#the reason i was late to my 4pm class today | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

afreakingdork · 1 year

Text

Crush Too Much - Part 2

RotTMNT Donatello x GN!Reader

Warnings: Light Angst, Fluff, Embarrassment, Overbearing Siblings, Aged-up Turtles

Synopsis: So you met a customer three times at work and that made a pretty big impression on you? That’s nothing to necessarily get worked up over, but when you’re all prepared to ask for his number the next time you see him and his brother gets involved instead, you might be in for something more than you bargained for.

FIRST

A/N: Hey, guess what? I did it again. Totally not on purpose, but this is a second chapter in my donniexreader where Donnie is not present. I’m a monster, I know. Anyway, I SWEAR he’s in part 3. It’s called build-up, trust me. Plus it'll be a long one. Hang in there!

Closing up was usually an oddly cathartic experience, but after your previous encounter you couldn’t help but replay the events of the evening over and over. It was during one of these rehashings that you realized Leo was presumptively announced he was coming to meet you here tomorrow. Thankfully you indeed had another shift, but did he even know what time? Your frustrations with yourself misplaced, you cursed his intuitiveness. It was like he knew exactly what was going to happen and was just playing out the steps. The grudge took your through the end of your shift and you bid farewell to the cook as he locked up. Welcoming the non-grease soaked crisp air of late autumn you pulled your jacket tight around you. You decided you’d wasted enough time worrying about everything today and would let tomorrow pick-up where agonizing left off.

A morning class and an afternoon shift preoccupied the forefront of your conscious thoughts, but there was a nagging sense of stand-by as many seemingly human and certainly not blue themed customers filled through. On one hand the waiting was driving you insane, but on the other you wouldn’t have had time to talk to Leo which would have been its own form of torture. It left you in a dull pizza slinging rock and hard place that went right to your 4pm clock out. He hadn’t shown. As you headed into the back to grab your backpack, a new form of irritation built up bitterness in your throat. You had been so concerned with the strange meeting and second convergence that it never occurred to you that he could have been playing you all along. Folding up your apron and harshly shoving it into a side pocket of your bag, you pictured a Leo, dripping with charismatic venom, retelling your tale to his purple themed brother. You didn’t have the heart to picture what his response was, but you had gleaned enough from your run in with Leo to paint a menacing portrait. You wondered if the two of them would come in and snicker at your picking up their order next week. Shouldering your bag, it also dawned on you that they may stop coming all together. There’s a million pizza places in New York and no reason to keep going to the one where the creepy employee has decided they like you after a few chance encounters.

The anger fizzled out into a deep ache as you emerged from the back on the restaurant. This was exactly why you hadn’t wanted to talk about it prematurely. It hadn’t had time to grow into anything substantial to justify conversation. You had just been caught up of the euphoria of puppy love. It was the definition of shallow attachment. With your head down you would have let these thoughts carry you home until a voice broke through.

“Hellooooo! Y/N! Over here!” That sing-song tone was identical to last night.

A flicker of hope sparked in your chest as you looked up to find Leo reclined at a table with his feet up and the chair tipped back at a dangerous angle. He continued to wave as you approached.

“Well this is a nice change of pace.” He swung his legs off the table and the chair made a loud clack as all four of its legs met with the ground once more. “You look surprised to see me this time. If you’re keeping track, and you should, awe is one of my preferred emotions to be graced with.”

You feigned a gag at him as you sat down. He chuckled at the reaction and folded his hands under his chin. It gave him the appearance of an all-knowing mob boss. You looked away to put your bag beside your seat. “How did you know when I was going to get off?”

He shrugged, but there was that smarmy smile on his face that said there was more to it.

Frustratingly, you were still nowhere near ready to take him on. “How was your work then?”

“Oh, same ole’, same ole’. Missions, patrol, reconnaissance, training…” He counted off the items on what you realized was a three-fingered hand. The thought was trumped by his phrasing which reinforced the earlier Mafioso image.

“Can I even ask what you do?” You gave him a tired sweep and it wasn’t just because you’d been up since 7am.

His dismissive smile and half-lidded gaze told you that was off the table. Instead, he cocked his head to the side atop his hand perch. “Let’s cut to the chase. I’ve given it some thought and you want my bro’s number, but what are you planning to do after that?”

You perked up at the question. Everything had happened so simultaneously fast and slow, you hadn’t even thought that far ahead. Your lips parted slightly, but closed as you couldn’t come up with a response quick enough.

Leo nodded thoughtfully. “Would you say you have a crush on him?”

“A crush?” You parroted the phrase back unconsciously.

“Based on what you told me yesterday, I doubt you could say you like him substantially. You don’t even know his name.”

You didn’t mean the slight wince that twitched across your brow. He wasn’t saying it with malice, but it made you feel guilty about your intentions even if you didn’t know what they were. The superficial sentiments you’d had right before this second meeting floated back to you. You wondered if Leo had conferred with his brother and found out he wasn’t interested. Maybe this thought exercise was a way to dissuade you. You looked down at the worn table and picked at a scratch mark. “You’re right.”

“About…?” There was a melodic note again.

“I haven’t thought it through. I don’t know if it’s a crush. I don’t…” You paused and took a deep breath to calculate your next sentence. You chanced a glance back up at Leo who watched you patiently with a clear gaze. It made you want to gamble on honesty with him again. “All I know is there is something about your brother that draws me to him. I’d like to find out what that is.” The stoicism you had projected when saying the sentence immediately buckled under the weight of the embarrassment from its content. You would have sunk down into an amorphous blob in your seat if you could.

Across from you, however, Leo smiled so brightly and with such authenticity that it blinded you from your own anxieties. “That’s what I was hoping to hear.” His eyes closed as he placed both his hands on the table with purpose. You watched with mild astonishment as he stood up causing his chair to give a commanding screech. He kept his hands planted firmly and opened his eyes to stare down at you with purpose. “I’ll set you up with another chance, but in return you have to do something for ole’ Leon. How does that sound?”

He was so unbelievably precocious. A million thoughts ran through your mind, but you certainly weren’t going to let him get away with a full tilt manipulation of the conversation again. You held you hands up in front of you and waved them for a time out. “Wait, wait, wait…”

“Hey, don’t blame me if the deal doesn’t last long-“

“You were hoping I wouldn’t know how I felt about your brother?”

He blinked and you relished in the fact that for once you hadn’t finally caught him off guard. He sat back down methodically in a means that read to you as cover up for the slight crack in his façade. “If you really want to know, it says a ton about you. You’re honest. You’re cautious. You’re not stubborn. There were a lot of things you could have said and nothing was necessarily a right answer, but what you chose was pleasantly telling.”

It wasn’t that you were flattered, but something about what he said did make you feel better. It gave you enough of a boost to ask your next question that you weren’t sure how he would handle. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I kind of got the vibe you were acting as a protective brother, but you want a favor out of it?”

“Hey, I can look out for him and me at the same time.” Leo gave a flourish as he threw his hands up in a shrug.

That made a ton of sense coming from him. There was really only one last question you had left. “So… It’s Leon now?”

His eyes seemed to shine at the mention of his name. It made the corner of your mouth upturn after he had tried to nag you for the same thing yesterday. “You can think of it like a game of H-O-R-S-E. I’ll slowly reveal my name one letter at a time!” As he spoke you could tell he was falling in love with the idea.

“Ok” You chuckled out, shaking your head. He was simultaneously incomprehensible and as easy to please as a child. “But what do you want? Like a favor?”

“Good question.” He kicked back, tilting his chair once again. “You reek of poor college student and I was kinda hoping for a good negotiation.”

“You want me to barter with you so I can get your brother's number?” You already knew those were the terms, but you thought if you repeated it back to him he might realize how incredulous it sounded.

“Pretty much!” A hand shot up in the air and he spun it at the wrist for you to commence the bidding.

“Uh…” It felt like you were put on the spot so you scanned the table as you rooted through a mental folder of what you had to offer. Seeing the choices laid out, something occurred to you. “Other than pizza and yourself, I have no idea what you like.”

The mention of his ego caused a bark of laughter to burst from him. “Ah, I wasn’t sure, but the more we talk I see you’ve got some wits about you. That’ll help, for sure.”

The way he said it made you remember what you were doing all this for. You turned your head to look out the window to partially hide your smile. The quiet that followed from across the table meant you hadn’t done a good job, but at this point you didn’t really care.

“While I would love to list my many incredible hobbies and interests, I guess I won’t bombard you with the details.” You felt him shuffle in his seat through the table. “Free pizza?”

“I wish.” You turned back to him with a mildly haunted look. “I’m lucky if I get the leftovers at the end of the night. The pizza brothers really pride themselves on quality and no free hand outs.”

He matched gape and folded slightly into himself with resentment mumbling something that you could have swore was about not getting free pizza for saving the world. As far as you knew, this family sure loved telling outrageous tales. You were about to mention it when something about the repeated mention of 'free' jogged your memory. “Wait, I think I might have an idea you’ll like.”

“Go on?” Leo leaned forward with tempered excitement.

“I have a friend who’s having a few of her pieces shown at a local gallery. I don’t know how you feel about art, but the openings are always schmoozy with free cheese plates and stuff!”

Leo’s eyes closed as he digested the information. You watched his mouth crinkle and could tell he was imaging some elaborate scenario where he was the star of the party. When his eyes popped back open, you knew it was in the bag. “Eh, depends on the art, but I love a good schmooze and especially free food. You’ve got yourself a deal, Y/N!” He reached a hand out across the table and you shook it confidently.

“So-“

“Give me your phone for a second.”

You blinked, your hand slowed as your parted the shake. “What?”

“Your phone, I need your number so you can tell me when the opening is and I can tell you if anything changes on my end.” His hand stayed in place, but turned into an awaiting palm. Mechanically you unearthed your device from your backpack and deposited it into the waiting green appendage. He thumbed through the phone with impressive speed and handed it back to you. “Welp, duty calls!”

“You’re just running off again? Well-When?” He stood and you mirrored him, desperately taking an extra action to grab your bag as he made it one step closer to the door. “Couldn’t you just give me his number?”

That gave him pause as his finger tips made content with the door’s metal frame. “That ain’t it, compadre.”

“That… what?” You wondered how long it would be until he couldn’t throw you off with just a simple change of word choice.

Leo turned and walked back over to you with a seriousness hanging overhead. “Look, this is fun and all, but it isn’t actually a game. I am looking out for my brother, but there’s no way I would actually bet him. All I’m doing is creating a chance for you to ask him for his number. If he says no, then that’s what happens. His feelings are his own.”

You shrank slightly under the gravity of his aura, but your mental approval of Leo ticked up several notches. “O-of course.” You squawked, flustered that you might have ruined your chance by misspeaking. Thankfully, whatever sincerity you had internally must have telegraphed across your face between Leo softened with a nod.

“Just keep it in mind.” He shrugged a shoulder at you that read you could calm down and he made for the door once more. It opened with that all familiar bell and you watched as he tossed one last thing to you. “Make sure you’re on schedule for next week’s Hamato family pick-up!” He disappeared onto the street and your bag sagged in your finger tips. A small smile played on your lips as you shouldered a strap and followed suit.

#rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt x reader #donatello hamato #donnie x reader #rise donnie #rise leo #rise donnie x reader #Leonardo Hamato #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt donnie #cartoons #fanfiction #my fanfiction #crushtoomuchfic #me

489 notes · View notes

fairykukla · 1 year

Text

It's been a wild ride.

My partner wasn't feeling well this weekend, but it's always hard to figure out if it's just recovery from the 12 hour overnight shift or something else.

We had a party planned for Sunday, so we worked on getting the house ready on Saturday. My oldest and dearest friend was in town and cheerfully offered to help out.

We busted ass cleaning and detailing the house, then he and I had a nap. He got up to go have dinner with our friend, and I napped some more and got my baking done for the party.

He got home around 11pm, stumbled through the house, and swore at me for a weird reason. (This is completely out of character.) He complained about heartburn, and didn't want to lie down. (Also atypical.)

He settled on the couch, then sprinted for the bathroom to puke.

I contacted my friend because I was concerned about exposure (if flu) or food poisoning (if from shared dinner.)

She's a doctor. She asked a couple of questions, and said, "He didn't look great earlier, either. I'm going to come see what's going on."

She persuaded him to go to the ER. She and I decided that I would stay home and sleep, and she would crack the whip over the ER docs to get to the bottom of things.

My partner's guts are trying to kill him, apparently. Gallstones and mystery spot on a kidney. The ER released him and he came home Sunday morning. We decided that I would host the party while he and my friend slept after being in the ER all night.

He got up at one point, said hi to everyone and had some food.

My friend stayed over Sunday night and on Monday morning insisted that we do immediate follow up. She did some research and figured out where to take him, and drove him to a local hospital where he could get a private room if necessary. I went to work because I couldn't cancel my classes.

At 4pm after my last class, I get a call. He's got a gallstone lodged in the "neck" of the gallbladder, it needs to come out pronto.

I head over there, and they worked him into the OR rotation by 7pm.

My GB surgery in 2021 was complicated and long. His was complicated and short. They had to cut him open to get it out. It was gangrenous. (EEEEWWWW)

My friend was his personal hospitalist the whole time. He's set up with a private room, but they're going to keep him for 3-4 days to recover. This could have killed him. We might not have bothered going to the hospital, or not until it was too late. I'm intensely grateful for her help and support. She delayed her flight home, but I'm taking her to the airport later today.

I have 4 more days to work this week, but I might have to take off once he comes home. I needed solid support for the first few days, so I assume he will, too.

#2023 #my life #this might as well happen #gallbladder #surgery #hospital #medical #my partner

11 notes · View notes

gracefullygrotesque · 1 year

Text

April 26, 2023 - Birthday Boy

Song of The Day : Sulfur by Slipknot

Hello all.

I hope everyone is having a good day. I'm having an alright one. I woke up pretty late today because my only class of the day was cancelled. That's a good thing. I got lunch with some of my friends, which was nice.

I might need to buy new nicotine soon. I've been relying on one I've had for like three weeks now and it's getting gross. Do not start vaping, whatever you do. If you don't already, that is. It's a very taxing burden. Socially, financially, mentally, and healthily. I've been addicted to nicotine for around a year and a half now and I regret it so much. Plus, almost all my friends smoke too so it's not like I can escape it. Sigh.

It was the boy I love's birthday this week. Well, he isn't explicitly aware that I love him yet, but I think he may feel it. Boys are dumb so I'm not very sure if he does. We've been a "situationship" for almost three months now and it has been pure bliss. I've had very poor relationships in the last year, so he has been a great change of pace. He's so easy. Not in the "easy-get-in-your-pants" way but in the "I-can-be-myself-around-him-without-worry" way. I don't want to describe his appearance in the circumstance he has tumblr and is also a blogger, leading him to see these blogs and piece things together, think I'm crazy, and never speak to me again. So I will not. Just trust me when I say he is the most beautiful boy. I still get butterflies whenever I see him, despite us having an ongoing sexual relationship and him sleeping over at my place on weekends. (My favorite time of the week for that reason alone). He makes me laugh from the depths of my soul. He holds me so soft and secure it makes me feel like I will never feel despair ever again.

But I got distracted. I tend to do that a lot, sorry. Back to his birthday. I got him very thoughtful gifts, and he loved them. I'm not a very good gift giver, as I never know what to get anyone. I think the people I love are worthy of expensive and valuable gifts, but I am broke so I cannot afford to drop as much money as I want on gifts for my loved ones. I did well with his though. I spent roughly 15 dollars on everything, as I bought his main gift with a gift card. But the most important part of the gift was the card I wrote him, and it was the most important to him too. He told me that he almost cried after reading it in front of me, and that confirmed what I had already believed. I saw the tears welled up in his eyes but I didn't say anything. He's read it multiple times since then. I hope I made it clear how much I appreciate him. When he was expressing his gratitude, he almost told me he loved me. I heard it. I felt it. I wanted him to, but I think he's scared. He shouldn't be, but I can't force something that he's not ready for. I love him so much. I hope he can't see this.

I'm probably going to invite him over later, just because I miss him. I have a workshop to attend at 4pm which is in around 2 hours, but after that I'm free for the rest of the day. I need to get started on my final projects though. Maybe I'll let him nap on my bed while I get a move on at my desk. Just to have him near. I wish I had some clementines to peel for him.

Thanks for reading, I hope you have a great rest of your day :)

Gajé

1 note · View note

yyxgin · 3 years

Text

7 days (lee minho)

pairing: lee minho x gn reader genre: fluff, best friends to lovers au, college au word count: 3.7 k warnings: swearing, mention of alcohol in like one sentence listen to: 7 days - nct dream requested by: anon

synopsis: you confess your love to your best friend for a whole week before he finally takes it seriously.

THINGS YOU SAID MASTERLIST 28) things you said in the dark

MONDAY

Lee Minho is your best friend. Now, Lee Felix would disagree and say you’re in love with him, and your roommate might be right, but you’ll never actually admit it to him. You managed to hide your feelings for the older boy for far too long now and you’re not just going to lose your streak for nothing, right?

Wrong.

Well, it’s not your fault that you have to break the little promise you gave to yourself. It’s all on Lee Felix and his pathetic bet. You should have known better than to make bets with a short Australian boy, but you guess even your brain has its dark moments and this was surely one of them.

“I bet you’ll forget to take out the things from the dishwasher before I come back from my afternoon class,” he prompts to say while putting on his shoes in the hall, glaring at you after a small argument you two had over who is the dirtier one in your apartment (it’s obviously Felix. He just can’t stand the truth).

“Oh yeah? What are we betting on, then?” you mock him, pouting in annoyance.

“If I come back and the dishwasher is still full, you’ll have to confess to Minho. No excuses.” he spits at you, putting on his coat and taking his backpack from the floor, looking like an angry cat.

You snort at his comment. “As if,” you roll your eyes, “okay, deal. And if I don’t forget and you lose this bet, you’ll have to clean for the whole year alone. I’m not helping in the slightest.” you bark at him, watching him open the door and snickering at your proposal.

“Right. Okay,” he nods his head, getting out of your shared apartment, “deal.”

Now, this was a huge deal for you. It was important for you to win this bet, because, well, you hate cleaning. And on top of that, you can’t just confess to your best friend out of the blue, right? That would be horrible. Everyone would have thought you paid much attention to your task and that you actually did what you had to do-- take the dishes out of the dishwasher for once. It was easy!

Well… you see… Friends were on the TV.

Isn’t that enough of a reasoning for you forgetting? No?

Okay, right, maybe you do have a memory of a goldfish. But it’s totally not your fault that the episode that was running was just your favorite and Felix’s afternoon class wasn’t as long as you thought it was going to be!

Needless to say, Felix came home to a full dishwasher and a shit-eating grin on his face announcing his victory, bringing you back to your senses.

“Oh no..” you curse under your breath, fear in your eyes.

“Do it. Now,” he orders, “call him. I can’t believe you actually forgot.” he shakes his head, laughing to himself, “oh, well, I did think you would, but something inside of me still had a little bit of hope.” he shrugs, watching you nervously sweat under his gaze.

“I can’t!”

“It was a bet, you little bitch! Do it now or I’m telling him!” he yells, motioning to your phone and glaring at you for the thousandth time that day, making you take it with shaky fingers and a deep sigh coming out of your mouth, dialing your best friend’s number, because truth be told, maybe you do fear your roommate just a little bit. He is short, but full of angst and rage for this world and you didn’t want to be the victim of that.

“Hello?” Minho asks, making you tremble even more with the reality hitting you.

“M-Minho?” you call into the phone, biting on your nails as you put your phone on speaker so Felix can watch you do the biggest mistake of your short life.

“Yeah?” he asks nonchalantly, making your heart skip a beat.

“I love you.” you deadpan, hearing the other side of the line get silent. It’s not an outcome you predicted, but it’s not the one you would like to hear either.

After a while, there’s a short snicker coming out of the speaker followed by a teasing question that makes you instantly roll your eyes. “Who doesn’t?”

And you chose this as your object of interest? You huff, instantly getting irritated as all of your nerves leave your body. “I love you, Minho.”

“Did you drink?” he asks, “I mean, I know it’s only like 4pm or something, but with you and Felix living together, you never know…”

“No, I didn’t drink anything. I’m completely sober-” you prompt to say, getting cut off by your best friend again, his voice coming out in a rushed statement.

“Okay, I have a class in like 5 minutes and I haven’t gone out of my apartment yet, so please don’t get wasted and I’ll see you soon, bye!” and with that, he gives you no time to answer as he ends the call, leaving you sitting shocked in your living room with a silent phone in your hand and a moment to take in.

“So... I guess it went good?” you mumble, raising your eyebrows at your roommate that just shakes his head at you.

“You’re gonna try tomorrow again. I’m not letting you go before he takes your confession seriously.”

“Felix-”

“No excuses.” he glares.

You had to clean out the dishwasher that afternoon anyway.

TUESDAY

You decide to follow your promise you gave to Felix, because in your words, mamma ain’t raise no bitch, and you also, admittedly, can’t stop thinking about the words you said to him ever since you got them out of your mouth. There was a sense of relief overflowing your body after your confession that tells you that maybe, this wasn’t such a bad idea as you first thought it was.

You confess to your best friend on the second day of the week again. It’s tuesday and you two meet in a coffee shop, talking about how your week was. You two were quite busy with school and classes, so it was hard for you two to talk, but you quickly caught up and your conversations were still as comfortable as ever, as if nothing happened and you didn’t just spill out your heart to him the day before.

You think that maybe, he even forgot. Who knows? Lee Minho was quite the individual.

Once the barista calls for his name and he comes to take his order, you watch him with a look you only imagine can resonate the textbook version of heart eyes. It’s hard for you to look anywhere else-- you have eyes only for him. It’s quite silly, you think. You managed to fall for him even though all he’s ever done was tease you and laugh at you.

Well… that’s not all. And you know that. To a stranger, it might seem like your relationship is strictly like two siblings. You two tease each other more than you actually have serious talks, but that doesn’t mean Minho isn’t a good listener that always offers you the most honest advice. His humour is also the only thing that could get you through your hard days sometimes and for that, you’re forever thankful.

So once you step outside of the coffee shop and walk side by side on the sidewalk, you decide to go for it again. Because what could go wrong, right?

“Minho, I love you.” you say, voice much more steadier than yesterday, watching him react.

But exactly in the moment you do so, the cup of coffee in his hands slips out of his grasp and falls to the ground, making him wince and scowl, because truth be told, his only love is and always has been the americano now spilled all over the concrete.

“A terrible decision, really.” he mutters, taking the empty cup from the ground and throwing it out to the bin, sighing to himself.

You offer to share your coffee with him. He teases you for drinking latte.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesdays are the hardest for your best friend. You know this, because you know him too well. You know his schedule by heart and you also know when he’s having a hard time-- you are his best friend, after all. You can see it on him even in the slightest change in his eyes.

You visit him at his apartment on Wednesday with some takeout in your hand, knowing he doesn’t have the time and energy to cook on this particular day.

His classes start in the early morning and they end in the late afternoon-- leaving him exhausted, only to be going to his dance classes in the evening. They always tire him out even more. It breaks your heart to see him getting home with dark circles under his eyes and fair skin, but you can’t really do anything about it-- it’s his schedule, after all. All you can do for him is be there with takeout in your hand, waiting on his bright yellow sofa (you were strongly against this color, but he just didn’t care about your opinion. Or he bought it just for the exact same reason, who knows) until he comes home, ready to hear him complain about his day.

And he does exactly that-- he comes home a few minutes after you sneaked into his apartment with the spare key he nonchalantly gave you once when you hung out, falling down face-first onto the sofa with an exaggerated sigh, screaming into the cushions.

“Hard day?” you ask, voice soft and considerate.

He answers you with a hum before he sits up again, coming closer to where you’re sitting on the sofa, taking the takeout from the bag sitting at the coffee table and sitting on the floor in front of you, right between your legs. You don’t know why he does that, but it’s become a tradition at this point-- he sits at the floor, even though he has plenty of space on the sofa to sit on, and you sit right behind him, legs on either side of his body, nudging him with your heels when you feel like teasing him.

“Thanks for coming,” he mumbles, getting the chopsticks and munching on his food, chewing out loud-- a sign that it tastes good and you made a good choice on picking his dinner today.

“It’s not a big deal, I always come over anyways,” you answer, smiling down at him.

He only nods at you, but you see his composure shift in the way he aimlessly stares at the wall-- he doesn’t feel good. It’s not only the exhaustion today. There must be something else going on.

“Are you okay?” you ask, bringing him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he nods, continuing to eat, “it’s just… I feel so useless today.” he shrugs, snickering to himself.

“Why?” you simply state.

“We’re learning this new choreography and I just can’t get it right…” he mumbles, not once meeting your eye as he explains what’s on his mind. Minho doesn’t say a lot, but somehow, you always entirely know how he feels.

You sigh, shifting a little in your seat so you’re closer to the boy sitting on the floor, tenderly bringing your fingers into his hair. You brush it away from his forehead, playing with it, as you quietly speak up, wanting to heal your best friend’s heavy heart.

“It’s just a bad day, Minho. It will be okay, I promise. You just have to rest, okay?” you mumble, continuing to play with his hair. “You’ll get the dancing right in no time. So don’t worry about that, yeah?”

“Hmm,” he hums in a mix of pleasure and acknowledgement, closing his eyes momentarily before he puts the empty box of takeout on the coffee table and leans back into your touch, “fine. Wanna sleep over and watch a movie?”

You shake your head in disbelief at how quickly his mood changes, giggling. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he nods, but doesn’t move from your touch. You watch him from up close, tracing the sculpted features of his face, admiring his beauty, when you decide to say the three words again, nonchalantly and randomly, as always.

“I love you, Minho.”

“Thanks.”

THURSDAY

You wake up to the sunlight aggressively shining into your eyes, scowling a little and cursing at Lee Minho under your breath, because he is the only person you know that doesn’t close their blinds before going to sleep. You thank the gods for not having a morning class today, trying to force yourself to go back to sleep, when you hear loud cursing from the kitchen, prompting you to hurriedly stand up and rush to the room, watching a disaster happen right in front of your eyes.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-” you hear, seeing something set to flames on the stove-- you think it’s eggs, by the carton placed on the kitchen counter, but you really can’t recognise the object when it’s coal black and burning.

“What’s going on?” you nervously ask, watching the scene unfold.

“A fire.” your best friend says, making you laugh.

You just shake your head at him, taking a seat at his kitchen table, not even rushing to help. Watching him struggle is much more fun anyway, and you know he’ll figure it out eventually-- he’s an engineering student. He’s smart.

“Are you not going to help?” he glares at you, putting the pan under the sink, flashing water on the hot surface.

“Not really, no,” you shake your head in innocence, seeing how the hot oil reacts with water in a small explosion, almost burning your best friend’s fingers off as he quickly lets go of the object and curses loudly again, taking a step back.

“How did this all even happen?” you ask, watching him sigh and take out another pan, cracking an egg on top of it and letting it cook.

“I was looking for Dori and forgot I had eggs on the stove…” he scratches the back of his head, laughing a little at himself.

“Right. Yeah. Why didn’t I think of that? I’m such an idiot,” you propose, laughing with him. It’s such a Minho thing to do, you don’t even feel surprised anymore.

Minho then finishes cooking the eggs, serving them to you on a small, white plate, acting like a chef as he takes a seat on the chair opposite of yours, eating his own creation as well.

“Is it good?” he asks, watching you fierclessly nod at him with big eyes and full mouth.

“It’s amazing. I was starving, really, so these eggs really hit different right now,” you mumble out, “Thanks Minho, I love you.”

It slips out casually now. It’s been four days and your best friend doesn’t seem to notice the change in your behaviour, but you don’t really even care at this point. Maybe it’s easier for you this way, after all.

Minho just hysterically laughs at you like a maniac this time, not even finding words to say back as he finishes the breakfast he made with so much struggle, and maybe even the tiniest bit of care.

FRIDAY

The cars behind the window blur into themselves as you drive down the street, sitting on the passenger seat of your best friend’s car. You smile fondly at him when he shortly glances at you from his place, driving with ease down the neighbourhood you live in, the raindrops angrily falling at the surface of the car making it hard for the two of you to even listen to music on your drive home.

“Thanks for driving me home, you’re a lifesaver,” you say when you’re near your apartment complex.

“Well, I have to take care of you since you’re too stupid to get driver’s licence,” he shrugs, grining.

“I’m not stupid!”

“You failed the test twice!”

“I was stressed!” you argue, laughing at him.

He shakes his head at you, parking in front of your building, waiting for you to get out with your things and run into your apartment. You don’t forget your ritual, though, looking him in the eye before you leave, muttering the cursed eight letters again before saying goodbye.

“I love you.”

“Why?” he asks, eyebrows furrowed. There’s a hint of amusement hitting his features, but confusion is a feeling overpowering on his face when he speaks to you.

“What do you mean, why?” you shake your head.

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because it’s true?” you answer, sounding more like a question, though, watching his expression change into even more confused one.

“But like… why?”

“That’s a stupid question.” you scoff. You feel your palms sweating, trying to nonchalantly wipe them on your pants, the stress finally falling on your shoulders when you’re being questioned.

“It’s not. Answer me.” he insists, pouting at you like a little child in the store when their parents don't want to buy them something.

“Because you’re my best friend? I don’t know,” you sigh, hurriedly taking your backpack from the floor, opening the door wide to escape the conversation, “bye!”

You run into your apartment, breathing heavily as you take off your shoes and reach the living room, seeing your roommate laying sprawled out on the sofa in his usual manner. This is a situation for a short australian man to cope with, if you’ve ever seen one.

“Felix, I think I fucked up.”

SATURDAY

After a long, long conversation with Felix about your feelings and how you think you ruined it all, you think your mood couldn’t be worse. You feel like you either completely missed your chance by telling Minho you love him only because he’s your best friend, or you messed it all up and made your friendship awkward by saying so and he finally caught on to what your words really mean.

You walk around the apartment like a stressed-out shell without a soul, chewing on your bottom lip at all times, when you hear the bell on your door ring, throwing you out of your thoughts as you run to see who’s there bugging you in the late hours of the evening.

“What are you doing here so late?” you ask Minho, caught off-guard.

“I was bored,” he shrugs, looking down to his feet. You want the ground to swallow you whole. It’s suddenly hard to stand there in front of him-- it only deepens how embarrassed and frustrated you feel.

“Do you wanna go out for a walk?” he asks, raising his eyebrows up at you in question.

“Sure,” you shrug, following him outside.

You walk by his side, feeling your hands slightly brush against each other from time to time, making you shudder with the unexpected contact. You’ve never felt more nervous than now-- and you took your driving test twice, so that really tells you something.

“Why are you so quiet? Did something happen?” he asks, slightly nudging you with his elbow.

“What? No,” you shake your head, “everything’s fine.” you smile.

“Are you sure? I know I can be a dick sometimes, but you know I’m always here for you,” he says, gazing into your face with such fondness it actually comforts you.

“Yeah, I know,” you nod, “thanks.” you sigh.

A few more steps later, though, the sentence slips out of your mouth again, and you don’t even try to fight it as you let it go. It feels natural to say it now. You’re getting used to it, yet, the feeling he makes you feel always somehow shifts-- but still stays the same as well.

“I love you.”

A nervous laugh is all he gives you, hugging you to his side with his arm, keeping you close to shield you from the cold.

SUNDAY

And when the clock passes midnight and Minho’s still sitting in your room, you feel like somehow, you two have never been closer. You managed to confess to him every day for the past week and he’s still by your side. It’s a change to your relationship, but you don’t feel like it’s causing you trouble anymore.

You sit in silence, just enjoying each other’s presence. You don’t have a clue why he didn’t want to leave yet, but you don’t mind him staying. He brings your soul another kind of comfort-- like the morning by the sea, just listening to the waves hitting the shore, the distant chirping of birds lulling you back to sleep.

His hands rest on your calves, your legs thrown over his lap as he sits up on your bed, his back pressed against the wall. You lay there, watching him in the moonlight. You had to turn the lights off, because Felix’s room is right opposite yours and the landlord didn’t let you change the door, meaning you both had an old, white door with a big glass window in the middle of it, letting the lights shine right to the other’s room at night.

He tickles you in the spark of the moment, making you laugh quietly. You don’t want to wake Felix up, or else he’ll get mad at you, and once again, you don’t play with a short australian boy, or you’ll get burned-- you know that by now.

“Stop it!” you whisper-shout at him, sitting up and moving away from him.

He chases you on the bed, though, his fingers laying everywhere on your body, lightly tickling the skin of your stomach when his hands slip under your pyjama shirt. You push them away, squeeking with the coldness of his fingertips, tears threatening to fall from your eyes at the force of your laugh.

He stops, falling down to the bed next to you, heavy breathing being the only thing heard in the quiet room. His hand slowly makes its way to your thigh, resting there delicately. You curse at the butterflies rising in your stomach-- you want to shout at them to go away, but hell, is it a good feeling. It’s like you’re torturing yourself, but it’s a sweet torture. You wouldn’t change it in the slightest.

And so then and there, after confessing to him for six days straight, you decide to try again, with as much sincerity as you can, because suddenly, there’s something inside of you telling you that this time, it might actually work.

“I love you.”

And perhaps, you’re not wrong, because with the shuffling of the sheets, he turns his body to yours, facing you. He stares into your eyes, smiling softly at your face, the action looking angelic sitting on his features.

“I love you too,” he confesses in the dark.

730 notes · View notes

moldisgoodforyou · 4 years

Text

lost time (chapter eight)

MASTERLIST

pairing: rafe cameron x oc

warning: cursing

wordcount: 4.2k it’s been a while buckle up

gif from @poguemackin

Rafe showed up to class on Monday with more nerves than he ever had, unsure of what Sophie’s reaction would be. After having a long heart-to-heart with James and Colin (though he would never call it that), he had come to terms that maybe, just maybe, he liked Sophie Flint more than a friend. He was determined to try, telling himself he would be patient when she would try to argue like always and that he would give it a chance. For once.

Sophie didn’t seem to get the memo.

She barely greeted him, only offering a half-smile when she sat next to him - unusually late, only there one minute until class was meant to start. “Running late today?” Rafe elbowed her with a grin.

“Guess so.” She shrugged, head down as she started scrawling into her notebook while their professor started teaching.

He frowned, caught off guard by her cold demeanor, given that they were cuddled together in a bed just under 48 hours ago. “Just teasing, Soph.”

She nodded, keeping her eyes down. “I know.”

The rest of the class continued like that, Rafe resisting every single urge in his body to tear off a piece of paper and slide her a note. (She’d probably find it annoying, and it wasn’t middle school, anyways.) At the end of class, she didn’t even bother to pack her bag, just gathered her things into her arms and hurriedly left before he even had a second to say goodbye. As promised, he met James to walk to their next class together, looking completely lost.

“How’d it go?” James asked Rafe with a grin, reaching out to knuckle his fist against Rafe’s hair.

Rafe ducked out from under him and shoved his arm away, scowling. “Not good. She barely even looked at me, let alone talked to me.”

“Oh.” James frowned. “Maybe she was just tired? It is kind of early.”

“Nah, she at least smiles at me. Or have some smart comeback and she didn’t even try today.” Rafe rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about how she avoided him.

“Huh. Text her and see if she’s okay.” James urged.

“She probably wouldn’t like that.” Rafe hesitated, but took out his phone anyways. “I don’t want her to think I’m annoying.”

“Then wait and text her later today. It’ll be fine, dude, don’t stress about it.”

“I’m not stressed!” Rafe argued.

James rolled his eyes and grabbed Rafe’s wrist, not letting go when Rafe objected and shoved up his sleeve. He inspected the peeling leather on Rafe’s watch band and dropped his arm, shaking his head. “You scratch up the leather on this when you’re stressed out. And those are new marks.”

Rafe yanked his sleeve back down over the watch. “I didn’t think you picked up on that.”

“Well Colin pointed it out first, but now I notice whenever you do it.” James shrugged. “It’s Sophie. She’ll come around.”

“How are you so sure about this?”

James shrugged again. “Like we said yesterday. You two are like, magnetic or some shit. There’s no way it won’t work out.”

“He didn’t say a single thing to me all class!” Sophie exclaimed the second she walked through the door, huffing as the door slammed shut behind her.

Both Allie and Julia lifted their heads from their work at their desks, completely unfazed by her loud entrance. She had recapped the events of the night (that she could remember, at least) yesterday morning over brunch, several mimosas, and they both had to talk her down from marching over to the Delt house right that second and asking for answers from Rafe.

“Not one thing?” Julia asked, skeptical.

Sophie flopped down dramatically onto the beanbag in the corner. “Well, okay, maybe a few things, but that was it. It’s like he didn’t even try.”

Allie raised her eyebrows and shut her laptop. “What exactly did he say, Soph?”

“He asked if I was running late, because, you know, I showed up later -”

“So you wouldn’t have to talk to him.” Julia pointed out.

“Only because he didn’t text me at all!” Sophie cried out, shooting a pointed glare her way. “And then he said he was just teasing and that was it.”

“Did you give him room to respond?” Allie asked gently, trying to get her to see through her flawed logic.

Sophie huffed, crossing her arms. “Probably.”

“Oh, probably, that’s a solid answer.” Julia rolled her eyes. “Look, do you want something with him or not?”

“I…” Sophie faltered, thinking. “I mean, maybe, but not if he can’t even text me after we slept together.”

“Well how big is he?” Julia grinned.

Allie reached across the desk, swatting her arm. “Jules!”

“What?!”

Sophie groaned, covering her face as a blush bloomed on her cheeks. “I don’t even know, guys, I told you I can’t remember anything after we got back to his house. I just remember trying to kiss him and then I woke up in his t-shirt.” She gasped. “Oh my god.”

“What’s wrong?” Julia frowned.

“What if I was that bad? Oh god, what if I was genuinely so terrible that he literally never wants to talk to me again? I can’t really walk when I’m drunk, so I’m probably not even good at fucking -”

“Stop, stop!” Allie laughed, throwing a pencil at her from across the room. “I don’t want to hear the details. Are you even sure you hooked up?”

“Yeah, why else would I be wearing his shirt?” Sophie reasoned. Her phone chimed and she froze, holding it up. “It’s Rafe. Should I open it?”

“Yes, stupid, open the text!” Julia exclaimed, scooting her chair closer to see the phone.

“Be nice!” Sophie scowled, unlocking her phone - and her jaw dropped. “Oh no.”

“You are so dramatic.” Allie giggled, walking over to see. “What’d he say?”

“Um...I might have made a mistake.” Sophie groaned, turning her phone to show two texts from Rafe yesterday, and one that had just been sent.

Rafe, 8:30am Sunday: Everything okay? You didn’t need to leave

Rafe, 4pm Sunday: Hope you’re feeling alright today

Rafe, 10:15 Monday: Are you okay?

Julia snorted. “Way to leave him on read, Soph.”

“Jules.” Allie chided, frowning.

“This is bad, isn’t it.” Sophie bit her lip, embarrassed.

“It doesn’t look great.” Allie admitted. “But hey! He still checked in on you just now! You can make up for ignoring him.”

“It wasn’t on purpose!” Sophie defended, already typing back a message.

“Wait, don’t look too eager.” Julia tried grabbing at the phone and Allie swatted her hands away.

“Don’t listen to her, you’ve been playing hard to get for two and a half years. Eager is fine.”

Sophie paused, glancing between the two of her friends, then sent the text. “Al, if I regret this, I’m blaming you.”

Allie rolled her eyes. “I’d expect nothing less.”

After a moment’s pause with bated breath, her phone chimed again and she grinned, turning the phone away to hide the screen. “Okay, okay, you two can go back to studying.”

Julia laughed, moving away with Allie. “Don’t forget to be nice for once.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sophie stuck out her tongue at Julia, but smiled anyways.

Sophie: yeah I’m good, just tired. sorry I didn’t see your other two texts

Rafe: I was beginning to think you were ignoring me haha

Sophie: no of course not

Rafe: Good

Rafe: Do you want to come study at the house tomorrow night? We can be in the formal room it just seems silly to go all the way to the library when we live so close

Sophie: what do we have to study for?

Rafe: Tomorrow’s Tuesday, did you forget about our running study date lol

Sophie: date huh

Rafe: You know what I mean

Sophie: yes I’d love to come over, I’ll see you at the same time

Once Rafe got Sophie’s final reply, he liked the message then let out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t paid attention to a single thing in his economics lecture, focusing more on texting Sophie and her responses. As their professor dismissed the class, Rafe shut his laptop with a grin, turning to Colin. “Can I -”

“Yes, you can have my notes.” Colin rolled his eyes, walking out with Rafe. “You texting Sophie the whole time?”

“Yeah, she replies slow - wait, how’d you know?”

Colin laughed. “You were grinning like an idiot at your computer during the whole lecture, and you hate this class.”

“Oh.” Rafe tried his best to fight the smile on his face, then shrugged. “We have a date tomorrow.”

“Really, you actually asked her out? Good on you, man,” Colin said.

“Well.” Rafe hedged, rubbing his neck. “Not exactly. She’s just coming over for when we usually study for our class together.”

Colin groaned and shoved Rafe’s arm. “That’s not a date, idiot. Do better.”

“I gotta take it slow!” Rafe protested.

“You’ve had your time taking it slow. Make a real move for once.” Colin said, shaking his head.

Sophie showed up to the Delt house dressed a little nicer than usual, just enough so Rafe would notice, in a sweater and a skirt. She was more nervous than ever, fidgeting with the ends of her hair as she waited on the front porch. Rafe hustled down the stairs the second he got her text, greeting her at the door with a huge grin. “Soph, hey!” He glanced over her appearance, immediately regretting his t-shirt and sweatpants attire.

His grin put her at ease and she relaxed, following him into the house. “Got a hot date after this or something?” He teased, leading her to the formal room where a few other boys were out studying.

“And what if I do?” She challenged, taking a seat opposite him at a table.

He raised his eyebrows, trying his best to not show any sign of disappointment. “Do you?”

She blushed a little but kept his gaze. “I - no. I had a presentation for class.” She lied, embarrassed she had even tried so hard.

“You look good.” Rafe paused. “Really good.”

Sophie bit back a smile, shaking her head a little. “Thank you. Um, we should study, I don’t want to keep you busy for too long.” She slid out her notebook, showing him a few pages of meticulous notes for their debate topic.

His notes, albeit messy, rivaled hers. “You actually prepared.” She said, impressed as she flipped through the pages.

He frowned a little. “I’ve been prepared every time. I’m not gonna let you down, Soph.” The words held more meaning than just talking about the group project and she did her best to ignore it, nodding as she skimmed over his notebook.

She paused, finger on a small note scribbled in the margin. “You wrote down my coffee order?”

Rafe blushed, embarrassed, and snagged back the notebook. “Well yeah, I had to remember it somehow.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Less about us, more about the ethics of time travel.” He flipped to a fresh page, ready to take down more notes. The two kept up easy conversation for a while, not noticing the time passing as they worked. When Sophie realized she’d been there for over an hour and the conversation was still surprisingly dry, given what had transpired on Saturday, she reached across the table and snapped Rafe’s book shut.

“Look, we should just talk about it.”

“It?” Rafe repeated, raising his eyebrows cluelessly.

“You know.” Sophie hinted, then huffed when he just looked more confused. “You’re gonna make me say it? Fine. Okay, since we slept together, you haven’t - what the fuck are you smiling for!” She scowled, crossing her arms.

He was grinning ear-to-ear but leaned back in his chair, clearly amused. “Sorry, sorry go on.”

“This isn’t funny, Cameron.”

“That’s Mr. Cameron to you.” He teased.

She ignored him, rolling her eyes. “Since we slept together you haven’t said a single thing about it. And whatever, I know I was drunk, but if I was really that bad -"

Rafe couldn’t keep the act up anymore and started cracking up, hardly able to keep eye contact. He doubled over, almost wheezing as he laughed.

“It’s not funny!” Sophie hissed, embarrassed as his loud laughter drew attention from boys walking by.

He swiped his hand across his eyes, shaking his head as he let out a few more chuckles. “Soph, we didn’t sleep together. Not like that.”

Sophie frowned and it was her turn to be confused. “Wait, what?”

“You called me when you were drunk, I picked you up and you wanted to come back here, then you asked for clothes to change into to sleep.” A small blush crept up his neck and he looked a little shy. “Then, um, you asked me to come cuddle but I accidentally fell asleep when you did. And I woke up and you were gone.”

She sat back in her chair, reeling as she processed this new information. “I didn’t sleep with you.”

“Not in anything other than the literal sense, no.”

“Oh.”

“See? Nothing to worry about. You were drunk, I wouldn’t have - you know. I just wanted you safe.”

At those words, she remembered him saying them that night. “And you practically saved my life.”

Rafe paused. “Huh? I mean, you almost stepped out into traffic. But wait, you were hammered, how do you remember that?”

She rolled her eyes. “I remember practically everything even when I’m drinking, what do you mean?”

“Practically everything…” he repeated, slowly. She could practically see the wheels turning in his head at her confession. His jaw dropped. “So you lied! About our first kiss!”

“I...yeah.” Trapped in her lie, Sophie winced. “I don’t know why. I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to think I go around letting just anyone kiss me when I’m drunk.”

Rafe laughed, shaking his head. “You kissed me, Sophie Flint. Not the other way around.”

She scowled at the name. “Oh, not the full name now, you’re making it sound like I’m in trouble.”

He hesitated, glancing down at his notes before looking back up at her. “Why’d you lie?”

“I was nervous.” She admitted, biting her lip. “Maybe I thought you’d think less of me or something, I don’t know.”

He softened, reaching out across the table to take her hand. She let him, brain fogging over as he rubbed gentle circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. “I’d never think that, Soph.”

She took a moment too long to reply, distracted by his touch. “Okay. Good.”

“Should we finish?” He asked, not letting go of her hand.

She was the first to let go, reluctantly pulling her hand back to her book. “Yeah. Um.” Sophie blushed, flipping through a few pages randomly to give her a moment to think. “Page 54, yeah?”

The second Rafe waved goodbye to Sophie and let the door shut behind her, James and Colin practically ambushed him in the foyer. They had been ‘studying’ in the corner of the formal room, not-so-subtly giving Rafe multiple winks and thumbs up from behind Sophie’s back as they tried eavesdropping on their entire conversation. James clapped Rafe on the shoulder, grinning. “Ask her out yet?”

“No.” Rafe responded, still confused from their conversation. They had gotten nowhere, yet they had also gotten...somewhere? “I held her hand.”

“For two seconds.” Colin rolled his eyes.

“Still something!” James interjected, ever-positive. “But dude, if you want something, you actually have to make a move. Like…” He pretended to lean in with puckered lips and Rafe shoved his head away, rolling his eyes.

“I know, dude. I gotta take it slow.”

“You keep saying that.” Colin pointed out. “When are you actually going to do something about it?”

Rafe scowled. “Get off my back.”

She couldn’t do it. She really couldn’t.

Every single bone in her body wanted to just give in, be nice to Rafe, see if they could be a thing. But that would require letting someone in, being vulnerable, and Rafe Cameron of all people was not who she could do that with. (At least that’s what she told herself.) She could feel herself falling for him, and that freaked her out.

Their study dates had gone from once a week at the library to twice a week at the Delt house. Never at Theta, she wasn’t prepared for the rumors that would fly and hearing girls speculate about a possible relationship. The reality check for her came when Julia called her out for waking up early for class just so she could put on a little extra makeup or make sure her hair wasn’t just thrown in its usual ponytail. “If you like him, just say something.” Allie had encouraged her, trying to give her the push she needed.

Sophie resisted, as usual. “There’s nothing between us.”

They really only needed thirty minutes, max, to knock out their prep for their debate class, but Sophie found herself stretching out the time to an hour and a half, sometimes two. Rafe never seemed to mind, eager to keep discussing the merits of their side of the debate and to just see that spark in her eyes for a little bit longer as she spoke about something she was passionate about.

Today had to be different. She set a timer on her watch the second she stepped through the doors at Delt, following Rafe through to their usual study spot. Sophie told herself she was only allowed to stay the thirty minutes, nothing more, and keep the conversation strictly to work. Maybe even be a little mean, if she had to, to push him away again. (It always worked before.)

“How was your day?” He greeted her with his signature grin and she visibly winced, already feeling herself cave. She sat across from him and glanced at her watch. Twenty-nine minutes. God. She could do that.

“Fine.” She replied shortly, not reciprocating.

He nodded, unaware, and tapped his foot nervously under the table. “That’s good. So I was thinking, if you wanted to, maybe, after studying -"

“I can’t.” She cut him off. “I can’t stay long, I’m busy. Let’s just get this done.”

“Oh - oh. Okay. Sorry.” He apologized needlessly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s whatever.” Sophie dismissed. “So I was thinking we focus our argument on these three main points…”

He tuned her out and just skimmed over the notebook she slid over to him, eyes tracing over the words but not truly reading any of them. Rejected. Huh. He didn’t even get the chance to get the words out, ask her to go get ice cream after. Maybe that would have been a stupid move anyways, considering it was the last week of October in Ohio and only forty degrees outside. Next time he’d think of a better plan, next time he’d -

“Rafe.” Sophie’s annoyed voice snapped him out of his reverie.

He jerked his head up. “Huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “God, were you even listening? Pay attention.”

He resisted a frown, halfway paying attention now as she spoke. Did he do something wrong? He thought they were getting along, flirty even. Maybe he misread the signs. “What’s up with you today?” He asked, more concerned than irritated.

“Nothing.”

“Are you sure? Because your attitude seems like something.” He couldn’t resist pressing her buttons, just once.

“I don’t have an attitude. Just trying to get this stupid homework done.” She snapped back.

He raised his hands in defense, a little taken aback. “Whoa, chill. We can get it done, you don’t have to be rude.”

Sophie softened, just a little, and glanced at her watch again. 23 minutes. Maybe she didn’t have to entirely be an asshole. “Right.”

Rafe held her gaze for a moment, as if trying to read the thoughts running through her mind. “Okay. So I was thinking…” They kept a somewhat civil conversation, strictly related to their class, though Rafe could tell something felt off. She didn’t have the usual teasing lilt in her tone and he was too nervous to even try his typical flirting - his hand grazing against hers, or a sly comment here and there.

After a few minutes of reading together from a new article on Rafe’s laptop, he spoke up. “Hey, Soph -” he started with a hint of a frown.

“Sophie.” She corrected, keeping her eyes trained on the computer.

Rafe’s face fell flat and he pressed his lips together into a thin line, nodding once. “Never mind then.”

“What is it?”

“I said never mind.” He repeated, shaking his head.

The rest of the time was fairly quiet as they scribbled out notes for their arguments, sharing a relevant piece of information every few minutes.

“Why’d you choose architecture?” Rafe asked after a few moments of silence, both of them reading over their textbooks.

“Study, Rafe.” Sophie reprimanded him with a bored tone, keeping her eyes on her book ‘til she finished the page. He glanced over her expression, trying to decide if she was serious or not, then went back to his book.

“I thought it was cool. I like seeing the way things work, how buildings are crafted. Everything has a purpose.” She spoke after a moment.

He smiled. “That’s cool. I can tell you like it.”

“You hardly know me,” Sophie pointed out.

(Not true. He could read her like a book after all these years, knowing exactly when she was about to snap. She could do the same.)

He frowned, feeling her putting up a wall, her typical defense mechanism when she didn’t want to admit the truth. “I think I do.” He argued, keeping her gaze. She rolled her eyes and broke eye contact first, dropping her eyes back to her book.

He sighed, quietly, and returned to pretending to read.

Sophie broke the silence this time. “Why are you studying film?”

He looked up, a little surprised she was taking interest. “Uh…” he trailed off, trying to think of how best to phrase it. “Movies were always my escape. If my dad was busy with work, y’know, like usual, he’d just throw on a movie for me and my sisters.” He smiled, thinking back. “I’m pretty sure I have Hercules memorized by heart now.”

“That’s cool. My favorite Disney movie was Robin Hood.” Sophie mused, scribbling a couple notes in the margins of her book. She tried her best to keep an impassive composure, although she wanted nothing more inside than to spend hours just talking about his interests and seeing the way he beamed when she was interested too.

“I never really liked him. Didn’t he steal from people?”

“Not really, he stole from the tax collector and gave the money to the poor people.” She pointed out.

“Oh.” Rafe paused, not sure if he wanted to continue the argument. “System’s in place for a reason, right?”

Sophie wrinkled her nose, annoyance creeping into her tone. There was something about his indifference that made her just want to reach across the table and shake some sense into him. “Not when the government is creating an illegitimate tax system.”

He shrugged. “Dunno. Guess I never watched that closely.”

“Well I’m right, anyways.” She declared, lifting her chin a little in a challenge.

“It doesn’t matter anyways, Flint, it’s a cartoon.” Rafe replied, slightly exasperated. There it was - back to last names. For some reason, it made Sophie madder than ever. She hated the way it rolled off his tongue so easily, like he knew her by nothing else.

“It does matter, Cameron, it’s the principle of the thing.” She turned up her nose haughtily toward him, crossing her arms. She knew she was doing exactly what she shouldn’t do, chipping away at their already rocky relationship built on a foundation of uneven stone. “But I’m not surprised you wouldn’t care.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He retorted, mimicking her pose from across the table.

“It means you’re a dick. Always relying on daddy’s money.” Sophie stood her ground, jaw set. The way she said it, it was too sure, too carefully crafted to hit just where it’d hurt. Casual, almost, as if it meant nothing to say that. Like she’d been waiting to use that line for ages.

That stung more than he expected, even though he’d heard it before - just not from her lips. He shot his response back quickly, too quickly, and regretted the words the second they left his mouth. “At least I don’t have to work two jobs just to pay for college.”

Her face turned to stone as she felt the heat creeping up her neck, threatening to expose her embarrassment. Sophie gathered her things quickly, carelessly shoving them into her backpack, then paused before leaving to look him straight in the eye. “That’s fucking low, Rafe, even for you.” She said quietly. The words hung in the air between them as she turned sharply on her heel and strode calmly away, trying to beat the tears on the verge of spilling over her cheeks.

Her watch vibrated on her wrist just as she stepped outside, hot tears welling up in her eyes. Thirty minutes. Timed perfectly.

taglist: @obx-saltlife @dontjinx-it @butgilinsky @oopsiedoopsie23 @taiter-tots @annedub @alexandracheers

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron fic #rafe cameron series #rafe cameron fanfic #rafe cameron obx #rafe cameron imagine #frat rafe #college rafe #college obx #rafe x sophie #mine

153 notes · View notes

gotdeletedagain · 2 years

Text

18.12.21

1pm wake up too late because I was up till 5 yesterday

1:10pm rush to the bus and travel to my hometown bc my brother celebrates his birthday

2:35pm class that I have Saturdays for some reason... (30 Minuten too late and feel horrible. Normally starts at 2. Also I think the 'teacher' absolutely hates me)

4pm finally go downstairs to my family and eat my first meal at a full table but everyone looks at me because they have already eaten....

Weight. 61.7kg

Kalories today: 1100??

10pm-11:30pm go on a walk with my bf and meet a friend from school

Went to bed at 1am but I just couldn't sleep

#anorexi4 #anorecik #anorexik #pro+ana #productivity #thinspri #thins0 #thinpr0 #tw ana things #ed tumbr

5 notes · View notes

melsgonnabeskinny · 3 years

Text

So today i’ve decided to do the Rainbow Diet for 3 weeks

Basically it’s a list like that:

Monday (White): Half an apple for breakfast and lunch. One cucumber for dinner.

Tuesday (Yellow): One banana for breakfast and lunch. Half a cup of corn for dinner.

Wednesday: Fast.

Thursday (Orange): Half an orange for breakfast and lunch. One carrot for dinner.

Friday (Red): Half a cup of strawberries for breakfast for lunch. Half a red pepper for dinner.

Saturday (Purple or blue): Ten blueberries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Sunday (Green): Half a cup of grapes for breakfast and lunch. One cup of lettuce for dinner.

But at where I live I can’t find any blueberries so instead of the “purple” day I’ll go with protein day because even though they’re higher in calories, I want my body to take protein as well. I’ll replace it with egg white omelettes and 2 tablespoons of low fat yoghurt. One omelette for breakfast, yoghurt for lunch and another omelette for dinner. I also do had some other notes, like

-Lemon water when you wake up

-Breakfast when you have lunch, lunch at 4pm and dinner at 8pm

The reason why I’ll have meals later is because my online classes start late so I wake up late. Besides that, if you have any tips of protein consumption with less calories, please let me know!

I’ll keep my blog updated every 3-4 days or every week

#proana #pro ana #ed #pro ed #eating disorder #skinny #thin inspo #thin #anorexia #diet #rainbow diet

23 notes · View notes

caws5749 · 4 years

Text

A Day in Riverdale

A/N: my first cheryl fic! I’m super excited about it, and i had so much fun writing it! I may be writing some more riverdale fics, we shall see! And hopefully, I’ll be back to writing natasha soon (I am hoping to write the next chapter of your red-headed mentor tomorrow). Anywho, I hope you guys like this!

Promoting: Fanfic Night, tomorrow! There’s a theme for this one, fav author’s edition! And of course, movie night, Friday at 4pm eastern! We’re watching Code 8.

The door to Pop’s chocolate shop swung open, the sound of the bell grabbing your attention. You looked up, a smile overtaking your face as Cheryl walked in, flipping her long, curled hair over her shoulder.

“Morning, babe,” she called in a sing-song voice.

“Morning, baby,” you answered, eyeing her perfect red lips. She swooped down to briefly press her lips to yours, before sliding into the booth across from you.

“You look amazing today,” you murmured, your eyes looking over her.

“I know,” she smiled. “But thank you, Y/N/N.”

“Maybe we should skip class today,” you suggested cheekily.

“And mess up my perfect attendance record? No, thank you.”

You pouted, to which Cheryl couldn’t help but smile softly.

“I promise, mon petit amour, we can do something fun after school,” she cooed. “Now, can we order, I’m starving?”

++++++

The two of you finished your breakfast and headed to school. You were a bit early, but there was a pep rally later, and Cheryl wanted to practice a bit with the Vixens.

Your hand held hers tightly as you walked into the building, greeting some of your friends.

“Cheryl!” Jughead called. Your girlfriend sighed and rolled her eyes.

“What do you want, hobo?” Cheryl pursed her lips. You gave her hand a light squeeze, causing her to soften her gaze, just slightly.

“I’m writing an expose on -”

“Don’t care,” Cheryl interrupted, a smug smile on her face. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”

“Sorry,” you mouthed back to Jughead as you continued your way through the hallway with Cheryl. You walked with her to the locker room with no other interruptions, and stopped right outside the door.

“You’re going to be amazing, I can’t wait to see you later,” you murmured, pulling her slowly closer.

“You’ll be my shining light in the bleachers,” Cheryl replied, closing the gap between you two in a sweet kiss.

“I’ll see you later, my love,” she added, before turning and entering the locker room. You watched her disappear, a smile playing at your lips, before you turned and headed back down the hallway, on a mission to find Jughead.

“Jughead!” you called upon spotting him talking to Betty.

“What’s up, Y/N?”

“That expose you’re working on, what’s it about?” You asked.

“Maple syrup, the Blossom family business,” he answered. “But I doubt Cheryl will help.”

“I’ll talk to her,” you offered. He thought it over for a moment before nodding.

“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks, Y/N.”

“Of course,” you smiled, before saying goodbye and heading to your locker.

“Morning Y/N/N,” Veronica greeted.

“Hey Ronnie,” you replied enthusiastically. “You’re not practicing with the rest of the team?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I have some other business to attend to this morning.”

“Oh?” You asked.

“With Archie,” she laughed lightly. You smirked, and then a certain red-haired bulldog caught your eye down the hallway.

“Well, business calls,” you nodded towards Archie. Veronica gripped your arm lightly before sending you a smile and turning away. You shut your locker and headed towards your first class.

++++++

The rest of the day passed slowly. You were much too eager for the pep rally to focus on anything. And Veronica had spread the word that La Bonne Nuit was going to be hosting a little celebration that evening, for the Vixens. And you were going to make sure Cheryl was the honored guest.

You sat impatiently in your seat, waiting for the bell to ring any minute. When it finally did, Archie met you in the hall, and you made your way towards the gym along with the rest of the student body.

“It’s gonna be great,” Archie commented as you took your seats.

“I know, Cheryl’s had the team practicing for weeks.”

“They all deserve the celebration tonight at the speakeasy.”

“They do,” you agreed. Your attention was pulled away by Principal Weatherby beginning the pep rally and introducing the Vixens. You and Archie shared a grin as both of your girlfriends walked out in their cheerleading uniforms, searching for you two in the crowd and giving you a wink. You blew a kiss for Cheryl, and the smile on her face told you that she saw it.

The music started and you cheered the Vixens on, along with the rest of the school. Their dance was flawless, it was clear how hard they’d been working. When they’d finished, they were given a standing ovation, and you cheered until your throat hurt.

The Vixens took their seats and Cheryl stepped up to the podium to give a little speech, as was her duty as Student Body President.

“Good afternoon students of Riverdale High! As your Student Body President, I want to welcome you to the pep rally! After a perfect performance by the Vixens, led by moi, it’s time to officially kick off spirit week! Let’s show some school spirit and pride, starting with a celebration tonight! Invitation only, you know who you are. Go Bulldogs!”

With that, Cheryl left the podium, with a signature hair flip as she walked towards the bleachers, towards you. You’d saved her a seat of course, just as Archie had saved one for Veronica, and Jughead for Betty.

“Baby! Did you like our performance and my speech?” Cheryl asked as she sat down next to you, her hand falling to your thigh.

“Of course I did, you and the Vixens were amazing,” you replied, brushing your lips to her cheek.

“Thank you my love. I’m excited to celebrate with you tonight,” she murmured, her eyes wide and gazing into yours lovingly.

“Me too.”

++++++

“Does this lipstick look okay?” You asked after applying the dark color to your lips. Cheryl tilted her head and turned to give you her full attention.

“You look incredible, that color is perfect on you. I’d kiss you but I’m worried my cherry red and your dark purple won’t mix,” Cheryl laughed lightly.

“Maybe you can help take it off later,” you suggested, before scrunching up your face. “Okay, that was lame.”

“It was adorable. You’re adorable,” she cooed. “You may not have a way with words, Y/N/N, but I love you all the same.”

“I love you too, Cheryl.”

“Shall we head to La Bonne Nuit? If we left now, we’d be making a timely late entrance.”

You nodded, standing from your seat at the vanity and then holding your hand out for your girlfriend, helping her up.

The two of you would be making quite the entrance, clad in the highest of high heels, dresses with slits up the sides and low necklines, hair curled to perfection, and makeup done to the most dramatic level. You’d be the stars of the evening, that’s for sure.

Cheryl drove up to the valet, getting out of the car and tossing the keys to one of the boys who was working. She reached back for your hand, leading you into Pop’s. You were immediately greeted by Veronica.

“Ladies, may I say that you look stunning? Right this way,” Veronica smiled, leading you towards the back, past the long line of others waiting to enter the speakeasy.

“The royal treatment,” Cheryl commented to you, smirking slightly. She deserved it, she deserved the world. You smiled softly, gazing at her with pure adoration.

And then you were greeted by loud music as you walked down the steps into the dimly lit speakeasy, your grip on Cheryl’s hand tightening ever so slightly. You weren’t a huge fan of crowded, dark spaces, and she knew as much.

“We can leave at anytime,” Cheryl murmured, her eyes focused on you, making sure you understood. You nodded, though you had no intentions of leaving for a long time. This night was a celebration, a time to have fun with your friends and girlfriend.

“Your usual table is ready for you, and your drinks should be ready momentarily,” Veronica announced. You both thanked her and took a seat in the booth, sitting as close together as you possibly could.

“Tonight is for you,” you murmured, nuzzling your nose against her cheek, before planting a kiss there.

“Tonight is for all of us.”

“Yeah, but it’s for you. You’re the reason this is all happening. You’re an amazing Student Body President and an amazing Captain of the Vixens.”

“I know,” Cheryl smiled. “And you are an amazing girlfriend.”

“An amazing girlfriend who has a surprise for you,” you replied.

“Oh?” Cheryl asked, her perfectly done eyebrows raised questioningly. You hummed, sliding out of the booth.

“I’ll be right back, babe.”

You sauntered over to the bar, feeling Cheryl’s eyes watching you carefully, curious as to what you had in mind.

“Is it time?” Veronica asked. You nodded.

“I’ll get everything going,” Veronica nodded. You thanked her and headed back to your booth. Cheryl raised her eyebrows yet again, but didn’t say anything. You settled back in your seat, leaning against your girlfriend, her hands around your waist.

The projector whirred to life, and it quieted in the speakeasy. Clips began to play, and you heard Cheryl gasp next to you. You’d arranged for each of the River Vixens to to film a small video, in which they spoke to Cheryl, thanking her for being such an amazing captain. Your girlfriend sniffed quietly, and you turned to see her wiping away a few tears. And then your clip came on the screen, and all of Cheryl’s attention focused on that.

You had poured your heart out in that video, desperate for Cheryl to know just how amazing she was. And you’d done a good job, that was evident by even a few others shedding some tears.

But then Cheryl was removing her hands from around you, sliding out of the booth, and quickly running up the stairs and out of the building. You sat shocked for a moment, before taking off after her.

++++++

“Cheryl!?” You exclaimed, catching your girlfriend after she’d run out of La Bonne Nuit. She didn’t answer, her back still turned to you as she ventured further away, into the street.

“Cheryl! It’s pouring!” You shouted after her, jogging in your dress to catch up. You grabbed her arm gently, spinning her around so that she was facing you.

“What’s wrong?” You asked softly upon seeing the tears falling down her cheeks. Her gaze shifted downward, looking anywhere but at you. You sighed through your nose, gently cupping her chin and forcing it upwards until her eyes met yours.

“I just” - a shiver ran through her- “I don’t want to lose you,” she cried softly. You furrowed your brows.

“Lose me? Cheryl, I’m yours, always. Why do you think you’re going to lose me?”

“I don’t deserve-“

“Stop,” you interrupted. “You do deserve me. You’re incredible, smart, confident, you’re the Cheryl Blossom, and I am lucky enough to receive your love.”

Your heart lifted as a smile threatened to overtake her features.

“You love me?” She asked, her voice quiet and gentle.

“Of course I do,” you murmured, one of yours hands falling to her waist, and the other tucking her soaked hair behind her ear. Her gaze flickered to your lips, and you took the opportunity to slam your lips into hers. Her hands entangled themselves in your hair, and you couldn’t help but forget the cold rain falling around you.

The world seemed to stop as the kiss continued, the party at La Bonne Nuit long forgotten. The way her hands gently tugged on your hair, the feel of her bare skin under her cutout dress- nothing seemed real or important anymore, besides her.

When a shiver ran through you, Cheryl pulled away, concern written on her face.

“Oh, my love, it’s pouring. We should get inside.”

“I’d spend forever out in the rain with you,” you breathed, eyes still focused on her. Cheryl’s gaze went soft as she took in your words, though her determination still won.

“And I with you,” she whispered, pressing a light kiss to the tip of your nose. “But we should get warm and dry. Why don’t I drive us home?”

#cheryl blossom x reader #cheryl blossom x you #cheryl blossom x femreader #riverdale x reader #riverdale imagine #riverdale fanfiction #cheryl blossom imagine #archie andrews x reader #veronica lodge x reader #cheryl blossom #cheryl x reader #mine

206 notes · View notes

cheri-translates · 4 years

Text

[CN] Shaw’s 2020 Birthday R&S

🍒Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for an R&S which has not been released in EN!🍒

[Prologue]

The birthday event begins with MC in an antique store, in search of a moderately priced antique. She had asked Shaw for help since she’s been having difficulties finding one

Unexpectedly, Shaw gives her the keys to an antique store the next day, telling her to take whatever she wants

Even though MC knew early on that Shaw used to have a mentor who owned an antique store, she still feels strange about it - she’s unable to associate antiques, which are filled with rich history and culture, with Shaw

She wonders if Shaw visited this antique store regularly in his childhood

She notices that a drawer is open:

There are several yellowed exercise books lying inside, and “Shaw” is written on the bottom right corner of the covers in pencil.

MC: Could these be Shaw’s exercise books when he was young?

Curious, I take out these “major discoveries” from the drawer, my mind whirring with countless questions.

At the back of my mind, I have a feeling that this place has a special meaning to Shaw.

MC: Maybe, for Shaw’s birthday…

While I’m thinking, something else in the drawer attracts my attention.

There are three copper coins, the colours antique, under sheets of writing paper. Covered in dust, they seem to be calling out to me voicelessly.

[Chapter 1: Exam Results]

At 4pm on a Friday afternoon, the math teacher wraps up her final point and closes the lesson plan.

The black board is decorated with the homework for the weekend. The teacher pushes up her spectacles. There is a big stack of exam papers on the table. “Last week’s exam scripts have been marked. Come and take them when I call your name.”

“This time round, most of you have improved. Only one student did not pass.” She takes up the exam script at the very top, flips it open, her eyes sweeping across the last row of the classroom, stopping at the seat at the very corner.

“Shaw.”

Hearing his own name being read, Shaw unwillingly stuffs the interesting comics underneath the table, taking his time to stand up. At the same time, the whole class cannot help but turn around and look at him evenly.

Sensing the surprised and teasing looks in their eyes, Shaw instead raises his head high and walks forward, stuffing a hand into his pocket with a devil-may-care attitude.

Taking the exam script from the teacher, Shaw stands in place, flipping through the script to look at the questions he got wrong.

Well, he did get more questions wrong than expected…

But math itself as a subject is annoying. It’s fine if he doesn’t do well.

He folds the exam script, folds it again, and again, before stuffing it into his pocket, turning around to return to his seat.

The teacher’s eyes unhappily trail behind Shaw, before she once again talks in a serious tone. “This time, everyone has to have their parents sign the exam script. I’ll check them on Monday afternoon.”

Shaw raises his eyebrows in mild disdain. It’s just a signature after all.

The old man copies the calligraphy of the Tang and Song dynasties so perfectly that even experts cannot tell. A mere signature wouldn’t be difficult.

He retrieves the stack of comics from underneath the table and puts them into his bag. With sufficient preparation for the end of school, he waits for the end-of-class bell to sound.

[Chapter 2: After School]

Entering June, the cicadas grow increasingly chirpier.

Over 60 years old, the antique shop shopkeeper sits on a rocking chair, fanning himself while checking Shaw’s homework. The prescription of his reading glasses is too shallow, and he has to squint. “The way you write this… Why does it look like a dog crawling. It’s so crooked.”

Shaw takes an eraser to erase a sentence he has copied wrongly. He cleans it till there is not a trace of it left. In an elevated volume, he answers, “It doesn’t matter if the words look ugly as long as I didn’t write it wrongly.”

While saying this, he feels through his pockets and takes out two exam scripts. “My teacher says this one needs a signature.”

Taking the script from him, the shopkeeper laughs until he rocks back and forth. “Kid, it’s fine if you don’t score well, but your luck couldn’t be any worse. Even if you take wild guesses, you couldn’t have gotten such low marks.”

He sits upright, sighing a few times. He folds up his fan and takes out a ball-point pen from his front pocket. With a practiced motion, he signs them.

He sighs deeply. “Shaw, since I’m not your parent, I shouldn’t be teaching you anything.”

Shaw had just closed his pencil box with a “pa”. Hearing his mentor sigh, he takes out his exercise books from his bag again, before returning to a state of studying. “All right, all right, I know what you’re going to say…”

“I won’t talk about big life lessons. Your school teacher would have talked about it more than I have. From today onwards, apart from the homework your teacher has given you, you are to write two pages worth of math questions, and copy a short essay every day. Only after you’re done will I teach you my craft.” He stands up, holding a tea cup and walking towards Shaw. “Whether you agree or not, give me an exact answer.”

Shaw doesn’t make a sound but merely furrows his eyebrows.

The shopkeeper laughs. “Just look at your capabilities - even a math question can stump you. If you can’t handle this small difficulty, how can you think of yielding something big?”

“I’ve never found math difficult. I simply don’t like math.” Shaw sets aside his exercise paper and takes out a brand new sheet. “Next time, I’ll let you sign an exam script that has 100 marks.”

“Wow, look who’s ambitious.”

“Hmph, this is nothing.”

[Chapter 3: After School]

There is only one class on Wednesday afternoon. After school, Shaw carries his bag and runs towards the shop.

Once he enters, he sees his mentor eating some kind of medicine – small white and yellow pills in his palm.

“Why are you here at this time? Oh it’s… I forgot, it’s Wednesday today.” The shopkeeper talks while he turns around to walk into the kitchen. “Put down your bag and wash your hands. I bought a big watermelon!”

Shaw knows the old man has high blood pressure, some heart issues… He doesn’t have a concept of these things, but knows that it isn’t something good.

Without a sound, he puts his bag down and takes out his exercise books and practice questions.

“Don’t rush to do your homework, come eat some watermelon first.” The shopkeeper puts half a watermelon into Shaw’s arms and guides him to the outside of the store, bringing two small stools over for them to sit.

The watermelon, which was just taken out of the fridge, glistens with water droplets. The red flesh has a spoon stuck in it. Shaw scoops a big chunk from the middle. It’s very sweet.

The shopkeeper is also holding half a watermelon, but eats very slowly. Noticing Shaw staring at him, he sighs and shakes his head. “I’m old, so I can’t just eat these cold things…”

While saying this, he looks towards the drawer inside the store. “Your mentor is 62 this year.”

“When people become old, they love to talk about reason. They don’t want you to walk the crooked path they have because it’s a waste of time. You’re still young, so you think you have a lot of time to spare, so you don’t notice. I want to teach you that this is wrong. You need to spend the time of walking down a crooked path to do other things.”

After saying this, he points towards the whole street lined with antique shops. “You can’t just look at these. Learning calligraphy and painting today, and tomorrow jade, and thinking you’re living a serious life. Spending months and years to take care of this palm-sized shop – You can’t live like this. You are my disciple, and I will teach you all my skills. But apart from this, you still have to learn other things. Whatever you can learn, learn it all, and learn it well.

“You have to look at the big world, craft a career, aim higher, be more forward looking…”

He looks at Shaw affectionately. “Put in more effort, learn all my skills, and then get out of here!”

Shaw turns towards the watermelon and lets out a glum “humph”. “You’re old, but I’m still young. I still can’t differentiate plus minus multiply and divide. You’re old so you should be the one putting in more effort to live for a long time, so I can take my time to learn all these things.”

It’s summer, so the night comes late. The clock already signals the time as 6pm, but the light has not yet dispersed.

Shaw puts a brush back into the drawer, takes off his gloves and wipes the sweat off his forehead. “Old man, I’m hungry. Why not let me join you for dinner?”

In the kitchen, the shopkeeper is washing vegetables. He takes out a small box from the fridge, pulls back the curtains and returns to the shop.

“I didn’t cook your portion, but you can eat this if you’re hungry.” He removes the cover of the small paper box, and Shaw’s eyes widen.

“What, you think I wouldn’t remember your birthday?” The shopkeeper retrieves a cake from the paper box, and removes the plastic surrounding it. “Once you’re done eating, go home quickly!”

Shaw takes a spoon, muttering in a small voice, “It doesn’t matter if I go home late anyway.”

“Today is different. A child’s birthday is the same day as a mother’s suffering… But you’re too young and still can’t understand this. On other days it’s fine, but today is different…” The shopkeeper holds up his tea cup and goes to the counter.

[Note: The actual phrase is: “儿子生日母亲的苦日”, which doesn’t have a direct English translation. The meaning is that the day a child is born is also the day the mother suffers in childbirth to bring him into the world]

“I don’t know why adults don’t have an issue with you hanging out here all the time. But I can tell that you wear clean clothes every day, and that your shoes are polished. These are because of your parents. Let this old man add one line of reason – if you’re angry with your parents, you’ll regret it eventually.”

Shaw lowers his head, biting the spoon and says evasively, “No one’s angry with them.”

“You don’t call this being angry? It’s not that I’m picking on you, but boys should manage their tempers better. If you’re unhappy, you have to say it straight out, don’t just keep it boiling in your heart without a sound and then wait for someone to come coddle you. With your personality, in future, you’ll become a person who never speaks from the heart. Even when you’re with someone you like, you’d put on a front – That wouldn’t be good.”

“Old man, what are you thinking all day long?” Shaw retorts, not bothering to clean his mouth which has been dirtied with cream. “I will never have someone I like. I play soccer with a few guys in class, and they spend the entire day talking about who they like. It’s so annoying.”

The shopkeeper laughs at how Shaw says this with an air of righteousness. “Which is why I say you’re still young.”

Shaw digs into his cake and lets out a “hmph”. “I’m not young. I just haven’t grown taller.”

The shopkeeper sips his tea. “Guys do take longer to grow. Maybe you’ll be taller than me in two years.”

“Two years is way too long,” the plastic spoon dangles from Shaw’s mouth. “The best thing would be to wake up one day and suddenly be taller. Mm… I want to grow to this height. No.”

He stands on a chair, using his hands to gesture until he is satisfied. “At least here.”

The shopkeeper responds with a sweeping gaze, “That’s 180cm though.”

“180cm is very good.” Shaw sits back on the chair contentedly. “I’ll make a wish to grow to 180cm.”

[Chapter 5: Fate]

The shopkeeper looks at the clock on the wall, and slowly puts down his teacup.

“Since it’s your birthday, I’ll read your fortune.” He pulls open the drawer and takes out three old copper coins.

Shaw finishes up the last bite of cake and throws the packaging into a bin. “You’ve already read my fortune many times and the results are always the same. Yet you’re doing it again?”

The shopkeeper looks slightly down, but his voice remains calm. “I have nothing else to do anyway.”

The first throw, one heads and two tails.

The second throw, one heads and two tails.

The third throw, two heads and one tails.

…It’s really not much different from the last reading.

The shopkeeper shakes his head, his hand ready for the fourth throw. The copper coins fall on the table with a jingle, and a combination which has never been seen before appears – all three are negative.

“Wow, there’s a change!” The shopkeeper says in a higher pitch than usual.

In the middle of downing his drink, Shaw almost falls off his chair at the shopkeeper’s sudden outburst.

The jingles from the copper coins continue. The final two throws are no longer the same ones as before.

Shaw looks at the coins. “What does this mean?”

“It means that in the future, you will definitely not always be alone.” The shopkeeper rubs Shaw’s head with a bright smile on his face. “I was always worried about what would happen to you, with such a stubborn personality, if I weren’t around anymore…”

“Of course I wouldn’t always be alone. I’m not alone now.”

Shaw puts the three copper coins in his hands, looking like he doesn’t take the reading to heart – He has his family, pretty good friends, a few friends from the neighbouring class who buy tidbits with him. His life will continue this way.

Even though it’s a little boring, but he wouldn’t be alone.

“Also, old man, you won’t have any problems, and will definitely live for a very long time.”

Shaw speaks, and softly repeats the sentence, “You will definitely live for a very long time.”

The dusk has begun to settle outside. The shopkeeper holds the copper coins between his fingers, and gently sighs. “That’s why I say you’re still young.”

[Chapter 6: Birthday Present]

After packing his bag, Shaw looks at the clock on the wall – he should reach home by 7pm, just in time for dinner.

“You’re leaving already? You don’t want your birthday gift?”

The shopkeeper appears from behind the counter, tossing his gaze to the cupboard. “It’s been there for a whole day and you still haven’t found it yet.”

Usually displaying antiques, the drawer now has within it a box wrapped in colourful paper. Shaw curiously walks over and rips off the packaging, revealing a small wooden box.

A dark brown Rosewood bracelet rests in his hand.

In his eyes, this is something only an adult can have.

At his age, he would have received books, stationery, toys or models – none of which he likes.

He is always treated like a child, but he has grown up since a long time ago.

“This bracelet isn’t something expensive, it isn’t that much of an antique, but it is made of quality Rosewood.”

“If you’re bored, you can play with this, and learn to manage your temperament. You’re still young, so it’s fine if you’re still impatient and stubborn. But if you continue with this little attitude of yours, you’d lose out eventually.”

“In this line of work, you need to have patience. One, only when you manage your emotions would you remain focused. Two, good things come to those who wait.”

“The change in your life is also something you will have to wait for.”

These words completely fly over Shaw’s head. He puts the bracelet onto this wrist, coils it around multiple times until it can stay on.

“In future, no matter what you face, you have to be calm, and be patient.” The shopkeeper gently taps Shaw’s head, and frowns. “Have you committed all this to memory?”

Shaw rubs his head, his eyes still trained on his present, completely engrossed with it. “Ahh – yes I remember, I remember!”

“What do you remember?”

“Remember… that I have to hurry home for dinner!” Shaw turns around and grabs his bag, disappearing out of the shop. Before that, he raises the hand that dons the bracelet and waves.

The stars flicker, and the light is reflected in Shaw’s eyes. His eyes are smiling.

#mlqc cn #mlqc #mlqc shaw #love and producer #mlqc spoilers

109 notes · View notes

worldwidebt7 · 4 years

Text

Hell[L]ing || 04

§ — Pairing: Chimera!Taehyung x Empath!Reader (with mentions of Reader x Other Members)

§ — Genre: SciFi AU, fluff, angst, smut, horror

§ — Wordcount: 3,416 § — Rating: M § — Warnings: None. Kookie being the sweet helpful bun that he is.

§ — A/N: So, banged this entire chapter out in a day and a half because, well, QUARANTINE. I should have been working on my commissions or my Webtoon contest entry, but I had an itch to get the next chapter of this out because it’s about to get GOOD. Oh, and there’s a decent amount of Jungkookie in this chapter~ Enjoy!

Summary: You moved out into the wilderness to live a calm, peaceful life. Your abilities made it impossible to live in crowded places, so even if you wanted to you couldn’t return. But when something happens outside the realm of even your normalcy, you start to think that maybe having everyone else’s emotions bearing down on you isn’t such a bad alternative to being trapped with your own.

Today, it was raining. If you had the ability to have the sky open up and rain on you every day, you would do it in a heartbeat— you loved the rain. It was the only time where you felt fractionally normal around other people. The constant interference of energy caused by rainfall created something like a static that made it easier to drown out invasive outside emotions. You could have a conversation with someone and not get barreled over by wave after wave of their feelings. Plus, you couldn’t resist opening the windows of your home to let the sweet, clean air left behind a recent rain shower wash away any stagnant atmosphere that may have accumulated within its walls.

Beyond that it was raining, it was also, suddenly, surprisingly, pleasantly, Friday. After the short, but no less exhausting, encounter with your neighbor, Seokjin, and his sickly roommate, Taehyung, the rest of the week passed by with little excitement. Namjoon had given you the look—one you were expecting to get, but nerve-wracking nonetheless— once he found out that you had yet to write basically the first 75 pages of your novel, though at this point he was not surprised if the lack of spike in his aura suggested anything. He had given you until Thursday to write at least an outline of events so he could have a better understanding of how the heroine falls into the unfortunate situation she finds herself in. Thankfully, you had been able to accomplish this task, and was even able to send in dialog samples. Namjoon, for now, had been placated.

The other thing about Friday, or this Friday in particular, was that it was the third Friday of the month signaling your bi-weekly visit from your favorite grocery delivery boy, Jungkook. He would be arriving a little after 4pm, as he kept your delivery to the end of his route. Good thing too; the two of you have recently gotten close and your chattering would often cause tardiness to Jungkook’s other appointments. Not to mention you lived fairly far out of the way for your delivery boy who drove nearly 45 minutes just to drop off six measly bags of filled with the food items you had texted him the previous day.

Honestly the boy was too helpful for his own good. There was one Friday where he had popped by with your things when you off-handedly mentioned how the ice-maker in your freezer wasn’t working properly and making too much ice. The angel that is your delivery boy spent the next 20 minutes with your irritating ice-maker, chipping away at the ice that had frozen over the rotator and fixing the setting all so you wouldn’t have to go with your original plan which involved defrosting your freezer, losing your frozen goods, and cleaning up a cold, wet mess afterwards. He had not complained once. Not about the ice, not about having to use a screwdriver as a pick, not even when his fingers had become so cold that you could feel the pain— literally.

This was one of many examples of his unbridled kindness, and one of the many reasons you were always excited to see the boy. As you straightened your house and rearranged your pantry to fit the incoming foodstuff, the rain continued to strike the outside of your house, mixing in well with the low-fi hip-hop you had playing in the background on your stereo system. It almost made you sleepy, but your relaxed state wasn’t enough to deter the building anticipation towards your future visitor.

When you were pleased with your pantry, you backed away and closed the door, just in time it seemed, as there was a quiet knock at your door. You sighed happily— you hadn’t felt the boy coming at all, bless the rain and its emotion-jamming effects. Ah, wait, the rain…

You zipped over to the door, realizing a bit sluggishly that Jungkook would be standing outside in the rain with all of your groceries until you opened it for him, as he was always the model citizen and wouldn’t enter without your knowledge. Clad in only socks, you slide across the hardwood flooring and straight into the door, hitting it against your shoulder with a slight ‘thud’, before regaining your footing and flinging open the front door. On the other side was a wet, mop-headed delivery boy, looking rather shocked at the speed in which you had approached the door and more than likely hearing the impact your body made with it.

“Sorry, sorry!” You said, picking up the reusable bags that he had lugged from his car and sat on your front step. Before you could grab a third bag, his hands shot out to stop you, fingers grazing your arm and allowing you to finally get a clear read on his emotions— he was like the air after the rain: sweet, clean, and refreshing.

“Noona, you don’t have to do that, I got those.” He said, picking up the other four bags, two in each hand, before following you into the house and, albeit with some trouble, kicked off his boots. Jungkook really had no wicked bone in his body, not one. He never had a second agenda, never said something he didn’t mean, never held a grudge; and his emotions reinforced all of these facts regularly. It was no wonder you liked being around him— you never needed your abilities to tell you what he was really feeling or thinking. He was an open book for you, and he did so with the knowledge of what you were capable of.

“Thanks for coming all the way out here for me, I really appreciate it.” You chimed, setting the bags down on the counter, Jungkook following suit. He gave a light-hearted shrug before ruffling some of the water out of his own hair.

“It’s okay, you are paying me after all,” A small huff escaped your lips at his comment as you placed your new gallon of milk into the refrigerator. Humor spilled into the air as you became accustomed to his energy despite the rain and he stifled a laugh at your reaction. “I’m only joking— well, no, you are paying me— you know I like hanging out with you!” You cracked a smile, not even able to continue to pretend to be mad at him.

“Yeah, yeah… took you long enough to talk to me though!” Teasing him had quickly become one of your favorite past-times. He was so easily embarrassed, and the way he always touched his ears when he was especially bashful entered dangerous territories for your heart. Precious boy.

“Yeah, well, I’m not, I didn’t, UGH. You know what I’m trying to say!” You sputtered out a laugh, not even the least surprised that you did, in fact, know what he was trying to say. He had confided in you shortly after communication had been established that he got nervous around new people, most specifically women. You weren’t sure why, he was a kind, bright, good-looking young man, and he had never produced much of a reason for it either. That’s just how he was. Perhaps he didn’t want to overstep any barriers and make people uncomfortable? Though now that you knew him, being uncomfortable with Jungkook was entirely impossible. And at his pink cheeks and pout, you caved, throwing a grape at him just to make him flinch.

“Alright punk, I forgive you.” You said before popping a different grape into your mouth. The dark-locked boy rubbed his chest where the grape had bounced off, feigning offence, the continuous stream of humor flowing off of him enough for you to know that he was enjoying your banter.

“Thanks, noona, really appreciate it, almost a year later!” He crinkled his nose at you as if he were irritated before tumbling into a fit of laughter, where you joined him merrily. Precious boy.

“So, what have you been up to? How’s school?” Routine questions, but you honestly wanted to know. He looked thoughtful for a moment, clearly trying to think of any recent changes in his life. You raised an eyebrow as you closed the door to your fridge once you finished putting away the chilled goods. As expected, he shrugged.

“The usual.” He began helping you by unloading the canned goods onto the counter top. “My film class is getting pretty interesting though.” Folding the tote bag the groceries were in, he placed it on one of your bar stools and then looked at you. “What about you? Anything interesting happen lately? Any more birds fly into your window?” You rolled your eyes at his teasing— living out here by yourself, you rarely had anything substantial to share with your friend. This time, however…

“Well, I’ve got new neighbors…” You revealed, picking up a few of the canned goods. Jungkook raised his eyebrow, following your lead and collecting a couple of cans to help you on your way to the pantry.

“Oh yeah?” You hummed, nodding your head as you placed your cans on the shelf.

“Mmhm. A tall guy with purple hair and his roommate that’s apparently always sick.” You elaborated, not mentioning names for now. “They’re… nice.” At your hesitation, you felt a slight buzz of uneasiness from the man beside you. You looked at him, knowing he was aware that you felt his change. “What?”

“Just nice?” His brows furrowed slightly as he looked at you like he was trying to read your energy, which you believed with little doubt he could. You spent too much time by yourself anymore and you long had forgotten how to properly dress your expressions for social interactions. You let out a breathy chuckle at his concern.

“Yes, nice.” You reiterated, plucking the cans from his arms. He gave you an unimpressed look that was garnished with a pout. With a sigh, you indulged him. “I can’t get a good read on either of them…” Your confession only left him more confused.

“You mean your empath stuff, right?” A nod of affirmation. “Why can’t you read them? I thought you didn’t know how to turn it off?” You hummed thoughtfully, taking the last can from him.

“It’s not that I can’t read them, it’s just that…” You turned from the pantry after placing the last can on the shelf and ran a hand through your hair. “The one dude is always freaking out— panic, panic, panic— all the time! I’m afraid that he’s going to give himself a heart attack! But beyond that, I have a gut feeling telling me that he’s a good person, even when he deliberately lies to me.” Arms crossed, Jungkook looked at you pointedly.

“So… a good liar?” He asked, trying to understand your instincts. You shrugged with a groan.

“Maybe? I don’t know, I really do think he’s… good.” You stepped back over to the counter to grab your new paper towel rolls and plastic wrap to be set in their proper locations. Jungkook slid onto a bar stool and leaned against the counter.

“Okay, not really sure what that means, but…” You glared at him, and he grinned at you, obviously trying to hold back laughter. “What about the other one?” At that, you paused. How were you supposed to explain ‘the other one’? Caught up in your thoughts, you didn’t bother putting way the items in your hand, rather opting to just set them on the counter again.

“Well, uh…” You trailed off, not entirely sure if he would believe you seeing as the last time you tried to explain something improbable with Yoongi didn’t go as you had hoped. However, looking at the wide-eyed boy in front of you, everything about his aura was open and trusting and you knew that if you told him, he would believe you. “His emotions come in ‘blips’.”

“’Blips’?” He repeated— not in a condescending way, but rather as if he were trying to place the definition of the word. You nodded, less than prepared to explain yourself.”

“Yeah, I can’t feel his emotions all the time, they go away and reappear like radar blips. But they’re always super intense.” Resting your forearms on the counter, you let the edge press into your ribs a bit as you leaned forward. Even without your abilities, you could tell that Jungkook was trying to think of an answer, anything that could be the cause. You almost smiled at his thoughtfulness— there was nothing to suggest he didn’t believe you.

“Well,” he started, breaking you out of your trance. “You said he was sick all the time, right? Maybe that could affect your readings?” You had thought about that possibility as well— you had never been knowingly near a significantly ill person, so you couldn’t say that it wasn’t conceivable; though saying that was the only issue would be erroneous. Still, seeing as this was the only reasonable explanation you had come up with, you chose to put your faith in it.

“Maybe,” You agreed, nodding. You didn’t bring up the midnight visitor or the crawly feeling of being watched the last week or so, knowing the kind boy in your kitchen would likely throw a fit trying to figure out a way to help you. To be honest, you kind of wish he would, though that was only in your own selfish interests. Since you hadn’t had any real incidents besides that one, you decided not to worry the boy.

Unfortunately, Jungkook’s visit this time around had to be cut short, as he had other responsibilities to attend to in the evening. You gave him sass of course, stating that you couldn’t believe that he had something more important to do than keeping you company. He laughed and apologized, though a small twinge of guilt in the air made you realize that he knew the hidden meaning in your friendly repartee.

You were lonely.

You were also aware that he knew you’d be able to feel the minute change in his emotional state even with the rain, but neither of you commented on it before you ushered him out the door so he could drive home while it was still light out. He bid farewell before sprinting to his car to avoid getting completely drenched and you waved from inside the doorway, flinching when he peels out of your driveway like he was Brian O'Conner from the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise.

Sighing, you stood in your doorway for a bit longer, listening to the rain and watching the reflections in the puddles dance. This was the part you hated most— the emptiness that follows the end of social interaction. You were used to being alone, and the longer you were alone the more used to it you became. However, the small instances when you were able to talk to another person, be near them, smile and laugh with them… they reminded you that humans were codependent on each other. You needed other people. As much as you were physically pained to be near them, you needed them. As you spent more time in isolation from the world, the more you yearned to be normal.

The sound of a blunt object hitting the glass of your window wall had you spinning on you heel out of reflex. As Jungkook had teased you earlier, it was common for birds to fly into the large window panes. More often than not, they were fine and they flew off. But every once in a while, they injured themselves, and you took it upon yourself to assess their injuries and making them comfortable if need be.

So, imagine your surprise when there wasn’t a small, winged creature on your back patio, but rather a tall, soaked, handsome boy with his palm pressed against your French doors. You blinked a few times for good measure, hoping this was just an illusion and that you weren’t currently looking at your sickly neighbor with the weird readings standing in the rain outside your house. When you realized he was just going to continue to stand there looking into your house until you greeted him, you quickly shut your front door and hastily made your way over to let him in.

As you got close, you realized there was a buzzing in the air, like it was vibrating, again in blips like radar. You recognized this as anxiety or nervousness and quickly deduced that it was coming from your neighbor. You paused before opening the door— you didn’t know this man; you’d barely met him more than once and only heard him speak a single time, and it wasn’t even to you. Plus, you still couldn’t shake the unnerving feeling you got whenever he was within your range; there was too much similar between how you felt about the boy in front of you and the thing you saw that night. Were you really about to let him into your house?

Almost like he could feel your hesitation, his hand slipped from the door and he looked at the ground dejectedly. A hole appeared in you doubt at this innocent act, and a quick, shooting pain pierced your chest. You couldn’t tell if it was your own guilt setting in or his emotions afflicting you, but you opened the door without another lingering moment to think about how bad of an idea this was.

‘He’s sick and shouldn’t be in the rain,’ You told yourself as you now stood in front of this near-stranger without the protective barrier of your glass door. You swallowed, your own nerves now wreaking havoc on your body, though the dark-haired boy in front of you look more shocked and more nervous than you did. In fact, if you didn’t get him to calm down soon, his nerves would probably cause you to throw up. And the fact that his emotions only appeared like explosions in the atmosphere around you wasn’t helping. Still, the way he looked down at his feet rather than at you, just…

“H-hello…?” You greeted; your uncertainty evident in your shaken speech. He made the smallest movement, like he was flinching at the sound of your voice and you almost wanted to backtrack. Good lord he was skittish. “What, uh, what are you doing here? I-I mean, can I help you?” Fumbling over your words wasn’t new for you, but for some reason you were especially aware of your tongue’s missteps at the moment.

He stood there for a moment, contemplating you surmised, before peeking up at you through his wet bangs. You made eye contact and— sweet heavens— you forgot about the alluring abyss that was his gaze. It only lasted for a moment before he looked at his feet again, which, you finally noticed, were completely bare.

“You said…” Now it was your turn to be startled; only now remembering how deep and velvet-like his voice was, even with how soft-spoken he currently was. “…that I could come….” He shifted, his nervousness beating around you like drums as you let his words sink in. You said he could come… you said he could come? When did you—

“Oh, um, well my house isn’t too far from yours…He’s welcome to stop by from time-to-time if he’s able… It’d be no problem… It’d be nice to have company every once-in-a-while.”

You suddenly remembered that, yes, you had invited him to visit you during your interaction Monday afternoon. At the time, you had your reasons, reasons that you couldn’t remember for the life of you at the moment. What on earth possessed you to tell a stranger it was fine to wander over to your house just because you were neighbors?!

And yet, the way his large body looked so small in front of you, like he was pleading with you to let him in…

“I-I did…” You relaxed your face enough to smile at him, your nerves still eating at you and a headache starting to set in from the intensity of his. You stepped aside to let him in, to which his head shot up and his eyes widened— you suppose he didn’t think you would actually let him in, but the sudden, yet agreeable change in his emotional blips was enough to tell you that he was relieved, pleased even, as he stepped in from the rain. “I should probably get you a towel, huh?”

Tags:

@sana-b @beach-bitch-bitch-beach @babbitybabo @softmxchi @halijahfan @chimchimsauce @coolavidreader @beesthoughtsblog @breadcaaat @lucian-kinnder @wolfgirl-m @sogrossstuff @kpop-nolife @unoriginal-username15432 @cvbachacbitch @rhayad @lladyow @jiminot7 @parkminhee @ditttiii @sathom013 @megazdl @sugabased

191 notes · View notes

your-local-bnha-writer · 4 years

Text

beanie boy | Hanta Sero

word count | 1511

pairing | sero x reader

warning | none

genre | fluff

a/n | well hello there! sorry my inbox is still closed im working on something oh my god i sound like every youtuber i noticed on don’t write a lot of sero fics even tho i day he needs more love... hypocrite so i hope you enjoy this! and yes, this is a college au!

gif by @foolishchesspawn

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

you swiftly ran out of your dorm just barely slamming it shut, not bothering to lock it. glancing at the time you found out you had 6 minutes until class started and you were sure as hell weren't going to make it. did you know this? yes. were you going to try anyways? absolutely.

you were already feeling the effects of fatigue, your lungs ached for air. you looked like an idiot gasping for oxygen as you ran around college campus, but this was not an unfamiliar sight. you heart pumped rabidly and you could the familiar metallic tang at the back of your throat as your legs grew more tired by the second.

it was right there. your class was right there. running up the stairs you thought to yourself, i should really get in shape, or manage my time better.

you made it and sat in an empty seat next to somebody you didn't know. not like you really cared. but apparently he did.

he took note of your appearance. your sweaty forehead and how your baby hairs sticking to it. how you took long deep breaths and how your chest rose and fell speedily.

you noticed his gaze, normally you would've squirmed uncomfortably and made an effort not to make eye contact. but today was not a normal day. today was the morning after you tried energy drinks for the first time, today was the morning after trying to finish a project that was due the next day, thus why you woke up late and ran to class.

so, you had a crap ton of caffeine, 2 hours of sleep, plus the fact you just ran to class in less than 10 minutes, it was a recipe for disaster.

and so, what did you do?

"what do you want?" you ask. you didn't mean to, really you didn't. it was just your stupid mush of a brain making panicked decisions on the spot.

your eyes shot up at your answer and immediately apologized to the boy that you assumed, was just very concerned about you and your health.

to your surprise, he was super chill about it.

"nah, you're good," he answers and shoots you a smile. you nod and take a moment to observe him.

from the looks of it he was tall and lanky, although you couldn't really tell since he was sitting down. he had a beanie on with tufts of long black hair sticking out.

you had realized that you were staring but were too tired to feel self-conscious.

"so did you wake up late today?" he raised a brow, ignoring your stares from before.

"yeah, I was up late finishing a project like every other person here," you answer resting your chin on the palm of your hand lazily letting your eyes drag up to meet with his.

"hm," he says with a smile and ends the conversation there. you shrug it off, and continued to take notes on the lesson.

after class you had to walk back your dorm but in the rush of you getting your crap together, you had forgotten to pack an umbrella or check the weather. you sigh getting ready to bolt back to your dorm in hopes of "dodging" the rain when you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder.

turning behind you meet eyes with the stranger who you say beside in class. ah, beanie boy. you greet him with a small smile and a wave.

"it's raining," he says glancing behind you.

"indeed." was all you said before getting ready to head back to your own dorm again.

"you don't have an umbrella, don't you?" he announces loudly, before you before you could speed walk to your dorm in order to save energy and avoid slipping on the wet ground.

you stopped in your tracks and slowly turn around, standing face to face with a cheeky grin from beanie boy.

"I don't, do I?" you say with a hint of passive aggressiveness in your tone. he raises a brow at you and you feel a pang guilt in your chest.

"I'm sorry, do you need anything?" you ask shifting your weight to one leg.

"so are you always this sassy?" he asks leaning in with a smug grin plastered on his face. you give him an irritated look before he chuckle and put his hands in defence.

"I'm kidding princess, I wanted to walk you home?" he smiles shoving his hands in his pockets. it was your turn to raise a brow.

"and why would I want that?" you question crossing your arms. he gives you a teasing grin.

"because I'm great company," he smirks proudly. you roll your eyes.

"you need a better reason," you scoff attempting to turn away. but beanie boy offered you something, something you couldn't refuse. not at a time like this.

"and I have an umbrella," he says leaning against a nearby pole with that signature smug smirk.

you thought about it for a bit. did you need an umbrella? maybe. could you also run back without his snarky comments. possibly. did you secretly like his company? hell yeah. was he also extremely attractive? godammit.

"fine! yes, you can walk me home, only because I need your umbrella," you say biting your lip in an attempt to stop the smile forming on your face.

the walk back to your dorm was more entertaining than you thought it would be. sure, he gave sarcastic comments here and there but you could handle those. it turns out, he's a lot more friendly than you assumed he would be.

"hey, I just realized, I never got your name," you say looking up at him. he smiles.

"you're right, aren't you?" he hums in agreement and looks straightforward.

"okay! well I'm y/n, hello, nice to meet you," you say getting antsy. he gets this look of mischief on his face, and looks down at you.

"you're really desperate to get to know me," he smiles.

"you're the one who offered to walk me back to my dorm," you huff.

"touché, but maybe if you beg enough, I'll tell you my name," he sings the last part.

you couldn't believe your ears. he had the audacity to ask you to beg, beg in order to get to know him. not even know him, just to get his name!

"please?" you ask in a soft tone.

"hm, you could do better but I'll let it slide this one time," he shrugs.

"hanta sero," he answers and looks at you like he was asking for your opinion on it.

"sero, I like it," you say with a soft grin.

sooner or later you reached your dorm and you felt a sort of feeling in your chest. an unfamiliar one, like you needed to be with sero. spend more time with him. don't let him leave yet!

"well, isn't this your stop?" he looks at you with a smile. but, you notice how his facial expressions seem duller.

"oh, thanks for walking me, I appreciate it," you thank him half-heartedly.

"anytime," he waves and turns to leave.

"wait!" you shout surprising both you and sero. he turns around and tilts his head. oh god, what do I say now?

"do you wanna go...go out for coffee? or ramen sometime?" you ask shyly while fidgeting with your hands.

there was a moment of silence and you thought to yourself, is he gonna make fun of me? your foot starting bouncing to cool your nerves. you started to get nervous and you were so close to just apologizing and running into your dorm when sero finally decided to speak up.

"coffee sounds nice," he says coolly. your eyes light up and you look at him.

"oh...oh yeah! for sure, when...um when are you free?" you ask scratching the back of your neck.

"tomorrow? does tomorrow work for you?" he asks.

"yep, tomorrow's fine," you smile, "well I guess I'll see you—" you started but were cut off short.

"oh wait, I forgot to give you this," he says taking your hand and placing a small piece of paper on it and suddenly he seems bashful.

"uhh call me? or text...texting is fine too," he chuckles nervously and starts walking backwards.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he confirms with you.

"yep!" you answer and walk into your dorm feeling like a love struck teenager that just got asked out by the most popular guy in school.

you put your things down grabbing your phone to ask sero what time you should meet up, but it turns out he beat you to it.

4pm? don't be late this time, wouldn't want your cute self to be exhausted on our date now would we? ;)

you blush at the compliment and squish your cheeks with you hands. taking a deep breath to calm yourself.

"this boy is going to be the death of me," you mumble to yourself before picking up your phone and texting him back.

112 notes · View notes

airi-p4 · 4 years

Text

Tanabata - Lukagami fic

My first Lukagami fic for the Lukagami July 2020 Day 7: Tanabata

I don’t really ship them but I think they are cute together.

Thanks to @livrever for check and corrections!

Ao3

___________________________________________

7th of July. Tanabata.

According to the legend, the only day of the year the lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi can see each other. A dramatic couple separated for a year until they can meet once again for one day only. And that’s, of course, reason enough for the Japanese people to throw a unique event as a celebration.

Writing wishes on long narrow colourful papers and hang them up on bamboo trees was one of the activities Kagami always looked forward to the most. Growing up with strict parents didn't give her much freedom or fun, but she was glad respecting traditions was one of her family's motto since she could enjoy every year the tanabata festival. And that was the most fun she would get each year: her favorite festival.

The last few years she was in France she had missed it, which made her a little sad - even if she still wrote her wish and hung it up next to her window every year, there was no festival, no fireworks, not the traditional Japanese event fun she loved.

But this year was different. She was in Japan again for Tanabata, and she was going to enjoy the fun of the festival at its fullest. Her whole set had been ready since the previous day to be used at the afternoon: yukata, obi (sash), geta (sandals), inner yukata, hair pin and accessories, cloth bag matching the yukata, money and her smartphone (to take photos). She was anxious for the time to pass faster so she could get ready and go enjoy the fun.

Every 5 minutes she kept checking for the time, even while she was practicing either kendo or archery.

"Kagami. What do you think you are doing? Take it seriously, don't keep disappointing me any farther. Focus" Tomoe Tsurugi was seated behind her daughter, supervising her training.

"Yes, mother" Kagami answered, but inside her heart she could only giggle in expectation for the festival.

"You need to focus and lose sight of all your distractions. Remember how your efficiency has decreased lately. That's why we came back to Japan in the first place. Don't waste all your efforts until now for some useless thoughts. Many people have high expectations of you. Don't let your sponsors down"

"Yes, mother" Kagami replied.

She knew her mother was right. She couldn't focus at all in anything she did. Her head had been somewhere else for a while. To be precise, since the day she figured out her love for a certain blue-haired musician. Who was also the same boy that had once been in love with her best friend (and maybe he still was). Luka snuck somehow inside Kagami's heart in a totally unexpected way - he scolded her for going under the rain without the proper equipment and lend her an umbrella. 'What a silly reason to fall in love with someone' she thought, denying her feelings at first, remembering how Marinette had told her how she fell in love with Adrien in a similar way. But the more time the Japanese lady spent with the guitarist, the clearer and stronger her love for him became.

Kagami didn't know what was so good about Luka Couffaine to make her fall in love with him. Kind-hearted, handsome, mature, responsible, talented, quiet… yes, great, but nothing she didn't have on her own. Then why? His patience, maybe? His rebellious looks? The way he cares for his loved ones? Even after 3 months, it still remained a mystery for Kagami. And she loved mysteries. Could it be it? Maybe. She wasn't sure. She was supposedly mysterious herself too.

What was for sure is she was in love with him and, after two months without seeing each other, she missed deeply their time together. Good thing she was going to meet with him again today. On Tanabata. Just like the lovers of the story, the two stars shining on the firmament across the Milky Way. And that made Kagami excitement over the sun, even if her expression remained impassible as always in front of her relatives, her heart was ecstatic.

Their meeting was set at 4pm. He had a concert last night for Jagged Stone’s tour - which her mother didn't let her attend, of course. So today was the only day they could meet. How can it get more romantic than that?

After having lunch, Kagami excused herself to get ready for the festival, hiding the fact she was also going on a date. Or at least she wished it was.

After brushing her teeth, she proceeded to get dressed. It usually takes a lot of time for newbies to put a yukata on, but Kagami was almost a professional when it came to wearing traditional Japanese clothing, and it took her only 5 minutes. After applying some light make-up, brushing her hair and decorating it with her hair accessories, her look for the festival was ready.

She looked glamorous, elegant and beautiful, and she was well aware of it. In front of the mirror, the girl kept posing and practicing how to smile for more than 40 minutes, waiting for the time to go to arrive and thinking of the activities she wanted to try out there -as well as the boy she was meeting in a matter of minutes.

Finally the time arrived and she took her leave.

The festival took place in a shopping district on a city nearby the Tsurugi's residential state. It was decorated with Tanabata themed garlands, flowers, paper lanterns and statues and, of course, decorated bamboo trees. The view was even prettier than the last time she had been there many years ago.

While she was waiting for Luka, Kagami took a paper guide for the event, checking the performances and the shops available, as well as their distribution. She was checking and confirming her plan and route to follow to make it perfectly on time to each one of the performances she was interested to attend.

She was so caught up in thinking she didn't notice someone standing in front of her. After looking the upper part of the guide, she could take a glance at a men's yukata in front of her. Too close for her liking.

"If you plan to try anything funny with me I'll make you regret it" she said, without looking up.

"Not my plan, but I wouldn't dare to, knowing your strength"

Kagami's eyes met Luka's in surprise. He was standing in front of her, pretty close, wearing a dark blue yukata that looked unbelievably good on him. Luka's soft smile reflected on Kagami's face, mimicking it without noticing. Her face was glowing.

"You came early" she said.

"So did you. You look beautiful" responded Luka.

"Thank you. You look great too. I didn't expect you to wear a yukata"

"Yeah, I noticed" he giggled at his own comment, stealing another smile from the Japanese lady. "How have you been?"

"I've been ok. The training got harder since now I take archery classes daily too, but I've been improving. But I miss Paris. And my friends. And you" Kagami looked genuinely lonely, but changed the subject fast enough to not be questioned about it. "How about you? How is the tour going?" She asked.

"Oh, it's amazing. Jagged Stone is really an international star. Wherever he goes gets the tickets sold out in a flash and the audience is totally committed to his performance. Being able to perform with Jagged in front of so many people is such a privilege. I'm very lucky"

"Why do you cut yourself low? I've watched some fancams of your most recent lives and I know you've been performing some of your songs during intermissions. I've seen how the crowd lost it every time. Some of the comments said they liked your performance the most too. You're a star. Be proud"

"Wow, you've been following my tour and performances? Thank you. It makes me very happy" he thanked her sincerely, slightly blushing for her words.

"Shall we go? There's a shamisen live performance in 5 minutes I really want to attend to. This way"

Kagami didn't even wait for Luka's response to start walking, making the boy run some steps to catch her.

"So… you've thought of a plan?" Luka asked her, trying not to lose sight of her.

"Leave it to me" she only said, never stopping walking.

______

Kagami's plan was perfectly timed. The 30 minutes between performances were used to eat and play typically festival food and games: takoyaki, yakisoba, kakigori, crepes, water yo-yo catching, goldfish catching (which sadly had been returned to the owner), cork guns, etc. They took lots of photos in the process -especially Luka took them with Kagami's phone because she wanted a photo of everything. Some selfies together were taken too, mostly from Kagami when Luka wasn't looking. Sometimes he had noticed and posed to the camera to take a front shot together, a wide grin on his face, matching Kagami's.

The activities and performances were very fun and interesting. It was a first for Luka, but the whole atmosphere and Kagami's silent excitement made it extremely enjoyable for him. He was having a lot of fun (way more than he expected). Spending time with a Kagami with such a bright smile on her face was new for him too, and he couldn't help it but be taken over by her enthusiasm.

As the time for fireworks was approaching, Kagami decided it was time to move to the wish writing area, where the bamboo trees were already filled with colorful papers. But just before reaching there, a sign in front of a shop picked Kagami's attention. She stood in front of it checking the prices and the products. Luka stood by her side staring at her and looking at the shop from time to time, unable to read anything of what was written or figure out what kind of products they had to offer. He waited until she decided step in, entering shop after her.

Luka and Kagami were amazed by the shop’s interior. There were many different sets for many different themes - from schools to historical setting, cafeterias, rock stages… even a tennis court setting was available. Luka wondered why Kagami decided to check this shop. But Kagami spoke before he could ask.

"It's a cosplay studio. You can rent a cosplay and take photos in the different settings for the amount of hours you pay for. I'll try to bribe them to let me take the cosplays outside to wear for a while before the fireworks start. Look at which one you want to wear meanwhile. There's a catalog with photos at that counter".

After Kagami's explanation, she started talking to the shop attendant and Luka followed her instructions, checking the costumes available.

The truth is Luka knew nothing about costumes or cosplay. Most of ones on the list were anime or videogames related, like a Pikachu cosplay or high school uniforms. Samurai costumes piqued his attention, but seemed hard to move in. He couldn't decide at all.

"Have you decided yet?" Asked Kagami.

"No, I'm really lost. I have no idea what to choose. Have you decided yet?" He asked

"Of course. I've always wanted to try one on, but it's difficult with my family's strictness. I'm taking this chance. Oh, and I'll decide yours. We can't afford to waste more time than needed. I need to write my wish before the fireworks start" she said, leaving again to speak with the attendant.

Luka was always amazed by Kagami's determination. 'I never hesitate'. That was her motto. One of the reasons he admired her, along with her talent in sports, her delicate manners, her honesty, her beauty, and her rare sincere smile that made him melt in softness. She gave him the calm he could only accomplish with meditation otherwise. A calm sometimes broken by his heart’s beats, every time he was blessed by her affection and curiosity looks for him in her eyes.

He liked her. He liked her very much. Probably even loved her. He realized how important Kagami was for him a few days before she returned to Japan. And it was still surprising for Luka to see how a girl so different from Marinette could captivate his heart in such explosive way: unexpectedly, accurately and fiercely as a storm.

She was the Furinkazan in all its phrases.

Fast as the wind

Silent as the forest

Raiding and plundering as the fire

Immobile as a mountain

The old strategy used to win battles during Japan’s Sengoku Era. A phrase capable to be used in many different fields- even love. Luka was sure it worked on him.

The Japanese girl was strong, stronger than him in all aspects, but that was partially a facade. She was actually fragile on the inside and Luka could tell how hurt she sometimes was by her loneliness every time he stared at the windows to her soul. He usually patted her head or squeezed her hand or her shoulder when he noticed the look and, with doing so, her face immediately regained her shy honest smile, looking genuinely happy. Luka loved that smile, and was more than flattered to be the one it was directed to.

While reorganizing his feelings for her, Luka waited for Kagami's return. And there she was, two minutes later some clothes on her hands.

"Here. Wear this. I'm sure it will look great on you" Kagami said, stretching her hand to give him some clothing.

"Ok" Luka grabbed the costume and scanned it. The clothes given by Kagami consisted in Japanese traditional-looking clothing, white with gold, blue and purple details. Something similar to a Temple apprentice, maybe? He didn't know much about Japanese traditional clothing, but it looked pretty.

"The boys changing room is there. Ask the male attendant if you need help. I'll be in that changing room. Wait for me if you finish earlier than me" said Kagami, while Luka nodded and she moved to enter the changing room with the female attendant.

_____

The clothes chosen by Kagami fitted Luka perfectly. Luka was surprised at how unexpectedly comfortable they were. According to the list, it seemed to be some figure skater cosplay. He knew he looked great on it when the female attendant let out a 'kya' and fangirled a little at him, making him giggle at her exaggerated reaction.

Three minutes later Kagami came out of the changing room. She was wearing a black and red female ninja costume that looked as if it had been made just for her. She looked amazing. Beautiful, yet stronger than ever. Damn, she even threatened to throw him a shuriken (ninja stars) if he didn't start moving out and stop wasting their time. He thought he wouldn't have minded being attacked by her. In truth, Kagami just wanted the boy to stop staring at her since it was becoming embarrassing.

______

As soon as they went out of the shop, they inevitably became the center of all the gazes. A young woman recognized Luka from yesterday's Jagged concert and started to fangirl over him along with her girl friends. Kagami tried to fight to protect Luka, but he dismissed her help and encouraged her to go write her wish instead.

Kagami's eyebrows frowned in anger but left to the bamboo wish writing stand alone. She could see Luka gazing at her from time to time while he gave signatures and selfies to his fans. Kagami couldn't hide her jealousy and anger and was tempted to write as her wish for all Luka's fans to disappear. But looking at him making his dreams come true, his bright smile and energy on his concerts… she knew he couldn't be a star without fans, so she discarded the idea.

When she looked at him in a lonely apologetic look, Luka winked at her, asking for her to wait a minute until the signatures and selfies were finished. She loved him even then, posing at the cameras with a grin on his face surrounded by fangirls. 'How silly' she thought.

Kagami decided to stop looking at him and started to write her wish on the paper -the one she had originally play to write. It was a good thing Luka was occupied, because she didn't want him to see what she had written. Moments after finishing, Luka came back to her.

"Sorry for that. Fans can get crazy sometimes" he apologized. "This outfit didn't help either. Blue hair and Japan's number one figure skater cosplay is a terrific combination to stay out of people's looks. It's obvious I would stand out..." Luka concluded.

"The price of fame. I understand. I'm getting some of those too, sometimes" she smiled reassuringly at him, making him relieved. "I'm happy your dreams are taking form, even if I have to go through that sometimes," she said, squeezing his hand a little while hiding her wish paper from him.

Luka squeezed back at her hand. "Thank you, Kagami. It makes me happy to hear that" said as he smiled.

A few long seconds passed with them still holding hands, eyes closed, Kagami's head on Luka's upper arm and Luka's head on Kagami's, her hair brushing his cheek.

Luka and Kagami never once hid their feelings for each other. They knew there was some kind of attraction and deep affection, but neither ever mentioned it. They just enjoyed each other's company, silently, and tried not to force anything. They liked what they had and didn't want it to change. They meant too much to each other and didn't want to lose it. Or at least they didn't before.

Kagami had changed her mind after these two months they were apart and had committed to the idea to confess her love to him after giving it some thought: she hated the idea of him getting snatched by Marinette or any other girl while she was away. And so, even if she didn't know if her feelings were reciprocated or otherwise, he still had feelings for her best friend, she decided she had to give it a try.

Kagami knew Luka's feelings for Marinette were strong, maybe impossible to ever erase completely, even. But she also knew he was the boy of the second chances, reason enough for her to take the gamble and see if he had one chance left for her, now that Paris superheroes were already retired.

And with this resolve, Kagami had written her wish down to a pink paper, in Japanese. It could be read as: 'Luka-kun no koibito ni naritai. Kagami', which translates as: 'I want to be Luka's lover (girlfriend). (Signed) Kagami'.

Kagami really wanted her wish to come true. And she would know if it could become reality or not in about an hour, around the time the fireworks ended and she had confessed her feelings. She hoped for the two lovers of the legend to make a miracle happen for her. That's why she wanted to tie here wish in the upper-most stem of the bamboo, the closest as possible to the stars and off of Luka's view.

Luka's voices interfered in Kagami's thoughts "Have you written your wish yet?" He smiled at her.

"Yes. It's written. But don't ask me to show you because I won't". She smirked a little.

"Is it that embarrassing? What did you wish for? World peace? To be rich and famous? I don't think you would wish for anything this cliche" he teased her.

"It's my wish and it stays a secret. Too bad your teasing won't work on me" she stuck her tongue at him, teasing back. "Why don't you write yours already?"

"You're right. I'll write one too." Luka grabbed one paper and pen from the table and got ready to write, but Kagami staring at the blank paper, expecting it to be filled, made him unable to move. "Stop looking. Aren't wishes supposed to be secret?"

"Oh, that's not it. They're not supposed to be secret. I just don't want mine to be seen" Kagami said.

"Oh, I see. Let me write it first then, without you peeking. I'll show it to you later. Go over there, meanwhile" he said.

"Ok. But do it fast! I want to read it!" Kagami moved some feet away and started looking up for the tallest bamboo branch.

"Yeah, yeah…"

Luka was giving his back to Kagami as the ink impregnated the paper with the words of his wish. "Done" he said after some minutes. When turning to look at Kagami she was looking up at the bamboo branches. "What are you looking at?"

"This one is the tallest branch. I want to tie my wish at the top of it" she explained.

"Why? And how? It's too tall even for me…" he wondered, looked at her short stature.

"I'll use your help. I'm using your body as a ladder to reach there. The tallest the wish, the most probable for it to come true. That’s only my assumption, anyway"

"That's what am I to you? A ladder? You can't set this on your own, you have to ask first" he scolded her.

"You're my friend. And you care about me. So I know you won't have any inconvenience to help and lift me up to tie the bamboo. Please?"

Luka sighed. "Fine… but remember the correct ordered next time. And be careful"

"Of course! You won't let me fall, I know" she smiles. "But first… let me see your wish!"

Kagami tried to snap Luka's wish paper, but he was fast enough to dodge her and lift up his hand at his maximum level. After some of Kagami's attempts to steal the paper from Luka, the musician stood on his toes to tie it the highest he could. Kagami was still short after the years, so she couldn't reach it.

"So unfair! You promised! Liar!"

"I'll show you if you can catch it. But let's tie up your wish first. Fireworks time is approaching and we still have to return our costumes" Luka's mature voice mentioned.

"Ok. It's that bamboo, the branch on the farthest left. Duck so I can climb over you" Like made a 'tch tch' sound while his index finger moved to right to left and to left to right in repeat, in negation, asking for a missing needed word. Kagami frowned her eyebrows in disgust and finally added said word. "Please..."

Pleased, Luka kneeled down to let Kagami sit on his shoulders and stood up. The girl was lighter than he thought. He secured her ankles with his hands and watched how she stretched her hands to tie the paper at the top of the tree. Luka wondered what her wish would be, but Kagami signaled him to get her down before any idea came to his mind.

As soon as Kagami's feet were back on the floor, she took the advantage of Luka being down to run and jump as high as she could to catch Luka's wish from the bamboo tree. She remembered perfectly the paper. It wasn't difficult for her to reach with the run impulse used to jump

She then turned her body to look at Luka, how was approaching walking towards her. "I've got it! Did you think you had won? Don't underestimate me" she grinned in victory, while Luka just smiled softly at her determination, unaffected from his wish being exposed soon. His reaction made the Japanese girl's curiosity increase, so she started reading the paper.

She was first surprised that the wish was written in Japanese with a messy handwriting, signed in capital letters of the roman alphabet. But the contains of the wish left her stunned, frozen at place, unable to move with her heartbeat intensifying every second. The contents were so unbelievable she re-read those letters one time after another, considering there could be a mistake due to Luka's unfamiliarity with her mother language. But nothing. The contents were perfectly written… .

"So, do you think my wish can become true?"

Luka was standing in front of Kagami, who had been with her head down reading until she had heard his voice. Her face then looked up. She wanted to see his expression. She wanted to see if he was serious or just joking. She needed to know if she should stop her uncontrollable smile to go wider and change it for tears instead. Kagami's face was lighting in love and hope while studying the boy in front of her.

And Luka's face told her everything she wanted to know: he meant every word written on that yellow paper.

"Yes. It can become true now or whenever you want" Kagami happily cried, jumping into Luka's welcoming arms.

"I'm glad…" said Luka, hugging Kagami tightly. "I love you, Kagami. Be my girlfriend?"

"Yes! I love you too. You've just made my wish come true too" she hugged even more tightly to him.

"Don't tell me…?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I've written the same wish. Different words, but same meaning. I wanted to confess after the fireworks. Take a second chance from you. Now I think I can enjoy them at their fullest. I don't need the fright or nervousness to confess anymore"

"There's no way I would reject you, Kagami. You're gorgeous, strong, confident… and you like to lead, while I prefer to be lead. A perfect match, I believe. You mean the world to me"

"Shut up and kiss me"

Luka didn't say anything. He lowered his back and face meet his girlfriend's lips and seal a soft kiss on them. After they broke the kiss, Kagami hugged him again, covering her blushing face, Luka hugging her back.

"Let's return the costumes. The fireworks are starting soon and it seems I have a confession to listen to when they finish" giggled Luka.

"Don't get used to it. You know we Japanese people are very reserved. We expect love to be told with acts, not words" she warned him, seriously.

"I can do that" then he became thoughtful. "Wait. Music counts as an act, right? I'm screwed if it doesn't" he slightly panicked in joke.

"Rest assured, it does. But there's more to be done, so don't let your guard down" she giggled.

Luka took the chance to kiss her again. "I love your smile…" he said, while Kagami, red as ladybug's suit, locked his hand with hers and started walking towards the costume shop, pulling Luka. The musician couldn't stop his grin for forming on his face at her unusual embarrassed reaction.

After returning the costumes, the couple watched the fireworks together, hand in hand, colorful flowers and shapes forming up the sky. It was beautiful and they had the best possible company with them.

They didn't know where that new journey of love would take them, or when they would be able to me again after Tanabata. But they knew they had two lovers watching over them from the Milky Way - the same pair that allowed a miracle to happen during Kagami's favorite Tanabata festival.

The end

#lukagami #lukagami fic #lukagami july 2020 #lukagami july #my fic #my art #airipyon #airip4

36 notes · View notes

2manyfandoms2count · 4 years

Text

#MarichatMay Day 14

I might have spent a little too long imagining this... Hence why it’s late! I love writing cooking scenes, slightly sad I had to cut it a little short (I actually need to start studying again though). Hope you enjoy it! It takes place in a sort of AU where Adrien and Marinette are slightly older, and I guess season 3 hasn’t happened.

Happy reading!

@marichatmay

Day 14: Chocolate

For the first time in the three years they’d been in the same class, Marinette had given up on the idea of getting a Valentine’s Day present for Adrien. Alya had qualified her decision as “absolutely out of character” (”Girl, you tried to give him a gift for his fifth name day. HIS FIFTH NAME DAY. And you’re giving up for the most obvious love celebration in the world? Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”). Marinette couldn’t deny that her heart still fluttered a little when her eyes met the model’s. He was still her celebrity crush, after all (although even that was arguable). It was just that somebody else had been slowly but surely crawling his way into her heart. A particularly infuriating cat. That she also happened to feel very comfortable around.

They’d spent an increasing amount of time together over the years, both as Paris’ superheroes and out of costume. Well, as Marinette and Chat Noir. She still didn’t know who hid behind that mask of his, and he had no idea the two girls he spent most time with were, in fact, one and the same. They’d grown up together, and Marinette had found herself more and more attracted to her Chaton. She had to admit he’d become a lot more charismatic over the years.

Despite the obvious tension that existed between the two of them, Marinette couldn’t decide which of her personas should take the leap from being “good friends” to “significant others”. The logical choice would be to date him as Ladybug, but she was afraid Chat wouldn’t come and visit his favourite civilian anymore if he was dating his ultimate crush, and she actually sort of preferred their interactions when she didn’t have to worry about saving Paris. And even if he did, she wasn't sure she'd be able to maintain her act for very long. She couldn’t talk it out with anyone, for obvious reasons, which sent her into waves of overthinking and delaying any sort of action. A new potential romantic relationship, back at square one: “procrastinate expressing your feelings”.

Marinette looked at her watch. Chat was late. With Valentine’s Day approaching, he’d asked her if she could teach him how to make macarons. Her parents had a meeting with investors to discuss the opening of a potential second bakery in one of the most touristic spots of the French capital, so the kitchens were free for at least a couple of hours. Her parents wouldn't mind her using them, but she wasn't sure her father would be thrilled by her company. He was still weary of the alley cat who'd “broken his daughter's heart”, despite all of Marinette and Sabine's efforts to change his mind.

She heard Chat's landing despite his attempt at being more stealthy. She had developed a sort of 6th sense when it came to him; she was just aware of his presence.

“Good afternoon, Princess!” He announced as he let himself in. “Sorry I'm late, I had a couple errands to run.”

He handed her a single red rose with a grin.

“Aren't the red roses usually for Ladybug?” Marinette tilted her head quizzically.

“How do you know that?” He narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, er...” Her mind raced to find a plausible excuse. “The Ladyblog! There are plenty of pictures of you chat-ting her up with red roses.”

“Ah, yes. I forget everything we do is mediatised these days.” He shook his head. “I don’t know, I just thought this could be a nice change.”

Marinette could have sworn she saw a hint of a blush appear on her partner’s cheeks. She decided not to jump to conclusions, though.

“It’s lovely. Thanks kitty.” She got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

“Well it’s only natural.” He cleared his throat. “See, I really want to do something nice for this girl I like and...”

Chat rambled a bit as Marinette’s heart sank slightly. Which she realised was stupid, because chances were that girl was herself. With a mask.

“... Anyway, I have it from good authority that she likes chocolate macarons. And I really don’t want to give her cat-astrophic biscuits.” He concluded with a smile.

“Yes, that would be unfortunate.” She absentmindedly replied. “Let’s get to work, then!”

As usual when they cooked together, there was a bit of flour throwing which left them both slightly dishevelled, but Chat was more focused today than he usually was. Probably something to do with the fact he wanted this to be just right. He mimicked Marinette’s actions, checking frequently he hadn’t made any mistakes in the recipe.

“One of the most crucial parts of cooking is tasting,” Marinette said, dipping a finger in the batter and licking it. Chat imitated her. “See, it tastes nice and chocolate-y, but the bitterness will be enhanced by the cooking, so we need to add sugar.” She reached for the packet as she spoke.

“Wait, you got a little something there.” Chat said, pointing above his lips. Marinette licked in the direction he was indicating, but the chocolate was just beyond her reach.

“Better?” She asked.

“Not quite... It’s really just... Actually it’ll be easier if I just get it for you.”

In one, smooth step, he was right in front of her. He loomed over her now, having continued growing long after she had. His hand flew to her cheek, his thumb barely brushing against the top of her lips. He paused, cupping her face in his hand.

And suddenly his lips were on hers. He tasted like chocolate, which Marinette appreciated as she kissed him back, her hands flying to his soft hair. He pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss. She felt him smile against her lips.

"What?" She gasped for air. He leaned his forehead against her, panting slightly.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this, princess." He purred.

Her heart skipped a beat. She stood on her toes, ready to kiss him again, but he gently pushed her away and sighed.

“I didn’t want it to happen this way, but you’re just so... purr-fect, I couldn’t resist.”

“What do you mean?” He had completely lost her.

“I’ve had a couple of conversations with Ladybug, and from what I gathered she wasn’t very fond of the idea that we -superheroes- could date a civilian. So I wanted to approach you at school. My identity would have remained a secret, and all would have been well in the world.”

“Wait, we know each other?”

“You’ll be the judge of that next week.” He winked. “Now, you were saying, these aren’t sweet enough?”

Marinette tried to bring back the conversation to his identity, but Chat kept evading her questions, a satisfied smile on his lips from having piqued her interest. She felt his confidence wobble when she back him against the warm oven where their creations were cooking, but he stood his ground.

“I’m paw-sitive I’m worth the wait, Princess. We’ve waited this long for me to ask you out, what’s another couple of days?”

She kept her guard up all day on Valentine's day, waiting for the promised sign. More than once, she was tempted to call it off. Did she really want to know Chat's real identity? Would she be able to keep hers a secret? Did she have to keep it a secret?...

At around 4pm, she sat on her own in the courtyard, taking a small break between two class periods. She pretended to read through some of her notes as she actively tried to calm down. She didn't notice someone approaching until a box was shoved under her nose.

"Hey Marinette, would you like a macaron?" She looked up into Adrien's green eyes. "I made too many and I hear they're just the way you like them... Princess."

Her jaw dropped. Maybe everything was going to be a lot more simple than she'd anticipated after all.

#marichatmay2020 #marichat #marinette dupain cheng #chat noir #miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #adrienette #mlb #miraculous fanfic #miraculous fanfiction #chocolate #great now i'm craving macarons #miraculous reveal #elle writes

54 notes · View notes

365-money-diary · 3 years

Text

DAYS 43-49

DAY FORTY-THREE

7:30 AM - Up a little early so I can close on my house. The process is pretty easy and I feel safe about it and such. We do it on the front porch with 6 foot folding table.

8:30 AM - I need to re-caulk the side door trim before I can start painting so I do that while I make my chemex. This is fun (not) because I don’t own a caulk gun.

10:30 AM - Eat a plant yogurt

12:00 PM - Snack on chips and salsa – damn the salsa I made is so good this time. Also make salad for lunch. I’m set up in the kitchen today which is clearly a bad scene because I keep going to the pantry for more snacks. Relocate to the bedroom.

2:00 PM - I really should get my barre class out of the way today. I have a 4PM happy hour and I know I won’t want to work out after that, so I do a 10 minute low impact ride and then start class.

4:00 PM - I get done with most of the class and hop on zoom. Make refried beans in the instant pot for dinner while we chat.

5:00 PM - Finish the zoom and knock out the last 10 minutes of barre. I don’t like to split the classes up like that but oh well.

6:00 PM - Finish making the beans as well as rice and jackfruit for burritos. K isn’t hungry so I watch an episode of The Challenge before making the burritos.

7:30 PM - Ok these are really good. Dang! I don’t want to drink tonight so I open a La Croix and try to hydrate.

DAY FORTY-THREE TOTAL: $0

DAY FORTY-FOUR

8:00 AM - I’m awake and I feel really good. K is still pretty conked out and I get the idea to go to Cartel. I haven’t been in a few months because cases were super high but now seems like a good opportunity. This is the one thing I do behind K’s back. It’s contactless and it’s super safe so I don’t really consider it to be a risk but I know he isn’t ready to drink things directly out of containers they’re served in on the same day you buy them so let’s just leave this between us. Buy a hot oat milk latte and tip $10. $17.57

10:00 AM - Make a chemex so K doesn’t suspect anything. Hang with him on the couch for a bit and then start moving around the furniture in the kitchen to start taping.

11:30 AM - Take a break to cook breakfast - tofu/egg tacos with field roast sausage.

12:15 PM - Back to taping. It takes forev, but I think I did a good job.

3:45 PM - First coat done. Watch an episode of The challenge before I apply the second.

5:30 PM - Done with the second. Watch more of the challenge.

7:00 PM - Dinner tonight is pozole. I take my time making it and drink a glass of wine while I cook.

8:00 PM - Dang this is so delicious.

DAY FORTY-FOUR TOTAL: $17.57

DAY FORTY-FIVE

9:00 AM - Woah I am SO SORE. What the hell? My quads. Make a chemex and work on putting the kitchen back together, but I run out of time and have to meet with S and her BF on zoom. K joins me and it’s a really good time.

11:15 PM - Ok back to tape removal.

12:15 PM - Done! / Looks good! Make more tofu tacos for breakfast.

2:00 PM - My boss is applying for citizenship in the US and she asked me to help build her a website. I have totally spaced it over the past two weeks and get cracking on it today. Make some good progress and send her what I have.

4:00 PM - Watch some episodes of The Challenge. For whatever reason this feels like the first time I’ve actually relaxed this weekend and I am here for it.

6:00 PM - We drive to a bar I DJ at on the reg during non-pandemic times to do a pick up of their Valentine’s Day special. Neither K or I are big V Day fans and we feel like this is good enough to “celebrate.” We get two veggie dogs, fries and a bottle of wine to take home. J (my friend who owns the bar) runs my card for $31ish and I tip $20. K insists he pays and he venmos me $50. $1.89

7:00 PM - I haven’t had fries in like… a year. And these ones are really delicious! The wine is good too. Spend the rest of the evening catching up on my blog. I haven’t felt very motivated to work on it this month.

8:00 PM - Get a charge from Amazon… S is buying movies again. Make a venmo request for $16 and she fulfills it. $0.19

DAY FORTY-FIVE TOTAL: $2.08

DAY FORTY-SIX

8:30 AM - WOW I am still sore WTF. Make a chemex and notice my tea kettle has a rust spot. Damnit. At this point, I would rather just buy an electric kettle with a gooseneck spout to get rid of both of my kettles, but I’m trying to stick to my budget this month. I’ve been covering K’s groceries throughout the pandemic and he owes me around $2k at this point. Because of this, I’ve kind of cut back on clothing and other frivolous purchases until he starts to pay me back so I can still save money every month. But rust is rust and I don’t want to get sick. Buy a Stagg EKG kettle with a nice wood handle. $160.62

10:00 AM - plant yogurt, a clementine and Pure Barre weekly charge. $15

12:00 PM - It’s salad time but I’m kind of out of tempeh and am a little burnt out on the miso Asian vibe anyways. Toss together some greens, bell pepper, onion, carrots, snap peas, cucumber, and a frozen Quorn spicy chicken patty and top it with cashew ranch. It’s honestly really good.

4:00 PM - Call M to wish him a happy bday. Tell him either next Sunday or the Sunday after that we will do a lunch thing together in his backyard to celebrate. Drink a nuun while we chat.

5:15 PM - I do a pure barre workout but make the mistake of doing it on my work computer at the post-workday slacks are coming in hot this AM. My body’s HR doesn’t really pick up but I still feel proud of myself for pushing thru the soreness.

7:00 PM - K and I eat big burritos for dinner with jackfruit, beans, rice, lettuce, tofutti sour cream, cheeze, and jalapenos with chips and salsa. They’re so good and I am sad that we’re out of tortilla chips and salsa now.

8:00 PM - Since dinner was kinda big and I had fries yesterday, I spend the evening hydrating instead of drinking wine. K and I watch a 4 part docuseries on Elisa Lam & the Cecil Hotel. At some point he goes off to work on some stuff and I wrap up this website I’m building for my boss who is working on getting her green card.

DAY FORTY-SIX TOTAL: $175.62

DAY FORTY-SEVEN

9:00 AM - Make a chemex. Finish the site and send it to my boss who approves. Hopefully I don’t have to actually post it for her. I hate dealing with hosting and such.

10:00 AM - I don’t really want yogurt today and find a small portion of tofu scramble leftover from Sunday. Heat that up and top with truffle hot sauce.

12:00 PM - Kill the rest of the salad ingredients today by making the same dish as yesterday but with peas instead of red bell peppers. Review the site I made for my boss. She sends me a $100 amazon gift card! How sweet.

5:00 PM - Get sucked in a meeting and am not able to leave until 5:30. I’m not interested in exercising this late so I zone out on the couch for a bit and snack on some gf pretzels. Start a new season of The Challenge. Drink a glass of wine.

7:00 PM - Heat up leftover pozole for dinner. Eat with K while we “watch” a hockey game.

8:30 PM - Pour another glass of wine and chat on the phone with Q. I end up feeling super antsy halfway through our conversation and decide to take a walk. I do a nice loop down to the lake and back to my house. Next time we decide that we will walk together.

10:30 PM - I check my phone after our conversation to see 100 slack messages from various team members. Looks like there is something going on which will affect the report I have to give tomorrow. Read thru, ask some questions and feel good about what I have to change.

DAY FORTY-SEVEN TOTAL: $0

DAY FORTY-EIGHT

8:15 AM - Up a little early today so I can adjust my report. Make a chemex while I pull numbers.

9:30 AM - Present the info. It’s good stuff! My boss is out of town so I think today should be pretty chill. Get a note from my bank that the wire of leftover funds from the mortgage stuff has been transferred to my checking totaling $1250.39.

12:00 PM - Make broccoli fried rice for lunch. Things turn chaotic for the rest of the day and by the time I know it, it’s 4:00 PM

4:15 PM - Decide to cut out early today and take a live barre class. 20 minutes in (10 minutes before 5), I get a message from my teammate asking to hop on zoom. She has computer issues so I’m actually able to finish the class before she’s ready.

7:00 PM - Finally done working. Rinse off and make pasta for dinner. Drink 3 glasses of wine.

9:30 PM - K and I play Mario Kart for a while before turning in.

DAY FORTY-EIGHT TOTAL: $0

DAY FORTY-NINE

8:30 AM - Today has to be more chill than yesterday… It just has to be. Make a chemex. See that my hair dresser is selling shirts for her shop. Venmo her. $25

12:00 PM - Prep chicken seitan shreds. Broccoli fried rice for lunch with seltzer.

1:30 PM - Finish making the seitan, eat an apple, gf pretzels and carrots. I realize I forgot to eat breakfast this AM. Ugh.

5:00 PM - My butt is super sore from yesterday but I do my barre workout anyways. It’s so nice to not be interrupted. My cal burn is low but I don’t even care. It’s just nice to move.

6:00 PM - Rinse off and prep dinner. We make buffalo chicken sandwiches with roasted potatoes. They turn out pretty good and I’m excited to eat them over the next few days.

8:00 PM - Drink a glass of wine. I google if I can have more since I’m getting the COVID vaccine tomorrow and it seems like one is ok but maybe not more so I decide against it.

DAY FORTY-NINE TOTAL: $25

2 notes · View notes

sevsnapeoriginalfanfix · 4 years

Text

You Don’t Have To Go Through This Alone Pt. 1

Trigger warning: Themes of depression, but no explicit suicide or self- harm details

Severus Snape + Hermione Granger drabble/one-shot; angst; fluff; enemies to lovers; happy ending; mental health first; adult Hermione as Hogwarts professor

“I wish you the best of luck, dear,” she expressed in her posh, but comforting tone. “I think if any of us could do it, it would be you.” Minerva McGonagall smiled assuredly across the table at her first-year teaching mentee, Hermione Granger.

Her first year as Professor Granger had brought more surprises than her Wizard Education book could have ever prepared her for. The grading and detentions were unwelcome surprises. The secret staff lounge with delectable treats and the designing of her own Muggle Studies curriculum were far better than she had imagined. The induction of SPEW as an official extra-curricular activity was truly the cherry on top. The biggest surprise, perhaps, was the reinduction of Severus Snape as Potions Master. Thus far, this surprise had neither been positive, nor negative, but it had certainly been most intriguing. Professor Snape was, in fact, the topic of conversation today- as he had been for many days prior.

“Thank you, Minerva,” Hermione remarked sweetly. “I just worry about him. Ever since he returned to Hogwarts, he hasn’t been the same. I never thought I’d miss his relentless jabs, but I’m starting to find that he just isn’t Severus Snape without him.” Minerva nodded her head. “I quite agree,” she admitted. “Prepare for the worst, of course. But you seem to have a way with him.” Hermione merely smiled and turned on her heels. She couldn’t procrastinate any longer; classes were over for the day, the weekend was about to begin, and it was 4pm, so Snape shouldn’t be hopelessly inebriated...yet.

Hermione had thought it strange that he would return to his old position of Potions when he had sought the Defense Against the Dark Arts job his entire career. It seemed that after the Battle of Hogwarts, however, he no longer had an interest in the dark arts: defense against it or otherwise. As Hermione’s heels echoed down the hall to the Potions office, Hermione couldn’t help noting that the dark, eerie ambiance of the dungeon seemed personify his demeanor. With her heart in her chest and millions of scenarios circling her mind, Hermione knocked on the door.

Without hesitation, the deep drawl responded, “Bugger off, it’s the weekend. If you can’t be bothered to go to the library for help, you’re fucked anyway.” Hermione’s eyes widened in shock. Professor Snape- or Severus as she had great difficulty calling him- had always been a miserable curmudgeon...but even he hadn’t spoken to students in that way when Hermione was a student. Unsure if she even wanted to continue, but too curious to abandon her mission, Hermione cleared her throat.

“Uh, Severus…” she winced, as calling him by his first name was still uncomfortable, “It’s Hermione. Open up.”

The door swung open immediately and he wore an expression of equal confusion, irritation, and mirth. “As I said, Miss Granger, it’s the weekend. So bugger off.” With a deep breath, Hermione made her way past him into his headquarters. Taking off her cloak without invitation, she replied, “Yes, and I’ve made it clear that it is Hermione or Professor Granger, please. Now, sit.” Severus Snape eyed her cautiously. On one hand, he despised nothing less than being told what to do. On the other hand, he had always admired her unwillingness to acquiesce to his foul nature in the way everyone else did.

“Very well, Professor Granger,” he continued sarcastically, “can this be discussed over Firewhisky?”

“No, but I can discuss it over brandy, if you please,” she retorted. They weren’t friends, exactly. No, that would be pushing it. But they were both well-aware that she was the only one who could get away with speaking to him in this manner. He stared at her for a moment, but said nothing, and fetched a bottle and glass for Hermione. He sat down at a small, grimy table in the kitchen and motioned for her to join him. Hermione had never actually been to his living headquarters and now she understood why he didn’t entertain company. Old Daily Prophets were haphazardly strewn about, the dishes in the sink were piled up to the cabinets, and the garbage seemed to be overflowing. She began to regret not pursuing this conversation at The Three Broomsticks.

“Now what do I owe the displeasure?” he slurred and Hermione wondered if he might already be more intoxicated than anticipated.

“Severus, I’m...I’m concerned about you.” Snape exhaled sharply, yet inconsequently, as if she had suggested something as insignificant as a new tea brand.

“I’m fine, is that all?” He stood and gestured toward the door.

“No, that is not all, Severus. Do be serious.”

“I am serious...serious about you leaving. Goodbye,” he insisted.

“I’m not finished,” she exclaimed.

“And I am,” he responded indignantly.

“Severus, GODDAMMIT, sit DOWN!” Hermione shrieked, her voice echoing even down the dungeon hallway. Severus’s black eyes seemed to illuminate with fury and his jaw seemed more clenched than ever, but he obeyed, never breaking eye contact. Hermione reminisced on those brief moments in the hallway when she had caught those pitch-black eyes following her in a manner that might suggest more than a professional acquaintance...but she shook them off and focused on the task at hand. “You’re not you, Severus, and I’m worried. You haven’t been the same since you returned to Hogwarts.” Snape was still silently seething, so Hermione continued while she had the chance.

“As...as a student, I thought you were vile. And sometimes, you were. But after having Slughorn my NEWT year and when I returned after for my final year….” she closed her eyes and swallowed. “After the war, I’ve realized you really weren’t so bad.” Despite his fury, Snape scoffed.

“High praise,” he mocked.

“What I mean is…” she continued, ignoring the jab, “you’ve changed and it concerns me.” Snape’s upper lip began to curl in rage, his onyx eyes boring into her.

“I’ve changed? Oh, I’ve changed.” He stood up slowly and deliberately and began to pace. “I see. I am so sorry to have inconvenienced you, my dear,” he jeered in an infuriatingly condescending tone, much like the Snape she had been accustomed to in her student days. He seemed to take his time- not just with every word, but with every consonant- punctuating them drastically for effect. “Right, now let’s see. Ah, yes,...” He whirled around theatrically. “I lost my friend to the Dark Lord and it was my fault, but of course Potter told you that. I play a loyal, faithful servant to the two greatest wizards of all time, constantly living in anxiety, constantly denying my own thoughts and feelings for fear of being discovered. But that, I’m sure, seems an easy task to you, Miss Granger? Hmm?” He cocked his head and raised a menacing eyebrow. Hermione interjected,

“It’s Hermione, but I…”

“Ah, ah, ah,” he tutted. “I’m not finished yet. Where was I? Right. I’m attacked by a snake, left to die. Lie in a pool of my own cold blood for hours before being discovered. Suffer paralysis for nearly a year before I can return to my old post at Hogwarts. Some never believe my story, of course.” He continued to pace, hands fidgeting incessantly. “Not to mention, my own miserable existence as a student at Hogwarts and oh, yes…” he lowered his eyes to meet Hermione’s, glowing amber with outrage. “Yes, I spent my entire career, which could have been much more successful, I’m sure, teaching little shits like you.” With this, Hermione stood up quickly and stormed to face him.

“Yes, little shits that helped win the Battle of Hogwarts, IF you’ve forgotten. I am sorry for what you’ve been through, but it’s no reason for you to belittle everyone and act as though the world owes you something! You’re an arrogant bastard and always have been.” Hermione began to pace as well, but at a far more frantic speed that her male counterpart. Snape chuckled sardonically.

“And I thought this was the part of me you missed, Miss Granger?” Amused with himself, he took a swig of his own black thermos that he carried with him everywhere these days. “You complain that I’ve changed...well this is who I used to be, remember? Changed...oh of course, I’ve changed. If you go through the Battle of Hogwarts and haven’t changed...then I wonder if you really did your part at all.”

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but found that she was shaking with too much uncontrollable anger to even form a coherent thought. What an absolute arsehole. What a heartless prick. Finally, words formed on her lips.

“Didn’t do my part? Didn’t do my part?? Who looked for and destroyed Horcruxes? Who actually fought while you were lying in that blood? Oh, I did my part, sir. And I have changed. You don’t see me here as Professor Weasley, do you? I’m not the same insufferable-know-it-all that I used to be, am I?” Severus’s lips parted, but she was too quick.

“Not a WORD! You don’t see me working for the Ministry, do you? No...the war showed me that education is far too important to bypass. Yes, I have changed. But unlike you, I’m not showing up for work late every day. I’m not allowing students to piddle around in my classroom, learning nothing. I’m not blowing up at the most random times and otherwise being too lax. I’m not swearing at my students. I’m not showing up looking like I’m fielding the world’s worst hangover! And I’m sure as hell….” she grabbed the thermos out of his hands and took a giant swig. She winced, despite expecting as much. Hermione poured the remaining liquid content in the sink and lowered her voice in a calmer, more calculated manner. “And I’m sure as hell not drinking straight Firewhisky when I teach.” She began to head to the door and whirled around. “And for the last time, it’s Professor Granger or Hermione, Severus.”

37 notes · View notes