else. It wasn’t like he was utterly interesting too since like you, his life was a bland routine of taking care of babies, working, holing up in his room to create something, drinking coffee as sweet and light as possible, then calling it a day and sleeping with a huge smile on their face, just thankful for another day.

Yes, he was simple. Yes, he might even be boring, but gosh, you had never liked someone so much.

You summed it down to him being kind and loving. Yes, that was all it was. While your friends flocked over to mysterious, dark guys like Fushiguro Toji and his friends, gossiping non-stop on how he supposedly had a hotter younger relative but were a lot shittier than he was, you were different. You were simple.

You liked soft, quiet guys who enjoyed the soft pit-patters of rain, the types of people who spent too much time in the library travelling across galaxies in their seat, and overall, you liked peaceful souls.

Jin was everything you ever admired – stable, simple, kind, affectionate. It was clear from how he was never shy to shower his baby with kisses and feed him with airplane spoons, using a small voice to baby talk his son. Every time you came around, you immediately felt welcomed into their happy home despite the lack of a maternal figure, and you found yourself wanting to be there a lot more often than you should.

It seemed that the heaven heard your prayers when your phone rang. Instinct kicked in, and you grabbed at your blaring phone, eyes wide when you read the contact name.

“Hello? Jin, what’s wrong?” Yuuji was crying in the background, accompanied with his father’s constant shushing and worried cooing.

“H-hi, I’m really sorry to bother you, I know it’s late, it’s just Yuuji won’t stop crying and my neighbours are mad at me because I can’t get him to calm down,” as if on cue, Yuuji only wailed louder. You could hear Jin’s desperate pleas for him to quiet down a little, with you dashing out of your bed and slinging your arms inside your coat. “Could you please come over? I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m on my way,” was all you said before hanging up. Minutes later, you’d entered their apartment thanks to the spare key Jin gave you, heart breaking as Yuuji’s wailings only got louder.

Jin’s shoulders visibly relaxed when you scooped his son into your arms, rocking back and forth as you pressed a palm flat on his forehead. He didn’t seem to be feverish or even warmer than usual, but he was definitely irritated, pushing away at your hands that laid on him.

“Yuuji, baby! What’s wrong, sweetheart? Something hurt anywhere?” you turned to Jin, “Is his diaper full?”

“I just checked, he didn’t poop,” Jin nibbled at his thumbnails, a quirk you didn’t expect he’d have with his seemingly put-together composed self. His son’s crying must’ve really bothered him because Jin wouldn’t stop pacing back and forth, Yuuji’s newly cleaned pacifier clenched between his fingers. “I gave him the teething rings too but he just dumped them to the side.”

Nodding, you tried poking at Yuuji’s stomach. The baby belly that should’ve been squishy was firm against your finger, the imaginary light bulb in your head going off.

“His stomach is a little tight. I think he’s got gas,” you informed Jin with a relieved smile, glad that it wasn’t as serious as you thought it would be. “We need to make him burp,” Patting at Yuuji’s back while Jin gently massaged Yuuji’s belly, prompting the boy to wail louder with his tiny arms banging both your chest, a big burp was finally released.

“Oh my gosh, he’s still crying.”

“It’s okay, Jin, he’ll be fine,” you reassured, smiling wide at baby Yuuji even though he couldn’t focus on you. “That’s right, sweetheart, you’re doing great. Just burp a little more and it won’t hurt so bad. It’s just gas, sweetie, you’re alright. I’ve got you.”

“B-but the neighbours...”

“Don’t mind them,” You didn’t mean for your words to come out harsh, but who could blame you? Yuuji was clearly in distress; the last thing you cared about was pleasing others. “They can plug in earbuds for all I care. Yuuji needs help,” at your words, Jin swallowed, resuming his ministrations of encouraging his son to burp.

Yuuji stilled for a moment before he resumed his crying. This time around, Jin was a lot calmer and focused as his hands rubbed at his son’s stomach. The burps came constant afterwards until Yuuji had enough, turning away from his father and burying his head on your chest. Small hiccups followed, but he’d calmed down, eyes shut tight from the previous discomfort.

“Are you feeling better now, baby? Tummy ache is gone?”

“He’s...not crying anymore...” Jin murmured in disbelief, his hands hovering above Yuuji’s belly.

“He’s still really red, though,” you frowned, hands brushing his bangs away from his forehead. It didn’t take long before Yuuji settled in, thumbs sucked into his mouth. Little whimpers could still be heard from the little guy, though nothing serious happened. You and Jin both sighed in relief. “I think he’s tired from crying. I’m going to go rock him for a bit,” Eyes flitting over to Jin’s face rigged with dark circles, you mustered a chuckle. “How about you, are you okay? You look half-dead,” you joked.

“He was in the crib next to me when he just started wailing out of nowhere,” Jin plopped down onto the sofa, his sweatshirt crinkled and sweatpants loose and comfortable as ever. “I was so scared that maybe something else was wrong.”

“Parenting is both a blessing and a hardship, huh?” you chided in, “Don’t worry. I still think you’re doing an amazing job at being a dad.”

“You’re quite amazing too. You’re a natural at this.”

You shrugged, unable to look Jin in the eye as you continued gently swaying side to side while Yuuji slept in your arms. “My parents were rarely around. They were too busy working to provide for all of us so I acted as the parental figure instead.”

“Your parents are really lucky to have you as a child – reliable and strong.”

“All I ever wanted was to make them proud,” you told him, looking far from the distance as you reminisced your old memories with your family. It felt so far away already – they felt far away – though you knew the love you had for one another still remained. “And I live a good life knowing they passed with no worries. My siblings are doing great, too, though we’ve all parted ways now. Some of them got adopted by our relatives and I’m...I’m here I guess.”

“I’m extremely sorry for your loss,” Jin’s voice was quiet, and when you looked back at him, you saw him smiling into his hands before turning to you, wearing that damned smile that always had your heart doing backflips. “You’re a really strong person, you know?”

Your cheeks flushed at his words. “Thank you. I think it’s all thanks to my parents,” you murmured; that slight pang of pain remained even after their death, though it wasn’t as awful as it used to be. The sting felt a lot calmer now, almost as if time slowly healed your heart back together. “After they passed from the car crash, I just knew I had to be strong for all of us. The pain and the hardship were worth the effort, though. All of us are happy and settled now.”

“That’s the one thing I’m most afraid of,” he confessed, frowning at the peaceful baby in your arms. “That I’ll have to leave my child before he’s ready to face the world by himself. I’m not...I could never be prepared for that.”

“As long as he knows you love him and you always will, I think Yuuji will always find his way in life,” Jin’s eyes widened, something unreadable glimmering behind those pretty eyes that had you feeling too many things all at once. Embarrassment and sudden shyness creeped all the way up to your spine along with exhaustion, and you gestured for him to move aside, heaving as you sat down next to him. “I’m really sleepy.”

“Please, let me hold – oh. He likes you more, I guess.”

You chuckled at his dejected face, the childish pout the exact replication of Yuuji’s. Yuuji refused to be held by his dad, burrowing himself into your warmth instead. “I’ve got a charm when it comes to children.”

“That you do,” he agreed absentmindedly.

Before any of you could realize what was going on, you’d fallen asleep on the couch. Yuuji was still safely nestled between your arms, while Jin’s head was tucked in your shoulder, soft breaths leaving those equally soft lips.

Oddly enough, when you woke up and noticed your current position, none of you found it weird. Jin only laughed at the way drool dried up at the end of your lips, to which you silently scolded him for as to not rouse Yuuji from his sleep. He didn’t move away from his position, eyes flicking over from yours to his son bundled up warmly, a smile tugging up at the ends of his lips.

“Uh... that was a long night.”

“Long night, indeed,” Jin nodded before standing up to stretch, exposing a sliver of smooth skin that made heat rush up to your face. You immediately looked away, heart pounding in your chest as Jin began to rummage through his kitchen. “It’s a Saturday so if you’re free...do you want to stay over for breakfast?”

Something about that night kicked off the start of your...budding friendship with Jin. Yes, that’s exactly what it was, just friendship.

You knew there was no way he could ever see you the way you looked at him; not that you minded. Being in their presence and having Yuuji around was already a blessing itself, the days progressively getting better the more you worked for him.

It had become a routine that Jin would come home, exhaustion lining his eyes before he caught sight of you standing in the living room, reading books out loud while you carried a babbling Yuuji. You would laugh because it felt like Yuuji was trying to have conversation with you, to which you responded with reading terms even you had difficulty pronouncing. He’d only nod and keep saying nonsense, grubby hands reaching for the book you held.

He was so precious that you leaned down to kiss the top of his head every now and then, giggles pouring out from the tiny baby strawberry.

Jin took off his shoes, the happiness bursting through his chest unexplainable upon seeing that his son was happy and safe. Loosening the tie with one hand, he extended his arms wide open, running into your direction. “I’m home!”

“Yuuji, Daddy’s here!”

“How’s my sweet little boy doing?” The smile on Jin’s face was phenomenal and even dramatic as his son finally reached out to him, the babbles only getting louder as his dad peppered his cheeks with kisses. Yuuji still wanted to stay in your arms though, and Jin sighed when his son’s hands went back to grabbing at your book, though the chuckles he let out told you he wasn’t really dismayed about it. “Thank you for looking out for him again. Isn’t your arm tired from carrying him and studying like that?”

“No, I’m good. I’ve got really strong muscles,” you flexed your bicep, “Plus, it’s so comforting to carry an angel like Yuuji around. I feel like I’m going to pass my exams with ease!”

Not a moment later, you dropped your arm and turned away to hide your frown, brows pinched together. Jin, being the ever observant person he was, placed a comforting hand on your shoulder, his voice gentle and warm as he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Well,” you began, “I couldn’t understand something and I’ve been going at it for days. Nothing makes sense to me,” with the effort of only one free hand, you flipped to the middle of the book. A headache began to form the moment you read the chapter title, making you cringe while Jin leaned closer for a better look at its contents. “Look at this chapter here. It’s so confusing!”

“Oh, I know this!” he pushed his glasses back up to his nose, grinning as he pulled out a chair before gesturing you to do so. “Okay, so this means...” 

Not even in your craziest dreams had you imagined you’d be sitting at Jin’s table like this, your legs touching from the lack of space as he rambled on excitedly about the lesson.

He would have animated gestures to explain the dynamics of this and that, both you and Yuuji staring at him in awe as he broke the chapter down into easier parts. It was still difficult to understand since your attention was mostly on the way his eyes brightened the more he talked about his passion for the subject, not to mention that Yuuji was also grabbing at both your faces.

It made you both laugh, the two of you simultaneously bending down to kiss either sides of his cheeks until Yuuji was squished between the both of you.

You laughed with Jin the moment you made awkward eye contact through the kiss, chests bursting with laughter before he proceeded back to the lesson. With each passing second, you were beginning to fall for him a lot more and on a deeper level – so much so that you told yourself you should be scared. Instead, your heart felt at home, calm and peaceful, almost as if it knew you were safe and welcomed.

This sudden revelation had you looking at him in an entirely different light. Jin looked...the same, but somehow warmer? Like he was bathed in a soft glow, the edges pink like his hair, and your hair melted at each and every word that poured from his lips.

When you excused yourself to go to the restroom, you were greeted by the sight of a nearly passed out Jin on the couch, baby Yuuji asleep on his arms.

Jin must be really tired from work. He hadn’t even changed out of clothes. It was getting late too – you needed to come back home soon.

“Jin. Jin, wake up.”

“Huh?” his eyes snapped open, arms instinctively tightening around Yuuji’s before he relaxed, smiling stupidly as he leaned back on his seat. “Oh, it’s you. Hi.”

“Hi,” you echoed, nails digging into your palm to resist the urge to wrap him in a hug; he looked like he needed it. Hands held out in front of you, you took Yuuji from him, slightly nudging his knee with yours. “I’ll take Yuuji to bed. You should go freshen up,” Jin groaned in agreement as he ran his hands through his hair, muttering something about being a parent meant not getting to sleep well. You chuckled at his statement, already moving to get the cups out from the pantry. “Do you want me to make you a cup of tea?”

“Yeah, that’ll be great, thank you.”

Jin disappeared into his room while you tucked Yuuji into bed, the both of you meeting later in the kitchen. He still looked terribly tired, though his smile was lively as ever when he joined you at the table. “Long day again?”

“It’s always a long day,” he confessed through a sip, “But all my worries wash away when I get to see how happy and healthy my son is. I’d work day and night just to provide a good life for him.”

“Don’t forget to spend time with him too, okay? Using the present to ensure your son’s future in exchange of not watching them grow up isn’t worth it,” you reminded him, slightly referring to how much you regretted not getting to be with your parents much until you completely lost the opportunity to do so again. Jin easily read your eyes, fingers grazing the edges of his cup as you continued, “He’s growing day by day. Promise me you’ll always be there for him, okay?”

“I promise,” though whispered, you heard it loud and clear, and you knew without a doubt he’d keep to his words.

After Jin washed his cup, you gathered your things and allowed him to walk you all the way to his apartment’s entrance, waving softly at you. “Get home safely, Y/N. Text me when you’re home.”

It was the perfect routine: go to school, go to work, fall in love with Jin and his son a lot more than you should be, and go home with his kind smile as the last thing you saw.

Each night before sleep completely overtook you, your phone would vibrate, the name of the man who had completely smitten your heart appearing and washing away all the previous tiredness you both accumulated through the day.

Good night, Jin. Rest well.

You too.

It was a routine you’d never get tired of.

“Jin? Yuuji?” you gasped as Yuuji greeted you with bubbling laughter, his small arms slapping your cheeks while his dad giggled behind him. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Happy Birthday!” Jin greeted and finally showed his face after hiding from Yuuji’s buttocks. Your heart absolutely soared at the sight of the father and son duo wearing matching pink clothes, both of their bright smiles only adding to the warmth of the special day. No, actually, it became special because of them – the two people you adored most in this world. “Satoru texted me it was your birthday and it’s my day off too so I thought I’d drop by!”

Before you could respond, Jin huddled Yuuji closer to him, blinking at the audience you both managed to gather.  “I forgot you lived at a dorm, though...is it normal that people are looking us?”

“No, it’s not. They probably think I’m a young mom or something,” you flushed beet red at his words, silently glaring at the nosy onlookers whispering behind their backs. It wasn’t that you were ashamed people could assume that about you, it was just ironic since you actually wanted that to be real but it was embarrassing because you knew Jin wouldn’t see you that way. “Can you give me a few minutes to get ready? We should go somewhere else.”

“Okay, we’ll wait for you downstairs.”

You’ve never moved so fast in your life. Brushing your teeth, showering, and getting dressed in your best clothing were all achieved in the span of ten minutes. You felt proud of yourself as you hopped the stairs two steps down at a time, hair flying from behind you. It was clear you were too excited, but could anyone blame you? You never cared about your birthday, but Jin and Yuuji were here! Of course this was going to be a special day.

You froze at the end of the stairs, the drumming of your heart too wild to tame. Jin was blowing kisses into Yuuji’s belly, the baby’s gleeful laughter painting the walls.

He must’ve felt your stare burning holes at the back of his head because Jin turned your way, Yuuji pressed into his chest as he walked towards you. You were once again blown away by his sweet scent, a mix of gentle laundry detergent and something was just so Jin.

“Hey there,” he smiled, knocking the wind out of your lungs with just two words. “I didn’t have anything cool planned for today since I wasn’t prepared but I know this nice restaurant you might really like. It’s going to be my treat!”

“Oh thanks, but my friends already fed me enough with pizza and cake. Is it okay if we just take a walk around somewhere?”

“Yeah, of course!” Grabbing his arm to pull him away from prying eyes, you walked out of the campus, extending your arms to celebrate your freedom once the warm sunshine kissed at your skin, the cool wind soothing you afterwards. Jin laughed at your carefree expression, watching as you twirled and danced a little at the peace provided to you by the park. “Happy Birthday again! So how’s it feel like being a year older?”

“I feel like nothing’s changed, but at the same time nothing is the same too,” you told him through a laugh, “Does that make sense?”

“Totally. When I first got Yuuji, I didn’t think anything changed too, but now I can’t imagine a life without this little guy.”

Your adrenaline rush had worn down.

Walking side by side with Jin, arms brushing from the lack of proximity even though the area was practically empty, it dawned on you that Jin had lived an entire life before you, and you couldn’t stop yourself from asking: “Do you...do you still think about her sometimes? His mom?”

Jin was silent for a moment. The sudden stretch of nothingness had anxiety crawling at you hard enough you were about to apologize for asking such a sensitive question, but Jin only smiled at you, although his smile was...sad, regretful, even.

“His mom and I didn’t work out,” he began. “I always knew she had some family issues when we began dating in college, but I didn’t think too much of it. Back then, all I knew was that I loved her and wanted to spend my life with her, so we eloped. Her parents didn’t like it, of course, and they demanded we brought her back,”

“She was pregnant at that time so I refused to let her see her family again knowing how toxic they were to her. But they insisted, and...and she wasn’t the same after that. She just started looking at me differently and hating the growing child inside of her,” Jin kissed the top of Yuuji’s head as he spoke, almost as if silently reminding his son he was loved no matter what.

“When Yuuji was born, she couldn’t even look at him; said she refused to be a mother and to cut ties with me. So we divorced and...well, I don’t know, to be honest. Last time I heard, she’d already remarried in such a short time – to a man her family approved of this time around.”

“Do you still love her?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted with a chuckle, eyebrows furrowed while Yuuji clutched at the collar of his turtleneck sweater, his doe eyes staring right up at you. “Do we ever really stop loving someone?”

Your heart fell at his words. So maybe he still did love her. You always knew you might never get a chance – but surely wishing for it wasn’t such a crime. “Does that mean you won’t fall in love with anyone else anymore?”

“Who would like a nerdy single dad like me?” Jin threw his head back in laughter, the disbelief apparent in his voice. It shocked you that he thought of himself this way, because in your eyes, he was perfect. “Plus, I’m too busy to date. Other than you, I don’t really hang out with women all that much, and you’ve seen in my worst state – like that one time I nearly went to work wearing the wrong tie or with my glasses skewed. I don’t think I’m the type people would want to date.”

“Well, who knows?”

“Yeah, who knows?” he mimicked your shrug, still painfully oblivious that you wore your heart on your sleeve.

Once the sun had completely shied away from the clouds and the heat grew too much for Yuuji, you both resorted to going back to his apartment. Yuuji was happily playing on the ground as he smashed his toys together, while you and Jin wore matching aprons (you didn’t ask why he had two) as you mixed the batter and he preheated the oven.

“I’m still sorry I couldn’t get to buy you a cake, by the way. But we have all the ingredients here and a homemade cake is always amazing!” Instead of smiling at his words, Jin was met with your glossy eyes, lips trembling. You’d completely stopped mixing the batter, no longer in control of yourself as you watched him happily skip back and forth to the ingredients.

Jin rushed to your side in a flash, hands hovering before you. He couldn’t really touch you since he had flour all over his skin, a smidge of it right under his worried gaze. “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing. It’s just...I’ve never really experienced this before. Having someone invite me to their home and bake me a cake for my birthday,” you looked down on the ground, feeling the emotional dam inside you starting to crack. “When I was young, I never even cared about my birthday because I was too busy tending after my siblings. After that, I forgot all about it and I was only surprised when my friends brought me gifts today,” You knew you were rambling, and you waved your hands in front of yourself, forcing yourself to smile. “I’m sorry – I’m being dramatic, aren’t I?”

“Hey, no, you’re not,” Suddenly, Jin pulled you into a hug, your body fitting perfectly in his arms. “I want you to know you’re family to us now. You’re always welcome here with me and Yuuji. We’ll take care of each other like family. We’ll bake you all the cakes you want from now on.”

The rest of his words were drowned out by the thumping of your chest.

You couldn’t hear him, couldn’t even properly see him – in that moment, all you could do was feel. You felt his warm breath ghosting over the column of your neck, his calloused hands patting gently at your back, the heat of his body seeping into yours that pulling away seemed to be such a daunting task. He felt like home, smelled like all the sweetness you lacked in your life, and you just knew you had to tell him.

“Jin. There’s something I have to tell you.”

“Yes?”

“I,” your breath shuddered, hands coming up to clutch at the material of his shirt. “I’m in love with you.”

Just like that, the string broke.

Jin pulled away from you faster than you could comprehend. When you opened your eyes, he was already at an arm’s length away from you, nothing but the sounds of your heart shattering into pieces muddling with his words.

His back dipped into a low bow. “I am extremely sorry; I cannot accept your feelings. It’s not that you’re not loveable; it’s just...you’re my son’s babysitter and I believe this is really inappropriate. Yuuji is vulnerable still and the last thing I want to do is date when I should be focusing on his life instead. I’m really sorry, Y/N. I don’t see nor do I feel that way for you.”

Hurt. Broken. Humiliated. Ashamed. Torn.

A plethora of feelings crashed over you all at once until breathing became such a hard thing to do, his words replaying like a broken record in your head.

He didn’t love you.

He didn’t feel the same way.

And it made sense – because why would he? “Yeah, oh my gosh!” you exclaimed while waving your hands frantically in front of your face, your unexpected enthusiasm causing Jin to peer up at you curiously under his lashes. “I mean, of course, I knew that already, duh. I’m not stupid, but like, yeah I’m really sorry, I’m probably making you so uncomfortable right now. I’m really, really sorry.”

“You’re not, I assure you,” he smiled gently again, but this time around, you weren’t soothed. It felt totally humiliating. Your toes curled inside your socks as your forced smile froze on your face in hopes of not making this any weirder than it already was, and you only chuckled as Jin cleared his throat. “I hope we can still be friends after this and that we can keep our professional relationship,” you nodded eagerly, a little too eagerly, and Jin awkwardly gestured to the pans. “So...a cake is waiting to be baked.”

“Yeah, let’s get to baking!”

If Jin noticed that you were a lot more enthusiastic than you were this morning, he didn’t comment about it. He hummed under his breath in agreement, the both of you working synchronously.

You’ve been in his house long enough that you knew where all the pans and ingredients were, silently handing things over one another through a forced polite conversation of how the other’s day went. A pat on your back was well deserved from how you managed to keep up with his questions, your broken heart perfectly concealed under forced smiles and dry chuckles.

In reality, you couldn’t focus.

On the inside, you were shattered. Why did you have to fall for him out of all people? There could’ve been so many others – like Fushiguro Toji from Biology, Gojo Satoru the playboy, Suguru Geto the heir of his large corporation – but it had to be Itadori Jin.

He was so close and yet out of reach, seemingly so unattainable that your lips had dried from how often you licked at them in an attempt to keep the tears in.

You knew you ruined everything. Soon, you’d have to say goodbye to baby Yuuji, no longer able to kiss him on top of his head and see him smile the moment you walked through the door, his dad equally alight upon seeing you got Yuuji a stuffed toy as a gift.

You were stupid for thinking you could even be part of this family. They were happy and fine enough – what role did you have here?

Compared to an actual working adult who’d already experienced many things in life like Jin, you were just a flimsy, lovesick little girl who was only learning how to love. And with loving, came the guaranteed promise of heartbreak.

You just never expected it would be this way.

As Jin turned his back to you to place the batter inside the oven, your hands shook, desperately wiping the sweat of your palms on your jeans. “Excuse me for a minute,” you dashed to the bathroom, locking yourself and finally allowing the broken gasps to leave your lips.

Your back was laid flat on the wall, your shirt tucked in your mouth as you slapped your thigh, the tears streaming endlessly down your cheeks.

You didn’t want to leave him. You wanted to stay longer, wanted to be able to see his face every waking morning and to make him tea while he made breakfast. You wanted to watch Yuuji grow up and hold hands with Jin, to tell him you would love him if he allowed you. But he didn’t – and it hurt so much that your eyes grew red from the incessant crying.

It was better to just leave than to be kicked out. You couldn’t stay here any longer.

So you wiped your tears away, dunking water to your face before you rushed out the room, bag slung across your shoulder. Yuuji stopped playing as he watched you wear your shoes in frantic movements, your heart bursting through with pain.

You didn’t dare look Jin in the eye.

“Hey, Jin, I’m so sorry – my friends called. They’re inviting me out for drinks tonight and I can’t say no.”

“But...the cake.”

“Yeah, you can eat it yourself, I’m really sorry to bother but uhm, anyways, BYE!” Left confused, Jin stared at the door slammed shut hard enough that Yuuji fell to the floor in surprise, small whines leaving his lips.

Jin couldn’t tell whether his son cried because you’d left them, or he was simply afraid of the sound. Whatever it was, the sinking feeling in his stomach was much too clear.

The next few days were hell. Your friends noticed the sudden drop in your mood, the loss of appetite, and the fact that you were clearly sleep-deprived.

How could you get sleep when your phone wallpaper was Yuuji kissing your cheeks, his dad laughing in the background? How could you sleep when your textbook still lay on your desk, a painful reminder of that time Jin had tutored you? How could you sleep when Wednesdays and Fridays had returned to its normal mundane self with nothing left to look forward to?

You couldn’t tell your friends about it either. All they knew was that you hadn’t been going to work because you came up with a flu, when in reality you’d been buried under your sheets, desperately ignoring the loud silence of your phone.

No texts. No calls. No how are you’s or how are you doing?

Not that you expected him to care since you did step out of line; you’d been completely unprofessional and Jin might not recommend you to future works anymore, though that was the least of your worries.

You just wanted to forget everything. His smile, his laughter, his kindness, the sound of his voice and how he always smelled like sweet vanilla.

Crying yourself to sleep and wishing each day would come to an end faster was absolutely exhausting. The lack of sunlight caused you to be groggy and gray – if you kept up at this state, you’d completely wither like a dried sunflower. You didn’t want to go out but your mini fridge was empty, stomach loudly grumbling for food.

You sighed as you closed the door, unkempt hair up in a bun and body adorned with an oversized shirt and the sweatpants you’ve refused to wash for two days now.

You were a mess – both on the inside and the outside – and your eyes lacked their usual warmth. Your movements mimicked that of a robot as you straggled to the nearest convenience store, about to enter when you heard someone cry out.

“Mama!”

Hands frozen on the door, your eyes widened before your head craned to the sound of rushed footsteps. In front of you was a panting Jin, a wailing baby Yuuji in his arms who only cried louder once he set his eyes on you. Jin gasped for air, and you both moved in sync, with you reaching out for baby Yuuji and him handing his child over to you.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry! Yuuji’s first word was Mama and I didn’t know what he meant but then he started crying and clutching the strawberry toy you got him and I’m so sorry, he just won’t stop crying. He kept looking for you.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize!” you replied back, adding a bounce to your step to cradle Yuuji who’d buried his damp face onto your neck, crying mama over and over again.

Memories of meeting Jin for the first time and his reminder that he didn’t want Yuuji calling you that nearly made you kneel down in apology, but you opted for a slight bow, your hot tears trailing down your face because you missed him, but it was all messed up and seeing him once more only dug a deeper crater in your heart.

Before you completely left each other’s lives, you at least wanted to apologize.

“I realized my mistake and made it so weird for the both of us. Plus, Yuuji didn’t say Dada and I think that’s my fault. I swear I wasn’t trying to replace his mom or anything, I just—”

“I love you too,” he cut you off, and your eyes snapped from the ground back to his flustered face.

“What?”

“I’m sorry for lying that I don’t feel the same way,” he confessed, scratching the back of his neck while his ears flushed a deep red. “The truth is, my father always told me that Yuuji’s mom wasn’t a good person and I should stay away from her, but I never listened. A-and I always talked to him about Yuuji’s new babysitter and how kind you were and how I think I’m falling for you. He said I should man up and tell you but I was just afraid to love again since I’ve fallen before and I don’t want to be hurt again,” Jin bowed to you in a perfect angle, his son now at peace in your arms. “I’m sorry.”

“Jin,” you breathed out, the tears prickling at the back of your eyes. You couldn’t believe this was happening – you wanted to embrace him, to kiss him, hold him, but you’d been so engrossed in your own heartbreak you never even thought about Jin’s fears. “I’d never hurt you or Yuuji.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for hurting you like that,” he straightened up, feeling you stiffen under him when his arms wrapped around you. He felt so warm, and you felt so at place that your tears damped his sweatshirt, Jin’s hands gently caressing your waist. “Is it okay if we come back home?”

You cried louder than you ever did your whole life, though this time it was mixed with laughter. Jin laughed with you as you encircled your free arm around his neck to pull him closer, your lips eager as you littered kisses over his neck.

“Yes, of course,” you giggled, “You don’t even have to ask.”

You only ever wanted a job as a babysitter to make ends meet – falling in love was out of the equation – but with the magic presented right in front of you, you weren’t going to push it away, and neither did Jin. This time, you embraced each other wholeheartedly, pink hearts floating in the air while the strawberry-haired baby giggled in your presence, delighted that now his family was whole.

#itadori jin x reader #itadori jin #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #itadori yuuji x reader #itadori yuuji #jujutsu kaisen fluff #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen romance #jjk #jjk itadori jin #jjk imagines #jjk fluff #jjk romance #uh idk how else to tag this but anyways have some jin content #JIN SIMPS UNITE #HE'S THE BEST DAD FUFU

[doctorbeth]

Stripes the 50 year old tiger

This will be a longer post, because it’s all about the details, and there was a lot of going back and forth with photos and emails to get Stripes and his stripes just right.  So be sure you’re comfy when you sit down to read it. :-)

***************

Stripes person first wrote to me back in December about her tiger, Stripes, and his companion RedEye the snake.  Both were starting to feel their age, but as she said,

“ As you can see Stripes is in the most need of repairs. Personally, I’m guessing that a full recovering is needed, but I’m certainly no expert and will follow your advice.  Here are some pics which show Stripes fur disappearing and soon he will be bald.  Amazingly he has no damage that I can find. His ears need some stuffing, but they have never been tall, firm standing Teddy Bear ears.”

Here are the diagnosis photos she sent:

As you can see, his belly section was pretty good, but his furry parts were wearing and fading.  His person really wanted his fur recovered, in an orangier rather than tanner fur, and she opted for him to have a spa too.

Here he is in his bubble bath:

Once he was dry, he got restuffed and of course, got a heart with a bit of his original stuffing.  Here’s his heart being made:

Then it was time to choose furs.  As some of you know who’ve been reading for a while, usually with tigers we use a solid fur of the preferred background color, then add the stripes by hand afterwards.  Here were the best fur options:

His person opted for the orangier, furrier one.

Stripes got recovered, and some smaller wounds on his belly were sewn.  Then, it was time for hand striping.  I did some basic  striping, and then sent photos for feedback:

His person’s first response was:

Beth, you’ve made me cry at work.  I’m absolutely over the moon with Stripes new look!!!  Holy cats he’s looking beautiful!!  You are AMAZING!

But I was asking for striping feedback, and she happily provided it:

The stripes.  Thank you for being so conservative. :) I would like to add some more stripes. I’ve included an updated pic that shows where I would like some stripes added.

Tail:   Could you put 2 stripes in a ring pattern around the tail? They continue the black spots you started. I also noticed with other Gund tigers that the ring was painted at a slight angle or sprayed as 2 “halves”, not a straight ring that looked like a raccoon’s tail. (pics)  I know that there was more black at the tip of the tail, but I don’t think the whole tip was black.

Back Leg:   I’ve continued your 3 spots into stripes.

Body:  I’ve added 2 stripes, but if you will notice stripe #2 is in the shape of a ‘V”. (I remember this detail as a child)  The stripes do NOT have to line up with the fabric underneath.  They didn’t before.  :D

Face: I’ve added a short stripe above Stripes’ right eye. This detail always gave him a slight serious look without being mean. (not a lot of slant to the line, if any) I have always loved this detail about him.  And I’ve elongated the stripe on his forhead.

Beth, I’m pretty sure we will be adding some more stripes to the back, especially his head but I thought we might tackle this bit first.

She closed with:

Again, I just absolutely can’t thank you enough for your beautiful and loving work on my best friend. I have been showing people the before and after pics for the last 5 hours.  I’m so happy!!!

So back to drawing stripes on Stripes I went.  Here are the next batch of photos:

Stripes person was thrilled:

Stripes looks spectacular!!  I mean he is just awesome with the stripes that you’ve filled out.

She wanted just one more stripe.  She sent a photo, but it was in another format, so I won’t put it here, but she also described what she wanted very well:

So I just have 1 more stripe for you.  If you look at my pic, you will see that I’ve drawn a line over the small black dot that is on his forehead.  In the last pic you sent me you can still see that it’s just a spot and not a stripe.  Could you lengthen that spot into a stripe for me?

Please note the position. When you are seated facing Stripes, this stripe includes/starts at the black spot and runs towards the right.  You have a pretty stripe that’s higher on the head already placed on the left so this one goes off to the right and is the same length as that one.

Adjustment made, I sent another photo (you can see the printout with her line instruction next to him):

Her response:

Perfection Achieved!  I’m so so happy!!!!   How many exclamation points can I put in an email to show you how perfect Stripes is!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So Stripes got packed up and headed home to a grateful human and snake.  Here he is at home with his pal, RedEye:

His person was soooo happy!  She wrote a very long thank you, with a history of Stripes and RedEye, and I don’t want to edit it, so I’m copying it entirely here for you to read.  But you can skip it if you want and just know she was happy!

Hi Beth,

Sit back and relax.  This may be a little bit of a long happy read.  :D   Please feel free to use any content or pics from my emails for your blog.

I waited anxiously for Stripes to arrive.  Yes, my husband signed for the box and I couldn’t wait to get home!

And so the moment has arrived.  I brought Stripes best friend Redeye in from the bedroom to help me open the package. We open,  I close my eyes dig in past the packing peanuts and pull out our best friend.  Oh My Goodness!  He is beautiful! bright! and colorful! He practically glows! I see his face. Yes, yes! It’s Stripes!  I see the same face I’ve gazed into and loved for 50 years. And that’s when the tears start. Crying, mouth open in shock but my husband says he’s never seen me happier.  ..After many long years, I can finally cuddle my friend again.

Beth you have given me back something I thought I would never have again.  I love Stripes so, but I couldn’t, didn’t dare to pet him or cuddle him. I had to be so gentle, so afraid that I was doing more damage to him. But now all that is over!  I can sleep with my buddy by my side. I can take him on vacations again!  I’m tearing up just writing this.  I can’t express my joy…absolute joy over the work you have done. Stripes looks like a beautiful and bright toy again.  Thank you Beth.  Thank you so very much.

…And I’ll be sending Redeye to you some time in February.  I’ll be sure to email you first to start the process.

And here’s a little history about Stripes.  Stripes was a Christmas present in 1969. I have always loved tigers and I was in deep love the moment I saw him. He has enjoyed play tea parties with me, and watched drive-in movies sitting in the back window. He has looked over the candy hauls that I collected during Halloween and been in a beautiful oak tree during the crisp dry autumn. (Carefully placed on a towel, but he needed to experience a tree. He is a tiger after all.)   He has been with me in Japan for a year and traveled all over the US northwest  looking out of a train window. And he has done all these things with Redeye by his side.

--But let’s face the facts, in the last few years my friend was disappearing before my eyes. There was good fortune that his seams were okay but the fur was coming off. His stripes were completely gone in areas. He was looking more yellow everywhere. And I dared only to pat him. That’s when I began to search for help to restore my friend and so I found Realms of Gold on the internet.

Beth has been wonderful, corresponding with emails and working out details by sending pictures back and forth. She listened to my input and was absolutely amazing at applying the stripes in the right places. We actually discussed exactly where to put them.  :D  I trust Beth’s skills so much that I will be sending Stripes best friend Redeye along soon.  He was amazed and so happy with Stripes look, that he can’t wait to go to Realms of Gold!

Okay Beth, this may be a little serious but I wanted to express my honest feelings, and let you know why this has been so important to me.

With my 2 stuffed animals loosing hair and looking tired a sobering thought occurred to me. If something happened to me, what would happen to them? We have no children to give them to. We can’t donate them because being so worn out, no one would take them. And the thought that they might end up in a garbage bin was too much. Of course for me, my goal was to pet, play and enjoy them again.  That goes without saying.  But now, seeing Stripes beautiful bright colors, I am happy and secure in knowing that years from now, I can donate or will him to a children’s home where he will continue to be loved. (I have several friends who grew up in orphanages and we think it’s a wonderful idea.)

Thank you so much Beth!!!!!!

I don’t know about all of you, but that made me smile all day. :-)

#stuffed animal repair #stuffed animal hospital #stuffed animal cleaning #stuffed animals #tigers #tiger #stuffed animal tiger #toy tiger

[kasey-writes-stuff]

Hey love if it’s not to much to ask can I ask for lers Sapnap and dream and lee reader? If your feeling up to it and If you haven’t done it already

I JUST REALIZED THIS HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY DRAFTS FOR AGES I AM SO SORRY! I WROTE THIS AGES AGO SO SORRY IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT AH

You try to reach your favorite cup, your arms out stretched as far as they can go but it's on a shelf just out of your reach. Dream can't resist as he sneaks up on you chuckling as he squeezes your sides causing for you to let out a small scream and giggle as you turn and lightly hit him. "Ah! Drehehammm!" Sap giggles from the living room and says "oh what was that all about?" Smirking a bit as he stands up and stands in the doorway of the kitchen, you blush as you try and say it was nothing but you're promptly cut off by Dream "Oh you didn't know? Haha this is great!" Sap turns his head slightly wheels already spinning but deciding to drag it out for anticipation purposes "Didn't know what?" You attempt to cover dreams mouth with your hand but he simply rolls his eyes as he promptly wiggles his fingers in your exposed armpit causing for you to giggle and slam your arm down "ahaha!"

He scoffs a bit saying "What I was gonna say before I was rudely interrupted!" He paused to jokingly glare at you "Was that Y/N here is insanely ticklish!" He smiles excitedly and slightly evilly as sap's eyebrows raise again "Oh really? Are they now?" His smile has a bit of evil to it as he advances towards you, you nervously smile trying to plan an escape route... you decide to go for the straight forward attempt and try to run past him but it's no use he easily grabs you and carries you to the living room quickly and effectively pinning your arms above your head... Dream comes in a few moments later offering to hold your arms above your head for him "Hey sap I could hold their arms if you want" he stares directly at you smirking as he says every word, sap is quick to say that it would be great! You whine slightly "dreeeaammm noho..." Sap laughs "Wow already giggling?" Dream laughs and says "Ha! I'm surprised they weren't giggling before now honestly!" Your blush brightens as the teases continue "s-shut up-"

Dream gasps and sap pokes your tummy as he says "Hey! Don't tell Dream to shut up!" You squeak you're flusteredness increasing "EEK! SAP!" Saps eyes widen a bit and Dream smirks before he says "Oh yea you definitely should NOT tickle them there! They're definitely NOT ticklish there at all!" Sap nods as he smiles "Ah yea definitely sounds like there's no point in going here then... since ya know doing something like this wouldn't even do anything..." He smirks before using his blunt nails to scratch  around your stomach causing you to squeal and instinctively try to suck it in "EEEE HAHAH SSSHAHAHAHPPPP NNOOHOHO!" Dream laughs as he says "Oops my bad I guess they ARE ticklish there! I guess they're VERY ticklish there!" Sap nods as he says "Yea I think so... which means... All the more reason to absolutely use this spot as an advantage to tickle them to pieces!" Suddenly he switches to squeezing any area of your soft and tender tummy he can reach as he coos teases at you such as

"Ahahwww you're so ticklish here aren't you? Coochie coochie coooooo! Tickle tickle tickle! You're such a little cutie!" You Yelp before breaking into loud laughter again as you desperately try to hide your deep red colored face but it's no use seeing as Dream has a very good grip on your wrists! "AAHH SSSSHAHAHHAHAHHAHAPPPPP NNHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Sap smiles as he says "Oho teasing is pretty effective I see" Dream nods smiling knowingly as he says "Oh yea they can't take teasing worth crap! It makes them soooo blushy and I think it even makes them more ticklish!" Sap awes as he smiles at you stopping to give you a slight break as he lightly caresses your cheek getting lost in your eyes for a moment as he says "You really are such a cutie" Your blush spreads to your ears as a slight nervous shiver spreads through you at his light touch and a short giggle breaks out as his fingers graze your jaw line. Dream breaks into laughter "Ahahahha! No way ahahaha! Your jawline is even ticklish?"

You attempt to glare at Dream "Shush it nerd! At least I don't have t-t-.... sensitive knees like you!" Sap can't help but chuckle as he says "Oh they got you there Dreamie!" Dreams cheeks have a light pink dusting to them as he locks eyes with sap before saying "Well at least I don't have a ticklish back like you do!" You're quick to pipe up "Actually Dream your back is in fact sensitive even though you refuse to admit it" He huffs as he says "Shut up!" You giggle a bit before without thinking saying "Make me!" He chuckles as he sees the realization hit your face at your mistake "Oho I will! Hey sap lift their shirt a bit" Sap is slightly confused but does as Dream says and he lightly lifts your shirt to rest just a few inches above your belly button... Dream nods "Perfect! Now sap do you know what a raspberry is?" Sap is further confused as he says

"Uh yea??? It's a fruit???" Dream mentally facepalms as he drops his head sighing before saying "Well yea technically you're right but the kind of raspberry I'm talking about is the one where you blow a bunch of air onto a ticklish part of the persons body in this case and most usually the case their stomach!" Sap nods finally understanding and remembering "Oh yea yea yea! I gotchu!" In an instant his face is on your stomach, you squeak at the prickly tickly feeling of his beard this being a new feeling seeing as Dream is almost the only person to ever give you raspberries and he doesn't usually have a beard. "AAH! Friiiiccckkk!" They both laugh and then break into more laughter as you Yelp "AH DONT DO THAT!" He raises his head with slight tears of mirth in his eyes as he says " ahahahah no way this is absolute gold! Even my laugh tickles you"

Dream is finally able to stop his classic wheeze as he says "Dude I didn't even know that!" Your blush brightens as you mutter "I didn't either-" They both awe at you and Dream lightly ruffles your hair and sap smiles before asking "Wanna get on with this cutie?" You nod shyly and his smile widens as he leans his head back down slowly connecting with your stomach but not yet blowing any air as he wants to intensify the anticipation seeing as this is the grand finale after all! You whine slightly and Dream chuckles as he starts a countdown

"7...6...5...4..." Suddenly sap takes a big breathe and blows as hard as he can! Your laughter is silent before a scream breaks out and loud laughter escapes your adorable frame before silence once again! After a few seconds sap lifts his head playfully swiping his beard back and forth a few times claiming he's doing it just to dry your stomach slightly but really it's just to hear your giggles once more... Dream let's go of your arms and they slowly and softly fall to rest by your sides, Sap is entranced by just how adorable you look right now.. I mean you always look so adorable to him all the time but there's something extra special about how you look right now and before he even realizes what's happening he's leaning down and before you realize what's happening you're leaning up and suddenly your lips connect!

They connect very softly and for only a matter of seconds but the butterflies are so intense and you can't hide the dazed happy look on your face, Dream claps dramatically as he groans and says "Ugh finally! I didn't think you two were ever gonna do that!" You and sap glance at each other and giggle before telling him to shut up, Dream being Dream sassily says "And if I don't?" He smirks confidently but his smirk of confidence quickly turns into a nervous smile as he sees you and sap nod and start advancing towards him, "G-guys we can talk about this right?" You and sap laugh and tackle him and so for the next few hours nothing but laughter is heard!

The end

#ler!sapnap #ler!dream #lee!reader #mcyt tickle #dsmp tickle

[morgana-ren]

my kink is shiggy going absolutely feral and wrecking the pussy

 I am soooo sorry this took so long to respond to. I’ve been working nutty hours and it’s been busier than usual. I’m also sososo sorry the quality sucks. I wrote half of it tonight and I am crazy sick. I’ve got some sort of awful flu and I’m like coughing to the point where I can’t breathe and my mouth tastes like blood and my body feels like I was hit by a train. I hope you like it though :/ (BTW this ended up way longer and weirdly… sweeter than I originally intended? I hope it’s still okay though)

He’s sitting at the bar, and admittedly, he’s had a few more drinks than he usually has. Originally, he just wanted to take the edge off, but now he’s feeling a little bit loose. His inhibitions are definitely lower than they should be, so he’s maintaining his composure by trying to keep to himself. He very rarely allows himself to relax like this, but it’s been one hell of a week, and his pent-up rage and anger is threatening to boil over unless he lets himself decompress. It’s for his sake, and more importantly, for the sake of everyone around him, so he allows himself this one.

There’s only one little problem.

That problem is you.

Even at his most attentive, the absolute height of his prowess, he was starting to realize that there was something a little different about you. Don’t get me wrong, he cared about all of his team. They were his family now and he was content with that. But occasionally he found his eyes lingering on you a little too long, getting a little too lulled by the sound of your voice. He would even go as far as to say he felt something akin to giddiness when you would plop down on the stool next to him at the bar.

Tomura was no fool. He knew what it was. He understood in some capacity that he was attracted to you. He had been since you joined. He figured it was inevitable to some degree. After all, he wasn’t exactly a people person, and the ones he did surround himself with weren’t exactly suited to his sexual tastes. He felt for Toga like a big brother would (not to mention the fact that she was underage and that was definitely not his cup of tea.) And the rest of the team? He’d rather shove a nail in his foot.

But you? You seemed a little too perfect.

He tried to play it off as his loneliness. A young female around his age with a powerful quirk and similar views? Of course nature would take its course and veer his attention toward you. That didn’t mean it had to be genuine, right? Surely it would die with time, fading into the background until it was nothing but a dull echo and eventually nonexistent. He was just touch starved, feeling particularly lonesome and isolated recently. It had nothing at all to do with the fact that you had been running circles around his mind lately. Nope. Not at all.

He didn’t spare you any extra attention, gave you no favors. He didn’t let his libido steer his judgement, letting his rational mind keep control instead. He was the leader after all, and it was his job to refrain from bias toward any member of his team. Favoring one or the other, especially because one had a face and personality partial to his own personal tastes, was not a good look. He was a professional. He needed to act like one.

He thought he was doing a pretty good job.

At least until now.

His grip on the glass is a little too tight, just a bit too strained. He can hear you laughing behind him, at what he doesn’t know, but he knows it was ashtray that made you do it. It had been like this the last half hour. You and Dabi had been playing some sort of drinking game and clearly having one hell of a time. Exchanging stories, bantering, and joking back and forth.

Tomura might as well have been a fly on the wall.

Neither one of you seemed to pay him any mind, letting him drink alone in peace. At least as much peace as he could have while you two were practically rioting behind him. With his back turned, you couldn’t see how unbelievably irritated he was either. He told himself it was the noise. He had a headache and you two really should keep it the fuck down. That’s what he told himself.

“Hey dollface, you ever played ‘never have I ever?”

Dabi’s slurring slightly, clearly already deep in his cups. Whatever bullshit game you had been playing before, you had obviously been winning. You seem essentially sober, and yet you were still humoring this asshole. Shigaraki closes his eyes and rolls them. You two were utterly juvenile.

“Not since I was a kid.” 

“You wanna play?” The suggestiveness in burn-unit’s voice is just a little too palpable. Shigaraki forces down another coming wave of irritation. He didn’t need to be subjected to this. Two of his subordinates acting like fucking baboons. 

“Sure. I hate playing quarters with you anyway. You suck at it, but the quarters you use get too warm and they keep burning my fingers.” 

“Can’t help it. I’m hot.” He raises his arms in a joking prostration, nearly falling off of his chair in the process. You chortle, snorting under your breath at his pathetic display. Shigaraki notes that you don’t disagree, however. 

“Tell you what, if you can keep your ass in that chair, I’ll play it with you.” 

“Ladies first.” Dabi resituates himself on the seat, loudly pulling himself forward several times until he’s level with the table once more. 

“Okay, let me think… Never have I ever…” You pause for a moment, thinking. “Stolen a car.” 

“Fuckin’ seriously? I had you pegged all wrong, doll! You’re definitely more boring than I thought.” 

“Well? Have you?” You seem to already know the answer, but that’s the point. 

Tomura knows the answer too. In fact, Dabi has stolen cars under his orders. Looks like ashtray loses this round. With any luck, he’ll eventually black out soon and maybe things would calm down.

“Yeah, yeah, give me the cup.” There’s the sound of a shot glass being passed across the table, and then a very loud crash that nearly makes Tomura jump. 

“Bottle’s empty.” Dabi says nonchalantly, as if he didn’t just knock it to the floor, shattering it on accident. “Go get another one.”

“Yes master.” 

It’s blatantly sarcastic and Shigaraki knows it is, but it still makes him flush slightly. Those words from your lips are not what he needs to hear right now.

You scoot away from the table, walking over behind the bar where Shigaraki is seated. There’s a pair of cabinets hanging overhead above him that you’ve got your eye on. However, as you stand in front of him and reach up to scrounge through the inside of them, he does his best to shake his shaggy hair in front of his eyes, trying to cover his ruddy face. You don’t quite realize it, but as you’re digging around up there, you’re giving him an exceedingly generous view of your cleavage.

He tries to tear his eyes away, trying to look anywhere else butat your overexposed chest. It’s unprofessional. It’s crude. It makes him feellike a dirty pervert, leering at you when you’re so oblivious. He doesn’t want to look. He’s not going to look. He’s going to pick up his drink and go in the next room and…

He’s looking. 

Look, you can’t just do that, okay? I mean, you don’t know what you’re doing but still! He might be the leader, but he’s also a man and he has needs. Wants. Desires. And right now, there’s a pair of tits almost directly in his face, so achingly close that he could touch them if he wanted. His fingers are digging into the skin of his palm, trying to quell all the desperate urges he’s feeling right now, chastising himself in his head for even thinking that way. He holds out, thinking of strategies or games or something, anything to beat off those thoughts. Beat off. Fuck.

Finally, you slam the cupboard shut, apparently not having found what you were looking for. He could have technically told you that there was no liquor up there, but far be it from him to make your life any easier. You opt instead to look behind you in some cupboards lining the wall. He takes another sip of his drink, watching you as you fall to your knees, rifling around in the dusty, cobwebbed enclosure. 

“What the fuck is taking so long?” Dabi pipes up from the back, kicking at the glass shards on the floor. 

“I can’t find any!” You call back, before sparing a glance towards Shigaraki himself. “Hey boss, can we-”

“No.” He curls his hand protectively around his own bottle. Like hell he’s giving his liquor to that drunken moron behind him.

You sigh, returning to your efforts. He watches in slight amusement as you toss shit around on the inside, very clearly growing frustrated with your lack of success. At least until you bend down, practically crawling inside. Your upper half is encased on the inside of the cheap wooden hutch, but your bottom half… 

Your backside is perked out directly toward him. You’re wiggling and worming, smacking things out of your way in your quest for more booze, and it’s definitely not helping. He can see the lines and contours of your ass through your pants, moving and shimmying around so much that he’s subconsciously brought his hand up to his face, biting deeply on a knuckle as he watches. 

He doesn’t want to watch. He wants to close his eyes, to look away, to roll his eyes into his head, anything but ogle you like this. His pants are becoming increasingly tight, straining against his crotch. He’s acutely aware of this, shifting in his chair uncomfortably. 

Fucking alcohol. It really has been a while.

“Got it!” You maneuver your way out of the alcove, clutching a bottle of musty liquor in your hands, holding it up triumphantly. Shigaraki snaps out of his haze, face blossoming into a deep shade of crimson. Maybe he’s had enough for tonight… 

“Yeah, yeah, hurry it up half-pint. I’m losing my buzz.” Dabi is very blatantly more than ‘buzzed’, and he seems hellbent on getting black out. It’s no skin off Shigaraki’s ass, at least that way he’ll probably fall over and pass out and you two will finally leave him alone and give him time to compose himself and chase away these intrusive thoughts. 

“Here you go, you big lug.” 

He reaches for the bottle in your hands but you pull it away, shaking your head at him and pouring the shot for him. He shoots you a glare, but takes it none the less. His head lulls over as the liquor burns down his throat and Tomura is betting two more and he’ll be on the floor. 

He just has to hold out until then. It’s probably a good thing that Dabi is on the brink of black out, because Shigaraki is rapidly running out of patience, dropping levels lower every time he has to hear Dabi’s goddamn voice. He’s almost always baseline annoyed with patchwork, but something was making him exceedingly irritating tonight. Every time he spoke you to you, Tomura found his lip twitching at the poorly concealed inflection in his voice. He doubted you even noticed it, but he sure as fuck could.

“My turn.” Dabi manages to garble out, leaning forward toward you on the table, smiling deviously. “Never have I ever… Fucked a member of the team.” 

Tomura can barely hear your shock above his own. Heat prickles painfully below his eyes, mouth slightly agape and both his hands curling into fists. He doesn’t understand why he’s so mad, so angry at it, but he doesn’t exactly care enough to analyze it right now. It’s the typical sort of bullshit shenanigan that drunk people get up to, but it sends his rage meter through the roof. He’s at the end of his rope.

“What?” You laugh anxiously, a barely concealed look of discomfort on your face. “I mean like, yeah, neither have I.” 

Dabi leans even more forward, pushing up from his chair and stabilizing himself on the table as he enters your personal space. His eyelids are lowered, either from the drink or his drunken attempt to be seductive, but either way, it’s a bit laughable. “Do you want to?” 

“That’s enough!” 

Tomura has shoved himself off his stool, kicking it aside as he faces you both. You look utterly started, but Dabi seems unsurprised by his outburst, cocking his head over with a bored expression. “Whattaya want, creep? We’re busy over here.” 

Shigaraki opts to ignore Dabi, instead narrowing his eyes on you. If he didn’t know better, he’d say you looked frightened, eyes popped like a deer in headlights, no doubt wondering why it was you getting the brunt of the scolding when it was very clearly Dabi who was crossing boundaries in front of the boss. Right now, he doesn’t care. 

He stalks over to you, harshly wrapping four fingers around your wrist and dragging you off into the nearby hallway. “I need to speak with you. Now.” 

You gulp almost audibly as he yanks you across the room and into the darkened corridor while Dabi rolls his eyes and scoffs, reaching for the bottle again. Tomura can feel your anxious eyes on the back of his head, no doubt wondering what you were in for, and honestly, even he didn’t know. He had acted on impulse, being led entirely by some instinct that had taken over his brain. 

He brings you down deep into the bowels of the building before he finally stops. It’s where you’re certain no one can hear you scream, no matter how many times you tell yourself that this is your leader and he wouldn’t do that to you. He’s got you against a wall as he stares down at you, crimson irises burning into yours. He looks pissed, but he’s just glaring down at you silently, letting the tension build to unbearable levels. 

“Boss?” You squeak, unable to handle not knowing. 

“Quiet. I’m thinking.” He hisses, snarling at you. 

“B-but boss, I didn’t-”

“I said shut up!” He slams his hands on either side of your head, narrowly avoiding decaying the wall behind you. He’s leaning down, face is so close to yours that you can feel his breath against your cheek, moist and chilling you to the bone. You’re unsure of what exactly is about to happen, and for a moment, he is too. He’s frustrated and flustered and he has no fucking idea what the hell he’s even doing here.

That doesn’t last long. 

Fuck it. 

He crushes his mouth to yours so hard he knows it probably hurts you, but you don’t seem to register it. Your eyes are snapped open, mouth slack and unmoving against his own in your stunned state. To hell with it, he needs to get this out of his system. If you want to hate him later, fine, but he needs to do this. He can’t handle it anymore.

What he doesn’t expect, however, is that after your initial shock wears off, you rake your hands through his hair, pulling him tighter against you, returning his fevered kiss with equally intense fervor. You’re practically devouring him, trying to slip your tongue between his closed lips. While his motions are automatic, his brain practically short circuits.

You’re… kissing him back?

It hits him like a kick in the ass. You’re kissing him back. You are reciprocating. Hell, you’re practically directing at this point. Your hands are clawing at his silver locks, yanking him closer and closer until he can barely breathe. He doesn’t care, he couldn’t care less if he never breathes again as long as you keep yourself pressed against him.

He can feel your body flush against his own, bathing in the warmth of your heat. This is all happening so fast, almost too fast. He never in his wildest dreams would have imagined that you could want him back, and it’s spurring his mind into overdrive. He knows what little self-control he has slipping, and the urge to shove you back further against the wall and take you is becoming a little too overwhelming. He needs to slow down while he still has the ability.

He pulls away if only slightly, just enough that he can croak your name, nails digging into your shoulder in warning. You can see his flushed cheeks, eyes glassy and low. His adam’s apple bobs, swallowing hard against your throat and you can tell he’s doing is best to not envelop you completely in his haze. It’s physically paining him in more ways than one, and you can feel a certain thick hardness worrying between your thighs. Gauging by his facial expression, he’s trying so desperately to communicate to you what’s going through his head without needing to say it.

You get the message. You know he’s trying so hard to keep in check, and no matter how badly he wants it, he’s going to resist. It’s his last defense.

Unfortunately for him, your only desire is to throw gasoline on that fire. You want it, and you want it bad. So, you pull a very unfair move.

You purse your lips in a pout, a simpering little whine emitting from your throat. Your hands make their way down to his narrow hips, gripping him closer between your parted thighs as you roll your body against his overly excitable nether region. Biting your lip, you bring your face close to his ear, whispering.

“Tomura…”

You feel him tense up, seizing as if frozen. His breath is caught in his chest, unable to move or think or breathe. There’s no mistaking the tone in your voice. Your head is in the same space as his. Is he asleep? Dreaming? Alive, even? There’s no way someone like him made it into heaven, so what the fuck was happening?

For the first time since you met him, he looks confused. His thin brows are furrowed, mouth open as if he wants to say something but can’t even find the words. Speechless, for once. He’s not even looking at you anymore, usually thin pupils dilated and switching rapidly between alternate sides of his eyes as if he’s expecting some sort of ambush. He’s utterly lost, and for a moment, you almost feel sorry for him. He’s clearly not used to this. He just needs a tiny little push.

“Fuck me.”

His eyes snap back to yours, a small gasp leaving him. All he needed was your permission, and you just gave it to him. Once you opened that door, there was no closing it. He knows it. You know it. And you’re more than okay with that.

“Please?”

He gives you exactly one second to inhale before he’s on you again. Hands clawing down your back as you struggle to undo your pants which seem exponentially more complicated than they did hours ago. As you kick them down your legs, he catches the hint that your clothing is optional, opting to rip and tear at your shirt rather than take the time to undo it properly. You want to scold him for ruining it, but that’s a bit difficult to do when his tongue is so far down your throat that it might as well be your own. You have a feeling he wouldn’t care even if you could.

You try to do him the favor of unbuttoning his pants, tugging them slightly down his hips, but before you can finish, he grabs your wrists, guiding them up to find anchor behind his neck. You can tell he’s trying to be as gentle and careful as he can, but his hands are shaking and stuttering against you, prying his pinkie fingers back so far that you’re sure it’s cramping him. He doesn’t want to risk harming you, but every bone in his body is screaming at him to tear into you like a predator.

You cling to him as he jerks his jeans down just enough and awkwardly frees himself with one hand, eyes never leaving yours. He’s waiting for you to shove him away, push him off, tell him you were kidding and laugh at him, reject him somehow. But you never do. Even as you can feel him against your legs, he pauses, needing some sort of final confirmation before he goes any further.

You let one hand unhinge from behind him, tracing his jawline and then grabbing his face gently in your hands. He looks vulnerable, almost confused, barely holding back whatever overwhelming need he has and it’s for your sake. You do the only thing you can do, the best reassurance you can think of.

You give him a gentle kiss on the lips, and then nod.

The switch flips.

You barely have time to clasp your hands back around his neck before he’s hiking you around up around his waist by your legs. You manage to lock your ankes together before he’s on you like a feral beast, burrowing his head in the crook of your neck, growling and gnashing his teeth on the tender skin of your throat. He’s grinding his erection between your thighs, rubbing against you and teasing your clit until you’re working against him with equal ferocity, practically ripping his hair by the roots.

He’s got you pinned between his lithe body and the wall, his nails digging into the thick skin of your thighs as he groans against your collar bone. He can feel how wet you are and it’s driving him into a frenzy, your little whimpers only serving to harden his already aching cock. The barely controlled undulation of his hips against yours but a taste of what he’s going to give you, and if he makes you wait much longer, you’re going to lose it.

He lets go of one of your legs, letting you steady yourself with your fastened ankles as his hand creeps between your waiting thighs, stroking and rubbing your nub until you’re bucking your body up into his touch. You’re breathing heavy, gyrating your body to try and increase the friction he’s providing you but it’s not enough. Your pleading looks and half formulated sentences coax a small, cruel giggle from him, reveling in the fact that you’re practically as needy as he is.

“You want it?”

His words are deceptively calm, but the truth of the matter is reflected in his eyes. Wide and bulging, blown out in lust. He’s barely even blinking, memorizing every detail of your wanton body on display for him. His fingers are twitching on his cock as he lines himself with your entrance, every single muscle longing to slam into you full force, but he wants to draw this out. Wants you to beg, needs it.

You nod your head vigorously, a pathetic whine all you can vocalize. You’re squirming in his arms, trying to impale yourself on him and failing. A frustrated groan and a pleading look later, and he decides that it’ll suffice.

”Take it.”

He plunges in, bottoming out inside you with one swift motion. The pressure is intense, stinging even with as wet as you are, but the moan that escapes him is unlike anything you’ve ever heard from him before. He’s always so calculated, so meticulous, but the sheer unadulterated carnality of the sigh that leaves him makes you clench tighter around him. You didn’t think something as simple as a sound could arouse you so much, but something about seeing him so uninhibited makes you hotter than you thought possible.

It takes him a second to adjust to your tightness, but he quickly gets his bearings. Hissing under his breath, he begins thrusting, canting his hips in rhythm as he fucks up into your pliable body. He’s pulling no punches, battering you into the wall until you’re certain there will be bruises. Tenderness is a distant memory but you don’t seem to mind as your cunt is squeezing him so tightly that it’s almost as if you don’t ever want to let go. Your hands untangle themselves from his hair, grabbing onto his shoulders and shredding into his hoodie as you desperately try to stable yourself as he bounces you recklessly on his cock.

Your lecherous moans echo off the walls alongside his huffing and cussing in a cacophony of sin, but neither one of you can muster concern about anyone else hearing you. All you can think about is taking him deeper, rolling your hips in time with his as he pounds into you. He couldn’t give a fuck less if anyone else walks in on it either, even All for One couldn’t command his attention anywhere else but you. The only thing he knows is that he needs to be inside you, needs to feel you and he’ll kill anything that tries to get in the way of that.

Briefly, in the heat of the moment, your eyes meet. Both of you are glossed over, running purely on the fumes of the lustful haze, but there’s something underneath it all that softens you, going beyond pure greed and lasciviousness. He must sense it too, because his free hand comes up to cup your face, puckering your lips with his fingers before he slams his lips to yours once more. There’s a passion to it, an urgency that says something that neither of your words can, and even as you lose yourself moaning into his open mouth, he never lets you go.

Between the frantic pumping and the heated neediness of the kiss, breath is few and far between. You’re both panting in time with each other, desperate for air and each other. You can feel the sweat building on his brow as he rests his forehead against yours, muttering something deep and incomprehensible between consuming you. You’re building up, both reaching your peak and soon his pistoning becomes erratic and broken. You breathe in his ragged, shuddering exhales, swallowing every ounce of himself that he gives you. You never want to let go. You never want to let go.

His cock throbs deep inside you and your orgasm proceeds his. You feel hot ropes of cum coat your insides and your walls milk him even further into completion, clinging fiercely to each other for purchase. Your head is thrown back, practically sobbing as he ushers you into a pleasure so intense that you’re not entirely sure your body can handle it. You’re left drowning and breathless, legs wrapped around him so tightly that it’s cutting off blood flow, arms coiled around his shoulders for dear life.

His mouth is open in a wordless cry, fractured wheezes ripping themselves from his throat as he tries to pull his soul back down to his body. He can’t feel his fingers anymore, can’t feel his extremities, all he can feel is you and your embrace and he decides he never wants to lose it as his lips find yours again, swallowing your cries of pleasure.

Even as you both float back down from your bliss, he doesn’t stop. He doesn’t want to. He knows what’s coming and he’s desperately trying to keep it at bay. He knows he has to let you go eventually, no matter how much he fights it. It’s inevitable, but he’ll draw it out as long as he can.

You don’t stop him.

He kisses you until one of you has no choice but to break it to breathe and he curses the function. With the break, he knows the moment is over.

Gently, he puts you down and does his best to keep you steady on weak, wobbly legs. Your thighs are twitching, already beginning to bruise where his hipbones repeatedly beat into them. He wants to say he feels bad about it, but he doesn’t. It’s a reminder of what you shared. You don’t seem to mind either, even as you nearly fall on your ass trying to gather your pants back up around your legs. Instinctively, you go to button your blouse, but you are quickly reminded that it’s no longer wearable as you realize there’s a gigantic rip through it, and several buttons scattered around on the floor beneath you. You quirk your brow at him, giving him a look of faux annoyance as you take it off and throw it at him.

“Oh.”

He catches the hint but seems lost for a minute. He’s looking around at the walls and the floor as if there’d be a convenient dresser that would pop out of thin air, and you have to resist the urge to laugh. He’s clearly still post-orgasmic delirium, and there’s something just so adorable about seeing such a serious, brooding figure so utterly clueless.

Eventually, he sighs, placing four of his fingers underneath the bottom hem of his hoodie and carelessly yanking it up over his head before chucking it at you in the same manner. He says nothing, but you understand. You look at it for a moment before raising it up over your head, awkwardly trying to maneuver your head and arms into the proper holes in the dark hallway. It takes you a good minute, but you manage.

“I’ll get you a new one.” He’s bashfully scratching the back of your head as he holds your shirt in his hand. He seems embarrassed now, which makes it very hard to resist the urge to giggle at him.

“Don’t even worry about it. I didn’t care about it that much.”

You tuck your hands into the pocket of the hoodie, and you realize just how comfy it is. No wonder he always wears it. You’re probably going to steal it. It definitely, absolutely has nothing to do with the fact that his scent is bombarding you now. Nothing to do at all with the fact that you can still feel the warmth of his body while you wear it. Nope. No chance. No way.

“You should bring that back to me when you change.”

You’ve been foiled.

“I’ll be up. You know where my room is, right?”

Oh.

OH.

You grin cheekily at him, shaking your head. “Yeah, I know where your room is. Give me a few minutes and I’ll drop it by.”

You could swear you see him smile a little when you agree.

“Good. That one’s my favorite.”

You want to make a joke about whether he’s talking about you or the hoodie, but he’s already stalking off. You’re not worried, you’ll see him soon enough.

You have to cross through the kitchen to get back to your room, and you are very surprised to see Dabi still sitting in the same chair where you left him. Well, not surprised to see him, but surprised that he’s not on the floor and is still very much awake. He looks over at you, frowning as he slides a shot glass across the table towards your direction.

“I think you have to take that last shot now.”

#Tomura Shigaraki #Shigaraki x Reader #Lemon #I'm so sorry if this sucks #I feel like someone hit me with 40 sick sticks #tw alcohol #Anonymous #just a warning this is straight up unedited

[stuffthatbard]

Don’t Let Go

Summary: Geralt comes back from a hunt, needing to fuck the succubus venom out of his system, despite the fact that Jaskier desperately needs to piss. He makes Jaskier hold it while he fucks him, even as Jaskier is crying with the need to let go—whether that’s his bladder, or his orgasm, or both. 

Tags: Mildly Dubious Consent, Sex Pollen (kind of), Omorashi, Watersports, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia's Black Eyes, Large Cock, Top Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Bottom Jaskier | Dandelion, Blow Jobs, Kissing, Biting, obligatory bath scene, Begging, Humiliation, Wetting, Aftercare

read here on ao3, or below: 

--

Jaskier and Geralt had fucked before, of course, but never yet had Jaskier gotten used to just how fucking big Geralt was. At least he was an attentive lover, always making sure Jaskier was well-stretched before pushing inside. It was still a surprise every time, somehow, how much Jaskier could feel every inch of Geralt inside of him, pushing him almost to his limit.

And the orgasms were downright spectacular.

But maybe not right now, when Geralt had just finished a hunt, and was still dripping with gods-knew what, and was looking at Jaskier with that dark, predatory gaze that meant he wanted a fuck. Right now.

Jaskier gulped as Geralt stalked closer, traitorous cock stirring in his pants. Now was not the time—especially when he had been on his way to the privy before Geralt had stalked into the room.

“Geralt,” he greeted nervously. “How, er, how did it go?”

Geralt only stared at him with those depthless black eyes, and then walked closer, growling softly under his breath. Jaskier tried not to flinch as Geralt leaned in close, sniffing at his neck, gloved hands coming to clutch at his doublet.

And then the bastard bit him, not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to bruise, for sure. Jaskier gasped, ignoring the way his cock hardened even further under the attention.

His head was spinning with sensation, the room suddenly too hot, as Geralt made his way down Jaskier’s neck, then dropped to his knees to nose at Jaskier’s clothed cock.

His cock, which, despite being rock hard and weeping precum, was still reminding him of another pressing need that Geralt had interrupted. “Geralt,” Jaskier gasped, pushing him away. Geralt let him, albeit reluctantly. “Not that I don’t love this—but—is this really the time?”

Geralt looked at him blankly, and with a hint of frustration. Oh, gods. Was something wrong? It was like Jaskier had been suddenly doused with a bucket of cold water. “Geralt,” he said firmly. “Did something happen on the hunt?”

Geralt growled, baring his teeth, and then, after a moment of silent staring between them, forced words out. “Succubus. Has—venom. Makes it—I have to—fuck.”

Jaskier pondered that for a moment. “Soooo… like an aphrodisiac?” he asked, and was rewarded with Geralt nodding furiously and diving for Jaskier’s clothes again. Jaskier let him, because as long as Geralt knew marginally what was going on, he was alright with it. Especially when his need was this potent.

Except— “Geralt,” Jaskier gasped, as his doublet was rapidly stripped off, followed closely by his chemise. “Wait.”

Geralt growled again, louder, but sat back on his heels.

“Just—give me a moment to go to the privy, and then I’m all yours—”

“No,” Geralt growled, and tackled Jaskier—thankfully onto the bed behind him, and he hit the mattress with a soft oof.

“Wh—What do you mean, no, get off, you brute—” Jaskier said, squirming underneath Geralt’s bulk, but he was hopelessly pinned. He didn’t think about how that thought made his stomach flip.

Geralt sucked another bite mark onto his neck. “Hold it.”

And fuck, but that was hot. “But—what if I can’t hold it?” he protested weakly.

“You will,” Geralt promised, voice deep and gravelly. Jaskier’s cock twitched.

Geralt waited for all of half a second for him to protest again, and when none was forthcoming, he returned to his mission to unclothe Jaskier as quickly as humanly possible. Or witcher-ly possible.

His trousers and pants soon joined his other clothes on the floor, and Jaskier managed to at least get Geralt out of his armor, which took care of most of the gore. He was relatively clean underneath, enough that Jaskier deemed it acceptable for Geralt to immediately press himself full-bodied against Jaskier, skin radiating heat.

And then Geralt was shifting downwards, mouth trailing along Jaskier’s body, mouthing at his neck, his chest, his waist, and then enveloping his sock in his hot, wet mouth. Jaskier shouted, his need suddenly that much greater.

He stuffed a fist into his mouth, biting down on his knuckles, as Geralt sucked his cock. All too soon, Jaskier felt his need rising—but whether it was to come or to piss, he didn’t know. He pushed weakly at Geralt’s forehead, begging silently for him to stop so that he could collect himself. Geralt pulled off with a wet pop, hungry eyes begging for more.

“I can’t,” Jaskier reprimanded him, “not unless you want this to be over quickly.”

Geralt grunted—disappointment, or acknowledgment?—and left his cock be, coming back up to capture Jaskier’s lips in a deep kiss.

It calmed Jaskier down enough that he didn’t feel right on the edge anymore. Geralt, meanwhile, was still as wound up as ever, humping the mattress between Jaskier’s legs, letting out small whines.

“Alright,” Jaskier gasped out, breaking the kiss. “Fuck me.”

Geralt growled, diving down, slinging Jaskier’s legs over his shoulders, bending him nearly in half. It put that much more pressure on his poor bladder, and he whined, though his cock was twitching in anticipation.

Geralt wasted no time in coating his fingers in slick, though he was gentle when he breached the tight ring of muscle. His hole was even tighter for how tense he was trying to hold on. Geralt, impatient, sank another finger inside, and Jaskier groaned at the stretch. He was used to it, with how often Geralt prepared him, but it was so much every single time.

Geralt pushed deeper, crooking his fingers just right—fuck, Jaskier saw stars as his fingers brushed against his prostate. He moaned like a whore, relaxing his muscles the tiniest bit—only for a dribble of piss to come streaming out of his cock. Mortified, face burning red, Jaskier’s hand shot down to wrap around his cock, clenching around the flow that desperately wanted to escape.

“I said hold it,” Geralt growled, nostrils flaring, pulling his fingers out of Jaskier to instead join his where they were wrapped around his cock. “Don’t want to ruin the bed, do you?”

Jaskier sobbed, once, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I’ll be good, I can hold it,” he promised. “Please, I promise, fuck me!”

Geralt stroked his cock, just the once, and then reached down to line his cock up with Jaskier’s hole. And then he was pushing in, in, in, filling Jaskier up so completely, so fully, that he thought he might burst.

Jaskier threw his head back, eyes rolling back in his head, clutching desperately at his cock. Fuck, it felt like Geralt’s cock was nudging right up against his bladder, each powerful thrust sending jolts of pain and pleasure through him.

Geralt moaned, sinking his teeth into Jaskier’s neck once more, and picked up the pace. Jaskier was crying now, letting out little whining cries with each thrust, on the verge of letting go. Whether that was his orgasm or his bladder, he didn’t know.

“Mm—mm—mm—fuck,” Jaskier sobbed, as Geralt’s massive cock brushed against his prostate relentlessly, stretching his hole with every thrust. “Gonna—come—”

“Then come,” Geralt growled, thrusting faster. With a deep, guttural cry, he came, hot seed splashing inside of Jaskier, filling him up. Jaskier cried out and came too, ropes of come spilling over his chest, seemingly endless in their intensity.

Amidst the ecstasy, he felt Geralt pull out, followed by a rush of come leaking out of his hole. He lay there for a second, panting, before a different need made itself known.

“Fuck,” he moaned, struggling to his feet, hand clenched desperately around his cock, legs crossed.

He wasn’t going to make it all the way to the privy. He groaned, struggling not to let go right there, in the middle of the floor, where Geralt could see.

“Jaskier,” Geralt called from where he was lying on the bed. His eyes had returned to their normal color, the venom out of his system, though he was now wearing a devilish smile. “Let go.”

And fuck, that was all it took. He whimpered as hot piss burst forth, running down his legs, puddling humiliatingly beneath him. All he could do was stand there, legs wobbling, hand clenched uselessly around his streaming cock.

The relief he felt was undeniable, though, whatever the cost was. It felt like ages before the flow finally tapered off, leaving him wet and embarrassed, but lightheaded with his release.

“Fuck,” he whispered, looking down at his mess, but then Geralt was there, cupping his face in his hands.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he rumbled, sweeping Jaskier off of his unsteady legs, and placing him in the tub full of water. It had long since gone cold, but a quick Igni took care of that, and Jaskier basked as Geralt took care to wash him clean of the urine and the seed that coated his body.

By the time Geralt was finished, Jaskier was nearly asleep. Geralt walked him through drying off and climbing into bed, though Jaskier grumbled, but it was all worth it when Geralt slid into bed behind him, wrapping a large arm around him and pulling him back against his broad chest.

“Thank you,” Geralt murmured in his ear. “It wasn’t too much, was it?”

Jaskier yawned and shook his head. “No, ‘s good.”

He could hear the smile in Geralt’s voice as he responded. “Good. Sleep, Jaskier.”

And Jaskier did, slipping into pleasant dreams easily.

#stb omo #stb dubcon #stb geraskier #stb geralt #stb jaskier #stb fic

[vanchlo]

Birdy (Green Eyes / 2)

Read the first part, Green Eyes, here! :-) 

Blurb Synopsis: After finally meeting the mysterious Mr. Styles you subbed for, you take a job at the same school, right across the hall from him. You’re unsure how much longer you can hide your feelings for him as you’ve grown to become best friends. 

Genre: Teacher Harry, fluff, romance, angst, and a little sad.

Warnings: None

Word Count: Nearly 8k words

Pairing: Harry x Reader

Music Inspo: Blackbird by The Beatles (click to listen)

*

Your desk was covered in Twix wrappers, multicolored gel pens, and empty cans of Coke. The new school year hadn’t even begun, and your desk already looked like a tornado had come by. Not to mention the fact that school started in almost three weeks and you hardly had any classroom books. You kept telling yourself it’s a high school English classroom, not a third-grade classroom. There’s a library down the hall for a reason, but the classroom barren of books drove you nuts. Your desk wasn’t shy to books though, as favorites of Harry had found a home on the dark wood. 

Leaves of Grass. 

Catcher in the Rye. 

The Sun Also Rises. 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

Walking into your classroom on this sunny morning, the thought makes the smile on your face grow wider. Finally, you can say that you have your own classroom. The sight of the week-old books leaves the smile there on your lips. A laugh dances off of them at the sight of the Roald Dahl book, bringing you back to the memory when you found it there one morning. 

You had asked Harry why he included it in the occasional stack of books he loaned to you. He said it’s required reading, because so few people know the movies are based on a book. You’re just wondering when he’s going to slip The Outsiders or Stuart Little under your door next. 

The rows of ancient cream desks stare back at you, and you wonder just how you’re going to command a classroom in a few days. Well, seven of them to be exact. Then you try to remind yourself, for the twentieth time, that you’ve done this before. It won’t be so hard, then. Perhaps you’ll even have some past students, and that should help. Right? 

You’ve barely gotten a few steps into your classroom, because of the thoughts muddling your mind. Sighing, you slip off your bag to leave on your chair. One that some days you don’t even sit in, because your legs are walking miles around your classroom, setting up. Thumbtacks are scattered across the expanse of your desk, reminding you of the unfinished walls. Before you can think about the posters sitting in the corner, a flash of pink catches your eye. Furrowing your brow, your eyes flit back to the flash of color. 

It’s a hot pink Post-It note with messy handwriting in black ink. 

Should I get us burgers or subs for the meeting we have today? 

PS: You’re officially a teacher now with your own pad of Post-Its ;) 

You’re sure that the insane happiness painting your face would look more at home on that of a teenager. Nonetheless, you can’t get rid of it, and you wouldn’t want to. This rings even more true when you see the note is stuck to a copy of Matilda. A warmth blossoms in your chest as you pick it up, running your thumb along the weathered edges. Ones you haven’t touched in ages, it seems. Within seconds you’re stepping into the hallway, thoughts knitting together in your mind. They’re from the love you have deep down for this story, a favorite book, and movie of yours as a child. The elation budding in your mind stops when you find his door closed, just as you had minutes ago. Unable to hide your disappointment, a pout tugs at your lips as you turn around. 

“Ya gotta verdict already? Dat was quick,” a voice drawls from behind you. Your pout is a thing of the past, and a grin is making its way to replace it. Spinning around, your summery dress follows your twirling body. 

A couple paces away, Harry stands at the top step of the staircase. His trademark brown leather backpack is slung over one shoulder. A black Fleetwood Mac t-shirt hugs his upper half, a black and blue flannel covering his arms. His old skool Vans echo down the hallway as he walks towards you. 

“Well, I’ve already read it,” you inform him, observing his content smile turn into a confused one. “A couple of times actually. Once when I was 8, then some other times through the years.”

“Ah, so I got lucky and happened upon a lifetime favourite, have I?” he smirks, only a few steps away now. 

“Mmmhmm,” you nod, your growing hair tickling your chin before you move it away. “When are you going to tell me what your favorite book is?”

“When ya finally guess it right,” he quips, stopping in front of you. A dimple falls into his left cheek as he shows off his sparkling teeth. Okay, sir, it is too early in the morning to be looking this attractive. 

“I’m going to have to ask you to stop being so chipper when it’s only nine in the morning,” you tell him firmly, but it’s all for show. Poking his chest, your finger just hits pure muscle. Swoon. 

“Then maybe wake up, already, birdy,” he chirps, the Raybans in his hair moving when his head goes from side to side. Chuckling, he grabs hold of your finger and tries to bite it, but you pull away in time. The mention of the recent pet name slows you down, but you haven’t gotten bitten yet. “Ya betta not fall asleep in today’s meetin’ like ya did last week.”

“I didn’t fall asleep, I was just resting my eyes!” you exclaim, throwing your hands into the air. His amused giggle greets your ears as he unclips his ring of keys from his blue jeans. 

“Yes ya did, ya don’t getta lie t’ me, love,” he responds in between laughs, seemingly finding this more amusing than it really is. 

“Oh, so John can fall asleep at meetings, but I can’t?” you ask, your voice raising with laughter and faux annoyance. 

You watch Harry pluck his sunglasses from his head as you walk into his dark classroom. The streams of sunlight speckle desks and pictures donning his walls. As you flick on the light, the smell of oranges wafts over you again. The red bowl sat upon his desk filled with the citrus makes you feel at home, albeit his mere presence does that without fail. 

“No, ya can’t. Sorry, love. I don’t make tha rules ‘round here.”

“Lame,” you sigh, paging through the book mindlessly as you fall into his new chair. He finally splurged and bought a comfy leather one that you steal every chance you can get. 

“Want a Bit-O-Honey, honey?” Harry offers, pulling your eyes away from the familiar pictures. Grinning, you take the wrapped candy from his outstretched hand, trying to ignore the pet name. You find it hard to forget as you half look through the book and half watch him peel off his flannel. A sight, indeed. 

“Wait, how’d you put this in my room if the door was locked? The other books you sneaked in when I stepped out,” you ask suddenly, working on the piece of hard candy in your mouth. 

“I tol’ Marty tha janitor I forgot sumthin’ in yer room.” 

You can hear the smirk in his voice even though his back is to you. A broad one at that. When he turns just the slightest to peek at you, you find crinkles around his glimmering eyes. 

“Harry!” you scoff, your jaw falling to your chest, although not quite. 

“Oh stop it, ya know ya like it.”

Groaning, you cross your arms over your chest in annoyance, but it doesn’t last very long. 

“I don’t like all of these meetings,” you complain, throwing your head back onto the headrest. You flip to a page that makes you smile at the sight of cartoon Matilda. 

“Get used t’ it, ‘s one o’ tha big differences between bein’ a sub an’ a salaried teacher. Shoulda just stayed a sub then,” he jokes, driving you to pick up a Bit-O-Honey and throw it at his head. Turning away from the things he’s unloading from his backpack, he whines. “Heeey! Watch dat arm o’ yers, ‘s a scary one. Maybe ya should be teachin’ gym class instead.”

“Sports are ew,” you reply, ducking when he throws it back at you. “Harry Styles, you stop it!” you manage in between giggles, finally closing the book. 

“Oh ya, and what’re ya gonna do ‘bout it in t’ose heels, huh?” he teases, his hands leaving the pockets of his oversized backpack. “Ya gonna fly over t’ me, li’l birdy?” 

Huffing, you set down the book on his neat desk. Placing his hands on his hips, he turns to you and sticks out his tongue. 

“Oh, that’s it! You’re going to get it!” you threaten, standing from the chair as his laughter fills the room. 

“‘m soooo scared, boohoo,” he teases with a fake sob, his fists mimicking wiping tears from his cheeks. Snickering, he returns to his backpack. “Go hang up yer posters in yer room and leave me be fer once.” 

“You’re no fun,” you proclaim with a final whimper. Grabbing the book, you come up from behind him, softly hitting him with it on the shoulder. 

“I warned you,” he retorts. Before you know it, he gently grabs your wrist and pulls you over to stand in front of him. 

“Warned me about what?” you jest, a giggle wedging its way into your sentence as you drop the book onto a desk. You know that you’re getting on his nerves now. It’s the only time you’ve heard his teacher voice come out, but hey, you’re not complaining. 

His thick eyebrows above those eyes raise, wrinkling his forehead tan from your days at the beach the last few months. Harry pushing you off a rope swing into the water, him bitching about doing all of the paddling during your canoe trip, not so accidentally drenching your back with water from his paddle, and head dunking competitions while swimming. The tan looks far better on him, you think, as you admire the sun-kissed freckles peppering his face. 

“I told ya one time dat yer good at pushin’ me buttons, and here ya are doin’ it. I know I shoulda neva told ya dat,” he mutters, the curls atop his head dancing as his head rocks back and forth. The nervous laughter bubbling inside of you finds its escape, and you know that you’ve done it now. “But I guess ya jus’ don’t listen, do ya, bird?” 

You can’t stop yourself, and there you are poking his dimple with your finger. This time, you squeal when it finds its way between his nibbling teeth. His name leaves your lips in a near shout which only grows worse as his fingers dance along your ribs. 

“Stop, stop!” you cry out, but with no avail. His other arm comes around your middle to trap you with your back against a desk, despite your squirming. His other fingers dig into your sides before finding the soft flesh of your tummy. 

“Stop bloody screamin’, yer gonna make e’rybody think ‘m murderin’ ya or sumthin’,” he titters. You almost give in at the sight of his crinkly eyes and the smile stretching across his face. 

“And what if I don’t?” 

“Then I might jus’ hafta find a way t’ shut ya up, my li’l bird,” he coos from above you, a brunette brow raising. 

“Oh really?” 

“Yes, really,” he hums, the tips of his fingers ghosting over your side now. 

His bubblegum lips relax, falling into a knowing smirk. The laughs disappear from the both of you as his fingers still, resting on your side. The seconds tick by as your heart hammers in your chest, because his face is closer than it was a second ago. You gulp, suddenly finding the gold flecks in his eyes you didn’t know were there. Or the smattering of tiny freckles along his nose. That all becomes a thought of the past when his lips become the only thing you can think about as they near you. “Shall I?” Harry says in a breathy whisper, and you’re nodding even before his last syllable hits the air. 

Your skin feels hot and prickly all over as your eyes fall closed, waiting for what happens next. The very thing you’ve dreamed of since that day you dropped the books in front of him. When he took off his shirt at the beach, revealing his toned chest covered in black tattoos. The charisma and kindness he carried at your very first meeting after you were hired, the beginning of you two being joined at the hip. 

His lips are soft when he presses them against yours, and warm. He surrounds your lips with his slowly, as excitement rushes through you. A woodsy smell engulfs you when your nose brushes against his prickly cheek. His lips feel like velvet against yours with the slightest taste of Carmex chapstick. You’re sure he can feel the smile hiding on yours as his top lip fits between yours like a puzzle piece. His thin beard you’ve never seen him without tickles at your skin as your lips mold together. You can still feel the tingle on your lips after he’s pulled away. As well as the one that spreads across your body when those green eyes look into yours. 

“See, I was right. It did get you t’ shuddup,” he mumbles, the blissed-out smirk on his face covering every inch of his skin. You’ve seen his nervous smiles and everything in between, but you’re certain you’ve never seen that smile before. Not that your face is any better, because right now it’s a competition between whose smile is bigger. It might just be a tie, and you wish there could be a tie-breaker. 

“You should do that more often,” you smile, an uneasy laugh bringing an end to your risky words. 

“I think ‘d be happy with dat.”

You try to tell yourself you’re glad his hands didn’t stray to your face, because he would’ve felt the heat of your tomato likened cheeks. There’s no use, because you want them there, but on your sides, as they are is better than nothing. It fills your stomach with multitudes of butterflies just to have your hands on each other. 

His hands draw shapes into your back when you wrap him in a hug. The fresh smell of his citrus body wash fills your nose, your skin touching the fabric of his shirt. 

“Ya gonna get all soft on me now, are ya?” he whispers above you, his cheek against the side of your head. 

“Mmmhmm,” is all you can muster as you find yourself dragging the tips of your fingers along his side. 

Raising your head to peek up at him, his eyes drop to you. “Good, I like ya dat way,” he murmurs, running his thumb along the roundness of your cheek. His tongue peeks out of his lips, held between his teeth. “Verdict?” he almost laughs, causing the butterflies inside of you to stir. 

“I don’t know. I think I might need um, another sample,” you smirk, watching a corner of his mouth meet his cheek. 

“Tha’s fair,” he agrees before dipping to plant another kiss to your lips. His lips are even more decadent a second time, and you quickly realize how addicting this could become. You realize it’s the only addiction you’d be okay with having as the tip of his nose caresses your cheek. 

Your lips part with a soft smack, much too soon for your liking. “We should prolly get back t’ work,” Harry snickers, his breath against your face sweet from the caramel candy. 

“Yeah,” you agree aloud, much to your dismay. “I’d give it an A, by the way.”

“Hmmm,” he thinks aloud, quirking his eyebrows in response. 

“A long overdue one.”

“‘d say yer right there,” he echos, pinching your cheek between his fingers. Giggling, you pull away as your laughs mix with each other’s. 

“Hey, Harry!” a voice calls, sounding far away. 

You separate quickly, like two magnets repelling each other. It saddens you, but when a colleague steps into Harry’s classroom a moment later, you’re met with relief as you grab the book off the desk. 

“Hi, Trent. Ya ready t’ see who falls asleep first in t’day’s meetin’?” he quips, stuffing his hands in his pockets, nonchalantly leaning against a desk. 

“My money’s on John, for sure,” Trent jokes, pressing his red glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Oh hi, Y/N,” he says, greeting you. You wave with a small ‘hi’ as you stand at the edge of the classroom near the windows uneasily. 

“I dunno, my money feels pretty good on her,” Harry teases, pointing a finger at you before winking. 

“Whatever. I better go take my nap now that you reminded me,” you return, sauntering out of the room and into the hall. 

Out of his presence, the butterflies take flight inside of you. A warmth fills your body all over when you reach the safety of your classroom. Closing the door, you fall against it with happiness jumping from the smile on your lips. Squealing with your hands held to your chest, you soon sigh at the thought of his lips. His lips soon being on yours again, and again, and again. 

Exhaling, you step down from the chair and stare at your hard work. Nodding in approval, you straighten the skirt of your patterned mustard dress. The happy face of Anne Frank looks back at you from the enlarged poster of her autobiography. Dragging your feet over to your desk, you plop onto your brown spinny chair, ignoring your heels forgotten on the floor. You bask in the new ambiance of your classroom, feeling the pleasure from the new posters donning your walls. 

The Diary of Anne Frank. 

Ross from F.R.I.E.N.D.S saying ‘you’re means y-o-u  a-r-e.’ 

The quote, ‘Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not’ - Tyrion Lannister.

A funny grammar poster that makes you feel like an even bigger English nerd. 

Frowning, the last poster in the corner sits there begging to be shown off, but you need help with it. After the events of earlier, you’re nervous to approach Harry. A sweet kind of nervousness, but nonetheless it’s there. Huffing, you grab the edge of the desk to pull you closer. Pressing play, the Queen song crawls from your laptop’s speakers, slowly filling the room. Clicking through your open windows, you finally find the unit plan you’ve been working on. 

Voices carry down the hallway outside your door, but you can’t make out what they’re saying. Squinting, as if it will help your hearing, you then tilt your head to look out your half-opened door. Jackson from the nearby history wing walks by, laughing at something somebody said. 

“Dis betta not be a bloody heavy desk, Jack,” somebody responds, amusement laced in their voice. 

“Hey, I know that voice,” you softly whisper to yourself, your lips curling at its sound. 

“You’re the one who agreed to help me! You can’t get out of helping me bring it in now, Harry!”

You hear the melodic sound of his laugh, perhaps one of your favorite sounds. The butterflies return when you let yourself think about getting to hear it as much as you’d like in these walls. 5 days a week for 9 months out of the year- well, something like that. 

A couple seconds later, Harry zooms past your door saying, “Get t’ work!” in a mocking deep voice, winking. 

“You!” you shout back, giggling to yourself with hot cheeks. You attempt to return your attention to the document open on your screen. It’s difficult, you find, because the thing consuming your mind is how nice Harry’s bum looked in those jeans. 

*

Chatter pecks at your ears as you swivel in your chair, watching your new colleagues converse around the table. Your new boss laughs with somebody standing at the room’s front by the projector screen. Reaching forward, you pluck another carrot from your plate to nibble on nervously. Once again, you pull out your phone to busy yourself, only making you feel guiltier for not mingling. You’ve already said at least a ‘hi’ to everyone in this room already, and you have the rest of your career to get to know them, you tell yourself. Bouncing your leg, your eyes drift to the clock on the wall. Impatience spreads like a hot wave throughout your limbs, bringing your eyes yet again to the back door to the conference room. When is he going to get here, you guess fervently, counting down the minutes until the meeting starts. 

A thud! surprises you when a white paper bag lands on the table in front of you. 

“Hmm, I didn’t know ya were a jumpa,” a voice snickers, its owner soon coming into view in front of you. Harry. “Why ya lookin’ like a lost puppy, bird?” he coos, pushing out his bottom lip as he pulls out the chair to your right.

“I’m not,” you retort, continuing to scroll through Instagram, stopping when you see a picture of a Goldendoodle puppy. 

“Yes, ya do. What, were ya wonderin’ what’d ya do if I didn’t show? Can’t have ya missin’ yer security blanket now,” he teases, poking you in the ribs with a glint in his eye. 

“Stop,” you giggle, placing your phone face down on the table. Sitting up and eyeing the food, you pinch his thigh for good measure. 

“Hey, watch those fingas, missy. They keep gettin’ ya into trouble lately,” he warns, tsking as his head goes from side to side. Opening the bag, he pulls out a familiar wrapped burger to hand to you. 

“Thank you, I’ll pay you back.”

“Shhhh, ya can pay next time. Sound good?” Harry hums, flitting his eyes to you with an eyebrow raise.

You give him his answer with a nod before taking a bite of the cheeseburger. Your boss starts to tell everybody to find a seat so they can begin the meeting. Out of the corner of your eye, Harry sets a packet of fries in front of you. Shooting him a smile, he returns it as he feeds one between his happy lips. Chairs squeak and whine as they’re moved and sat in around the long table. Somebody nudges your foot, and to no surprise, you find it’s Harry. He holds out a covered paper cup, a red straw poking from the top. A ‘thank you’ is held in your smile and he just nods, slipping off his sunglasses to set down. Your attention is stolen by his fingers raking through his curls to put them back in place. 

A thought pops into your head unwarranted, and consumes your attention as the principal speaks. I wonder if this means now I get to run my fingers through those curls, you ponder as you grab a fry. At the most inconvenient time possible, your mind starts to dig around. Doubts soon fill your thoughts, along with questions about what this will be with him. You try to push them away and lock them in a box, but they’ve done their job. Any smile left on your lips is gone now, and you continue to eat your burger quietly. 

“Ya eat jus’ like a bird with t’ose li’l bites,” Harry whispers, scooting closer to the table to retrieve the packets of ketchup from the bag. 

Turning to look at him, he holds a glowing smile in his eyes for you.  His shoe knocks into yours and he leaves it sitting on top of yours. Take that, stupid brain, you announce to your thoughts as you affectionately bump your knee against Harry’s. 

Reverting your thoughts to the towering figure speaking at the front of the room, a smile buds on your lips at the feeling of Harry rubbing his knee against yours. 

*

Rubbing your hands across your eyes, you feel the breath leave you in a whoosh. Tapping the board with your electronic marker that’s a pen, highlighter, and an eraser in one, you drag it in zig zags. The scribbles on the board disappear in a flash. Suddenly, it falls from your hands when you feel a pair of arms surround your waist. 

“Hiya, bird,” a voice says, pressing a kiss to your cheek. Their warm breath tickles the nape of your neck, and so does the collar of their shirt. Spinning around, you find Harry standing there, a pout forming on his face. The adorable Starry Night tie you bought for him hangs loosely over his cornflower blue button-down. “What, why won’t ya lemme hug you?”

“Harry, anybody could walk in,” you insist, prying his arms from your waist. Bending down, you pick up the pen and place it back in its holder with a click. 

“All tha students are gone by now, babe. ‘s half past 3, and any dat are around are at practice. Tha last place they’d wanna be ‘s back t’ a classroom afta their first day o’ school,” he murmurs, wedging his way back into your good graces as he pulls you back into his arms. “I wanted t’ see how me birdy’s first day went. Sooooo, wha’s tha verdict?”

“It was good. A little overwhelming, though,” you hum in return, letting your head fall backward to fit against his cheek. 

“It ‘s fer e’rybody, love, so don’t worry. It’ll get betta, jus’ hang in there. Tha first month ‘s nothin’, that’s tha honeymoon period befo’ e’rythin’ goes wild.” His lips brush against your cheek with every word, the feeling of his ticklish stubble something you’re not yet used to. 

“Harry!” you scoff, turning your head to find his hairy cheeks creased with a devilish smile behind you. 

“‘m kiddin’, well not really, but hey, ya got me t’ help ya through it all. Don’t fret, love,” he tries to assure you, brushing the back of his fingers along your side. “What was yer favourite part o’ yer day, hmm?”

“Seeing some familiar students from when I used to sub. It was nice to catch up with them and hear stories,” you reveal, looking down as you cover his hands settled on your tummy with your own. 

“Mmm, that’s good. Familiar faces are always nice,” Harry mumbles, the point of his nose dragging along the expanse of your cheek. “Did I tell ya yet ya look really pretty in yer new dress?”

“Yes, you did. About three times, but thank you again.”

“Welcome, bird. I hope no teenage boys are crushin’ on ya now,” he jests, planting a loud kiss on your temple. The remnants of his minty piece of gum cover your face in a silent cloud as he laughs at his own joke. 

“Yuck! Oh and like there aren’t dozens of girls fawning over you in your classes?” you chuckle, bringing a whine to his lips when you squirm in his arms. “Put that lip away.”

“Or what? Hmm, what’re ya gonna do ‘bout it? Ya can kiss it away like all tha girls in me classes wanna do, if ya want,” Harry smirks, wiggling his eyebrows at you once you turn around. Lifting a hand from his arm, it lifts to brush back the brown ringlets falling onto his forehead. 

“You’re gross sometimes. It makes me wonder how I can kiss that potty mouth.”

“Well ya do, and ya sure seem t’ like it,” he winks, dramatically licking his lips with a loud slurp. 

“Stop!” you exclaim, collapsing into laughter, your head returning to his chest. His hands clasp over your back, his thumb brushing your skin through the jade dress you wear. You’re grateful for your face hidden away in his chest for when you feel his lips pepper kisses from your temple to your neck. He leaves your skin tingling from his magical touch, and his growing curls leave a trail down your neck. 

“I think dis year’s gonna be a good one,” he coos against your ear, letting his smooth nose brush against its lobe. “I got tha reason right here.” 

“Can we do this though?” The words jump from your lips without a chance to catch them and shove them back in their safety. 

“Do what, love? Kiss? ‘Course, ya jus’ take yer lips and my lips, and put ‘em togetha’ like dis,” he wisecracks, lifting your head to show you the humor painting his face. Puckering his flushed lips, he closes the space between you to press a peck to your waiting lips. Pulling away, he quirks an eyebrow at you in silent questioning. 

“That’s not what I meant, Harry,” you continue, your words falling short of the thoughts buzzing around in your skull. 

“Then what’d ya mean?” 

“Can we, I don’t know . . ,” you begin, but you lose your footing. Leaving his arms regrettably, you almost lose your footing quite literally when he tries to hold on. A sound leaves his lips at your departure, but you try to ignore it. That’s easier said than done, you realize as you fight with yourself, wondering if you should say that word or not. “Date . . as colleagues?” 

They they are, free to the wind. It feels like coming home and your heavy book bag leaving your shoulders, although this time it’s far less trivial. The similarity doesn’t ease your anxious mind as you stop in front of your desk, fingering at the note that greeted you this morning. A pink Post-It note smattered with his sometimes unreadable handwriting, resting on top of a box of novels he gifted to you for your classroom. 

To my favorite teacher - I know you’ve been dreading this day for months, and looking forward to it, too. You’re going to do great. They’re going to love you. You’re not going to mess anything up. You got this, bird. Remember that. Take it easy on yourself. Remember, you have to take care of yourself, so then you can take care of them. You’ll learn from each other too. Just keep remembering pizza at the beach with me tonight to celebrate your first day. 

Harry xoxooxoxoxo 

“‘Course we can, as long as it doesn’t bleed into our work life. What d’ya mean?” Harry says, trying to inject lightheartedness into his words. You both can hear the failed effect they have, and they only make his words sound sadder. 

“I don’t know, I don’t want to like, get in trouble, or something. I just started this job.”

“Oh,” is all he mumbles. Mumbled or not, you hear the finality in his one word. As well as all that it says with that single syllable. 

Looking over your shoulder at him, you find the confirmation you needed knitting together his features. “Harry,” you say, turning the rest of your body to face him. He takes a step back, and now you know you’ve done it. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Then how’d ya mean it?” he retorts, coolness playing in his voice. He knows he’s done it, too. “Hmmm, bird? Ya only care ‘bout dat part o’ it - if we get caught and what people would think? Only wanna keep me a secret?” His words bite as he spits them into the air. They hit your face with a sting, but nothing compares to how he threw your nickname into the mud. The nickname you love, that happened all because of the first meal you shared together. 

“Harry, don’t. You know that’s not what I meant- Y-you’re being ridiculous,” you press, stepping forward. It’s like one step forward and two steps back, because he continues to walk away from you. Quickly, your hands grow shaky as the feeling consumes the rest of your body. 

“No, I know what ya meant. Or ‘s there mo’ ya want t’ say? Want t’ say dat ‘Oh, ‘s too risky, so maybe we shouldn’t do dis anymo’, even tho’ it makes us happy,’” Harry persists, his right hand lifting in question, before it falls with a slap to his thigh. 

“We never even said what this was,” you try to say, but before you get any further, you know you’re just making it worse. You know that he’ll read into your words incorrectly and assume the worst, despite your true meaning. At the realization, your heart pounds harder in your chest. The look on his face like you just slapped him tells you all you need to know. “Harry, wait.”

“No, yer right. We neva said what dis was, but apparently ‘s nuthin’ worth labelin’ or takin’ risks fer,” he grumbles. His head falls with a spiteful smile, but when it lifts again something shatters in your chest. With wet eyes, he continues in a croaky voice, “Then why’d ya take tha job knowin’ I was mad ‘bout ya?” 

Your lips wobble with his name dangling from them. When you try to walk over to him, you’re only two steps in when he holds a hand up. “No, don’t. ‘m glad ya told me early on. ‘m happy I didn’t already start fallin’ fer ya or anythin’. That’d be real shitty, wouldn’t it?” he wheezes, a strange smile tugging at his lips dealing failed sarcasm. Sniffling, a tear falls down his tanned skin and he brushes it away. With a shake of his head, he turns to walk out of the door. You know that you shouldn’t, but you let him, because you know you have to. 

Collapsing at your desk, your head falls into your hands. Tears splash into your palms as your chest shakes, wondering just how you turned the best first day into the worst first day. 

*

You know that a note won’t be there, but you continue to wish as your heels clack down the halls of lockers. You know that you’ll see his face no matter how hard you try to avoid him, and that it’ll hurt more than you thought it would. Although you prepared yourself, unlocking the door to your classroom and finding no notes from him hurts more than you suspected. The hurt only stings worse when you pass each other in the halls with your students trailing behind, eyes falling away instantly. The spark in the air is lost when he huffs, passing you on the way to the vending machine in the lounge, leaving as soon as he came. Although the hurt grew as the attacks came and went, nothing could prepare you for the absence of his notes that week. That was an eventuality you had dreaded thinking of since the day you found the first one, back in his classroom. 

You tried at the very least, albeit an understatement. Notes dropped into his mailbox went unanswered, as well as texts and phone calls. Even the bag of Bit O Honeys failed at their messages of apology. A few times you thought about trudging into his classroom after the bell rang, and hashing it out. Each time you mustered just enough courage to do so, a staff meeting got in the way. Or, within 5 minutes of the bell, his door was locked and he was gone. Speaking of staff meetings, you suffered even worse at those. No longer was he your security blanket at your side, because he no longer saved you a seat. Slowly, the young and pretty visual arts teacher grew to get on your nerves as you watched her be a little too nice to him. He didn’t entertain her taunts and turn to you with a smirk to rub it in your face. No, he was a good guy, and you had to go and ruin it, or what was becoming of it. 

He ignored you - at staff meetings, in the copy room, in the staff lounge, in the halls, when both of your classes were in the library - basically everywhere and anywhere. It was an understatement to say you suffered because of it. You had to buddy up with Jen, the poetry teacher. She took the brunt of your questions, whether technology-related or English related. You became fast friends, but unlike the easiness with Harry, you quickly felt you were a nuisance. That was something he never made you feel like, well, until now that is. 

You made the mistake of getting your hopes up when you found a bag of Bit O Honeys in your mailbox one morning. That is until the white note on it told you in his writing to stop plugging his box with them. Instead, you tossed them on the counter in the staff lounge to share, never wanting to see those yellow and red wrappers again. Quickly, what you thought had become your dream job morphed into a nightmare. His face filled your thoughts day after day, and it especially distracted you when your mind chose the tear-stricken memory. It bled into your lectures and although it stung less when you saw him, without fail every day, it was messing with your mind. It didn’t help when you were beginning a unit on Romeo and Juliet and a student joked you could play Juliet and Mr. Styles could play Romeo, quite literally. 

*

You had been staying after school every day to finish lesson plans, grade tests, reflect on teaching, and plan for the next day. The October chill that arrived this week only made you want to stay in your cozy classroom with the Autumn decorations you hung up. Soon, it would be Halloween and costumes would fill the halls. The thought pours memories into your mind, but a particular one sours the enjoyment for you. The memory of planning a matching costume with Harry. Jay and Daisy from The Great Gatbsy, like the English teacher nerds you are. Were. 

Swallowing past the lump in your throat, you reach for your water bottle. A groan finds its way past your lips when you pick it up, only to find it's empty. Standing with it in your hands, you cross the room to your door. After a few steps into the hallway, your movements freeze at the sight of his open door. Biting back any hesitations, your hand shakes when it presses against the wood. 

Something thrilling washes over you when you find his head bent over his desk. His left hand covered with varying rings props his head up as he marks the page with his favorite red pen. A Micron pen, but only you would know that. Pausing, he fiddles with the tan braces strapping his shoulders clad in a handsome white and gray checkered button-down. Words stick together inside of your mouth, and when you hear the click of your shoe, regret surges inside of you. 

“I made a mistake,” you say, testing the waters, although you know they’re stormy. Clearing your throat, you hope the subsequent ones will come out louder and stronger, before he can stop you. Your galloping heart jumps when he lifts his head to look at you, a question painting his face. “I fucked up, and I could never say how sorry I am. I said the wrong things, and I didn’t mean them that way- that’s not the point . . . I miss you, Harry. You’re all I think about, even when I’m thinking of other things, or when I’m teaching. That’s how I know it’s bad, because even though it’s only been a month, it still hurts like it was yesterday,” your voice screeches to a halt. You take one step at a time as he watches you. 

A curl tickles his bearded cheek, making you want to tuck it back into place, but you can’t. A crumb from a chip sits on his chin, making you want to brush it away, but you know you can’t. And neither can you whisk away the worry lines forming around his eyes. 

“I need you, not just to help me figure out how to use a projector or what a conjunction is again. But I need to tell you about the good parts of my day, and even the bad parts. Because even though we haven’t talked for like a month, my mind still goes to you when something good happens, or even bad. Even my students tease that we should be together, so that says something,” you try your hand at joking, but he turns his attention back to his desk. “Harry, please. I’m sorry,” you plead with him, tears catching the last of your words. 

“Sorry doesn’t jus’ make it all go away, bird,” he returns cooly. His head lifts ever so slightly, only to fall. As if he changed his mind a few seconds into a decision.

“I know, but I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I’ll buy you Bit-O-Honeys for the rest of your life, grade your papers, check your mailbox, or buy the next meals for a month. Anything.” The apologies run off of your lips, but he doesn’t say anything, nor do his actions. An exhale whooshes over your pursed lips as your nails dig into your clenched palms. Defeat covers your body as you turn to leave. 

“None o’ dat takes away what ya said,” he announces painfully, the new fabric of his chair squeaking with his movements. 

“I know,” you say automatically, a battle waging its way inside of you of whether to look at him. As if his words laced with hurt didn’t already leave you breathless. “So tell me what I have to do.”

“I can’t do dat, bird. Ya should know,” he sighs, clucking his tongue in disbelief. 

Your eyes fall shut and your jaw clenches in anger, but the sweet smell of oranges brings you back to the moment. “I’m sorry that I made it seem like it wasn’t worth being with you, because it was, and I realized that even more after . . what happened. I’m sorry that it didn’t seem like I was dedicated enough, but I want to be a- I want to show you that I can be, and I want to be that to you. I’m sorry that I care too much about what other people think, because I only care what you think. It’s ripped me apart lately knowing that you hate me, and how you can’t even be around me, and . . ,” your string of words breaks off, stolen away by your onset of tears. They rumble through your chest with tremors, and the embarrassment brings your hands to your face streaked with them. 

The howling of the wind hugs the windows, masking any other sounds. If there were, you can’t hear them, but you do feel something. His fingers wrapping around yours, pulling your hands away from your face. 

“Ya gonna stop now befo’ ya make me cry too?” he hums, one corner of his lips turned up ever so slightly. With raised eyebrows, they pose the question to you. Nodding fast with hiccups stealing your words, he kneads your hands between his own. “Are ya gonna shuddup or am I gonna hafta make you?” Harry softly laughs. 

“You’re going to have to make me,” you return, stumbling over your sobbed words. 

“Good, was hopin’ ya’d say dat.”

Smirking playfully, he steps forward to cup your face in his hands. The callused tips of his fingers make quick work of the tears staining your face, as well as his lips. “Don’t cry, and don’t ever say dat I hate you,” he coos in between pecks to your wet skin singing with his kisses. “Don’t want me pretty birdy t’ cry no mo’.”

“Your bird doesn’t want to cry and be sad, and miss you anymore,” you whimper, trying to hold it all in, but it comes pouring out. 

“Baby bird,” he pouts sadly, his rose lips round and extended. His brow presses into a sad line as the same emotion carries his words. “Lemme make it all betta.”

Nodding, you hiccup again as you cover his hands with yours. His subsequent smile warms your insides cold and aching from the long days without him. His lips bring a respite when they touch yours, ending the harsh drought. Kissing him back, you revel in the feeling of his unkempt scratchy beard against your face. Just one more thing you missed. Severing the kiss, you mumble an ‘I’m sorry’ against his chapped lips. 

“Shhh, ‘s okay, love. I know ya are,” he tells you before bringing his lips back against yours. They move together slowly, welcoming the return of the other. 

Your mouth falls to envelope his bottom lip in between yours, his facial hair feathery against your mouth. Hungrily, you kiss him and savor his familiar taste and smell. Fingers drifting to his hair, they return home to his buttery curls. His lips pull away only to plant another kiss against your mouth. Too soon, he breaks the kiss with a breathy laugh against your lips. 

“My goodness, lemme breathe, love.”

“Sorry . . I missed you.”

“Ya sure did, bird. Think I missed ya a li’l more, though,” Harry chuckles as your hands fall from his locks. His thumb steals the last hint of a tear from under your eye. The amusement creasing his features disappears swiftly. “‘m sorry too, y’know. I overreacted, and I shouldn’t have put meself over yer job. It wasn’t fair o’ me t’ do dat. D’ya think I can have those Bit-O-Honeys back, or were ya serious ‘bout buyin’ me a lifetime supply?”

Groaning, you playfully shove at his chest, only to have him wrap you up in his arms. “I guess I was serious.”

“Hmm, ya don’t sound too serious ‘bout it, bird. But that’s okay, I got all tha honey I need right here,” he replies, planting a kiss atop your head nuzzled into his neck, swaying you back and forth. Nodding, you finally let yourself relax for the first time in weeks at the greeting of his sweet smell. One that feels like home to you. “Wait, yer students said we should be togetha? That’s funny, cuz so did mine.” 

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[rocksandrobots]

Of Rocks and Robots Ch 31 - Karaoke Night

Carol propped her feet up on the porch railing and leaned back in her chair. She let out a contented sigh as she reached into the bag of chips to feast upon the salty snacks.

She was waiting for Varian and his friends from SFIT to arrive. Midterms had just ended and Varian had invited her to come with them to karaoke, knowing how she loved singing.

Carol didn't really know any of his other friends, though she had met the tall girl, Honey Lemon, a few times, but she was always keen to meet new people and even more keen to party, so she had readily agreed.

Right now she was killing time and keeping a lookout for the group. Varian mentioned something about a car pool.

Just then a limo pulled up and parked itself between the two houses that made up the sorority and fraternity. Carol curiously peered over her toes to get a better look at the out of place vehicle.

Out stepped a lanky guy with shoulder length blonde hair and wearing a baggy Kentucky Kaiju t-shirt and knitted beanie. She figured it was one of Brad's snobbish friends come to see him, or perhaps a new prospective student signing up to join the frat. Though he didn't look like the usual preppy rich kids that hung around the frat house. Must be one of those guys who wears things ironically, she thought and rolled her eyes before going back to eating.

She then almost fell out of her chair when she saw Varian also step out of the limo as well. Her mouth dropped. What other secrets did this kid have?

She then looked down at the crumbs of potato chips down her shirt; suddenly embarrassed. She ducked and scrambled back into the house while Varian and the other guy exchanged some friendly words.

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

Varian walked up the porch steps of the sorority house and knocked on the door. It opened almost immediately. He gave a wide grin upon seeing Carol but before he could say 'hello' her hand shot out, grabbed the front of his shirt, and dragged him inside.

She slammed the door close and ran to the window to peer out from behind the curtain.

"Who's that?" She whispered hurriedly as she pointed to the window.

Confused and now completely knocked off guard Varian walked over to look out to where she was pointing.

All he saw was Fred standing next to the limo waiting on them. The other teen was singing a made up song about being a superhero under his breath and rocking back and forth on his heels impatiently.

"Oh that's just Fred. We took his limo because it had more room for everybody than Wasabi's car." Varian explained.

"His limo?! You didn't tell me you were friends with a millionaire!" She snapped back in a hushed tone, as if she was afraid the other boy could hear them from across the street outside.

Varian could only blink back bewildered. Why was that a problem?

Carol rolled her eyes and went back to watching Fred.

"Does he go to SFIT, too?" She asked, never looking away from the window, "Is he one of those super smart guys?"

"No, Fred's not in college."

"Oh, don't tell me; he's in high school." She responded back sarcastically.

"Umm… no. I think he graduated from homeschool this year." Varian blithely answered. He didn't see how it mattered what school Fred went to or if he went at all.

Carol tilted her head, "Wait, so is he closer to my age or yours?"

Varian thought a moment, "Uh, yours... I think he had a birthday just a couple of months back."

"Soooo he's what.. eighteen then?"

"Uh yeah, just a year younger than you." Varian scratched head, he still didn't understand Carol's odd behavior. "Look, I'm sure he can answer all these questions himself." Varian walked towards the door as he tried to coax Carol to come along. "Why don't you come on out and meet him-"

"Is he single?"

Varian paused mid-sentence and looked at Carol in surprise. The girl hadn't moved away from the window and was still peering through the curtain.

"Umm...Yeeesss." Where was this going?

"Is he gay?" Was the next the next question.

"Uhhhh...."

"Like, he is into girls or boys?" She hastily explained.

"I, honestly don't know." Varian slowly answered. Who Fred might prefer to date was not anything he had considered before, and not a subject of conversation that had ever come up.

She finally stopped looking out the window and instead looked down at the sweater she currently wore. Then to his surprise she turned on her heel and ran upstairs.

"Wait! Carol where are you going?" He yelled after her as he followed her upstairs.

"Everyone's waiting for-" He was interpreted again by a bra to the face as soon as he stopped in front of her room. Followed by a series of other assorted clothes being thrown his way. Dresses, shirts, shoes, were flung in his general direction as Carol blindly tore through her chest of drawers. One particularly floofy dress landed on his head and hung there as he stood momentarily stunned.

"Ugh! I have nothing to wear!" She shouted in frustration.

Varian tried to gather his wits again and pulled the dress off the top of his head. "What's wrong with what you got on?" He asked.

"This thing?" She asked incredulously back. "This ain't impressive. I need something that'll wow him."

Varian once again looked confused. "Who?"

"Who? Who do you think?" She rolled her eyes but failed to explain further. She then held up two dresses and asked. "Which do you think is better? The tight black one that's off shoulder, or the fun summery one with the flowers that shows off more leg?"

Varian darted his eyes back and forth at the two dresses, still utterly lost as to what was happening.

"Umm.. I'm not a fashion expert."

She sighed with exasperation. "Which do you think Fred will like better?"

"Fred? Fred's not going to care what you wear." He snorted.

Carol looked offended, "Oh you don't think a guy like that might be interested in me, hun? He's out of my league just cause I'm not some preppy uptown girl who buys Gucci handbags!"

"What? No!" Now Varian was even more lost, and not just because he didn't know what a 'gucci handbag' even was." No, I just meant you look good in anything. Also Fred's not like that. He doesn't care about clothes or handbags. I'm not even sure he cares anything about dating."

Carol stopped holding up the dresses and gave a pout. "You really don't think he'll care?"

"Why would he?"

"Cause everyone else does. I got into this school and the sorority house on a scholarship. I won a grant, but a lot of the other girls are here 'cause they got money or their family knows the dean or some crap like that." She sighed and hugged her knees. "It's the same with guys over at the frat house. Most of them are nice enough but, it's hard to feel like you fit in when you're still buying your clothes from the bargain bin over at the Goodwill."

"Naw, Fred's not like that at all, and neither are any of my other friends. Just wear what you want."

He gave her an encouraging smile and she returned it with a small one of her own.

"Okay." She conceded. "Then I want to wear the one with the flowers." She held up the dress again.  

"Fine, then I'll be down stairs waiting." Varian gave a mock sigh of frustration before they both broke out into giggles. He then headed down stairs to let her change.

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

Yamasho was a sushi restaurant that held karaoke night every weekend. It was the typical hole in the wall that locals from the neighborhood frequented. Nothing fancy but decent food when on a budget and the family owned establishment took good care of it's regulars.

The gang of college students were given a large table near the stage. Well it was actually two tables shoved together to accommodate the large group, who sat around eating, laughing, and just enjoying the freedom from their studies fnow that midterms were over with.

Karmi walked over to the table to join her friends carrying with her a black three ring binder.

"I got the song list book!" She said as she handed the folder to Hiro.

"I'm not sure if I'll sing anything, but I'll take a look."

"Oh, but ya got to!" Karmi urged as she took a seat next to him and peered over his shoulder at the list of songs. "That's the whole point of karaoke night, silly."

"Why? So you can post my embarrassingly bad singing online?" Hiro shot back good naturedly.

"If she won't then I will." Varian quipped. He leaned in to look at the booklet as well. "So how does this 'karaoke' work anyways?"

"You pick a song off this list and give it to the DJ over there." Karmi pointed to a man standing next to the stage with a soundboard and computer.

"Then when he calls you up on stage he'll play the music and you just sing along with it." Hiro explained. "There's also a screen that'll flash the lyrics up in case you forget the words."

Varian scanned the listing looking for something familiar. "Does it have to be a song from this list specifically?"

"Sometimes the DJ will do special requests," Wasabi added in, "but it might not have the words on screen if he does."

Just then the piece of nigiri Wasabi held fell from between the chopsticks and landed on his shirt. This ignited laughter from the group and cry of frustration from the larger guy as he furiously tried to wipe off the stain.

"Oh, that's right!" Honey Lemon said through a giggles, "this where you got your nickname from. Remember? It was last year we came here right after midterms."

"I remember," Gogo confirmed, "it was our first semester and we wanted to celebrate."

Fred chuckled. "Yeah old Wasabi had butter fingers then too." He turned to Carol to explain since she was new, "We hounded him for days about it and the name just stuck."

"So wait, your name isn't actually Wasabi?" Varian asked.

"No. Do you honestly think my mother named me after a condiment?" Wasabi snapped back.

Varian shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know what the usual naming convictions in America is. In Corona, I once knew a girl who was named after lettuce, ok."

"So what is your real name? I've never heard anyone one call you anything else but Wasabi either." Karmi asked.

"Noel."

Hiro snorted as he tried to contain his laughter "Noel?" He inhaled deeply and opened his mouth wide as if to belt something else out, but was interrupted by Wasabi.

"I know you're not about to start singing a christmas carol right now, or I'll have to shove this whole nori roll into your mouth." He said in a deadpan voice that told everyone present that he heard the joke before.

Hiro quickly snapped his jaw shut and swallowed hard. "Noooo, n-not all buddy." He squeaked. "Noel is….is a... festive name."

Wasabi raised an annoyed eyebrow at him and Hiro plastered on an apologetic grin.

"Sooo, how did you two get your nicknames?" Carol chimed in hoping to change the subject.

"Well I have this favorite lotion that I always like to wear," Honey Lemon chirped, "its lemon and honey scented, and so Freddie…

"So I started calling Honey Lemon," Fred joined in."cause she smells just as sweet as her personality."

"Awe thank you," she blushed, "My real name is Amanda, but I really like the nickname so it's what I go by all the time now."

"Oh, so that's what I smell whenever you fall asleep on.. me-" Varian paused in this realization as everyone turned to look at him. He coughed and started to stuff his face with sushi to distract from his faux pas.

"Ok then…" Carol laughed, "So what about you Gogo? What's your real name?

"Lei."

"Lei?" Karmi asked. "But that's actually shorter than Gogo. Why not just go by that instead?"

The biker chick only shrugged and pointed back towards Fred.

"Cause she's always on the go, ya know." Fred explained.

"I don't really care what people call me." Gogo added. "I'm still Lei to my dad and Gogo to my friends."

"Well then Gogo," Hiro asked as he passed the song folder down, "are you going sing anything?"

"No."

"Oh come on Gogo; it'll be fun." Honey Lemon encouraged.

"Nope."

"Then I'll pick something out." Fred grabbed the binder from her. He glanced over it's contents and said, "I think I wanna do a rap song."

Hiro snorted, "You can rap?"

"Sure I can rap. " He said indignantly.

"I'm not sure if I'd call what you do 'rap'." Wasabi interject.

"Oh yeah, well then just watch this." And with that Fred got up and walked over to the DJ, taking the binder with him.

"Rich and talented" Carol mused after he was out of ear shot, "I'm surprised none of you are dating."

Gogo burst into laughter. "You mean Fred? Oh, no noooo no; that's big nope. You haven't known Fred very long."

Carol frowned.

"We all love Freddie," Honey Lemon interceded, " He's a great guy. It's just...sometimes he can get a liiiitle…"

"Insane." Gogo said.

"Intense!" Honey Lemon quickly corrected and then paused as she realized this was perhaps not the best alternative. "No. Wait. That's not the right word...hmm…Passionate! Yes. He's a very passionate person."

"He's also insane." Gogo whispered to Carol.

That's when Fred walked on stage and picked up the microphone.

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

The night went on. Everyone sang, laughed, and carried on as young people do. Then it was time to head home.

They dropped Carol off first at the sorority house.

"Here let me get out first." Fred said as he opened the limo door and stepped out, "that way you can get out easier with having to crawl all over me." He reached a hand out to help her and Carol grabbed it as she scooted across the long seat to get out.

"My you are quite the gentlemen, ain't ya?" She flirted as she stepped out of the car. She flashed him a wide grin but Fred didn't catch on to her meaning behind the words.

"Ah, I try." He shrugged obliviously.

Varian got out as well. "Well good sir, if you would be so kind as to leave the car running." He said in a mocking manner, imitating the upper nobility he'd sometimes see in court.

Fred caught on to the joke and put on his best fake upcurst accent. "Indubitably, abd will that be all my lord?" He gave a mock bow and they both broke out into snickers.

Carol rolled her eyes and started to walk off, irritated that Varian had gotten in the way.

He followed after.

"I don't need you to walk me to the door you know." She said under her breath.

"I know, I just…"

"Just what?" She reached the porch and whirled around. "We aren't dating, remember?"

"I..I know." Varian looked surprised. "I just figured since I asked you to come along I should be the one to say goodnight to you." He awkwardly explained.

Carol crossed her arms.

"Did I do something wrong?"

She sighed. "I don't want Fred to think we're a couple."

Varian turned back to look at the other teen. He spotted them both looking at him and waved. "Goodnight. It was nice meeting you." He yelled.

She smiled and waved back.

"You..you really like him?" Varian asked.

"Well yeah," Carol said."He's nice, and the fact that he can afford to spring for a taco now and then doesn't hurt either."  

She paused as if a thought occurred to her. "You think I'm being shallow."

"What? No. If you like him that's great. Hey, that's two friends of mine who get along. Wh-what's not to like about that."

She raised an eyebrow. "You jealous?"

"No." He pouted. "It sure didn't take long to get over me though." He joked.

Carol laughed, "Awww, I'm sure you've broken plenty of hearts."

"Who me? Yeah right." Varian scoffed. He then became thoughtful. "I haven't had many chances to meet people until I came here."

"Well of course not. You're only sixteen." She rolled her eyes and then smiled. "You've got plenty of time to find love."

Varian only returned a half smile."Yeah...time…that's also something I always feel like I'm running out of."

"Ugh, I know. Midterms were killer this year, and we gotta do it all again in a few more weeks for finals." He turned and walked back towards the door. "Night. This was fun. Next time y'all decide to do something like this be sure to invite me again."

"We will."

"Oh and if you could maybe find out what Fred thinks of me between now and then? Maybe drop a hint or two…"

Varian rolled his eyes, "I'm not playing messenger."

Carol stuck out her bottom lip and gave a pleading look.

"Fine." Varian conceded. "But unless you're waving a comic book in front of his face I don't think you're going to get him to notice." He warned.

"Comic book fan, gottcha." She dismissed the warning. "There's tons of guys here who are into those. There's even a sequential art program here at the school."

"You don't get it. Fred doesn't just like comic books...he lives comic books. You should see his room."

"Oooh should now?" She teased.

"I didn't mean… forget it."

She laughed again, "I thought you weren't jealous?"

"I'm not." He said defensively. "Look I'll ask, but just don't get your hopes up, that's all I'm saying. Fred's...well…he.. doesn't pick up hints very well."

"So I need to be even more obvious?"

"Or just more up front."

She furrowed her brow in thought. "Hmmm...ok, then I'll keep that in mind for next time. Thanks again, Varian, your a good friend and night."

He returned the farewell as she closed the door.

#Varian #Tangled #Fred Frederickson IV #big hero six #crossover #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #big hero 6 #bh6 the series #bh6

[solletichi]

Tickly Phantom Thief AU- Part 1

Shuichi was in quite the precarious position.

Dangling from the ceiling with his arms tied above his head, Shuichi could do little but wait there with his limbs pulled taut, trying not to panic.

He attempted to soothe his nerves by calmly recollecting the events that led him to his current position.

After a long while of researching and investigating, Shuichi had finally deduced the whereabouts of the infamous phantom thief’s lair. Noticing a strange pattern of graffiti on an abandoned building that was linked to D.I.C.E, Shuichi’s suspicions were immediately rasied. Unbeknownst to the rest of his detective agency, Shuichi made his way to the hideout to investigate.

While there, he found various papers strewn about the room, appearing to be some sort of blueprints and plans. Investigating the room further led Shuichi to discover a discolored patch of the wall, which was actually a hidden door.

Carefully pressing his palms against the wall, Shuichi fell forward and into darkness. Everything after that was a blur.

Shuichi sighed, trying to maneuver himself out of his bonds. A few hard tugs proved that any struggle was useless, and kicking his legs did nothing. The only other option was to wait patiently for his captor to arrive.

And wait he did.

That was, until he heard a door open behind him, along with the sound of footsteps coming towards him.

“Well, well, well...” An unfamiliar voice began, “What do we have here?”

Shuichi tensed at the sudden appearance of another occupant in the room. He tried to speak, but his voice remained trapped in his throat.

Shuichi remained silent as his captor walked in front of him, finally revealing himself.

There were a few observations Shuichi made right off the bat: His captor was a petite young man, about the same age as he was, and he had plum colored hair that stood out in all different directions at the tips. His overwhelmingly malicious presence more than made up for his small stature, pure evil radiating off of his body. Shuichi shuddered at the sight.

“C’mon, not even a ‘Who are you?’ or ‘Where am I?’, huh? How boring...” The small man picked at his nails, seemingly finding them more interesting than interrogating his captive.

Shuichi swallowed and steeled himself, preparing to speak:

“...You’re part of D.I.C.E., aren’t you?”

The man froze in place and looked up at Shuichi, appearing to be taken off guard. This expression was only momentary, however, as his features then morphed into those of pure joy.

“Ooh, looks like Mister Detective here did his research! Aaand...” he brought a finger up to his lips, smirking deviously. “Why the hell should I tell you?” He gave Shuichi a once-over before returning his gaze to his eyes. “You’re not exactly in a position to be making demands.”

Shuichi grit his teeth, repressing the many emotions he was feeling. Anger, confusion and embarrassment were included in the mix, but the most prominent one was fear. He had no idea what his captor had in store for him, and he didn’t want to find out.

“Let’s get started, shall we? I’m sure you’re dying to know what I’ve got planned for you!” the mysterious man said gleefully.

“...What do you want from me?” Shuichi asked cautiously.

“What do I want?” The man placed a hand on his chest, tilting his head innocently. “I want to have some fun with you, that’s all!”

Shuichi stared blankly, not satisfied with the information he had been given.

The man continued, “And I have the perfect game for us to play!”

He walked up to Shuichi, placing a hand on either side of his waist.

“Don’t laugh.”

Small fingers dexterously pinched at the detective’s waist, moving like frightened spiders. Shuichi had to bite his lip to keep from bursting out laughing.

“Gh! Nnn! Stop it!!”

“Now, now, you heard the rules! Don’t laugh, Shuichi.” He picked up the pace, quickly drumming his fingers along the detecitve’s sides, all while wearing a shit-eating grin.

Shuichi thrashed back and forth, though his struggles were rendered futile due to his strict bondage. He kicked his legs, but that offered him no reprieve from the tingly sensations.

The supposed phantom thief pulled back momentarily, allowing Shuichi to breathe.

“...How... do you know my name?” Shuichi spoke through labored breaths.

“Oh, I forgot to finish explaining the rules of the game!” The thief clapped his hands together, completely ignoring the detective’s question. His sinister grin had returned, causing Shuichi to reflexively tug at his restraints.

“You can guess what happens if you laugh, riiiight?” He leaned forward, hands behind his back.

When Shuichi hesitated to reply, the thief took this as his cue to keep going:

“I’ll tickle the hell out of you!”

Shuichi’s eyes widened, the gravity of the situation finally dawning on him. He was stuck here indefinitely, completely at the mercy of a wicked phantom thief with incredibly unconventional torture methods.

His thoughts were interrupted by the phantom thief inviting himself closer, rolling up the detective’s shirt.

“So tell me, my dear detective...” the thief smirked, looking up at him, “Who do you work for?” He revved up once more, pinching and squeezing at the detective’s hips with no mercy.

“Hnn! I-I work for the Kirigiri detecti- GAH!” Shuichi yelped as the thief’s hands moved lower, tracing the area where his hips met his thighs. The smaller boy’s eyes lit up mischievously.

“Ooh, what was that?” he smirked, teasing the newly found sensitive area, “Did I find a weak spot?”

“D-Don’t!!”

“Don’t what? Don’t tickle you?” The thief’s grin grew wider as Shuichi writhed in place and grit his teeth, struggling to keep his composure. “Poor little you... My darling detective is oh so sensitive~”

“Mmf! S-Shihihit!” Shuichi giggled.

“Uh oh, was that a laugh I heard? Not good, Shuichi! You know what that means! Iiiiit’s punishment time!”

“Wha-?! B-But I- EEYAHAHA NOHOHOHO!” Shuichi’s struggles returned with renewed vigor as the thief started circling his navel with the lightest of touches with one finger, and clawed at his side with the other hand.

“Tsk, tsk... And here I was, thinking you were all cool and tough! Guess I was wrong!” he chuckled, “Not that I mind though! Cuz this is definitely not boring, that’s for sure!”

“M-MAKE IT STAHAHAHAP! PLEHEHEAZE!” the detective thrashed and quivered violently, but it did nothing to diminish the awful tickling feeling coursing throughout his body.

“Next question!” the thief chirped, now lightly scratching at Shuichi’s ribs. “How did you find my super secret hideout?

“I-I JUHUST- FAHAHACKING HEHEHELL!” the detective’s smile spread from ear to ear, and his face was flooded with color as the thief poked and prodded at his torso with an unnerving determination. “THE GRAFIHIHITIHI!”

“Oh, so you picked up on that after all?” the thief responded, “Y’know, maybe I left those clues because I wanted you to find me! Just so that I could lure you here and have soooo much fun with you!”

The thief let up for a second, watching Shuichi pant with tears of mirth in his eyes.

“Last question! I saved the best for last, too!” he giggled childishly, placing his hands on Shuichi’s stomach. The detective shivered at the touch.

“What is my name?”

“What?! There’s no waHAHAHAY AHAHAHA NOHOHOHO!” Shuichi cried, trembling violently in his restraints. Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes at this point, threatening to stream down his face.

The thief’s hands roamed all over the detective’s torso, free to do as they pleased what with the detective all tied up like this. His hands froze when he heard Shuichi squeal as he dipped a finger into his navel.

“Ohoho~ Someone’s got a verrry ticklish belly button~ It would be a shame if someone...” the thief moved his face over Shuichi’s navel, “exploited that.”

Shuichi screeched as he felt gentle lips blowing over his stomach, struggling even more as he felt the thief add his hands back into the mix, scratching and squeezing at his hips.

“GAHAHAHAHAHA NAHAHAHAHA ENOUHOHOUGH PLEHEHEAZE!” The detective had tears streaming down his face, and his struggles ultimately became weaker as a result of the prolonged tickling.

The thief pulled back, his lips hovering inches above Shuichi’s stomach.

“Psh! Phantom thieves don’t respond to cries for mercy! Now out with it, detective! What’s my name?” He continued teasing the detective’s stomach with the lightest of touches, never failing to make him squirm.

“IHI DOHOHON’T KNOHOHOW! P-PLEHEHEAZE!” Shuichi pleaded, voice growing raspy.

“Fine...” the thief sighed, stepping back from his captive. He watched with amusement as the detective struggled to catch his breath, still giggling a bit even though the tickling had already stopped.

“...So... What is your name?” Shuichi lifted his head to look at the thief, completely spent from all of the tickling.

For once, the thief had no expression. No childlike glee, no malicious smirk- nothing.

“Kokichi...” the thief stated. “Kokichi Ouma.”

Shuichi didn’t respond, still recovering from the torture he had endured.

The thief sighed and turned away.

“Wellll, I guess that’s enough fun for one day. Wouldn’t wanna torture my beloved Shuichi too much!” The thief began to walk away, only to be stopped by the detective’s sudden cry.

“Wait!” Shuichi yelled, “...You never answered my question. How do you know my name?”

The thief’s malicious grin had returned as he quickly spun on his heel to reply. He put a finger up to his lips and responded:

“I’ll tell you, my beloved detective... When we meet again.”

And with that, the thief- Kokichi- exited the room, leaving Shuichi a flushed mess all by himself.

When we meet again...

Shuichi’s mind felt hazy as he tried reviewing the information he had just obtained. No matter how hard he tried, his eyelids seemed to be closing on their own, and before he knew it...

Everything went black.

#AHAHHAHSGAHAHS RIP SHUICHI #but what if #shuichi got revenge...? #haha jk... unless? #tickling #tickle fic #my writing #danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #kokichi ouma #shuichi saihara #oumasai #saiouma

[digindydig]

Indy’s stories

Part 1: I Am Alexandra Alister

Heat. The kind of heat that stuck to your skin like a second layer. That only kind of heat you feel in the dense humid jungles of south America. Pushing vines out of her path, Indy walked further down the trail. It was at least another hour of walking before she got anywhere near the closes town. Sweat rolled past her brow, her clothes drenched with her sweat, Indy didn’t mind as much as she kept walking. Today was the day she’d leave to go back to London, to go back home. 

‘Eight months…since I’ve been home. I should be excited. Right?’ 

Indy pushed the thought out of her mind as she focused on her surroundings. ‘Focus’ she told herself. The chirps of the birds in the air and trees, The screeches of monkeys and other animals in the distance. Soft crunch as her foot hit the floor with her every stride, the smell of wet dirt, the annoyance of mosquitos. She was far from home and nowhere near safe in this thick jungle. Anything can happen at any giving moment, she had to be kept on high alert if she wanted to go home. Though she had to admit training out here for the past eight months have definitely heighten her senses but it also dolled her emotional connection. Now that was something she didn’t want to admit to herself, in fact it kind of scares her. Once more she pushed her thoughts out of her mind and continued on the path that lead out the thick jungle. She wasn’t alone though ‘Thank the heavens for that’ she would have probably lost her mind had it not been for Amir. Now he’s the real reason why she decided go pursue the harsh training. He knew things that she wanted to know, things that would hopefully soothe this ache she’s felt for so long. Things that would make her fully understand where she came from, her place of birth. She wanted to know her real mother. 

Indy had been adopted when she was just a day old by a young archeologists named Venessa Alister. Indy grew up with a wealthy family, they loved her like their own. She has an older sister and a grandfather who was also an archeologists. But her adoptive father didn’t care for her as much. After her adoptive mother passed away when she was just 6. Her father gave up custody and sent her to Scotland to an orphanage and her sister to their grandfather’s. Indy’s life changed after that. She endured a lot at a young age. But that was all in the past now. She looked forward seeing the familiar road that lead to the small town. She exhaled deeply, finally relieved she made it.

“Your absolutely sure about this?” Indy said, she didn’t look at Amir as she was busy walking down the dirt road into town. She wasn’t too happy about Amir’s idea Of a ‘Test’. 

“Think of it being of part of your training.” He try sounding enthusiastic about it but Indy didn’t buy it. 

“I just have a bad feeling about this. I don’t like it.” She confessed, she didn’t want to do it but this was something long over due. It was time to make amends, it was time to go home. To see her family after 16 years and Indy wasn’t sure what she would feel or how it would all play out. Would they hate me? Would they push me away? Or would they welcome me with open arms? So many questions, it was a bit overwhelming but it had to be done. Somewhere in her mother’s research and findings was some small truth  to her origin and if meeting the bloody bastard who had ripped any chances of a normal life for her. She couldn’t let that get in the way but then again she knew herself, she knew her temper. Indy let out a small frustrating groan. 

“I hope I don’t kill the bastard.” She had always imagined the things she would do to the prick. So many ways to hurt him, so many choices to choose from she thought. Amir shook his head, maybe this was a bad idea, maybe Indy wasn’t ready to face this part of her training. But there was no time. Indy had to complete it, so that she can be who Amir needed her to be. What she was destined to be even if she didn’t know it. But her anger was far more deeper than her mother’s, hell it was more than he thought. Maybe she wasn’t ready. He just hope it wasn’t a mistake. But he knew what she went through and he knew why she was doing all of this. 

“You have to remember to stay calm. Emotions lead to mistakes Alex. You must face your anger and learn to control it and push it down. I know this might be difficult but it’s what your mother would have wanted. ” He wanted to say more but that would only feed Indy’s rising curiosity. He had to lie to cover his plans but Indy wasn’t stupid. She had already picked up on his lies on more than one occasion. He may have known her mother  and Indy tells herself that, but why hide it? Why not tell her right away and end this pointless back and forth.

“And if I complete this part of my training will you tell me what happen to her? Why I was sent away to the Alister’s. Or am I not ready yet.” There is was. Her anger slip on the last part . She bit back her frustrations once more. She hated being lie too, hated being taken as a joke, hated being led on. They made it to the town and where on there way to the town’s station that would lead then to the city and eventually a plane back to London. 

[ my Story telling isn't all that great, it like 2am, I’m not good at writing but I have soooo many ideas I just want to jot down,Indy’s Storie are based around my og character named Alexandra Alister or for short Indy. she's a kickass treasure hunter who has photographic memory. I would love to do a crossover with Tomb Raider or have them share the same world. but I hope people like her........ if not i’ll still try to post stuff.]

#og character

[dreamcloudlanding]

Dad AU: Hello Nurse

Jack: *nearly breaks down the door to the nurse’s office* “Hana?!”

Hana: *looks up from her phone from her spot on the examination table wearing a bandage on her arm* “Hey, Dad.”

Lucio: *sitting on a chair next to Hana* “Hi, Mr. M!”

Gabe: *comes in after Jack* “Could you try to maintain at least a little dignity? You nearly tripped three times scrambling to get in here!”

Jack: *ignores him* “Hana, what happened?”

Hana: “It was just an accident in shop class. I burned my arm a little.”

Jack: “How much is a little?”

Hana: “Oh my god, Dad. Relax!”

Gabe: “Please, you’re embarrassing yourself and everyone around you.”

Lucio: “She’s gonna be fine, Mr. M.”

Jack: “Lucio.. What are you here for?”

Lucio: “I’m Ms. Ziegler’s student helper. Bandaged Hana up myself. I think the real question is, why is Mr. Reyes here?” *smirks a little and raises an eyebrow*

Jack: “Uhh.. he gave me a ride, because...”

Gabe: “Wait Wait. Forget about that. Did you just say ‘Ziegler’?”

Lucio: “Uh, Yeah. Why?”

*steady tap of heels can be heard down the hall*

Jack and Gabe: *lean out of the office curiously*

Angela: *smiles as she approaches* “Hello, Jack. You look well.” *looks behind him, her eyes widening slightly as she sees Gabe* “Gabriel? What a surprise!”

Jack: “Angela.. you’re a school nurse?”

Angela: “You see an old friend after so many years and you immediately start with the questions?” *chuckles and pats Jack’s cheek gently* “You haven’t changed a bit.”

Jack: *smiled softly and takes her hand* “Sorry. You haven’t aged a day, Angela. It’s good to see you.”

Gabe: “...”

Angela: “It’s wonderful to see the both of you as well.” *walks passed them and looks to Hana* “How is your arm, dear?”

Hana: “It’s fine. Lucio took good care of it.”

Lucio: *smiles bashfully* “Ah, it was nothing.”

Angela: *nods and turns back to Jack* “I have to admit I was surprised when I saw your name on Hana’s emergency contacts. You never told me you were planning to have children.”

Jack: “It wasn’t exactly planned, but anyway, is she going to be okay?”

Angela: “Oh yes, it’s only a first degree burn. But school policy requires me to inform the parents of any injuries the child receives. You really didn’t have to come rushing down here so quickly.” *giggles*

Gabe: *gives Jack a look* “I told you.”

Angela: *looks to Gabe* “Gabriel, I see your health has improved since I last saw you.”

Gabe: *shrugs* “Can’t complain.”

Angela: “It’s such a surprise to see you both in the same room again. It’s wonderful that you’ve finally worked out your feelings for one another.”

Jack: *blushes slightly* “We didn’t- I mean. We’re not-“

Angela: *laughs* “Oh calm down, Jack. I’m only teasing. But I am curious as to what you’re doing here together.”

Gabe: “Keep your nose out of it, Angela.”

Angela: *smiles* “You haven’t changed a bit either, Gabriel. Your avoidance is all the answer I need.”

Gabe: *crosses his arms and grunts*

Hana: “Soooo are you guys just gonna keep us in the dark? How do you know the nurse, Dad?”

Jack: “She’s an old war buddy. One of the best army docs you could get on the field.”

Angela: “I patched up your father more times then I can count back then. He could be so reckless.”

Hana: “My Dad was reckless?”

Jack: “Everybody was young once, Hana.”

Gabe: “All this sentiment is so touching. I’ll be in the hall.” *walks out of the office and shuts the door*

Angela: *frowns slightly* “I apologize. I suppose we’re bringing up some old emotions for him.”

Jack: “He’ll live.”

Hana and Lucio: *looks back and forth between the two of them, confused*

Angela: *takes a small deep breath* “Well.. it was wonderful to see you again, Jack. Since you’re here, you can go ahead and take Hana home for the day. It would be best for her to go to a clinic and get a prescription for a medicated ointment.”

Jack: *smiles a little and raises an eyebrow* “YOU need her to get a second opinion?”

Angela: *smirks* “It’s no second opinion. I’m just not allowed to write prescriptions here.”

Jack: “I’m still writing it off as the great doctor Ziegler needing another doctor’s help.”

Angela: “Careful Jack, I might be tempted to share some stories of your younger days with your daughter.”

Jack: *holds up his hands* “Okay okay! No need to get crazy.”

Angela: *chuckles and writes out a note on a pad of paper and hands it to him* “Take this to the clinic and ask for this ointment... there’s also my contact information on the bottom.”

Jack: “Oh... uh, thank you.”

Angela: *smiles warmly at Jack* “It truly is lovely to see you again.”

Jack: “It’s good to see you too, Angela..” *stares at her for a moment before pocketing the note and turning to Hana* “Let’s go, Hana.”

Hana: *nods and looks at Lucio* “Thanks again, Luci. I’ll see you tomorrow.” *gets up off the bed and gives him a wink before heading for the door*

Lucio: *smiles* “Later Hana.”

Jack: *gives Angela one last look before guiding Hana out of the office, shutting the door behind him*

Lucio: “...So.” *hops up on the examination table and smirks at Angela* “You and Mr. M, huh?”

Angela: *blushes lightly* “It was a long time ago.”

Lucio: “Wait, for real?! I was kidding!”

Angela: “Lucio, I think the bell is about to ring. You should get ready for your next class.”

*outside the office*

Jack: “...”

Gabe: “...”

Hana: “.... Geez, there was less tension when you two weren’t on speaking terms. What’s the deal with that?”

Jack: “It’s not anything you need to concern yourself with, Hana.”

Gabe: “... Let’s just go.”

Jack: “Angela is our friend, Gabe. Don’t be a baby.”

Gabe: *tightens fist* “Oh don’t pretend, Morrison. I saw the look on your face when you saw her.”

Jack: “Yeah, I was happy, Reyes. And you should be too.”

Gabe: *scoffs and starts walking*

Jack: *glares after him*

Hana: “... So you and Dr. Ziegler?”

Jack: *sighs* “It was a long time ago.”

Hana: “Not long enough, apparently.”

Jack: “He’s just being dramatic. Come on, let’s go get something for your arm.”

Hana: “...You know I’m telling everyone, right?”

Jack: *sighs* “I know.”

#An awkward car ride follows #Dad AU #Overwatch #OW #Reaper76 #Mercy76 #Mercy #angela zeigler #Soldier 76 #jack morrison #Reaper #gabriel reyes #D.va #Hana Song #Lucio #lucio correia dos santos

[poguesofthebau]

OMG would you be able to do a superhero au with Grayson where the reader is like the villain and they just have flirty banter every time they meet until he finally decides to ask her out💛

this took me soooo long to write because i’ve never done anything like it before, but it was so fun to work on! i changed a few things from the actual request, but i hope it’s at least kind of close to what you were looking for! :)

summary: when grayson dolan, LA’s favorite hero, can’t stop running into y/n, a criminal that flies under the city’s radar, he finds himself first obsessing over her and her life choices, and then falling for her. but how does a vigilante end up with a criminal?

the first time you met was at the california fires.

he had seen you quickly moving around through the front windows, and, thinking you were a homeowner trapped inside by the flames, had darted inside as quickly as possible to get you out. when he finally found you in the house, though, he realized that he had been mistaken about you.

you were no homeowner– oh, no. you were quite the opposite.

when grayson reached you, what you were doing was unbelievable to him. “hey, are– are you fucking stealing from this house?”

caught off guard, your naturally smug face distorted into confusion, your head whipping to the side and squinting through the smoke with a heavy cough to see who the hell had been crazy enough to follow you, california’s least famous crook, into a literal burning building. you’d been leaning over a locket, staring at the photo that was pressed into it. a young girl and a middle-aged couple. it had seemed too sentimental for you to take, even though its other possible destiny was to burn to ashes. regardless of what you’d decided, your thoughts were cut short when another voice rose from the smoke, startling you out of your contemplation.

immediately you recognized him. it was grayson.

while the general public didn’t know who the man really was, every petty criminal in the city made a point to know his true identity. they knew it for two reasons: 1) so they knew to keep away from him, and, 2) for blackmail if they ever needed it. because someone like grayson dolan would never let people like you get away with the things you did– vigilante or not. so people like you did what it took to remain under his radar, but made sure to have a backup plan just in case he somehow tuned in to what you were doing.

for these reasons, you immediately dashed to make an exit when you recognized him. the window above the kitchen sink was still open from when you’d come in five minutes ago to grab anything lightweight and expensive you could find. without a sound, you dropped the locket and sprinted across the room, jumping onto the counter and diving out the window effortlessly, with grayson trying–and failing– to follow you, the prettiest thief he’d ever caught in the act.

the next meeting was almost a month later.

a friend of yours had invited you along on a little robbery. the plan was to hit a small cafe just as it closed, take anything in the register or the wallets of whatever customers and employees were still lingering, and get out. you had passed on the offer, preferring to hit vacant targets and work alone, but you had offered your help if anything went wrong.

conveniently for you, the one night you’d planned on keeping off the streets and letting citizens of LA worry about normal problems that didn’t include being robbed by you, ended up being the night things went sideways for your friend. around 9:45 that night, you received a text with no context or explanation (just how all criminals communicated): 911.

so, like any good friend would, you went.

when you arrived at the cafe, the scene was already messy.

there were three cops cars parked outside the building, and the first person you spotted who wasn’t in police uniform was him.

of course. why would grayson dolan, hero of the year, not be on a scene like this one?

for a moment, you lingered in your spot, just out of the sight of the heroes. you contemplated just leaving. what was one less friend? he could get himself out of the situation if he was as legit as he claimed to be. hell, he wouldn’t have been in the situation if he was as good as he claimed to be. you paced around in heavy thought for a few moments, and just as you decided to hatch a plan to get your friend out of his own mess, your train of thought was rammed off its tracks.

“hey!” and then there were footsteps, rapidly approaching you. your first instinct was to pull the knife from your thigh holster, but by the time it was in your hand, grayson had already reached you. before your body could react, it was pushed against the wall, and your arms were pinned on either side of your head. the knife clattered to the floor as grayson’s knee nudged between your thighs to keep you from moving. your eyes were wide when they finally met his, and the look on his face told you he hadn’t forgotten your last encounter. “it’s you again?” your brow furrowed in response, wrists struggling in his hands to free themselves. “what are you doing here? are you a part of this?”

instead of responding, you took advantage of his position in the only way you could. while he was speaking, grayson had lessened the pressure he was putting on your body by giving you an inch more space between your bodies. without hesitation, you brought your left knee up between his legs with as much force as you could muster. turns out it was a lot of force.

grayson’s hands immediately released you, and you were suddenly able to slid out from between his body and the wall, quickly leaning over to grab your knife before dashing in the opposite direction of the police, who had taken no notice to the interaction going on between the two of you. you didn’t make it very far before he was running after you again, this time taking a bit longer to catch up. he eventually did, though, barely grabbing onto your wrist again and yanking on it just hard enough to halt your momentum and twist you around. as you spun, your other hand– the one holding the knife– flew toward him, only to be stopped a few inches away by grayson’s forearm colliding with your own.

after a few moments of sparring, you ended up with grayson on his back below you as you straddled him, knife pressed lightly against his throat. he was looking up at you as though you were someone he knew, like he had so much faith in your benevolence. “quit looking at me like that. and quit trying to stop me from doing my damn job, before you get yourself killed.”

“you wouldn’t kill me,” he insisted, locking eyes with you. “i don’t buy it.”

“be careful what you assume about a girl who has a knife to your throat, mr. hero.”

the glint in his eye suddenly shifted from familiarity to interest. “who are you? why haven’t i heard of you?”

smiling almost sweetly at his naivety, you leaned into him, your mouth nearly pressed against his ear when you finally spoke. “because i’m very good at what i do.” and then you were gone.

from then on, grayson was everywhere you went. it was almost scary how much you saw him. you’d catch him while you were out on a job, whether he was there to stop you or just happened to walk in on one of your crimes, and he would spot you as you passed by a scene he was on, trying to save a new innocent. often times he would strike up a conversation, as though you were old friends. a part of you was convinced it was all coincidence, but a larger part was worried that you were going to be his next big criminal take-down. so after a handful of run-ins, you finally decided to address the situation.

you’d been listening to the police scanner all day, trying to find something that was close enough to your location that you could catch grayson there and hopefully put an end to the game of tag you two had been playing for the past few months. after hours of running around the city only to just barely miss him, you finally caught up.

funny enough, the scene you found him working on was a fire. when you arrived on a nearby rooftop, catching sight of what was going on down below, you couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. after meeting him for the first time at a fire and spending all that time feeling like he was chasing you around los angeles, it had all come full circle.

deciding it would be smartest to wait for things to settle down for grayson, you sat down on the edge of the rooftop, boot-clad feet dangling from the ledge. for almost two hours, you sat and watched him save life after life, until everyone had been pulled from the burning building. it was odd, the feeling you got every time he ducked back into the building. each disappearance had you wondering– worrying– if he would come back out again. you couldn’t remember the last person you’d worried about like that, and you couldn’t believe that grayson dolan was the one putting you in that state of mind.

the entire time you sat waiting for him, you thought you’d gone unnoticed by the hero. when the job was done, though, the first thing he did was look up to your spot on that building and grin at you. stunned, you laughed in surprise.

a few minutes later, grayson was sitting on the ledge next to you, feet grazing your own as he swung his legs back and forth in the air. “thanks for not adding to the trouble down there,” he teased, knocking his shoulder into yours. “maybe you’re not such a villain after all.”

“hmph. is that what you’re looking to hear from me after all these little meetings? that i’m a good guy deep down, and i’m secretly dying to be your sidekick or something?”

“you said it, not me.” you scoffed at this, shoving him.

“i told you once i would kill you, and i still mean it.”

after a few moments of laughing, you both went quiet. “have you ever thought about that? like, in a serious way.” you raised your eyebrows, not following the question. “i mean, have you ever wanted to be good?” you scoffed again. “seriously, y/n. don’t take it the wrong way, but you are one of the bad guys. a really skilled one, i have to admit. it took me two months to figure out your name, for god’s sake. but really, don’t you ever wonder if you should be doing something to help people?”

you looked at him for a while, just taking him in. he looked worried, thinking he’d upset you with the question. when you looked out at the sky and leaned back on your palms, though, he seemed to realize that he was right. “i never considered anything like that until i met you.”

grayson smiled then, proudly. he had been waiting months for you to finally admit that what you were doing with your life wasn’t who you were– that you were ready to do more. “so do it with me.”

you turned back to look at him again. your face let grayson know that he wasn’t convincing you of anything. “it’s not that simple, grayson. you’re the hero, and i’m the villain. maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

“or maybe it’s not. c’mere.” he was standing then, reaching a hand out to help you up once he’d finally gotten on his feet. when you took his hand and let him pull you up, he smiled again. he started digging around in his pocket then. after a while, he finally found what he was looking for, pulling it out and taking one knee before you. when your eyes widened in amusement, he laughed and shook his head. “it’s not what you think, crazy.” finally, you caught sight of what he was offering to you. the locket, from that first day in the fires. “y/n the villain, will you do me the honor of becoming y/n the hero and help me protect this city?”

rolling your eyes but failing to fight the smile that had crept onto your face, you took the necklace from him and nodded before pulling him back to his feet. “yeah, i will, you corny good guy. how the hell did you find this?”

“i knew it would be important when i first saw you with it that first day. i had no way to prove it, but i could just tell that this locket was one of the things that made you question what you were doing. and i knew that a day like today would come, so i took it for this moment. you know, just in case.”

you groaned. “how did i go from bad ass, unstoppable criminal to sidekick of the guy that finds the meaning of lockets from house fires in a matter of minutes?”

grabbing your hand with a laugh, he pulled you toward the door that led to the building. “that’s the power of goodness. i don’t make the rules, i just follow them! don’t act like you don’t love the protagonist.”

“sadly, i think we both know i do.”

#grayson dolan #grayson #dolan #gd #dolan twins #grayson dolan au #grayson au #dolan twins au #grayson dolan au blurb #grayson dolan au blurbs #grayson dolan au imagine #grayson dolan au imagines #dolan twins au blurb #dolan twins au blurbs #dolan twins au imagines #dolan twins au imagine #dolan twins au fanfic #dolan twins au fanfics #grayson dolan au fanfics #grayson dolan au fanfic #grayson dolan imagines #grayson dolan imagine #grayson dolan fanfics #grayson dolan fanfic #grayson dolan blurbs #grayson dolan blurb #dolan au

[a-damson-in-distress]

From Dusk Till Dawn - Chapter 5

Pairing: MadaSaku

Plot: Sakura was searching for a purpose. Madara was thirsting for revenge. Little do they know their fates intertwined centuries ago. Once he broke free from his banishment, he would usher in a new dusk. Until he realised that she was his dawn. Historical/mythological AU.

Note: Salutations, my lovelies. I’m back from the dead. So I know most of you will have probably forgotten this fic even exists (hell, even I forgot lol), but guess what - IT’S BACK BITCHES! I honestly have no idea what came over me today, but somehow I got reminded of this blog and the fics I started here, so I decided to dig it up out of the depths of my browser history, and you know what? I totally forgot how much fun I had writing these and that daaaaaaamn I had some good stories going on, which were in desperate need of updating, if only to ease my guilty conscience. 

Speaking of which, I honestly have no excuses for going AWOL for so long. I know some of you may have been bummed, because I think this fic did have a teeny tiny bit of a following, but honestly guys, this writing blog was only one of my many hobbies and it was never meant to take up too much of my time. It was one of these things I occasionaly devote my time to, but that was always doomed to be second place to my life/relationship/university responsibilites. But on the bright side, I did finally get my Bachelor’s degree, whoooo! Buuuuuuuut I am still at uni doing my Master’s, sooooo ya know - still not going to be a regular thing here. 

Anyways, TL;DR: I wanted to update this little nugget here out of pure nostalgia and curiosity to see how many of you will still remember the story, to see how many will appreciate and like this update and depending on your reaction, I might actually take up writing again. Goodie, I’m excited to be back. Have fun! :)

Oh also, please check out the first 4 chapters before reading this one, since - you know - I let so much dust settle on this story none of y’all will probably know what’s going on. 

EDIT: I had to delete the links to the first 4 chapters, because this chapter wasn’t showing up under the madasaku tag or any of the other tags, but as soon as I deleted the links it did? Soooo yeah whatever, fuck you Tumblr links. You’re gonna have to scroll through my blog to get to the other chapters, I’m sorry. I’ll figure out a way to post all of it in one piece, promise. Have fun and let me know what you think! :)

500 years ago…

The heavens stood still.

Silence.

Death.

Victory.

Tsunade watched a tired Jiraiya fall to his knees and let out a pained groan. Allowing a nervous sigh to escape her lips, she closed her eyes.

They did it. They finally did it. After decades of warfare, bloodshed, and carnage, they finally managed to seal away the bane of their existence.

The last of the dusk gods had fallen.

Opening her eyes again, she let her tired gaze wander across the scene of their final battle. Slain gods lay scattered across the barren field, the ashen ground beneath them stained in the colour of their blood.  Giant craters burning with the dreaded flames of the underworld tore through the otherwise idyllic scenery of the heavens like wounds from blade. The black flames of the dusk god’s feared Amaterasu eating up what little was left of the trees that once made this surrounding a forest.

It matters not, she kept telling herself. He is gone. And the dawn gods shall rebuild.

Just as Tsunade was about to join Jiraiya to take a look at his wounds, an ear-piercing screeching tore through her head, forcing her to her knees. Barely managing to open her eyes against the penetrating pain in her mind, she watched the other surviving gods around her writhe and hold their heads in agony.

All of a sudden, the screeching ebbed, giving way to a low hissing sound before a mysterious voice whispered into all of their ears:

At the fall of dusk, at the fall of old, spring shall bring forth his keeper,

who will call to him until his return at the night the darkness swallows the heavens.

Young and weak, the Eastern light shall seek out the old power in the West,

who will envelop her in darkness to unleash their true might.

Dawn will be his light, and dusk shall return.

It was only when the throbbing pain in her head finally dissipated that Tsunade dared to look up. The remaining gods looked at each other questioningly.

They were familiar with this pain, with this feeling. The hissing voice in their head. The dawn gods all knew what this was.

A prophecy. Foreshadowing the return of Madara.

The survivors did what they could to tend to the wounded on the battlefield. When no one else could be saved, the gods set them aflame and watched their bodies dissipate into golden dust, releasing their divine essence into the vast expanse of the universe, praying for them to be reborn again. Then, they retreated to their respective homes – or what was left of them – to lick their wounds, celebrate their survival, and grieve the death of the fallen.

Tsunade felt a heavy sadness weighing down her heart that night. Despite their unimaginable victory over the mightiest god to ever grace the face of the heavens, they had lost so many. She knew more peaceful times lay ahead of them now, and yet she felt restless. It had been ages since the universe had whispered a prophecy into their ears. And this one was particularly unsettling.

Dusk shall return.

But they sealed him, Tsunade reminded herself. And with one of Hashirama’s seals, no less. She was the one who studied the dusk god’s inscriptions, who knew his incantations like the back of her hand. She was certain Hashirama’s seal would be enough to imprison Madara for the rest of his miserable days.

And yet, mere minutes after the dawn gods managed the unthinkable and sealed away the last dusk god, the universe decided to warn them of his return. And prophecies always came true, the dawn goddess knew that much.

Not only that, but the prophecy also spoke of some Eastern light, who would supposedly help him unleash his true might. A cold shiver ran down Tsunade’s spine at the thought of Madara teaming up with such a force of nature that will grant him even more fearsome powers than he already had.

Yet the goddess of healing had no time to dwell on her worrisome thoughts, as her mind picked up the desperate prayer of a mortal couple. Never one to abandon the ones in need, the blonde goddess raced down into the mortal realm and materialised unseen in the living room of a small hut. She watched the couple on their knees, huddled together in front of the fire. They were rocking back and forth, with the woman holding a small bundle in her arms and the man raising one arm pleadingly into the air, calling out to the goddess of healing to save this poor baby.

This baby? Is that not their own child, Tsunade thought suspiciously. Babies do not just fall from the heavens.

Taking one step closer to the fire, the goddess suddenly felt a divine glow emanating from the bundle in the woman’s arms. Tsunade would recognise that anywhere – the essence of the gods. This was indeed not the mortal couple’s child, but a newborn of the dawn gods.

Still hidden from the mortal’s view, she leaned down and caught a glimpse of pink hair and emerald green eyes, staring knowingly, yet tiredly at her. As Tsunade stretched out a hand towards the babe to check its body temperature, a tiny chubby fist suddenly enclosed her index finger. This little touch was enough to flood the goddess with a feeling of warm motherly love.

Tsunade knew in that instant that this deity shall be hers to raise, care for, and love.

With her divine power, she mentally reached out to the mortals and willed them to lay the small bundle on the floor by the fire. She watched them carefully lower the baby and step back from the fire, worriedly glancing around the living room and waiting for something to happen.

In the blink of an eye, the small bundle was gone. The couple sighed in relief and fell into each other’s arms, knowing their beloved goddess of healing would take care of that weak little girl.

“Do you really think that was a wise choice?”

Tsunade ignored Jiraiya’s incessant nagging and kept bouncing the little babe on her arm. Immediately after taking the young goddess from the mortal’s hut, she returned home to her half-standing palace in the East, where some of the surviving gods have retreated to recuperate. One of them being Kakashi, the feared god of lightning, who was pinning her with a scrutinising gaze.

“Jiraiya’s right, you know. Tonight, of all nights, with this new prophecy looming above our heads… Have you even thought for a second that she could be this Eastern light, his keeper that was prophesised?”

Tsunade scoffed and shot him a challenging glare. “Please, Kakashi, don’t be paranoid. It was just one of the millions of prayers I receive every day. Only this time, it happened to involve a newly born dawn goddess, instead of a weak mortal. Just because she is one of us, does not mean she is tied to the prophecy. In fact, we should be thankful our pantheon is growing again after we lost so many.”

“The prophecy clearly said that at the fall of dusk some kind of keeper will emerge who is destined to help Madara unleash his full power upon the heavens. The fall of dusk was tonight, and after decades of no new deities, tonight is the night the universe decides to give us a new goddess, during spring no less? Coincidences like these might happen to the mortals but not in the heavens,” Shikamaru grumbled before taking a well-deserved puff from his ivory kiseru.

Rolling her eyes at the god of wisdom and strategy, Tsunade switched the little bundle to her other arm and kept bouncing her up and down, before she said, “What you all fail to see is that she cannot be the Easter light from the prophecy, since I found her in a mortal village in the middle of nowhere, not even remotely close to anywhere East. And don’t you think that if such a powerful force destined to be tied to Madara emerged that we would not have felt its birth? Elemental abnormalities, time standing still, earthquakes – anything that might indicate a new divine force has emerged. But there was absolutely nothing when this little goddess here was born. In fact, she is so tiny and weak, I honestly doubt that she will have a purpose grander than making flowers grow, that’s how harmless she is.”

Tsunade saw the uncertain faces around her, their doubtful gazes boring into her determination to keep the babe. She had to convince them, somehow. She could not just leave a part of her divine family, especially now that her kin was nearly wiped out. As soon as the young goddess had touched her, Tsunade felt responsible for her. She had to ignore the nagging feeling at the back of her head screaming at her to listen to the prophecy.

Yes, there were too many coincidences, Tsunade had to admit that herself. The prophecy clearly talks of a female, emerging during this particular night, during spring. All of which applied to the little dawn goddess in her arms.

But there was no way she could be the Eastern light; the goddess was not tied to any particular region. And Tsunade could not – for the life of her – imagine this tiny, frail little thing would be capable of stoking the fire of Madara’s wrath to the point that she would be the one to unleash his true might.

Shaking away her doubts, Tsunade gazed into the tired emeralds of the little girl in her arms. A smile spread across her lips when the tiny goddess snuggled closer to her chest.

There was absolutely no way she would abandon this little thing, not now after she lost so many of her family.

Raising her head, she shot a determined glance at all of the surviving deities in her presence and exclaimed, “I will not resign this precious goddess to a prophecy we have not even fully deciphered yet. None of us know what half of that steaming pile of donkey dung even means, so nobody is going to determine her fate based on any of that. Besides, even if she really is this keeper of his, this way we can at least raise her on our side. Teach her our story, our ways, our kindness. She will never be corrupted by him if we have the power to tell her the things we want her know. If he really does come back and they really do cross paths, there is no way she will choose him. I will tie her to me as tightly as she tied me to her.”

Lowering her caramel eyes, she cast a loving glance at the newest addition to her family and whispered softly, “I will protect my daughter from him. No matter what.”

Went to him… willingly … kidnapped … she chose him … sacrifice …

Sakura’s muddled mind started picking up fragments of speech as she slowly started to wake from her slumber. Forcing her weak body to sit up, she cast a disoriented glance around her only to find herself in her chambers at her mother’s palace.

All of a sudden, memories started flooding her mind and she felt her heart rate pick up.

Madara.

She finally met him. She was in his palace. She was so close to getting some answers. A blush crept up her neck at the thought of his calloused fingers holding her chin in place as he was leaning closer to her, before… Before the dawn gods laid siege to his palace to take her away from him.

Wait, from him? Where did that thought come from? Since when did Sakura think she belonged by his side? She had only known him for a few moments and from what she had seen on the battlefields, he was not a god whose company she should be yearning for. And yet, she had never felt so strong, so alive as when being close to him.

And now that they were separated, her old familiar frailty had returned as well.

The young dawn goddess could feel frustration bubble up inside her. Rarely did she get mad at something or someone, but her constant state of weakness had been a source of anger for all of her short life. And the one being who could rectify that just had to be her mother’s mortal enemy and the one who had been waging war against her kin for the last weeks.  

Sakura felt like throwing something against the wall. Alas, all the smashable things in her room were solid gold or heavy ivory, all of which was too difficult for her to even pick up now. In Madara’s presence, however, she felt like she could carry the entire heavens on her shoulders.

Her depressing thoughts were interrupted when she felt the voices on the other side of her door grow louder.

“Look what Tsunade’s tying down has brought us. She went to him, willingly. All that keeping her close was for nothing!”

“She is so weak, she cannot even open doors without struggling, and you really think she made that trip all the way to the Western end of the heavens on her own? He clearly kidnapped her. We are lucky he left her alive for whatever reason.”

“Then tell me why she was reaching out to him when I-“

The angry voices were silenced when her mother suddenly burst through the doors and stomped into her room, glowering at Sakura with a furious expression.

“What in the heavens were you thinking?!”

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