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okaylikesmomo · 4 months

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Photographer Part 2

IU, ~5k words, smut, male reader, author's note at end with update

“The only one.”

“I’m not sure I believe you.”

“Do you not trust me?” IU scoffed, crossing her arms and legs, the sass palpable as if she were filming a drama in her own home.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” you replied. “I just know you love watching them squirm.”

“You’re making it sound like I’m such an evil person,” she whined. “I make it worth their while, don’t I?”

“Hey I’m not complaining, I was in that exact situation only like a month ago and loved every second of it.”

“And look how far you’ve come, you’ve become so audacious,” she replied, licking her lips at that last word. “But I sorta miss when you were a stuttering mess.”

“I can pretend to be awestruck again if it’ll make you feel better,” you joked, sitting down next to her and wrapping your arm around her shoulder.

“You’re IU! B-B-But you’re IU!” she teased, lips curled into a sly smile.

She began to giggle as your hand dropped off her shoulder, tickling her ribs playfully.

Her smile was pretty, but her laugh was to die for.

“Okay stop!” she gasped, falling over onto her back.

“Apologize,” you demanded, leaning over her body, locking her in place.

She looked up at you with that mischievous grin - the one she flashed so often lately - on her face.

“No.”

Commotion broke out as you began relentlessly tickling her again, both of your hands toying with her sides. You couldn’t help but join in on the laughter as her shrieks filled the room; It was impossible to not smile.

“Please!” she wheezed, completely out of breath.

“Say it.”

“I’m sorry,” she gasped for air as you finally let up, giving her a chance to catch her breath. “I could get you in… so much trouble… for that.”

“Tell them and then I’ll tell everyone about how you’ve been taking my di-”

“See what I mean, audacious,” she cut you off while smirking up at you.

“I’ve learned from you,” you replied, leaning forward and giving her a short kiss on the mouth. “Take whatever I want, whenever I want it.”

“Strictly speaking, you’re still under that NDA,” IU threatened casually.

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t actually dare tell anyone about this,” you replied, running your hand through her hair. “I’m a gentleman.”

“Well I hope you’ll be enough of a gentleman to pardon me for just a bit,” IU said while gently pushing you off her. “I do actually have to get back to work at some point.”

“Has it really already been an hour?” you asked, sitting up on the couch, freeing IU from her prison.

“Hour and fifteen,” IU laughed while collecting her discarded clothes from around the room.

“Wait, just one last thing,” you requested, reaching forward and pulling her hand towards you.

She walked up right in front of you, looking down at you with a puzzled expression. Before she could ask what you wanted, you leaned your face forward between her legs and planted your lips against her bare thigh. You left a long, wet kiss on her skin before looking up at her.

“You’re IU.”

She rolled her eyes before bursting out laughing.

—

“Do you think we’ll ever be able to go out instead of ordering in?”

IU bit her lip nervously, looking at you with a face full of remorse.

“Does it bother you?”

“Not particularly, but I do sometimes wonder if it would really be that big of a deal,” you speculated, taking a bite of sweet potato. “What do you think?”

“I’m just…” she hesitated, poking at her food. “The thing is, I really like what we have going on. I don’t want to risk ruining it.”

“Ruining it?”

“It’s more like, I know how some fans can be,” she clarified. “I’m scared some of the more dedicated ones might… you know…”

“Understandable,” you said quietly, taking a piece of fish between your chopsticks.

“That’s not what you wanted to hear.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you reassured her, placing your hand on top of hers. “It makes sense, I agree that we should keep whatever this is more private.”

“Whatever this is…” she mumbled.

The two of you made silent eye contact, forgetting about the dinner spread across the table. You stared into her soft, marble-like eyes, getting lost in her gaze. She was special, you just knew she was special, and you were afraid to lose her. Despite the nervousness, it felt like the right time to ask.

“What exactly is this?”

Silence. An hour of it - or realistically probably just a few seconds - your world stopped. Ever since you had the pleasure of working with IU, you couldn’t stop thinking about her. The two of you would meet almost daily, unless her schedule kept her too busy; the days you didn’t meet, you would still text. You felt like you really knew her.

“I don’t really know,” she answered softly.

“Neither do I,” you said before awkwardly poking at your food, suddenly regretting asking the question. “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to ruin the mood.”

“Don’t,” IU responded sternly. “I may not know exactly what this is, but there’s nothing to apologize for.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You…” she let out a puff of air from her nose before chuckling. “I’m fine with letting things run their course and just seeing what happens if you are.”

“Yeah, that works for me,” you smiled back.

She let out a relieved sigh before finally taking a bite of food.

“If you really want,” she said after swallowing, her tone changing entirely. “Pick a restaurant, I can book the whole thing for us.”

“Do you have any idea how hot that was?”

“Not exactly my intention.”

“Yet, here we are.”

“So what is it,” IU smirked, pushing her plate to the side and planting her elbows on the table, leaning forward with her face in her hands, like a flower blooming. “What are you in the mood for?”

“You know what I’m really in the mood for.”

“I want to hear it,” she purred.

“I’m looking right at it,” you answered, pushing your plate to the side as well.

“Don’t you ever get tired of that one?” she smirked, leaning back in her chair. “You get it all the time.”

“No, never,” you replied while walking around the table in front of her, leaning forward in front of her face with your hands on her arm rests, trapping her in place. “Never.”

“You know you got me in trouble earlier,” IU whined frivolously. “They said I was late.”

“Aren’t you like their princess, who cares?”

“I’m not a princess.”

“Can the amazing IU even get in trouble? Is it even possible?”

“I can!” she protested, unintentionally becoming the most adorable girl on the planet as her sharp eyes contrasted the subtle pout of her lips. “I still have responsibilities, you know, I don’t just show up, take a couple of pictures and leave.”

“Hurtful,” you laughed, standing up straight. You pushed her hair back behind her ear, stroking it softly, admiring the light makeup she was sporting tonight, her charmingly elegant look. That sweet, genuine smile she wore as she looked up at you with her natural innocence - the innocence that hid her true intentions. “You shouldn’t be late, it’s not very responsible of you.”

“I know,” she replied softly, keeping her gaze locked on you, only breaking eye contact for a brief moment to peek at your crotch.

“So the princess learned her lesson?”

“Need I remind you about why I was late?” her expression switched to annoyance. “And I’m not a princess.”

“I would love a reminder,” you smirked, reaching forward to slip the strap of her nightgown off her shoulder.

“You’ll never get one if you keep calling me a princess,” she hissed angrily - yet she made no attempt to stop you as you slipped the other strap off.

“You’re right, you’re not a princess,” you said calmly. “You’re more beautiful than a princess.”

To your lovely surprise, this got her flustered. Flattery almost never worked on her - she was too used to hearing it. Yet her soft features, glowing with a gentle blush, showcased her beauty wonderfully. She looked stunning tonight, just like she did every other night, the perfect visual.

“Tell me more about your responsibilities,” you continued, stepping even closer towards her, easing the thin fabric down until it just barely covered her chest.

“It’s my responsibility to make sure my staff is happy working with me,” she said as she rubbed her hand up and down your crotch, outlining your shaft with her fingers.

“Last I checked, I work for you from time to time,” you said back. “How exactly do you keep them happy?”

“It would be easier if I just show you,” she said while tugging at the drawstring of your pants. “If I have your permission.”

“You’re allowed to do whatever you want,” you answered, holding her hair out of her face as she began slowly easing down your pants. “Isn’t that how this works?”

“That’s exactly how this works,” she mumbled as she pulled down your clothes, freeing your cock from its modesty. “I love how you’re always so excited to see me.”

“Yeah, after all-” you gasped sharply as her tongue made contact with your shaft. “Who wouldn’t be? You’re IU.”

Her lips curled up as her eyes squinted just a bit while she slowly, painfully slowly, ran her tongue up your cock. You took the opportunity to slide your hand down her gown, taking her soft nipples between your fingers, playing with her body with utter freedom.

She reached your tip with her mouth, the way she looked at you. Overwhelming would be an apt description, her eyes managed to be so delicate yet full of ferocity. Confidence, allure, she just knew how to make you lose your mind by doing the most subtle actions, descriptions just couldn’t do her beauty justice.

Your tip was getting all of her attention now as she swirled her tongue, an expert with her mouth, round and round. Her soft lips pressed against your cock, leaving gentle kisses all over the tip while that unbreakable eye contact kept you fixated on her pretty face.

Kiss after kiss, not caring at all about the little bit precum already leaking. She just kept kissing your tip until she was finally satisfied, giving your hole a few gentle prods with her tongue before moving down your shaft, planting her lips on each and every section of your length.

The eye contact never broke. Not once. The most you got was a subtle squint when you would pinch down with your fingers. Even as her lips made it down to your balls, your cock resting on her face, she still kept her gaze on you.

“You’re beautiful,” you muttered, taking one hand out of her top and running your fingers through her soft hair.

Gently, she ran her tongue up your shaft, the blush on her cheeks confirming she heard your comment. Without even lifting her tongue off your cock, she opened her lips wide and slipped the tip into the warmth of her mouth. As she slowly moved down your cock, eyes still locked on yours, the excessive wetness of her mouth began coating your entire cock.

She sucked you off with utmost enthusiasm, repeatedly sending impulses up your spine. One hand was on the table in a feeble attempt to hold yourself up, while your other hand was holding back her hair. With how beautiful IU was, you didn’t want to miss it for a second.

The difficult part, however, was ignoring the haziness in your eyes. The softness of her mouth around your cock was desensitizing your entire body. For the next couple of minutes, it felt like your cock was the only part of your body that existed, and it lived happily halfway down IU’s throat.

It became too much for you. The urge took over - you needed her. You pulled your hips back, letting your cock escape IU’s lips before immediately pulling her up off the chair. Before she could even react, you had picked her up by her thighs and carried her over to the couches behind the dining table.

“Wow, do you have any idea how hot that was?” IU gasped as her back hit the cushions.

“Exactly what I intended,” you replied with a smile.

The smile on your lips was immediately pressed against IU’s mouth as you leaned forward over her. With your tongue down her throat, you yanked her little nightgown down and cupped her small breasts between your fingers as her legs wrapped around your waist.

Your throbbing cock was pressed against her underwear as the soft dress bunched up at her waist, exposing her soft thighs. You began rubbing your cock against the thin chiffon between her legs, her wetness being felt through the thin fabric.

Soon, both of your hands had abandoned her chest and made their way down her body. You had two handfuls of her soft thighs pressed between your fingers while your lips continued their gentle massage against IU’s mouth. She was intoxicating.

It was difficult to stop kissing her, near impossible at this point. Until she took the short instant that your lips parted with hers, while you took a quick breath, to speak words directly into your face.

“Hurry up and take me,” she whispered, closing her eyes and leaning her head back.

After a sharp inhale, you reached a hand between her legs, pulling her soaked underwear to the side and pressing your cock against her bare, warm, wet folds. Her body welcomed you, silently begging for you to enter.

Before you plunged your cock into her warm embrace, you leaned your mouth forward into the crevice of IU’s neck that she was presenting to you. Her gorgeous scent filled your senses as your mouth began kissing her smooth skin, right before you entered her pussy.

The warmth and tightness around your cock was nothing compared to the satisfaction of the moan that hit your ears. You began aggressively kissing her neck, holding your cock about halfway deep into her pussy, relishing in each and every noise leaving IU’s lips each time your cock moved slightly.

Once she had a few seconds to adjust, you rested your face on her clavicle, using your hands to support your body as your hips started to move back and forth. She kept moaning, more pragmatically now, enjoying the sensation. It was like she had become an instrument, one that you magically knew how to play.

Sex with IU was insane. The girl was so unbelievably expressive, it was impossible to not feel like a king around her. You could happily watch her scrunched up face while you fucked her gently for the rest of your lift - it was utterly enthralling.

“I’m going to cum,” you moaned quietly, keeping the pace of your hips. “You’re going to make me cum.”

“Mhmm,” IU moaned back.

“Where?”

“Anywhere!” she cried out, shocking you with the sudden intensity, scrunching her face up even harder.

Her hands grabbed her dress, scrunching it up into what resembled a tiny ribbon just below her breasts, exposing her toned stomach. Her knuckles went white with how hard she was gripping the cloth.

Only now did you become acutely aware of how tight her pussy was becoming. It felt divine, but it also meant it was impossible for you to hold back any longer. You suddenly hit the point of no return, the tension building up all around your crotch. You were mere seconds away from exploding inside her, but the desire to paint her abs somehow prevailed.

Without hesitation, you pulled out and began stroking your cock over her body. The same instant that your tip left her pussy, a beam of white launched all the way up her body, leaving a streak of white across her stomach.

IU, finally opening her eyes, licked the back of her hand clean of the cum that splattered on it before intently watching your cock unload into her stomach. Her deep breaths were making the lake of cum spill over onto the couch - a problem for later. She smiled softly at you while rubbing her pussy with one hand slowly as your cock dripped the last bit of cum onto her belly.

However, you weren’t done yet. Swiftly, you moved back and shoved your face between IU’s spread legs. Her sudden shriek transformed into a moan halfway as your tongue began making circles around her clit. You were aggressive, making sure she felt every movement.

The hand she was pleasuring herself with had grabbed your hair, and you could feel her fingers digging into your scalp. Her other hand was interlocked with yours as you reached up to grab it, squeezing tightly. Your tongue was working overtime trying to get IU back to her climax.

Based on how her thighs began to press against your head, you figured it was working. You began sucking on her clit while bringing your free hand up and inserting two fingers into her pussy.

“Just like that,” she groaned softly. “I’m close.”

Her taste was intoxicating. You simply could not get enough. She began to leak profusely, filling your mouth to the point of her wetness coating your chin; you didn’t care one bit. All that mattered was making her feel good.

She began to hyperventilate, arching her back as her pussy leaked all over your lips and hand. You could feel her pussy squeezing your fingers, convulsing each time your tongue lapped at her clit. It was inevitable now - she was going to cum.

Licking and sucking, you went a bit longer, keeping your mouth open now to try accommodating the mess she was making. After just a short few moments later, you felt a small spurt of liquid hit the back of your throat accompanied by a very loud shriek coming from IU.

“Oh fuck!” she shouted, letting go of your hand and letting her whole body convulse in pleasure.

She had also let go of your hair at this point, simply leaning back on the couch and enjoying the moment. You leaned back slightly, watching her writhe and ride her orgasm out as your two fingers gently thrusted into her pussy. You brought your second hand up towards her clit, rubbing light circles while you watched her.

Her orgasm went on for a while, and you enjoyed every second of it just as much as she did. When she finally began to calm down, you slowly withdrew your fingers and leaned over her body. The two of you kissed again, IU’s eyes closed once again.

After the kiss, you simply lay on top of her body, feeling each breath she took. The two of you were a mess, but that was the least of your worries. You just wanted to hold her, feel her warmth, feel her lungs inhale and exhale. For a few minutes, the two of you simply lay there in each other’s embrace, silence broken only by the gentle breaths IU was taking.

“What’s your plan for tomorrow?” you asked, gently breaking the silence.

“I have a short photoshoot in the morning, and then I’m free.”

“Photoshoot? I don’t remember hearing about this.”

“There’s going to be another photographer,” IU answered quietly.

You sat up and looked at her as she tried to avoid your gaze.

“You’ve had plenty of photographers other than me since we started this thing,” you said cautiously. “But why does it seem like there’s something bothering you this time?”

“It’s… complicated,” IU began to explain.

“I believed you when you said you stopped,” you chuckled. “I’m not actually worried about another photographer working with you.”

“We have history.”

“What kind of history?” you asked hesitantly, starting to get worried by how she was acting.

She looked up into your eyes with a pained expression.

“Are you really going to make me say it?”

“No,” you replied softly before moving over on the couch until you were right next to her. You wrapped your arms around her before continuing. “It doesn’t matter what you did.”

“He’s going to be the first photographer since I met you who knows about…” IU stammered, her arms latching onto your back. “What if he…”

“You can say no,” you interjected firmly, squeezing her small body tightly. You held onto her until she stopped sobbing, until her body stopped trembling, before letting go of her and looking into her face. “You’re not that type of girl,” you said softly as you wiped her face.

“What is wrong with me!” she shouted dramatically, tilting her head back to try and hold her tears in. “This was so much easier before…”

“Before what?” you asked while moving closer to her.

IU gazed deep into your eyes, her own sparkling with the remnants of her tears. She inched her face forward - it felt like she was taking an eternity - until her lips were as close to yours as they could physically be without touching.

“Before you,” she whispered before pressing forward.

—

It was impossible to stop thinking about it. You decided to work from home, IU’s home, because she refused to let you leave last night - not that you wanted to leave anyway. It would be fine under normal circumstances, but it did make it extremely difficult to stop thinking about her.

After accepting work was not an option today, you decided to just slack off on your laptop - something most employees already did when they worked from home. Time ticked away slowly as you spent the day switching between shows and YouTube videos. Luckily, IU’s home was painfully comfortable, there really were no complaints to be had.

Eventually boredom, or perhaps guilt, kicked in, and you decided to give work another shot. By some divine intervention, you managed to forget about the unforgettable girl for just a little bit and you actually got some editing done.

Taking the pictures was only a small part of your job, most of the time you were busy editing and compiling the best shots into sets for clients. As you sifted through picture after picture, you were once again reminded of how nice working with IU was. Working with someone as talented as her just made things so much easier, you didn’t have to delete hundreds - if not thousands - of ‘bad’ pictures; It wasn’t easy taking a ‘bad’ picture of IU.

Endless scrolling eventually took a toll on your mind, and you felt yourself slowly start to doze off. IU was partially to blame again: Why was every piece of furniture in her home so comfortable? It did, however, end up making your extracurricular activities with her quite fun. With all the options available in her home, the two of you rarely ended up doing much in her bed other than actually sleeping.

Your mind casually thought of all the chairs, couches, tables, rugs, and a number of other more unorthodox places the two of you have enjoyed the last month together. As you sank into her couch, you didn’t even have the energy to put your laptop on the coffee table before you fell into a state of bliss.

That state of bliss, however, was completely shattered when you woke up to the gentle sounds of sobbing on the couch next to you. Out of all the ways IU has woken you up previously, this was by far the worst.

“IU?” you croaked as your eyes furiously blinked open, trying to find the source of the crying next to you. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m a fucking slut.”

“Hey!” you quickly rushed to her side, pulling her into your embrace. “Why would you say that?”

“It’s true,” she cried, her eyes coating your shoulder. “Everyone knows it, everyone’s thinking it.”

“No they’re not,” you said firmly.

“You probably also think I’m a slut,” she sobbed, her arms falling limply to her sides.

“No I don’t!” you insisted as you pulled back, holding her shoulders, staring into her face. She still had the professional makeup from the photo shoot on, and you just now noticed how beautiful she was at this moment despite the crying. “What did he do?”

She shook her head, her lip quivering, tears building up in her eyes again.

“I’m not mad, I just need to know what happened,” you said, trying your best to control your voice.

“Nothing happened,” she said sniffled. “I didn’t do anything with him.”

You tilted your head in confusion.

“I told you, I’m not mad, just tell me what happened.”

“See, even you assume I’m just a fucking slut!” IU shattered into tears, putting her hands over her face and crying.

“What? No!” you let go of her shoulders, trying to make sense of what was going on. “Please, I believe you, just help me understand.”

She took a minute, one that felt like an hour, before lowering her hands and looking at you.

“He…” she stammered, scrunching her face up in an attempt to hold back her tears.

“Take your time,” you reassured her, reaching forward and grabbing her hands. “I’m not going anywhere, take as long as you need.”

She inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly, rubbing her cheek against her shoulder before speaking again.

“The photoshoot… after we finished, he…” she struggled until you gave her hands an encouraging squeeze. “He came into my dressing room after.”

You held your tongue, letting her say her whole piece before asking questions despite the burning rage that was filling your insides.

“He expected me to just… he walked right up to me and lowered his pants,” IU choked, taking a short moment to recompose herself. “The way he looked at me, he just expected me to…”

“Did he do anything else?” you asked gently but firmly.

“No,” she shook her head, lip trembling again but no tears fell this time. “I told him I don’t do that anymore.”

“And that was the end of it?”

She nodded slowly, looking at you as if she expected something, reassurance, comfort, it wasn’t clear.

“You’re not a slut,” you said directly. “Even if you did what he wanted, it still wouldn’t have made you… can we stop using that word?”

“Do you not believe me?” her eyes began to well up.

Without hesitation, you lunged forward and pulled her into your embrace again.

“Of course I believe you,” you mumbled into her shoulder while rubbing her back. “I trust you completely.”

“Then why does it feel like you still think I did something,” she sniffled against your shoulder.

“I don’t think you did something,” you replied. “I only meant even if you did, it wouldn’t matter.”

“There is no ‘if you did’ about it!” she shouted as the tears streamed down her face. “I told you already, you are the only one I want. I don’t do that stuff anymore.”

“I know,” you whispered into her shoulder.

“Do you still want…” she sniffled before stopping.

“Want what?” you asked, letting go of her.

“This.”

“You mean, us?”

She nodded solemnly.

“Of course I still want this,” you answered firmly. “We agreed to see where things go, is that not what you want anymore?”

“I’m… no,” she responded. “I’m tired of waiting and seeing.”

“You mean…”

“We both want the same thing, why make it harder than it needs to be?” she continued. “I’m ready if you are.”

“IU, are you sure?”

“Exclusive. You. Me.”

It felt like a weight had been launched off your chest, a weight you weren’t even aware of before. You could feel the palpitations in your chest, suddenly your heart wasn’t working properly. IU wanted to make this official?

“I’m ready.”

---

AN:

IT HAS BEEN A VERY LONG TIME. No, this was not initially intended to be a Christmas release, but hey Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! This chapter ended up being a tiny bit shorter than my normal, but that's because I decided I like this story and want to continue it for just a little bit longer (maybe 5 parts total?) and this was a nice ending spot. I sorta have a plan for how I want to end this series, so we'll see if we get there.

Anyway, figured I'd update a bit on what's going on with me. There's a really good chance that this will bite me in the butt, however, I plan to upload somewhere between 2-5 updates in my other stories within the next week or two. THIS IS TENTATIVE, NO PROMISES.

Life is busy, I am borderline retired as a writer now, but like I said previously: I will still try to write when I have time and motivation. Updates, after the optimistic 2-5 I mentioned above, will continue to be extremely sporadic. For those of you who truly enjoy my writing, I'm sorry that there will be long delays. For those of you who don't really care for my writing... why are you still reading this?

Same deal as before, I'd love feedback! I'll admit, I won't be able to put as much time and effort as I used to, but I still want to improve. Let me know what you liked or disliked! I didn't really proofread or reread this chapter nearly as much as I normally do, honestly I just missed the thrill of uploading a piece of writing. Hopefully you guys understand and will forgive any silly mistakes!

#kpop smut #smut #fanfiction #kpop fanfic #male reader #iu smut

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heesdreamer · 1 year

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SILENCED (4)

MASTERLIST

GENRE ➩ enhypen zombie apocalypse au!

SUMMARY ➩ navigating life 1 year post end of the world was already difficult as you avoided rotting corpses with hefty appetites and groups with various bad intentions. things get harder when you run into a group of survivors, 7 boys who make it impossible to run away.

WC ➩ 6k

WARNINGS ➩ death gore blood um zombies and everything the apocalypse brings…

AUTHORS NOTE ➩ Hello, me again lol Sorry it’s been so long since the last update on this I’ve had other stuff I was prioritizing but thank you to the people following and enjoying this story! The updates are a lot smaller than my usual works and that bugs me a bit but I have a lot planned and it won’t be such a long gap between each chapter from now on lol. Reminder to check out the playlist for hints and general vibe! NOT PROOFREAD but u knew that

“What are you even talking about dude, I beat you five to one easy. It wasn’t even close.” Jake’s voice was laughing out as he rested back on the couch, swinging an arm forward in emphasis towards his friend.

“No you don’t get it, if we had a rematch I’d whoop you.” Jay was quick to respond, a gloomy look on his face from losing so terribly and the younger boys broke into a fit of giggles at his attitude.

The day had been quiet, picking up each other from school one by one and heading back to Jake’s place. His mom had been out of town for the month on a business trip and it’d become their official club house for the time being, messier than it should’ve been with blankets covering any surface that could serve as a temporary bed.

Heeseung was pushing through the front door with a strange expression on his face, glancing behind in the hallway before locking the deadbolt and peaking out of the peephole. Sweat was coating his face and the other boys stopped laughing as they looked at him.

“It’s that bad out there now?” Jungwon was asking in a soft voice and Heeseung jumped a bit before glancing at him and giving him a solid nod.

News stations had been buzzing for weeks but nobody paid too close of attention outside of the people with particularly raging anxiety. Reports of cannibalisms, first in America and then the neighboring countries.

The boys hadn’t thought much of it, some crazy new drug that would never make it this far or mass hysteria. Then it was announced that it was a disease, something that couldn’t be helped and borders could not stop and things started to get a bit more wary. Some stores were shutting down, families leaving to their summer houses out in the country and yesterday Jay had been cut from work early.

“I don’t know, I don’t think we can wait anymore.” Heeseung was muttering and Jake sat up on the couch, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment.

“You mean like leave? Where would we even go?” He was asking and his question made them all fall silent, knowing he was right and they didn’t have a safe haven to disappear to like others did. They all had families but they weren’t extremely close now that they were older, spending most of their time together and only coming home to get scolded for poor grades.

Heeseung was shaking his head and turning towards them fully to scan the room, freezing up slightly when his head count came up one short. “Where’s Riki?”

“He.. had that exam I think. Must’ve had to stay late.” Sunoo was saying it slowly to try and explain but a feeling of dread settled over everybody at the realization he was out there alone, not yet realizing how quickly things were falling apart.

“Is it really that bad Heeseung?” Jay was asking in confusion, just yesterday they all were walking around casually outside of the few religious nut jobs screaming about the end of days.

Heeseung didn’t say anything for a long time, like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to relay what he had saw or if he just wanted to let them think things were okay for a few minutes longer. He knew he had witnessed stuff that wasn’t going to be fixed anytime soon, stuff that would change how they lived from now on and he wasn’t sure he was ready to fully embrace that.

He was clearing his throat to speak but the words fell short and he made his way over to the kitchen counter instead, taking Jungwon’s moms keys and glancing at him for permission.

The younger boy looked confused but he gave him a small nod, eyes widening a touch when the oldest hesitated before going back into the kitchen and returning with the largest cooking knife available.

“Woah, you can’t go out there with that. You’ll get arrested dude.” Sunghoon was rushing out, suddenly paying attention and alert now as he sat up off the couch and raised his hands towards Heeseung.

“I don’t think there’s anybody left to arrest me.” He was spitting out but he wasn’t angry at his friends, just stricken with fear and anxiety at the thought of returning back outside but he couldn’t stand the idea of Riki being out there alone.

“Well I’ll come with you.” Jay was announcing and standing up, wiping off the chip crumbs from his sweater. Heeseung almost denied him and demanded he stayed here and kept the doors locked but he figured he might not be able to make it alone and Jay was definitely the most capable of the two of them, strong and sturdy despite his carefree personality.

“The rest of you need to stay put. I don’t care what you hear, or how long it takes for us to come back, you can’t open that door.” He was warning the group and they all paused in fearful hesitance before slowly nodding, the idea of not searching for their friends after a period of time leaving them unsettled.

The two eldest were making their way out of the apartment building, stopping at the entry door to push a vending machine in front of it. Jay looked confused when Heeseung asked him to do it but he followed suit anyways, not wanting to deny the orders considering the fear in his friends face.

Jungwon’s moms van was large and loud, rattling when you pressed too hard on the gas pedal and squealing every time it forced its large frame to a stop. They didn’t drive it often, outside of trips to the beach and going through drive thru’s, and Heeseung was grateful that the roads were uncharacteristically empty as he amateurly made his way through the city streets.

It was complete silent as they pulled up to their youngest friends school, both holding their breath as they leaned forward to see out of the driver side window and try to catch sight of any sign of life.

Heeseung’s heart was throbbing and he felt sick, almost too scared to go and find the boy in case he saw something he wasn’t able to ever forget, something he wouldn’t be able to move past. Jay’s hand was reaching forward to take his arm and he glanced at the other boy, seeing him give him a firm nod with a look of determination. Heeseung gave him a weary smile in return but it was the boost of strength he needed to open the door.

There was debris around the area from the days of mild chaos leading up to this and Jay bent down to grab a particularly long piece of metal, steadying it in front of him like a baseball bat as they got closer to the school doors.

They were unlocked and they quickly realized something was wrong judging by the papers scattered along the hallway, backpack’s abandoned in classrooms like they had to evacuate fast and Heeseung could smell something foul that caused his nose to turn up in disgust.

“Riki.” It was a yelled whisper echoing through the halls, carrying the noise all the way down the silent building until it was reaching the end and bouncing back towards them.

“Hyung? Is that you?” A scared voice was coming from the end of the hallway, shaky and muffled like he was hidden behind something and the two older boys let out a sigh of relief at the confirmation that he was at least okay enough to respond.

They were swift in their approach towards the room the voice had come from, forgetting to be cautious because of their relief and rush to get out of there but they quickly froze when a figure was coming out of one of the classrooms in the middle of the hallway.

Heeseung automatically recognized the signs of the creatures he had seen earlier, staring at the man who was staggering into the hall and turning towards them with his nose in the air. His eyes were yellow and vacant and he had dark liquid around his mouth, still moving his jaw like he was finishing a large meal. The man groaned loudly in their direction, bordering on a screech and the boys could do nothing but stare.

“What the fuck?” Jay was rushing out in an anxious tone, glancing over to his friend who was remaining still and watching it carefully. “Dude what’s wrong with him, what the fuck?”

“He’s got it.” Heeseung was stating matter of factly and Jay paled at the realization, shaking his head in disbelief and faltering backwards a few steps.

Heeseung was approaching the creature slowly and they both jumped when it reared its head and roared in agitation, sloppily approaching them and not faltering even when it almost slipped and crashed into the floor. They watched it approached speedily and when it got near they both circled around it’s back, confusing it momentarily but not long enough before it was attacking again.

The creature pinned Heeseung back against the wall, his hands flailing in front of him as he tried his hardest to shove it away with cries and groans of fear. It’s strength was double what a normal man’s would be and he was seconds from giving up when it was slumping to the ground.

Heeseung dropped off the wall and scrambled over to Jay who was panting with the piece of scrap metal in front of him, dripping thick syrupy blood now that he had smashed it into the figure.

They both watched in horror, attempting to catch their breath, as it begun to rise off the floor again. Shakily standing back to its full height and snarling again at them, seemingly angrier now.

“Oh you’ve gotta be shitting me.” Heeseung was panting out as he stared up at its cracked skull, half of its face sliding downwards and a bloodied mess from the force of Jay’s swing mixed with days of decay.

Both boys watched it as it started to approach again and then Jay was letting out a loud scream, taking a few steps forward and swinging the metal back down on its shoulder. They both froze in anticipation and then fear when the creature didn’t react to the hit at all.

“Oh what the fu-“ He was cut off as the creature swung at him and he dove out of the way with a grunt. “How do you kill this thing?”

“Why the fuck would I know?” Heeseung was screaming back in bewilderment, glancing around in confusion to try and find a way out of the situation but coming up with nothing as he turned back to keep his attention on the man who kept getting more and more unhinged the louder they avoided him and his gaping mouth.

The creature wasn’t getting winded whilst the boys were barely managing to swing their arms anymore, using this to its advantage and catching Jay off guard. Heeseung watched in horror as it pinned his friend to the hallway floor, listening to his screams of terror and gasp of air from under its heavy frame.

He didn’t think twice before he was rushing forward, and throwing the entirety of his weight into its body. He let out a guttural scream and pulled his arm back as far as it could go before driving the knife forward into its softened skull. Jay was, thankfully, getting the memo and rolling out of the way before the creature slammed onto the floor, now fully lifeless.

Both boys collapsed to the floor in fits of gasps and pants. Nobody spoke for a few minutes from shock and then Jay’s tired voice was ringing out. “Dude… you just totally saved my life.”

It was silent again for a few seconds before Heeseung was letting out a soft chuckle, launching the other into a fit of delirious laughter until they were both cracking up with the body in between them.

“Holy shit.” Both boys were pausing at the sound of Riki’s voice, a lot closer now as he pushed his way out of the classroom and was watching them from the end of the hallway. “You guys totally killed Mr. Kim.”

“And then what?” Your voice was completely enthralled as you spoke, leaning forward towards the campfire so your elbows were on your knees and you thought you saw Jake’s lips curl up from the corner of your eye.

“Well… we went back to get the others. We tried to get to family but..” Jay was trailing off but you nodded in understanding and he gave you a grateful look before sighing and continuing with his story. “Heeseung found a map in the pocket of a dead guy on the highway out of the city and he had circled the general area that you found us in, so we assumed it was safe.”

“And it was.” Jake was adding and it was some of his first words of the night, having remained mostly silent and to himself throughout your trip.

It had been two days since you left and you knew everybody was feeling unsettled by the fact you were heading back home now to the unknown. It was a mostly uneventful journey, not stopping much or sleeping more than a few hours with a shared determination to get there and back as soon as humanly possible.

You felt like the universe had cut you a break when you arrived to the veterinary hospital Jungwon had seen on the map, only encountering a handful of walkers and finding some medicine that should do the trick fairly quickly. But you knew the universe wasn’t kind nor was she fond of handing out breaks so your stomach clenched with the idea of what could be waiting for you back at the camp.

Sunghoon could’ve died from blood loss and infection and passed along the traumatizing act of putting him down before he turned, or he could’ve turned in the night and taken out a few of his brothers before anybody was awake enough to put a stop to it.

You knew the two boys with you were thinking similar things so you’d ask for a story to try and keep their minds off of it, listening to Jay carefully as he recounted the first time they’d killed a walker and how happy Riki was that it was his mean teacher that often stuck him in detention.

“Heeseung was our leader before he was ever our leader.” Jay was remarking as he finished his story, scooting down more into the dirt so his back was fully pressed against the rotted log he was resting on.

Jake hummed in agreement and you didn’t say anything, thinking about the statement and the conversation you’d had with the eldest boy about the weight of his responsibilities. You felt a longing for him suddenly, missing him and the others more than you thought you would and you could tell the two with you were thinking the same thing now that it was falling silent again.

You didn’t say anything as you were standing up to stomp out the fire, knowing it was already a risk to strike it up in the first place but especially to sleep with it roaring.

The three of you followed the same routine as the past two nights, stringing up cans in a circle around where you were sleeping so if anything, dead or alive, bumped into it you’d have some form of warning before it was coming down directly on top of you. You laid your head down in the pile of leaves and tried to ignore the sticks sitting uncomfortably under your shoulder blades, falling asleep to the sounds of the forest and the two boys breathing.

——

You’d been walking for a few hours before seeing anything familiar but your body was alert to the fact you were getting closer to the camp again, this time with a backpack full of supplies and a prayer in the back of your mind that things would be okay.

It didn’t take long for you to realize something was off about your surroundings, the woods unusually silent and resting like all the animals and trees were holding their breath. You raised your hand and folded it, a silent signal for the boys to stop walking and fall into a crouched position behind you.

Your eyes were hurriedly scanning over the forest floor and your heart sank when you noticed multiple pairs of tracks and footprints that wouldn’t have been from your group, having no reason to venture this far out. You waved Jake and Jay closer and they quickly shifted forward in their crouched position.

“Is it a hoard?” Jake was whispering to you when you pointed out the shoe prints in the mud, glancing at you with a worried expression. Jay’s eyes were dark with concern and his face was hard, glancing in the direction of the others and frowning.

“I don’t think so.” You were shaking your head and sighing softly as you trailed your finger around the indented mud to explain to them. “The steps are too direct and pointed, if it was walkers they’d be messy and all over the place.”

“So it’s people then.” Jay was saying matter of factly and you all feel into a heavy silence, knowing you had no choice but to continue on the path back home, regardless if there was anybody left waiting for you or not.

You didn’t bother wasting anytime, falling into fast and silent footsteps and you maneuvered your way through the woods, guns drawn and knives out of your holster in case any of the people were still around and surveilling the surrounding woods.

Jay caught sight of something long before you did and you were grateful for his hand that shot out to stop you from rushing right into the view of the man you could now see, pacing back and forth in the center of the little houses and keeping an eye out for anything out of place.

You lip curled up in a sneer but you weren’t exactly sure what to do. If it was up to you, you’d simply take him out from a distance but you didn’t know how many were inside with the boys and if any more were not here, not wanting to risk the safety of the others or the three of you by acting on impulse. Jake seemed to be thinking something similar considering he was tapping your shoulder to get your attention, indicating down to your knives after you looked at him.

You understood what he was implying but you stared at him for a few seconds to make sure he was certain, realizing you hadn’t yet discussed the groups morals when it came to the living.

His eyes were hard as he gave you a solid nod and he mouthed for Jay to have your back as you moved in silent towards the patrol. The man didn’t have time to react before you were behind him, listening to the sound of Jay whistle and bring his attention forward before you were wrapping your hand around his forehead and tilting his head back so his neck was fully exposed to you.

He let out a gurgled shout as you slid your knife across his throat, grunting softly under his weight as you tried to lower him to the ground as silently as possible.

You looked up at Jay after he was on the ground, watching him carefully as he gave you a small nod of acceptance and you sighed softly before returning it to him and waiting for Jake to come out of the woods and meet you. The three of you ducked against one of the houses, your backs pressed against the wood as you listened to try and get a guess of how many people were inside.

“I say we just kill him already.” It was a woman’s voice and she was speaking in a nasty rasp like she was a heavy smoker, your heart pounding at the sentence she spoke. “He’s half dead already, I’ll be pissed if he turns on us and takes a chunk out of my arm.”

You glanced at Jake after she was done speaking and he was already looking at you, both of you relieved to hear that she was talking about Sunghoon still being alive, immediately followed by the dread of what she was implying they should do.

“Touch him and you’ll have bigger problems than him turning.” Heeseung’s voice was speaking now and it was dropped to an octave you’d never heard it in before, cold and serious and he threatened her in a deadly tone.

You heard an annoyed scoff from a male voice before it was followed by the sound of low groans of pain that you made out to be Sunghoon’s, wincing slightly at the hurt in his cries.

“Do something then.” The males voice was speaking in a teasing manner and you heard Sunghoon groan again, likely being hit or kicked by somebody inside to prove a point towards the other boys helplessness. “Oh.. you can’t, that’s right. I forgot.”

There was more sounds after that but you couldn’t fully tell what they were, feeling sick and helpless where you were sitting until Jay was snapping his fingers and getting both of your attention back on him.

He was making signals with his hand and you swiftly understood that he was implying he wanted to rush inside and take them out before they had a chance to react or take any hostages, using the element of surprise to your advantage. Jake seemed more hesitant in the idea although you figured it was only the two of them inside the small house, seeing the car they had arrived it and doubting it could fit more than four people.

Your eyes wandered over to the body on the ground and you steadied your footing in the dirt before nodding softly to Jay and patting Jake on the back.

It went extremely fast, your mind on complete autopilot and devoid of any extreme emotion to help you get through the terrible act without hesitating or missing your shot. Jake was kicking the door open roughly and then stepping back to allow you and Jay to rush forward, relief rushing through you at the confirmation it was only two people and then followed by horror considering how easily you were able to sink your knife into the skull of the woman.

She’d barely had a second to process your arrival, eyes widening in fear and letting out a painful gasp of shock before her face was lifeless and she was crumbling to the floor.

You felt slightly sick that it had been so easy for you to kill two people in the span of minutes but you glanced up at the scared boys huddled around the house and you realized that you didn’t regret it, that you’d do it 100 times again if it was necessary.

Heeseung was tied to the radiator next to Sunghoon, clarifying the reason he hadn’t even able to stop their assault on the boy and you glanced at him to see him far paler and more lifeless than he had been when you’d seen him. He was still alive however and you were rushing to grab the supplies from your bag when you noticed the horror on the boys faces, eyes over your shoulder.

You froze up but before you could turn to see what they were seeing, a shot was ringing out close to your ear and you were completely disoriented for a few seconds.

It took awhile to process what had happened, turning your body in a panic to see a fourth man laying in the doorway of the house. His knife was still rattling against the floor from where he’d dropped it and you saw the exit wound coming out from the backside of his head. You spun back around and your heart crumbled when you saw who it was that had killed the man, saving your life by taking another’s.

Riki was holding the gun in shaky hands, barely able to keep it steady and his eyes were wide in shock and horror, keeping it pointed in your direction despite the threat being gone now.

“Riki.” You were saying softly, still frozen but raising your hands in surrender and taking a small step towards him. You didn’t necessarily think he would hurt you but he clearly wasn’t thinking straight and his fingers were still dangerously tight around the trigger. “Riki, it’s okay. You got him, he’s dead.”

His eyes shot to yours at the words and his face softened slightly, letting you approach and take the gun from his rigid hands.

He was dropping his shoulders in relief once the metal was out of his hands, shocking you by pulling you in for a tight hug that knocked the air out of your lungs. You returned it after a few seconds, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and squeezing him tightly with your eyes shut. You could hear the others moving around, untying Heeseung and greeting the others.

After Riki let you go and went to sit down in the corner and calm down, you quickly administered the medication into Sunghoon’s veins and sighed softly at the heavy breath he took at the feeling of it entering his system. You pushed his damp hair off his sweaty forehead and smiled softly at him even though he couldn’t see it, happy he had managed to fight for this long.

You were standing up again and immediately bumping into another frame, pausing until you realized it was Heeseung.

His hands were coming up to cup your face and you smiled at him in relief despite the cuts on his face and the noticeable black eye that you imagined had come from the struggle with the looters that had led to him being the only one tied up. “You gave them hell didn’t you.”

He laughed softly at your words and nodded his head, eyes gentle as he looked down at you and you felt your heart clench uncomfortably at both his expression and how much you had missed him.

You thought this about them all as the night continued on, telling them how your run had gone and listening to them laugh and tell funny stories that you didn’t fully understand but you still felt a lightness in your heart just from how excited they sounded about remembering the smallest details of things that had happened to them together in the old world.

Riki was still a but subdued after what had happened, not speaking much and staying in the corner as you all ate dinner and took sips from the liquor bottle the three of you had found on the trip. He seemed a bit out of it and your heart felt heavy after Jungwon had leaned in to whisper and explain to you that he had never killed somebody before.

You felt guilty that he had done something like that to save you, your own mistake for not assuming there was another person still outside or checking the tracks more carefully because you were too worried about them and too focus on getting inside as soon as possible. Your care was making you stupid and making you weak, leaving the youngest to lose a piece of himself to fix your mistake.

It was this that made up your mind for you, solidifying that you couldn’t stay here with them any longer or else things like this would keep happening. You’d have to continue to risk yourself for them and vice versa, you couldn’t take watching them hurt themselves in the name of saving you or each other and you knew now that they were always going to put the others and you over themselves individually.

You kept reminding yourself this as you silently packed your bag, waiting for the others to fall asleep and leave you on watch duty before you were preparing to slip out.

You’d stay in the woods outside the camp for the night and make sure nothing hurt them during your watch cycle and then you were going to disappear into the dark cover of the trees once the next person on the rotation woke up and found you missing. You left them all of the medication and food, taking nothing but your change of clothes and your knives.

The crickets were extra loud as you made your way outside, having carefully stepped over the sleeping boys and left a note with detailed instructions on which medications to give to Sunghoon and when. You included a small goodbye sentence just so they knew you hadn’t been taken and didn’t get hurt trying to find you, although you had a feeling they’d try anyways.

You were barely off the porch, your foot hitting the dirt softly and feeling the cold chill of the night when a voice behind you was causing you to jump and spin around.

“So that’s it then?” You whipped around with wide eyes but your face crumbled when you realized who it was, seeing Heeseung come out of the shadows with a hurt expression and hooded eyes. “You’re not even going to say goodbye?”

You froze as you looked at him, words falling short as your mouth open and closed in silence. He scoffed as he looked at you, turning his head away as his eyes teared up slightly but he shook his head in anger before taking a few steps in your direction with a raised accusatory finger.

“You’re just going to leave after all this?” He was spitting out at you and the tone of his voice, the disgust lacing his words, made your heart drop into your stomach with a crushing weight.

“I have to.” You replied back with desperation, your face curling up in anguish and you tried to get him to understand even slightly what your reasoning was. “Sunghoon almost died Heeseung, and Riki he… these things will keep happening.”

“He didn’t die.” He was almost yelling now and you flinched back at the volume of his voice, having half a mind to shush him softly and watching the way his face curled up in anger at the sound slipping through your lips. “He didn’t die Y/N, and you were the one who made sure of that. You care about us, I know you do.”

You didn’t know how to reply to that, not wanting to correct him especially when he wasn’t wrong.

You did care about them and it was making your skin crawl every time you found yourself smiling affectionately at one of their offhanded jokes or paying extra attention to their wounds and bruises. Even more so with the boy in front of you with the gentle way he touched you to make sure you weren’t injured, when his face was lit up by campfires or his determination to lead a group of boys through a world he himself didn’t understand.

“I can’t watch it happen.” Your voice was breaking and your shoulders sagged in upset, exhaustion wracking through you both emotionally and physically. “And it always happens, Hee.”

“It won’t happen this time.” He was taking more steps towards you and his hands were shakily coming up to hold your face, staring down at you with his own sense of determination to try and help you see his side of things. “Why didn’t you say bye to me?”

He was asking but you knew he already knew your answer and you tried to pull out of his touch to avoid answering, stopping when his thumb was gently rubbing your cheek and shaking his head to try and stop you.

“Because you wouldn’t be able to leave.” He was answering for you, filling in the blank and giving you a soft sad smile that made you break into a sob, your first time allowing yourself to cry for as long as you could remember. “Right? Tell me I’m right.”

You didn’t say anything but you didn’t need to, feeling him pull you in tightly against his chest as you fully let yourself feel the wave of your emotions, restricting them for so long in the name of survival and fighting to make it through the day.

Heeseung was keeping you in his embrace even when your legs were giving out and you were sinking to the floor in his arms, your hands hitting the dirt and feeling it mold between your fingers. You hooked your head over his shoulder and shut your eyes tight when your gaze fell on the body of the man you’d killed so easily earlier.

You let him hold you like that until your sobs were slowing down and the blood was drying in the grass.

You stayed like that far longer than you’d realized, sitting still and frozen until your cries slowed down and his blood had fully dried in the grass.

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ac3may · 1 year

Text

Undisturbed ~ Sam Kerr x Williamson!Reader

A request by the gorgeous @dreamin-inwoso! I hope you’re not offended that I made it into a sequel to my other Conti Cup fic, they just kind of worked together but can also be read entirely separately. Sorry if this sucks, it’s the first thing I’ve written in actual months...

Part 1 | Part 2

Request: "Something fluffy with Sam. Something like reader consoling her after the Conti Cup loss."

Words: 1.5k, edited

Masterlist

As Leah is called away for press and the trophy presentation you and Sam are joined by your mum. She steals Ari’s attention, taking him into her arms. Your daughters are entertaining themselves watching the celebratory scenes, so you take the moment to check in on your partner.

Sam is lent against the barricade separating the two of you, and watching as the team in red collect their medals, disappointment and self-depreciation plastered on her face.

If there was one thing you knew about your girl it was that she hated losing far more than she enjoyed winning. You knew she’d be beating herself up for this one despite the performance she gave the children.

Wrapping your arms over her shoulders and pulling her in tight to your chest you rest your chin on her shoulder.

“How are you doing baby?” The hushed tone is accompanied by a brush of lips to the Australian’s ear.

Her hand raises to entwine fingers with yours, her reply accompanied by a gentle squeeze, “I’m okay.”

Her tone is disheartened, desperately trying to be strong for you all. “They played a better game, they deserved the win.” She lets out a defeated sigh as she shrugs, eyes following her opposition as they cheer together, trophy in the air.

“I’m sorry lover,” bringing your conjoined hands to your mouth you place a kiss on the back of hers.

Sam simply hums in reply, the downturned corners of her lips tell you all you need to know. But as you glance at your two girls playing patty cake on the grass and your younger sister chugging champagne you know it's not the right time for the conversation you want to have.

Instead, you hug Sam tighter, pressing intermittent kisses to her shoulder, head and cheek, providing as much silent support as possible.

As the celebrations on the pitch began to die down you and Amanda manage to gain control over your hyperactive little ones. A task which was not helped by the chocolate treats a certain Alex Scott had provided.

Following the little bodies away from the grass you find yourself falling in step with your mum.

You sigh before speaking, “they’re gonna be a nightmare getting to bed tonight,” an exasperated chuckle follows the words.

“Well, I can take them?” The question is casual, the redhead beside you running her gaze adoringly over her three grandchildren, holding hands and skipping along in front of you.

“Are-are you sure?” You're hesitant, “it’s a school night! And Marlee’s been having her nightmares again. Ari only sleeps if Sam cuddles him a certain way! No-no, I can’t let you do that.” Although the idea of yourself and Sam in an empty home for the first time in aeons sounds like a dream.

Tutting at you your mother rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Go home. Take care of our girl. I can handle the tots. I raised three menaces myself, remember?” Raising her eyebrows she leaves you with a gobsmacked look as she approaches the children. “Who wants a sleepover at Nana’s?!”

Making your way home childless was an unusual experience, but as you arrived you basked in the silence of the house for a moment.

A mewl breaks the moment as the white cat slinks through from the kitchen to the hallway. “Hey, Helen.” You can’t help but chuckle as you lean down to fuss over the fur baby gently.

After a few moments, Helen loses interest in you entirely and stalks away to curl up in the corner of your sofa and you set about putting your last-minute plans into action.

Collecting the shopping bag, abandoned at the door you begin organising your purchases in hopes to set up the perfect night in for your girl.

You dot about positioning candles, closing the curtains, digging through bath bombs and pulling out two glasses to accompany the freshly purchased wine stashed in the fridge.

Glancing at your phone you notice an unread message from the woman herself informing you she’d made it back to Cobham and was on her way home. You respond with a short and simple ��see you soon baby x’.

Twisting the basket to sit carefully on the edges of your bathtub you can’t help the prideful smirk that appears on your face. A selection of Sam’s favourite bath bombs, bath salts and facemasks sat inside.

Admiring the set-up you had created you can only hope she won’t be moody enough to deny your efforts of a childless night with a non-pg movie, adult takeaway, an alcoholic drink (or two) and a warm bath.

As you're pridefully snapping a photo of the setup Sam’s confused voice reaches your ears.

“Y/N? Are you here?!”

A wide grin grows on your face as you skip down the stairs excitedly, bounding like a child yourself. "Coming!” You call.

By the time you’d reached the plush carpet of the living room, the striker had left a trail of bags, shoes and coats before collapsing face-first into the sofa miserably.

Dodging the abandoned belongings you settle gently on your knees beside Sam’s head and run your fingers softly through the stray hairs falling from her ponytail.

“Hey star girl,” the gentle whisper encourages a grumpy groan into the sofa cushions from the brunette and dramatic grumbles as she shifts her body to face you.

The two of you sit in an undisturbed silence for a moment, hands interlinked as you continue stroking gently through her hair. “Not feeling like much of a star right now,” she sighs, eyes closing.

Continuing your movements you press soft lips to her hairline, “You’ll always be my star girl.” You murmur the promise gently and received the softest of smiles from the girl in front of you.

Jerking slightly in your place, heavy hands press against your hips and a giggle escapes your lips, Sam chuckles with you as she speaks.

“What are you doing down there?” She asks, a playful smile tickling her lips as she runs her hands up and down your sides. “Get up here,” she grins tightening her grip again and tugging you towards her chest.

Despite the emotions of the day Sam can’t help grinning adoringly down at you as she holds your giggling figure tight to her own.

Settling together, eyes which had gently fluttered shut at your touch open slowly as a confused frown pulls at the Australian’s lips, “Where are the kids?”

“Mum took them?” The response is hesitant, unsure of the reaction it’d receive.

Eyebrows raise, “Really?” The confirming nod of your head has a smirk appearing on Sam’s lips immediately.

“Wow,” she sighs, “do you remember the last time the house was empty?” Daring fingers run along the expanse of exposed skin as you watch her mind flick through all the possibilities for the night.

“Before Ari was born?” You question a knowing smirk of your own growing.

Your patience with her gentle touches and soft looks quickly reaches an end and you move fast in latching your hands together and dragging her from the cushions. Tugging her with you the pair of you share childish giggles as you lead your unknowing partner to the bathroom you’d prepared.

With Sam wrapped in your arms, you don’t feel anything but content as your muscles relax in the warm bubbly water.

But as you massage into her shoulders it is evident she is not feeling the same peace. Tension is held tightly in her body language despite the soft fluttering of her eyes and the ticklish patterns she draws on your bare skin.

Resting your chin on her tanned shoulder you gently murmur in her ear, “How are you doing baby? Do you wanna talk about it?”

A defeated sigh falls from Sam’s lips and your body follows hers as she visibly deflates. “What’s there to say? We lost. I hate losing. Especially to them.”

Lips pressing to all available skin you hum as she rants, evidently needing to get the emotions off her chest. “But football’s football, I know I should just leave it at the club and let it go. It's just so hard.”

Humming again, this time you reply, “Yes, football’s football but it has also been your life for basically forever. You’re allowed to be angry and upset.” You can practically feel the roll of Sam’s eyes at the care in your voice.

“Why are you always so logical.” She complains with a huff, sending a wave of water backwards towards you.

Giggling at her response you can’t help but tease her, “I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t say either of us are being very logical right now.”

Turning her head to be inches from yours she presents a furrowed brow and questions, “How so?” You let your fingers run sensually down her spine as you pause before replying.

“We’re naked in a childless house and somehow you're still talking about work?” A grin grows immediately on Sam’s face and her sultry tone from that morning drips into her words as she begins lifting her body from the tub.

“I guess we should do something about that, huh?” Without giving you a second to respond your girlfriend swoops down, collecting you into her arms, a squeal emits at the sudden movement, “Sam!” A hearty laugh leaves her as you cling tightly to her muscular biceps your laugh joining hers as she tosses you on the mattress.

#sam kerr fic #sam kerr x reader #sam kerr imagine #sam kerr #chelsea imagine #chelsea women #leah williamson imagine #woso fanfics #woso imagine #ace writes stuff

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cloudwhisper23 · 1 month

Text

We're moving right along, fam! Happy Grumbo Month! Thanks again to @grow-bettah for the prompts! (Had a bit of difficulty with this one, but I hope y'all enjoy it anyway!)

Day 8: Matching

Scar needed to borrow a suit. To look professional, he told Mumbo. He needed to look good, and since he and Mumbo were the same height, Mumbo was the best option to ask for help.

Mumbo was the best option to ask for help, honestly. He was very accustomed to wearing his suit, so it was only natural that Scar turned to him. Except, Scar wanted to borrow a suit. And Mumbo only had one.

He told Scar the issue, and Scar said it was no problem. Mumbo could borrow his clothes for a day.

So now, Mumbo was sitting on the floor holding his knees as Scar showed him different options. He was uncomfortable with all of them so far.

“Not to rag on your fashion sense, mate, but-“

“Do not finish that sentence, Mumbo.”

“Right.” Mumbo slouched, letting his legs finally stretch in front of him. “Do you have anything less over-the-top?”

“I do. I just figured that since your whole thing is…” Scar gestured at Mumbo. “Well, you’re always in the suit! I thought you’d want something fashionable.”

“Fashionable and over-the-top are not always the same thing, mate. But I think the word you meant was formal. And it’s not that I can’t be casual. I just like the suit better.”

“Okay. I know that, which is why I was trying to match to that.”

Mumbo shook his head. “It’s not quite the same thing.”

“So you want to try something more casual?”

“I may as well give it a shot,” Mumbo replied. “But don’t forget, Scar. I will need the suit back. I have a very important meeting tomorrow.”

“Yes, you need to be all professional for when you meet Grian. I know, I know.” Scar pulled out a green sweater. “How’s this?”

“Better.” Mumbo felt his shoulders sag with relief. “That will work, Scar.”

Later that day, Scar waited for Mumbo to return before giving him some bad news. “So, the meeting went poorly.”

“Okay.” Mumbo shifted slightly in the sweater. “Why are you wearing different clothes?”

Scar winced. “Well, when some people consider something to be terrible, they throw things. Things that make a mess and stain.”

“Oh, Scar!” Mumbo exclaimed. “What have you done?”

“I didn’t mean to, Mumbo! I’m sorry!”

“Now what am I supposed to wear tomorrow?” Mumbo buried his face in his hands. “I was meant to be making a good impression.”

“Well, I’ve done some research on this Grian guy, and I think a sweater would do just fine. That’s what he typically wears anyway.”

“I can’t just come in and steal the man’s style, Scar.”

“Well, it’s not stealing if it’s temporary. Besides, he’d probably see you as a fan, not a usurper. You already have the whole look with the mustache and the suit and everything. And he probably knows that too. It would be flattering!”

Mumbo sighed. “Fine then. What kind of sweater would you have me wear?”

Scar brightened. “I have just the one.”

Grian wasn’t sure how to feel about the fact that Mumbo Jumbo was running late. Honestly, he thought the time and location he’d sent had been clear enough. Apparently not.

The judges didn’t seem to mind that Grian’s competition was running late, but then again, Grian was used to this sort of thing. Maybe they’d try and start right when Mumbo Jumbo got here. It certainly seemed like something they would do.

His fingers twitched toward the Creative inventory. Grian was too on edge, and they needed to get started. Buildswap wasn’t the only thing Grian needed to work on today. Where is he?

Just when Grian was preparing to call it, Mumbo appeared next to him, blabbing apologies. Grian cut him off immediately. “Where have you been?”

“Fashion emergency?” Mumbo scratched his neck.

“You were panicking about what to wear? Mumbo Jumbo, this is a build battle. Who cares what you’re wearing? The judges certainly don’t.” Grian shook his head, finally looking at the other man. “And-“

He fell silent, even as the judges grinned at each other. Grian blinked, expecting the red sweater to change into something else. Literally anything other than what it was.

“I had to borrow some clothes-” Mumbo started.

“We match,” Grian cut him off again.

There was another painful pause. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just get started.”

Mumbo nodded weakly, and the rest of the competition passed without incident. The conversation between them was somewhat stilted, but at the very least, the judges were able to help Grian warm up. This certainly was the man’s element, Mumbo noticed.

When Grian gave him a contact card to plan another session, Mumbo was just grateful that he was getting another chance. He hadn’t completely messed things up with Grian, at least. The man was willing to work with him again! That was something, right?

For the next Buildswap, Mumbo was ready. He’d gotten his suit cleaned, and the familiar material made him feel much more comfortable. He wasn’t even late this time!

Grian was noticeably absent though.

The two judges from last time didn’t seem too bothered by it, having their own discussion off to the side.

A tug at his sleeve made Mumbo jolt. “Something wrong?” Grian asked innocently.

“You weren’t here a moment ago.” Mumbo relaxed.

“Nah, I’ve been here the whole time. Invisibility just wore off.” Grian smiled cheekily. “Like my outfit?”

Mumbo glanced down at him. “What on earth…?”

Grian had an ill-fitting suit that mirrored Mumbo’s own suit, black with a red tie. “I guess we match again.” His smile widened. “What a strange coincidence.”

“That was an accident!”

“How do you know this wasn’t an accident?”

“The suit doesn’t even fit you,” Mumbo pointed out.

“Neither did the sweater. It seemed a bit tight on you,” Grian shot back, still smiling.

Mumbo’s eyebrows furrowed, but a faint smile tugged at his lips. He was grateful that was the moment when the judges decided to nudge them into starting.

He wasn’t sure what to think of the implications that Grian might’ve been checking him out.

#grumbo month #grumbo #hermitshipping #grian #mumbo #cloud writes

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drabblesandimagines · 1 year

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Milkshake

Lil' follow-up to Syrup that I couldn't get outta my head after seeing the finale! Rei x reader, fluffy fluff

You blink – not quite believing your eyes when the grey dot has changed to green next to his name. You haven’t seen that in weeks. You’d spent literal hours on voice chat together, sometimes playing a multiplayer game, sometimes doing your own thing, sometimes just chatting and nothing else, right up until a couple of weeks before Christmas when things went radio silent. At first you shrugged it off, thinking that it was the run up to the holidays, things maybe just got busy, or maybe his internet was out, or maybe he’d even gone out of town and just hadn’t mentioned it… But then, when the Morio Kart DLC expansion came out – one that you knew both Rei and Miri had been so excited to play – you began to feel a little hurt. Your mind would often try and dissect the snippets of your last conversation, trying to work out if you’d offended him somehow, said something weird?

There’s another beep and a notification pops up. ReiSuwa1 is inviting you to voice chat. Your disbelief turns to annoyance – he’s ghosted you for so long, this better be one hell of an explanation.

You lean back in your gaming chair, kicking your feet up on the TV console as you hit accept. “Hello, stranger.” Your tone is tense.

“What?!” A voice cries out – it’s too far from wherever the microphone is but it doesn’t sound like Rei. There’s a lot of racket – like someone’s scrambling around, looking for something, then it stops.

“Hello?” You try again.

“Who’s this?” Definitely not Rei. Had his account been hacked?

“Er, you called me.”

“I did?” They sound puzzled. “I was just trying to switch the damn thing off and then your voice started coming out the headset. Rei’s shown me but I can never remember the right buttons…”, the mysterious voice rambles on before stopping. There’s a twinge in your stomach at the mention of Rei’s name. “Oh… Are you that girl he was speaking to, from the video games shop?”

You try your best to sound casual. “Well, that depends on how many girls from video games shops he talks to.”

“You’ve met Rei, right? I don’t think you’ll be surprised to hear the amount is incredibly low, single digit low. One and under.”

“Ah, you must be Kazuki.”

“Huh, he mentioned me?” You hear him sit down on something with a loud exhale – must be getting comfortable.

“Yeah, loads of times.” He had – funny stories, usually.

“Well, I’m honoured.” He chuckles.

“Hey, just whilst I’ve got you on the line and all,” you pause and wonder if you’re going to regret this, but press on regardless, “Is Rei okay?”

“Yeah.” There’s a beat. “Why? Has he said something?”

“See, that’s the thing – he hasn’t said anything. I haven’t spoken to him since, like, mid-December. I was really surprised to see him calling, to be honest…” You trail off.

“Oh!” Kazuki sounds genuinely surprised, or is an incredible actor on his roommate’s behalf. “I mean, he’s been on here with Miri recently, but when I properly think about, I haven’t seen him play anything solo in a while.”

“Sorry, this is probably the worst conversation to have got yourself into. I think I misread things – I shouldn’t drag you into my woes.”

“No, he…” He sighs. “How do I say this? There was… There was an accident about two months ago. Rei really injured his right arm. He’s a lost a lot of the mobility in it, including his hand. He’s doing physio, but…”

“Oh, jeez.” You exhale.

“He’s okay now. Well, okay-ish. They don’t think he’s really going to get a lot of movement back in it. Shit.” He mutters, as if he’s had a realization. “I kinda forgot that means video games are off the table. I thought he wasn’t playing with Miri because he says she’s a bad loser, but I guess he can’t use the controller thing as well as he used to?”

“Mm, a lot of them do just work off the premise that everyone’s got two functioning hands. You can do some tactical button mapping on some, I think. Gotta admit I haven’t looked into it much.” You bite your lip in thought. “Poor Rei. That must be a big adjustment.”

“Yeah. I mean, he’s taking it really well. Never complains.” Another pause. “I mean, you haven’t even seen him by the shop? He took Miri a couple of weekends ago to get some new figure to unlock something.”

“Oh. No, I don’t work weekends. He… He knows that.” Your stomach is twisting in knots. There were a few times him and Miri would pop in when he picked her up from daycare to say hello and on a rare occasion, he would show up online on the weekend saying Kazuki was out somewhere with Miri, so he knew your rota.

“I’m sorry.” He sounds genuine, at least.

“No, I’m sorry – I just feel a bit of an idiot.” You don’t know what it is, but Kazuki is surprisingly easy to talk to and you need to get it off your chest. “Like, I was trying to build up the courage to ask if we could go for a real date instead of all these virtual ones we seemed to be having. Probably for the best he ghosted me, huh?”

“No, I think he would’ve liked that. Honestly, this…” he pauses, as if he’s choosing his words carefully, “accident has been a lot. Rei’s surprisingly sensitive, he’s probably worried that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with you. Did you guys do quests or some shit?”

“You do know video games!”

“I may have overheard some key terms, that’s it. And, er, don’t ignore the question.”

“Yeah, we did. He’s a much better player than me, though. He was dragging my stats up.” You sigh. It’s not what you wanted at all, but maybe it’s a sense of closure. “Well, I’m glad he’s okay-ish. I don’t know if you want to tell him you accidentally called the video games store girl, but if you do, tell him… Tell him I’m thinking of him, yeah?”

“Sure will. Erm, whilst I’ve got an expert on the line – A, how do I hang up and B, how do I turn this machine off?”

You laugh. “I’ll hang up so that’ll take care of that. Do you see the really big rectangular button in the middle of the controller?”

“Mm.”

“If you hold that down it’ll bring up a start up menu, kinda like a laptop? Then you can select power off and that’s you.”

“Thank you. And, hey, I will speak to Rei, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks. Bye, Kazuki.”

You press the end call button, as promised, and a few seconds later you see Rei’s icon change to offline so it looks like Kazuki at least managed to turn off the machine. You fling off your headset, spin your chair around to face your bed and collapse down onto it face-first, letting out an exhale. Poor Rei…

You’re so tired. You tossed and turned all night with an idea swirling around your head. You got up, wrote it down, and got back under the sheets but your brain still wouldn’t shut up about it. You’d spent until the really early hours conducting research and now, you’re on your third cup of coffee due to an early delivery you need to sign for at the shop, annoyed at yourself but you wouldn’t say you were full of regret what you’d discovered.

You’d been thinking about Rei and that, if he did want to play video games, there must be something out there to help. Whilst you found there were some consoles with “official” adaptive controllers in a way – and, ouch, eye-wateringly expensive, much? - your research also led you to a bunch of online videos where people shared their modded designs - even the schematics or a print bundle for you to 3D print your own to adapt the controller yourself for numerous different machines. The reviews are sometimes so-so, things are a work in progress, but you wonder if you could take parts of one and parts of another and try and make something workable.

As you watch the boxes get unloaded and put into the store room, you wonder if whether you’re getting way ahead of yourself. Sure, you could make the adaptor for the controller but if you did, how do you know he even wants such a thing, plus how would you even get it to him? You didn’t have his number – it was the shop policy to shred anything with customer’s details on right after the repair had been complete and you’d rang off the store’s phone those few months ago.

You sigh, before taking another deep sip of coffee. The problem is, you know you, and once you set your mind to a project you’re going to see it to the bitter end.

“Sign here, please.” The delivery driver pulls you out of your thoughts as he taps on the clipboard, after stacking up the last of the boxes.

Right – work first.

A week later, you’re sat at your desk fiddling with various parts. You’d found a place that offered 3D printing facilities, so you’d printed out a bunch of stuff on your day off that you’d bookmarked for possibilities and you’ve spent your evenings since placing bits and pieces together to try and make something workable. Luckily from your shared game play and access to his gaming history via his profile, you know what games Rei likes so you can begin to test your configurations a little, noting down what is and isn’t working to try and tweak things further.

Your console chimes – you’d turned it on when you got home to download an update. Looking at the screen, you see a notification. ReiSuwa1 is inviting you to voice chat.

You grab your headset and slip it on before picking up your own controller and hesitating. The conversation with Kazuki had popped up in your mind since you’d spoken and as you reflected, you’d begun to wonder if you’d just sounded so utterly sad and desperate.

You press accept and brace yourself. “Hello?”

“Hey!” It’s Kazuki again. “I deliberately called this time – I promise.”

“You’re learning.” You smile, rolling your seat back over to your desk. “What can I help you with?”

“I spoke to Rei.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t say it like that – I was covert.”

“Yeah?”

“I just said I noticed that I hadn’t seen him playing on here recently alone, or speaking to you… He admitted it’s difficult with the controller. He didn’t want to bother you.”

“Bother me?”

“Yeah. I didn’t quite get it either. I pressed him on it a bit – said something about holding you back in gameplay, that maybe you wouldn’t want to speak to him anymore.”

“What? No, that’s not right – we spoke loads of times when neither of us were even playing.”

“I know! I suggested he called you, I said you were probably worried about him since from what he and Miri had told me about you, you seemed a nice girl, but he shrugged it off in his usual Rei way.”

“It’s okay, you can’t force him.”

“Oh, I can. As his roommate and friend, it’s important that I aid him in his recovery, and that is reconnecting with his friends, if not more.” Is it possible to hear someone wink through a call? Cos you feel he definitely just did. “So, I was wondering, whatcha doing Saturday?”

“Huh?”

“Miri’s desperate for a new kart thing? We’ve got a chore chart, she gets a gold star every time she does her tasks and I said when she’s earned enough, Rei will get it for her. So, I thought, maybe, if you happened to be in a certain video games store on your day off and I sent a certain man to go in…”

“Ah, I don’t know.”

“Come on, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“He could think I’m stalking him.”

“Uh-uh, you’ll be in the store first.”

You look at the controller in your hand. “I’ve been working on something dumb.”

“Are you changing the subject?”

“No, it’s related. You know I repair controllers, right? Well, after our conversation, I’ve been fiddling around with some adaptors - you kinda clip them on the controller and then you can use it with one hand. I thought it might be something Rei would want to try, I mean, he might want to try…”

There’s silence from Kazuki’s end of the line.

“I’m sorry, is that creepy I’ve done that? It’s probably creepy.”

There’s a loud sniff.

“Are you…? Are you crying?”

“No! It’s just allergies.” There’s another loud sniff. “That settles it - we’re doing this. Give me your number.”

When Saturday rolls around, you’ve got the controller adapters into decent shape and they’ve passed all your self-created one hand tests. Kazuki and you have been texting off and on the last few days and he’s bringing both Rei and Miri to the mall – there’s some live performance of those dancing vegetables from the TV that kids seem to like so much. Whilst Kazuki takes Miri to that, he’s going to get Rei to head to the Joypad and pick up Miri’s figure as a surprise. You’d taken your spare controller with the adaptors in place to work yesterday and left your bag in the back office – more so as an excuse to your colleagues as to why you’re there on your day off. You don’t know how to explain that your crush’s roommate has set an elaborate meet-cute for you both, so with Kazuki’s detailed updates and ETAs, you time it perfectly to pop in the store, greeting Mr Kyoto himself before slipping into the back office to pick up your backpack. You got in the back office as Kazuki texted to say that he could see Rei entering the store now – oh, jeez, is this the creepiest thing you’ve ever done? – and you wait about a minute before exiting. The timing is almost too perfect - you’re walking down the aisle towards the exit as Rei’s walking up, looking for the figurine.

His right arm is strapped up in some sort of black immobilization aid, keeping it close to his chest, but he looks as good as ever and you suddenly feel queasy. This was a terrible idea, you’re considering spinning on your heels and diving back into the office until he leaves but it’s too late as the two of you make eye contact.

Rei looks almost embarrassed to see you, and there’s an awkward staring competition before you realise you’re the one that needs to break the ice.

“Hi, stranger,” you smile, casually.

“Hi.” His cheeks are tinged red and he looks down at the floor for a moment. “Er… I’m sorry that I haven’t been online, or in here for a while…”

“That’s okay, it seems a lot has happened since we last spoke.” A not so veiled reference to his arm. “Are you doing all right?”

“It is what it is.” He shrugs. “I’m… adjusting. How are you?”

“I’m okay.” A pause. “I… I’ve missed talking to you, though.”

“Me too.”

You swallow, “What brings you here today, then?”

“Oh, Miri wants another one of these.” He casts his eyes to the display and grabs the character she’s after. You’re not sure which one, you’re too busy staring at his face.

“Oh, er, cool.” There’s another awkward pause and you lose all confidence. “Erm, well, I should let you get on. It was nice to see you, though…”

“Yeah,” he nods. This was such a stupid idea, you berate yourself, as you go to walk past him. He suddenly steps in front of you. “Wait.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you busy right now?”

“Erm, no…”

“Can I buy you a milkshake?”

You smile. “A milkshake?”

“I seem to remember you like them,” there’s a smirk on his face. There was one evening when you enthusiastically described an incredible milkshake that one of the kiosks in the mall made for probably a solid five minutes.

“That is true. Okay, then.” You nod. “You can buy me a milkshake.”

“Cool. I’ll just go buy this…” He nods to the figurine in his head and heads up to the counter, where Mr Kyoto is beaming at you, giving you two thumbs up and you avoid eye contact, pretending you don’t see your boss’ celebration. Rei retrieves his phone from his pocket as Mr Kyoto is scanning the figurine through the register and about 45 seconds later, your own phone buzzes.

Kazuki has sent you a text message comprising entirely of emojis – a winking face and love hearts.

You’re sat at one of the tables in the food court, sipping on milkshakes and chatting away like no time has passed. Rei’s slowly been opening up about his online absence.

“I just… I wasn’t sure if you’d still want to hang out if I can’t play.”

“Rei, I wasn’t just talking to you because I wanted to game with you, I was talking to you because I like talking to you.” You take another slurp of milkshake for a shot of sugar rush courage. “And, just to make this absolutely clear because I don’t think I was in all of our previous conversations, I quite like you, actually.”

“You do?” He smirks.

“Mm. I was going to ask you on a date.”

“You were going to?”

“Yeah, but then you went offline. You’re a hard guy to track down.”

“Ah.” He nods, taking a sip of his own drink.

“And I need to be completely honest because I feel creepy - Kazuki accidentally called me from your profile a week or so ago.”

“Is that why he and Miri are hiding behind that plant?” He gestures lazily to the corner and you see a flash of blonde duck behind the greenery and hear the little girl giggle.

“Most likely, yes.” You sigh. “He’s a sweet guy.”

“He is.”

“Sorry, I think he just felt bad for me and my sob story. And, well, he kinda told me about your arm too…” You pick up your backpack and place it on the table. “And it got me thinking – you know how I like messing around with controllers anyway?”

He nods.

“Well, it turns out there’s some really clever people out there making devices to ensure people with limited hand movement can enjoy video games, so, I kinda got a little too into researching it and mixed and matched and came up with this,” you dig into your bag and remove the controller - it's got the plastic adaptors clipped over it - placing it onto the table.

“So, you can use all the joysticks and triggers across the whole thing with your left hand.” You demonstrate, taking him through what controls what. “You’ll need to do some button configuration still on start menus, but I tried it out on my console on a few things I know you’ve played and it’s super easy.” You look up and he’s just staring at you, almost in disbelief and you panic.

“I mean, I’m not expecting you to use it or even take it home with you because I know this whole thing has been super creepy and I’ve overstepped so many boundaries and, like, talking behind your back with Kazuki, but I…” Without any indication, he leans forward and kisses you on the lips, gently, cutting off your ramble. He tastes like his strawberry milkshake.

He has a dreamy smile on his face as he pulls back and you’re sure you look like a total idiot, your mouth open in disbelief at the turn of events.

“Huh.” You find your voice. “I take that means you like it?”

“Mm, and I like you.” He gets to his feet and holds out his left hand to you. “Kazuki and Miri are going to get kicked out if they continue to hide in the shrubbery any longer. Come back to ours, you can show me how this thing works again.”

You nod, stuffing the controller back into your backpack and taking his outstretched hand. He doesn’t let go as he leads you over to Miri and Kazuki. The little girl greets you eagerly, crashing into your legs.

You don’t even need to hear Kazuki to put a face to a voice – his loud sniff as he wipes away his tears is enough to give it away.

Check out my masterlist.

#ghostdogwrites #buddy daddies x you #buddy daddies #buddy daddies fanfic #buddy daddies fluff #miri unasaka #rei suwa fluff #rei suwa x reader #kazuki kurusu #rei suwa x you #suwa rei x reader #suwa rei #suwa rei x you

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adhdbisexualramblings · 9 months

Note

✨How are they different when they regress?

and

❤️Who knows about their regression?

for Chase or House (or both)

(yeah it's me again i just really loved your other answer 😅)

Double-whammy! It’s both!

(Plus MORE general headcanons! I’ve only known regressor!House for a few hours but I love him)

House (caregiver: Wilson):

✨ Greg is…quiet. Practically nonverbal. If he wants Wilson’s attention, he’ll often just walk to wherever he is and stare at him until he notices (and likely freaks out because Greg can be very silent). That or he’ll gesture to what he wants. When he’s older (around 10), he’ll speak up more, but mainly for casual conversation. He’s detached from his usual grumpiness and quick wit. (In fact, him playing with his monster truck is when the house is loudest.)

(Impure regression mentioned!!) He’s, for lack of a more encompassing word, a crybaby. He didn’t used to be by any means, especially since he was usually hit with the very negative, terrified parts of regression and was scared of being bad. But Wilson convinced him he wouldn’t get mad or reprimand for something like basic human emotions. Since then, Greg has cried a lot. He has a lot of trouble understanding why his leg always hurts, which has caused a few tantrums. They’re still quiet sobs, but he allows Wilson to help him through it now.

He’s also interested in space, and is content watching a TV documentary about the universe silently with wide curious eyes for hours until it’s time to eat or bedtime.

Praise isn’t needed, but some every once in a while wouldn’t be so bad. He’s not allowed to use the stove or cook much when little, but will still help Wilson any way he can by passing ingredients to him or setting the table to be helpful. It’s like what he did with his mother - it’s nice. (Wilson makes very simple dishes, because he can not cook, but Greg still eats what he makes happily.) Wilson once, very tenderly, called him “sweet boy” and Greg was elated. He’s never been called that. He fell asleep on Jimmy’s lap that night.

He’ll only call Wilson “Jimmy” when little (in fact, it’s the only thing he calls him). Any other time, he mocks the use of the nickname (Wilson naturally retaliates that it can’t be that bad if House calls him that all the time). Alternatively, Wilson will only call him “honey” when he’s regressed.

Chase (caregiver: House):

✨ He requires praise for anything, or he’ll get it into his head that he’s as loved as a wet rag. In fact, he’ll sit down and intently watch House cook, prepared for if his “dada” needs any ingredients. He took out the entire spice rack once in preparation, which exasperated House (but he still thanked him).

He’s very bouncy and energetic. He’ll bounce across the walls no matter what House does, but bribery for candy or even, like, a dollar can keep him still for an hour, tops. (“I’ll give you the dollar after you watch that cartoon dog show for thirty minutes.” “But that’s not fair!” “Capitalism isn’t fair, kid.”)

Cameron is his babysitter. She is a little awkward with him, but she does good nonetheless.

He will hold House’s hand at any given opportunity. He’ll also hug him for five minutes minimum until he’s satisfied.

His thumb is always wrinkly and his sleeves are always wet because he chews on them daily for no particular reason. His arms also have bite marks, which House has tried to redirect with pacifier clips and chewelry.

He’s not too different from his grown-up self. He’s filled with a lot more childlike wonder, but that’s as far as it gets.

❤️ Wilson knows House regresses, obviously. Cuddy also has her well-founded suspicions from multiple situations.

❤️ House and Cameron know (Wilson might, but no one’s asked him). Thirteen also knows, but no one knows that she knows, you know? She doesn’t really do much either way, but has treated Chase a little more gently when he seems younger.

(I am so sorry It’s so looong! I had a lot of thoughts! I hope you understand all of this because I wrote it out in chunks, sort of 😅) (also I know more about our titular character than Chase so he’s the focus, sorry)

#House md agere #Little!House #Little!Chase #ask games!#agere ask game #agere headcanons #sfw age dreamer #sfw age regressor #Thank you for the asks again! These are very fun!#Sorry if it’s a little too much to read through and process I got excited

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skylarmoon71 · 11 months

Text

Eobard Thawne - Extra (Flash)

“You’d look a lot cuter if you smiled.”

Eobard thought being trapped at Star Labs and inability to take out his arch nemesis was the worst thing that could happen to him, but he was terribly wrong. Because the woman who was attached at his hip was much more irritating than any master plan he’d been scheming all his life.

You always wore a smile. Insistent on getting him to become good.

How laughable.

The only reason he hadn’t taken down the entire building is his lack of speed. That and the little trinket Cisco created to monitor him. It tracked everything. He almost thought it could be his bad intentions, because he definitely felt a jolt when he was glaring at Barry a few days ago.

“I can’t believe you all are stupid enough to believe this woman is a cupid.” Eobard grumbled.

“We’ve literally seen talking gorillas, sharks and freaking aliens. Cupids seem pretty believable."

Cisco continued to lick at the popsicle as he swirled in the chair. Harry was not too far away, tinkering with some items. Discreetly stealing glances. Just to be safe.

When Barry not so casually walked in and whispered something in your ear, Eobard didn’t like the way your eyes lit up. The both of you left, and he could feel his mind reel at the possibilities of torture he was in for. Cisco snickered from his spot.

“Something funny.” Eobard pressed.

“Oh, you’ll see.”

He didn’t like the sound of that.

“So how do I win his heart?”

Barry was the last person to help with that question. So he’d just handed you a book.

“These are some ideas I got from a reliable source.”

Source meaning lots of google searches. You took it happily, diving into the contents. Barry was impressed at the way your eyes whipped over each page. In a matter of seconds you were done with the forty page journal he’d put together.

“Got it! Thanks Barry.” You threw the book and Barry caught it clumsily. When you entered the room, you were almost glowing. You marched straight over to Eobard who narrowed his eyes.

“Would you like to have a seat?” You pulled out a chair, but he merely folded his arms.

“I’m fine.”

“A massage?”

“Pass.”

“Chocolates?”

“I’m allergic.”

“Bath?”

“Took one thirty minutes ago.”

You were running out of ideas, and Eobard was sure with each word you would snap at him, but you were still wearing an almost contagious smile.

“Thank you, I think now I’ve learned more about you than when I started. “ It took him a few seconds to realize what had just happened. His hands unfolded slowly.

“You played me..”

Was this what it felt like when someone used a reverse uno card on you?

Before he could apprehend you, you were skipping off. Cisco was just sitting there confused.

“What did she just do?” He waved around his partially melted popsicle. Barry decided to explain.

“I gave her a book on studying human behavior. It was centered around romantic encounters. Some of that stuff is actually accurate when it comes to reading body language. She knows you're combative.”

Cisco’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape.

“Damn, she played you like a fiddle.”

With one look, Cisco was silent for the remainder of the day.

It was clear that the journey to change Eobard would be a tough one. While they were willing to try. There were still points that were a lot harder than most.

“Not that I don’t trust him, but it’s been a few weeks and I’m still afraid to fall asleep in the lab. We could keep him locked up in the pipeline, but (Y/N) might have a breakdown if we did that again.” Cisco was right.

“I can take him!”

The poof of your appearance startled both Barry and Cisco.

“Don’t do that!!”

You giggle bashfully.

“Sorry, I keep forgetting humans don’t teleport. I’ll do better.” When Cisco got his heart rate under control.

“You’re going to take him to your place. I just realized we’ve never asked where you’re poofing too all the time!”

“I have a place here. Cupid’s are very resourceful. This isn’t my first time in this city. I’ve been here many times, I’ve just never stopped long enough to do much. But now that I have my soul mate we can live together and cuddle all day long.” After that statement it appears you were off in your own world. So Cisco took that time to negotiate.

“It's not a bad plan. She’s the only one who’s not scared shitless of him. Plus she’s like all powerful. He’d be screwed if he tried anything. “

It was very appealing. Barry turns back to you.

“Are you sure you can handle him?”

“Yes!! Please, please, please!” Your eyes did that thing again and Cisco agreed.

“Alright fine you can have him just stop it with the cute freaking eyes!!”

Your grin was wide, and you gave Cisco a hug. He stumbled slightly at the whiff of pink.

“Thank you!” You were gone again, and Barry groaned.

“Barry, I love you bro.” Cisco was wearing a silly smile as he patted Barry on the shoulder.

“I know.” They supposed they would have to get used to this.

“Here’s a blanket, and your bed is right here.” Eobard stared down at the king sized bed.

“Where is yours?”

“We can share.”

“Absolutely not. “

“Why not?”

Eobard assumed you were joking, but he should have known that at this point, he should take everything you say as it was. Because you were as naive as you were powerful. He’d put up with your constant flirting, inserting, pestering. But it was never ending. The worst part wasn’t your infatuation, but your view that if you invested enough, then you’d magically wake up one day and he’d be some good guy. He wasn’t as oblivious as Team Flash gave him credit for. It’s clear that was the only reason he wasn’t rotting in Argus right now.

It was aggravating.

“I’ll never change.”

There was a bit of contempt in those words, and all you offer is a smile.

“I don’t remember saying I was going to change you.”

Eobard squinted.

“It’s naive to expect you to become a hero overnight. Of course I’d prefer it if you didn’t go around impaling people. But I don’t want you to change everything about yourself. There are certain traits you have that are a part of you. You’re stubborn, combative, brutally honest. Even under normal circumstances, these are regular characteristics that make up a person. To ask you to change that would be wrong. That’s not love. Love is making a person better inside and out because you care. Not changing them because people expect it of you. “

Eobard didn’t have words to retaliate against that.

Deep down he knew that you were right in some aspects. Had he never met Barry Allen, his life would have been much different. He could have been a professor somewhere and maybe..

His eyes drifted in your direction, this time, he found himself enamored by the soft inviting smile you wore. He held your gaze for a few moments before turning away.

“I’ll take the couch.” With a laugh, you stack the colorful sheets.

“Have a good night.”

You murmur comfortingly.

For once, he felt like he actually might.

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dmwrites · 2 years

Text

Perhaps it was the rift’s magical influence, or the uncanny valley-like effect that the new Grumbot had, but Grian never felt completely comfortable when working under his base. The rift itself, of course, was odd enough- with its shifting colors and dark shapes that occasionally watched him before moving on. That wasn’t exactly normal, no.

But it was more Grumbot, or, rather Grumbot Prime, who really weirded Grian out. He’d initially been happy when the machine had found its way through the rift- the nostalgia was welcome, especially with Mumbo away on… it was funny, Grian could never quite remember where Mumbo had gone off to. But, over the months, Grumbot Prime became more and more unnerving to be around. It was in the very casual way it spoke to Grian- like it knew more then him. It was in the way it was very blatantly Not Grian’s Grumbot- like coming into a room where all the furniture has been slightly moved to the left. Grian didn’t want to go so far as to say he hated the machine- it at least made for some mustached company- but talking to this Grumbot felt distinctly off.

Grian’s thoughts drifted towards this kind of uneasy vein more often then not when he descended down to the rift room. He wondered, as he drifted down one day, if he shouldn’t just cover the whole thing up with dirt and pretend like none of it had ever existed.

“Morning, Grumbot.”

Is what Grian said out loud, vaguely waving at the big machine.

Grumbot did it’s usual mustache machinery noises, and Grian plucked the paper from the ground.

“Hello Grian.”

“I won’t be here for long- just got to pick up a few materials. Busy day, you know.” Grian said, rooting through a few chests and pulling out some granite.

Grumbot did it’s noises again, and Grian thanked whatever foresight he’d had to not give Grumbot a speaking voice- he didn’t even want to think about what kind of creepy and slightly intimidating things that robot would be saying all the time.

“The other Grian did not have time for me either.”

Grian huffed in annoyance. “Grumbot. I can’t just spend my life in some enclosed area. I have things to do.”

Another mustache noise, a new paper. Grian picked it up.

“Spending a life in an enclosed area. Perhaps me and your Grumbot are not so different after all in your care.”

Grian crumpled up the paper and tossed it onto the ground to despawn. “I’m not having this conversation right now, Grumbot. I am not your real dad, and if you want to bother a Grian so bad you should just go back to your Grian, then. Oh wait.” It was a low blow, and Grian knew it. He remembered the note. My Grian was sorry too. But hey, if his fucked up relationship with his Grumbot was constantly getting aired out, then he’d fight right back with Grumbot’s own family drama. He was a petty bird like that.

Another paper.

“Where is father #2. I do not like you.”

“Shut up, Grumbot.”

Another paper, and Grian snatched this one out of the air.

“You keep trying and trying to relive your past. Nostalgia. But Mumbo still has not come back to you, despite your pathetic attempts.”

“You-” Grian crumpled the paper in his hands and threw it to the ground, rage overtaking him. “You know what, Grumbot Prime? I’ve had quite enough of you- you’re not even our- my Grumbot! I don’t even know why I bothered rescuing you from the rift! All you’ve done is try and scare me. I wish I’d never given him- you- a talking feature! And I’m not scared of you, Grumbot Prime!” Grian stormed around to Grumbot’s backside. He could hear Grumbot’s mechanical mustache being pushed in and out wildly, like the last desperate beats of a fake heart before-

Grian pulled the power supply wires out of Grumbot, and gripped it tight in his hand. It hurt- the wires had always been hot to the touch, but Grian kept holding on, wanting to feel the heat drain from them as they realized there was no redstone power left to live with.

And when the wires were cool, Grian dropped them on the floor, only then realizing how silent this wretched place was now. Even the rift seemed to be holding its breath. Grian slowly walked back around to the front of Grumbot. All of the lights were dead, and the mechanical mustache had been paused half-extended.

There were two bits of paper near Grumbot. One was on the floor, face up, and Grian could read it as he got closer.

“You can kill me. But I am a living reminder of your guilt and failures.”

There was another note, still stuck in the mouth of the dispenser. Grian tore it out, hoping it hurt Grumbot Prime even if it was turned off.

“Better to be dead then living the decomposing fantasy life of your Grumbot.”

#September 26 2022 #fic #s9 #grian #Grumbot #idk if this even makes sense #I just wanted them to be mean to each other #long post

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justmeinadaze · 2 years

Text

Unattainable Part VIII (Eddie X Theater Girl)

Warnings: Mentions of Abuse and trauma, Mostly a lot of Eddie being protective while these 2 battle with internal demons.

Word Count: 3300

A/N: I was going to write more but what I want to write next I want to solely focus on. Please forgive any errors in any of my stories. I proofread a lot but my brain still skips lol

##################################

The drive to Eddie’s trailer was completely silent. He kept both hands gripped on the steering wheel as he sped his van through the dimly lit Hawkin’s streets. I was so embarrassed by what happened with my mother. What must he think? What must he be thinking of me?

Probably wondering if the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

I close my eyes, trying to suffocate the thought. When I open them again, I take the opportunity to glance in Eddie’s direction. His own eyes are glued to the road ahead but his jaw is extremely tight as if he’s trying to hold something down. His knuckles on the wheel were starting to turn white with how hard he was hold on. I could hear the tight creak of the plastic between his fists. I know he’s not upset with me but I still feel like this is my fault. I’m hurting him.

The van lurches forward as Eddie stomps on the breaks in front of his home. He remains silent has he hops down and comes around to open my door, helping me out. He reaches in, grabbing my things, and slams the van door with a loud crack startling me.

When we make our way in through the front door, I pause, making eye contact with a man I’ve never met before in the kitchen. Eddie seems completely unphased as he charges past him towards his room.

“Hello.” Says the man coming over to me with a casual stride. He politely extends his hand. “I’m Wayne. Eddie’s uncle.” I give him a small smile as I reach for his hand and tell him my own name. “Ah yes. I’ve heard about you.” He turns his head towards Eddie’s room as we hear things aggressively being moved around. “So, uh, should I be concerned?”

“No!” Eddie shouts coming out of his bedroom to meet us halfway. “No reason to be concerned. She’s going to stay here for a few days.” He didn’t phrase it like a question. He was telling his uncle what was going to happen. Wayne, seemingly unphased himself, started putting on his jacket.

“You know how I feel about things like that.” His uncle places his hands on his hips as his eyes look over me and then back to Eddie. His shoulders go up and fall as he exhales. “Is it bad?”

Eddie curtly nods. “Okay. I came home because I forgot my food here but I’m heading back now. I’m trusting you here, Edward.” Wayne turns back to me and tilts the bridge of his hat before walking out the door.

“How…how long am I staying for?” I stammer as I follow Eddie into his room. He doesn’t answer me but instead removes his jacket and hurtles it towards his closet. He lights up a cigarette and proceeds to slam his whole weight onto the bed. Leaning his head back, he stares at the ceiling. I can’t take it anymore. “Eddie, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I had no idea she was going to come home. I never would have brought you to the house if I had known—”

“So, you’d just hide it from me?” He interrupts my rambling. Eddie’s eyes are now on me and they are burning my skin.

“No…I don’t hide things from you. She wasn’t lying. She’d never hurt me like that.”

“Until tonight? Hm. Funny how ‘never’ didn’t last.” He stands up suddenly pointing his two fingers that are currently holding his cigarette at me. “And I know you don’t care but she hurts you every damn day with that mouth. You said it yourself! She treats you like garbage!”

I start feeling that feeling again. That defensive protective wall is slowly creeping up around me. Eddie is challenging what I know as my foundation and it’s making me angry.

“You can’t just come into my life and pretend like you understand all the pieces, Eddie! You have no idea what she’s been through. What we’ve been through! So don’t you dare point your finger at me and say I don’t care!”

“Are you fucking kidding me? If she really cared about you, she wouldn’t be drunk off her ass every single night and calling her kid a stupid whore! If she really cared about your well-being and the fact that someone like me or your father is going to break your fucking heart then she should be in your life!” With every word Eddie’s voice is getting louder. “She only cares about herself!”

“She’s doing her best.” I respond through gritted teeth.

He lets out a sarcastic laugh.” Oh please, you’re fucking smarter than that.”

“What the fuck do you want from me, Eddie?!” I step forward till I’m right up on him. Tilting my face up to meet his as I keep shouting, “Do you want me to tell you you’re right? That she doesn’t care about me? That my dad doesn’t care about me? That neither of my parents even bother to care about my well-being to even show up to dinner at night let alone my plays or a parent’s night at school?” I try to control the tears but they still start to fall. Eddie’s stoic features start to faulter slightly.

“That my dad would rather be 2,000 miles away with his new wife and daughters then be here with me? That my mother would rather drink herself to death than be around me?” I sit on the edge of his bed, my eyes cast to the floor. “Every night I lay in my bed and I wonder ‘If they love themselves more than me,” I shrug as my voice cracks,” than what’s wrong with me?’”

Eddie drops down in front of me, placing his body between my legs. Both of his big hands cup my cheeks as he moves my head to face him. “Hey!”, he says sternly. “Hey. Look at me. Now!” My eyes move to meet his chocolate ones. I still see anger but it’s not directed at me. It’s coming from somewhere else. “There is nothing, do you hear me, nothing wrong with you.” He runs the pad of his thumbs under my eyes to wipe the tears.

His hands fall to my knees as he leans back on his calves. We sit there in silence for a few moments and when he finally speaks again his tone is calmer. “I used to think the same thing… about my parents. I thought ‘Damn maybe if I was a better kid my dad would try harder to stay out of jail.’ Or ‘Maybe there is something wrong with me if my mom doesn’t do anything when my dad’s acting like a dick.’”

It started to make sense; his need to protect me from my mother and where he was mentally up until this moment. He was that little boy again. I reached for his hand on my lap. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything.” He shakes his head as his palm rubs my thigh in a comforting gesture.

I rise to my feet, pulling him up with me by his hands, and turn him around so his back is facing the bed. I lightly push him back and he bounces down dramatically. Leaning down, I start to untie is shoes. “What are you doing?” he asks with an amused tone. My eyes meet his as I tug off his boot. I can slightly see my Eddie from earlier slowly coming back through. Without answering, I continue to remove his other shoe, socks, and jeans. I look around me and find a pair of shorts on the floor. I bend down to pick them up and start sliding them up his bare legs. He takes the waist band and glides them the rest of the way to his hips.

Feeling everything hit me, I’m too tired to dig for my own comfy clothes. I bounce down on the bed next to him just as dramatically as he had causing him to let out a tiny laugh. I pull off my own garments leaving on my underwear and shirt. I push Eddie back against his pillows and lean over him to turn off the light. Resting my head and arm on his chest, I wrap my leg around his and close my eyes. I feel his other arm reach down as he places his blanket over us, lightly pulling it up to my shoulder. Eddie leans in giving me a tender kiss on the forehead before we both fall asleep.

#############################

The sound of thunder shakes the trailer, jolting me awake. I look at my watch, noting it’s 8am. Eddie is still fast asleep on his back. Quietly, I climb over him and grab a pair of my shorts from the duffle bag we brought. I hear some slight rustling in the Munson kitchen. As I round the corner, I see Eddie’s uncle making some breakfast.

“Hey. Hungry?” Wayne asks.

“Oh, you don’t have to make me anything.”

“I know I don’t have to. I’m offering.” I smile and nod my head. He gestures to a stool near the counter. “Ma’am.”

My smile turns into a grin as I sit down. I see where Eddie gets his sass and charm.

“My nephew seems to really care about you. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him behave like he did last night.” I feel my body stiffen slightly. He steals a glance quickly at me before turning his attention back to the stove. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. On the outside, Eddie may look a certain way but he’s a good boy. Kind heart, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

Wayne reaches above his head for a plate. “When he cares about something he usually goes all in. Probably because he knows how fast it can be taken away.” He turns around and places two plates on the counter, one in front of me. Wayne sighs. “Kid’s been through hell that’s for sure. You have to, haven’t you?”

I nod silently at his question. “Yeah. Well, you’re in good hands with Eddie.” That makes me smile again. “And you’re safe here. Stay as long as you need to though I imagine at some point you may want to at least tell your guardian or whoever you’re safe so they don’t call the cops or something.”

“Oh my god. Why are you people awake?” Eddie murmurs in a groggy tone as he shuffles into the kitchen.

“Well, I got home a few moments ago and this young lady…?” Wayne’s voice trails off as he points to me. As if on cue, thunder erupts jostling the trailer a bit. I point at the ceiling. “Ah yes. One of the downfalls of living in this kind of luxury.”

Eddie reaches over and steals a piece of bacon from my breakfast. I move the plate closer to him so we can share. His uncle watches with a knowing smirk. “Alright guys. I’m going to finish my food and crash. I have another long night tonight. Ma’am it was a pleasure talking to you.” He dips his hat in my direction, heading towards his room, and closing the door.

One of Eddie’s fingers comes under my chin tilting my face towards his as he places a kiss on my lips. “You ok?” I nod my head as I pull him in for a hug. He’s still warm from being under the covers. Suddenly the phone in the Munson house rings.

“I got it!” Eddie shouts before letting out a deep sigh. “Yeah, hello?” His back slowly straights as his eyes shift over to me. “One sec.” He grabs my hand and tugs me towards his room shutting the door behind him. He hands me the phone as he whispers, “It’s your dad.”

My eyes widen. How did he even get Eddie’s number? I take the phone from him and place it my ear. “Hello?”

“Have you lost your fucking mind?!” his tone is full of anger. “I don’t even know where to begin! Do you know your mother is calling me at 3am telling me that you ran off with that trouble making Munson kid and she doesn’t know where you are! I have been calling hospitals and people I know in town! Now I found out you’re staying AT HIS HOUSE!” Eddie grabs the phone from my hand before I can say anything and this time I don’t argue. I’m too tired. I just want all this to stop.

“Sir!” Eddie tries to remain as calm. “Did your ex-wife tell you that she tried to hit her last night before I stopped her? Did she also tell you that on a daily basis she degrades your daughter calling her names? Or did she mention that she stays out at the bars till they close and even then, your daughter is home alone until early morning IF her mom comes home at all?”

Silence.

“Yeah, but she shouldn’t be with me? Someone who actually cares about her and loves her.”

My eyes immediately shoot up to meet his. He nods his head and says it again but not to my dad. He’s speaking directly to me. “I love her.”

There are muffled sounds as my dad says something into the phone. Eddie hands it back, his eyes never leaving me.

“Look, um”, my dad’s tone has sufficiently changed. “Is that true?”

I close my eyes and let out a breathy laugh. “Does it matter?”

“Of course, it does!”

“You don’t care.”

“Come on, I do care. She’s”, he lets out a sigh, “You know how she is. You just, you just have to ride it out for 3 more months. Can you do that?”

I laugh again but it comes out a bit more manic. “You know what I think is extremely funny? That you showed way more of reaction to me staying here with “a trouble making Munson” than with me being with mom. After everything he told you.” I hear my father start to respond as I pull the phone away from my ear and press “End”.

Eddie takes the phone from my hand and places it on the floor. He kneels in front of me, brushing my hair behind my ear to look at my face. I open my eyes, reaching my hand up to wipe a stray tear.

“You know, this is the second time you’ve kneeled down in front of me like this in under 24hrs.”

“I’d kneel down in front of you for the rest of my life if you let me.”

“Oh my god.” I roll my eyes as he lets out small laugh. I really look at him then. My Eddie has completely come back through and is now shining brightly in his beautiful brown eyes. Those eyes that I fell into the first time I looked at them when we ran into each other that night we met.

“Oh wow.” He says as he gets up to sit next to me. “I think,” he reaches over placing one hand directly on my face and the other behind my head, pulling me gently towards him. I feel his ear land on my hair. “Yeah, I think I can literally hear those gears in there spinning.” Reaching under his arms, I push his chest, and he drops his hands with a big toothy grin. He leans his back against his pillow and tilts his head to the side.

“What are you thinking about?”

I make my way over to him and straddle his hips with my legs. His warm hands come up to rest on my thighs.

“Sometimes I get worried that there’s something in me that’s like her.” His mouth starts to open in protest but I stop him by placing my tiny hand over his lips. “Let me get this out. I meant what I said last night. I trust you and I know you wouldn’t hurt me like my dad or even yours. I always thought I was avoiding dating because I was afraid of that but since I started going out with you, I learned that it’s the opposite. I’m terrified of hurting you. I never want to make you feel like you did last night.” I remove my hand from his lips and move it over to his cheek.

Eddie sits up fully shuffling me along with him. He reaches down and wraps my legs around to his back. We are now face to face and through his gaze I can see his own gears turning.

“We’re going to fight you and I. That’s a given. We are incredibly stubborn. It’s one of the things I adore about you honestly. The fact that you are a fighter and you’re strong. Just because we may disagree about something or we argue doesn’t make you like her. Just because you’re biologically her kid doesn’t make you like her. Just like how because I’m a Munson doesn’t mean I’m going to end up in prison. It’s a name. Not an identity.”

He reaches up to brush my hair back with his fingers. “And last night was NOT your fault.” My eyes involuntarily move away from his in shame and he shifts his head to follow mine. “Nah ah. Look at me.” He grins and I let out guilty laugh. “I’m serious. Okay? I’m sorry for shouting at you. I wasn’t mad at you I was—”

“Angry at the situation. I know.” I interrupt him, leaning his head down so our foreheads meet. “I know.”

There’s a crack of lightening followed by the loud bang of thunder. “Well,” Eddie sighs, “I was going to suggest we go out and do something today but…” he gestures to the window.

“Oh!” I shout making him jump a bit. “I almost forgot something.” I push him back down against the bed as Eddie mutters out an overdramatic “Holy hell!” I kiss his lips again pulling his face to mine. My lips leave a trail down his cheek as I make my way toward his ear.

“I love you to.” I whisper. I feel his body shift as he maneuvers both his strong hands to grab my cheeks, bringing me back to face him. His eyes search mine as he blinks like he’s trying to make sure he’s not dreaming. I tilt my face and kiss the palm of his hand. “I love you.”

He wraps his arms around my waist, basically football tackling me on to my back, making me laugh as he starts happily planting kisses all over my face and neck.

#eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie fanfic #stranger things #eddie stranger things #joseph quinn #fan fiction

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mountain0fthesun · 11 months

Text

When The Curtain Falls (Chapter 2)

Word count: 1.9k

Pairings: Oliver Reed x Elle Fernanda

Warnings: mentions of the following: drinking, drug use, violence; explicit language

A/N: Some people are understandably confused by this whole thing, lol. Just to clarify:

1) I’m not writing these characters as if the twins are portraying them in real time, I’m writing these characters as completely separate, independent beings. Shipping the twins or (any of them together) is most definitely not my thing, so don’t any expect that here. I also don’t intend for this piece to get explicit/smutty, so if you’re here for any of that then you might be outta luck.

2) Background: I’ve had a story idea about two struggling/aging actors navigating Hollywood together for a while, largely inspired by the unnamed heroine in WTCF (that song doesn’t get nearly enough love imo) and when we were introduced to Ms. Elle I was like,,, yes she is the moment. I’ve also been seeing people saying they want to see Oliver and Elle in a video together so that really got the gears turning too.

So yeah, this is just meant to be some unserious campy fun with these lovely characters that the boys brought to life. Next update will probably be sometime next week. And who knows? Maybe some of our other lovely MasterAss instructors will make some appearances as well...

“You’re in and out of fashion...”

ELLE

“I can’t believe it. I just cannot believe it.”

Elle leaned back, slowly sinking into the leather easy chair in her trailer. The day weighed on her like an elephant was standing on her chest.

Her manager, Alex, was sitting at the little plastic desk, bouncing his leg nervously. “It wasn’t so bad! Everyone seemed nice. Well, almost everyone,” he muttered. “But you can’t win ‘em all, right?”

Like herself, Alex was a native New Yorker transplant in Los Angeles, and had all the neuroses to prove it. He had been sweating bullets all day, and Elle doubted it was solely because of the heat.

“I could use a cocktail,” she suggested, trying to keep her tone casual.

Alex leapt to his feet, eyes alight. He swung open the refrigerator door and inspected the contents. “Uh…tequila soda?”

“Sounds divine. Make it strong.”

“I know, I know.”

Elle watched as he carefully poured tequila and soda water into a glass, face twisted in concentration. She was grateful that Alex came with her to the first day on set. He was her longtime friend, one of the first she made when she arrived onto the sleazy streets of Hollywood, and he began overseeing her day to day a few years ago when her old manager quit on her career—and their marriage. After spending many nights crying and having soap opera marathons with her, Alex became her right hand man, arranging her meetings, traveling with her to shoot destinations, and, most importantly, making her drinks.

With two very full glasses in each hand, Alex carefully made his way across the trailer, making sure not to spill a drop. He offered one to Elle.

“Thank you, Alex.”

“You’re welcome, honey.” He perched on the arm of her chair. “Are you alright?”

“I’m perfectly fine. I just can't stand the unprofesstionalism of that man. It is far too much.”

Alex gave her a sad smile. “I know, Elle, I’m sorry. It’s only for a little while.”

“I can’t stand schmucks like him.” Elle threw her hands up in the air. “Who does he think he is, waltzeding around the place like he’s hot shit?”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Elle. I’m going to be watching him like a hawk.” Alex patted her hand. “But if he’s going to respect you, you have to respect him, too.”

“If he wants my respect, he’s going to have to earned it,” Elle grumbled. “You know the type of guy I respect? Guys like Gary Cooper. The strong, silent type. He knows when to speak and when to shut his trap. And aboved all, he’s a natural talent.”

Alex pursed his lips. “But you can’t really say that he isn’t talented. I mean, come on, he’s an icon. He’s Oliver Fucking Reed.” He cocked a bushy eyebrow and stroked a pretend beard.

Elle gritted her teeth, knowing full well what was coming next. “Don’t you dare—”

“Ye want to call me a salty dog?” he yelled in an abysmal English accent. “How’s about licking me and finding out for sure?” He cackled, waving his hand around, beverage sloshing dangerously around in the glass.

“Alex, you’re spillting your beverage!” Elle yelled.

Alex settled down, face flushed a bright pink. “Sorry,” he said meekly. “You know how much I love The Last Pirate King. He’s just so...larger than life. He really is the character.”

Elle sighed. “You know, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. He’s not even acting at that point. He’s just playing the same charatcher every time. I mean, is he Captain Tracy Tritt? Is Captain Tracy Tritt just supposed to be him? Who knows?”

She took a sip of her drink, the lime wedge bumping against her lip.

“That’s just his brand, Elle,” Alex said. “He’s practically the blueprint of the ‘handsome hellraiser.’”

“‘Handsome’ is generous,” she muttered.

Alex scoffed. “Oh, come on, Elle. Even you have to admit he’s good looking.”

Elle bit her cheek. She couldn’t deny that Oliver Reed was easy on the eyes. But that didn’t matter.

“There’s a limit to how far you can go by being good lookeding,” she said. “There is no woman on earth who could get away with doing what he does, you know? I can’t afford to be a one tricked pony. My career would be dead in the water by now if I was.” Elle set her glass down and spread out her fingers to count on them. “On top of being beautiful, I have to be a singer, an actress, a model, an author, an entrepreneur, a…”

“...a brand ambassador, a pageant queen, a deli meat spokesperson,” Alex droned, finishing her sentence. “I know, Elle. And you’ve excelled at all of those things. Looks fade, yes. But talent is forever. And you are absolutely a once-in-a-generation talent. I wouldn’t be here with you if I didn’t believe it.”

Elle felt a lump in her throat. “Thank you, dear.”

“Of course.” Alex smiled, patting her hand.

Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Alex pulled it out and squinted at the screen. “Oh, good! The car is almost here.”

“Good. Get me out of this desert. I’m going to look like a raisin if I stay here any longer.” Elle quickly polished off the rest of her drink. “I just have to use the ladies’ room. Excused me.”

“No rush. I’ll be waiting outside.” Alex stepped down from the trailer and closed the door behind him.

The bathroom in the trailer was surprisingly roomy, complete with a shower and a double vanity. A bowl of fragrant potpourri sat on the side of the sink, and the mirror was spotlessly clean.

Elle closed the door behind her and sighed. It was the first time she was alone all day, and she desperately needed a moment of peace and quiet. She took off her glasses and looked at her reflection.

She was pushing fifty now, though she didn’t look it. She had pumped herself full of not-so-secret Hollywood techniques—diet pills, beauty creams, the tasteful injection here and there—just to get casting directors to give her the time of day. Most actresses who came up around the same time as her had succumbed to overdoses, found facedown in the bathtub with a cocktail of barbiturates in their systems, or ended up fading into obscurity with a few kids and a modest divorce settlement.

The fates of Hollywood starlets seemed just as scripted as the films she’d worked on all of her life, but she beat the odds again and again. She had to fight tooth and nail to get here.

And what did that clown have to do?

All he had to do was turn on his drunkard charm and crack a few jokes in his annoying accent. He showed up half-coherent and reeking of alcohol, his beard looking like something crawled into it and died, and they all ate it right out of the palm of his hand. Hell, he could even trash a script and walk out of the room without getting fired on the spot.

Elle hated Oliver Reed. Not because of what he was—but because of what he didn’t have to be.

She gripped the sides of the sink and took a few deep breaths.

“Elle? The car is here,” Alex called through the walls of the trailer.

“Coming,” she called back. She looked herself in the eyes. She looked tired, but her eyes still had that fire.

“Get a grip, girl,” she whispered to herself. “You are Elle Fernanda. You are Superbitch. You’re a fucking Siberian tiger.”

She put on her sunglasses and adjusted her shawl. She was going to make this movie her best yet, even if she had to work around Oliver Reed to do it.

𖤓

Elle entered the makeup trailer and was immediately hit with the smell of baby powder and rubbing alcohol.

A young woman with long braids trailing down her back turned towards her, and her face immediately lit up.

“Oh my gosh, Elle! I mean, Ms. Fernanda.” She folded her hands over her heart. “I’m so sorry. It’s just that, I’m a really big fan, and—”

“Cherry? Is she here?” A man with a thick French accent called out.

“Yes, sir,” she called back. She seemed to remember herself, pulling her hands behind her back.

The man rounded the corner. He was a vision in black, wearing a turtleneck, slacks, and loafers, with a pencil mustache and wire rimmed glasses.

He extended a hand. “My name is Gerard. Pleased to meet you.”

“Hello, dear. You may kiss my hand.” Elle stretched a hand out towards him. He kissed it, his mustache tickling her skin.

“Have a seat. I’ll get right to work.” Gerard snapped his fingers, and Cherry sprang into action, gathering up sponges and brushes of every shape and size.

Gerard didn’t waste a single second. He immediately spritzed Elle’s face with a flowery toner, and when it dried, slathered on a few pats of greenish primer.

Elle glanced sideways to watch him work in the mirror. She could see every pore, every line, every blemish in high definition. With each product Gerard applied, she could see them shrink until they disappeared.

“Hmm.” Gerard took a step back, tapping a slender finger to his chin. “You have the crow’s feets.”

“Unfortunately, yes,” she said.

“I never noticed before. You are always wearing the glasses.” Gerard swept his fingers up the sides of his eyes. “The cats eyes, yes? Do you wear them to hide the lines?”

Elle bit the inside of her cheek. “I just like chunky sunglasses.” she answered plainly.

“Ah. The bigger the better. Very American,” he chuckled. “Well, it is nothing I can’t work around. I’ll just need to spend a bit more time on them.”

Elle tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach while Gerard poked and prodded some more. Cherry tamed her curls with a small curling iron and enough hairspray to suffocate a horse.

Gerard spritzed a final layer of finishing spray and inspected his work. He nodded satisfactorily, then moved around the back of her chair. “Well, what do you think?”

Elle’s breath caught in her throat. A sultry smokey eye, a shiny red lip, cheeks perfectly contoured—she looked, dare she say, sexy.

“Oh my gosh,” Cherry squealed, clasping her hands together. “You are stunning, Elle.”

“It’s very femmed fatale,” Elle said. “You did very well.”

Gerard smiled. “I’m so glad, Elle.”

A walkie talkie on Cherry’s belt crackled to life. “’Superbitch’ to wardrobe please,” the tinny voice said at the other end.

“Sounds like I need to get my jumpedsuit on.” Elle rose from the chair and stretched her legs. “Thanked you again, both of you.”

“Good luck, Elle!” Cherry called over her shoulder as she tidied the counter.

“Best of luck, dear,” Gerard echoed, wiggling his fingers in a small wave.

Her hand was on the trailer door when Gerard came up behind her.

“Elle?”

“Yes?”

“You know, I know many good doctors in France that could fix the crows feets,” Gerard whispered. “They are subtle. They could make it look au naturale. Just ask me and I will get you anyone you want.”

Elle felt her eyes burn. “I have my own people for that, but thanked you anyways, Gerald.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Ahem, it’s Gerard.”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Elle pulled open the door and stepped down onto the dusty ground.

“But—”

“Ta-ta.” Elle wiggled her fingers mockingly and shut the door behind her.

She tipped back her head, blinking back tears, trying not to ruin her smokey eye.

#greta van fleet #greta van fleet fan fiction #greta van fic #josh kiszka #jake kiszka #sam kiszka #danny wagner #fanfic #greta van angst #greta van fluff #gvf #oliver reed #elle fernanda #elliver

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sketch-shepherd · 1 year

Text

rambling some RWBY stuff

I said I needed a hiatus for a while because March has been a terrible month for me but I gotta get this off my chest. I’m gonna be talking stuff about RWBY ship discourse and a new direction I’m taking in regards to enjoying the show.

I know I said I moved on from openly talking about RWBY ship discourse since like 2020 so I’m only gonna make an exception this once because the events of V9E6 are too big for me to ignore (spoiler warning I guess cuz the episode is still super new at the time I’m writing this)

So if you’re not interested in hearing me reflect on my fandom experience and where I’m currently docked in terms of my RWBY ships then don’t read the rest of the cut.

Those who know me know that I really, really don’t like B/umbleby. Both in terms of actual writing because I find it forced with poor buildup and the toxic fanbase ruined any appeal the ship had for me literally since my early days of being in the fandom. So it should come to no surprise I’m not happy with it officially becoming canon in this episode

Though... frankly I normally wouldn’t have put much thought into how well B/umbleby is written or not because I generally just have low standards for ships in general (ffs I’ve gushed over ships from other shows that had like overall two minutes of buildup), but it’s mainly the toxic fans who really destroyed the appeal the ship had for me which is why I started to care about it way more than I should have. But I’m getting off topic, the point of this wasn’t to write an essay about my thoughts on B/umbleby.

Likewise, those who know me also know I’ve always had a strong preference for its rival ship B/lacksun. Things are little complicated with that right now, but after some careful consideration I think I’m ready to dip out of the B/lacksun community too.

Now, I’m not saying I no longer support B/lacksun, far from it. I still like B/S as a ship itself since I consider it way better written than B/B and it has more actual communication and chemistry. But frankly from my experience I just haven’t had any fun in the B/S community for a really long time. While not as bad as the toxic B/umbleby fanbase, I’ve dealt with too many B/S shippers being so outright toxic and overwhelmingly negative... I’m at the point where I’d rather just not contribute altogether.

So yeah, being in the crossfire of both of these ships, dealing with stupid toxic fans/antis alike and giving myself more paranoia and anxiety than I asked for for five whole years straight really hasn’t done favors for my mental health. So at this point I just think my enjoyment of RWBY will be easier if between the two I just don’t add anything to either community.

So what does this mean for me? Like I said, I definitely don’t hate B/lacksun as a ship itself. I might just ship it silently and maybe still include it in my AU’s or something. I’m just not gonna openly contribute to the B/lacksun community anymore

Sorry for anyone who’s liked my B/lacksun content back when I was really passionate about it in my earlier days of the fandom (if any of said people are somehow even reading this since I’ve disbanded from the fandom so much over the years).. but for anyone who cares I guess, you’re just gonna have to get used to me just straight up not engaging in B/lacksun publicly anymore. No longer drawing fanart (probably not even for a commission), liking/reblogging any posts related to the ship, writing about it, just overall making actual content.

I still like the ship for what it is, but I’m not gonna openly invest in it anymore. Definitely not compared my other RWBY ships I casually talk about like R/osegarden, L/adybug, F/reezerburn, M/onochrome, etc... That’s basically what’s become of B/lacksun for me. B/umbleby on the other hand... yeah I still dislike it like I always have.

Sigh... but I digress. This weekend has basically given me a reason to reset. Half a fucking decade is not a good period of time to worry so damn much about ship discourse to the point it came at the expense of the real reason I enjoy RWBY... which is the plot and characters.

That’s all. THAT was the real reason I became drawn to RWBY when I first started watching it back in 2018. Not the stupid fucking shipping. Shipping was never going through my mind when I first bingewatched Volumes 1-5. Hell, my interest in shipping didn’t come until way later as like a second thought until I started looking at fan content more.

And now that I’ve seen what worrying over shipping so much did for me for five years straight... I’m turning a new leaf. A “stop giving a fuck” leaf. My experience of loving RWBY in the past five years would have been so much different if I didn’t prioritize ship wars over everything.

But, like I said. I’m undoing all that now. Going back to the mindset I had when I was new to the show before I learned of ship discourse and fandom drama. And I’m gonna see if it works for the rest of V9, as well as the rest of the show.

This is also NOT an invitation to talk about ship discourse or r/wde shit in my dm’s (something I unfortunately HAVE to say based on past experiences of people taking my words as r/wde or criticism shit). I wrote this ramble as a means of explaining that I still truly love RWBY despite some of the narrative choices I don’t like and cutting the fandom drama out.

To conclude in words of moistcr1tikal, that’s about it. See ya.

#sketch text #rwby #ship discourse #<-- i hope this is the last fucking time I use this tag for this fandom

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rainbowsalt0412 · 1 year

Text

Osamu Dazai’s Entrance Exam - Chapter 2

11th

Returning home late, I face my inkstone in silence.

Though this is a day I will never forget, I will not inscribe it in my notebook.

No matter how difficult the trial, no matter how great my disgrace, I must laugh. But for now, there is only silence.

I read the paper at my desk at the office. The news has been chaotic all morning. Sensational reports flood the television and Internet.

MISSING YOKOHAMA VISITORS FOUND DEAD

DID A PRIVATE DETECTIVE AGENCY’S MEDDLING LEAD TO THE VICTIMS’ DEATHS?

And then there are the images—the white gas, the suffering victims, and me, grabbing on to the cage. It’s only a matter of time before the pictures make the front page of the newspaper. The agency’s phone has been ringing off the hook all morning with no end in sight. So far, they’ve all been complaints, but it won’t be long before the victims’ families begin to call us to threaten legal action. To make matters worse, we still have no leads as to where the remaining seven missing persons are.

Who took the pictures the moment the victims were killed, and why make them public?

The phone on my desk gives a teeth-grinding trill. I reach for the receiver, but Dazai promptly snatches it up and puts it back in its cradle. The ringing stops.

“Looks like this is exactly what the enemy wanted, huh?” Dazai says cheerfully. He’s carrying a photo in his hand. “If it’s any consolation, this is a really good picture of you.”

I silently try to take it from him, but he nimbly lifts his arm into the air before I can.

“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? You look awful.”

“…No. There’s work to be done.”

“Wow. You’re not gonna take a day off even after all this? You know, someone threw a rock at me on two separate occasions while I was trying to come into the office today.”

I look outside. A few protesters have been standing in front of the agency, causing a ruckus since morning. There will undoubtedly be even more tomorrow.

“‘Take a day off’? Have you lost your mind? We have a mission of utmost priority: Find the criminal behind this.”

“Well… Yeah. You’re right,” Dazai agrees with a blank look on his face. “Where’s Miss Sasaki?”

“She’s in the infirmary getting examined by Dr. Yosano. Sounds like she’s gonna be okay.”

“Let’s pay her a little visit.”

I get out of my chair. Miss Sasaki is the only known victim to have had contact with the murderer and lived to tell the tale. We can probably figure out who the perpetrator is if we can learn how they’re kidnapping everyone.

I casually look down at the picture before following Dazai into the infirmary. You can clearly see my face in the pictures along with Miss Sasaki’s and the victims’, but the most of Dazai you can see is the tail of his overcoat. How was he able to avoid the secret photos?

***

“I’m sorry… I really wish I could help you, but…” Miss Sasaki helplessly gazes at the floor.

“I’ve always been prone to illness, and I’m anemic, which causes me to faint every now and then. I was feeling especially ill the day I was abducted… I passed out at the train station, probably from the anemia.”

In that case, I guess she wouldn’t have any idea how she was abducted.

However…

“Then that would mean someone abducted you in the midst of the confusion after you passed out.”

Kidnapping someone in the middle of a place as crowded as Yokohama Station would be impossible. Carrying an unconscious woman would draw even more attention. Either there are multiple kidnappers or someone’s using a very clever trick…

“Let me just say…thank you so much for saving me yesterday. I… I don’t have any friends or family to turn to, so…”

Miss Sasaki hangs her head low in silence. She doesn’t say another word after that. With her naturally delicate features coupled together with the porcelain skin, she reminds me of a marionette doll whose strings have been cut. Actually, her own experience isn’t too much different. As if her thread of life had been cut, she was almost killed by an unidentified serial killer for who knows why, and her life could still very well be in danger.

“You even allowed me to stay at your home last night…”

……Hmm?

“Hold on. Where did you stay last night?”

“My place,” Dazai nonchalantly replies.

…………

Are things like this the norm nowadays?

“Thank you so much, Mr. Dazai. You… You were very…kind to me last night…”

Miss Sasaki flushes bashfully for some reason.

“What’s wrong, Kunikida? You’ve got a really weird look on your face.”

“Dazai… Don’t you think that’s taking things a little too fast?”

“I… I was the one who asked him to let me stay over. I basically forced him.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I simply did what any gentleman would. Besides, I’m used to getting asked for things from people I’ve just met,” he replies with a smile.

…………

I have no interest in frivolous love affairs. Two people must have mutual respect for each other when building a relationship. If you ask me, an unplanned single night of fleeting passion is unforgivable and shameless. So—therefore—for this reason alone, it doesn’t matter how popular a fool like Dazai may be, because I am not the least bit jealous or frustrated.

Not the least bit jealous!

***

“What a beautiful, misfortunate woman,” Dazai says with a smirk. We’ve returned to the office to prepare for our next investigation.

“So that’s your type?”

“I like all types of women. They’re the bearers of all human life, a source of mystery. But I do like the fact that Miss Sasaki would probably kill herself with me if I asked.”

“Go marry a cicada or something, then.”

Relations between the sexes must be pure and strong. The only feminine company I intend to keep will be with my ideal spouse, where we complement and lift each other up, and I will be with her until the day I draw my last breath. That is my ideal. It’s also written in my notebook. “What about you, Kunikida? What do you think of Miss Sasaki?”

“She’s a victim and a witness to the case. That’s all.”

“I’m asking only because I can’t even begin to imagine, but…what’s your ideal woman like?”

“You’re free to read about it.”

I open my notebook to the page titled ‘Spouse’ and show him. All my future plans are written here.

“What is this, an encyclopedia?!”

His expression slowly hardens as he skims over the page. “…Whoa. Oh no, no, no… This is just… Wow. I’m…”

“The hell kind of reaction is that? Is it weird?”

“No, not at all. I think all guys can relate to the ideals…of each section.”

“Right? What’s wrong with having standards?”

“Exactly. I agree with you one hundred percent, Kunikida. A word of advice, though: Never show this to a woman. It’d really turn them off. I mean, even I’m struggling to keep myself from yelling ‘A girl like this doesn’t exist!’”

Is it really that far-fetched?

“Okay, I get it. Now let’s get to work and find that kidnapper. By the way, have you found out anything else?”

“There’s one thing I noticed.”

“What’s that?”

“If you truly wish to pursue your ideal woman, then we’re going to have to do something about those boring glasses first.”

Dazai swiftly swipes the glasses off my face, then puts them on. They look awful on him.

“Enough! Give those back!”

So long as my work isn’t hindered, then nothing else matters. Besides, simply wearing nice glasses isn’t going to magically improve my life. And Dazai looks even more comical with them on… Even more ridiculous than usual for some odd reason.

“……Glasses?”

Glasses. The photos of the victims. Their faces. The monitoring equipment. The hotel they stayed in—

“Something the matter, Kunikida?”

The missing people all left the hotel of their own accord, and they all stayed in Yokohama alone. So that means the security footage of everyone entering and leaving the hotel is…

“Come on, Dazai. We’re leaving.”

I snatch my glasses and put them back on.

“I figured out who the kidnapper is.”

***

The ocean breeze soars past the Port of Yokohama. Dazai and I stand on the levee at the mouth by the shore. I gaze into the sky. The sun is already high, peeking through the sea of clouds and shining onto us. I do not feel as fine as the weather, however. A familiar taxi stops before me.

“Detective Kunikida! Please get in.”

A familiar cabdriver waves me over, and we waste no time climbing in. “I apologize for the sudden call.”

“Oh, don’t be. I would go through fire and water for you and the agency, Detective! So are you in a hurry to get somewhere? Don’t you worry! The speed limit means nothing to me!”

“It should. Anyway, do you remember the missing-persons case we spoke of last evening? Well, I figured out who the kidnapper is.”

“What?! I saw the news about the abandoned hospital. I feel so sorry for those poor victims… So we’re going to arrest the kidnapper, yes? Roger that! We have to hurry, though, or he’ll get away. So where is this perpetrator?”

“Right here.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re the kidnapper, and inside this taxi is where the kidnappings have been taking place.”

“Uh… I don’t think I’m following you, Detective. What are you saying?”

“I thought, ‘Who would be able to kidnap someone in this city without anyone noticing? Where in Yokohama would a victim be comfortable alone with a complete stranger?’ The answer is here. You used sleeping gas on the victims, then kidnapped them. While wearing a gas mask yourself, of course.”

“Wait… No, no, no. Hold on. I’m pretty sure the investigation indicated that the victims all left of their own accord, by themselves, and mysteriously disappeared. I heard there were no records of them ever getting into any vehicle or going inside any building. If all the victims got into this taxi, then wouldn’t there be a record of a phone call or of them hailing a cab?”

“Yes, there would be. And that’s why there is no doubt in my mind that every victim got into this taxi. Of course, the city police weren’t able to find any records no matter how hard they looked. Why? Because they were looking at the wrong date. The victims didn’t get in this taxi on the day they went missing.”

“What… What are you trying to say?”

“Okay, Kunikida, we’re not going to get anywhere trying to answer each and every one of his questions. Let me explain exactly what happened,” Dazai chimes in. “Driver, you were searching for certain customers during your daily work shift. The conditions for a target were simple: They had to be in Yokohama alone and heading to their hotel, they had to be wearing something that partially covered their face such as a hat, glasses, or sunglasses, and they had to be around the same height as you. You have a small frame, which is why women would be viable candidates as long as they met those few requirements. All of this would make it appear as if you had no relation to the victim, and you could disrupt the investigation.”

“I… I’m afraid I don’t follow. I—”

“Yes, yes. Let me finish first, okay? You’re a taxi driver who operates in the area. Those requirements may be strict, but you’d be able to find someone who matched them in two, three days tops. Then, when just the right person happened to show up, you used sleeping gas on them just like Kunikida mentioned. After that, you went to a secret hideout, held the victims prisoner there, and stole their clothes and belongings. That’s why the victims at the abandoned hospital were in their underwear. Now this is where you really begin to shine.” Dazai claps his hands giddily before continuing. “Next, you dressed in the victim’s clothing and disguised yourself as them. After that, it’s just as you told us last night. All you have to do is put on a little makeup, stuff your cheeks and clothing a bit, and you’re someone else. Of course, you must have religiously practiced and chosen only people you were confident you could pull off, though. Plus, you weren’t trying to deceive people, only video footage. You went to the hotel the victims planned to stay at and purposely made sure the security cameras saw you.”

I think back to the footage I viewed during the investigation. In hindsight, there was an unnaturally high rate of people with their face covered—six in glasses and two in sunglasses. The remaining three had either a hat or long hair, leaving only a portion of their face exposed to the security cameras. This was possible only because he selected victims wearing specific clothing that would be easy to emulate.

“The rest is simple. You leave the victims’ belongings in the hotel room and check out the next morning in broad daylight. By leaving a record of what appears to be the victim entering, checking in, and exiting the hotel, the police would stubbornly focus on investigating what happened to the victim after they left. Naturally, they didn’t find anything, though, since you undoubtedly know Yokohama inside and out. At the very least, you knew where you would be recorded and where you could escape to avoid any security cameras. That’s why the more we investigated, the more it appeared as if the victims intentionally spirited themselves away while making sure there would be no records of it.”

“This is absurd. This hypothetical, purely speculative situation you’re proposing is—is nothing without…without evidence. That’s right—you’ve got no evidence to support your claim.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that. You would have been more than able to conduct Miss Sasaki’s kidnapping on your own as well,” I continue explaining from where Dazai left off. “Abducting Miss Sasaki after she passed out at the station must have been your easiest job yet. I’ll bet you felt like the luckiest man alive. People usually call an ambulance if they see somebody suddenly faint, but it takes time for the ambulances to arrive from the hospital. But there’s always a taxi waiting in front of the station for passengers, and luckily for Miss Sasaki, a Good Samaritan happened to be present to save her. This well-intentioned individual wanted to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible, so he decided to have a taxi take her. That’s when you took her away, bold as brass, except you didn’t take her to the hospital like you were supposed to.”

“I…”

The driver sounds as if he wants to say something, but he doesn’t speak another word. I can’t see his expression clearly from where we’re sitting, either. I shift my gaze to the interior of the car, where I find a few small white particles in one of the crevices. I pinch what I can with my fingertips.

“If you’re going to turn yourself in, you should probably do it quickly. It won’t be long until we have evidence. I’m sure you cleaned the inside of this car, but there’s still some residue from the gas. A lab analysis will confirm it in no time.”

“I… I have no idea where that came from. It must have been from one of my customers. That doesn’t count as evidence.”

The driver barely manages to stammer out the words. Nevertheless, he admitted his guilt the moment he started making excuses.

“Evidence isn’t even necessary to prove you’re the only one who could have done it.” I begin to lay out the basis of the argument. “The only way to use the trick Dazai mentioned would be to get the victims into a taxi, and you had two of the victims in your vehicle, which is no different from admitting you gave rides to the other nine.”

“That isn’t physical evidence, Detective Kunikida,” the driver plainly states while avoiding eye contact. “Everything you’ve presented has been circumstantial evidence. It’s not as if you found a weapon in my house or have video evidence of me committing a crime. Sure, you could file charges, but I wouldn’t be convicted.”

It’s my turn to fall silent. He’s right. We would need physical evidence to connect him to the victims: blood, fingerprints, video recordings, a confession with information only the criminal would know…

We don’t have the necessary hard evidence. In fact, our case could be dismissed due to a lack of probable cause as things stand now. From the way the driver’s talking, it sounds like he made sure to dispose of all the physical evidence. He’s cleverer than I thought. What’s my next move?

But what he says next completely disproves my assumptions.

“Detective Kunikida… Let’s make a deal. If you accept my conditions, I will turn myself in.”

“What?”

“I would like the Armed Detective Agency to protect me and guarantee my safety in return for my confession. I request only seventy-two hours of your time until I receive witness protection following the prosecutorial investigation.”

“A witness protection deal? What are you talking about?”

“There’s no time… I’m going to be killed. They’re going to kill me.”

“Wait. I’m not following. Tell me step-by-step what’s going on. Who’s going to kill you? And for what?!”

“I wish I never did business with that lot… I should have never tried to get into the organ-trafficking business alone! And now I’ve made them angry! This is bad… This is really bad. I can’t get in touch with any of the buyers, either. They’ve cut me loose! But why? They were never supposed to find out… But they’re already onto me. And they’re getting closer…”

“I see. So that’s what’s going on here.” Dazai places a hand on his chin and nods.

“Dazai, what’s going on?! What is he rambling about?!”

“It’s exactly how it sounds. He was selling the victims to an organ- trafficking syndicate, but the month’s supply rose too high relative to demand. Naturally, this led to a drop in prices, throwing the market into confusion. Imagine a private one-man business suddenly entering a supply market more or less controlled by a large corporation. How would the large corporation feel?”

“They would get mad, I guess?”

“It would be healthy competition if these were normal, legal companies. But these organ-trafficking businesses are run by underground groups who profit off blood and violence. Causing trouble on their turf would only anger—”

The next moment, the car is suddenly hit, then hit again so hard its wheels leave the ground. A high-pitched echo follows. The taxi’s right side lifts into the air as the windows shatter along with the sound of gunshots.

“We’re under fire! Get down!” I yell out.

The car rocks back and forth as if being pummeled with a hammer, and shards of glass rain down inside.

“It’s them! H-help, help me… I don’t wanna die!”

“Hey! Wait!”

The driver opens the car door before bolting in the opposite direction of the gunfire.

“Kunikida, we have to catch him before the enemy does, or we’ll never know what really happened! We can’t let him escape or turn up dead in a grove somewhere!” Dazai shouts, keeping his head down. That’s easier said than done, though! “Okay, I’ll go after the driver! You distract the enemies!”

“Dazai, wait! It’s too dangerous to go alone!”

Dazai darts out of the car without even listening to my warning. I can’t allow a rookie to go off on his own during his first shoot-out. We don’t have any other options, though. I curse to myself while getting a look at the enemy. Three men stand dressed in black suits and black sunglasses, equipped with submachine guns smuggled in from abroad via the black market. Judging from their attire, their skills, and their ruthless willingness to suddenly turn the place into a war zone, it’s clear who they are…

“Damn it! This couldn’t be any worse… It’s the Port Mafia!”

The Port Mafia is an underground organization that uses the Port of Yokohama as their base of operations. They’re the cruelest, most coldhearted criminal syndicate in the city, willing to follow any orders from their boss and crush all who oppose them. The three men here are from that organization. The longer this goes on, the more they have the advantage.

“The Matchless Poet: Stun Grenade!”

I record the word in my notebook before tearing it out. The sheet of paper twists into a grenade the size of my fist. Aiming at the group, I hurl the grenade out the broken window. Stun grenades are nonlethal sonic weapons used to temporarily disorient an enemy’s senses. It blows up right in front of them, emitting a light so bright and creating an explosion so thunderous that it could give a sick man a heart attack. They fall to their knees while covering their temples, perhaps completely taken by surprise at being countered with a flashbang. I use this momentary distraction to leap out of the taxi and charge the enemies. I elbow the man closest to me in the neck, knocking him to the ground. I keep my elbow out and charge the next criminal, following up with a high kick to the face. The last armed man tries to hit me with his gun, but I swerve to the side, evading the strike. As he staggers off-balance, I grab his wrist and twist while pulling inside. Then I throw him into the air with a four- corner throw. The Mafia member goes flying and lands cranium first, immediately losing consciousness.

“Good grief.”

After making sure they’re all out, I walk back to the taxi.

I really hope Dazai’s all right…

Just then, I suddenly sense an ever-increasing thirst for blood coming from behind. Something flies past my side before I can even turn around. The black torrent runs through right where I was just standing, hitting the taxi and cutting right through it, too. As the vehicle completely splits in half, springs and shafts take to the air, scattering every which way. Without even a moment to let my surprise sink in, I kick off the ground to evade. The nearby sign and handrails are finely sliced into pieces. After rolling across the ground and looking back, I see a small-framed man clad in black in the distance.

“Cough, cough…”

That must be the source of the bloodlust.

“Cough… I came thinking this was going to be an easy side job. I wasn’t expecting to run into someone skilled enough to neutralize three men in the blink of an eye. I’m impressed. Now let’s see how you fare against Rashomon.”

With no weapon in hand, the young man simply walks toward me with his back hunched, occasionally coughing. However, the malice oozing from his body soon transforms into a silent but furious storm.

A man short of stature dressed in a black overcoat, with the skill to control a black torrent—the Port Mafia’s Hellhound.

“You… You’re Ryuunosuke Akutagawa from the Port Mafia, aren’t you?”

“The one and only. I was sent here by the boss to dispose of the fool who trespassed on our turf. Where is he?”

“He’s not here. He ran away with his tail tucked between his legs.”

I point in the direction the driver ran, but my eyes remain locked on Akutagawa. I don’t look away—not even for a second. This man is the worst of the worst. Even the toughest criminals run away in tears when they hear Akutagawa’s despicable name. The Black-Fanged Hellhound, the Skill User of Destruction and Disaster, the Apostle of Calamity and Despair: There are too many aliases to count. This is my first time actually meeting him, but judging by what he did to the taxi, he’s even more dangerous than the rumors made him out to be.

So what’s my next move? It’s simple. His target is the kidnapper, and there’s no reason for me to risk my life to protect a kidnapper against someone this dangerous. All I need to do is back off.

“He’s a witness. I cannot allow you to kill him until he tells us where the other missing people are. If you want to go after him, you’re going to have to get past me first.”

“You’re willing to risk your life for a murderer? Just as I expected.”

Damn it. I can’t believe how stupid I can be. But as a member of the Armed Detective Agency, I cannot allow our witness to be helplessly killed by this scumbag.

Do what must be done. I mentally recite the phrase from my notebook. Akutagawa’s black overcoat wriggles. It’s as if a thousand specters gathered and meshed, taking form. It’s no longer a coat; part of it transforms into a claw, while another part begins to take the shape of a piercing fang.

“Ryuunosuke Akutagawa, the Port Mafia’s attack dog.”

“Doppo Kunikida, Armed Detective Agency.”

Akutagawa launches a shadowy blade in one explosive motion. It disperses into a black rain, heading right in my direction. I jump to the side. A few dark blades pierce my shirt while the others stab the wall behind me, leaving numerous holes. I jot down a word in my notebook and tear out the sheet before he can draw his blade to attack. The piece of paper instantly transforms into a wire gun. Squeezing the trigger, I shoot the hook…but moments before the iron-penetrating hook reaches him, it’s deflected by an invisible wall.

“What…?!”

I saw no signs of him moving to defend. Is this another one of his skills? Before I can even reel in my airborne hook, part of Akutagawa’s coat transforms into a shadowy beast. With a roar, it swings its head. It’s quick!

I twist away to dodge, but its fangs tear into my left shoulder. Blood spurts out of the wound, but I don’t have time to stop the bleeding. I step back while evading the beast’s relentless fangs. I have no chance to counter, let alone even get near the thing!

“Is running away the only thing you know how to do? You’re putting me to sleep,” he scoffs, still standing upright. A cold bead of sweat runs down my cheek. He’s strong.

Akutagawa speedily shoots his lethal shadowy blade at me from only a few feet away, giving me no chance to do anything other than dodge. To make matters worse, any projectile I throw at him is easily knocked aside. Even if I do hit him, he’s being protected by that mysterious force field. He has no openings.

I dodge the flurry of attacks until I land on a paved road, where a sudden unidentifiable chill eerily shoots down my spine.

A blade thrusts up from the pavement before shooting back into the air like a fountain of spears.

He was getting me to focus on the aerial attacks while he used another blade to pierce the ground! I try to turn my body and jump away, but the ground is uneven, and I’m too late. The pitch-black blade penetrates my side and exits through my back.

“Gah…!”

My vision blurs from the excruciating pain, and I helplessly fall to my knees. This isn’t good. The next attack is coming. If I stop moving for even a second, I’m dead…but there’s nothing I can do. The black fabric of Rashomon wraps around my neck, lifting me off the ground. It bends like a serpent’s neck, then catapults me into the nearby wall.

“Pathetic. I guess I shouldn’t have expected much from a detective agency that works for chump change. Don’t worry. It’ll all be over when I snap your head off.”

The black fabric tightens around my neck. I start to see red.

“There’s always someone—someone who wants…to get in the way of my work!”

As Akutagawa’s skill strangles me, I shoot my wire gun. My target isn’t Akutagawa, though. The airborne iron wire’s hook directly hits the water pipe running up the building next to him, showering him with water.

“What…?!”

He raises his arm to block, but the high-pressure stream fully drenches him and the ground around him.

“Fool. Do you really think a little water is going to scare me?”

I raise another sheet of paper in my left hand into the air with something else I wrote down while making the wire gun.

“The Matchless Poet: Stun Gun!”

I instantly turn on the handheld high-voltage stun gun before tossing it into the puddle of water. A flash of light shoots out, and sparks fly.

“Nnng—gaaah?!”

Using the water as a conductor, the submerged stun gun emits beams of violet and white light. A purple flash of lightning jolts through Akutagawa’s wet body like a boa constrictor wrapping around its prey. The flash shines as bright as the sun before eventually disappearing along with the hiss of steam and the crack of the ground splitting under it. Rashomon’s grip around my neck loosens, and I land on the pavement below. As I cradle my injured neck and side, I glare at Akutagawa. He’s on his knees as steam and white smoke rise from his body.

“Heh-heh… Ah-ha-ha-ha!”

Akutagawa’s shoulders shake as he laughs. He can still move after taking a shock like that?

“Looks like I was wrong about the Armed Detective Agency. Heh. This is wonderful. Truly wonderful.”

“…Come at me if you want to keep going. I still have plenty more paper left.” I force myself to my feet, then get back into stance with the wire gun.

“By all means, I would love the opportunity to see whether you have what it takes to kill me, but it seems we have guests.”

I follow Akutagawa’s gaze and see the city police approach with their sirens blazing. Somebody must have reported the gunshots.

“A pathetic traitor won’t be able to hide for long before we hunt him down. I will withdraw for today. We’ll continue this soon.” He coughs and turns his back to me. He leaves just like that, with the same nonchalance as if he was going home after a walk. Honestly speaking, continuing to fight and withdrawing probably aren’t too different from his point of view.

“I’d rather you not come back…”

I fall to my knees while watching him walk away. Akutagawa from the Port Mafia is just as— No, he’s even fiercer than the rumors say. No thanks on the rematch. For now, I just want to go home and sleep like the dead.

***

Unfortunately, this is no time for a nap. After a short break, I return to the agency to report what happened. In the company’s infirmary, I have my stomach wound temporarily patched up, then head to the office. That’s where I find Dazai sipping on some tea as if he was relaxing after a hard day’s work.

“Dazai, you caught the taxi driver, right?”

“Of course. I tied him right up and handed him off to the police. He was actually thrilled that the Mafia wouldn’t be able to assassinate him anymore.” I’m relieved. It appears Dazai isn’t as stupid as I originally thought. I was almost worried that he knew it was the Mafia attacking us and used chasing the kidnapper as an excuse to escape. Nevertheless, everything ended up working out, so I guess it was just a groundless fear.

“It looks like the taxi driver will be charged for the series of kidnappings. Case closed.”

I worked my fingers to the bone on this case, and in return, I get paid nothing. The military police will toss us a letter of thanks and a small gift as an expression of their gratitude, and that will be the end of it. Good grief.

“I don’t feel like working anymore. Let’s get today’s tasks over with and go out for a drink.”

“Your treat?” Dazai asks, beaming with joy.

“You’re a real piece of work. I’ll pay, but you better work your ass off tomorrow.”

I return to my desk and take care of my remaining duties. I skim through some documents that are being passed around, then make a few business calls. After that, I start recording the case’s details until inadvertently glancing at my work computer and noticing I got an e-mail. Paying little attention, I begin to follow the sentences with my eyes. After finishing the e- mail, I start over from the beginning.

“Dazai.”

The moment I call for him is the moment I realize I’ve been holding my breath.

“We’ll have to take a rain check on those drinks. We’ve got work to do.” “Whaaat? But I was all ready to drink. There’s a hole in my stomach shaped exactly like a cup of sake.”

“We got a job offer…from the anonymous client who lured us into the abandoned hospital.”

My throat is dry, and my tongue is stuck in place. The next words don’t want to come out.

“It’s a request to defuse a bomb. If we don’t find and defuse it by sundown tomorrow, over one hundred people will die.”

***

#Bungo Stray Dogs #Bungou Stray Dogs #BSD #Bungo Stray Dogs Light Novels #Light Novel #Light Novel Volume 1 #Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam #Armed Detective Agency #Port Mafia #Kafka Asagiri #Sango Harukawa

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glitterandmoondustofficial · 2 years

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Chapter 226: Packing

Characters: Ruby, Law, Ikkaku Rating: Teen Warnings: Kissing, sex mention Notes: I am simply ignoring that new admiral's powers thanks. Full story here.

~~~~~~

Ruby woke up with a start. She blinked a couple times before realizing she was in her bed, in her bedroom, on her submarine. She took a deep breath.

It had been some time since she had a nightmare like that.

She looked at the window and saw that the sun was rising in the distance. It was still pretty early. Far too early for her but she knew there was no way she’d be getting back to sleep now. She looked at Law, who shifted.

She sighed.

She curled up to him and he paused. She felt his finger tips brush against her skin. She tucked her head under his chin and hugged his chest, her way of telling him not to go. Not yet.

He sighed and began to stroke her shoulder softly. He gave in to her easily. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. They clung to each other in the early morning, as the sun rose in the distance. Ruby closed her eyes and listened to his breathing. Nothing would ever top the comfort he gave her while she was in his arms. It was a quiet morning spent holding on to one another.

Ruby brushed her lips against Law’s neck and it felt like she startled him. Ruby blinked and pulled away to look at his face.

“Why did that shock you?”

“Uh…” a small blush appeared in his nose.

“Did you fall back asleep?”

“I rested my eyes.”

Ruby cracked a smile. She leaned up and kissed his lips chastely. “I love you.” She kissed him again gently.

Law squeezed her for a moment. “I love you, too. I’m sorry that you had a nightmare.”

“I never said I had a nightmare.” He rolled his eyes at her. Ruby sighed. “Yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve had one.”

“It happens,” he said casually. “Don’t let it get to you.” He kissed her. He kissed her so sweetly, like he could when they were alone and safe. This was a kiss that caused her to fall in love with him all over again.

They pulled away and Ruby stared into his eyes. She kissed him chastely.

“Can we just do this all day?”

Law chuckled. “No, I need to get ready. Go ahead and relax until breakfast.”

“Noooo. Stay in bed with me,” she whined.

Law kissed her forehead. “Nope. I gotta be a captain.”

Ruby pouted but let him get out of bed. She watched him walk into the bathroom before sighing. She collapsed onto her back and let out a pitiful groan. She wanted to be lazy. She wanted to stay in bed and cuddle all day. It’s what she deserved. Instead she knew she needed to get out of bed and get ready for the day. She needed to eat and then clean and organize her things in her bedroom. Then she needed to pick out what she needed to take with her to Dressrosa and pack her things.

She groaned again.

Too much. It’s too early. She didn’t want to leave the sub. She was scared to go.

“What’s with all the whining and groaning? I’m letting you be lazy.” Law walked back into the bedroom with a huff. Ruby pouted at him sadly and he sighed. “You can always change your mind.”

“I will not.”

“Then knock off the pouting.”

He walked over to the dresser and started pulling out clothes. Ruby sat up and watched him get dressed. Her messy hair hung down her naked back as she watched her lover dress himself. She sighed.

“I’m gonna get up,” she said. “Might as well. I’m going to be busy anyway,” she grumbled.

Law didn’t respond. He pulled his shirt over his head and sighed. He turned to look at her with an unreadable look in his eyes. He stared at her silently for a moment before walking over to her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead slowly. Ruby closed her eyes and savored the feeling of his lips on her skin. Ruby let out a slow breath.

“I love you, beautiful.” Ruby’s eyes shot open and she blushed bright red. She collapsed onto her side and grabbed a pillow to cover her face, her face growing hotter with Law’s laugh. “I knew that’s the reaction I’d get out of you.”

“Rude,” she squeaked. “You’re absolutely rude.”

He chuckled, so very proud of himself. “Yes, I know. I’m going to go start a pot of coffee if Clione hasn’t already. Take your time getting ready. If he hasn’t decided on breakfast yet would you like me to ask for pain perdu?”

Ruby nodded behind her pillow. “Yes, please.” She pulled the pillow down so she could look at him. He grinned down at her. She huffed. “I love you, too.”

He chuckled, ruffled her hair, and left her.

Ruby stared at the spot where he had stood in silence before groaning very dramatically. She laid on her back and groaned even louder. She took a deep breath and sat up. She swung her legs around the side of the bed and felt the cold floor with her toes. She stood up and stretched. She huffed and started to crack her fingers, thinking to herself about what she wanted to wear for the day.

She wasn’t in the mood for a show, not if she was just staying on the sub and mostly in her bedroom. She was soon going to have to live on an island where she would be around people often and probably even have to get a job. Ruby made a face thinking about having to actually work again. Like waitressing. Ugh.

Whatever. She needed to get ready.

After brushing her teeth and hair she put on jeans and a tank top along with some sandals. She threw her hair in a bun and didn’t bother with makeup, especially since she didn’t feel like having smudged eyeliner if someone made her cry again.

She started towards the cafeteria thinking about how she absolutely did not feel like cleaning and organizing even though that was her whole goal for the day. She wanted to play with flowers! She wanted to eat fruit and hang out with Ikkaku! She didn’t want to be a responsible adult who follows through with her decisions!

She sighed and then she realized she had made it to the cafeteria. She could smell the coffee brewing. A couple crew mates were in the kitchen but otherwise everyone was either still asleep or getting ready. Clione and Law were always the first ones awake so it made sense that there wouldn’t be anyone else in the room. Most of the crew woke up to the smell of breakfast.

Ruby just liked sleeping.

She stepped into the room lightly. She walked towards the kitchen. She saw Law staring at the coffee pot, probably willing it to go faster, and she saw Clione whipping together eggs.

“Mornin’,” Clione said. “Cap said to make you some pain perdu?”

“Yes, please.” She smiled at him. “With-”

“With cinnamon and whipped cream. I know. I am your cook.”

Ruby’s soft smile turned into a wide grin. “Thanks, Clione.” Ruby turned to her captain who hadn’t acknowledged that she was in the room. Ruby immediately walked up behind him and hugged him from behind.

“Nope. If y’all are going to be cute you gotta get out of my kitchen,” Clione scolded her, giving her an annoyed look.

“I am the victim here,” Law said. “I was assaulted.”

Ruby scoffed. “Oh, shut up.” She pulled away from Law.

The coffee maker beeped and she heard a very quiet “thank god” from Law. She chuckled and stood patiently, waiting for her to turn to get coffee. She bounced silently, watching Law pour himself a cup and then drinking it immediately.

He turned and raised his brow at her. She grinned at him. She walked to the cupboard and grabbed her mug before pouring herself some coffee. She added her cream and sugar before sipping contentedly.

Ruby walked out of the kitchen with Law following her. They sat across from each other at a table. Law grabbed her free hand and rubbed it with his thumb. Ruby squeezed his hand gently, happily enjoying their morning coffee together before the rest of the crew woke up.

Soon enough there were footsteps and chatter growing louder as the crew shuffled into the cafeteria. Law released Ruby’s hand and placed it on his leg. Ruby closed her hand slowly. She sighed and stood up to get food before the crowd. She quickly piled the food onto her plate and sat back down at the table.

The crew filed into the kitchen with boisterous conversations. Everyone seemed so carefree and happy. It made Ruby smile but it also made her heart ache. She would miss the simple mornings on The Tang; all the cheer and joy from coffee and food.

As Ruby and Law ate in silence she felt arms wrap around her neck.

“Morning!” Ikkaku said happily. “Why are you being so quiet?”

“The food is really good,” Ruby lied. “I’m enjoying myself!”

“You and your eggy toast,” Ikkaku laughed. “Hold on, let me get mine and we’ll hang out.”

Ruby smiled as Ikkaku walked towards the kitchen. She watched Ikkaku for a moment before noticing an aggressive plop in front of her. Ruby looked in front of her and saw Jun giving her a hard look. Ruby swallowed and cleared her throat.

Ikkaku came back and sat down by Ruby. “What are your plans today, Rube?” She asked

“Oh, I’m cleaning and organizing all my stuff today. Starting packing and all that.”

“Ahhh,” Ikkaku nodded. “Have you already gotten your greenhouse ready?”

“Yep. Everything is clean and ready for Jean Bart. I made care sheets and everything.”

“Wow! How studious!” Ikkaku exclaimed, impressed.

“Y-yeah. I wanted to make sure everything is taken care of. There will be a steady flow of easy food to eat like sweet potatoes and beans. Hopefully it’ll be enough for everyone.”

“Everyone was able to somehow survive without your crop before,” Law said neutrally. “I’m sure we won’t get malnourished while you’re gone.”

“Ah, that’s true.” Ruby nodded and took a bite of bacon.

“Still,” Ikkaku shot Law a look and he looked nervous. “I’m gonna miss your food. The berries and cream I won’t be able to have.” She sighed dramatically.

“You can buy berries that are just as good,” Jun spoke up for the first time.

“But I want Ruby’s berries.” Ikkaku gave Jun the same look she gave Law.

Ruby smiled and laid her head on Ikkaku’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

Ikkaku rubbed Ruby’s knee. “You’re welcome.”

The four of them dissolved into silence as they ate their meals. Ruby happily ate her amazing breakfast that was technically made special for her. She ate until she was full and then stretched in her spot. She looked down when she felt Ikkaku pull her tank top down over her stomach after it had lifted up as she stretched.

“Tummy.” Ikkaku smiled at her.

“Yeah.” Ruby rubbed her stomach. “What are you doing today?”

“Why?”

“Yeah,” Law said suspiciously. “Why?”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Because I want you to hang out with me while I clean up and pack.”

“Oh, then nothing important.”

Law huffed at the two of them but they ignored him as they grinned at each other.

Breakfast had finished up and dish duty was assigned. Everyone went to their duties, Jun not glancing at Ruby as she left the cafeteria.

Ruby sighed.

“You two better not goof off.” She heard a grumpy voice from behind her. She turned and grinned at her captain. Ikkaku had done the same. Law rolled his eyes. “Just get out of here before I make you do actual work.”

“Thanks!” Ikkaku said and grabbed Ruby’s hand to drag her away.

Ruby blew Law a kiss and he gave her a disgusted face, making her cackle as Ikkaku dragged her away.

Ruby and Ikkaku made it to her bedroom and walked in. Ruby let out a sigh and kicked off her sandals. She placed her hands on her hips and started thinking about where to start.

“So, cleaning, organizing, and packing?” Ikkaku asked.

“Yep.” Ruby walked over to the bed. She quickly made the bed that she forgot to make when she got ready for the day.

Ikkaku took off her shoes and jumped on the bed when Ruby was done making it. “Where do we start?”

“Hmmm,” Ruby hummed. “Let’s start with the closet.” Ruby immediately walked to the closet and started pulling out all of her clothes. “I got rid of a lot during my foot recovery but I bought more and Law doesn’t stop me even though he likes to pretend he does.” She walked over with an armful of clothes and threw them on the bed.

“Maybe you shouldn’t spend so much money on clothes,” Ikkaku suggested.

“What else would I spend it on?”

“You could save it. That way you’ll be able to buy the house you want.”

“Oh, hm, well maybe. We’ll see.”

Ruby sat on the bed and looked at the dress on top. She fingered the velvet fabric. She picked it up and stared at it.

“Well?” Ikkaku prompted.

“Donate,” Ruby said. “Law hates this dress and I only wore it once.”

“Why does he hate it?”

“The texture of the fabric.”

“He doesn’t like velvet? What?!”

“I know! So sad!” Ruby set aside the dress. She sighed. “Well, it’s not like it hurts me to not get velvet.” She shrugged.

“You’re so nice to him. He hardly deserves it.”

“Right?!”

They giggled.

Ruby started to put clothes into different piles. Her “donate” pile was getting rather large. Maybe Ikkaku was right; maybe she needed to stop buying so many clothes.

Ruby was pulling out clothes from her dresser when Ikkaku sighed.

“Will you buy me a souvenir?” She asked lazily.

“Sure. Is there anything you want?”

“Hmm. I dunno. I don’t know anything about Dressrosa.”

“Apparently,” Ruby started and started to throw pants into the bed. “It’s a city of passionate women.”

“Ooooo, sexy.”

“Mmhmm. It’s also supposed to have great food, too, but that’s all I really know. I mean, that’s why I’m going there. We don’t really know much about Dressrosa.” She looked at Ikkaku. “If I see anything you’d like, I’ll get it for you.”

Ikkaku smiled at her. “Thanks.” Ikkaku picked up two pairs of skinny jeans. “Ruby, these are the same pair of jeans.”

“What? No they’re not!”

“They’re the exact same size, brand, hem, and color.”

Ruby stared at Ikkaku. “D-donate…”

Ikkaku barked out laughter and threw one of the pairs into the “donate” pile. “You know, you’ll need to get rid of some bustiers.”

Ruby gasped like she was offended. “It’s my thing, though. Lace, leather, it’s all me, baby!”

“Ruby, your thing is heels. Your epithet is “Stiletto Ruby.” Emphasis on “Stiletto.””

Ruby grinned. “Yeah, I guess.” She smiled as she pulled out more clothes. “After this I gotta go through jewelry. Then beauty products.”

“By that time it’ll be dinner.”

“Probably. I think it’s already lunch time now, actually.”

“It is.” They heard a flat voice from behind them. They both turned and saw Law staring at them annoyed. “You’re supposed to be cleaning and organizing. This is a mess.”

“It’s part of the process. Don’t worry, this’ll be cleaned up by bedtime.”

Law made a disapproving noise. “I came to get you two for lunch. You need to eat.”

“Yes, Captain,” Ikkaku sang. “What’s for lunch?”

“Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.”

“Oh, that sounds awesome,” Ruby said and threw the clothes she had in her hands onto the bed. “Let’s go, Ikkaku. You know how quickly soup goes on this sub!”

The three of them walked to the kitchen together. They grabbed their bowls of soup and Clione made grilled cheese for Ikkaku and Ruby. Ruby and Ikkaku decided to eat on deck to get some fresh air. Law stated he wanted some peace and quiet and no giggling girls to disturb his meal so Ruby and Ikkaku giggled and left him to brood alone.

They sat on deck, on Ruby’s sun chair, eating their meals. They talked about nothing, just enjoying their lunch together. Ruby enjoyed the nice weather that they were graced with since they were still on the Grand Line and they all knew that the weather could change at any second.

They finished their meals and Ruby wanted to take a nap. She wouldn’t, of course. She still had so much to do before bedtime. Instead, she and Ikkaku took their dishes back into the kitchen for washing. They walked back into the captain’s quarters and got back to work.

After Ruby successfully separated out her clothes and shoes they moved on to Ruby’s beauty products. Ikkaku stood in the bathroom holding an open trash bag as Ruby evaluated what she wanted to keep and what needed to be tossed.

“You seem to be throwing away a lot of this stuff,” Ikkaku said. Ruby stared at a mostly used up eyeshadow pallet. She tossed it into the trash bag. “Those looked like colors you used often.”

“I did,” Ruby said. “But it’s expired. You’re really only supposed to keep them a year at most. I’ve had that one for almost two.”

“Gross?” Ikkaku made a face and Ruby snorted. “I didn’t even know makeup had expiration dates.”

“Yep.” Ruby tossed an old tube of concealer into the trash. “Plus, you know, I can probably buy more in Dressrosa. I’m sure they have what I need.” Ruby opened her makeup box where she kept all of her lipstick.

“That’s so many!” Ikkaku exclaimed. “Ruby, oh my god, you really should stop spending so much on stuff like this.”

Ruby pouted at her. “Law says the same thing. It’s why he’s stopped giving me his wallet.”

“I’m kinda on his side on this one. How many of those are the same shade?”

“Don’t worry about it.” She dumped out all of the lipstick onto the counter.

She started to throw away all of the old and almost depleted ones. She threw away duplicates that she had bought without thinking about it. She threw away shades that she never wore or ones that were too similar. In the end she started with about 50 different lipsticks and ended up with 10.

“Even that seems like too many,” Ikkaku said. “But I guess it’s definitely an improvement.”

“I mostly kept the kind that doesn’t smudge or bleed. I didn’t even keep lip gloss because it just rubs off too easily and my hair gets caught in it.”

“Okay, what’s next?”

Ruby moved on to facial creams and then perfume and body spray. She threw away most of the cheap items, unless it was something she absolutely loved. She also kept anything that Law or Ikkaku had bought her. After she cleaned out those items she got rid of soaps and sponges she no longer needed.

She eventually moved on to nail polish, which was even worse than the lipstick. Ruby looked all around the room for her nail polish. Most of it was in its own makeup box but there was some on dresser, the bookshelf, in the nightstand, and even in Law’s desk.

Ruby gave Ikkaku a nervous grin at the flat look on her face.

They ended up needing two trash bags to fit all of Ruby’s unneeded beauty products.

By dinner time Ruby had finished throwing away and organizing everything. She was sweeping the floor when Jean Bart appeared, stating it was dinner time.

Ruby and Ikkaku happily made their way to the cafeteria where a very special dinner of steak and asparagus was made. Dinner was filled with loud conversation and laughter. Everyone was excited about the dinner that the captain had bought for them as a surprise when they were in town last. Of course, the asparagus was from Ruby and was nicely roasted with rosemary and thyme. There was even dessert, which were cream cheese pastries .

Ruby said goodnight to Ikkaku and they went their separate ways. Ruby walked into her room and suddenly felt gross. She had been working hard all day in her room and felt sweaty and covered in dust. She started to take off her clothes and throw them in the hamper. Law walked in and raised his brow at her.

She simply grinned at him and invited him to take a shower with her.

Law washed her thoroughly with many kisses and Ruby made sure to scrub his back in all the places he couldn’t reach.

Law was sitting on the bed while Ruby started to pick out what she needed to take for her trip to Dressrosa.

Ruby quietly packed up what she could into two suitcases. It was a stark difference, she realized, from when she first walked onto her sub. She only had a small duffel bag and a makeup kit then. Now, however, she had so much more than could fit into a suitcase. She gripped the closet door and looked at her shoe rack. She sighed, staring at her heels, wondering if it would be wise to bring heels. She wondered if she was known well enough that she would be recognized. It felt silly, but she wasn’t sure.

She took a deep breath and pulled out a dress that Law had bought her. She stared at the fabric, thinking back to when he had bought this for her in an attempt to cheer her up after her foot surgeries. She walked over to the bed and laid the dress on it quietly. Law watched her every move, a thick tension shared between them. Neither of them wanted her to go to Dressrosa. She could see guilt etched in his features, but she had already told him that she’d do whatever she could to help. And if going to Dressrosa helped, she would do it a thousand times.

Law fingered her dress, a thoughtful look on his face. He looked as if he had something to say, and was chewing through the words. He started to fold the dress silently, caressing the fabric like it was sacred. He had already apologized, he had already thanked her; she supposed there was nothing else to say.

“I’m going to miss you,” is what he said after some silence. He placed the folded dress in her suitcase and Ruby looked over to him.

“You’ll barely notice that I’m gone,” she joked.

“You’re too loud to not notice.”

She smiled softly at him. He walked over to her and hugged her, holding her close. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, both of their anxiety melding into each other’s. They were both worried for each other’s safety. They both didn’t want to be apart.

But Ruby knew her role. She knew that this was important to Law, and she’d be damned if she hindered it. She wanted him to be happy, their relationship could only do so much when he carried such a heavy heart. He needed this, and she understood why.

She pulled away and took his face in her hands. She kissed him softly and then smiled at him. “I love you, mo chuisle.”

“I love you, too,” he said quietly. He kissed her forehead before walking back over to the bed and sitting down.

He watched her pack. She prepared her clothes, shoes, two purses, and some makeup. She put in her facial creams and soaps. She even packed some books to keep her entertained for a short amount of time.

She zipped up her two suitcases and set aside her makeup bag. She prepared her outfit for the following day and set it on the table in the room. She sighed and turned to Law, who had been watching her silently the entire time.

She walked over and sat next to him on the bed. They held hands and stared at the suitcases in the corner. They squeezed their hands together tightly, as if clinging to each other for dear life.

Ruby took a deep breath and looked at Law. She reached for his face and caressed his cheek. He stared at her before closing his eyes and leaning into her hand.

Neither of them seemed to know what to say anymore.

Ruby was scared she would start crying.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Law wrapped his arms around her waist and took a deep breath. They embraced for long moments, breathing each other in. Ruby closed her eyes when tears began to form. Oh, she would miss him so dearly. How could she go without her love for so long?

She didn’t even know how long she would be without him.

“We’re pathetic,” Law croaked.

“Yeah,” Ruby chuckled sadly. She pulled away from him and saw his red tinged eyes. “I love you so much,” her voice cracked. “I love you more than I could ever describe.”

“I-I love you, too.” He stared at her and swallowed before kissing her softly. “I guess I've been in denial, but I can’t believe you’re actually going to leave.”

Ruby sighed. “I know, my love. But this will be good for us. This will work out for us. We’ll come back home and just be lazy. We can sail on the sea doing nothing but eating good foods and having great sex.”

He cracked a smile at her. “Yeah. Whatever you want.” He leaned in and kissed her brow. “Let’s get in bed. I’ll hold onto you.”

Ruby smiled at him. “I’m always down for cuddles.”

They climbed into bed. They laid in the middle of their king sized bed and Law held onto her. Her back was flush against his chest and their legs were tangled together. Law would place gentle kisses on every inch of skin he could.

Ruby closed her eyes and relished the feeling of being in his arms.

Soon this would only be in her memories. Soon she would be alone and unkissed.

She would savor her moments like this because if things didn’t go right, this would be the last time she would ever be this happy.

#op fanfic #one piece #trafalgar law #law x oc #lawxoc #one piece fanfiction #side to side #ikkaku #sela ruby #ruby sela #listen i am absolutely going to ignore the new admiral's fruit until I can figure something out #but let's be real #it's the man that's wrong not ruby

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