#they both have glass pyramids do they not?

[bayjaruchel]

Whammy Kiss Me (Whammy Hug)

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Pairing: Clapton Davis/AFAB Reader

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Maybe Seven Minutes in Heaven isn't a pointless party game, after all. (3.9k | originally posted on ao3 | Masterlist )

－－－

It's not until the closet door shuts that you realize the gravity of your current situation. 

You've been at the party for at least a couple of hours; you've grown used to the general noise. The slight haziness of the air. You're not quite hammered yet, but you've got one or two drinks in your system. Just enough that you can enjoy the feeling without worrying about the hangover tomorrow. Judging by the way that a couple of people had been giggling and swaying, not everyone who was sitting around the circle shared your sense of self-conservation. 

Although it hadn't been the brightest outside— it was dim, but also somewhat illuminated at the same time with the neon lighting— the single lightbulb hanging above your heads doesn't do much against the darkness. 

Yeah. Heads, plural. 

Luckily, there's only one person in the cramped space besides yourself. 

Unluckily, that person is one Clapton Davis. 

It's not that you don't like him. Actually, you feel the exact opposite towards him, but that's not the point. It's just that— you know, you could spend seven minutes just sitting in silence, doing absolutely nothing— but you're suddenly hyper-aware of the way your knees are brushing. The way there's something in the air. Maybe you're just imagining it, but there's something … restless. Something like—  

Your thoughts are abruptly interrupted when he speaks. 

"So," he says, casually. As if you're not within necking distance in a cramped space. "You enjoying the party?" There's that same easy grin on his face. He's completely at ease, apparently. You're not sure if that's because of his ever-present (and sometimes misguided) confidence, or because he's used to stupid little party games like this. It's probably a combination of both. 

"Yeah." You find yourself replying, almost on autopilot. "The punch isn't as bad as I thought it would be." 

Clapton honest-to-god giggles at that. "It's still pretty shitty, though."

"I wouldn't say shitty."  

"Awful, then." He raises his eyebrows. "Let's just say that it's an … acquired taste." 

You can't help but smile. "Fair." He's right— you're pretty sure that the only people who actually enjoy it are the people who regularly attend these parties. Said people usually just come to get drunk, anyway, and the punch works wonders. Magically malicious.  

"It's either that or cheap beer," he muses. "Or wine busted from mommy and daddy's fridge in the basement." 

"Expensive wine?" 

"Could be." Clapton shrugs, pulling his knees closer to his chest. You try in vain not to focus on his arms as he wraps them around his legs. Was it really necessary to wear the tank top? "Maybe," he says. "But I doubt that anyone here would wanna drink it." 

You unconsciously mirror his posture. "Why's that?" 

He snorts. "Too classy." 

It sort of makes sense. You can't really see Josh from Calculus sipping a glass of pinot noir, much less enjoying it. Maybe one has to start from the bottom of the hypothetical alcohol pyramid and work their way up. The bottom, meaning Bud Light. Or Coors Light. All of the Lights. 

"Cheap beer it is, then." 

Clapton's grin is back. 

"Unfortunately." 

You're starting to relax, even if you can still feel your heart pounding whenever his eyes meet yours. Even if your eyes are lingering. When he reaches up to idly run his fingers through his hair, you can't stop yourself from wondering: is it as soft as it looks? 

"How much time d'you think we have left?" He asks, just as you're attempting to reel yourself back in. 

"Uh," you start. Nice. "I don't know— maybe, like, four minutes or so?" Spending a couple of minutes talking about drinks wasn't exactly the plan, but you're not exactly complaining. It's still better than awkward silence. You wonder— again— about how many times he's done this before. How long does it usually take before people give in? 

The muffled music from outside has been reduced to just the thumping of the bass, and the rhythm matches your pulse. 

"Four minutes," he echoes. 

You can't hold his gaze, glancing down at your knees instead. 

"Yeah." 

You can tell when Clapton adjusts himself where he's sitting, but you have a feeling that he hasn't looked away. Not yet. 

"What do you wanna do now?" He asks, innocently. "Four minutes is a long time." 

When you look up, you're proven right. The faint glow of the light doesn't hide anything. It just makes everything feel vaguely dreamlike. And, okay. This is pretty cliche. But you've watched too many movies, seen too many shows—  you know what that look is. That look doesn't mean that he wants to play rock-paper-scissors for the remainder of your time left. 

"I don't know," you manage. "What do you want to do?" 

His eyes dip briefly before flicking back up. 

"I was asking you," he teases softly. "We've already had a pointless conversation." He mimes checking a box midair with his pointer finger. "Check. And we've already sat in silence for a couple of seconds." He repeats the motion on another imaginary box. "Check." 

"Oh, ouch. Talking about alcohol is pointless?" You're a little amused. "So, what's left on the list?" 

Clapton raises his eyebrows again. 

There's a shift in the air. 

"C'mon, don't tell me that you actually don't know." His tone's dropped to little more than a whisper, but due to your closeness, you can hear him loud and clear. Your brief bit of confidence wanes— your face warms, and you pause. Sure, you're well aware of what he's implying— but you're not sure if he's just joking around or not. When has Clapton Davis ever been serious, besides that one time he competed in a skateboarding competition in the sixth grade?  

The lighthearted lilt in his voice is almost gone, though. 

"I know what you're trying to say," you finally reply, matching his volume. And you do want to kiss him. You really, really do. 

"Okay," he murmurs in return. "Well, that's good." He dares to smile, though you know you're weak to it. 

"I don't have to ask you out loud, right?" 

He definitely already knows the answer to that question. 

"Yeah, you don't." 

You've tuned out the outside world, muffled as it already was. The music and noise fade to a quiet hum. You can hear the quiet buzz of the lightbulb— the barely audible clattering as your back moves against the uncomfortable storage shelves— the sound of his sneakers scuffing against the hardwood floor— 

"But if I did ask," he says, uncharacteristically hesitant, "you'd say yes?"  

Your heartbeat thrums in your throat. 

The seconds tick by— you know you can't wait. It's been at least a minute and a half— 

"Just do it," you breathe.   

And he does. 

The first thing you register is how soft his lips are. Then, his hands— cupping your face— your own hands reaching up to tangle in his hair, tugging him closer. His hair is as soft as it looks. There's no slow build-up because there's no time for that. All you can think about is him— the little sounds he lets out as you kiss, the way he can't wait when you part, his breath briefly coming in soft pants before he leans in to capture your lips again. He tastes vaguely like beer, and maybe that would have bothered you if it were any other guy— but with him, you don't really care at all. His nose presses a little awkwardly against yours a couple of times, but he makes up for it with how eager he is. You know he's not a bad kisser; he's just impatient. 

You lose yourself for a little while. It feels like forever. You wrap your arms around his neck, reluctantly dropping your grip on his hair. His hands start to stray, one anchoring itself behind your neck and the other traveling lower. And lower— 

There's a loud series of knocks at the door. 

Clapton's slower to react, and you're the one to pull back first. When you do, he leans forward to chase your lips—  but stops upon noticing your expression. In direct comparison to you, he just looks giddy. Almost dazed. His hair's a little disheveled from earlier, and he hasn't let go of you yet. 

"Huh," he says, before the door is yanked open. 

You're immediately greeted by exactly what you had expected. Whistles. Catcalls. General hooting. Some "called it!"s and "you owe me five bucks, man!"s. 

Clapton just grins, reveling in it all. Because of course he would. But, before you can get too embarrassed, he's getting to his feet, pulling you along with him as you both exit the closet— exiting what had previously been your own little world. Instead of just rejoining the circle, like part of you expects him to do, he pauses to lean over to you and whisper: 

"Wanna go upstairs?" 

You blink at him. He's still smiling— he almost looks star-struck. You feel that familiar swoop in your stomach. Maybe it's a stupid decision that you'll regret later, but—

"Okay," you agree. 

The whistling doesn't stop as he grabs your wrist, making a beeline for the stairs. The son of a bitch takes them two at a time, and you do your best to keep up. Upstairs, it's quieter than it is on the ground floor, since there are fewer people up here; still, though, you can hear the music echoing through the hallway. A girl's laughter rings out, followed by a string of giggles. 

It's not very hard to find an empty bedroom. You gingerly shut the door behind you, taking a moment to look around. There are one or two posters here and there, and a few photos placed on the dresser. Other than that, it's kind of bare-bones. A guest room, maybe? You sure hope so. While you're distracted, Clapton leisurely sits down on the bed, bouncing a couple of times. 

"Cozy," he remarks, and you turn to look at him. 

"You think?" 

He grins. "Sure do." 

You sit next to him on the mattress. It's not bad. For a moment, he just looks at you. Taking you in. 

But he doesn't hesitate much longer, and leans in. Automatically, you angle your head just so. Unlike before, he kisses you in small pecks at first. One of his hands finds your cheek. However, as the minutes draw by, your kisses grow longer. More languid. He hums into your mouth, and you move closer. Closer, until your thighs are brushing his, and you're nearly off-balance, but it's still not close enough. 

He draws back. This close to him, you can pick out his freckles. His eyelashes are long, framing half-lidded eyes. His lips are still parted. 

"Should I lay back?" He asks, hushed. "Or do you wanna—" 

"Go ahead," you interrupt.  

Clapton flops backward onto the pillows, wiggling around to make himself more comfortable. When you think he's got himself in a good position, you crawl over him. The way he looks up at you— it makes you a little lightheaded, but in the best way possible. His hands find your waist. You can do little but settle against him, pressing your lips to his for the nth time. 

Enthusiastically, he responds, and it's not long before your kisses grow messier. Needier. His hands wander, moving down to rest on your hips, and then lower— you let out a gasp when he squeezes your ass, and he uses the opportunity to pull you harder against him. You're no stranger to how strong his arms are, but, yeah, being on top of him like this is an entirely new experience. He's soft and firm in equal measures, his chest sturdy where it's pressed against yours. His hands are warm when he moves them under your shirt, up your back, making you shiver.  

Bracing your hands on his torso, you sit up. For a second, he's confused, but that quickly fades away as you reach down to pull up your shirt. 

"Holy shit," he murmurs. He scrambles to discard his tank top too, yanking it over his head. You were right— he's toned, but there's still a fair bit of softness there. Of course his chest doesn't have any hair, but at least he kept the trail. You lay back on top of him, the feeling of his skin against yours like this causing you to shudder again. Clapton's hands start to explore once more— square palms, strong fingers. It must be a little bit of an uncomfortable stretch for him, but his thumbs find your nipples, tracing soft circles. 

You briefly enjoy the sensation. Then, your breath stutters when he gently urges you forward and then leans up so he can take them into his mouth. It must be self-indulgent for him, too, because he spends more time than necessary— sucking, flicking his tongue— but it's not like you're complaining.  

When he finally stops, he presses a kiss to the middle of your chest before laying back on the pillows. You move back down, and can't resist the urge to kiss him in return. His jaw— his cheek, which makes him smile. He's already started hooking his fingers in your waistband, and your mild surprise must show on your face, because he abruptly stops. 

"Sorry," he grimaces, "am I going too fast? I - Is that too much?" 

Hastily, you shake your head. "Oh, no. Not at all. It's fine. Just— it just caught me off-guard."  

"Okay." The worry vanishes in an instant. "Okay, I'm gonna." 

You let him slide down your bottoms, and then take them off the rest of the way yourself. His shorts quickly join the rest of the clothing on the floor. Now, you're more or less sitting in his lap— he props himself up on the headboard, his breath heavy as you shift on top of him. With only a few layers between you, you're aware of the shape of him through his boxers.  

You grind your hips with purpose, and he swears under his breath. When you do it again, he muffles himself by kissing you. The friction— you know it's not going to be enough— makes you more desperate, and it must be having the same effect on him, judging by the way he's slightly squirming underneath you. He's not quite thrusting up against you, but it's obvious that if he were in a better position, he would be. When your cunt brushes against him, catching at that angle, he moans openly into your mouth. You draw back only for air. If you could, you'd keep kissing him forever. 

"You gonna let me— mmh — fuck you?" He pants, "ohmygod, 'cause if you don't, you— you are one sick bastard—"  

You smile, although you want him just as badly as he wants you. You're doing a slightly better job at keeping yourself composed, after all. "I don't know," you murmur, "isn't this nice?" 

Clapton bites his lip when you grind down harder this time. "I — well," his hands scramble on your waist, your hips, "it is pretty nice, but, like — I just wanna take the logical— shitfuck — next step, right?" He's looking up at you with wide eyes, "and you are gonna let me, right?" 

"Right," you repeat, your breath catching when you roll your hips at just the right angle, "I am gonna let you, don't worry." 

He's flushed a pretty pink, pupils blown wide, obscuring hazel eyes; you drink him in. "Thought so," he grins. Before you can ask, he's already answering. "And, uh. There's a condom in the pocket of my shorts, if you're worried about that." 

You're in mild disbelief, abruptly halting your movements. 

"In your—?" 

Clapton looks a little bashful, though he's still grinning. "Could you just get it?"  

You're already awkwardly dismounting his lap. "Sure, sure." True to his word, there's a condom in the left pocket of his shorts, and you fish it out without a problem. You glance back at him for a moment, and he doesn't even try and pretend that he wasn't staring. Oh, well. A little clumsily, you get back onto the bed, and move to straddle him again— but he gently stops you. 

"Hey," he says, "can we switch places?" 

You don't need much time to consider it. "Alright." 

Now, he's hovering between your legs, and you're the one lying back. His gaze lingers, but he can't wait for much longer. You lift your hips, and he slides your last remaining piece of fabric off. 

"Fuck," he breathes, just before he gets to work. With the pad of one of his fingers, he collects the wetness that had been gathering, then smoothly slides the digit into your cunt. Swiftly, he adds another, the sensation odd at first, but you know you'll quickly get used to it. When he begins to lightly trace your clit, it only makes it easier for you to loosen up— both figuratively and literally. And he's still adding another. Maybe three fingers aren't strictly necessary, but he crooks them, finding the spot that makes an almost embarrassing noise tumble from your lips. 

You spread your thighs wider. You could definitely cum like this if you let him continue for a while. Glancing up at his face— oh, he definitely would if you wanted him to. He's torn between looking at how his fingers disappear into you and your face. How you're reacting to his touch. It's a little flattering. But as much as part of you wants to see what he's willing to do — 

"I'm — " You feel yourself tense, and you barely stifle an involuntary moan when he thumbs your nub again. "I'm ready. You can —" 

He doesn't even wait until you finish the sentence. He's already pulling out his fingers, tugging off his boxers. Your eyes are immediately drawn downward. Again, you're not surprised that he's shaved. Length-wise, he's probably around average, but girth-wise he's nice and thick. There's a bead of precum at the tip— if he wasn't already tearing open the condom with his teeth in a move that he's probably practiced before, you would've offered to blow him or something. Maybe some other time. 

Your idle thoughts dissipate when he lines himself up and, with an amount of care that nearly belies his previous neediness, presses in. You both moan in unison— he sounds infinitely more strained. He takes a moment to catch his breath, but— 

He starts moving. Little thrusts, at first. Then, pulling out more, pushing back in. His mouth falls open, and you can't resist throwing your arms around his neck, pulling him down. He groans, and you take it in, taking it with his increasing pace. It's good— his thumb finds your sensitive apex again, and that makes you jolt, but you know he's trying to give you a smooth progression between slow and fast. That's not what you want, though. Especially not now. Inches from his lips, you mutter: 

"Don't hold back." 

And that's all it takes. You can vaguely hear the bed creaking when he snaps his hips up to meet yours, roughly fucking into you with almost reckless abandon. Your kisses are sloppy, uncoordinated. But you wouldn't prefer it any other way. You know he probably wouldn't be making those noises if he didn't know they were muffled against you. Some are high-pitched— ragged gasps, moans, and at least one whimper. You also know you don't sound much different. He can't reach down to rub your throbbing clit anymore, due to how he's positioned, but the way that he's angled is more than satisfying in that regard. 

You lose track of time, only aware of his hips colliding against yours— his lips, his hands — the way he's starting to babble. "Fuck, you look so pretty like this," he confesses in a rush, "god, your eyes. I could just — I could just look at you like this forever. If you could see yourself — nnh — you would know." A sharp intake of breath, a few kisses, and then, "Ohfuck. Shit. You're gonna ruin this forever for me. I can't — " 

His rhythm is starting to falter. You can feel the heat pooling low in your gut, the tension that comes before the inevitable release. You tighten around him. His hands braced near your shoulders tremble, and you can see his biceps flexing with the effort of holding himself up like this. 

"Please," Clapton chokes out, and he doesn't specify as to what he wants, but you have a pretty good idea. "I'm gonna— " 

"Do it," you manage, despite your own climbing pitch, "c'mon, give it to me—"    

"Fuck— "  You feel him pulse. For a split second, you wonder how it would feel if he didn't have on the condom—  but your thoughts are quickly overtaken, as you're not too far behind. You twitch, spasming around his cock as your mouth falls open. The tension peaks, the heat spikes— 

He fucks you, gently, as you float back down, riding out your orgasm. Your eyelids flutter shut, and your breath slows, but your pulse is still a fast-paced staccato. 

He gingerly lays on top of you, catching his breath. It's hot against your throat. The world ceases spinning, and you let out a long sigh. 

He mimics it, and you glance down at him. 

You're reluctant to say it, but seriously, this is someone else's house. Guest room or not. 

"We should get cleaned up or something." 

He blinks once, lazily. Seemingly, he's content to lay on your chest. Of course, he's the type to get sleepy after sex. But at least he makes an effort to respond. "Ugh," he says. And then: "Jus' gimme a minute or something." 

You give him a look, and he surrenders. "Okay, fine." 

He slips out with a wet noise, and you only miss the fullness for a moment. Getting off the mattress, he throws out the condom, then accepts the wad of tissues you hand him. It's not the best, but it'll have to do for now. You manage to get most of the evidence of your arousal off before pulling back on your clothes. There's a mirror, thankfully, so you go to try and make yourself look less … fucked. Not that it would really matter. There are definitely people in worse states. 

Clapton stands next to you, but doesn't even try to fix his hair. On him, it looks fashionably disheveled, anyway. 

It's silent, before he interjects: 

"Is this … gonna be just a one-time thing?" 

The strange apprehensiveness is back, and you chance a glance at him. He's not meeting your eyes, but you're sure he's looking at you in the mirror's reflection. 

"I don't know," is all you can think to say, "do you want it to be?" A beat. "We could totally go back to being just sort of friends, if that's what you want." 

Clapton visibly swallows. "I … " 

You wait, patiently. He takes another few seconds. 

"I liked that," he mutters, "a lot. And I— I meant all that stuff. About you." 

He's still not meeting your eyes. It makes you pause. 

"I liked it too," you reply, softly.

The look he gives you next says it all. You know he's not big on old-school romance. He's not big on flowery words— his English grades can certainly attest to that. He's more of an action-oriented guy. Even if you don't get a verbal confession just yet— and you know you will, just not now— you suddenly understand what he's trying to convey. So, you pull yourself together and throw caution to the wind. 

"You wanna get out of here?" 

He beams. 

#clapton davis x reader #clapton davis x you #clapton davis imagines #clapton davis smut #josh hutcherson x reader

[marvelsswansong]

tornado warnings

summary: out of all the girls Eddie could like, of course he'd pick Jason Carver's girlfriend. He kept ignoring the warnings, and now he's in too deep.

tags: Eddie x fem!reader, pining!Eddie, friends to lovers, requited love but both parties are idiots, Dustin trying to talk sense into Eddie, cw for Jason being a misogynistic asshole, song fic, pure fluff, slow burn ish, oneshot

☆ word count: 6.5K+ (she's worth it i promise) ☆

⚠️ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞.⚠️

It's sprialed out of control. Eddie knows that now.

It's as if he's been struck by lightning, the realization jolting him awake when your fingers deftly brush against his whilst you pass over the chemistry pop quiz. The touch lasts for less than two seconds, accompanied by a friendly smile and a quiet "good luck" thrown in, but it's enough for him to falter and almost let the paper slip from his fingers.

It reminds him of the first time you two met, late after school - you because of cheerleading practice, him because of detention.

Eddie was exhausted. Having shown up late to school with mismatched socks and his roleplaying notebook forgotten by the driver's seat of his van - not that it mattered anymore, considering he had to cancel tonight's session due to detention - he swore that the world was out to get him.

It was half past five and the spring rain was unrelenting, the pitter patter of water droplets against glass windows drowning out all other noise. Eddie scowled, not even the weather was on his side today. He'd have to make a run for it to his car, with nothing more than a floppy notebook to hold over his head.

His footsteps faltered, however, when he heard a feminine voice swear followed by the clattering of metal. Peeking his head around the corner, he was met with none other than the sight of you struggling to open up your locker, delicate fingers fumbling with the lock desperately.

"Oh for fuck's sake." you swore, trying the combination again and pulling the lock with all your strength to no avail. Dropping your duffel bag onto the floor, you tried again, this time grasping the metal lock with both your manicured hands.

No luck.

Sighing, you dropped your arms and fell forward onto your locker head first, before perking up and looking around for someone to ask for help - perhaps a janitor would know how to deal with this. Your eyes met Eddie's, and his eyes widened in an instant (fearing the worst, being caught staring wordlessly at one of the most popular girls in school) but your eyes lit up with recognition and joy.

"Hey! Eddie, right?" you called out, waving him over.

You knew his name? Eddie was simultaneously flattered and shocked, considering you two were separated by several stratospheres in the popularity pyramid. He was in your Advanced Physics class junior year before he dropped down to regular Physics, and even then you sat by the front row with the rest of the cheerleading squad whilst he doodled in his notebooks at the back.

"Do you think you could try opening up my locker for me? I left some important notes in there and my European History test is tomorrow, so I really need them." you sheepishly added, leaning against your locker. Eddie hesitated for a few seconds - was this a trick? Why were you being so nice to him? Why was the smile on your face so pure and so genuine, never once faltering?

Ignoring the sirens going off in his mind, he wordlessly nodded and walked up to your locker.

"The combination is 8-1-8-2."

He spun the dials around and tugged at the lock, but it remained stuck. He tried again, being extra careful to spin the numbers to the exact digit this time, but it still didn't budge.

"Nothing?" you questioned anxiously, peeking over from behind his shoulder. Eddie just grinned at that, hand flying to his jean front pocket to fish out an extra hairpin.

"Maybe not. Hold on."

Bending the metal pin straight, he fumbled with the little hole at the bottom of the lock, until a satisfying 'click' rang out. He was then able to finally unhook the lock and open it up to the contents of your locker - textbooks and folders spilling with notes neatly piled up at the bottom, with a Dior perfume, tube of lipstick and a jar of gummies sitting on the top shelf.

He was about to make a lighthearted joke about the gummies when the joke died in his mouth at the warm sensation of your arms wrapping around his waist, face buried in his shirt as you joyously embraced him.

"YES! Thank you so much, Eddie, you are a lifesaver!"

The sudden burst of affection was totally foreign to him and his senses were going haywire - overwhelmed at how your hair was tickling his exposed skin, your sweet scent (notes of caramel, honey and vanilla) evident but not too strong from this proximity. He fumbled over what to do with his arms, not knowing what was appropriate to do, before awkwardly settling on patting your back with his left hand.

"It's uh, no big deal." he managed to stutter out, small grin on his lips. A grin far outshined by the massive one on yours, bubbly laughter flowing as you quickly dug out the notes from your locker before slamming it shut and locking it back up.

There was another foreign sensation now beginning to register in his brain. Warmth, pleasant fires kindling in his lower stomach, an ache in his chest to have you close to him again. And his next sentence was blurted out before he could even think through all the repercussions.

"Do you need a ride home? Since it's raining and all."

"Yeah! That'd be great."

Following the locker incident, you began to wave at him and exchange quick greetings with him in the hallways. It was a minor change, a verbal acknowledgment instead of silent smiles and polite nods, but that didn't stop others from giving Eddie dirty looks. After all, why was the most popular girl in school giving any time of her day to the resident school freak?

Truth be told, he didn't understand it either. But he wasn't going to complain either, only returning the gestures wholeheartedly. This amicable state of acquaintance - knowing each other's names and being friendly, but never crossing the line into friendship - was broken less than a week later, when he was sitting in Mr.Wilson's office and being lectured about how he really needed to get his grades up.

"I've assigned you a tutor. She's one of my star students and she's kindly agreed to tutor you for free, so please do show up on time and try." the elderly man sighed under his breath, pushing his metal rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose before shuffling through a stack of papers.

"Her name's (Y/n). I'll leave the specifics of the arrangement up to the two of you, but the expectation is one session every week or two. Understood?"

"Understood, sir."

So here he was now. Standing in front of your house, double checking the address scribbled down hurriedly onto his notebook for the hundredth time, agonizing over what to do. Should he knock? Ring the door bell? He was a few minutes early, maybe it'd be best to just wait for you outside-

"Hi there!" you exclaimed, throwing open the door excitedly, making him jump back in surprise. "Come on in, we can go up to my room."

Your hands were preoccupied with drying your wet hair with a towel - it looked as if you had just emerged from the shower, the thought of which made his throat dry, a dirty sight he had to immediately scrub from his mind. Not that it worked particularly well, not when you were wearing an oversized black t-shirt that showed off your legs and the cheerleading shorts you had on hugged your thighs perfectly.

Carefully eyeing the living room and kitchen, he half expected for your parents to jump out and begin to interrogate him as to his identity.

"Are your... parents around?" he'd asked quietly, fingers anxiously twiddling by his sides. You shook your head sideways.

"My parents work out of state most of the time. My godfather drops by every few days though to make sure I'm fine though."

He raised his eyebrows at that, following behind you up the stairs.

"Doesn't that get lonely?"

You hummed, dabbing the last droplets of water from your forehead.

"I guess so. But Hopper - my godfather - has a lot of friends in the community so I get invited over to a lot of things. Plus cheerleading and school stuff keeps me pretty busy so it's not too bad."

You then pushed open the door to your bedroom with your shoulder, stepping backwards to let Eddie in first.

He marveled at how well organized your room was: sunflowers potted by the windowsill, a collection of vinyls leaning against a propped up vinyl record player playing a slow Whitney Houston song. White wardrobe pushed against the wall next to pastel pink drawers, makeup and skincare products neatly placed one after another.

Your cheerleading uniform was ironed and nicely draped over a cushy velvet chair, a full length body mirror with polaroids of you and your friends stuck to its sides on the white wooden frame.

You led him over to your study desk, pristine and white, and gestured to the chair to your left. He was still drinking in the sight of your room as you closed the door shut and hung your towel over the frame of your bed - which was complete with frilly lace sheets, pink and yellow cushions, bumblebee patterns stitched into the fabric.

In summary, Eddie thought, the whole room was so damn... clean and cute. A stark and sore contrast to his messy room, unfolded laundry everywhere and his walls crowded with his guitar and various metal band posters. He was just grateful now that he had insisted on doing the first session at your place instead of his.

"Everything okay?" you questioned, noticing his silence and awed expression. He blinked at you wordlessly at that, mind blanking in an instant.

"Yep! Amazing. Awesome, really. Just very stoked to get started on this exciting English Literature." he boasted, tapping his hand down on the thick textbook. You giggled at that, leaning against your chair.

"Listen, I know that Steinbeck and Fitzgerald aren't as exciting as Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath, but I promise you that there's a charm to these authors as well."

"You know about Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath?" Eddie perked up at that, pleasantly surprised. You rolled your eyes playfully, as if it was common knowledge.

"Duh, what else would I listen to whilst I jog? I can't say I'm as big of a fan as you, but I do listen to a bit of everything and metal is a cool genre."

It was his turn to chuckle, leaning forward onto the table to rest his head on his palms.

"You know, (L/n), you're not at all like what I'd expected you to be."

"What'd you mean by that, Munson?" you challenged, quirking up your eyebrows teasingly, his heart skipping a beat at the action.

"Nothing bad, I promise! Just, I don't know, your friends aren't as friendly or as cool as you."

You click your tongue at that, faux frown on your glossy lips.

"But aren't we friends? And you're plenty cool and friendly."

Friends. The word felt heavy on his tongue, goosebumps rising on his skin. Plus, you'd called him cool and friendly - by far the nicest thing any popular student had ever said to him. All logic flew out the window at that moment, walls tumbling down faster than the next words on his lips.

"Of course we're friends."

It was dangerous territory, a quiet voice was nagging him in the crevices of his mind that this was totally new and treacherous - accepting the friendship of the most popular and desired girl in school. The sirens were blaring in his head, red warning signs clouding his vision.

But Eddie consciously chose to turn the other way, running farther into your embrace.

"Cool. Glad to hear it, friend."

Once the initial hurdle was jumped over, the label of 'friends' hanging over you and Eddie, everything fell into place. Weeks flew by with tutoring sessions filled with inside jokes and excited ramblings, with Eddie taking every chance to insert a dirty joke in somehow to make you laugh.

He walked you from class to class at your insistence, your sharp glare at any staring passerbys enough to shut them up. Conversation was never awkward, there was plenty to talk about. His D&D sessions, the latest Metallica record, the next football game that Eddie would begrudgingly turn up to (but ultimately always would, just to be able to hug you in celebration afterwards).

It was all platonic, he told himself. Sure, he thought you were pretty and fun, but that didn't mean anything. He had it all under control, he reasoned, no, insisted. He was feigning igornace, arguing with his inner voice that it was all just excitement and nerves over having a friend who was popular.

"A lot on your mind?" you asked him a few months later, tongue swiping across the top of your ice cream, legs uncrossing underneath your cheerleading uniform.

You'd insisted on celebrating his first A in English Literature by going out for ice cream - "it's on me" you'd added, making it impossible to say no. It was a sizzling hot summer day and both of you were seeking refuge under the shade of a large willow tree, sitting on the roof of Eddie's van with him only a few inches separated from you.

'Yes.' Eddie wanted to say. 'I can't stop thinking about you.' he wanted to confess. 'I hear your laughter whilst I fold my clothes. I see you in the corner of my eyes everywhere I go, laying on my sofa with your legs dangling off the armrest, smiling at me in the rearview mirror from the backseat of my car.'

But he didn't say that.

"Not really. Just still reeling from the fact that I got an A." he joked, choosing to suppress his inner thoughts.

"Aw, well, you're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for, Eds. This is just the beginning, I know it."

Humming, he shot you a quick wink.

"I'll take your word for it, doll."

Both of you fell into a comfortable silence after that, until a loud shriek was heard from inside the ice cream store. A girl Eddie vaguely recognized from one of his classes was nodding fiercely and hugging her boyfriend close, making his eyebrows raise in piqued curiosity.

"Oh, probably just a promposal for the dance next week." you commented lazily, tongue flicking at the top of your cone.

"Are you... going?" Eddie tested the waters, eyes cautiously picking apart your reaction.

"Yeah, I am! Jason's being really difficult about the color palette we're matching as though. He wants pink and blue, I'd rather we do yellow and blue or pink and white."

Eddie's vision flashed white at the mention of Jason's name, bone chilling cold seeping through his chest.

"Jason as in... Jason Carver?"

You nodded, and the pain he felt upon seeing the fond smile that spread across your lips instantly felt worse than a million needle pricks at his heart.

"That's him. He can be kind of difficult at times but... he's my boyfriend and I love him, you know?"

Eddie knew he'd never have a chance with you. He never deluded himself into that fantasy, but now it was confirmed, written in clear black and white: you were taken. Not only that, but you loved Jason Carver. He was your boyfriend.

It made total sense. How had Eddie not noticed it before? Perhaps you had mentioned it to him previously, an off the cuff comment here and there, but Eddie wasn't listening carefully. Too intoxicated on your quiet giggles, too busy admiring the golden sunlight kissing your hairline.

It was impossible to prevent the smile from dissipating from his face, a forced grin instead replacing his genuine warm smile.

"Yeah. Makes sense, I guess."

"How about you, Eds?" you excitedly asked, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Anyone caught your eye that you want to take to the dance?"

It burned his mouth to respond, heart throbbing, fingers strained by his sides.

"Yeah, but uh... I don't think I'll be able to make it, so I'm not going to ask her."

You frowned at that and there were a few drops of strawberry ice cream hanging from your lips, which Eddie reached out to wipe away with his thumb instinctively.

"S-sorry." he muttered out, retracting his hand quickly as if he'd been burnt.

"Yeah, you better be." Jason barked out from behind Eddie, making him straighten up in alarm, not having heard Jason's car pull into the parking lot.

The jock glared at Eddie as he walked around to wrap a possessive arm around your waist, pulling you right against his figure. Your widening smile was unmissable, so was the way you kicked your legs forward in delighted joy when Jason suddenly swooped down and pressed a harsh kiss against your lips.

Eddie awkwardly averted his gaze as Jason continued to glare at the metalhead from over your shoulder, deepening the kiss possessively, his vice grip only loosening from your waist when you patted him on the back indicating that you needed air.

"Ready to go, babe?" Jason asked, not even missing a beat. You nodded, scrunching up the paper cup in your hands and throwing it away to the nearest bin.

"I'll catch you round?" you asked cheerfully, linking your hands with Jason and shooting Eddie a hopeful smile. The smart answer to give would've been to make up an excuse, to cut the friendship there and for good - especially with how Jason was steaming with anger next to you, blue icy eyes narrowing in on Eddie's figure.

There was a storm brewing, toxic smoke billowing into the air. But Eddie stood there, unwavering, only nonchalantly rolling back his shoulders and winking at you.

"Yep. See you round."

Jason's hatred for Eddie only intensified as time went on - you'd tagged along to a D&D session once and the jock found you leaning over Eddie mid-dice roll, metal ring clad fingers on top of yours as he guided you. Eddie waited for you after school whenever you had late practice to drive you back home, only for Jason to then pop out of nowhere and insist on driving you home (though he lived in the opposite direction from you).

"I don't fucking trust you, freak." Jason once spat the moment you ran off to the bathroom, leaving the two men to be standing around your locker. "I don't know what the fuck my girlfriend sees in you, but you better not be dragging her into any of your shit."

Eddie clenched his jaw, fists grasping and ungrasping by his sides in an attempt to control his anger.

"Relax, Carver. We're just friends."

Jason just rolled his eyes at that, stepping forward threateningly.

"Yeah, friends. Just don't get your dick hard thinking she's yours. She shouldn't be wasting her time on you anyways."

Eddie's blood boiled at the way the basketball player talked about you, wanting to control and dictate everything you did.

"She's not property for you to fucking control, jackass." he retorted, only succeeding in causing Jason's nostrils to flare with fury.

"I'm back, and I- Oh." you paused, noticing the tension lingering in the air and the defensive postures. "Is everything alright?"

The boys stared at each other silently, hatred still tinging the air, but it all melted into fake smiles on both their faces when turning to you.

"Yep." they both affirmed.

"Everything's... perfect. Just as it should be." Jason slowly drawled, eyeing Eddie up and down. It was a threat, an alarm bell ringing right by his ears. It dawned on Eddie that this was becoming unavoidable now, the mess that he was in, his love for you an unstoppable tornado.

It was incredibly reckless to continue to be friends with you. But god, it felt so damn good.

So out of selfish nature or not, Eddie didn't pull away. He chose to clutch on to you tighter, grit his teeth harder, damn all the consequences that would follow. He'd wander closer into the eye of the storm, wholeheartedly and willingly, all for you.

Though Jason wasn't silent about his unhappiness over your friendship with Eddie, you never let it affect you. So Eddie continued to be your friend, maybe even best friend at this point after six months, what in between Saturday movie nights and late evening talks on the bleachers after practice.

Eddie forced himself to be content with being your go-to platonic company: of helping you pick out a dress for your date with Jason whilst leaning against the headboard of your bed, carrying your things for you at school as you rushed to class after cheerleading practice, laughing with you over a pack of cheep bear in someone's backyard during a loud house party.

It hurt - doing all the things couples did, but under the label of friendship and under Jason's persistent gaze. After all, Eddie was the one to hold your hair back when you'd had too much to drink at the end of year summer party, helping to wipe your mouth with a stray towel and gently guiding a water bottle to your lips.

Your boyfriend was nowhere to be seen, having ditched you the moment his fellow basketball players called him over. It made Eddie furious, how it seemed Jason only wanted you as a trophy to show off to the school before abandoning you in favor of his friends, but you seemed to be blind to it.

Besides, Eddie reasoned, who was he to intervene? Overall, you were happy, right?

The metalhead wasn't even in the bathroom with you for more than three minutes when Jason came pummeling through the door, chest heaving with anger upon having been told that you were seen stumbling into an empty bathroom with Eddie 'the freak' Munson.

The jock never said it - at least in front of Eddie - but it was clear that he suspected something more than friendship, you two always tilting dangerously close into romantic territory. Jason ordered Eddie out, insisting that you were in need of your boyfriend instead of him, and with a heavy heart Eddie sighed and wandered back into the party.

He still thought about you the rest of the night though, no matter how many jaegar bomb shots he downed.

Come autumn, and it wasn't just Jason who saw what was going on. At this point, you were beloved by everyone in the Hellfire Club and you'd even swung by Eddie's trailer multiple times. Wayne and the kids would all tease Eddie for his clear infatuation with you, which Eddie would vehemently deny, though he knew deep down they were right.

"So are you ever going to admit that you like her?" Dustin teased, knocking his shoulder into the older boy's.

They were sitting on the railings of the skate park, the boys having lost a game of rock-paper-scissors with Max to pick between going to the arcade or to the skate park. The redhead was busy coaching you on how to skate - your legs wobbly on the skateboard as Max held onto your arms, wide amused smiles on both your faces - whilst Lucas and Mike ran off to the corner store to get some water.

"What, (Y/n)?" Eddie tried to play dumb.

"Duh, who the hell else?" Dustin retorted, appalled that his friend would even try to feign ignorance.

Both boys picked up their heads at the sound of loud laughter, your back on the pavement as you seemingly fell, Max laughing so hard that she had tears in her eyes and was hunched over to clutch her stomach. The fond smile gracing Eddie's lips was instantaneous- you were always so good with the kids, they all adored you. The boys pestered you for gaming tips, Max and you bonded over music, Erica thought you were the "coolest adult" she knew.

It made Eddie fall even deeper for you, his heart now fully in the eye of the hurricane. You were ripping down all his walls, your laughter destructive and haunting. You left him dizzy and stumbling through the hallways, heart heavy with infatuation, lips aching to be on yours.

"There. Right there." Dustin commented, pointing right at Eddie's face. "You get that stupid grin on your face whenever she smiles or talks or shit, does anything really. We all have bets on when you're finally gotta make a move, so when are you?"

Eddie shoved off the curly haired boy, fingers scrambling to brush off the sleeves of his jacket in false boredom.

"For the millionth time, Henderson, she has a boyfriend. Said boyfriend, who by the way, hates me and frankly I don't feel like being a homewrecker." he spat, venom dropping from his voice at the thought of Jason. Letting out a short exhale, he flashed the younger boy a tired smile.

"Besides, we've been friends for like, what, over half a year now? The ship has sailed, I've got no chance."

"You're just saying that because you don't see the way she looks at you." the younger boy insisted. "Seriously. Friends don't look at each other like that."

Eddie had nothing to say to that, you looking up from the opposite site of the skate park to wave at the two boys with delight, which they both quickly returned. The fluttering in Eddie's stomach was easy to anticipate at this point, as was the heavy pang in his heart at the realization that Jason would be coming to pick you up in a short bit.

"She's just being nice, Dustin." Eddie muttered, running a shaky hand through his hair.

You looked ethereal whilst skating, so carefree, hair flowing in the wind as your knees bent and braced for the dip off the edge. Fading red orange sunlight accentuating the dip and curve of your facial features, autumn foliage stuck in your messy hair.

You'd come into his life, a tornado, and destroyed his whole being. He was wandering alone now, knees brushing up against green fields with nothing but trees surrounding him, but Eddie didn't mind.

So long as he got to continue to watch you smile like that.

Cut to the present, Eddie's mindlessly filling out the pop quiz, brain still fuzzy from your touch lingering over his skin, ghostly yet ever so present. The rest of the class flies by and it's the end of the school day, so Eddie quickly moves to shove his things into his bag, crushing all his paper notes with the haste with which he does so.

"Any plans for tonight?" you ask, tossing your bag over your shoulder.

It's Friday night, which to everyone else means parties and fancy dinners, but to Eddie it usually means going back to the trailer and watching a rerun of a shitty sitcom over a bowl of microwave mac and cheese. Not that he'll tell you that, though.

"Not really. Why, up for another spontaneous drive through town?" he teases, heart fluttering hopefully. You sigh and shake your head sideways.

"Can't - Jason's taking me out on a date, but... rain check for maybe next Friday?" you question, peeking up from your lashes.

"Sure, next Friday." the bitter smile and forced ambivalence to his tone is painful, but it's a dull ache he's made peace with at this point. "If anything changes, you know where to find me." Eddie jokes, cocking his head to the side.

And unexpectedly, things do change.

In the blink of an eye, it seems.

Eddie's mid-way through the rented copy of Evil Dead, hands stuck in a greasy bowl of popcorn as he lies chest down on the sofa, blue light from the television illuminating his tired face, until someone bangs against his trailer door furiously.

Jumping up at the sudden loud noise, he pauses the VHS tape, abandoning his bowl of popcorn on the couch before throwing open the door.

It's you, mascara running down your cheeks, arms crossed over your chest, clutching at your skin so harshly that the baby blue dress you're wearing bunches at your waist.

"I broke up with him." is the first thing you say, voice shaky, body still trembling. "He said some, fuck, awful things, Eds. Really awful things. I had no choice and I know it was the right thing to do but-"

Your voice breaks as another wave of tears overwhelms you.

"But then why does it still hurt?"

Eddie's quick to shush you and envelope you into his arms, not caring that your makeup is probably smudging against his shirt, his hands coming up to comfortingly cradle your head against his chest. Your body trembles with every sob that escapes your lips and Eddie presses a soft kiss to your hairline, wishing nothing more than to take your pain away from you.

His mind is whirring with a million different things to say to you, but your comfort is on the forefront of his mind above all.

"Hey... have you ever been to the park by Saint Street? You know, the one with the playground." he quietly suggests, pulling away slightly.

You look up at him, confused, wiping your eyes.

"I don't think so, why?"

Picking up the jean jacket thrown over his kitchen counter, he digs out his car keys from the side pocket and extends his left hand out for you to grab.

"Because. We should go. It's impossible to be sad at a playground."

It's a stupid thing to say, childish even, but it does the job of putting a smile back onto your face, your cold hands grasping his warm ones. It's a quick drive - no less than 15 minutes - but he can't help but look over at you at every intersection and red light, making sure that you're okay.

He jumps out first to open the car door for you before helping you climb over the metal fence - "no one comes by, I swear" he assures you - shaky feet meeting dead leaves and dirt, he's quick to tug you towards the swing set.

He refuses to let you talk - "play first, until you stop crying" - and he insists on pushing you on the swing as high as he can. He chases you down the slides then races you to the top of the jungle gym, drunk off of your bubbly laughter and the way your eyes twinkle in the moonlight.

Neither of you know how much time has passed before you two sit across from each other on the seesaw, ribs hurting from the lack of oxygen. You can faintly make out Eddie's features in the dark - moonlight illuminating his curls, amused grin on his handsome face (the same face you've been unable to stop thinking about for the past few months).

"So what'd Jason say?" Eddie asks, leaning forward. "But only if you wanna talk about it, of course." he clarifies.

You let out a slow exhale, nodding tiredly.

"No, no, you... you deserve to know. Jason was on edge at the restuarant - I didn't think much of it, he's always a bit on edge - but he just went crazy today. Like, the moment the waiter left he started screaming at me, accusing me of cheating on him."

"Cheating on him?" Eddie strains his neck with the speed with which he picks his head up to stare at you, wide mouthed. "You? You would never!"

You scoff at that, thumbs anxiously twiddling on your lap.

"I know. That's what I tried to tell him but he wouldn't hear it. Just kept on going and on about how I was clearly in love with-" you stop yourself then, the gravity of the situation falling into place like dominoes.

You just broke up with your boyfriend of nearly a year. You came to Eddie crying, showing up at his doorstep in a heartbeat. Now you two are staring at each other in the park, leaned over opposite sides of a fucking seesaw, pouring each other's feelings out into the chilly winter air.

"With who?" he furrows his eyebrows and you almost want to laugh at how oblivious he is. You suppose maybe you've been hiding it well - well enough for Eddie to not notice how your touch has always lingered a bit too long on his skin, how your head so easily found home in the crook of his neck, how you began to prioritize meeting up with him over your fellow cheerleaders.

But not well enough for Jason, eagle eyed and jealous, constantly hovering over your interactions with Eddie and deluding himself with the gossip around school that you'd gone further than that.

"You."

It's whispered, heart falling to the bottom of your stomach at the confession now lingering in the open, cold and heavy.

"M-me?" Eddie stutters, clearly taken back. You lick your lips, chapped and dry, your shaky breaths coming out in small whisps of white smoke.

"Yeah. Jason insisted that it was clear that I was cheating on him with you and that we were spending way too much time to be just friends, and he... he called me a lying slut. Straight up. Screamed that I was whore to my face, demanded to know how many times we fucked behind his back."

"W-we never even kissed!"

"Yeah, I know." you chuckle sadly, shaking your head sideways, blinking away new tears which spring to your eyes. "But Jason didn't believe me. I dumped him, left him with the check and... I don't know, didn't feel like going home to an empty house. And I just... all I could think about was how much I wanted to see you."

Eddie doesn't know what to say to that. So he takes the safe route, nodding sympathetically and flashing you a small grin.

"Well, I'm glad that you did. I hope me dragging you to the playground wasn't the wrong thing to do." he teases, attempting to lighten the heavy mood. It works, soft grin tugging at your face.

"Yeah it definitely wasn't. Coming here was perfect."

The night breeze blows against your bare shoulders and it hits you that you really aren't dressed for the outside. Even if winter is only beginning to slowly roll in, it's still chilly enough to see your breath in front of your eyes in puffs of smoke and you've been sitting still on this seesaw for a while. So Eddie steps off to shrug off his jacket, musky earth tones warming your senses as he places it carefully around your shoulders.

"Thanks." you mutter, fingers grasping the lapels of the fabric.

"Don't mention it." he responds, waving you off.

A few beats of silence pass and then you throw your head back, staring up at the night sky full of stars.

"You know, weirdly though, I'm kind of relieved."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Deep down, I knew it wouldn't last. Too many red flags, you know? I just keep on ignoring them because... I don't know, really. Don't like change."

"I get that."

"God, feelings suck." you chuckle, shaking your head sideways. "Don't they? Pining, infatuation, love."

Eddie hums, nodding along.

"I'm there with you. For example-" he pauses. He's staring the storm right in the eye now, he has to made a decision.

He's tired of running, he decides.

"The girl I've been fawning over for almost a year now has been totally blind to my love for her and I'm exhausted." he makes it a point to stare straight at you with an unwavering intensity. "But she's worth it."

It's a shot in the dark but there's a surge of courage and adrenaline pumping through his veins, and the dark makes him more bold. He blames it on the wind rush, the night high, how beautiful you look in that velvet blue dress.

"She sounds like a very lucky girl." you choke out, mind blanking unexpectedly. Eddie nods and walks up towards you slowly, your throat running dry under the intensity of his stare.

"Yeah, and she's incredible, too. Head cheerleader. Great English Literature tutor. So funny, so kind, so damn beautiful, especially in blue. Great with kids, loved by my uncle, and I just heard-" his left hand comes over to brush up against your cheek. "That she's single. Funny how things work out like this, huh?"

You nod wordlessly, entranced by his warm brown eyes.

"It is."

You stand up cautiously, never once breaking eye contact with him, leaning in closer and closer. Eddie's expecting you to pull away from him in any instant, disgust springing onto your face or apologies falling from your lips, but you remain still. Your lashes fluttering shut is the last sign he needs before he commits to closing the gap and kissing you squarely on your lips, knocking the cold air out from your lungs.

It's a cold night but his skin's on fire, left hand springing up to cup your chin, other hand supporting your neck as he tugs you in even closer. You taste like cherry chapstick and smell like French perfume, velvet fabric brushing up against his arms as he backs you up against a park bench.

It's a messy kiss, all teeth and tongue, but he can't give a fuck. Not when his heart is soaring, fingertips electric, mind hazy at the realization that he is finally kissing his dream girl after a whole year of pining.

"Holy shit." you manage to say when you two pull apart, hair slightly messied and lips wet and plump.

"I hope that's a good holy shit, princess." Eddie teases, the nickname causing your stomach to flutter with butterflies.

"It's a good holy shit. A really good holy shit." you confirm, nodding fiercely. You both laugh at that, warmth blossoming across both your chests.

"W-why didn't you ever say anything?" you stutter out, head still reeling from the passionate kiss.

"I wanted to. God, I wanted to so many times. I knew I was falling for you from the beginning, all these little indicators and signs and the intrusive thoughts. But I kept on ignoring them and by the time I realized I loved you, I knew you were with Jason and you two seemed happy. And I didn't want to be selfish and intrude on your happiness like that."

He tugs you down onto his lap, sitting both your bodies down on the metal bench. Your hands come up to carress his cold cheeks, trembling thumbs rubbing up and down his jawline, eyes admiring the freckles on his nose and the specks of moonlight in his hair.

"Well, no need to ignore those warnings anymore, huh?" you say quietly, voice heavy with adoration.

He just nods, head falling forwards to rest on your chest, hearing your soft heartbeat through velvet fabric.

"Absolutely."

Eddie ignored the tornado warnings.

But in the wreckage, you two found each other, hands desperately grasping each other's in the darkness.

Burrowing his head into the crevice of your neck, he's content to stay with you in the aftermath of the disaster, so long as you continue to grip onto him like this.

a/n: this was based on the song with the same title by Sabrina Carpenter! Please go stream and support her new album, 'emails I can't send', it is fantastic and there are so many other bangers on the album.

Speaking of which, the way that the metaphor of the tornado is used in the song is kinda different from how I used it here but idk, I thought it was a cute concept and the song motivated me to write it haha. Not sure how this fic will be received but I loved writing it :)

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x fem!reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things x you #eddie munson #1k #2k #3k #4k #5k #6k #7k #8k

[justafandomgvrl]

Read To Me?

Steven Grant x Very Very Tired GN!Reader

Short and sweet

Word count: 450ish

You sigh as you finally stumble through the door of your flat. Steven perks up, taking his glasses off and placing them on the bedside table, wandering through to give you a kiss but he pauses when he sees your dishevelled state.

“Love? You okay?” he asks, easing your jacket off your shoulders and hanging it up for you. You nod, absentmindedly kissing his cheek as you drop your bag to the floor and kick your shoes off. “Do you want a cuppa?” He asks and you shake your head.

“Sorry, Steven, it’s just been a long day. I’ve been in meetings all day and then I had to stay late because some rookie didn’t have a clue what he was doing and I just -”

“It’s alright, love. C’mon, let's get you to bed, yeah? Get you laying down.” Steven interrupts, taking your hands and pulling you gently through the flat, avoiding book piles and bags full of Marc’s things that you knew not to touch. You get undressed as Steven vanishes into the kitchen. You pull on one of his jumpers and smile as you inhale the scent of old books and vanilla and the cologne you bought him for his birthday. You feel yourself calming within moments and you climb under the heavy duvet, curling up and waiting for him to come back to bed. Steven hurries back in and turns off the main light, handing you a plate with some fruit and crackers and cheese - some of Marc’s, you realise upon taking a small bite of it. Steven turns the lamp next to the bed on and puts his glasses back on, picking up his book.

“Steven?”

“Yes love?” he hums, one hand absent-mindedly stroking your arm.

“Read to me?” He smiles at your request and adjusts so that you can lean on him as you nibble at the snacks he brought you. He begins to read from his book, something about the construction of pyramids, although you’re not listening to the words. The uptick in his voice when he gets excited, the way his heartbeat pounds in sync with your own pulse, the way the ‘o’ lolls off his tongue when he has to say the same sound too many times in a row.

Steven smiles as he notices your eyes flutter shut and he closes the book quietly, putting it and your plate on the floor to deal with in the morning. He places his glasses on the bedside table and turns the lamp off, gently manoeuvring you both slightly further down the bed and kissing your temple.

“Sweet dreams, love.”

#steven grant x you #steven grant x reader #steven grant #moon knight fluff #Oscar Isaac #Oscar Isaac characters

[unnerving-presence]

If you're taking requests could you do killers (preferably including Wesker) with an s/o who's very affectionate and likes to lay on their chest? I just want to bury my face in their man titties sometimes LMAO

wesker’s stars skin is my fav and i will cherish it forever his cute lil glasses make me want to kiss him on his stupid little face pls

also i only have the brain capacity to do wesker and pyramid head bc i am not feeling well today. sorry

Albert Wesker:

Contrary to popular belief, he is quite fond of affection. While he generally doesn’t go out looking for it, he is not opposed to it and doesn’t have any problems reciprocating those feelings in his own way. Hugs and kisses? Sure, he knows what to do. Burying your face in his chest? Well, this is both cute and concerning to say the least. Holding his face in your hands and talking to him like he’s a stray dog? Actually, what does he even do at that point?

While Albert gives affection to a lesser degree than you, he tries his best to use his actions to show how he feels, even if he’s better with words. If you’re looking particularly adorable one day and you decide to give him a kiss, he’ll gently caress your cheek with his thumb for a brief moment. Even if you simply want to give him kind words or even a gift, he will not allow you to leave his side for the next hour, opting to gently rest his hand on your waist as he does his work.

Even the slightest of smiles crosses his face when you greet him after a trial and say goodbye to him when you are called for one. It’s quite amusing watching you give him every single type of kiss on all parts of his body before leaving, especially when sometimes all you want to do is bury your face in his chest and attempt to motorboat. He still never understands that..

Wesker understands the concept of being as affectionate as you are, but he himself will not understand how you can give so much of it in a short amount of time. You really have the energy to dish out 15 kisses, 6 hugs, a particularly suggestive way of holding his belt while looking at him with a smile, a titty squeeze, and a face squish like you’re a grandma who hasn’t seen her grandchild in 20 years in just 10 minutes?? He doesn’t see the appeal in doing it, but he will certainly not complain about receiving it. Except for the face squish. Stop it.

Pyramid Head:

Dude barely understands affection so he will not mind you laying on his chest. It’s calming that you’re so close to him.. but why..? Also, why are your hands squeezing his pecs? This is nice and confusing at the same time for him. He’ll get used to it eventually. I think..

Over time Pyramid Head has learned how to properly give affection back to show you that he cares. You give him a hug, he’ll gently rest a hand on your back. You give him a kiss, a content rumble will be heard from him. You tell him how much you love him, he will gently press his head against yours. It’s not a whole lot but he tries to make it evident that he is does somewhat understand and enjoy your loving actions. He still sometimes bonks you on the head when he attempts to give you a makeshift kiss and even ends up making quite a terrifying noise when he tries to let you know that he’s happy. I mean.. he’s got the spirit. Hopefully his way of apologizing (random trinket he found on the ground) will make you forgive him.

After you come back from a trial is his favorite when it comes to you giving affection. You look so relieved to be back with him and it’s quite adorable watching you hug him and tell him about how your day went. During these moments he begins to understand why you want to be so close to him. It’s hard for him to grasp, but he has a feeling that he wants to be close to you, too.. even if that consists of following you around like a lost puppy. He’s trying his best!

Pyramid Head is still trying to understand exactly why he enjoys the things you do and is still often confused as to why you do them. He understands affection to a certain degree, but frankly he will never understand why you enjoy smushing your face into his chest and calling them boobs, nor will he understand why you call him ‘babygirl’.

#dbd x reader #dead by daylight x reader #albert wesker x reader #pyramid head x reader

[smilessssss]

𝔜𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔓𝔶𝔯𝔞𝔪𝔦𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔡 ℌ/ℭ𝔰

Tw: Somewhat religious themes, mentions of abuse, and unhealthy relationships.

⋆♱✮♱⋆ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ⋆♱✮♱⋆

Never once in your life would you see yourself here. A place that was practically Hell.

Pyramid head never seen something like you, someone so innocent, soft, and so so fragile.

He saw you as glass, the most rarest and beautiful glass. Made of china or what not. That even something barely grazes you, you would crack.

He didn’t want that to happen to you or at least not done by him.

He sheltered you somewhere, a place that would be very hard to get into. He wouldn’t let anyone take his pretty angel.

He saw you as an Angel. Something that could do no harm, or have any sin.

He was the punisher for sin so he wouldn’t be wrong about you.

Hates it when you show any fear towards him. Or when you try to get out of restraints. Oh yeah I forgot to mention.

Doesn’t want you leaving him, so he bound your hands to a pole in the room. If he catches you trying to escape him. He won’t hesitate to punish you.

His punishments are nothing to laugh about. It mostly sometimes leaves you completely unable to move your body. Or have that cold feeling leave. Bruises paint your body nicely (to him)

Would do anything for you (besides letting you be free) he wouldn’t hesitate to kill anything or anyone that harmed you or tried to take you away from him.

Finds pieces of food for you to eat or anything that is edible to eat.

When he’s feeling affectionate he’ll sit you on his lap and hold you with his strong arms. Sitting is the same silence as before.

Lives in this delusional world that you both crave each other, and you’re just not realizing it. Of course a relationship would take time, he just wishes it would be faster.

Wouldn’t let anyone take his sweet Angel. He’d clip your wings to keep you down here with him.

#slashers x reader #slashers #dbd x reader #dbd #dbd pyramid head #pyramid head #pyramid head x reader #yandere pyramid head x reader #yandere pyramid head #Silent hill 2 #Silent hill

[gabessquishytum]

Ive been lurking for a long time just eating other peoples ideas but i cant get over sleazy pickup artist hob having this religious pussy experience from this weird goth he met at a bar just standing there silently like a mannequin. I would love it if dream was only this unearthly beauty to HOB. Literally NOBODY ELSE gets why this crying wet cat bewitched him body and soul... hob is a total conman on the internet manosphere bc he looks like Alpha Male and he just says some bullshit he makes up on the fly and starts pyramid schemes. He stumbles out of that hookup dazed and confused but feeling like he needs to buy a ring and perhaps commission a golden statue. Hes Different after. Like his accounts drop off activity for a good long while as he tries so desperately to find this Weird Fucking Guy hes not quite sure was human at this point and when people start noticing what hes doing hes an absolute laughing stock but hes too busy pulling all nighters red strings on the corkboard to care hes like an obsessed mad scientist in a monster movie. He goes to that bar EVERY NIGHT. For 100 days. Then his magnificent stranger walks back in and orders a glass of milk at the bar and hob is ready to simp for the rest of his fucking LIFE. Morpheus is this guys Actual Name and hob realizes he could have just like,, looked him up online if he believed morpheus when he told him the next morning then left while hob was in the shower. But dream shares that he doesn't have social media. Or a computer. Or a phone. He pulls out this ancient flip phone held together with scotch tape and willpower so hob can enter his number. He types with one index finger on hobs screen to enter his own. Hob is gifted his presence for another night of insane sex where he almost dies like twice and comes more times in a row than he has in his life. Dream is completely unaffected by literally any media attention and No One Gets The Appeal. Hes like a cryptid and everyone knows who HOB is seemingly BUT dream and he really doesnt care about any of the questions he gets. Usually just responds with some shit like "you could be learning a new hobby right now. Try oil painting, perhaps the clarinet." Its not even beer goggles bc hob is following after this freak like a puppy in the middle of the afternoon wearing all black and a long jacket in August while he picks out the specific peanuts from a big barrel he would like to feed the birds at the park today.

-🔪

Yeah I absolutely love the idea that Dream is a weird skinny gremlin to EVERYONE. Except for Hob. Hob thinks he's an angel, a beautiful ethereal creature, Dream has literally saved Hob’s soul from the torments of cringey redpill internet content. Hob walks around with heart eyes 24/7, basically waits on Dream hand and foot. He doesn't give a shit if he gets ripped on online - he doesn't go online anymore, he's way too busy staring at the way the light filters into Dream’s eyes.

He's so down bad for Dream’s pussy it's almost comedic. He'll get on his knees and bed to be allowed just a sniff, just a moment with his nose between Dream’s legs. He'd buy Dream’s bath water but he's so lucky he doesn't even have to!!! He gets it for free!!!

All this to say: they're both freaks, no body gets why they're Like That but true love finds a way!

#🔪 anon #the sandman #dreamling #nsft

[kwanisms]

Kinkuary 04 Hwa & Joong — double penetration // anal

➥ dom!Seonghwa × bratty!Reader × dom!Hongjoong summary: After a few drinks and a slip of the tongue, Y/N and her boyfriend, Seonghwa, invite their friend Hongjoong back to their hotel room. wc: 6.7k (sorry. she's wordy lol) warnings: afab reader, adult dialogue, established relationship (Seonghwa), alcohol consumption, sexual content (minors dni!): threesome, protected sex (both Hwa & Joong wear condoms), oral (f receiving, m receiving), anal (f receiving), double penetration, biting, dom!Hwa, dom!Joong, bratty!Reader, Hwa is a little rough with his hands, pet names (baby, angel, etc), I think I got everything lol Permanent taglist: @yoonguurt @candidupped Kinkuary full taglist: @baldi-2 @wonderfulshinee @lacie220900 @sup-dallyboy @rdiamond2727 Ateez taglist: @2hodefender @babyhailey819 @foxylilbitch MINORS WILL BE BLACKLISTED & BLOCKED. Join the taglist!

a/n: I've had so many dreams about threesomes with these two so I got a lot of content in my head lol I hope you enjoy this piece for Kinkuary! As always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only. banner made by me. I do not allow reposts or translations of my works. All my works are ©️ kwanisms.

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“I can’t believe he didn’t know his toupee was lopsided!” You giggled, setting your glass down as your boyfriend, Seonghwa, reached over, taking your hand and bringing it to his lips, smiling as he pressed a kiss to the back of your hand.

“It was so funny!” Hongjoong said, grabbing the half empty bottle of soju and began pouring more shots. You grabbed your full shot glass and waited for the two men to do the same, clinking the glass together before downing your shot quickly.

Hongjoong let out a whoop, causing Seonghwa to kick him under the table. “Shut up, you idiot,” Seonghwa chuckled, looking at his best friend. You joined in his laughter, giggling behind your hand at your boyfriend’s best friend.

“Sorry,” Hongjoong said with a grimace. “It’s been a while since I’ve drank like this,” he added, shaking his head and grabbing the bottle to pour more shots.

“I think the last time I drank like this,” you said, raising to press your finger to your lips in mock thinking. “Was that party at Wooyoung’s,” you concluded. Seonghwa groaned, rolling his eyes. “The party where he insisted we play strip truth or dare?”

Hongjoong nearly choked on his water, having grabbed the bottle to take a sip.

“He made you what?” He asked incredulously, making you giggle again as the alcohol mixed in your system.

Seonghwa shook his head, giving you a fond smile before looking at his best friend.

“It’s so dumb. He just wanted an excuse to take his clothes off,” Seonghwa replied as you settled into the cushions beside him.

He’d chosen this restaurant because it was attached to the hotel you and he were staying in but also because they had these private balconies for rent. The table was low, almost like a coffee table, with two black cushioned loveseats on either side and matching armchairs on the ends. The balcony had two square pyramid shaped outdoor heaters, powered by propane with a glass tube up the center that held the flame.

The food, which had been excellent, was mostly gone and several empty bottles of soju sat on the table top.

“I think Woo just wanted everyone naked, to be honest,” you added, snuggled up against Seonghwa as one of your hands reached up to play with the hair at the base of his neck. Seonghwa nodded, shrugging as he looked up at you.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” he said, smiling as you erupted into more drunken giggles.

Across the table, Hongjoong watched the exchange with a fond smile on his face. After all, it was he who introduced you and Seonghwa in the first place, wanting two of his closest friends to meet and was pleasantly surprised when the two of you hit it off so well you started dating.

You caught sight of him grinning at the two of you like an idiot. “What are you smiling at?” You asked, tilting your head and drawing Seonghwa’s attention back to Hongjoong. The younger man shook his head, looking down at his shot glass with a smile. “I just never imagined that things would work out so well for you two,” he said softly.

You exchanged glances with Seonghwa. “Are you… jealous?” Seonghwa asked, proceeding with caution.

Hongjoong laughed, shaking his head again. “The opposite,” he answered, looking up. “I couldn’t be happier for you two,” he answered before holding his shot glass up. “Here’s to you two lovebirds,” he said before throwing back the shot, you and Seonghwa following suit.

The conversation shifted quickly.

“So tell me more about this strip truth or dare game,” Hongjoong said, reaching to grab a leftover piece of sushi and popped it in his mouth.

“Oh god,” Seonghwa groaned again while you laughed.

“It was so funny,” you answered as you started to explain the mechanics of the game, reiterating how Wooyoung totally made up the rules on the spot. “So it gets to me,” you said as Seonghwa grabbed his non-alcoholic drink and took a sip. “This little shit,” Seonghwa scoffed as you playfully hit his chest.

“You can’t tell me he wasn’t saving that question specifically for you,” Seonghwa said as he set the glass down.

Hongjoong watched you two, waiting for the next part.

“He asks me to pick truth or dare and I had already done a dare the previous round, so naturally, I chose truth,” you explained as Seonghwa placed his arm on the back of the loveseat behind you.

“Naturally, of course,” Hongjoong said with a smirk. He knew you well enough that you hated playing truth or dare in any setting because it always ended up turning into a game of I dare you to kiss so-and-so. Hongjoong couldn't deny he hated that growing up. No one had any imagination as teenagers.

“So he asks me-,” you started but Seonghwa interrupted you. “Technically, he asked us,” he said.

“He asks me,” you said again, ignoring your boyfriend. “If I’ve ever had a threesome,” you finally manage to get out.

Hongjoong’s eyes widened, his eyebrows shooting up at the sheer audacity of Wooyoung to ask a question like that, especially in front of Seonghwa.

“Uh, no,” Seonghwa interrupted again. “He specifically asked you if you’ve had a threesome with me and him,” he corrects, nodding towards Hongjoong.

You scrunched up your face and looked at Seonghwa. "Wait. Did he specifically ask if it was with you and Joongie?" you asked. "I don't remember that." Seonghwa shook his head, leaning forward to grab his drink and held the glass out to you.

"Here, babe," he said before explaining further.

"You were a lot more drunk than I was that night," he started. "Wooyoung specifically asked if we'd ever had a three way with Joong," he continued as you took a long sip of the drink your boyfriend handed you.

Hongjoong’s heart was pounding in his chest as he processed what was being said. If Wooyoung really asked that in a room full of people, he had to have thought it actually happened at some point and since he mentioned it in front of other people, they had to think the same thing now.

"You told him no, of course," he finally said, relaxing into the loveseat across from his two closest friends. You nodded, handing the glass back to Seonghwa who took a sip of his own.

Seonghwa set the glass back down and shook his head. "No you didn't," he countered, causing both you and Hongjoong to look at him, mirroring the same confused expressions.

"Yes I did!" you retorted indignantly. Seonghwa shook his head again. "No sweetheart, what you actually said was 'not yet.'"

Seonghwa’s words hit Hongjoong like a truck and he suddenly felt his pants growing tighter. 'Not yet? What does that even mean?' he wondered as you and Seonghwa bickered back and forth.

Finally, you conceded, assuming Seonghwa was correct because he has been much more sober than you at the party.

"My bad," you said with a shrug as you settled back against the sofa, one of your hands resting on your boyfriend’s thigh. Hongjoong couldn't help but imagine your hand on his thigh and --

'Stop it!' he scolded himself mentally. The last thing he needed was images of you on your knees in front of him as your mouth--

'Yah! What are you doing!'

Hongjoong shook his head, realizing he'd zoned out of whatever conversation you and Seonghwa currently were having. He leaned forward and snatched his bottle of water.

He was too busy downing his water to notice the way Seonghwa's attention shifted to him, albeit very briefly. He noticed the change in Hongjoong's body language almost instantly.

Best friends were usually pretty perceptive about one another.

Hongjoong replaced the cap of his almost empty bottle of water and set it back on the table, trying to force his brain to focus on anything other than you on top of him with Seonghwa behind you, hands gripping your —

'Stop thinking about your best friends like that!' Hongjoong mentally admonished himself. 'What is wrong with you?!'

Hongjoong would be a liar if he said he hadn't fantasized about you before but that was ages ago, when you were teens and before you even met Seonghwa. It wasn't like he wanted to date you or bring those fantasies alive, he was just a horny teenage boy then.

But if he was just a horny teenage boy then, what was he now? Sitting across from his best friend and his best friend's girl, fantasizing about her touching him.

Seonghwa could tell Hongjoong was having some sort of internal struggle and he could only guess it had something to do with your accidental admission that you may or may not want a three way to happen. Ever since they'd brought it up, Hongjoong had shifted uncomfortably in his seat, tried to relax, and drink some water.

Clearly, the thought was affecting him and Seonghwa could only guess what was going on in that imaginative brain of his best friend.

He decided to try something; something that might give him an idea of just how far he could take this.

He wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer to whisper in your ear, not missing the way Hongjoong watched you.

"If you want that little fantasy of yours to come true, do what I say."

It was well known to Seonghwa that you were more than willing to have a threesome. He knew it early on when you started becoming intimate. Seonghwa had never given the idea much thought, mainly because he didn't want to share you with another man, nor did he want to try to focus on two women.

It had never crossed his mind, until the night of the party, that Hongjoong could enter the equation and Seonghwa found himself not hating the idea.

If he was going to share you with another man, might as well be one he trusted fully and who did he trust more than his best friend?

Only you.

Hongjoong watched with wide eyes as Seonghwa's free hand moved, gliding up your leg, past your knee and up the side of your thigh and pulled, his fingers digging into your skin as he pulled you leg up over his lap, almost so you were straddling him but not quite.

'What the fuck?' he wondered.

"S-so you mentioned you'd done a dare at the party?" Hongjoong stammered, mentally cursing when he heard his own voice break slightly. You didn't react to it but Seonghwa certainly did and the smirk the older man gave had Hongjoong’s blood boiling but not in anger. No, definitely not in anger.

"Oh," you said with a nod. "Yeah, the dare was to show everyone the last racy photo I sent Seonghwa," you said, cheeks burning under the heated gaze of your boyfriend and now your best friend.

Seonghwa glanced up at Hongjoong in time to see the darkened gaze he sent your way. It gave him an idea.

"You want to see it?" he asked, drawing both yours and Hongjoong’s attention. "W-what?" Hongjoong asked, causing Seonghwa’s smirk to grow.

He looked at you, the hand on your thigh giving your skin a light squeeze. "Show him the picture, baby," he said, his voice laced with amusement.

You hesitated for a moment before remembering what Seonghwa had said only moments ago. 'If you want that little fantasy of yours to come true, do what I say.'

You leaned forward and grabbed your clutch that lay on the table, pulling out your phone and unlocking the screen before started to scroll through your camera roll.

Hongjoong's eyes flickered from you as you searched through your phone and Seonghwa, who leaned forward to grab the bottle of soju and poured three shots. As Seonghwa grabbed his shot glass, he leaned back and you murmured something about finding 'it.'

Heart pounding, Hongjoong waited until you got up from the sofa and moved around the table to sit on the arm of the loveseat he sat on. You held out your phone and Hongjoong looked up at you before carefully taking the device from you, as if it would explode.

Hongjoong glanced at Seonghwa one last time who nodded towards the phone as if to say go on. Finally, he allowed his eyes to look down at the screen and felt his breath catch in his throat, his heart pounding even harder as his pants tightened even more.

On the screen was a picture you'd clearly taken in the mirror. It was dimly lit in the room you'd taken the picture in, no doubt your bedroom as he could see a bed, the edge of a computer desk, and the million plushies that adorned your bed.

And there you sat, kneeling with your ass resting on your heels as you faced away from the mirror. Your back was arched, giving off a perfect view of your ass.

Hongjoong could see you peeking over your shoulder but your phone was covering your face as you had snapped the photo.

You were scantily clad in a cropped white tee but the focus of the photo was quite clearly your perfect ass, a black lace thong dipping between your cheeks.

Heat rose to his cheeks as he studied the photo. His eyes were so focused on the screen that he didn't see the way Seonghwa watched him with a curious expression.

He saw the way you bit into your bottom lip as you watched Hongjoong.

He wondered what was going through your mind at that very moment. He could almost see the wheels turning.

Seonghwa cleared his throat, drawing your attention but Hongjoong’s stayed on the screen. “Can you do something for me, angel?” Seonghwa asked, knowing that specific nickname had a particular effect on you.

You nodded slowly, eyes meeting Seonghwa’s heated gaze and prompting him to smile at you sweetly.

“Take the phone from him,” he said, nodding towards Hongjoong. You reached over, lightly snatching the phone from Hongjoong and breaking the trance he seemed to be in. Seonghwa held his hand out for your phone. You stood up and walked over to hand it to him wondering what he was planning.

Seonghwa took the phone in one hand before taking your hand and pulling you down to whisper in your ear.

Hongjoong watched the way your eyes widened and you pulled back to look at your boyfriend with a shocked expression. “Are you sure?” He heard you whisper to which Seonghwa nodded, the same smile on his face as he let go of your hand and leaned back against the cushions.

Hongjoong’s eyes followed you as you walked around the table and took a seat beside him. He turned his gaze to look across the table at Seonghwa who sat back, arms resting on the back of the couch as he watched the two of you with dark eyes.

“What’s going on?” Hongjoong finally managed to ask, trying to ignore the heat of your body next to his.

The alcohol was having more of an effect on him and it made him extremely perceptive of your close proximity.

Seonghwa’s eyes turned to you quickly and nodded, seemingly encouraging you. Hongjoong tore his gaze from his friend to look at you as you leaned in, one of your hands lightly grazing his thigh as you leaned forward, lips inches from his.

“What are you doing?” He whispered, frozen under your simple touch. “It’s okay,” you simply answered. Hongjoong looked from you to Seonghwa who made no effort to move, only watched from his seat. And then it hit Hongjoong. Seonghwa had whispered something to you earlier before he told you to show the picture.

And then again just now, he’d whispered something Hongjoong couldn’t hear.

His head turned back to gaze at your face inches from his. His eyes dipped to look at your lips before looking back up to meet your eyes. “Okay,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the sound of his heartbeat thundering in his ears.

The next moment, your lips were on his and it was like a switch flipped. Hongjoong’s hands grabbed your waist and pulled you onto his lap. He barely had time to register what he was doing before he pulled back from your kiss and immediately started apologizing. You silenced him with another kiss, your lips moving against his as your hands moved up his chest, one stopping at his shoulder while the other moved up into his hair.

“Don’t apologize,” you murmured against his lips. “I know you want this,” you added, rolling your hips and grinding against his prominent erection. Seonghwa had noticed early on but you hadn’t seen it until you were studying him while his focus was on your phone. Your boyfriend was clearly much more perceptive than you.

“What about—” Hongjoong muttered but his words were cut off by your lips back on his before you pulled back slightly. “He’s the one who suggested this,” you answered. Your lips moved against his cheek, down the side of his face as you kissed down towards his neck, stopping to nip at his skin.

Hongjoong let out a sigh, tilting his head as you teased him. His eyes landed on Seonghwa who was merely watching, a smirk on his face as he saw the effect you had on his best friend.

“You can touch her, you know,” Seonghwa said, nodding towards you. Hongjoong hesitantly let his hands move, sliding them down your waist to your hips, stilling for a moment before running his hands over your backside, gripping and pulling your hips against his, letting out a soft groan at the feeling.

Watching you grind yourself against his best friend was something Seonghwa had never even given a thought to but now that he was watching it, he was realizing how much he enjoyed watching you get worked up.

Your lips met Hongjoong’s again in a heated kiss, lips parting as your tongue entered his mouth, exploring and finding his tongue. It was messy, rushed, and very different from the way Seonghwa kissed you.

Everything your boyfriend did was precise, calculated, and measured but with Hongjoong, it was chaotic, hasty, and erratic. His hands were everywhere, lips moving against yours and tongue fighting for dominance.

It made your heart pound but it also made your panties stick to you as your arousal grew with each grind and pass of Hongjoong’s tongue over yours.

You heard Seonghwa clear his throat from behind you and broke apart from Hongjoong, turning to glance back at your boyfriend.

He was leaning forward, downing the rest of his drink and got to his feet. "I'm gonna go settle the bill," he said, walking around the table as you slid off Hongjoong's lap. Seonghwa stopped beside you, leaning down to kiss the top of your head before looking at Hongjoong.

"Finish your drinks and meet me at the elevator," he added before moving to the door, pulling it open and stepping back into the restaurant.

Hongjoong's eyes returned to your form as you giggled, fingers covering your lips as you sat there. "What the hell just happened?" Hongjoong breathed, feeling many things all at once.

"Did he really tell you to do that?" he asked, to which you nodded. "He did," you answered, scooting to the edge of the couch, grabbing a piece of sushi before getting to your feet and grabbing your clutch.

"Come on," you said thickly, covering your mouth as you swallowed the food. "He's waiting for us."

Hongjoong downed his water and got up, following you as you led the way through the restaurant, bidding goodnight to the hostesses and managed to make it out into the lobby where he could see Seonghwa waiting by the elevators.

As the two of you approached, Hongjoong felt as if this is where the fun would end but he was surprised, yet again when Seonghwa wrapped an arm around your shoulders and looked him in the eye.

“I think we should take this upstairs,” he said softly, glancing at you. Hongjoong watched as you nodded and then as both of his friends looked at him.

“Joong?” You asked sweetly, holding out your hand. “Will you join us?”

Hongjoong hesitated. They were giving him the choice to join them upstairs or leave.

The answer was obvious.

Hongjoong stepped forward, taking your outstretched hand. “I’d love to join you two,” he said with a smile.

╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴╶╴

Had Hongjoong been told he’d end up in bed with two of his best friends, he would have told the person who said it they were insane and that would never happen.

And how wrong he would have been.

As soon as the three of them left the elevator, you were on Hongjoong, lips against his, pulling at his jacket as Seonghwa unlocked the door to their hotel suite and led the way inside.

Once inside, things moved faster than Hongjoong could process.

You had him stripped of his jacket and shirt, pushed onto the bed and on top of him before Seonghwa had managed to turn on the dim hotel lamps.

“Take it easy, baby,” Seonghwa said from somewhere else in the room. Hongjoong couldn’t find him as he was too busy focusing on the way you were grinding against him. “This is all new to Joong.”

It was only a moment later that you had Hongjoong stripped, his cock in your hand as you stroked him slowly. “Shit,” he groaned, falling back on the mattress as he felt your tongue drag up the bottom of his cock, taking the head into your mouth.

“Oh fuck,” he moaned, eyes fluttering shut.

He had fantasized about this, sure, but the reality was much better than his imagination.

“She’s good at that, isn’t she?” Seonghwa asked, finally sitting on the edge of the bed, watching the way you took Hongjoong into your mouth, bobbing your head and letting the tip of his cock hit the back of your throat, filling the room with lewd sounds.

“Yeah,” Hongjoong answered. “S-so good.”

Seonghwa’s smirk grew, drawing his eyes from his best friend to look towards you, reaching out to affectionately stroke your hair. “Such a good little slut,” he purred, hand stopping on the back of your head.

“I know you can take more in that pretty little mouth, though,” he added, firmly pushing your head down, forcing more of Hongjoong’s cock in your mouth.

“Breathe through your nose, baby,” he ordered as you sank down. “That’s it.”

Hongjoong let out a choked moan as his cock slid deeper, the head extending down into your throat. “Fuck!” He grunted as you gagged, throat constricting around him.

“She’s very good at taking cock,” Seonghwa praised as he held your head in place for a few seconds before letting go, allowing you to pull back and breathe in a full breath.

“I can tell,” Hongjoong said in a shaky breath.

Seonghwa stood up, moving behind you and pushing the fabric of your skirt up, revealing your lace thong. His hands smoothed over your ass before delivering a harsh smack to your left cheek, causing you to moan and your body to jolt.

“Keep going,” Seonghwa ordered. “I didn’t say you could stop.”

You let out a small giggle, pushing back against Seonghwa’s touch and earning another spank. “Don’t be a brat in front of our guest, baby,” Seonghwa said sternly.

“Or what?” You asked, challenging him. Seonghwa let out a growl and Hongjoong heard the sound of material ripping and you gasping as you tried to sit up.

Seonghwa pushed you back down. “Did I say you could get up?” He barked, causing you to whine in protest. “Do as I say or you won’t get to cum tonight.”

You whined again but obeyed, knowing full well Seonghwa would follow through with his threats.

Hongjoong let out another groan as you took him back into your mouth, tongue swirling around the tip before letting your jaw relax and sinking down on him, taking the full length into your mouth.

“Good girl,” Seonghwa whispered, his fingers toying with your cunt before pushing two inside you at once causing you to moan around Hongjoong’s cock.

“Feel free to be as rough with her as you want, Joong,” Seonghwa said as he slowly pumped his fingers in and out of your wet heat, his thumb rubbing circles against your clit in time with his fingers.

“Fuck her mouth if you have to. She can be a real brat some time,” he added.

Hongjoong’s fingers combed through your hair, his hand moving to the back of your head and pushing down slightly. “Come on,” he urged. “We both know you can do better than that,” he added, his more dominant side slipping out.

You let out another moan as Seonghwa’s fingers moved faster, thrusting into you. Hongjoong forced your head down further, pushing the tip of his cock back into your throat again. “Right there,” he groaned. “Just hold it for a second for me, baby,” he added.

Seonghwa chose to ignore the use of the pet name. He’d deal with it later.

He reached up, unzipping the back of your dress and quickly undressed you.

“Scoot back,” Seonghwa ordered, looking over you to Hongjoong. “I need space behind her.”

Hongjoong moved quickly, pulling you off him and scooting back before pulling you forward carefully and guiding your head back to his cock.

Seonghwa climbed onto the bed behind you, kneeling and grabbing your hips.

“She might lose some focus but I’d rather her be fully prepared.”

Before you had a chance to reply,” Hongjoong had forced his cock back into your mouth. “Keep going,” he said in a low tone. You would have to remind yourself to get him back for his attitude later.

Seonghwa’s hands held your hips in place pressing light kisses to the backs of your thighs, biting at the skin before his tongue pressed against your clit, teasing it with light licks and flicks.

You moaned around Hongjoong’s cock as Seonghwa ate you out from behind, his tongue lapping at you, pushing into your entrance.

He could feel your thighs shake under his grip and pulled away, ignoring the way your arousal covered his lips and chin.

Wordlessly, Seonghwa got up from the bed and moved to a small bag on the desk.

Hongjoong glanced over as Seonghwa dug through the bag and returned moments later. He tossed something to Hongjoong. “You’ll need that,” he said as Hongjoong picked up the foil packet.

“Keep her busy,” Seonghwa added as he returned to his spot behind you. In his hands he held a bottle of lubricant and a…

“Is that a butt plug?”

Seonghwa glanced up at his friend before looking back to the toy in his hand with a nod. “It is,” he answered simply.

He popped the top on the bottle and dribbled a good amount of the lube onto the tip of the toy.

Snapping the bottle lid closed, he tossed it onto the bed and took one side of your hips in his hand, moving the toy to spread the lubricant against your asshole.

“Talk her through this,” Seonghwa ordered. “And you might want to take your cock out of her mouth,” he added.

Hongjoong pulled your mouth off him, pulling you up level with his face. “Just look at me,” he said, combing through your hair.

You felt Seonghwa’s hand on your hip give you a gentle squeeze.

“Relax, baby,” he said softly, waiting until he saw your muscles unclench before he started to slowly push the tip of the toy into your tight hole.

You let out a gasp at the intrusion. “Shhh, that’s it,” Seonghwa said as he stilled, waiting for you to relax again. “Keep talking to her,” he said to the younger man.

Hongjoong took your face in his hands. “You’re doing so well,” he said in a low tone, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “Just relax, Y/N.”

You nodded, biting into your bottom lip as you forced your body to relax under both their touch.

Seonghwa continued pushing the toy into you until it slipped in, leaving only the flared base sticking out. He leaned over, pressing a kiss to your lower back. “Good girl,” he murmured again.

“Put that on,” Seonghwa said, nodding towards the condom he’d thrown Hongjoong earlier.

While Hongjoong fumbled with the foil packet, Seonghwa undressed, removing his shirt and pants and leaving his underwear on. He leaned over your back, his lips inches from your ear.

“You okay, angel?” He asked quietly. You nodded, turning your head to smile at him. “I’m okay, Hwa,” you said, your voice a little hoarse. Seonghwa cringed internally, but pulled you into a sweet and gentle kiss.

“You’re doing so well, baby girl,” he whispered against your lips. “Hold on for just a little while longer,” he added, making you nod again.

Seonghwa pressed another kiss to your lips. “Now get on his cock.”

You moved as quickly as you could, straddling Hongjoong’s lap and reaching down to line the head of his cock with your entrance. “She likes to be on top,” Seonghwa said, dragging his fingers up your sides and back down to hold your hips. “But don’t let her do all the work,” he added. “She likes to tease.”

With that, Seonghwa pushed you down, forcing you to take all of Hongjoong’s cock quickly and making both of you gasp out, Hongjoong from the sudden sensation of having your walls gripping him tightly and you from feeling fuller than you’ve ever felt with Hongjoong’s length buried inside your cunt and the toy in your ass.

“How does she feel, Joong?” Seonghwa asked, resting his head on your shoulder.

“So fucking good,” Hongjoong replied, moving his hands to your hips, urging you to move.

Seonghwa smirked, turning his head to whisper in your ear.

“Does it feel good, baby?” He asked, moving one hand around to your stomach. “Do you feel full?” He asked, pressing down on your stomach and causing you to moan out. “Go on,” he said softly. “Fuck yourself on his cock.”

He pulled back to watch as you rested your hands on Hongjoong’s shoulders and lifted yourself slowly, sinking back down on him. “Holy shit,” Hongjoong breathed out as you continued to move.

Seonghwa watched, keeping his eyes on where yours and Hongjoong’s bodies met, one of his hands moving to palm himself over his boxers.

"Keep going, baby," Seonghwa said, encouraging you as you moved, rolling your hips and sinking back on to Hongjoong.

Seonghwa just needed a couple more minutes before he could take the toy out of you. Just a few more.

Giving you some more time to adjust, Seonghwa took the time to remove his underwear and open the second condom, rolling it on carefully before he cautiously grabbed your hips, slowing your movements.

"Relax, baby, I'm gonna take this out now," he said softly, grabbing the base of the toy firmly and slowly easing it out. "That's a good girl," he cooed, setting the plug aside and gently rubbing his hand over the small of your back.

“Keep still,” Seonghwa said softly, kneeling behind you. Hongjoong held your hips in place, reminding you to relax and keep breathing.

“Tell me if it hurts,” Seonghwa added in a whisper, pressing a kiss to your shoulder as he guided the tip of his cock to the hole that wasn’t currently being filled.

You took a deep breath as Seonghwa pushed the head of his cock into you, causing you to gasp at the sudden sharp sting. “Are you okay, Y/N?” Seonghwa asked, stilling immediately.

You nodded vigorously. “Just shocked more than anything,” you answered, the stinging being replaced with a dull pain. Anal play wasn’t new to you and Seonghwa but you’d never had his cock in your ass, just a finger or a slim toy.

“Holy shit,” Seonghwa hissed, sliding further into you and nearly groaning at how good your walls felt gripping him so tightly.

It was much different than what you were both used to.

“How are you doing, baby?” Seonghwa asked, keeping one hand firmly on your waist, the other moving around your front to gently grab your throat and pull you back against Seonghwa’s chest. “You doing alright?” he whispered in your ear, to which you nodded.

“‘M so full, Hwa,” you whined.

Your boyfriend chuckled softly, gently pushing you over onto Hongjoong who still had a firm grip on your hips.

Seonghwa tapped his friend's hands lightly. “Move them to her waist, keep her in place.”

Hongjoong did as Seonghwa instructed, taking hold of your waist, switching his hands placement with the older man who now had a tight grip on your hips.

Without another word, Seonghwa pulled out slowly only to push back in just as slowly.

He gave you a few shallow and slow thrusts, testing your limits before picking up the pace when you urged him to move faster.

As he set a steady rhythm, you let out a gasp, moaning loudly at the feeling of being so full.

You’d never felt like anything like it before. It was incredible.

With Seonghwa’s hips meeting your ass, you started to push back against his thrusts, forcing Hongjoong’s cock further into your cunt.

Hongjoong cursed under his breath, eyes fluttering shut as your walls squeezed around him but it was paired with the odd sensation of Seonghwa’s cock moving inside you from a different angle and entrance.

“Oh fuck,” you gasped, fingers digging into the sheets as Seonghwa thrust into you faster, hips hitting your ass and filling the room with the sound of skin against skin.

“You gonna cum already, baby?” Seonghwa asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“You seem to have forgotten your manners in front of our guest,” he added.

Hongjoong caught onto what Seonghwa was hinting at.

“That’s right,” he said, adding onto the older man’s thought. “Isn’t it guests first?”

“I believe you’re right,” Seonghwa said, not giving you a chance to answer, not that you could form a coherent thought anyway with both their cocks filling your holes.

“Feel free to cum any time, Joong,” Seonghwa added, slowing his hips to a roll, burying his cock inside you as far as he could. “Wait,” you panted, pushing yourself up onto your hands but Seonghwa was quick to force you back down.

“Uh-uh, angel,” he said, his hand on your back between your shoulder blades and keeping you bent over. “Let our guest finish.”

You had no time to form a sentence before you felt Hongjoong start to thrust up into you, cutting off your words with a yelp as he chased his own orgasm.

“S-shit,” you stammered, grabbing fistfuls of the bed linens. “Ah! Joong!” you whimpered, thighs shaking from the intensity of his thrusts as it drove you further and further towards your own orgasm.

“You gonna cum, Y/N?” he asked, hands gripping your waist tightly, his painted nails pressing into your skin. You nodded with another whimper, pulling your bottom lip between your teeth. “Yeah? You gonna cum all over my cock?”

Seonghwa wasn’t one to normally get jealous but the way Hongjoong was speaking to you stirred something inside him but he pushed it down. He’d deal with his feelings later.

Tightening his grip on your hips, Seonghwa started moving again, thrust into you from behind, purposely offset from Hongjoong’s thrusts.

Your grip on the sheets tightened, moans leaving your lips with each calculated thrust from both men.

You weren’t going to last much longer but you knew Seonghwa would punish you if you came before Hongjoong so you held on as long as you needed.

Luck was on your side as Hongjoong’s hips stuttered. “Fuck. ‘M gonna cum,” he groaned, giving you a few more thrusts before he came with a low moan, filling the condom. His hands fell to the mattress as he rode out his high, eyes shut as he basked in the feeling.

You were next to stumble over the edge, coming with a whine and taking Seonghwa with you as your walls convulsed around both cocks inside you. Seonghwa’s lips were right next to your ear, urging you to cum before his own hips slowed to a stop, coming into his condom, sinking his teeth into your shoulder and making you cry out.

To keep you from collapsing onto Hongjoong, Seonghwa held you up, pulling out of you and lifting you off Hongjoong, laying you on your side before slumping onto the mattress on the other side of you, opposite Hongjoong.

The room was silent save for the sound of the three of you trying to catch your breaths.

Hongjoong was the first to move, getting up from the bed and heading into the bathroom. He returned a moment later, stooping to grab his underwear and pants and pulling them on before he knelt down to grab Seonghwa’s underwear and hand it to the older man who thanked him.

Hongjoong walked over to the mini fridge and opened it, thankful there were bottles of water. He grabbed two and turned to find Seonghwa half dressed and carefully helping you up. “I know you’re tired, baby,” he said softly. “But you need to go to the bathroom,” he said, helping support your weight.

Hongjoong held up one of the bottles, silently communicating with Seonghwa who nodded at the side table. Hongjoong set the bottle down and opened the other, taking a large gulp of the cool liquid.

While you were preoccupied, he grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on, buttoning it up.

He was looking for his socks when you emerged from the bathroom with Seonghwa. Hongjoong tried not to smirk as you walked over to the bed on shaky legs.

Seonghwa walked over to his suitcase and returned to your side with one of his shirts, helping you put it on and then tucking you into the bed, leaning over to kiss your temple.

Hongjoong managed to find his socks and was pulling his shoes on when he heard you whine something he couldn’t make out. “There’s not enough room on the bed for all three of us to sleep baby,” Seonghwa murmured, making Hongjoong’s cheeks burn. You wanted him to stay?

“But Hwaaa~” you whined. “It’s okay,” Hongjoong interjected, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

“I got a nice big bed waiting for me back home, Y/N. I’ll be fine,” he added with a smile.

“Promise me you’ll text when you get home?” you asked, trying and failing to mask a yawn.

Hongjoong’s smile widened. “Of course.”

Seonghwa picked up his phone from the side table and tapped away on the screen.

Hongjoong leaned over your sleeping form, pressing a quick kiss to your cheek. “Get some sleep Y/N,” he said softly, pulling back and standing up. He knew his welcome was wearing out and it was time to go.

“I’ve ordered you a cab. We had a lot to drink earlier,” Seonghwa said as they walked to the door.

Hongjoong glanced back at your now sleeping figure. “She’ll be okay, right?” Hongjoong asked, eyes shifting to look up as his best friend who offered a genuine smile.

“Yeah. She just needs to sleep,” he replied. Hongjoong turned to open the door but hesitated. He turned back around to face Seonghwa.

“We’re cool, right?” he asked, looking up at Seonghwa. For a brief moment, Seonghwa’s facial expression was unreadable, almost as if he was thinking, before it morphed into understanding. “Yeah,” he said with another genuine smile. “We’re cool.”

Hongjoong nodded in understanding, feeling a weight lift off his chest.

“But don’t think I’ve forgotten you calling my girl ‘baby,’” Seonghwa said suddenly, narrowing his eyes at the younger man who simply smirked at his best friend.

“What, are you jealous?” Hongjoong asked, noticing the way Seonghwa’s lip twitched as if he was fighting the urge to smile before the older man spoke.

“It’s not jealousy if she’s already mine.”

#ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #ateez smut #ateez x reader #park seonghwa #seonghwa scenarios #seonghwa imagines #seonghwa smut #seonghwa x reader #kim hongjoong #hongjoong scenarios #hongjoong imagines #hongjoong smut #hongjoong x reader #kwanisms kinkuary #kinkuary 2023

[b0nten]

LOVE ME ‘TIL DEATH CRACKS BOTH OUR SKULLS OPEN; WHAT WOULD I BE WITHOUT YOU?

[SYNOPSIS] ˚⁀➷｡ you chase grief to find closure. be it in your best friends��� eyes and laughs, in the two families you built separately, or in your high school sweetheart’s fading presence.

[NOTES] ˚⁀➷｡ idk lowkey angst???

alcohol tastes bitter when you drink it from the bottle. it burns when it cascades down your throat; it pierces your stomach when you’re drinking it while hungry.

Satoru’s passed out in the bathroom. Shoko is dissociating on the couch. you’re twenty-two and they’re twenty-three, and you’re all still dreaming of the life you wish you could have had — teenage hope and childish laughs fill the cracks of three lives that have been static for the last five years and a half.

february. valentines day just passed.

you keep a small picture of Suguru in your wallet so you don’t forget his face. it makes your heart knot and your stomach self-cannibalize; the vomit dries somewhere between the esophagus and the larynx, and your head gets bashed open, like you’re a pomegranate. if someone shakes it hard enough, you can swear memories will start falling out like seeds — after all, that’s what they really are. seeds: the cores of your existence.

the tiny porch of Shoko’s apartment is freezing. unlike Satoru, she doesn’t have those fancy radiators installed. but also unlike Satoru, she doesn’t prohibit smoking indoors, so it’d be a waste of money, time and space. the dying ficus in the corner wouldn’t be there otherwise.

a stray mayfly flies in front of you, lost from its group, searching for light. it doesn’t know your best friend will probably be cleaning its corpse from under the window.

the door creaks open, but you don’t bother turning around. from the corner of your eye, you catch chalk-white hair, and a pair of toned arms lean against the railing, next to yours, in just a moment.

“it’s midnight.” Satoru announces. “February fifteenth.”

a sigh escapes from his lips — one he tried to hold back.

February fifteenth. yours and Suguru’s anniversary. a sharp inhale cuts your throat like glass shards.

cerulean blue eyes move to scan your features. it’s not uncommon for the two of you to share heart-to-hearts anymore, and sometimes Shoko joins in too. though you’ve had more heart-to-hearts with her than Satoru, the boy still reads you like an open book, even though he has to crack the spine and dig his fingers deep enough into the cellulose to get it to open.

an image flashes across your mind. you and Suguru in the middle of Shibuya crossing, dressed in puffy winter clothes, fat scarves around your necks. his gloved hands on your cheeks as he jumps the gun, finally.

“i like you more than anything.” he said then.

Satoru, Shoko, Nanami and Haibara wide-eyed and still on the sidewalk.

“i like you more than everything.” you replied. your face was numb from the cold, but Suguru’s adoring gaze always somehow turned it warmer. he did it effortlessly, really, and in return, you made the sun shine in his eyes.

your head might explode if you think about it too much, but you feel like you can’t help yourself but chase the grief — such a hard-head you were and still are — and with the continuity came the downfall.

you’ve been keeping the pyramid scheme secret, you’ve hid the traces of the Suguru from today. you’re the only one that knows about his whereabouts, you’re the only one that has skinned him alive and gently dressed him in the shell again. you still get to see his face, and feel his presence. he’s a walking ghost of your past, haunting your desperate attempt at survival while you cling onto what you’ve got left of him.

he’s cruel when he wants to, even when he doesn’t want.

but you can’t bare yourself to stop it; you don’t want to forget his touch, his smell, his voice, his heart — you’ve long forgotten the smile anyways, besides the picture in your wallet — and maybe playing pretend is the best way to do that.

you’re just as cruel. and masochistic. but as long as it doesn’t slap you in the face, it’s okay, even though it may put your head on the chopping block.

you’ve grown used to the two small pairs of hands who run through your hair while you’re sat cross-legged on the floor, and across from you, Suguru’s eyes almost sparkle again. barely, but it’s there. he’s there. for a brief moment, you gain the hope you lose forthwith, when you see the robes and the room you’re standing in.

a hand on your shoulder pulls you out of the dwam. your eyes meet the okinawan sky in Satoru’s eyes again. Riko’s smile flares across your pupil, Satoru’s laugh rings in your ear, and the phantom of Suguru’s hand holds your smaller one in his: a picture you want to have embroidered in the innermost part of your retina, to have your optical nerve feed on it for the rest of your life and project it in front of you, blindly.

“Megumi wants to go book-shopping with you.” the strongest snickers, “he read all of the books you got last time. oh, and Tsumiki told me to ask you to come over next week or so to prepare the dolls for hinamatsuri.”

you smile. Satoru always tries to cheer you up by mentioning the kids, not that he wouldn’t be able to cheer you up himself, but there’s a fondness in your eyes when you hear about them, and especially when you spend time with them, one so pure that the heir to the Gojo clan cannot get enough of it. he truly is a great friend.

“i’ll take him shopping sometime this week.” you reply, and there is the glimmer in your eyes that makes Satoru’s smile brighter than the sun, “and i didn’t forget about the hinamatsuri. i’ll be over on the 27th.” you continue.

your best friend smiles — grins — it’s so endearing to see him smile after all that he’s been through. you smile back. co-parenting like this was never something you thought you needed, yet it helped you; it brought Satoru and you closer than ever before, and even though your relationship is purely platonic, it just made you comprehend the depths of your love towards each other.

through good and bad, thick and thin, heaven and hell — you’re not letting each other be alone anymore.

the door creaks open once again.

“let’s prank call Nanami and tell him a bank credit has been opened under his name.” the doctor grins.

six eyes look at each other, and you all enter the apartment again.

the next morning, you bid each other farewell. you smile to yourself on your way back to your place, skipping through the almost fully blossomed plum trees, stopping to buy yourself a bouquet of flowers, feeling the breeze and the sun fall against your skin forgivingly.

the front of your door looks different, though. you hit your foot against a small, carton box. you pick it up, and bring it in, setting it pretty on your kitchen counter, despite Shoko’s dramatic lectures on being careful and how the possibility of weird packages being bombs is always small but never nonexistent.

you flip the lid up. a cake. a small, little cake, white frosting and baby pink hearts adorning it. on the inside of the lid, an envelope. you tear it open with adolescent curiosity, and read.

happy anniversary, sweetheart.

come by when you can, we’re waiting for you.

P.S: the twins also left you a little gift.

you touch the inside of the envelope again. sure enough, another paper lies hidden in it. your heart bursts with gentle flowers, a gardenia blooming in your aorta, etching its roots deep into your right ventricle.

hand drawn, messily but with love, four stick figures. a very tall one with long, black hair and a circle serving as a bun, a shorter one with your hair color, and two smaller ones with fawn and dark brunette bobs. a family portrait, if you will. one that deserves its place on your fridge, right next to Megumi’s.

#jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen headcanons #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu geto #geto suguru fluff #geto suguru x y/n #geto suguru x you #geto suguru x oc #geto suguru headcanons #geto suguru x reader #geto suguru #suguru geto x you #suguru geto x y/n #suguru geto x reader #suguru geto #suguru geto headcanons #jjk #jjk x female reader #jjk geto #jjk x reader #jjk x y/n #jjk x you #geto x you #geto x reader #getou suguru x reader

[aledethanlast]

If I'm already on the topic of the foxes and grown ups, let's talk about Kevin.

I think Kevin mellows out a lot by the time he goes pro. In part because there's not nearly so large an axe over his neck anymore, but largely because around his fourth year, when pro teams start seriously trying to recruit him, he realizes that his caustic and dismissive attitude towards his teammates can't really fly anymore. It's a Raven behavior, a label he's both disavowed and been disowned by, and most coaches are not his dad who will let him do whatever and kowtow to his expertise. He was an assistant coach for one semester, and never a captain. His behavior has a deadline and if he misses it, it might end his career. He's gonna need to make an actual effort.

And he wants to make the effort! He always admired the Trojans for their good nature, and while he is definitely a fox, he thinks he'd very much like being part of a more friendly team.

So when he signs on to his first pro team (the culmination of six weeks of studying various teams for play style, lineups, press reputation, and point stats), he feels ready to turn over a new leaf. If nothing else, he thinks he'd like to make more friends now that he doesn't have Andrew and Neil around all the time. And the team seems like a nice bunch! They're talented, driven, he can see how he can mesh with them.

This sentiment lasts him about a week.

"Put Neil on the goddamn phone," he says as he slams the door of his car.

"Kevin," his father says on the other end of the line. "We are at practice right now."

"I know, that's why I called you."

His father sighs in the way he does when he needs a few seconds to debate who he should blame for this latest headache. Then he hears a fist on glass on the other end, and a minute later the little fucker says "Kevin. How are you."

"I don't know how you did this or why, but I am going to fucking end you."

"Please be more specific." Smug little motherfucker. Kevin slams his foot on the gas and pretends it's Neil's neck. Though he eases up a bit when he almost tailspins out of the parking lot. He hasn't driven a car in six years, fucking sue him.

"Practice ended three hours ago, Neil. I am now leaving the stadium. Can you guess what I was doing in that meantime?"

"Rediscovering the lost city of Atlantis," Neil says, deadpan, and when Kevin goes to trial for homicide he is going to play this recording back for the court and they're going to call it justified.

"No, see, by the time Gotlieb started talking about Atlantis, I knew he was fucking with me. That doesn't salvage the two goddamn hours I spent trying to convince my teammates that the pyramids weren't, I shit you not, built by Napoleon." He pauses as he reconsiders what just came out of his mouth. "This was Andrew's idea, wasn't it?"

"Kevin, if you only talk to people about exy, they're going to think they can only talk to you about exy. Now your team knows you're an actual fucking person. Have fun with that."

Plague upon his fucking house. "Are you expecting a thank you?"

"You promised yourself you'll make more friends. I'm just holding you to it. So...yes."

Kevin doesn't say it, and he tells himself its because Neil doesn't need the ego. Somehow Neil hears him anyway. "Drive home safe, Kevin."

"Go get your rookies in line, Captain," Kevin says, and hangs up. He dials Andrew next; he needs to know just how much of Kevin's thesis Andrew turned into conspiracy fodder.

#the foxhole court #all for the game #aftg #neil josten #kevin day #they're besties your honor #continuing with my belief that neil never ever stoped being a meddling little shit #and why would he it has literally never failed him

[copperbadge]

[ID: The exit of the Louvre museum, a large room with a glass pyramid descending from the ceiling, letting in light but also dominating the room; in the foreground, people line up for entry to the museum as well.]

The Louvre, as a building complex, is kind of bananas. You have a very old building with a bunch of new stuff grafted onto it, but essentially it's a labyrinth like many old museums are. I did at one point do a complete loop of ten or so galleries by accident (which was how I knew I was getting tired and it was time to go). Currently there are also a lot of areas fenced off on a rolling basis, which makes finding a) things you're interested in seeing and b) a bathroom that is open and accessible both pretty difficult.

I do like that they funnel you out through a single exit and you can't get to the gift shop without exiting, because it keeps that part of the museum out of the way. But also it's hilarious because once you do exit, the Louvre dumps you out into a proper full-sized underground mall. I've never seen anything like it from a museum. I could have gone to like, whatever the Parisian equivalent of Hot Topic (Ot Topique?) was on the way out.

I had a really great time at the museum today, but it's definitely a more challenging museum than the Musee D'Orsay; it's more interesting but I think, perhaps, less fun. I missed almost all of the paintings because I was busy in the more ancient sections, but that's something for next time, and anyway those rooms were super crowded. I saw a lot of great sculpture and a lot of history (some of that is incoming eventually, prepare thy eyeballs) so I'm satisfied.

I'm not nearly done reading through the online records of the Louvre yet, so perhaps in another thousand pages of records I'll go again and have new stuff to see!

#sam travels #the cheese tour #paris #louvre

[deadbydangit]

When the Reader brings home an animal. Part 2.

Pyramid Head, Dwight, Mastermind,

Pyramid Head

What do you have there?

Yes, you have something.

He can see something squirming in your shirt.

He doesn't know a lot about humans, but he knows that isn't normal.

What is that?

It's called a squirrel?

What a unique creature.

Is it safe to hold it like that?

Will it bite you?

He's very protective.

But he won't be angry with you.

He's more worried that you'll get hurt.

Once you assure him the little critter won't hurt you, he'll start warming up to the idea.

The squirrel likes to climb on top of his head.

It's really cute to watch your hulking boyfriend walking around with a little squirrel hanging off of him.

He loves to pet it.

He's never pet a fluffy animal before.

At first he'll be super scared of hurting it.

Just guide him on how to pet the little cutie.

He likes to bring his tiny companion little snacks that he finds in other realms.

He'll be chasing a survivor and suddenly stops; he found an acorn.

Watching him so relaxed and happy with his adorable little friend is heartwarming.

All three of you love to cuddle and often fall asleep together.

Dwight Fairfield

Something in your bag is moving!

It just moved again!

He's freaking out.

Until you pull out this tiny tortoise.

Oh.

He feels kind of embarrassed.

Just laugh about it.

He doesn't know anything about tortoises.

"They're kind of like turtles, right?"

He's going to spend free time researching all about and how to care for your tortoise.

He's not very original at naming things, but the little creature's name is Tort now.

It's cute.

He swipes things from other realms to give to his little friend.

"No! I swear Mrs. Huntress, I'm just grabbing some plants to feed my pet tortoise."

Anna gets confused, but if that's the reason...

Okay then.

But Dwight's going out of way to take care of Tort.

He calls it your and his baby.

He often brags about Tort like he's a child.

"Yesterday, Tort ate an entire head of lettuce on his own."

Sometimes he'll set his glasses on Tort.

"Look honey! I put my glasses on him! Isn't he cute?"

Dwight didn't get a pet growing up.

So this, is super special.

It's like you three are a happy little family.

Mastermind

Despite his rugged stoic demeanor.

Wesker does like animals.

So when you found a little raven and tried to hide it.

He wasn't angry.

A little irritated that you tried to sneak it past him.

But not angry.

"Did you find this one injured?"

If so, he's going to help patch the poor creature up.

Almost like he's done this before

He's not big on naming things, that will be left up to you.

He'll be fine with almost anything.

Otherwise, the name will be Raven.

If he's reading or simply relaxing, he likes having his little bird on his shoulder.

It puts him at ease when he sleeps too.

If Wesker doesn't react right away, the raven will warn him.

Ravens are highly intelligent creatures and can easily be trained.

Aside from sitting on his shoulder, Wesker has taught the little birdie to retrieve objects for him.

"Damn. Raven, could you find my pencil?"

He's proud of his bird and himself.

Sometimes he'll ask Raven to get you.

He's trained Raven to follow you around when he isn't near by.

If you're ever in any danger, he reports back to Wesker.

"Now we both can protect you, Dearthart."

He loves you both dearly.

#dbd imagines #dbd ask blog #dbd x reader #dbd killer #dbd survivor #dbd dwight #dbd pyramid head #dbd mastermind

[athousandbyeol]

discussion #11 (only friends): is mew an outcast in the friend group? is it an intentional tactic by the directors/scriptwriters to make mew "less attractive"?

i think, from episode 1 to episode 3, we aren't seeing much of mew because it's intentional.

he's always at the furthest side of the shot, not really in the spotlight (except in scenes shared with top and close-up shots of himself alone). the clothes he wears aren't exactly trendy or fleshy. those glasses. he looks... boring. ordinary. nothing exciting about mew.

(i just have to put this picture because he's as precious as he can be <'3)

(well, hello there, mew.)

i think the directors and scriptwriters intentionally make mew look/feel like an outcast in this messy friend group so that we'll grow suspicious of him. mew is 'hidden' because he has yet unleashed the 'other side' of his. because i think we might have questions now; is he really all this? is that even possible?

side note: even p'force said mew is the flirty/cunning one in this relationship. he knows a lot of things, but i assume he chooses not to let people know because it isn't of importance to mew. he just wants to have fun sometimes and get that degree. that's all. but is that really it?

i see so many people are having strong opinions about mew, but saying mew is boring is where i believe this is somewhat true. i think many of only friends watchers took the bait— mew is so boring— they [topmew] aren't progressing anywhere— what are they even doing? it's so interesting to witness so much disparity when it comes to topmew. some like their story. some hate them. but as someone who enjoys every plotline in the drama, i can only say the six of them revolve around each other. the story won't progress if one character/a couple is pulled out from the circle. all of them are equally important. some relationships progress faster than the other. it's in sync with the build-up of the story (do refer freytag's pyramid to get a better idea of how a story is constructed), and the growth of the characters. they depend on each other. so, like it or not, the six of them co-exist. it can't be five people or only two pairs. it must be six and three pairs to make only friends work.

i regress.

moreover, i guess, p'jojo and p'ninew want us to implant this idea of mew in mind— just a normal person. i think, in that way, it creates tension, suspense and speculation. i think most of topmew enjoyers see this gradual growth of mew's character. as top has grown out of his confident persona little by little (mostly when he's with mew, top shows more of his vulnerable and child-like personality; the smile top gives mew during the silent disco scene was so pure and innocent. it made top look like a kid again; that lost kid in the fire), mew's other side of the coin is waiting to set sail. this excites me very much. because we clearly don't know who on earth mew is. and i'm taking this opportunity to applaud p'book again. he's doing a fantastic job as mew. kudos to him.

additionally, i have a question, don't you think it's a bit off that mew is friends with 1) ray, an alcoholic (i apologise if this term is degrading), 2) boston, a sexually-active person, and 3) chueam, the party-goer (i don't have anything negative to say about her, hehe). mew— a nerd, who likes partying but is still pretty much an average university student— how did he end up in this group? i just find it a bit weird. a bit out of place. he feels like an oddball in this friend group. it's like he doesn't belong here. and that itself is very intriguing.

i have a feeling mew's transformation will shock everyone, and he might be the core of everyone's heartbreak/headache (with nick being the second/main destroyer). i'm excited to see mewnick's revenge arc unfold because both of them will approach their battles differently; nick is going to be more emotionally driven, while mew is strategic and perhaps, heartless.

thus, i think the directors/scriptwriters have succeded in making us view mew as just... a person. nothing special. dull and one-dimensional. but this is just so thrilling to me as i believe (way before the series aired) mew is so much more than what we think he is, and i can't wait to see that mew. :)

//p.s. i don't know what this is honestly so i apologise for even writing this post...

[1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (i) | 4 (ii) | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12]

#only friends #only friends series #only friends the series #ofts #only friends meta #only friends analysis #only friends discussion #ofts meta #ofts analysis #ofts discussion #mew only friends #top tanin #boston only friends #nick only friends #topmew #book kasidet #force jiratchapong #forcebook #(this is another cent from my two cents hehe) #i see so many people having a discussion war everywhere #i just want to say that is the fun of discussion #i personally think no opinion is right or wrong #i hope this won't escalate uglily... #i hope we can all enjoy the show #ok that's all #(i apologise for this random post though) #na discusses

[noordzee]

I've found myself DMing a homebrew Dungeons and Dragons game for a chaotic group of mostly middle schoolers and millennials and also the local pastor. Finally I have a use for all those characters I created a few Inktobers ago!

Our first adventure was a """one-shot""" I wrote for my siblings a little while back, in which Our Heroes help Nanny Hulda find her son, who got lost in the Dark Crystal Pyramid in the woods outside their village. Along the way they were supposed to explore a room with a mummy, but one of the kids decided to kick a flaming barrel of rum down the shaft that led to the room, and I was amused enough by this that the next session (yeah the one-shot took like 3 or 4 sessions to complete) I introduced the ghost of the mummy they were supposed to fight, if only he hadn't been blown to smithereens. The kids were so immediately charmed by this silent grumpy ghost that they adopted him into the team and may be starting a cult in his honor.

At first my screen was just some cardboard with character cards awkwardly taped to the top, but that wasn't Enough for me, I wanted More. So I designed a new screen to look like a castle, complete with stained glass windows that double as character card displays! The banners along the top of the wall are initiative markers: I had players draw an insignia representing their character on the front, while the back side has important stats written in dry erase marker on tape, so I can edit them on the fly.

Now our chaotic band is headed into Kypree Swamp, where they've met three bullywugs (they did not care for one but attempted to adopt the other two) and the grouchy half-orc Lilòia, who I was worried would get called Shrek but was immediately dubbed The Duchess. Completely unpredictable, these kids. I've included all the character cards I've done for both campaigns, even the ones nobody's met yet, because only two of my players follow my tumblr--one of whom is my partner and saw me drawing them already anyway haha

Descriptions and names in the alt text! Please do not use my characters for your own games.

#dungeons and dragons #artists on tumblr #crafts #illustration #copic markers #ink

[averagewriter777]

Ghost and Doc (Simon "Ghost" Riley x F!Reader)

Masterlist

(Part Five)

“So, what do you usually drink, (Y/n)?” The question was asked by Gaz to break the awful silence in the car. (You’d think the radio would at least be playing some music- but nope!)

You fumbled with your fingers. “Well… I’ll drink anything, I guess. But I feel like my drinks are mood-based, you know?” Soap raised a brow towards you. “Okay- let’s just say that I’m down in the dumps, feeling miserable… I’ll open a bottle of scotch or whiskey. If I want to get wasted- which hasn’t happened for a few years, I’ll take some vodka or tequila. If I’m out drinking with friends and they’re having shots, I won’t join… because that’s a hangover and I fucking hate those- probably have a margarita or two. If I’m trying to flirt with a man, it usually works for some reason- I’ll order a sex on the beach… and he’ll get the memo.” You stopped talking when you realized Gaz, Soap, and Ghost were staring at you. “What? Told you it’s mood based.”

“We’re having some shots- you won’t drink them?” Soap said, albeit disappointed in his tone. You shrugged, then shook your head. “Damn, found our designated driver then. Hope you know how to drive around in this country.” You didn’t, but you’d figure it out. 

Everyone took a seat at a table in the corner. You and Soap were in charge of grabbing drinks, mostly because you wanted something different- as did Ghost. (The man was also still wearing his mask, something you were confused about, but didn’t ask about) Soap ordered a round of tequila shots, a bourbon for Ghost, and you surprised him by ordering Fireball whiskey.

“No margaritas?” He chuckled while carrying the tray back to the table. 

You almost snorted into your glass but remembered you were also carrying Ghost’s drink, so you held it back- not wanting to spill it. “Not tonight. You’ll witness me order a margarita when I feel more at home. My old team made fun of me for ordering those. Nice try there, Soap.”

“Call me John,” he said while setting down the tray. Everyone took their respective shot glasses and immediately downed them.

Ghost took his bourbon glass from your hand, lifted his mask, then took a small sip of it. You took that moment to look at his jaw and lips- because you were curious. Your gaze snapped away when his eyes lingered over on you. “Thanks for the drink.”

“Of course,” you raised your glass a little then took a sip. The whiskey burned in your mouth, but you didn’t flinch. “Why don’t you drink with them? Tequila’s a good time if you have enough of it… until the following morning.” You raised the glass to your lips again, watching Ghost sigh.

“Johnny told me once it tasted like dog piss. Seems like he’s changed his mind.” Ghost shrugged and took a sip of his bourbon again. “And I prefer bourbon, no matter what. Dark drinks I seem to enjoy the most.” He looked at what you were drinking. “Didn’t you say you only drank whiskey when you were miserable?”

You set down your glass and rubbed the edge, wondering if you should say anything. Both Soa- John, and Price told you to be careful… “Well, I’ve got a daughter at home. This was a poor time for me to deploy. Her birthday is tomorrow, she’s turning six.” Your brows furrowed. “A ‘friend’ has her gift ready… but I was hoping to give it to her this year. The last time I was there for something important was her first words and steps.”

Guess you didn’t realize you were being emotional as well as crying a bit, because Ghost had reached across the table to put one of his gloved hands over your own. “It’ll be alright. We’ll make sure you get to give her a call, okay?” You nodded and rubbed under your eyes then let out a shaky sigh. “Now, let’s go get you a different drink. You’re right about it being emotion-based.”

- (At the table while you and Ghost are at the bar)

“So, what do you two think of (Y/n) so far?” Price asked while staking his third shot glass on top of the other two. 

Soap added to the pyramid that Price was creating with his shot glasses. “Good woman, good medic too. Seems to be getting along with the team alright too.” He looked over at the bar, gesturing to you and Ghost, who were talking while waiting on your new drink. “Ghost has warmed up to her quick.”

“That’s probably the most surprising out of all of this,” Gaz said while scratching the back of his head. “Work-wise… she’s good. Can’t wait to see how she handles a weapon- she was a monster on that training mat.” He almost cheered out loud whenever there was an almost-win against Ghost- but this wasn’t a wrestling match, so he kept it to himself. “I wouldn’t be worried about her on the field so far.”

Soap was going to add something, but he shut his mouth when you and Ghost started walking back to the table. You raised a brow toward him but decided not to say anything. “Y’all are out of shots? That was fucking quick, need some more?” The men shrugged as if they weren’t opposed. “Right then, I’ll take these…” You gathered up the tower of shot glasses that Price and Soap created, put it all on the tray, then made your way back to the bar.

When you were out of earshot, the three men turned to Ghost, who went back to drinking his bourbon. Once he noticed he was being watched, he set his drink down and sighed. “What.”

“Just wondering what you think of Sergeant (Y/n) so far,” Price said calmly as if he was talking to a ticking bomb. “It looks like you’ve warmed up to her thus far, are we correct about that?”

Ghost grunted and picked up his glass again. The look in his eyes told Price that he did indeed not want to talk about it, but they were correct about it. “She’s alright,” he admitted. He wouldn’t say anything more, not to his drunk companions. “Excellent sparring partner… good medic too.”

You were back within that second, holding that *last* round of tequila glasses for the group. When everyone picked up their glasses and raised them to the air, Ghost included, you went to do the same. “To (Y/n) and the 141!” Everyone repeated what was said and took their shots. You and Ghost sipped your glasses- you shuddered when sipping yours this time.

“Ugh, it’s been so long since I’ve had bourbon.” You set the Old Fashioned down on the table and looked at Ghost, who was smiling into his glass. “Don’t laugh- that’s fucking rude.”

Ghost *probably* raised a brow at you. “You drink whiskey and every other drink out there… but bourbon is the one that makes you cringe and shudder? That’s all.” You took another sip, lifting your middle finger not-so-subtly at the same time. “That’s no way to talk to your lieutenant.” His smile had fallen, but it remained in his eyes.

You nearly choked on your drink. “I’m sorry- that’s your rank?” Ghost shrugged, and also made a face that said ‘you weren’t told?’ “Price didn’t tell me. Shit, sorry.” With that, you decided it was time to call it a night. “Alright, how the hell are we paying for this?” Ghost pointed to Price, who was taking out his wallet- but was struggling. “Alright, give me one second…” You remembered that Price had given the bartender the card at the beginning of the night.

“Closing your tab?” He asked. You nodded and folded your arms on the counter while you waited for the receipt to come up. “It was under… Price, right?” You nodded again and clicked the pen you were given. “Alright, here you go… just sign and you’ll be good.”

You weren’t sure how Price signed his name, so you just made up some scribble- kind of like a doctor’s scribble. It was similar to what your signature was, just with different letters. And you left a hefty tip, based on what everyone drank, that is.

“Thanks, have a good night!” The bartender was grinning at the receipt as he put it back in the drawer. Guess you left a good enough tip.

Back at the table, Ghost was getting everyone to get off their asses and out the door. You asked him on the way out why he doesn’t just drive since he only had that one glass of bourbon, but he shook his head. “I don't like driving. I’ll tell you where to go… you just go from there.”

A/N: That’s right. He’s a shit driver. Everyone has seen how he drives- right? That’s it. That’s just it. But he wouldn't tell you that, not yet at least.

(Part Six)

#mwii #simon ghost riley #ghost x you #ghost x female reader #simon riley x reader #ghost mw2 #john soap mactavish #kyle gaz garrick #captain price #alejandro vargas

[ellssbellss]

Lavender Roses ~ (K. Ootori x Reader)

pairing- Kyoya Ootori x Reader

In which a rational head hides a generous heart, but you have always known how to see past his walls and help him bloom into the gorgeous rose he is. Enjoy a slow burn between an honor student and our beloved glasses character!

-> summary: You expected him to whine a bit, yelling at the twins to stop playing unfairly while rubbing the bump on his head.

However, you didn’t expect the tiki statue to light up.

-> word count: 17.3k (she a long one)

-> tw!: mentions of small injury (including blood, scrapes, ankle injury, and being knocked unconsious), mentions of drowning sensations (no oxygen, trapped underwater). please read if your comfortable!

-> legend:

(f/h/f) - favorite hot food

(f/f) - favorite fruit

(f/c) - favorite color

see masterlist!: masterlist

taglist: @abbysblogsstuff @sunukissed @kisskissshutmydoor @idonia-dovahkiin @greensnakegoblep @vervainnnn @desert-fern @delievia @obeythemasters @luca-nightshade

Jungle Pool SOS!

“Haruhi!”

The brunette turned slightly at your voice, and she watched with a small smile as you picked up speed behind her, your leisurely pace molding into a speed walk to catch up with your friend. A drink carrier balanced in your arms as you made your way to her side.

Ringing bells of gold signaled the end of the school day and crisp, early spring air blew through the cherry blossoms of the courtyard. Uniforms, both yellow and lavender, covered the space, the crowd heading to the cars lined up along the road. Students were excited to go home and spend the evening doing whatever they chose. 

In your case, however, instead of taking this evening to perfect one of your many engineering projects, the Host Club collectively decided to meet up after school. Kyoya had informed everyone that he had a sort of field trip planned for everyone, and he needed your input on it. He had stated that everyone’s perspective was appreciated, and mandatory.

“Hey, (Y/n).” Haruhi says as you walk with her, her deep tone relaxing as you match her stride. “How are you?”

“Good!” You reply, and she quirks an eyebrow up at the bounce of your step and the brightness in your voice. No one should be this cheery after an entire school day. 

Before she can speak on the matter, though, you reach into the pile of to-go cups balancing on your forearms and produce a medium sized coffee, the words “Love of my life” written in black sharpie on the side. 

“Here, this one’s yours.” You say as you hand her the drink, your fingers clamping around the top of the cup like a toy crane. She laughs a little at the name. “I figured since we are being forced to work on our time off, I thought everyone might want a hot drink as a nice pick me up! I asked them to make a coffee with equal amounts of milk and sugar for you. They even used the instant coffee that you like.” 

The coffee is warm in Haruhi’s hands as she takes it from your grasp. She breathes in the steam, grateful for the heat it provides. “Wow, (Y/n), thank you. You didn’t have to do this.” 

Smiling at her appreciation, you shake your head. “That’s what friends are for. Plus, I thought you might need the energy boost, considering our esteemed company this afternoon.” You joke, and Haruhi chuckles as she brings the drink to her lips.

The honor student takes a sip, relishing in the taste of the cream and the coffee beans blending together. She swallows, and as the warmth blossoms in her chest, she registers just how many drinks you have in your arms.

“How did you have enough time to get these? Didn’t school let out a few minutes ago?”

You smiled, joyfully working to rearrange the pyramid of drink orders so that they didn’t spill out of your grasp. “My engineering teacher gave us a lot of freedom today. She said that as long as we had everything ready for tomorrow’s presentation, we could leave class early.” You shrugged as you assessed the organization of cups. “I figured since I had to come back here anyway, the least I could do is buy everyone a few drinks.”

Haruhi squinted her eyes at you over her cup of joe, suspicions firing from both sides of her brain. They trailed over the glint in your (e/c) irises, the extra spark in your movements as you both continue to walk towards your agreed meeting place.

“You’re extra cheery this afternoon.” The brunette bluntly stated.

You turn to look at her this time, a little confusion gracing your features. “Am I?” Your glance then roams around the academy’s property. “Just excited to get started, I guess.”

She hums in thought for a second before turning her attention back to her drink. “I think it’s because you’re excited to see Kyoya.” 

At the sputtering that occurred to her right, she was surprised none of the drinks made it onto the ground.

Haruhi laughs a little as she sees you trip over yourself, and she reaches out to help you, making sure the cups are stable in your grasp. “Do you want me to hold some for you?” 

You heaved a light-hearted, defeated sigh as you passed her two cups, one that said “Thing One” and another that read “Princey”. “Am I really that obvious?”

She shakes her head lovingly as you both continue to walk. “No, not to most people. But I know you.”

Scoffing playfully, you nudge her with your shoulder as you both arrive under a beautiful archway that has been built on Ouran’s property. As you both wait underneath it, you see two limousines appear, but ignore them, as limos are a very common occurrence when it comes to rich students. 

After a few minutes passed the agreed meet up time, you look at Haruhi. 

“Maybe we should call them? See where they are?” You say, but right when you’re about to fish your phone out of your pocket, an arm loops under yours, picking you up by the shoulder.

“Targets-” You hear a familiar voice beside you.

“Captured.” When you look over, you see that Haruhi is in the same position that you are, except she has Hikaru to her left, while you have Kaoru to your right.

“What the hell?” You say as you tighten your grip on the drink carrier.

Haruhi is thrashing a little in Hikaru’s grasp. “Wait! What is-”

Before she can ask her question, the window of one of the limousines rolls down, revealing Tamaki. To add to your growing confusion, he was wearing a red lei and sunglasses, looking very smug in his seat. 

“Good work.” He says, and gestures to the limo behind him. “(Y/n) goes in that one.”

“Roger!” Shout the twins, and off you go. Kaoru is suddenly dragging you away from Haruhi as you watch her get pushed into Tamaki’s car.

“You better tell me where we are going right now, Kaoru, or I’ll-”

He interrupts you by opening the passenger door to the second limousine and shoves you inside, a large smirk on his face. Before he shuts the door, he grabs a cup out of your carrier, the one labeled “Thing Two”.

“Don’t be such a brat, (Y/n).” He teases with his cheshire grin. “Patience is a virtue.” 

And with that, he closes the door, trapping you inside. 

Your brow ticks with annoyance as you stare angrily out the tinted window, watching him return to the limo in front of you, and you sway as you feel the car start to move. 

“I take it that's for me?” 

You cannot catch a break as another surprising voice sounds across from you. You jump slightly before processing the fact that Kyoya is sitting across from you, hands folded neatly over a brown journal resting on his lap. 

“What?” You ask, still reeling from the events prior.

“The drink. In your hand?” His gaze rests on one of the only two drinks left, a small earl gray tea labeled “Shadow King”.

“While I find the name intolerable, I will take the beverage.” The ravenet speaks again, a smirk resting on his sharp features, and you sigh, accepting your fate.

Thrusting the drink tray out in front of you, you roll your eyes playfully. “Just take it.” And when he does, you add. “After all this, I find the name to be quite fitting.”

Kyoya’s smirk never left his face after that. 

After an hour or so passes, coffee cups lay discarded in a themed trash can, the bin looking very similar to a Tiki statue. Even the remains of a small black coffee labeled “Mori'' and a strawberry frappuccino with “Cutie” scribbled on the side lay atop the pile. 

Instead, the sunlight reflects through crystal glasses filled with tropical drinks and refreshing ice. As the scene pans out, tropical birds fly through a domed space, winding through tall palm trees and intricately built water slides. 

A certain red bird trained his eyes on a bright, yellow shape, and his excitement and curiosity heightened tenfold. He had never seen that big of a flower before, but it looked soft and inviting. The bird dove for it, his red color blurring in the air as he moved closer to his target, thinking that he might be able to break off a petal or two for his wife back at their nest-

“Squawk!” Haruhi shooed the winged-pest away from her yellow pullover casually, the red bird sounding its surprise as it flew away quickly. She was too distracted to care though as she shielded her eyes from sunlight beaming through the waterparks glass ceiling, still racking her brain as to how exactly she got there. 

‘Am I dreaming?’ The honor student asked herself when no rational answer appeared in her logical mind. ‘We’re still in Japan, right? It’s not really known for its tropical locals.’

Before she could question herself further, a manicured hand settled onto her shoulder, kicking her off her train of thought.

She looked to her side to see a shirtless Tamaki, and even she had to admit that he absolutely glowed in the sun’s path. His blonde hair shined, and the light rivaled the sparkle of his violet irises. It was hard for her to look away, that is, until the prince opened his mouth.

Then it was very easy. 

“Behold, Haruhi, bask in the beauty of tropical birds!” He sighed dreamily as he followed the feathered things in their flight. “Aren’t they breathtaking? I wonder what they’re called.”

She shook him off of her slightly as she felt a migraine already forming behind her eyes. The brunette took a moment before turning to the blonde once more, only to find that he was already lounging in a long chair, sunglasses over his face. 

“Right, so…” She said, getting his attention. “Where’s the exit?”

She could feel the eyeroll the prince gave her before settling into his seat more comfortably. “Try to make the most of this down time and just relax.” A smirk made its way on his chiseled features as he raised the drink in his hand. “We’re so worried about keeping our good looks day and night, we deserve a little vacation.”

The headache began to wrap around her skull to nuzzle into her brainstem, but her face didn’t have enough energy to convey anything other than a deadpan expression.

“Personally, I think this is pointless and a waste of time, so can I go home now?” She chided, fully turning away from the prince to talk to the actual person in charge. “I should really be studying, and I’ve got a ton of laundry to do today.”

Her bare feet take her to a certain ravenet lounging under the shade, his little brown book open on his lap while his fingers expertly work his pen onto the pages. The seat next to him is empty, only a towel draped over the back of it giving any evidence that someone might be sitting there.

He seems busy, but Haruhi decides to interrupt his thoughts for the sake of her freedom. “Senpai, where are we anyway?” 

Kyoya barely gives her a sparing glance before returning his focus to his notes, but answers her question. “This place is a brand new theme park that my family, the Ootori group, runs. It’s called the Tropical Aqua Garden.”

She takes in the resort in front of her, watching as the lazy river a few feet away glides and ripples against the tile walls. 

“I don’t understand, I thought the Ootori Group ran hospitals and that they’re focused on the medical business, Kyoya-senpai.”

The Ootori son feels the corners of his mouth tilt up slightly at her correct observation, and finally meets her eyes before his next statement. “Yes, but my family likes to diversify and try different things. Besides, this place could be classified as a healing facility.”

Haruhi hums in thought, and Kyoya is about to expand his explanation before the sound of wet footsteps are heard behind him. Haruhi has barely any time to move out of the way before you are barreling past her, feet slapping against the concrete before they are leaving the ground. The twins in the pool jump at your fast approaching figure while Honey sits on Mori’s shoulders cheering you on. The Hitachiians rush to move out of your way, making room for the inevitable.

You laugh and squeal as you push off the balls of your toes when you reach the pool’s edge, quickly hugging your knees to your chest and screaming Cannonball! in mid air before becoming submerged in the water below. 

Kyoya uses his book to shield himself from the, frankly impressive, splash before making another note on the page, his smile a little bigger now. 

“It can also be therapeutic.” He says, gesturing to you and the twins splashing each other once you come up for air. “Think of the people who are overworked who would just love a vacation in the south tropics. However, they may not be able to get time off, or they may not be able to afford it.” He put his book down and reached for his tropical glass, adjusting his glasses to his nose.

“Those people can now come here and reduce their stress levels. The Ootori group's primary concern has always been for the good health and well-being of the general public.” At the end of his speech, he flashes Haruhi a host grin, and she feels a weird shiver up her spine.

“Yeah, that’s not suspicious at all.”

At your voice, the two hosts direct your attention to you, and Haruhi notices Kyoya’s Adam's apple bob slowly at the sight of you, his smile faltering into something more real.

With your palms placed in front of you, you pushed yourself over the ledge, stretching your back slightly to feel the sun on your newly exposed skin. He didn’t dare to breathe in case it disturbed your peaceful image.

But as you walked out of the pool and towards him, Kyoya just stopped breathing.

Earlier, when you had emerged from the changing room in your new two-piece, Kyoya had been on the phone with his family’s managers, too distracted to fully take in your appearance.

But now, his eyes followed stray droplets as they fell off your wet eyelashes, down the perfect shape of your cheekbones before slipping in between your parted lips, a sight that made him lose his breath. 

More cascaded over your shoulder and across your arms, finding a home on your bare stomach. Another drop streaked over your chin and down your neck before disappearing somewhere he refused to look, out of his immense respect for you and, of course, his own sanity. 

Cooly, he locked eyes with the twins following behind you before turning back to Haruhi, silently cursing them in his head for helping you pick out such an exquisite swimsuit. One that flatters every curve and dip in your body. One that lit his nerves on fire at the site.

Clearing his throat, it takes Kyoya a little more than a second to organize his composure, mind still hazy from your appearance. 

“The park doesn’t officially open until next month, but the host club was given a special advance invitation.”

Your laugh sounded again, closer this time as you stopped in front of him and oh, why would you do that? How could you laugh like that and look like that and not expect him to be bursting at the seams?

“Oh, so we are just a bunch of guinea pigs for your new waterpark?” You ask, cocking an eyebrow at the man below you. “I’d expect nothing less from the Ootori’s.”

Kyoya rolls his eyes, reaching over to your chair to hand you your towel. “Never expect anything less from the Ootori’s.”

You chuckled again and reached out to take the towel from his grasp, feeling the graze of his fingertips when a sweet, higher pitched voice calls for your attention.

“(N/n)-chan! (N/n)-chan!”

As you dab your head to get rid of the excess moisture, you turn to see Honey-senpai skipping towards you with pure delight on his features, and your face softens at the sight of a pink floaty around his waist. 

“What’s up, Honey-senpai?”

When he gets to you, he grabs your arms and tugs on your wrist, making you smile even wider at his antics. “Wanna share some coconut juice with me? Or some mango cake?”

He suddenly runs around you, spinning you off your balance so that you fall into the chair next to Kyoya. Another laugh pushes past your lips as you adjust yourself to recline a little bit. 

“I’d love to have some coconut juice with you, Honey-senpai.”

And if you thought his face couldn’t get any brighter, you were proven wrong as his eyes widened into happy saucers as he giggled away happily, appeased at your choice.

The energy that Honey had brought you was collected into a moment of calmness as your gaze traveled to Mori, who watched a bird fly over his head in the distance. 

The stoic host turned and looked at you directly, as if he felt your eyes on him. Knowing him, he probably had. 

You smiled at him and waved, and got a simple smile and nod in return. 

He was precise and to the point. Something that you admire about Mori-senpai, but something that admittedly took a little getting used to. 

You sigh and lean back. “This is so nice.”

“Does this mean you forgive me for not telling you where we were going?” Kyoya asked beside you, a knowing look playing on his lips.

Wiggling deeper into your chair, you throw an arm over your eyes, completely content with the sun warming your skin as your favorite megane sits beside you. “If it means you take me to places like this, you can surprise me all you want.”

Unbeknownst to you, gray eyes lingered on your form before another content simper made its way onto the club director’s visage, happy to see you happy. 

“Hey Haruhi!” The peace was broken as the twins finally made their way towards your group, a banana in Hikaru’s hand. 

Kaoru points to the large yellow slide in the distance. “You wanna go check out the water slide?” His offer falters, though, when he notices Haruhi’s yellow sweatshirt and green checkered shorts. 

True to his character, Hikaru reads his brother’s mind. “Hang on, what’s the deal with the pullover you’re wearing?”

Haruhi pulls at the elastic band at the bottom of her jumper. “Oh, this thing?”

“Tamaki made her wear it.” You say, hearing an offended, betrayed gasp from the table next to you, your eyes shielded from the dirty look the prince was giving you. 

The twins spun to face the boss. 

“Why would you do that?” Hikaru asks, discarding his banana peel into some unknown area. 

“Yeah, we even brought all of our mother’s latest designs for (Y/n) and Haruhi to try!”

“Meh.” The gingered brothers turned again, surprised at Haruhi’s disinterest. “I didn’t really like any of them. I mean, one of them was only a couple of strings.”

Another strangled cry from the lounge chair Tamaki occupied.

You pulled your arm away from your face to join the conversation. “Oh yeah, I tried that one on. It was a really good material, but it left absolutely nothing to the imagination.”

A gurgled cough sounded to your left as Kyoya brought his drink away from his lips, covering his mouth as he tried to swallow without difficulty. The twins smirked evilly at his reaction.

“You okay, Kyoya-senpai?” They said in sync, a mocking tone hidden in their smiles.

“I’m just fine.” The third son said darkly, clearing his throat as his glasses flashed at their attempt to fluster him even more than he was. “It just went down the wrong pipe.”

“A proper lady should not show that much skin until after she’s married.” Tamaki said, his face beet red at the topic of conversation.

“Oh yeah?” Hikaru starts.

“Then why is it okay that (Y/n) isn’t covered up?” Kaoru finishes. 

You and Tamaki meet glances, and you see him nervously trying to find some sort of excuse as to why he cared so much about Haruhi’s privacy and respect. You simper a little bit, sensing his dilemma before saving him from answering. As his best friend, you knew that Tamaki hadn’t confronted that aspect of his feelings for Haruhi yet, and you didn’t want him to explode on that lounge chair.

Hopefully, though, he will be able to answer that for himself eventually. 

“I wouldn’t let him. Why would I hide your mother’s amazing talent under some sweatshirt?” You say, adjusting the bikini on your hips.

“Plus,” You say looking over at Kyoya, a newfound confidence taking over you. That’s what the power of a good swimsuit holds. “I look amazing.” You state matter of factly, winking at your favorite ravenet.

With an air of nonchalance, Kyoya merely arched a brow at your antics before shaking his head and turning away. Mentally, you fist pumped when you notice the light pink dusting the tip of his ears, and you knew you got him. 

Oblivious to your small victory, the twins turned back to Haruhi. “So you’re not going to swim?” Hikaru asked, a complete deadpan on his face. What was the point of coming out to a huge waterpark if you weren’t going to swim?

Unless…

Kaoru asked the question he was thinking. “Hold on. You do swim, don’t you?”

Haruhi lets out a groan of annoyance at her two classmates. “I can swim just as good as the next guy, but this isn’t my idea of fun. We’re just gonna spend the day goofing off.” She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Honestly, I’d rather be home. I don’t understand what’s so great about this place, and really all you need to swim is a plastic pool.”

You prop yourself up a little more. “A plastic pool? What’s that?”

She turns to you before her face shifts into a thoughtful look. “Hm, let’s see.” She starts making a large circle with her arms, trying to demonstrate the size of the toy without actually having it in front of her. 

“I guess they’re about this big, and uh, and this round. And you pump it full of air.”

Hikaru and Kaoru look at her like she just said the sky was red instead of blue. 

“You dunce.”

“That’s an inflatable boat, dummy.”

Haruhi’s mood turns foul again as she yells at the brothers. “Guys, it’s an inflatable pool! Haven’t you ever seen kids playing in one?” 

“But isn’t that too small?” You ask, taking a sip of your coconut juice. “There’s no way something that size could be used as a pool, it would be too cramped.” 

Your drink is knocked out of your hand as Tamaki pulls you out of your chair, much to your distaste. Next to you, the twins stumble to catch up in his grasp as Tamaki crouches, speaking to you in a sharp, hushed voice. 

“You idiots! If Haruhi thinks it’s a pool, then it’s a pool, got it?” His eyes are wide, and his lips pucker with his attempt to keep his voice down. “Don’t go embarrassing her! She can’t help it if she’s an ignorant commoner.”

“She’s far from ignorant.” You say under your breath, knowing that if you turned in your crouched position, you would see Haruhi staring right back at the three of you, her arms folded or tapping her foot. 

“So, you just want us to lie to her?” The twins asked simultaneously, and Tamaki nodded firmly.

The twins blinked at him before a smile crept onto their faces. 

“Nevermind that, we’ve got a question for ya.” Hikaru asks, looking between Tamaki and his brother.

Kaoru continues. “Why did you make Haruhi put on that monstrosity?” 

Hikaru just shrugs. “I mean, I’m sure you would’ve been all ‘I wanna see Haruhi in a swimsuit!’.” It wasn’t that hard to imagine, and you found yourself grateful that Tamaki didn’t throw a tantrum for once. “Not making her cover up like that.”

“It was surprising.” You admit before standing back up and brushing yourself off. You didn’t need to tease Tamaki into telling you something you already knew. 

“What are they saying?” Haruhi asked when you made your way back to her and Kyoya.

“Uh,” A sheepish smile stretched your face. “Would you believe me if I said nothing?”

She rolled her eyes and grunted, making her way over right behind Tamaki before the twins pointed at her. The prince jumped in surprise, slowly turning to face only to cower at her deadpan energy.

“Well,” you sigh, leaning against your chair. “That’s what he gets for telling Haruhi what to do.”

You look over at the hum of agreement that emits from Kyoya’s throat, and you catch his cursive lines from over his shoulder as he continues to record the world around him in his notebook.

“What are you writing about?” 

He looks at you before clicking his pen closed and handing you the book, allowing you to flip through its pages. Notes like ‘too many palm trees’, ‘diversify drink menu’, and ‘add diving board’ covered the lines, and you sent a confused glance his way.

“Referring to yourselves as my guinea pigs isn’t straying too far from the truth. This trip doubles as a test run for my family, to see if there are any kinks that need to be worked out before the park officially opens to the public.”

You nod with a knowing smile – because of course Kyoya could never just take a break and enjoy himself for once – and continue to look through the leather-clad booklet.

“And thanks to you guys, I’ve gotten some great data today.” The ravenet uses a delicate finger to support his lenses, and you see a flash of the business man he is already becoming. 

Your heart beats a little faster.

Kyoya opens his palm for his notes, and you move to hand it back for him, only to hold it just out of his reach.

“While I appreciate your ability to multitask, I’m sure you’ve taken the necessary data to report back to your father.” Your eyes are sincere when they meet his. “Promise me that for the rest of the day, you’ll actually relax.”

His eyes squint narrowly while his jawline ticks, and you see his mind working out a debate to your request. 

“Please?” You beg, and what could he do, really? When you were looking at him like that?

The argument he had loaded in his throat dies at his lips. 

“Fine.” Kyoya says, his voice warm as he reaches over and closes the gap between him and his book, and you realize he could’ve done that the whole time. “I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask.” Now you’re beaming at him, and he knew it was worth it. 

“(N/n)-chan!” Your eyes leave Kyoya’s as you see Honey-senpai bounding towards you, this time with Mori-senpai in tow. “Let’s play! Wanna go swimming in the current pool with me?”

“Maybe in a sec? I’m taking a break for a minute.” Truthfully, you were enjoying relaxing with Kyoya, being in each other’s space. You didn’t want to leave him just yet. 

For a moment, Honey’s eyes drooped and you were about to give in, but he got over it quickly as he skipped over to Haruhi to ask her the same question.

But Haruhi shook her head too. “Nah, I’m not gonna swim today.” She smiled before noticing Honey’s attire. “Hold on, you know how to swim, don’t you? Do you still need that float?”

At the talk of his floaty, Honey did another little spin, but this time he shook his head. “Nope! It just looks cuter this way, ya know?”

You chuckle lovingly. “He’s right, those bunnies are pretty cute.”

“He’s so innocent.” The twins remark, and your whole group watches in peace as Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai play in the pool together, a heartwarming scene. 

Unfortunately, though, you were about to experience the complete opposite in just a few moments

As a shrill ‘No way! You’re wrong!’ sounded over the intercoms of the waterpark, your body stiffened like a toothpick, spikes of pure panic surging up through your veins. 

You could recognize that voice anywhere. 

“Is that…” You say, forcing your tongue to form the syllables, dreading to even mention her name on your vacation. “Renge?”

Out from the abyss, the dark angel that is Renge Houshakuji rises out of her lair. She poses at the top of her tiered rig, holding an umbrella and looking as smug as ever. 

Your laugh is strained as more panic swirls in your irises. Swiftly, you launch yourself out of your chair, rushing a quick explanation to Kyoya before rushing over to the current pool with Honey and Mori. “You know what? I think I will join Honey-senpai for a swim. Watch my stuff, yeah?” 

And you’re gone. Ignoring the unspoken rule of not running near a pool, you hike it to the water, diving deep, hoping Renge didn’t see you hide. 

This is why you couldn’t have nice things. 

Rising out of the water to catch your breath, you find the group in a forced chat with Renge, and you blow out a sigh of relief.

“(N/n)-chan? Do you not like Renge-chan?” Honey says as he floats next to you, kicking his little legs as much as he could so he didn’t cruise down the river.

Your mouth opens agape, but then you close it. Honey may look delicate, but he has impressive observational skills. Nothing gets past him. 

“Uh, I’m still trying to get along with her.” A closed-mouth smile appears on your face, hoping to convince him

“So you jumped in the pool? That’s not a good way to make friends, (N/n)-chan.” 

Mori nodded his head next to his cousin. “Yeah.” 

You deadpanned at the two of them before sucking some water in your mouth and spitting it back at the duo. “Could you two not gang up on me? Isn’t there a game you wanted to play?”

Ever the scatter-brained boy, the third year’s face lights up at your suggestion, and he immediately climbs out of the pool. He takes his floaty off and throws it back at you.

Shooting an amused look to Mori, you catch the pink, plastic ring and hold it, waiting for your next order from your senpai.

“I want to practice jumping through the floaty! Can you hold it steady for me, (N/n)-chan? I bet I could jump in the hole!”

It takes you a moment, but you finally understand what he is getting at. “I can do that! And maybe, each time you’re able to jump through the ring, I can step back a bit to make it more challenging?”

“Yeah!” Honey agrees excitedly, happy that you’re taking an interest in his game. “And Takashi could create obstacles for me to jump over!”

The tall host nods, sticking his arm out between Honey and you to create a jump for Honey. “Okay.”

“Okay, ready?” Honey backs up a little before charging at the two of you. His legs jump out and over Mori’s arm, only to come to a point as he changes his pose to fit perfectly in the middle of his floaty. With a splash, the ring bounces against the water at the force, and Honey’s head goes under before he comes back up.

“You did it!” You exclaim as he pulls his arm through the center, resting his body onto the floaty. 

Honey looks at Mori, water dropping off of his blonde hair. “What would you rate it, Takashi?”

The black-haired host allows himself another smirk as he holds up both hands, spreading his fingers out wide. “Ten out of ten.”

“A perfect score.” You say proudly as Honey’s excited energy becomes contagious. “Wanna do it again?”

Expectedly, he nods his head, and Mori helps him out of the pool only for Honey-senpai to jump back in the ring again, this time a little farther than he was in the first round. You all played this again and again, Honey getting a perfect score from Mori each time, until the small host was bored with his floaty and wanted to play something else.

While the cute host spun himself into his thoughts, searching for another game to play, you took the opportunity to take in the moment. 

As sad as it was to admit, being able to spend time with Mori and Honey like this was rare. They had their graduation to think about, as well as their martial art training and other responsibilities that come from training police forces and overseas militia. 

You were just as busy, honing your engineering skill and preparing to inherit the company your mother had built from the ground up. 

But now, as the water swished between your fingers and Mori’s signature smirk secured its place on his lips, you found it hard to accept that as a valid excuse. Especially when Honey got another gleam in his eye, splashing around so that he could face his cousin dead-on. 

“Takashi! Can we play Surfboard?” The boy lolita’s warm brown eyes morphed into stars as he begged his cousin to accept. The usually agreeable Mori wrinkled his brow, and you could tell he did not like Surfboard.

“What’s that?” You ask. 

“I get to stand on Takashi’s back while he swims! It’s like I’m surfing!”

“Oh, I see.” You say knowingly, making eye contact with the taller host to show him that you understand why that wouldn’t be the best idea. “Do you maybe want a break, Mori-senpai? I could play with him for a little bit while you get a drink.”

Mori looked back at the hosts, seeing Haruhi fiddle with her glass alone under the canopy. 

“Yeah, thanks.” His deep voice answered you simply, and soon he was out of the pool walking towards the honor student, who had a drink in her hand. 

Honey looked a little sad at the loss of his cousin, but he turned back to you with renewed energy. Did this kid ever run out of gas?

“Do you wanna play Surfboard?”

A sweatdrop appeared on your forehead as you waded in the water. “Sure, but you can stand on my stomach as I backstroke. Sound good?”

You really didn’t feel like drowning today. 

But he agreed with an enthusiastic ‘Okay!’ as you readied yourself to float on your back. You breathed in and filled your lungs with air, the buoyancy of the organ making it easier for you to stay a float. Honey sat, then stood on your ribs and stomach as you started to swim backwards in the water, keeping your face above the surface. 

You were lucky he was light. 

“Look!” Honey called to the group of hosts and Renge, drawing attention to your game. “Check this out! Even though we’re swimming really fast, we never go any further than we are now!”

‘We’ was a generous term as he stood on top of you, happy as a clam to be along for the ride. 

You stayed like that for a while until your arms hurt, and you tapped on Honey’s leg to tell him that you were done. You propped yourself against the wall of the current pool as Honey kicked for himself, smiling slightly at the content look on his face. You never wanted to see this kid unhappy.

Shuddering, you pushed the thought from your mind.

“Watch out, (Y/n)!” You hear the twins yell as they run past you with water guns, trying to get away from Tamaki with a vengeance. They playfully sprayed you with their water guns before skidding around and leaping around Tamaki’s shots. Luckily, you notice, Renge has left as well. 

A small voice spoke beside you. “You wanna go play water guns? You can if you want.” 

Turning your attention back to Honey, you saw the most genuine look of selflessness in his eyes. He would be totally okay if you said yes right now and left him to his own devices.

But that made you want to stay even more. “Of course not, Senpai.” You said, swimming back alongside him. “I’ll stay here with you.” Honey saw a sweet grin illuminate your lips and he cheered, forgetting about the force of the pool as he stopped kicking. Catching him around his middle, your heart warmed at his eagerness to keep playing with you. 

In the distance, you hear Tamaki yell “Sideways-leaping shot!” His figure blurs as he leaps to the side, trying to catch the twins by surprise as they hide behind decorative surfboards.

But he doesn’t stop. 

You watch as Tamaki’s feet land on Hikaru’s discarded banana peel and propel him forward, and you wince when he lands head first into the tiki statue outside of the bathrooms. 

You expected him to whine a bit, yelling at the twins to stop playing unfairly while rubbing the bump on his head.

However, you didn’t expect the tiki statue to light up.

Like a tripwire had been activated, the eyes of the statue began to glow a deep red, setting off a chain reaction within the waterparks mechanics. 

A rumble split through the concrete of the resort, and you hugged Honey closer to your body, not liking the sound of this at all. 

You learned to always trust your instincts as a huge wave suddenly appeared in front of the both of you, towering to great heights above your heads.

Eyes widening, you spin your head around, seeing if there was any time, any at all to at least push the third year out of the way. But the water was coming at you too fast, and separating yourself from your friend was the last thing you needed to do. 

The host club is sprinting towards you both now, meeting your (e/c) eyes as you register that they’re too far away.

“Mitsukuni!”

“(Y/n)!”

Kyoya is too far away. 

So with almost no time to react, you wrap your arms around the boy, your body rounding to shield Honey from the barrage of water whirling at you at high speeds. You will your heartbeat to slow as you hug the student to your middle, whispering in his ear before bracing for impact. 

“Deep breath, Honey.”

Then the world was blue.

Water surrounded you. Even with your eyes closed you could feel it pour into your nostrils, rushing against your closed lips as you held onto your precious breath. The waves flooded in between the grip of your arms, but you refused to let Honey go. With every attempt that the pool gave to rip the boy-lolita away from you, you strengthened your hold, straining your muscles against the onslaught of water.

You were sent flipping, crashing against sides of the pool, scraping over sharp twigs and fallen branches. A sting shot up your right arm as you hit it roughly, and the coolness of the liquid surrounding you seeped into the open skin. 

In the blind surge, your foot got caught in one of the drainage divots in the resort, and it twisted painfully before the water forced you back again. You opened your mouth to cry out when another giant wave pushed you roughly into a rock, and instead of blue, the world was black. 

The host club was in a panic on the shore as they saw the wave about to swallow you two.

Mori-senpai raced with all his might, hoping to beat the concept of time and get to his cousin and his friend as quickly as possible. He saw Haruhi running next to him, yelling for you and the boy-lolita. “Honey-Senpai! (Y/n)!”

“Mitsukuni!”

“(Y/n)!” Journal forgotten, Kyoya leaped out of his chair, the rim of his glasses creating the perfect frame to see a shadow cast over your figures, blocking the light that was reflecting off your skin just minutes ago. 

Swim, (Y/n)! Get out of there! He cried in his head as he raced for the pool’s edge. Why were you just sitting there? Why weren’t you making a break for it?

But his lungs deflated when your body language gave him his answer. You met his eyes, and the emotions that warped through them were almost apologetic as you turned away from him. Distressed, Kyoya saw your shoulders hunch protectively around Honey-senpai, your palms spreading over the boy’s chest as you pushed him flush against you in brace for the impact. He still willed his legs to pump faster.

Damn it, of course you wouldn’t leave Honey-senpai. If you couldn’t protect him, you’d go down trying. 

Kyoya’s fingers were drenched with the splash as he reached out, desperate to try and get to you, his heart thumping with his effort.

But in an instant, you were gone, washed away with the tide.

And at the edge of the current pool, the Ootori son froze, his feet rooted to the decorative flooring as he watched the water swish back into its original shape. It was unaware of the drama it had just started, splashing up against the cool blue tiles. 

Kyoya worked to catch his breath, the adrenaline in his body oscillating between the valves of his heart and the nerves in his mind. He closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling in more controlled manners as his brain fired, trying not to imagine the water rushing into your lungs. The force of the wave replayed in his mind, your gasp and Honey’s cry as it overtook you haunting his ears.

His tongue was too big for his mouth as it pressed against his soft palette, internally channeling all his tension so his persona wouldn’t shatter. But with one final exhale, his eyes snapped open, and the downward spiral he was sinking into was interrupted by a new determination.

Black hair whipped as Kyoya spun on his heel, making a beeline for the waterpark’s directory. If there was one thing he learned as an Ootori, it was that nothing could be solved if you didn’t push forward.

“Gentlemen!” Tamaki yelled as Kyoya brushed past him, the blonde’s finger pointing high into the sky. “We’re going after Honey-senpai and (Y/n)!” He points towards the path that was near the pool that swept you away. “That pool looks like the quickest way! Charge!”

Everyone except for Kyoya rushed at Tamaki’s orders. But Kyoya was the one looking at the map.

“Wait!” He called, still studying the sign. “I wouldn’t go-!”

Just as he anticipated, the club came running back to their starting point, alligators emerging from the edges of the path they had chosen. “There are alligators in there!”

Tamaki thinks before shouting out another command. “Okay, so we can’t use the pool, let’s try this way!” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyoya sighed as another alligator blocked Tamaki’s path, and the prince scrambled back to his group. 

“What’s with all the alligators?” Haruhi called as the group of hosts put their hands on  their knees, trying to catch their breath. 

Sharply, he answers them with a monotone voice, eyes sweeping the map to find the best way back to you. “Those alligators belong to the park’s tropical animal exhibit. I guess it is dangerous to let them run in the wild.” 

He works his jaw when he spares a glance at the totem pole. “Though, the cause of our present situation seems to be the location for the switch of the current pool.” He pushes back a headache as he revisits the map. “I’ll have to have a little chat with our designers.”

Haruhi and the idiotic trio shivered at what his tone suggested, and they prayed for the designers’ safety when talking to the Shadow King. They were going to need it. 

Kyoya brings a hand to his chin and relaxes slightly, grateful to at least have a plan formulated in his mind. 

Turning to the rest of the hosts, he points to the map. “This is a map of the Tropical Aqua Garden.” He points to a red circle near the bottom of the signage, and the host’s eyes follow his finger. “This is our current location, but we need to get here. I have a feeling that’s where Honey-senpai and (Y/n) ended up.”

His hand raises to the top of the banner, passing several spaces marked with a large question mark. “It might be tough, because to get there, we will have to pass this jungle area here in the southern block. Distance wise, we’re talking about 800 meters.”

Haruhi walked up to the map wanting to get a closer look. “Looks like there are a lot of undeveloped areas.” She observes, gesturing to the question marks. “Any idea what might be lurking in those parts of the jungle?”

A deep sigh escaped him as he shook his head. “Since they’re still being developed, I’m afraid I don't know.”

The twins are staring at the map too, picturing you and Honey in the vastness of the unknown jungle.

“Whatever’s out there…” Kaoru trails off.

“It could be even more dangerous than alligators.” Hikaru finishes, swallowing thickly. 

Tamaki squares his shoulders. His best friends were lost, their safety undetermined. Haruhi was amazed at the hard glint in his eye as he called out to the rest of the host club. “Alright! Now this is a mission of survival!”

Instead of the intimidating, worried glare that Kyoya gave to his friends, Tamaki gave them a look meant for heroes stepping onto a battlefield, one full of confidence and resolve. 

“It is our sworn duty to save Honey-senpai and (Y/n)!”

So, with a plan in place, the club walked into the sea of twisting vegetation and branches , hoping to spot you amongst the vines.

The first thing you hear is rustling.

Leaves brush against one another in the wind that brushes across your damp face, creating an aura of calmness. It’s enticing, the ambience drawing your senses out from your slumber. 

After another second, the white noise is painted with more sounds. Some pop out more than others, like the song of a cricket, or the jostling of a parrot hopping from one branch to the next. But they all surround you, and your ears stretch to hear birds and insects, all singing to you. Maybe even for you. 

Your eyelids feel heavy as you work to open them, but you immediately squint them closed, wincing at the daylight that threatens to disturb your peace. Coming up with a compromise with the sun, you slowly open one eye before the other, allowing both of them to adjust to the brightness. 

Above you are trees, and even if they are still a little blurry, they are gorgeous. They tower royally over you, mercifully, as the sunlight drips through the holes in their shade like thick honey.

Honey.

Completely blissed out, your tired eyes crinkle for a bit before the effort makes you close your eyes again. Why does that word feel so familiar?

An image of a bright smile and a pink floaty flash behind your eyelids, and soon you are taking a deep inhale, your eyes snapping open as the moist air of the tropical forest propels you back to your reality. 

Instead of speaking though, you’re coughing. As you bend over, your body heaves water out from deep in your lungs, and you watch it sink into the deep soil below. You don’t register the reassuring hand on your back. 

After your airway was cleared, you whipped your head around, desperate to find your friend. “Honey-senpai!”

“(N/n)-chan!”

You nearly jumped out of your skin at the proximity of his voice, and you turned your head to your left to find Honey kneeling beside you, his eyes wet with water and worry. 

“Oh my god, Honey.” You say, trying to reach out for him with your right arm before feeling your skin stretch painfully. You bar your teeth, your lips drawing back in a hiss as you cover the scrape with your left hand. Putting pressure on the scrape, you turn back to the host.

“Are you okay?” Pleadingly, you stare into his eyes to find that they crinkle even more, relief and uncertainty mixed within his irises. 

“(N/n)-chan!” Honey crumples as he flings himself on top of you, and you feel your next bout of pain.

“Ah-!” Feeling you tense under him, Honey gets off almost immediately, and follows your line of sight. 

As he scans your body, both of your visions rest on your left ankle, which is no longer symmetrical to your right. Instead, it’s purple and bruised, swelling as if a lemon had been wrapped around your ankle. 

“Oh no! Does it hurt, (N/n)-chan?” Honey whines, and he watches in alarm as you nod your head slightly. 

The movement causes a drop of red to fall past your vision, and you hurriedly place your palm the side of your head, only for it to be colored a light red when you pull it away. 

“I was worried about that.” Honey cooed. “You hit your head pretty hard.”

That’s when you notice the pounding.

A persistent beat has settled itself on the inside of your skull, pulsating as your blood cells rush to the spot where you hit your head, trying desperately to reconcile any damage that might’ve taken place. 

Honey’s soft voice broke through the insistent pressure as his face came back into focus. “(N/n)-chan?”

In his eyes, you were propped up using your left arm to lean on the ground as your legs straightened out in front of you. A small streak of dried blood appeared on your forehead and your ankle was bruised. Now you cradled your skull, trying to get your wits together.

Because your swimsuit gave no protection from being washed away, there were mild scratches across your body, especially your back as you both were flung backwards into the pool. 

“Honey-senpai,” you caught his attention, your voice low and strained, “do you know where we are?”

He puffed out his cheeks before looking around. When you both had landed, he was still wrapped into your grasp. He quickly had gotten off to check if you were alright, only to find you unconscious. After that, he had been by your side, touching certain pressure points on your body that would help you wake up faster, something his dojo master had taught him. 

He hadn’t really thought of anything else. 

But you see him point with assurance towards an open path that was glistening, wet after a wave came and crashed through the opening. 

The third year’s face turned serious, and he looked his age for a moment. “We came from that way, so that’s where we’ll find Takashi.” 

“How do you know?” You ask wearingly, and Honey reaches out to hold your hand as you get up with a limp, the height difference hindering him from totally supporting you. 

Despite your situation, a soft smile made its way onto his face. “Takashi will always find me!”

The twins huddle together clasping hands as the host club walks through the path, the screeches and hums of the jungle putting them on edge. 

“Kyoya-senpai, you don’t think all those animal sounds..” Hikaru starts, a quiver in his voice. 

“..Could belong to the real thing, do you?” Kaoru finishes, just as shaken.

The megane inhales sharply as the twins pull him out of his thoughts, and the host club hears him clear his throat before answering the twins. 

“To be honest, I’m not sure, but I do know that my family always strives for authenticity.” 

Kyoya looks up at the towering trees overhead, as another rush of concern surges through his body. It caves into his chest as he breathes to try and stop the feeling. The only thing that truly helps it is when Tamaki places a hand on his shoulder. 

“She’ll be alright, Kyoya. She has Honey-senpai with her! Everything will be fine.”

His eyes widen a bit as he takes in his best friend’s reassuring stance, before lightly shaking off his hand. “I’m aware.” But Tamaki listens to the tense tone of his voice and his gaze softens as he plants himself by Kyoya’s side. 

The club’s director is grateful.

Haruhi comes up to walk with the two of them, drawing their attention to a certain tall host who is lacking behind the rest of the group.

“Mori-senpai is always so straight-faced, I can never tell what he is thinking.” She states quietly, turning to look at him out of the corner of her eye. “Even though he is doing a good job at staying calm, I can tell he is worried.”

As if on cue, Mori slips on a banana peel, his usual signature stability faltering as he tumbles to the ground to fall flat on his face. 

The club is in shock at his lack of balance, and it doesn’t take the twins long to comment on it.

“Mori-senpai is…” Hikaru states, astonished. 

“Acting as clumsy as you do, boss!” Kaoru exclaims as Haruhi reaches out a hand to help Mori up. 

Tamaki rolls his eyes next to Kyoya, folding his arms across his chest. “Wha-, shut up!” And the normalcy of the interaction lifts the meganes spirits, if only slightly. 

As Mori sits up, a banana peel still on his head, he sniffs the air. Kyoya watches him with a calculated gaze before bringing his eyes up to an ever darkening sky.

His realization catches in his throat. “Oh. Oh no.” Kyoya glances down at his watch then back up at the sky, arms hanging with a sort of defeat. 

“It’s time for the squall.”

As if electrocuted, the twins exclaim a shocked ‘Huh?’ before rain begins to fall over them. One drop on the nose, two on the shoulder, until raindrops are pelting them from all angles. Luckily, they were still in their swimsuits.

“Over here!” Kyoya shouts over the rain, pointing to a grass gazebo that could provide shelter from the weather. The hosts huddle under it, dripping and shivering slightly at the dampness on their skin. 

Haruhi ducks under the roof of the gazebo and assesses her friends. She watches as Kyoya and Mori lean against separate walls of the gazebo, both lost in thought as the rain pours on the other side.

Her gaze stays on Mori the longest, though, as she approaches him with a tentative pace, hoping to distract him by helping him think about better times. Kyoya could take care of himself. 

“Hey Mori-senpai, you seem to be really close with Honey-senpai. Are you two childhood friends?”

Hikaru and Kaoru look up at you from their seated positions, both feet flat on the ground as they take a breather from all the walking. 

“You mean you don’t know…”

“...That they’re cousins?”

Her jaw drops as her eyes widen, a struggled noise sounding before voicing her amazement. “You’re kidding me, they’re related?”

Distracted on his phone, Kyoya never misses an opportunity to share information. “The Morinozuka’s have been serving the Haninozuka family for generations.” He explains, then dials a number on his cell, pulling the phone up to his ear. 

“But the two families became relatives by marriage, and the master-servant relationship became a thing of the past…” Kaoru points out.

“...But even so, Mori-senpai has always made a point to protect Honey-senpai.” Hikaru stated, and the host club caught a glimpse of the stoic man, still resting his elbows on top of the railing of the gazebo, trying to sense Honey in the rain. 

“Must get his blood boiling,” Tamaki pointed out. “The blood of a loyal servant flows like a mighty river through Mori-senpai’s veins.”

Sympathy reaches Haruhi’s features as she makes her way behind Mori, trying to give him more comfort. 

“Hey, Mori-senpai, it’s going to be alright.” She says, and Mori’s shoulders open a little more to her presence. “I’m sure that Honey-senpai is safe. He has (Y/n) for some company, and he’s a lot tougher than you might think he is, and if he gets hungry, the trees are full of bananas!”

In the background, the twins look at eachother incredulously. “Bananas?”

But Tamaki is on the edge of his seat. “What’s he going to say?”

Haruhi shrinks as Mori turns and stands to his full height, which is multiple heads over her own. His face is unreadable, and it looks like he is about to scold her before a small smile finds its way to his face. 

The idiotic trio watches in astonishment as Mori reaches out and pats the honor student on the head, ruffling her hair as he states a simple, “You’re right.” 

His rare but warm smile surprises Haruhi, but spins the twins and Tamaki into a frenzy.

On the other side of the gazebo, Kyoya huffs at his phone, pressing the ‘end-call’ button with more force than necessary. 

He has talked with all of the managers of this park about their situation and every single one of them was utterly useless. His fingers dig into the buttons on his phone as he dials the number of his last resort.

Kyoya closes his eyes as he listens to the ring, once again urging his voice to sound normal when his police force answers on the other line. 

“Hello? It’s me.” He breathes a small breath of relief when the phone is passed to the chief. “Well, we’ve had an incident that’s caused some trouble.”

His casual tone betrays the anxiety in his chest, but he stays professional, giving them orders on how to find you. 

“My friends, a small boy and a (h/c) girl, have gone missing in the resort. I’ve not a single idea where they are, but they could be hurt or in danger.” Kyoya swallows at the notion, but it only drives him to continue. “You need to find them, eliminating any suspicious figures in the way. Do you understand?”

There is an affirmative yell on the other end of the line before the chief speaks. “You want us to go now, sir?”

Kyoya has to pinch the bridge of his nose to stop himself from yelling at their obliviousness. “Yes. At once, please.”

The sun comes out from behind the clouds as he ends his call, and he turns to the other hosts in the gazebo. 

Tamaki is red in the face, waving his arms at the twins as he whines. “Would you jerks quit calling me a perv?!”

The ravenet considers leaving them here. 

Clearing his throat, Kyoya grabs the trio’s attention. “My family’s police force is going to send in a search and rescue team to help us.” He sighs as he adjusts his glasses. “It pains me to say this, but they are better equipped at finding (Y/n) and Honey-senpai than we are. We should go back to the gate and wait there.”

But as he goes to relay the message to Haruhi and Mori, his gaze sweeps the gazebo, finding no trace of the other two hosts. 

“Where are Haruhi and Mori?” Kyoya asks, and the twins and the prince stop their fighting, only just realizing their friends’ absence. 

“What?!”

The three of them jump up and run out into the drying daylight as Kyoya tiredly follows behind, exhausted at having lost, not two, but four friends in the span of ten minutes. 

His tired movements pause as he looks out into the vastness of the jungle, remembering a crucial detail. 

“You know, I don’t believe I mentioned that there are other visitors here.” Kyoya blinks for a second before his priorities come back into play and he catches up to the hosts. “Oh well.”

You wipe your forehead once more, the rain acting as a carrier liquid to the blood dripping down your face.

You were certain you looked terrifying, drenched from head to toe as you limped through the humidity and shadows of the jungle, limping next to the equally drenched student beside you. 

If anyone saw your silhouette in the rain, you were sure they would run screaming. 

“Of course it had to start pouring.” You said, shivering slightly at the water running down your bare back. 

Honey looked up at your strained gaze, your face calm and pleasant despite the slight wince in your eyes at every step. He saw that you were trying to be strong despite the pain you felt. His heart tightened at the thought, and he looked around the jungle before an idea came to his mind.

“Here, (N/n)-chan, hold on for a sec.” He said sweetly, helping you lean against a tree before running towards one opposite you. Your jaw fell open when he propelled himself off the dirt with a strength you had forgotten about, landing on the second to lowest branch before climbing upwards. Soon, he was in the tree, swinging from limb to limb before jumping down in front of you. 

With his knees bent, he straightened up into a pose, reminding you of a gymnast who had finished their bar routine.

You clapped lightly with relief, glad he didn’t slip on the wet bark, before realizing what was in his hands.

Bananas.

“Here ya go, (N/n)-chan!” Honey said, and you took the yellow fruit from his grasp, your mood brightened by the fact that you had something to eat with great company. 

“Wow, what did you go and do that for?” You said, peeling the banana before ruffling his hair and thanking him. 

“So you wouldn’t be sad anymore. Did it work?”

You paused your chewing while your heart grew at his words, threatening to burst completely as it pressed against your sternum. 

“I’m not sad.” You say softly, swallowing the bit of banana in your mouth. To reassure him, you force your lips into a smile. “Why would you think that?” 

Honey just blinks at you before turning to his own banana, the fringe covering his eyes. “Because you keep lying to me. Why would you lie to me if you were feeling happy?”

It’s times like these when you’re reminded that he is a year older than you. 

Wincing, you lay your aching head onto the trunk behind you. “I’m sorry, Senpai, I’m just…” Your chest hitches, the wetness in your voice halting your speech. “It’s just a little painful to walk.” You chuckle breathlessly, the sound coming out a little gurgled by your emotion.

“Plus, we’re lost in a very accurate jungle, and I think I saw an alligator or two on the way here.” Emotion drenches your words as you try to keep your tears back, laughing through it to lighten the mood. “I just want to get you back to Mori safely.”

You feel a pressure on your good leg, and you see Honey hugging you around your calf. A wobbly smile adorns your face as his actions, but his next words really hit close to home. 

“You’re so sweet, (N/n)-chan! We will get there, don’t worry. I’m sure the others will find us, and in the meantime, I’ll be there for you, just like you’ll be there for me!” 

There’s a bright strength in his tone, and you realize why he and Tamaki get along so well. Both boys represent the quintessence of optimism. 

Humid air filled your lungs as you took in his words, but you were too focused on the dark side of your situation to be affected by them. Letting your knees give out from under you, the tree supports your back as you lean against it, giving your body time to focus on your wounds. The hammering in your head quickly exhausts your willingness to look on the bright side. 

You were embarrassed. Here you were, in the presence of an incredibly skilled martial artist, and yet you were crumpled to the ground, defeated by a bad ankle and a few scratches.

“Maybe you could go find the others and bring them back here? I might be too weak to make it.” You asked him, and you were thankful for the rain as a few tears managed to escape your eyes. Your chest started to rise rapidly as anxiety started to seep into you through the rain, starting at your toes and rushing to the pain in your head.  

You cursed the pulse in your ankle as you tried to roll it. Thankfully it wasn’t broken, just sprained.

It was fixable.

There was crinkling next to you as Honey sat himself down, plopping right by your side. His blonde hair tickled the nape of your neck as he rested his head on your shoulder. With the weight on your chest, it forced you to focus on your breathing. Your heartbeat slowed as you took deeper inhales and longer exhales, each one becoming clearer than the last. 

Heat radiated off your skin as the sun finally peaked out from the clouds, and you relished in the dry air. 

“You’re not weak, (N/n)-chan. You’re strong.” His light voice vibrates through you, embracing the anxiety of your feeling with a warmth that is welcomed and needed. “People who let themselves feel are the strongest people in the world.”

He takes a bite of his banana while still snuggling with you. “Plus, you always help me when I need it. Why would I leave you alone?” 

The comfort of his words started to push out your previous unease, but his next sentence was the one to motivate you. “I think Kyo-chan might be really worried about you.”

You pivoted your head to him against the bark of the tree, puzzled by his seemingly random statement. “What makes you say that?”

Honey set his banana peel on his lap, spreading out the sections of the peel to look like an octopus as he fiddled with its tentacles. “If someone I cared about got washed away right in front of me, I’d be worried too.”

Your throat was dry when you swallowed. “I’m sure he’s fine.” A passive smile found its way to your face. “Kyoya’s good at keeping his cool.” 

“Not when it comes to you. That time when you two weren’t talking because of the otaku lady? I’d never seen him like that before. And that time you cut your knee on the vase? Or that mean doctor was in your room? He acts differently when he’s with you.”

Your heart started beating a little faster as you breathed a sigh. “We’ve known each other a long time, Honey-senpai. There isn’t much else to it.” 

He gave you a childish shrug at your side, and you know he doesn’t believe you. “Maybe, but if I leave you here, then that means Kyo-chan will worry some more, and I don’t want to see him like that. Do you?”

And, oh, this is what it felt like to be guilt-tripped. 

Innocent brown eyes looked up at you, cheeks filled with banana mush and eyes wide and questioning, but you noticed a deep knowing in his eyes. As if he knew just the way to pluck your heartstrings. 

A teasing, exasperated simper curves your lips as your lazily poke at his side, emitting a series of giggles from him. “Oh-ho, you little mix.” He squirms your hold, and you ruffle his hair again. 

Smiling brightly, you could see bits of banana in his teeth. “Did it work?”

Suddenly, your belly is full and your heart is as warm as the sun on your skin, and the emotional pain subsides, giving you strength to push through the physical.

“You know what? You’re right. Let’s make sure Kyo-chan doesn’t worry.” As you jostle next to him, Honey springs up and grabs your good arm, pulling you the rest of the way into a standing position. 

You take a step with your new found confidence before immediately teetering to the side, cringing as you accidentally put pressure on your ankle.

Honey takes satisfaction to see you laugh at this instead of cry, and he glows when you turn to him. 

“It still hurts a little though.” You say through a strained chuckle.

“It means your body is healing.” He says as he giggles at your sheepish look, glad to know that your heart was happier. 

Emotions make you stronger, not weaker. They are rooted into your DNA, their vines reinforcing your pulse and your mind, their leaves turning towards the light of your heart.

They are powerful, you realize as you glance down at the sensitive boy in front of you, the picture of a certain director flashing through your memory. 

You continue to limp through the small opening that the wave made through the artificial jungle before Honey stops you, an arm shooting out to block your knees. 

“What is it?”

“You there!” You flinch from the sudden voice, but can’t tell where it’s coming from. “Put the boy down immediately! If you refuse, we’ll remove him forcefully!”

A bush in front of you crackles, movement making it jostle from the otherside. In the cramped twigs and leaves, you and Honey carefully creep over to the bush, still hiding behind it as you peek your eyes over.

The ground beyond the bush opened into a clearing, creating a perfect view for you and Honey to observe the action before you. 

Honey’s eyes lit up when he saw Mori, who was standing tall in the middle of a circle of police officers, although they were dressed in very protective SWAT gear. You were touched to see that he was cradling Haruhi to his chest, but then had to stifle your laughter at the fact that the officer had just referred to her as a boy.

Honey was about to call out to them before one of the officers reached for Haruhi, roughly tugging on her arm to rip her from Mori’s grasp. You put both hands over your mouth this time when the stoic host punches the officer in the face, the force shooting the guard into the forest behind him.

“The suspect is resisting! Prepare to fire warning shots!”

Warning shots?!

Honey had decided that the line had been crossed, and with a smirk, he helped to prop you up against another tree before tugging on a vine hanging from it. Checking the integrity, he hopped on it and climbed high, bracing himself against the tree as he wrapped his ankles around the plant. 

You watched as he straightened his legs, leaning out before pushing off the tree, swinging through the air.

“Takashi, Haru-chan! Out of the way!”

With no reply, Honey swung across their heads like Tarzan, throwing his foot out before kicking one of the guards square in the nose and knocking him out. Once the vine oscillated back to the center of the opening, the boy-lolita flipped off, doing another gymnast-like finish before bouncing up to his cousin and friend. 

But before he could have his reunion, another guard interrupted him. 

“Hey pipsqueak, what do you think you’re doing?”

The third year simply turned around, giggled, and then proved his martial arts title by sending every guard around him to the mat. Or, in this case, the grass. 

When there are no more enemies to fight, Honey laughs a little, his voice bright and careless to the fact that he just took on an entire force by himself. “You guys should be more careful who you mess with. Picking on my friends is bad, got it?”

Your jaw dropped as you began to gently climb down the slope, wincing as your foot twisted a little more on the descent, before hopping over unconscious guards. 

“Haruhi! Haruhi! Are you alright?” Tamaki rushes around the bend as you all turn your heads to see him, the twins and Kyoya running towards you. 

“Oh wow, it’s Tama-chan!” Honey states as they step closer and closer.

When you push past the bush and come into their sights, they see nothing but your presence as their faces light up. 

“Mon ami!” Tamaki says as he wraps his arms around you, tears in his eyes before calming down instantly at your embrace. “I was so worried.”

His smile goes away when he feels you flinch against his touch. “Tamaki, I love you, but could you please get off?”

The prince’s hands shoot up into a surrender motion as his face crinkles at your raspy voice. 

And that’s when they see it. 

A deep, barely healed scrape on your arm. 

A trail of blood drying on your forehead.

And an angry purple color around your left ankle. 

Tamaki lets out a dramatic gasp while the twins surround you in concern “Oh wow.” Hikaru states, taking in your figure.

“Are you okay, Senpai?” Kaoru asks, touching your shoulder, only to have it brushed off as a figure steps in front of him. 

“Give her space, please.” His voice was calm but firm as Kyoya stepped into your line of sight.

Relief had flooded him the moment he saw you in that clearing, glad to see you standing and smiling, even if it didn’t seem as bright as before. 

But the minute he spotted blood stains covering your delicate features, his heart had dropped from his throat to his stomach, becoming a thing of stone at the exhaustion and subtle pain in your eyes. 

“(Y/n), are you alright?” At an arm's length, Kyoya waves a finger in front of your face, prompting you to follow it with your stare. You did so fluidly, albeit hesitantly, as the quick movement encouraged the headache seeping behind your sockets. 

Good, he thought, no concussion.

“I’m fine, I’m good.” You say, laughing weakly as you cover the scrape on your shoulder, hoping to hide it from concerned eyes. 

“Kyo-chan! (N/n)-chan can’t walk!” 

Betrayed and offended by your partner through this whole experience, you turn to Honey with wide eyes, asking him to please shut up.

“What?” Kyoya hissed, and he looked down, seeing the swelled joint. You didn’t think his jaw could take any more tension.

“It’s nothing, really-”

But Honey kept going, a not so innocent look in his eye. “And she hit her head on a rock, and she coughed up a lot of water after she passed out! Aren’t you worried?” His doe eyes turned as big as the moon as you watched Kyoya purse his mouth after the last sentence.

Here it comes.

“You were unconscious?” His tone was calm, calculating, but his energy wasn’t. His gaze dropped a net, wrapping around your form as he scanned it head to toe. The movements of his pupils were sharp, and your stomach twisted at the array of questions that were firing in his mind.

“Kyoya.” A weak smile crossed your lips at his refined concern as he met your eye once more. “I’ll be okay. I’m just tired. And my head hurts.”

At the mention of your head, Kyoya reaches out and turns your wound to the light, his breath slowing when he saw it really wasn’t bad at all, just a small gash at where the rock had made impact. 

The pale hand at the top of your head trailed down to your face, lingering there before dropping completely. 

Finally, after his examination, Kyoya emits a conclusive sigh. “Well, you at least shouldn’t be walking. You can’t put pressure on that ankle.”

All of your energy went into quirking an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, well I figured as much. But unless you brought any crutches with you, I don’t think I really have a choi-”

At your waist, a sudden force brought your left side against a Hawaiian shirt, and a gasp involuntarily escaped your lips at the contact. Stretching your arm, Kyoya gently reached it over his shoulders, encouraging you to put your entire weight against him. 

You started to protest, betraying the sudden want to stay as close to him as possible. “Kyo, I can-”

But when you tried to pull away, the fingers at your side tightened, pulling you closer against him. “Let me help you.”

Tamaki and the twins flinched at the way the pain flashed in your eyes when your feet dragged across the soil. “We need to get you to a doctor, (Y/n).” The prince said. “You can’t walk out of here by yourself.”

Your heartbeat caught in your throat, and even though your jaw had dropped open slightly, no words came to debate the men in front of you. 

Inhaling, the moisture of the jungle was replaced with the air of Kyoya’s cologne, and the safety of his arm wrapped around you suddenly made you realize how exhausted you were. Your vision blurred slightly as you watched the rest of the hosts begin to walk out of the clearing, leaving you and Kyoya behind to get adjusted. 

Your muscles ached, your wounds pulsed, and when the crutch of your best friend released the pressure on your injured ankle, you let out a sigh as the pain lessened. 

Fatigue rushed through you, and your head felt too heavy on your shoulders, so you dropped it down, slightly nuzzling into the crook of his neck. 

The muscles under your cheek strained at the contact, and out of the corner of his eye, Kyoya saw your eyes drop closed as your entire body relaxed against his. 

His breath rippled across your forehead as he turned his head to face you, his lips almost grazing your skin. “(Y/n)? Are you okay to walk?”

Swallowing, another sigh blew past your lips as you hummed an affirmative tone, but your body leaned more onto him, and he felt the weight of your weariness at his side. 

His eyes scanned you for a few more moments before he detached from you. “Here.”

Startled by the lack of warmth, your eyes shot open, only to widen when you saw Kyoya bend down slightly in front of you, his hands held out behind him in a welcoming gesture. 

“Kyo-”

“The others are already down the path, and there is no way that we will catch up to them if you can barely stand. There aren’t any other options.” The ravanet turned to look at you over his shoulder, his glasses glinting in the high rise of the sun. “I’ll have to carry you.”

Your lungs filled with apprehension, not just over the fact that you would definitely enjoy it a little too much if he carried you out of here, but because you know how resistant Kyoya can be to physical connection. A series of excuses and protests bubbled up in your throat, only to be popped by the sensation of Kyoya hands on your bare thighs.

Kyoya had used your moment of shock to his advantage as he grabbed you around your lower thigh, right above the knee. Force vibrated through his arms as he hauled you onto his back, and he smirked at the squeak that came out of you as your chest came into contact with his back. 

Your arms came around his neck instinctively, and you pulled yourself around him in an attempt to make sure you didn’t fall. Your ankles locked at the front of his waist, and his hands had slipped up, now resting higher on your leg. 

It took a moment for each of you to register the position that you were in when he straightened up, and a blush raged over the tips of your ears to the small of your back. You might’ve even spotted a reddish hue on the back of Kyoya’s neck, but you were too flustered to care.

You didn’t think that it could get any worse – or better – until Kyoya started walking. 

Even though your ankle pulsed, the rocking of his movements distracted you from any pain that you might’ve been feeling. Your headache was eased as your cheekbone dropped onto his shoulder blade, and the sounds of the rainforest around you lulled you into a restful sleep as you immediately relaxed against him once more. 

Kyoya could feel the rise and fall of your chest slow alongside his back, and he stole a glance of your restful features that made his heart skip, washing away any hesitance he had of being this close to you. 

“You know, maybe we should go to the beach next.” Hikaru said after Kyoya had rejoined the group, and the twins shared a knowing look when they saw you draped over his back. 

“Yeah, the beach would be nice.” Kaoru said, sharing a smile with his brother when Kyoya caught their gaze. 

“What are you two smiling about?” The megane asked, a bored look on his face. 

They both shrugged in sync and they shook their heads as Tamaki and Haruhi made their way over to the three of them. “Nothin’.”

Kyoya debated egging them on, but the warmth behind him kept his frustration at bay, and he feared that him talking too much might wake you.

“You idiots, Haruhi wouldn’t be interested in anything like that.” Tamaki said in a low tone, coming over to one side of Kyoya to look you over, seeing each scratch and mark on your skin.

“Actually, I might like to go to the beach.” The four hosts turn to look at the brunette that stopped in front of Kyoya. “I may not be into this silly water park, but I like the ocean. No offense, Senpai.”

A huff came out of the ravenet as he rolled his eyes. “None taken.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“It’d be really nice to go to the beach,” she continued. “It’s so pretty.”

Kyoya watched a flash of light pass through his best friend's violet eyes as Tamaki looked at the honor student with adoration. His lips curled up slightly as he watched the prince’s resolve melt completely at her request. 

“Yeah, alright. Then that’s where we will go next time.” 

Haruhi had Tamaki wrapped around her finger. 

“We’re all going to the beach Tama-chan?” Honey’s voice pierced the moment as he rode on Mori’s shoulders with a large grin. “That’ll be fun, don’t you think?”

Mori glanced up at his cousin with the same emotion that Tamaki had just held in his gaze moments before. The gentle giant smiled, rare and soft, as he nodded. “Yeah.”

This was the second time today where you had woken up and you didn’t know where you were. 

Your back sunk into something soft, and you blinked your eyes open to a familiar ceiling. Warmth engulfed your body as a quilt laid across your body, and you felt the cloth against the fabric of your swimsuit. Pillows of your choosing sprawled out from under you, and you found one resting under your bandaged ankle.

Immediately, your eyebrows drew together at the gauze that wrapped around the joint. When had you…?

An itch pulled your hand to your forehead, and you jerked at the gauze under your fingertips. 

You turned to your shoulder, which had multiple bandaids stretched across the wound that had a shiny film over it. Antibiotics.

Letting your head fall back onto the mattress, you flipped through your memory of the past few hours. Hazy images replayed themselves in your mind, and a distinct sense of rocking and cologne filled the air. You remembered leather seats and the touch of a shirt as the rocking turned into a constant rumble. Then, the sound of doors, opening and shutting gently. 

Cool air filled your lungs at the memory of the same touch that had been at your things seemingly minutes before now coming under your knees and across your upper back, pulling you towards a hard chest. A blurry sight of black hair and a sharp jawline appearing above you, and you remember feeling your lips move before your eyes closed once more. 

Kyoya had carried you back here. 

“Oh my god…” Whining, you brought your hands up to rub your face before the rush of embarrassment rose too high. 

You always knew Kyoya was a gentleman first and a friend later, but for him to have to deal with your lack of consciousness all evening must’ve been the last thing he had wanted to do.

Groaning, you placed your palms on the duvet, pushing yourself up to a sitting position when something caught your gaze in the corner of your eye. 

Tylenol, an ice pack, and a cup of water rested on your bedside table, and your heart glowed at the sight. 

A gentleman indeed. 

The quilt slid down your body as you reached over for the glass, exposing the top of your bikini when you brought it to your lips, hoping it would ease some of the dryness in your throat. 

You almost choked on the drink when the door opened. 

Having used his back to prop the door open, Kyoya stepped in, letting light from the hallway enter the dim room. He hadn’t turned on the big light in your room, but had opted to turn on a few lamps and light a candle so that you could sleep peacefully.  As if you hadn’t taken a single sip of the beverage in your hands, your mouth dried at the white sleeves he had rolled up to his elbows, jacket and tie discarded with two buttons of the top undone. He had untucked it, and his glasses slipped low on his nose as he turned to your bed.

Kyoya’s eyebrows rose in surprise when he met your awake gaze, and his finger tightened on the tray he held out in front of him.

It was the TV dinner tray that you had bought for your dad when he had come home from his back surgery. He had had you disinfect it multiple times before setting anything on it, his germaphobia running rampant even in his medicated state. 

Instead of his favorite foods though, it was decorated with yours. A hot plate of (f/h/f) sat in the center as a small bowl of (f/f) accompanied it, sliced and diced in perfect proportions. Hot tea steamed in the upper corner, a small dish of honey placed to the side. 

Your tongue darted out to wet your hungry lips before smiling when you took in the whole picture. A warm giggle ran through you as you set the cup back on the nightstand.

Kyoya looked like a domesticated house-husband.

And if that thought didn’t make your nerves tingle across your ribcage, nothing would.

“What are you laughing at?” Kyoya said, his shocked visage morphing into something gentle. 

“The fact that I thought someone had broken into my house when you opened that door.” You lied, swallowing the heartbeat in your throat.

“And you would’ve just sat there?” He asked, a teasing lilt in his voice as he came to your side, setting the tray over your legs, helping it balance on the soft surface. “Seems foolish.”

You rolled your eyes and gestured at your ankle. “It’s not like I would’ve made it very far.”

The megane hummed, moving to sit on the edge of your bed, back arching slightly as he rested his elbows on his thighs. “Fair enough.”

He peered over his glasses, and you felt his gaze on the patch at the top of your head as well as the bruise that had formed at your shoulder.

“How do you feel?”

You almost wanted to laugh again, the answer too complex as plenty of emotions ran tracked into your heart. The fact that he had stayed, bandaged you up, carried you to your bed, made food for you. He had done something that no one had done in a very long time. 

He took care of you.

But you just shook your head and looked at the dinner in front of you. “I feel fine, I’m just…what are you still doing here?”

His adam's apple bobbed as he pushed his glasses back on his nose, and you took in the picture-perfect moment of him resting on your bedside, the dusky sunset glowing against his raven feathered hair. 

“I wanted to make sure that you had everything you needed before I left.”

The butterflies in your stomach flurried at that, batting their wings every time you took a breath. “How long have I been asleep for?” 

“In your bed? Or are we starting from when you fell asleep on me?” 

Scoffing at the teasing smirk on his face, your head lulled as you covered your face again. A defeated groan rumbled the back of your throat as you peaked at him through your fingers. 

“I’m sorry. That must’ve been taxing.” 

Kyoya’s smirk only deepened as he turned his head back to the front. “I wouldn’t say that.” His clasped hands unraveled themselves as his thumb traced his palm. “It was more entertaining than anything.”

Oh, god. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep?”

Butterflies were released into your chest, spiraling up your sternum as dread enveloped you. “Stop it, no I don’t.”

“Oh yes, (Y/n), you do.”

Your hands slid down your face, dragging your lips as he looked at you with amusement in his eyes. 

“What did I say?” 

His eyes met yours for a moment before dropping down to your shoulder. Following his gaze, you saw that the strap of your bathing suit had slinked off your shoulder in your embarrassment to favor resting on your bicep. 

Before you could fix it, though, Kyoya’s hand reached out and hooked his finger under the strap. 

Your breath hitched when you realized he had leaned around the tray, and his smile had grown so much that a hint of his front teeth had appeared. You felt the strap be situated into place as his attention was back on you.

“You said that I smelled nice.”

Your eyes closed in a wince, not only to hide from the shame, but to hide from that smile that teased and teased, but pulled you in for more every time. 

“Oh my god.”

The bed shifted, and his touch left your skin ablaze as you felt him sit back. You opened your eyes at a deep chuckle being pressed out of his chest, then stopped at his closed mouth. 

“And I would hope so, considering that this cologne is very expensive.”

You huffed, the energy in your body needing some kind of escape as you rolled your eyes at him. 

“I’m glad you’re proud of yourself.” You said, shaking your head, picking up the utensils on the plate to stab a piece of food and taking a bite. 

A sensation racked through you, as well as surprise, while any tension in your body melted away, and you went for another bite before speaking again. “This is delicious, Kyo, thank you.”

The curve in his mouth was back as he shook his head. “You should be thanking your kitchen staff. I simply cut the fruit.”

Laughing, you nodded before taking a sip of the tea. “Ah, that makes more sense.”

“Do you doubt my cooking skills?”

“I doubt the cooking skills of anyone with a personal chef, even my own.” You explain, pointing your fork at yourself before eating more of the entreé. “Except for maybe Tamaki. I feel like that man could make a mean french dish.” 

Bursts of air left his nose in amusement as Kyoya agreed, but his lips smacked in recollection as he brought out his phone. “That reminds me. Tamaki asked me to ask you to call him when you were feeling better.”

“Oh? What for?”

Blue light from his phone reflected off his glasses as he adjusted them, reading over the text message on his screen. “He wants to know when you’re available to go to the beach.”

You swallowed the last piece of fruit. “The beach?”

Kyoya nodded, not looking up from his phone as he texted his friend. “Haruhi wanted to go to the beach, saying that it was better than a ‘silly waterpark’.”

Snorting, you stacked your empty plates on top of each other to get it our of the way, reaching for what was left of your tea. “I’m sure that was fun to hear.”

He gave you a blank look before sending the message and stuffing the phone back into his pocket. “It was.”

Your giggle made a home at the back of your throat before the hot drink washed it down. Licking your lips to get the excess drops off the corner of your mouth, you hummed. “The beach could be fun. I’ve never been before.”

That earned a surprised look from the club’s director. “You haven’t?”

Warming the mug in your hands, you shook your head. “No. I’ve had the chance, but something always got in the way.”

His brow raised as he fiddled with the rim of his glasses once more. “Interesting. I’m glad you’ll be able to go, then.”

“Me too.”

Sipping the last of your tea, the flavors exploded on your tongue as they accompany the comfortable silence that fell between you two. Side-eyeing him, you watched him perched at your side, fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves. You look at the medicine, the bandages, the dinner he prepared for you. 

Suspicion fills you. The man who only acts on self-interest has made sure that you were comfortable and properly cared for. Liquid honey swishes around in your mouth as you squint at him before swallowing. 

Kyoya glances at you before undoing the roll on his other sleeve. His smirk falls a little as he shakes his arm slightly, loosening the cotton around his elbow. 

“What?” He asks before becoming distracted with his sleeve again.

The shirt makes it all the way to his wrist when you ask him. “Why did you do all of this?”

His eyebrow goes up when he looks at you again, and confusion shadows the gray in his eyes. “What do you mean?”

Reaching out, you fiddle with the mug on the tray before lifting the whole thing and setting it aside. “I mean, you really went above and beyond. Is there something you need me to do for you? Because I don’t know if I can sneak around taking pictures again, and I’m definitely not working with the set crew for Renge.”

“Firstly,” Kyoya replies, his arm nearest to you coming over your legs as he props himself up to face you. “I would never ask you to work with Renge again, considering that you nearly drowned yourself today just to get away from the poor thing.” 

“Poor thing?” You ask, exasperated.

“Secondly,” He continues, and he suddenly became serious. “I don’t need anything from you.”

You arch an eyebrow at him. “So this was all just from the kindness of your own heart?”

“You don’t think I’m capable of such acts?”

You shrug, picking another piece of fruit from the bowl. “I didn’t say that.” Biting the inside of your cheek, memories flash through your mind, your headache becoming a little more apparent with each one.  

‘I am very helpful. Without me, you would’ve slept through every alarm you set.’

~

’And I told you, (Y/n), that that’s not the only motivation I have for complimenting you.’

~

’You’re okay, (Y/n). You’re okay.’

~

’If you are ever in need of support, please don’t hesitate to ask.’

~

‘Mind if I join you?’

~

’Let me help you.’

~

You smiled at the ever increasing times Kyoya had offered his help to you. If every single time he had opened up to you was only out of his own self-interest, he was very good at hiding it. It seemed like years of being around his group of friends had influenced him to open up to them, to you, more often than not. That was something you couldn’t ignore.

Even if the term friend didn’t fit very well in your mind. 

You set the mug on the try, a teasing tone woven throughout your next sentence. “I just thought you might be out for one of the favors I owe you.”

A look of recall painted his face as he hummed. “Oh yes, you’re right.”

Deadpanning, you look at him. Why did I have to say anything? “I didn’t mean right this minute.”

“But I do have a favor to ask you.”

You held his stare for a minute before giving up a sigh. “Fine. What is it?”

“You need to take a shower. Your entire room smells like chlorine.”

Your nose twitched as you inhaled slightly. An unnatural scent raced through your nostrils with abandon, and you cringed at the scent of the water park. You looked at your fingernails to see mud packed underneath them and you nearly gagged. 

While you were glad that Kyoya hadn’t given you a quick spit-bath, you realized that you had been sleeping in the filth of the jungle and the chemicals of the waterpark for at least a few hours.

“Oh my god, you’re right, get up.” Waving Kyoya off the bed, you toss the blanket to the side, careful of the tray of food as you swing your legs over the side.  

“Wait, (Y/n)-”

You landed with both of your feet on the floor, only for a strike of pain to shoot up your calf. Startled by the sudden spark, you lost your balance as you rushed to ease your weight off your foot. 

You reached your hands out blindly, and the same shirt you had been admiring minutes ago appeared under your fingertips.

In front of you, Kyoya’s hands gripped your forearms as he worked to balance you while you gripped his biceps for support, trying not to think of how they feel under your touch. 

“I don’t know if you remember this, but you sprained your ankle.” He said as he did what he tried initially in the jungle. Your arm draped over his shoulders and he tugged you gently against him, leading you to your en suite bathroom. 

You winced as you tried to keep up with him, your ankle pulsating from the sudden pressure. “I think I was just reminded.”

A muscle flexed in his jaw at your pained tone when Kyoya got an idea. “You said something else in your sleep, you know.”

Struggling to be in the mood to be teased right now, you gave him a blank stare. “Oh yes, please embarrass me further.”

Your side ignites from the deep rumble of his snicker. “I don’t think this is as embarrassing as it is touching.” 

As you enter the bathroom, Kyoya sets you down on the edge of the bathtub before reaching towards the faucet, setting the temperature to a comforting warmth.

Bending your knee, you slowly prop your foot up on your knee to rub at it to ease the pain. “What did I say?”

“That I was your favorite person.”

You froze. The hand massaging your ankle paused as you slowly looked at him when he stopped in front of you, a washcloth drying his hand from testing the water. 

“What? When?”

“When I was pulling you out of my car.” His smirk returned when he saw the tension in your face lessen from pain and wrinkle in confusion. 

Thinking back, you knew you felt your lips moving to say something. You just wished it wasn’t so…affectionate.

Tucking your head back down to your ankle, you tried to hide your blush in the steam. “I guess that’s not too far from the truth.” Clearing your throat, you try to force your shock into something more nonchalant when you raise your gaze again. “You’re pretty tolerable when you want to be, Ootori.”

His grin enhanced at your deflection. “Am I? I was hoping I frustrated you to no end.”

Squinting your eyes at him, you laughed a little. Frustrated isn’t the word that you would choose.

He simpered down at you, a gentler tone coming from him. “Are you okay on your own? I’m going to give you some privacy for the rest of the night.” 

“You’re leaving?” 

He nods and checks his watch through his uncuffed sleeves. “It’s later than I expected. I enjoyed being here, but I do have my own home to return to.” 

Even if your stomach dropped from the constant excitement of him being here with you, you understood. Plus, you wouldn’t want him to be just outside while you cleaned yourself up. Who knows what kind of thoughts could enter your mind then?

“That makes sense.” You smile up at him. “Go get some rest, I know you weren’t able to relax much like I hoped you would.”

He just shrugged and turned to walk out the door. “If you hadn’t ended up nearly drowning, maybe I could have.”

“Wait!” Leaning off of the very edge of the tub, you were careful of your ankle as you grabbed his wrist, stopping him from leaving.  

He immediately looked over his shoulder, the same sharp look in his eye from earlier as he scanned your face. “What is it? Does your head hurt again?”

Your grip lowered into his hand while you shook your head. “No, no, it’s not that. I just wanted to say thank you, Kyo.” You lightly gestured around you with your injured shoulder. “For everything.”

Kyoya’s gaze softened as he squeezed your hand once more before letting go. “As long as you are alright.” 

Your heart jumped when he let go, and you watched him leave, your eyes meeting for a final time before he closed the door behind him.

Peeling off your bathing suit, you sighed as you sank into the water, propping your ankle and arm out of the water so the bandages didn’t get wet. Of course, the bath was the perfect temperature.

Gratitude suddenly shined within you, making the smile that you felt coming on hard to fight as it took over your face. How you had gotten someone so perfect to care about you even a little completely left you speechless, but you weren’t complaining. 

Thoughts of him didn’t leave you as you soaked and bathed, and they stayed as you toweled yourself off, dressing in a (f/c) satin robe that your mother brought back from Florence. Steam billowed into your bedroom as you walked in, bare feet leaving small water puddles on the hardwood floor. 

When you saw your bed, you couldn’t help the small gasp that left your lungs.

The quilt had been folded and laid across the edge of your bed, and the tray of empty dishes was gone. One of your favorite shirts and a pair of oversized pajama pants folded on top of your straightened duvet, and when you got closer you noticed a note propped beside them.

You bit your lip to stop your smile from getting wider as you read the perfect cursive drawn onto the page.

You’re my favorite person too. Goodnight.

Next Time on Lavender Roses!

“We come to the beach like she wanted, and suddenly everyone starts fighting!”

“I thought you weren’t going to talk to me anymore, Senpai?”

“I cannot believe you, Kyoya!”

The Sun, The Sea, and The Host Club!

#kyoya ootori x reader #kyoya x reader #ouran kaoru #ouran kyoya #kaoru hitachiin #hikaru hitachiin #ouran high school host club #ouran host club #humor #requests open #oneshot #organization #thanks for reading #lavender roses #romantic #request #romance #fanfic #fluff #fanfiction #ohshc headcanons #ohshc fanfic #ohshc mori #ohshc honey #ohshc hikaru

[pillsarchive]

Castlevania - Imagine Vlad Tepes giving you a private tour of the louvre at night

NOTES: Over the summer I went to the louvre in the daytime. I loved it but the heat was terrible and there were way way way too many people for my liking so I got to thinking - what if you had a cool radical vampire bf with cool radical vampire powers to break you in at night and make sure you get to really look at everything? I know he's a musuem girlie, no way he wouldn't take the time to personally explain the history of (and his personal expirience with) every object that really caught your eye.

Ignore the technicalities, I know breaking in probably wouldn't be as easy as just climbing through a skylight. He ate all the guards or something - whatever makes it more plausible.

WARNINGS: None, some happy crying but its mostly just fluff.

“How has no one asked why you’re carrying a blindfolded girl around yet? I know you have powers and stuff, but you cant glamour everyone on the streets of Paris… can - can you do that?”

Vlad nearly giggled as he held you closer to his cold body.

“Your human eardrums would split if I told you all the details - the words for some of the abilities I have cant be translated into english, im afraid.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck, smiling. He began to speak again.

“It also helps that we’re breaking in, and it’s nighttime.”

You paled and looked up at him, mouth slacking open.

“Wait what?”

“Oh dont act so shocked.”

The corners of your mouth quirked up. You could barely sit still as he held you, walking so smoothly it felt as if you were both laying down. You had asked him a million times where you were going, why a blindfold was necessary, and all he had given you so far was a smug “it’s a surprise darling, you have to be patient.”

That had never been one of your virtues.

The sound of the night and all the people walking around suddenly dulled and you felt yourself slowly begin to lift then descend into a cold room. 

You clung to your boyfriends chest. 

“Woa- jesus are we falling through someone’s roof?”

“No, no, I suppose now is an opportune time to tell you where we are and take your blindfold off.”

“Really?”

“Yes really, ill help you - here -”

His fingers untied the knot and the black silk ribbon fell from your eyes.

When you saw where you were you slapped your hand over your mouth, resisting the urge to cry. 

“The louvre, my love. You said you’d like to see it with me but I cant go out during it’s business hours and you’ve always worried about the crowds - I figured I’d make the situation a little easier for the both of us. “

Now you felt hot tears spill out of your eyes and roll down your face in rivers. What had you ever done to deserve him? How could someone this amazing be as hopelessly in love with you as you were with him? You had always loved art and you’d tried to go to the louvre once with some friends before you’d met vlad, but the crowds made you too anxious and it was so hot in the daytime. At night the moon shone through the glass ceiling of the entrance room and refracted off of the big glass pyramid, the marble walls were cool to the touch. 

Vlad noticed your tears and smiled.

“No need to cry dragul meu, think of it as your birthday present - though rest assured you will be getting much more than this. I greatly enjoy spoiling you, you realize.”

You laughed and pulled him into a tight hug, playing with his long black hair.

“How am I supposed to top this when it’s your birthday? Im thankful, but this is a lot already. The best birthday present I was expecting to receive like ever in my whole life was a car, maybe a lot of books or tickets to orlando horror nights if I got lucky.”

He smiled and ran his gloved hands over your back as he spoke.

“Trust me, my love, you give me the best present ive ever gotten - ever in thousands of years over thousands of lifetimes by being with me and loving me. After doing all the things ive done I never expected anyone that knows my face to stay with me, let alone someone i’ve been pining over for a decade. Lubitul meu.”

You pulled away from the hug and kissed him. He smiled into the kiss and cupped your face in his hands. After a while he pulled away. 

“As much as Id enjoy standing with you and kissing you for the rest of the night, I want you to get as much time with your gift as you can.”

You grinned and took his hand, looking up at him.

“Can we start with the renaissance statues?”

“Of course”

You walked into the moonlit gallery, grabbing a map as you went. The museum was completely empty save for you two and you couldn’t have been happier.

#dracula #vlad tepes #castlevania #castlevania imagine #vlad dracula #vlad the impaler #dracula x reader #vlad tepes x reader #castlevania x you #castlevania x reader #fluff #no smut #he's in love #just a little guy #god i feel so weird writing imagines #cringe culture is dead but its claws still grip me