#which breaks the prev tag culture :( | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shih-coulda-had-it · 2 years

Note

Can you do a story well after the yoroi musha break up and the exposing Torino in all that for a undercover or regular mission the pro hero’s are split up into four and somehow yoroi musha gets paired with sakumo nana and his ex 😂 some (nanahiko x sakumo too )and yoroi is like >:c probably jealous idk just thought it would be funny for him to see that his ex doesn’t care anymore about the break up and has moved on while he’s probably having second thoughts

ohhh my god i'm sorry for writing in yoroi musha pov but that's what broke the writing block, so, you get what you get, my dude. quick summary for those who will go 'what on earth is shih doing to torino now' - Gran Torino (mid-30s)/Yoroi Musha (mid-to-late-20s) were in a relationship; YM staged a public break-up for publicity; the Shimuras swooped in to fully integrate Sorahiko into the family, along with Toshinori. AFO is... irrelevant to this situation for now.

wc: 1251 | prev | a/n: I am retconning what I typed in the tags of the previous post. Mr. Shimura is alive and as horny for his wife's best friend as she is. Kotarou is also present in the background.

“Seventh Wonder,” Yamamoto greeted. He took a seat across from her.

“Yoroi Musha,” she replied, ever courteous and graceful. There was a distinct coldness to her manner that Yamamoto admired. Seventh Wonder was more than a decade his senior, partnered with Gran Torino, and Yamamoto had always considered her a consummate professional. He was glad to be working with this particular member of the Sky High Agency.

Gran Torino could be so petty at times.

The mission itself revolved around a raid in a prefecture neighboring Yamanashi - in Shizuoka Prefecture, a villain had appropriated several antiques from the Tokugawa period. The government’s ministry of culture subsequently commissioned Yoroi Musha with the retrieval of the items; he had the training necessary to handle and transport these kinds of valuables.

Why Seventh Wonder had been pulled in, Yamamoto had several guesses.

Yoroi Musha had a history, albeit shallow, with Sky High Agency. Perhaps when they received the call, Gran Torino had chosen a path of discretion and asked his partner to fill in. After all, two-thirds of their three-man team were landlocked.

Speaking of. The Tracker Hero: Wolfheart took point at the head of the table, eyes glittering dark red under the fluorescent lighting of his office. He arranged the table to display a satellite map of their target’s location, a stack of papers listing buyers known to frequent the property, and more papers regarding the antiques’ appearances and preservation protocols if Yoroi Musha was too occupied to assist.

Before Wolfheart settled into his own chair, he looked at Seventh Wonder and asked, “Is Gran Torino not making it?”

“I wasn’t aware he was participating,” said Yamamoto.

“He’ll be there,” Seventh Wonder answered steadily, not even glancing at Yamamoto. “Here, too. He’s just taking care of the kids right now.”

Yamamoto blinked. Kids? Surely Seventh Wonder meant his students, and surely, Gran Torino did not perceive his class as anything more than the functional. Aloud, Yamamoto observed, “School hours have been over for some time now.”

Wolfheart nodded, but it was evidently in acknowledgment of Seventh Wonder’s excuse instead of Yamamoto’s pointed statement. The older pro-hero said, “He should trust Yagi more. Kota’s practically in love with him.”

“That’s because Yagi doesn’t know how to enforce bed-time,” said Seventh Wonder.

“A happy, harmonious babysitting relationship is something to be treasured,” Wolfheart countered, and it became abruptly, terribly clear to Yamamoto that he was missing some inside joke. That Seventh Wonder knew Wolfheart on a personal level, which meant Gran Torino was going to make Yoroi Musha feel like some fourth wheel on a job that was supposed to be easy publicity.

Yamamoto sat stiffly, silently, wondering if Seventh Wonder and Wolfheart knew some aspect of Gran Torino that he’d never been aware of, even though they’d shared spaces for more than a year. Gran Torino wasn’t soft. He didn’t care for children. He was lazy, unambitious, and mean-hearted.

“Should I call him?” asked Wolfheart.

“Who? Gran Torino or Yagi?”

“Torino, of course. Ah, hold on,” and Wolfheart retrieved a cellphone from one of the many pockets lining his flak vest. Its dial tone was a cutesy chirping phrase. Birdsong. From where Yamamoto was sitting, he could see the contact photo: Gran Torino, unmasked, illuminated by the setting sun.

Despite his adherence to tradition and cultural integrity, Yamamoto had bowed to logic at the beginning of his career and asked his manufacturers to ensure he’d still be able to hear things through the thick layers of metal that formed his helmet. He tapped into this quality now, in order to - ascertain the nature of Gran Torino’s relationship to Wolfheart.

“I’m on my way,” said Gran Torino with zero courtesy greetings offered. He sounded tired.

“Are you well? The boys?”

“Watching a movie. Gave Toshinori the reminder that if he gets Kota hopped up on sugar again, he’s on paperwork duty for the rest of the quarter.” A brief pause. “... Do I have to attend the meeting? Can’t you and Nana tell me the details after?”

Lazy, thought Yamamoto, and paid careful attention to the fond exasperation on Wolfheart’s open-book face. Seventh Wonder was peering over the table, inspecting the map. She clearly didn’t mind Wolfheart talking to her partner.

“Not in a way that’ll satisfy you.”

“I’m plenty satisfied by you two,” Gran Torino flirted, and Yamamoto itched to slap his hand on the table and demand that Wolfheart stop being so unprofessional - wait. Yamamoto glanced over at Seventh Wonder and startled back into his armor; she was gazing at him with cool disdain, a dare that read, ‘Say something. I dare you to.’

Wolfheart laughed. The warmth was genuine. The affection was genuine. The flirting was real. “So you say, but nevertheless, you had better hurry. Taiyaki stays hot only for so long.”

“You bought…?”

“A full plate. Yoroi Musha was looking at it earlier.” Conspiratorially, Wolfheart winked at Yamamoto.

He ignored it; he was more invested in what reaction, if there would be a reaction to the news of Yoroi Musha’s presence. Gran Torino disliked emotional vulnerability. That’s what Yamamoto liked about him, when they first started that beneficial relationship (it wasn’t dating, not really). When Yamamoto saw Gran Torino’s floundering response to the dissolution of their life together, Yamamoto had only thought, ‘Well, that’s a touch dramatic.’

It had been logical to step away. Yamamoto consulted no less than three PR managers in the industry about moving his career forward, and they all suggested for him to adopt the role of a chaste, value-driven samurai.

“You called dibs for me, right?”

“Seventh Wonder is fending him off, no worries,” said Wolfheart.

“Good,” Sorahiko sighed. “I’m damn hungry. See you in a bit, Wolf.”

“Safe flight, Gran Torino.”

As the call ended, Seventh Wonder received a text. She grinned as she read the message, nodded at Wolfheart in a knowing manner, and relaxed into her chair. Yamamoto wasn’t sure what to do. Accuse them of engineering an awkward work-place situation? Remark on Wolfheart’s connection to Gran Torino?

“A few minutes more,” said Seventh Wonder.

He grunted in acknowledgment.

(When Gran Torino breezes into the meeting room, Yamamoto finds himself cataloging not the differences in appearance, but the unchanged details. The windswept hair, the unbending posture, the wicked sharp grin as he first greets Seventh Wonder and Wolfheart. For Yoroi Musha, Gran Torino gives a cursory ‘hey’ and sweeps past him, making a beeline for the platter of taiyaki still in the microwave.

Instead of taking the last chair at the table, Gran Torino leans against the table, parking his ass on the corner between Wolfheart and Seventh Wonder. Neither look surprised at this turn of events.

“Hey, can I get a tail,” says Seventh Wonder, and Gran Torino scoffs but obliges. He’d always had a soft spot for his partner.

Wolfheart’s questing fingers bump against an obstacle, thickly-insulated and sunny yellow. Wolfheart looks up at the opaque white lenses of Gran Torino’s domino mask, and his bottom lip juts out in a pout. At first, Yamamoto thinks to tell Wolfheart that it’s futile - Gran Torino has one favorite person, and that is Seventh Wonder.

Then, Gran Torino breaks a pastry in half and passes it over to Wolfheart.

Discipline, Yamamoto reminds himself, stifling the outrage. He draws himself up tall, straightening his spine and squaring his shoulders. Aloud, he says, “If we may proceed with the debrief, Wolfheart.”

Gran Torino crams one immaculate piece of taiyaki into his mouth and nods emphatically.)

#bnha #shimurastorino #musharino #yoroi musha #gran torino #torino sorahiko #shimura nana #stand in name for husbando shimura #shih.txt #asks #838theweirdlow #gran torino get better taste in men challenge (mr shimura excluded)

12 notes · View notes

asimovsideburns · 2 years

Text

The New Tumblrite’s Guide To The Modern Hellsite

(Or: So You’re New In Town, Here’s What You Need To Know)

This post aims to be a guide for the new user to help them understand the tumblr culture. Don’t worry, new user—we’ll have you blogging like a native in no time!

I’m putting the rest of this post under what’s known as a “readmore” (because you have to click to read more, and it says so), which had a few benefits and drawbacks. It prevents the post from being extremely long on people’s dashboards, and any edits will be consistent across all versions because it will link to the post on my own blog, but because it’s on my blog, it will break if I ever change my url (barring an update that changes or has changed this—it can be hard to keep up with the actual mechanics of the site sometimes)

Table of Contents:

1. First Steps — what you should do immediately on making your blog

2. Reblogs — the most important part of using tumblr

2a. Reposting vs Reblogging — yes, these are different

3. Likes — what they are and aren’t for

4. Asks, Replies, and Reblogging With Comment — the different ways of engaging with other users

5. Tags — how to use them like a true tumblrina

6. The Prev Tags Schism — how and why to peer review properly, whether or not you use “prev tags”

7. Blockable Offenses — a list of things not to do

8. Best Practices — various tips and/or tricks to get the most out of your tumblr experience

1: First Steps

So you’ve just created a tumblr! Welcome! I’m sure you want to follow some people, but let’s take a moment to get things in order first. You wouldn’t want to be mistaken for a bot and get blocked, right?

The very first thing you’ll want to do is customize your blog. Start with an avatar—lots of people use picrew, or screenshots/edits of their favorite characters. DON’T use a photo of yourself! This is what we call “Bot Behavior”—bots often use pictures of random people, so any real person icon not immediately recognizable as a celebrity is a red flag; if you want to put yourself in your icon, the picrew route or other artwork communicates that a real person put some effort into creating the blog.

You’ll also probably want to give your blog a title, a header image, and a bio. Don’t give out identifying information in your bio! A first name for people to refer to you is fine, but lots of people use fake names or go by their URL (or a shortening of it). You don’t need to give your age, and you definitely shouldn’t be giving your exact location. One of the main draws of tumblr is anonymity, and you always have the opportunity to give specific people more information, but you never have the opportunity to take information away from people.

Next, feel free to go through the settings to do things like turning off things like “best stuff first” so that your dashboard is always in chronological order, turn on sensitive content, and disable showing your likes and what blogs you follow, if you don’t want people to be able to see that. Most people don’t display those, and it can be seen as Bot Behavior if you do, but not to the extent that an un-customized blog is.

Speaking of, make sure your URL isn’t just four words smashed together—that seems to be the current trend for bots, so you’re likely to get autoblocked.

Finally, start following AND REBLOGGING. Reblogging will be covered more in depth in the next section, but it really is the MOST important part of using tumblr! If you enjoy a post, reblog it! Likes serve a different purpose, and blogs without any posts or reblogs are HUGE red flags for Bot Behavior, especially if they follow more than a few blogs.

2: Reblogs

Reblogging! The most important feature of tumblr! You would think it would be posting but actually? Not so much. Reblogging will be the main thing you do on tumblr, and you’ll probably be doing a lot of it.

Okay, so here’s the deal: tumblr does not (and hopefully never will) have an omnipresent algorithm that governs what you do and do not see. Instead you see 1) the things that the people you follow post and reblog, in chronological order, and 2) recommended posts, unless you turn then off. Recommended posts come from either tags you follow (more on that later) or occasionally tumblr will try a “based on your likes” system that doesn’t work and everybody turns off. Oh, and there’s featured posts but that’s a thing tumblr the corporation is specifically posting/boosting for everyone to see, it’s not algorithmically generated for you specifically based on your usage of the site.

THIS MEANS!! If you are not reblogging, you are not contributing to the tumblr ecosystem!! People who follow you will ONLY get something from that IF you are reblogging and/or posting original content!!

If you like something, reblog it! That’s the only way you have of sharing it with other people and getting more eyes on it. Likes do not work for this. Likes are something else entirely.

When you reblog a post, here is what happens:

1) the original poster sees in their activity that it was reblogged by you, and anything you said on the post itself or in the tags

2) the person you reblogged it from sees in their activity that it was reblogged by you, and anything you said on the post itself or in the tags

3) it shows up on your blog and on your followers’ dashboards, with anything you added to the post itself or in the tags

4) anybody who looks at the notes of the post can see that you reblogged it, your addition to the post if any, and your tags if any, but it’s really hard to find someone specific in here on big posts and these things aren’t always in the same place as each other

5) the number of notes on the post increments by one

When you reblog a post (or when it is reblogged from you), comments on the post itself stay attached to the post, but tags do not. We’ll get more into when and when not to Reblog With Comment in section 4, but for now it’s enough to know how reblogs work.

Oh, and of you see someone tag a post with something like “dnr” or “do not reblog” then you SHOULD NOT reblog it! Sometimes people post things that they don’t want to go beyond their immediate followers, like vent posts or unfinished art they don’t want overshadowing the finished piece.

Finally, don’t worry about the age of a post when you reblog it, or if you’ve reblogged it before. Tumblr has lots of “classic posts” or “always reblog” posts from years and years ago that are still circulating, and that’s fine! The culture here encourages reblogging older posts, and there’s no limit on the number of times you can reblog a post. Many of the more recent popular memes have originated from posts that were made years ago, and only got popular after they’d been around for a while!

2a: Reposting vs Reblogging

Reblogging is very very good, but reposting is very very bad. What’s the difference?

When you reblog a post, you are using tumblr’s built in functionality to give somebody else’s post more visibility.

Reposting, by contrast, is when you take somebody else’s post and create a new post on your own blog using that content. Saving an artist’s work and creating a new post so that it originated on your blog is reposting, as is taking a screenshot of a text post and making a new post using that.

If you repost an artist’s work, for example, people can’t find that artist very easily, and the artist doesn’t see the user engagement from their post. If you reblog their posts instead, you help that artist build a following, and you still get to have cool art on your blog. Win-win.

Reposting also includes posting things from one website onto another—stealing from an artist’s twitter for your tumblr, or from their tumblr for your twitted.

Most of my reposting examples are about artists because that’s the field that is most commonly reposted, especially without credit.

It’s bad, it sucks, nobody likes reposters. Just use the reblog button instead.

You’ll see some posts where tweets or reddit posts are reposted, but even those should include usernames and links to the page they were taken from, and do not represent the work as their own. It’s still iffy, though—you’re getting notes off of somebody else’s funny thought or idea or story.

Generally, pointing and laughing at a twitter user’s incredibly bad take is accepted, in which case usernames are usually blocked out to prevent harassment.

3: Likes

Likes mean almost nothing here. People use them in a couple of different ways, but they’re far, FAR less significant than reblogs. Liking a post can mean that you enjoyed it, or that you wanted to look at it later (by going through your Liked Posts), or that you wanted to remind yourself that you’ve already seen it when it inevitably pops up on your dash again in two months. It can be a way of silently sending emotional support on somebody’s vent post, or indicating that you’re interested in hearing more when somebody says “3 likes and I’ll post about this thing”. What Likes AREN’T is a way to show a post to anybody else.

When you Like a post, here is what happens:

1) the original poster can see in their activity that you liked the post

2) if you clicked Like on somebody else’s reblog of that post, they can also see it

3) the number of notes on the post increments by one

Unlike reblogs, Liking is a binary state: either a post is Liked by you, or it isn’t, meaning that a Like can only ever add one note to a post. In contrast, every time you reblog a post it adds another note to that post, AND it puts it in front of other people who can then like and reblog it.

Finally, reblogged posts can be searched for on your blog using the search function (questionably useful) or by going through an organizational tag (very useful), while Liked posts are not (to my knowledge) something you can search through—you’d have to scroll manually with no filtering system.

As you can see, reblogs are superior to likes in almost every situation, unless the post is something the person would not want reblogged.

4: Asks, Replies, and Reblogging with Comment

Now, there are several ways to interact with other tumblr user, and they’re each good for different things.

The first is Asks. Tumblr users can control whether or not people are allowed to send them asks, and whether or not people are allowed to do so anonymously. Do not be an asshole. Do not be the reason someone has to turn off anon or close their askbox.

Asks are the most acceptable and widely used form of direct communication on tumblr, for several reasons. First, if somebody’s askbox is open, it is implied that they are willing to receive an ask. Second, asks can be answered publicly or privately, if you have not sent anonymously, giving the recipient maximum control over how they respond, if they choose to do so. Third, asks don’t create a conversation the way a direct message does, so if you say something and they never respond, it isn’t hanging there in the message thread like a neon sign proclaiming your shame the next time you go to message them. Unless they never deleted it out of their askbox. Usually that’s their shame, though—a lot of people simply forget to answer asks until it’s been long enough that they feel awkward about it.

When you send an ask, the recipient will receive a notification to check their inbox, at which point they will see your url, message, and the option to respond. If they respond, and you did not message them anonymously, YOU will receive a notification on your activity page that they did so, although the notification won’t link directly to their response if they answered publically, only to their blog.

Only “main” blogs (the first one you create, as opposed to “side” blogs on the same account) can send asks, but any blog can receive and respond to asks, publicly or privately.

Next are Replies. THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT. YOU WILL ALMOST NEVER USE REPLIES. IF YOU ARE USING REPLIES ALL THE TIME, STOP USING REPLIES. There IS a time for replies but they are a sometimes tool.

When you reply to a post, here is what happens:

1) the original poster receives a notification in their activity that you replied, and a partial view of what the reply is, but must go to the post and search through the notes to find the whole thing, which can be difficult to find on a large post

2) if you are replying to a reblog of the post, the reblogger also receives the notification and also has to go to the post and hunt for the reply, same as above

3) if either of them have email notifications on for replies, you are blowing their emails up constantly. Each reply sends a separate, unthreaded email notification, if they have those enabled. Although at the very least the email contains the full reply

4) the only other people who see replies are people specifically looking in the notes of the post—your followers do not see them and they do not show up on the dashboard or attach to a specific reblog chain.

5) if you are reblogging to an addition to the post, nobody will be able to tell because, again, replies do not attach to a specific reblog chain. They’re just loose in the notes. Sometimes people will @ mention each other in the notes to have a conversation but this is very inefficient and, again, absolutely blows up the notifications of the original poster and also the person who reblogged the version you are replying to.

Replies do have a function, but it’s very limited in scope:

1) when you want to send something directly to the original poster, usually because they’ve asked a question that you are responding to or you are attempting to start a conversation about the specific subject of the post. DO THIS ON THE ORIGINAL POST, and don’t bother on massive posts with lots of notes

2) if you are replying to the person who reblogged the post but sending them an ask or DM isn’t a viable option for some reason

Also, keep in mind that for someone who is not the OP or reblogger, you need to @ mention them—if someone replies to your post starting a conversation, you should reply to them by going to your own post, start with “@[their url]” and select them so that they receive a notification, and then type your message. This ensures that only the people who need to be notified get notified.

Oh, and if you see a post that says “tag yourself”, DON’T reply to it! It says tag for a reason—that goes in the tags of your reblog! It’s a way to talk about yourself to your followers, not something for you to send directly to the original poster or the person who put it on your dashboard.

99% of the time, though, you’ll either be talking in the tags or reblogging with comment.

Speaking of which, Reblogging with Comment! This is like regular reblogging, but you’re also adding your own words to the post. Most of the time, you’ll add anything you have to say to the tags, where it will need to pass peer review, but if you feel passionately about something or feel like you have something to add, you can.

Before you do, though, you should know that 1) people can and will go to the person you reblogged from and reblog it from them instead if they don’t like your addition (this is a feature and not a bug), 2) both the original poster and the person you reblogged from will see your addition, and 3) this is best done sparingly. Use your best judgement as to whether you really want to bypass the peer review process and add something, and don’t forget that tumblr is a pvp enabled zone.

If you reblog with comment, you will not get notifications on that post unless it is reblogged or liked from you. This means that you will have no idea when or if your addition goes viral until you see it on your dashboard. It also means you don’t have to deal with any of the notifications unless somebody @ mentions you. This is, honestly, the ideal way to go viral if you’re going to do it, because the notifications on a viral post are a fucking nightmare and everybody hates it. That said, don’t try to go viral. There’s literally no benefit to going viral on this site, tumblr clout isn’t real, there are no sponsorships and you cannot try to sell anything without being torn apart like a cartoon cow by a school of cartoon piranhas. It will take seconds and there won’t even be bones left. Some people make it work but it’s almost always something that happens to them instead of being on purpose.

Also, at least some and probably many of the back-and-forth posts you see are staged by people who know each other, and you’ll generally have better luck if you’re adding on to the posts of people you at least kind of know, either as mutuals or through sending asks and reblogging with tags.

5: Tags

Tags!!! Tags are great. Tags are your best fucking friend on this hellsite and they serve a couple of purposes:

First and foremost, we use them not as intended but as a way of adding to a post in a quiet, less intrusive way. If reblogging with comment is shouting from the rooftops, tagging is chatting with your friends. Tags used to be only visible when directly viewing your reblog of a post, but then tumblr updated so that the original poster and the person you reblogged from can see them in their activity page, and people can look at them on the notes. Nevertheless, they remain the most polite and unobtrusive way to comment on something. You can also put a frankly ridiculous number of tags on a post, which is great.

Second, tags can AND SHOULD be used for organizational and filtering purposes. Many people tag for things like fandoms, characters, common trigger/content warnings, and safety concerns.

When you use tags for organizational and filtering purposes, is important that you spell them correctly and use a consistent tag; if you spell a tag incorrectly, it will be useless for searching and tumblr’s filtering won’t catch it. If you use inconsistent versions of it, you won’t be able to find things easily, and people will have a harder time knowing what to filter.

For example! If you want to have a way to find all your posts about (for example) power rangers, you would go to the tags portion of the reblog window and type something like “power rangers,” (the comma is what closes the tag, so it would then look like “#power rangers”). Then, to find all the posts with that tag, you would go to “[your url].tumblr.com/tagged/power rangers” (yes, with the space—tumblr used to use dashes instead of spaces but it can now recognize spaces in tags and your URL bar should autofill the correct symbol. Unless it tries to google search, in which case you need to put the actual symbol, which is something like %20 I think? So it would be “/tagged/power%20rangers”. But that’s way more difficult and easy to fuck up than just putting a space).

Tag filtering allows tumblr to see a tag and automatically hide the post from you, with an option to open it anyway. If you absolutely HATED power rangers, you could filter the tag “#power rangers” and any post tagged with that would show up saying it was hidden because it contained the tag #power rangers, and that you can click to open it if you want. A lot of people use this to avoid spoilers for things.

If you tag something as “#power ranger” instead, it WILL NOT show up when you go to your power rangers tag, because you forgot the S, and it WILL NOT be filtered for anyone who blocked #power rangers, for the same reason!

Because of this IT IS VITAL THAT YOU DO NOT CENSOR CONTENT OR TRIGGER WARNING TAGS. If someone is trying to avoid triggering content, and you use a bunch of random asterisks and slashes to censor it, their filter will not pick it up. You will be doing the OPPOSITE of keeping your followers safe and providing a comfortable space.

Censoring tags is usually done with the purpose of “keeping hate out of the tags”—ie, if I am saying something negative about power rangers, I might write it as “p*wer r*ngers” instead to prevent tumblr’s search function from serving my post to people looking for power rangers content. When doing this, censor in both the content of the post and the tags, and it’s still good to be consistent in your method of censorship.

Tumblr does have a search function—you can search for tags, and will find posts that are tagged with the tag you’ve searched for. You can also “follow” a tag, which will make tumblr periodically put posts from that tag on your dashboard as recommended posts. DO NOT TRY TO GAME THE SYSTEM BY USING A BUNCH OF UNRELATED TAGS. That’s a fast track to being blocked not just for Bot Behavior but also because it’s annoying. There’s no real algorithm to game, here—just keep blogging and people will either decide they like your content and follow you or they don’t and they won’t.

Speaking of Bot Behavior and how to avoid it, talking in the tags is the absolute best way to let people know you’re a human. Bots can use tags, but they use them like bots, not like humans—talk away in the tags and it’ll be clear you’re a real person.

Finally, I mentioned “peer review” earlier. “Peer review” is a term we use for a phenomenon similar to “stealing tags”, which is actually a GOOD thing. If your follower or the original poster reads and enjoys your tags, they may choose to copy and paste them into a reblog with comment (or use a screenshot, although that isn’t as screen-reader friendly). When doing this, it is common courtesy to append “(via @[the tagger’s url])” so that people can easily tell who wrote the tags.

If you enjoy the tags but don’t want to add them as a comment (especially if you want to reply to them), you can “steal” them instead. When stealing tags, it’s important to let people know they aren’t yours! a quick “#these tags ->” before and “<-[comment goes here]” after are my go to (you can make the arrows by using a < or > combined with a -). This gives credit to the person who made the tags, rather than looking like you’re trying to pass off their jokes/ideas as your own.

Speaking of peer review and stealing tags, that brings me to our next section:

6: The Prev Tags Schism

Okay, here’s the deal. Some people, when reblogging, will simply tag “prev tags” as a clue for their followers to go to the previous reblog and look at that poster’s tags. I can understand the draw—it’s low effort, it’s unobtrusive, and it gives credit to the tagger.

On the other hand, tags can be edited or deleted, which means the thing you’re endorsing may be changed or even outright gone when your followers go to check what you’re talking about. It also tends to create “chains” where someone will have to go through many, many posts to find the tags being talked about, and often the chain will be broken by a deleted post, rendering the referenced tags either gone or unreachable. In addition, you have to scroll to the top of a post to go to the previous reblog, which is annoying on longer posts.

I’m not going to take a moral stance on the issue, but I will say that it’s a recent shift in behavior and that it is not tumblr native behavior—and you’re here to blog like a tumblr native, right?

I get the appeal. I’ve almost done it myself a couple of times. But I don’t, because if I have to sit through one more 10 minute session of going through a bunch of posts that just say “prev tags so true” until I reach a version tagged only with “hannibal” or some bullshit I’m going to lose my fucking mind. The post wasn’t even that good. It was not so true, besties.

Anyway you can use prev tags if you want, it’s your blog, I just wanted to get that off my chest.

But also it’s literally SO easy to just tap on the tag to copy it if you’re on mobile or copy/paste if you’re on desktop, it’s really, really, really not hard. I promise.

7: Blockable Offenses

Okay listen. People are probably going to block you. Don’t take it personally. However, this is a non-comprehensive list of things you can avoid to minimize being blocked, and things you might block people over. Some, but not all, of the things on this list also fall under Bot Behavior.

Blog suspiciously empty and un-customized

Only reblogs porn gifs

Says some absolute rude dumbass shit on your post, especially if it’s clear they have no reading comprehension

Annoying

Likes a media/character/ship you don’t like

Clearly an attempt at boosting a company’s search engine optimization

Clearly a multilevel marketing scheme

Clearly a cryptocurrency scam

Your mutual doesn’t like them for some reason

Constantly involved in drama and you don’t want to get dragged into it if they reblog your post

They like your favorite media/character/ship, but they’re doing it wrong and you hate seeing their shit ass takes

They reblog unmarked spoilers for something you’re trying not to see spoilers about

They don’t tag for triggers/content warnings and you need to not interact with them

They sent you a rude ask, with their url attached

They sent you a rude ask, anonymously (yes, you can block anonymous askers, but be careful because you can’t UNblock them)

You thought it would be funny

Their vibes are simply rancid

Their vibes are not rancid but you just have kind of a weird feeling about them like you don’t have proof but ehhhhh idk better safe than sorry

You have IRL beef, petty or otherwise

You know them IRL and you don’t have beef but you still want to keep your blog private from them

They stole your tags without crediting you or noting that they were copied

Literally any reason

So there you go! Some reasons you might block or get blocked by someone!

It’s also SUPER important to block bots—they feed off of your real-human-behavior legitimacy to appear more human and less like a bot to moderation systems, and if they get caught then YOUR blog could get flagged as a bot by association! When you block someone, it cuts their ability to interact with your blog, and means you don’t have to see anything they say either.

If, for some reason, you want to unblock someone, you can always go to your blocked tumblrs list in your settings and unblock them there.

8: Best Practices

This is a place for tips, tricks, and hashtag pro strats. Little things that will make you look and feel like a tumblr native in no time. Some of them will be repeats from earlier sections, put here in condensed form for easy reference.

Reblog things if you enjoy them

Customize your blog, and don’t use a default avatar or a photo of yourself

Talk in the tags, that’s what they’re there for

“Tag yourself” means IN THE TAGS OF A REBLOG, and NOT in a reply! It’s about sharing lore with your followers, not starting a conversation with the OP or the last person to reblog

People genuinely love it when you go through their blog and like and reblog a bunch of stuff all at once—it means you enjoy their blog!

Reblog, don’t repost.

Replies are a sometimes tool, don’t overuse them

Curate your space. Don’t follow people if you don’t like their blog. Block people who annoy you.

Nobody knows if you’ve seen a post or not; you can always scroll by without interacting with it

If you use the queue function, also use a special tag that you apply to queued posts (with the word queue somewhere in it) so that people know they’re queued

The apostrophe key on mobile and desktop read as different characters when you’re creating/searching a tag, it’s really annoying

If you use quotation marks in a tag, it puts whatever was in quotes at the very beginning of all of your tags, which is very confusing—use apostrophes instead (ie: say ‘thing’ instead of “thing”)

Find people whose takes you enjoy and then stay out of the search function, it’ll save you from a lot of aggravation

Don’t get involved in fandom drama, just stay in your lane

DO NOT POST PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION. Seriously, you do not want to get doxxed. It’s easier to track people down than you think.

If you copy somebody else’s tags, note that you’ve done so! Also, don’t use an extension that automatically copies people’s tags when you reblog from them. It’s a blockable offense.

I may or may not update this, but I’ll try and keep a “last updated on: [date]” tag if I do

#last updated 3/25/22 #(updated best practices and blockable offenses re: stealing tags without credit)#mine #tumblr #let me know if I’ve missed anything and I might edit it in!

229 notes · View notes

saladejin · 4 years

Text

Admire | 04

Seokjin x Fem!Reader | arranged marriage!au, husband!Seokjin | Strangers to lovers, angst, self discovery, loneliness in luxury, touch starvation (eventual smut), eventual domestic fluff

Summary: You’d never needed anyone else. Growing up alone, living alone, existing alone. It all came naturally and effortlessly, quite like breathing. That was until your somewhat distant parents finally decided it was time to make good on a promise. One they’d made before you were even born.

Warnings: Brief mentions of semi-absent parents

Word Count: 2k

A/N: Hey there, this is just a short chapter I decided to post as a bridge to the next part of the story-line. Hope you enjoy :)

<< masterlist

»»————- <<prev | next >> ————-««

“I know that you’re living a different life now (Y/n), but you still can’t skip out on the annual summer road trip,” your mother’s voice chided. You held the phone away from your ear slightly to avoid bursting your own eardrums.

“But - am I just meant to go on my own and leave the house? The road trips aren’t exactly meant for…”

You trailed off with a weird strangled noise in your throat, knowing that saying ‘people like him’ would only sound bad. Seokjin looked up at the changing tone of your voice, eyeing you with an intense curiosity. There was no way he didn’t pick up that it was him you were referring to.

You had been sitting together at the dining table, feasting on an old-style Italian pasta dish you’d decided to whip up right before your mother called. It was one of the only times you two had actually eaten together since getting married, as you usually just ordered food whenever you were hungry or ate out somewhere his driver would take you.

You had just been shocked that the stoic man agreed to share what you’d made in the first place.

“He can come along, no worries. I’ve already told the guide that you’d be bringing your husband anyway, since I just assumed he’d go with you,” your mother said in a dismissive tone, seemingly distracted on the other end.

Shit, right. We’re meant to be in love.

“Okay, but it’s going to be pretty different to what we’ve been doing so far.” You sighed, thinking about all the high-class parties you’d attended in the last few months, twirling some pasta around your fork absent-mindedly. Seokjin was going to be way out of his element here.

“Then it’s settled, you leave in a couple of days. Remember the meeting spot?”

“Yes, Mum. Bye then.”

You hung up the phone and sunk back into the chair across from Seokjin, exchanging his look with one fizzling with tension. Not one of you had touched your food since you took the call.

“You going to tell me what that was about?” he hummed after eventually moving to swallow down the last of his meal with a satisfied sigh.

“Yeah, just trying to figure out how to tell you.”

He seemed a tad concerned, but didn’t push any further. You sat and brooded with your thoughts for another minute or so before running your hands slowly through your hair in exasperation. You could almost laugh at how strange this was going to be for him.

“Okay so we do this thing every year, although my parents don’t usually go, where our extended family and friends have a summer road trip out to the countryside and sometimes stop by the beach. It’s kind of like a break from the busy lives they all lead, and it’s … such a big difference from their wealthy lifestyles,” you explained, not catching any change in facial expression from the handsome man across from you.

“So … I used to tag along because like you just heard, my mother nags me to go, and the trips always turned out being not half bad. If anything, I enjoyed getting out and seeing the different ways of life the people there lived. It was a nice change of scenery too.”

You realized you were ranting and cleared your throat, pushing your half empty bowl away from you. Seokjin looked like he was pondering again, but you were already guessing the thought of a road trip probably put him off terribly.

“Look, my mother said you’d come along but no one’s going to force you. It’s just a getaway thing that lasts for a couple of weeks, I wouldn’t be gone for too long. Maybe you could attend a party or ball by yourself for once, it’d make everything much easier for you-”

“I’ll go.”

You blinked at him in shock, but he only gazed back with a spark of interest flashing in his dark eyes. The raw emotion was such a rarity for him that you had to blink again to snap out of the awed emotion that was now warming up your cheeks.

“You will?” you squeaked, hating how high your voice had pitched itself.

“Yeah, I don’t want life to get boring. I’ve never done something like this, so I’ll see how it goes,” he replied simply, a small smile resting on his lips as he took in your expression alighting with appreciation. Was he always this adventurous? Maybe deep down, there were sides to this man you had yet to discover.

“Well, we leave in a couple of days. I can tell the driver the meeting location and everything… uh, are you sure?”

“Yes, (Y/n).”

You got up from your seat and swept up your dishes, feeling an odd excitement flood your whole chest at the prospect of going on a retreat with Seokjin. Getting to spend some time with the man who was slowly but surely warming up to you was such a promising idea. Plus, lately you’d been wanting to get closer to him. Your need for pure company was becoming overwhelming.

You wanted your own husband to be the person you could turn to when you needed attention … but after giving it too much thought, you knew that there was no way he’d care enough to want to put up with that. It was borderline foolish of you.

“So, you didn’t really go on many holidays?” you probed quietly after rinsing the bowls. He’d shifted himself from the table to one of the kitchen stools to watch you work. You felt oddly comfortable under his searching gaze, even if you did look quite average in your tracksuit pants and simple white tee.

“If my father’s business trips count?” Seokjin snorted in dry humour. You could tell he was legitimately curious about the whole road trip thing, which was so baffling to you considering he’d barely tried to ask you about your life at all.

“Well, what did you do on those trips?”

You wiped your dripping hands on a dish cloth and sat across from him, only the sparkling white benchtop separating the two of you. You had been spending a fair amount time in this position during the past week or so, and it filled you with joy having these longer interactions with him whenever it happened.

“My father would take my brothers and I when we were younger to his workplaces. Teaching us his ways and getting us prepared for when we would take on jobs at the firm. My mother did her own thing, but would only talk to us about what we’d done that day. Maybe there was the occasional shopping trip for new clothes, but both parents were busy most of the time,” he said rather sourly.

Seokjin was obviously tired of having to spend so much of his life pleasing his own mother and father. You couldn’t have imagined how repetitive it all must have been, then again you didn’t really know what it was like spending time with your own parents in the first place.

“Can you tell me what you used to do, then?” he asked suddenly. You raised your eyebrows in disbelief, because he was asking about you, but then you felt bad for painting him in such a bad light. He wasn’t a terrible person; he just hadn’t engaged this much before. That’s why you were taken so off guard when he looked at you straight in the eyes and asked you the question so calmly.

“Um, yeah of course.” You smiled as the feeling of warmth enveloped your very soul, “So… since I never went on business travels with my parents, the only form of a holiday I ever experienced were these trips. They helped me relax and took my mind away from everything.”

You breathed out deeply at the memory of the countryside breeze, and the feeling of the piping hot beach sand crunching underneath your toes. You could only imagine the feeling of the sun’s rays kissing your skin as Seokjin watched in a mildly fascinated state.

“We’d travel as a large group in separate motorhomes – by the way we’ll most likely get one to ourselves – and stop in many small towns along the way. We’d go on walks and find lovely spots to eat lunch, and we’d visit special lookouts along with other cool cultural sites. The best thing was when you got the day to just venture through the place on your own, doing whatever you wanted and exploring the country.”

You unclasped your hands and let your voice die in your throat, not wanting to subject the man to more of your wistful reminiscing. He was hearing all about memories you held close to your heart, because throughout your school years the travelling was what’d kept your mind relaxed and stress-free.

“Sounds like it’ll be interesting for me. You said we’ll be given a motorhome, so we’re the ones driving?” he questioned quietly, almost as if he didn’t expect you to cut yourself off so soon.

“Yeah, I grew up with that brand of vehicle so I can do most of the driving. I’ve got my license,” you assured, barely stifling a giggle as you recalled memories of learning how to drive a motorhome for the first time.

“We can take turns,” he replied shortly, raising a strong eyebrow at you as if daring you to challenge him. You nodded in a slight daze of shock.

So you can drive too, huh.

You never would have guessed, after knowing that the handsome man had been chauffeured around basically his whole life. What need would he even have for a driver’s license?

“Well, I’m going to bed. I’ll start packing for this trip, just let me know if I need anything else,” Seokjin announced with a grunt as he slid off the chair and made his way around the bench to stand before you. He was dressed pretty casually as well, with a light blue button-up shirt hanging over grey trousers, but he still looked so unfairly tasteful.

“The only thing I’ll really say is just bring casual, but comfortable clothes. Oh, and a hat or cap if you have one,” you said, feeling giddy with anticipation for the holiday already. He nodded to acknowledge the advice, resting his weight onto one foot and pursing his thick lips as he thought about if he did, in fact, own a hat.

“Goodnight then,” you spoke after feeling something strange wash over you. This random urge to show him how elated you truly were. Your steps were bouncy and full of life, similar to the fitful pounding of your heart that felt full to the brim.

You stepped forward and placed your hands upon his crossed arms, then stood on your tiptoes and pressed your lips to his smooth cheek. He didn’t jerk away or tell you off, just stood rigidly still for a few seconds before leaving the room to head to bed. It was only after he was gone that it finally hit you.

No way… did I just do that? Did I actually just freaking do that?

Your face erupted into a fiery crimson blush and you almost slammed your head down into the benchtop below you. All the couple-like actions you both performed at the parties must have made themselves a habit of yours, and since you’d been feeling so happy the desire to kiss him just leapt out.

“Idiot, oh my God,” you whimpered to yourself, busying your hands by cleaning the rest of the kitchen in a hurry. The fact that he hadn’t said a single thing scared you. Did he hate it? Or did he like it, or did he just not care? There was no way of knowing!

You scurried off to your room and heard the door shut behind you a little louder than normal. Your embarrassment was flowing thickly through your veins at this point. You just needed to bury your head under the covers and forget that the whole thing happened.

It wouldn’t take long for him to forget, right?

#seokjin x reader #seokjin scenarios #seokjin smut #seokjin imagines #seokjin series #jin smut #seokjin angst #seokjin fluff #arranged marriage au #husband jin #bts jin #bts smut #jin angst #admire #saladejin

82 notes · View notes

toysoldiers-rwby · 4 years

Text

[SYT] 9. the lamb’s flock

Show Your Teeth

Characters: Fiona, Winter, May, Robyn, Joanna Rating: Mature Tags: hurt/comfort, fluff, implied abuse, poly negotiations Word Count: 7,618

Summary: Somethings needs a little extra love to heal.

Read on Ao3

PREV - NEXT

The first few days without Winter was hard. And it showed with just glance at their apartment. May snapped at every thing in the morning, got on Fiona’s case about all the little things she left around the apartment. Her hair brush, a book, a cup she set down for a minute or two.

It took Fiona a while to notice, but it was only when May’s hair wasn’t done. When Winter wasn’t there to comb and braid it and for them to trade soft sleepy kisses they’ve been wanting to do for years.

The thought twisted Fiona’s heart so hard she couldn’t fall back asleep. She slipped out of Robyn’s arms and off Joanna’s chest. It was still dark when Fiona walked into the living room and froze.

The figure on the couch was too small to be Glade. May and Winter’s door was open and their bed was empty… Fiona sighed taking quiet steps forward. May looked tired, even in her sleep, dry spots at the corner of her eyes and brows pinched. She was living a nightmare after all. Being able to do nothing for the people she cared about, having Atlas steal away her girlfriend and little brother.

When she got closer she smelled something she hasn’t smelt in days. The ocean and fresh mountain air… Glade and Winter. A few more steps closer and Fiona recognized the blanket May was curled up in. The deep purple and gold was Glade’s favorite colors. The pillow hugged to her chest was Winter’s.

Fiona sat on the floor, forehead pressed to May’s. She murmured and stirred but didn’t wake up. There… there was a high chance she cried herself to sleep tonight. Maybe for the past few days even.

Out of everyone, May didn’t deserve this.

Fiona found her lips gently pressed to May’s forehead, gently waking the women up. She murmured Winter’s name, trying to get a kiss until Fiona nuzzled into her cheek and placed a soft kiss there.

“Ngh… Glade? Win’s gonna get jealous again…” Oh? Fiona couldn’t help but to smile. Was May still a sleep or did Glade really tuck in her elites?

“And you idiots teased me about making out with them?” Fiona whispered softly. Her voice almost jarred May awake. Fiona could see her human eyes blinking, trying to peer through the darkness. “Sorry I’m not either of them… They’re both still in Atlas.”

That completely woke May up. She made a noise, a small whimper and tears welled up in yellow eyes. Fiona tried to comfort her, petting her hair and kissing away the tears as they slipped out.

Fiona helped May with her hair that morning. Joann was confused at first, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes until she finally noticed the redness in May’s eyes.

After that she practically jumped into action, making a quick breakfast and almost stumbling over her tired feet.

May smiled softly at the effort, even if it didn’t reach her eyes yet. Within minutes there was a stack of fluffy pancakes, dolled up with chocolate chips, whip cream, and cherries. Soon french toast and scrambled eggs was on the coffee table with a nervous and worried Joanna hovering nearby.

“Is… is there anything else I can make?” The women asked softly.

Fiona and May glanced at each other, “Ice cream sundae,” They said in unison.

Joanna frowned, making the same face as Winter whenever they went out for breakfast and tried to eat deserts instead. “No,” Joanna said crossing her arms.

May laughed a little, sliding onto the floor and pulling Fiona into her lap. Fi hummed happily, snuggling her back to May’s front as the sad lion hugged her like stuff animal.

“How about after breakfast?” May asked.

“Maybe,” Robyn mumbled stumbling out of the hallway. She yawn loudly, letting herself fall besides May and gave Fiona a quick kiss. Then Robyn hummed, pressing her forehead to May’s, eyes closed and still half asleep. Fiona watched May carefully, she tensed, perfectly still with eyes wide and a blush coloring her cheeks. “I think we can all use a breath of fresh air.”

"Sure… fresh air," Joanna teased with a smirk. Robyn only mumbled, slumping and resting her head on May’s shoulder. From the light snores, she was falling asleep again. Fiona lightly laughed at how tense May was. Poor rich girl, not used to physical contact. She gave May a wicked smile, side straddling her lap and wrapping an arm around her neck for support then leaned over to kiss Robyn awake.

She smiled and giggled, feeling May squirm nervously. She could almost hear her heart beat, she definitely could feel it. It took a few kisses and nuzzles, mostly because Robyn was being a brat but she woke right up when Fiona nipped her bottom lip.

“Don’t bite more than you can handle, lampchop,” Robyn murmured against her lips. She stole a proper kiss before Joanna came putting a warm cup of coffee against her cheek. Robyn thanked her by kissing her knuckles before taking downing half the cup in one go. She tried not to make a face, “I miss Win’s coffee…”

“I’m still trying to get her secret blend from her,” Joanna said with a sigh. She looked at the three on the floor, before taking May’s other side and purposely squishing her in. May grumbled, blushing as she buried her face into Fiona’s fluffy hair. “Hey kitten, you feeling better?”

“Kitten…” Was the only thing May said. She pretended to be busy making food to answer proper but gave Joanna a nod.

Fiona grinned, sliding between May’s legs to sit on the floor so they both could eat comfortable. Breakfast was nice, incomplete but nice. Joanna was a great cook and Robyn was always adorable in the mornings before her ego woke up. And feeling May’s nervous heartbeat, feeling her get hot with soft blushes and just feeling her was nice.

She was always big on physical affection. Faunus culture was more affectionate, then there was her personality and finally because because of her semblance. That need to feel something calms the restlessness under her skin. Holding May’s free hand as much as possible did wonders and feeling her long blue hair would had her purring if Fiona had any feline ancestry.

Robyn’s idea of fresh air was an old scene, one that almost helped everyone decompress in their own way.

For Joanna it was writing in her journal, somewhere quiet with warm tea. It was a nice meditative atmosphere Fiona appreciated. For May and Robyn it was beating the shit out of things. A punching bag was too easy, it didn’t fight back, didn’t move, didn’t pull them out of what happened.

So instead of having lunch and tutoring Robyn, the group was at the Gym where they first met, watching the two hot heads spar.

Fiona preferred a more positive outlet and ended up cuddled in Joanna’s lap. But it didn’t calm her nerves. Nuzzling into Joanna’s neck, taking a deep breath of that earthly smell didn’t calm her semblance.

It was a restlessness in her skin, the need too touch making her hands twitch. The hard thuds as Robyn and May threw punches… At first Fiona thought she’d be okay with it. But sparing was one thing, hitting each other out of anger and frustration was different. When Fiona flinched again Joanna picked her up and cradled her legs so she was literally still seated in her arms.

May looked alarmed for a second. Scared, as if she… she was losing another teammate. May fell back, a strong left hook throwing her to the ground. Fiona flinched, making a noise that alarmed Joanna. It wasn’t close to breaking May’s Aura but it completely took her off her feet. Everyone was shocked for a moment, staying still. Fiona wanted to reach out but… all the anger in the air made her feel heavy. She couldn’t move from Joanna’s arms. She wasn’t scared, May and Robyn would never hurt her. But May’s bright yellow eyes still looked guilty. Robyn gave both of them a worried look.

“May, I’m so sorry,” Robyn said quickly helping her up. May shoved her off stayed sprawled across on the Gym’s mats.

“Just… go. Leave me alone for a bit,” May mumbled, panting softly for breath. Or to hold back tears. They- She didn’t lose her partner but they were always together, from their childhood to their young adult years… Fiona couldn’t imagine what that was like.

“No,” Joanna said in a low and soft tone. Fiona found herself seated ontop of May’s stomach. The two blinking at each other confused and sad. Fiona looked at two other Mantle Rats, a little lost for how to comfort their new teammates. “You two lost your leader, me and Rob will meet you two at home. With something nice and warm to eat.”

Home. The apartment Glade gave them. Fiona blinked, chest twisting and ears bending low. Where Winter always escaped too to get away from the pressure of the Atlesian life, one of the few places where she could openly laugh and smile without being seen as weak. A week ago Fiona and May would be in the kitchen, trying to sneak a bite past Glade and usually ended up playfully wrestling on the ground-

Fiona let out a shaking breath as her semblance burns her palms, she felt too empty without Winter’s hand in hers. She rubbed them, trying to sooth and distract herself. She didn’t decompress like the others. She wanted hugs and kisses, and just someone there. Which is why she secretly likes it when May picks her up and why she liked dragging Glade around. Why she melted into May’s arms when they wrapped around her and desperately nuzzled into May’s neck.

She took a deep breath, desperately trying to calm herself down, searching for something Atlas took. The lingering the smell of fresh crisp mountain air and the cool ocean lingered on May’s skin… or it was just Fi’s desperate imagination.

Fiona found herself lifted up again, this time by May. She looked up at Robyn stealing and kiss on her lips while Jonna kiss her pinched brow.

“Come home whenever you’re ready, but we’ll text you when lunch is finished,” Joanna said. May nodded, not quiet meeting either of their new teammates eyes. They quietly left the Gym, Robyn still throwing her worried looks.

“May was crying this morning, are you sure-”

“Let them mourn,” Joanna whispered softly but Fiona still heard them. “They survived worse with each other. They’ll come to us if they need us.”

Fiona tried to slide out of May’s grasp, she didn’t need another burden but May only secured her grip around at her thighs and hoisted the little lamb higher on her waist. “I have my semblance activated, if you want to cry,” The supposedly rich snob whispered. Too fucking gently. Fiona’s breath hitched. She smelled salt and pretended Glade was close by and May didn’t say anything as tears dampen her neck. “Thank you, for this morning.”

For taking Winter’s place in comforting her. Because she wasn’t there.

“Winter and Glade isn’t dead,” Fiona mumbled. May stayed silent. Neither of them pointed out the fact that Watts already experimented on their Thief. The no name Faunus… from Menagerie. The kingdom-less island with no CCT Tower. Even if they had a family, there would have been no way to to communicate with them. They had no official documentation. Watts could continue with the experiments-

“Fi,” May gently guided her head out from hiding. Fiona took a shaking breath, trying to hide her face and wipe the tears away. “What’s wrong- Stupid question,” May interrupted herself with an annoyed look. “What can I do?”

Fiona closed her eyes, tensing. Winter wasn’t dead, wasn’t gone just… in Atlas. Glade and Silvio needed her. Fiona and May wasn’t abandoned. They did everything right and still lost. It wasn’t fair.

“I suppose a kiss would be off limits?” Fiona mumbled. It slipped out on accident but Fiona couldn’t find the energy to care. It was hours late anyway, she probably kissed May over a dozen times to calm her and cheer her up enough to leave the apartment. Never on the lips but it didn’t change the fact that Fiona wanted to.

Pressed chest to chest and in her arms, Fiona could feel her heatbeat. It was fast and nervous. May grumbled and mumbled, saying nothing in particular. Fiona felt it more than she heard it- Definitely felt a quick kiss on her temple… Fiona buried a smile into May’s neck.

“…More.”

May snorted, “Magic words?” She sang teasingly. Fiona huffed, but still kept her head tucking into May’s blushing neck. She didn’t have a stealing problem and wasn’t possessive.

“Now.”

May laughed lightly. A real laugh that had Fiona’s ears fluttering and made her chest feel lighter. May did give another kiss, but a big messy one on her cheek. Fiona laughed giggling and shoving May away lightly and rubbing the slobber on her shoulder. “A bratty kiss for a brat,” May said sticking her tongue out.

Fiona barely stopped herself to nip it. She blushed at the impulse. It was her semblance being impulsive, seeking contact and the need to touch messing with her head. So instead she quickly looked away and kept her hands busy, arms adjusted around May’s neck, hands coming through her hair and slowly wrapping and playing with her long ponytail.

“I’m going to walk around, is that okay?” May said, breath hitching lightly. Fiona focused more on the sadness in her voice.

“As long as you don’t drop me.” Like how Winter dropped them. Fiona huffed, pushing those thoughts aside. It wasn’t fair. Winter cried just as much as Fiona was now. She didn’t want to leave but she needed too… and didn’t that make things worse? “Ugh, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

May was quiet for a few steps. Fiona looked up, watching the thin crowd pass by, completely oblivious and wrapped up in their own world. She encouraged May to stop by a familiar playground. A sign saying ‘Not for Adults’ hanging on the fence. May laughed at it, startling some people outside her Invisibility Field-

Fiona leaned, back hands threading behind May’s neck for balance. May blushed hard, fidgeting and trying to avoid Fiona’s eyes. But Fiona only squirmed, a little too excited to keep still.

“Wanna try again?” Fiona asked with a grin, nodding towards the swings.

“And get chased off by security?” May scoffed. "We got away because of Win’s Glyphs."

“No you dumb dumb! With your semblance on! People will think it’s a ghost and such!”

May wrinkled her nose, “Um… I’m not sure if it works like that. It’s everything in the field and that includes the swings.”

Fiona frowned for a moment something about her elite’s attitudes and personality clicking. “So. You never used your semblance to steal, or prank, or anything fun?” Even Winter played small pranks and tricks. But she also had younger siblings to play with.

“Your definition of fun wasn’t penciled into my schedule as a kid,” May said. She walked to the corner of the park, setting Fiona on the fence and helping her turn to watch the families play. After a moment, May wrapped her arms around her wait and rested her chin on her shoulder.

Fiona leaned back, snuggling to May’s chest as the children played and laughed. A Faunus girl talked another, playfully growling and yelping with her human sibling picked her up. Their parents waved them to the swings and they both jumped onto it, chains rattling and giggles making Fiona smile.

“It’s weird,” May whispered softly in her ears. Fiona giggled, wiggling the tickling sensation away. May hummed, calming her down with nuzzle before giving her more space. "What am I protecting when I graduate? This or that?" May didn’t need to gesture to the prison in the sky.

“Do you need to chose? You and Win were kids too.”

May looked at the children, smiling, laughing, and playing. Fiona wanted to kiss the bittersweet sadness away. “Sure…” May said quietly. Fiona didn’t forget that her life, both her and Winter’s, was planned from birth. They were suppose to over the family company. But the only thing better looking than money was being a Huntsmen and Huntress.

It took May a few moments to realize the heavy air around them. She sighed, hands scratching the back of her head in frustration. “Well. Um…”

“You really do suck with words,” Fiona said with a small smile.

“Hey, I’m trying to make you feel better,” May grumbled softly. The tiny pout had Fiona giggling again. Then a small smirk tugged at May’s lips, “Without y’know. Shoving my tongue down your throat.”

“I don’t-” Fiona grumbled, ears fluttering around as she looked away. Her only regret about kissing Glade was that everyone teased her about it and no one would admit they wanted to do it too. “Only with the people I like!” She said, h heart was jumping in her chest. That… that sounded a little more like a promise than a joke.

May licked her lips, eyes dipping down from her eyes before flickering up again. “I’d hope so…” She said it so softly, Fiona wasn’t sure if she was suppose to hear it or not. So she fidgeted, aware of her legs pressed to the sides of May’s thighs.

The Marigold cleared her throat, “So… got anything else for us to do? Since we can’t pretend to be ghost? I’d suggest we do something, but you and Winter got us kicked out of a lot of arcades…”

Fiona huffed, looking up with a tiny frown. It wasn’t her fault. “Winter cheated first and that stuffed goat would be great with Spring!”

“I could always just buy you another stuff animal, Fi.”

"It’s not the same as earning it!" Fiona argued. May frowned, leveling her with that accusing look again. Fiona grumbled, tensing a little to try and make her playful glare a little more intimidating, she accidentally squeezed her thighs around May’s hips. It threw her elite off balance so Fiona pressed on, “I still can’t believe you never stole anything. You can turn invisible!” May was groaning and rolling her eyes before Fiona even finished. The little lamb huffed, ears wiggling in frustration, “Every kid stole something! It’s almost a right of passage.”

“Me and Winter got everything we wanted as long as we won our tournaments. And besides, rich people are the biggest thieves, Fi.”

“Correction, stealing is a rite of passage in Mantle,” Fiona said with a grin. “And your definitely not an Atlas girl.” She finished confidently but she still held her breath, hoping it wasn’t an insult or it wouldn’t kill the mood. The little lamb relaxed, grinning as May hummed and looked up at the floating city. There was no longing, only a deep seeded frustration.

“I suppose your right. I never fit in anyway.” May said.

Fiona grinned, locking her hands together behind May’s neck, “Then let’s steal some Dust from the SDC!” Fiona said, her ears wiggling excitedly. Before May could protest or talk Fiona out of it, the little lamb slid off the rails and grabbed her hand. May was startled enough to drop her semblance, scaring a few by standards.

It was easy to find a SDC store. There was three on every block along with badly sold coffee. But finding one without a thousand cameras watching it was different. This might have been Fiona’s idea but it was May that kept spotting those dim recording lights. Her yellow eyes naturally peeked at the corners. It seemed like Robyn and May had a similar sixth sense for discovering little treasures, probably because their semblance dealt with secrets.

So when May’s eyes shifted to the cellar, Fiona almost ran to it. May grabbed her hand, linked arm sliding down and pulling her away lightly. Fiona tried not to sigh, tried to look natural for the cameras hidden around. When it was safe to disappear, May had to lift Fiona up and carry the excited huntresses so why wouldn’t run out of the Field.

Fiona’s hands traced the smooth Atlas metal, calloused hands enjoying the polished surface for a bit. She hadn’t even realized her short talk with May calmed her semblance down. It was still irritated that she hadn’t absorbed anything and that it was empty. She barely felt the invisible seems and her eyes traced the edges.

“Please don’t eat the entire door,” May whispered, “That has to set off an alarm of some kind.”

“Well…” Fiona gave her a bright smile. What good is an alarm if people can’t see you? “They can’t charge us with anything if it’s not on the cameras, right?”

That day was the best they had after Atlas kidnapped Winter and Glade. It got easier, learning the little things Winter did. Fiona made sure to get May’s hair in the morning, waking her up with kisses to her pinched brow and nose. May still slept in the living room, with Glade’s blanket and Winter’s pillow but it helped that Fiona cuddled her to sleep. It… it wasn’t purely platonic, but Robyn and Joanna weren’t upset by it. And the way May’s eyes lingered on her lips… Fiona was worried she’d wake up from a dream and still find herself kissing May. Sometimes Fiona would try to go back to sleep.

Robyn messed up the laundry once or twice, feeling guilty for ruining May’s expensive clothing but the rich girl only shrugged it off. “More money to give to Mantle,” She’d say. Robyn made the same face Fiona does, understanding the reasoning but couldn’t quiet shake the Mantle Rat habit of pinching every penny.

She knew adjusting and healing would be slow. Things was getting better. It still hurt, still felt off. Sometimes no matter what Fiona did, her hands still felt too cold. On good days, Fiona was the little spoon. On bad days, she was the big spoon so May could curl around her and bury her face in her chest. And when she finally did cry, Fiona immediately called Winter until she picked up.

Or until Glade picked up on the third call.

May was so shocked she stopped crying for a moment rubbing the tears out of her eyes just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Even Fiona had to blink a few times. Glade looked so much healthier. Cheeks fuller, shoulders broader, but there were bags under her eyes. Their hair was starting to grow back a few inches of curls a top their head while the sides were nicely cut and faded. It showed off their ears and when they twitched low with soft complaining noises it pulled at Fiona’s heart a little.

“Aw kid… did we wake you up?” Fiona asked softly. There was more complaining noises, the adorable goat frowning and yawning. Then there was a hiss of the door and Winter’s voice.

“Glade,” Winter sighed. Fiona’s ears fluttered at the sound and May instantly perked up at her voice. Gentle and patient, the soft side only children and a selected few saw. “Stop working for an hour and get some rest.” Glade stuck out their pierced tongue and turned the Scroll towards Winter. Fresh from the shower, and bathrobe barely closed… barely closed. Fiona missed those abs. She swallowed, trying to keep her eyes on Winter’s face.

The Specialist blinked in surprised, quickly striding forward with a small and tired smile, “… Hey.”

“Hey, Win,” May murmured, breath soft against Fiona’s skin. Fiona barely suppressed a shiver from the sudden heat under her skin. She took a deep breath, calming her self down. Winter went out of frame for a moment as she adjusted and moved around. Then Fiona’s Scroll showed Glade’s head on Winter’s lap and the women seated on her bed. They looked good together, very regal even casually. “You look better out of uniform, babe.”

“I’ll forward your request to the General,” Winter said, that signature flat voice making Fiona and May smile.

“Tell him we want mini skirts too,” Fiona chipped in. That finally broke the deadpan look, Winter rolling her eyes with a smile. “What? Your ass would look good in a mini-skirt.” At that Winter seemed to paused. Everyone’s tired brain took a moment to register what Fi just said. She did best to hold her ground and make it seem like a casual compliment like before.

But after double teaming Robyn and their not-date group date at the carnival, it was way too obvious. Still Winter only blinked slowly, that small tired smile growing a little more in a way that made Fiona’s heart beat a little faster. She could definitely feel May’s heart beat.

“As long as I keep my thigh high boots, maybe I’ll let you to dress me up more femininely,” Winter mused. There was a loud grumble from Glade. They even turned around, hiding from the light of the Scroll and burying their face into Winter’s stomach.

It gave them a good view of the monstrosity attacked to their head. Possibly in their brain. Winter gently ran her fingers over it, massaging the sensitive skin there. It calmed Glade down, body relaxing and a breathy sigh making Fiona’s ears twitch.

“Do you need ice?” Winter asked. Fiona and May tried to giggle at another tired grumble. It was a little forced, still unaccustomed to… to what Atlas has done. Glade shook their head no and Winter hummed a soft tune until they stopped fussing around.

Fiona recognized the melody. Winter hummed it during their first mission together before she got familiar with their scents. It almost put her to sleep as well but May’s soft voice kept her up.

“How are they? Both Glade and Silvio?”

“Glade… Hasn’t said a word in a few days,” Winter said softly. Fiona’s snapped open, chest tightening. “It’s not from the procedure, just stress and…”

“Trauma. Call it for what it is, Win.” May said voice firm. Then she relaxed and glanced and shifted shyly in Fiona’s arms. “Since… Since Glade is sleeping with you, can I, um… Can I sleep with Fiona and the others?”

Winter forced herself to look calm, tensely raising an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t… you be asking them? You already know I’m alright with it-”

"I- I meant… Not like that!" May hissed, going tense in Fiona’s arms- Fiona drew in a long gasp. Realization made her heart pound, body going to ridged her ears straighten out. It… it made sense! Why May never scolded her for all those little kisses and why she always stopped herself from kissing. May squirmed in her arms, trying to escape but Fiona only pressed her back to the couch and straddled her hips.

She’s been wanting to kiss her since their first year. Since May first beat up that asshole and all the others that tried to haze her. Fiona barely stopped herself, their noses touching and May’s soft breaths mixing in with Fiona’s heavy pants. Fi growled at herself, clawing lightly at May’s shirt.

Kissing Glade was just that, a kiss because she was riled up and she needed an outlet. Maybe after they get Glade away from Ironwood and they’ve recovered it’d be different… but kissing May wasn’t just a kiss.

May and Winter were the first ones that protected her. First ones that sacrificed for her. Three years of being held in their arms when the stress finally got to her, watching their backs on the field, slaying Grimm and the little moments and memories like how May hates horror movies and Winter secretly loved drama.

Robyn was scared of losing her because of those three years.

Fiona huffed and pushed herself back so she could yell into the apartment, “Robyn, Joanna! Can I kiss May!”

“Sure-”

“Wait, what?!” Robyn interrupted her partner. Her leader practically sprinted into the living room. She blinked, swallowing hard with a soft blush. Fiona was getting frustrated. Semblance crawling restlessly under her skin. The need to touch, to feel May’s soft lips presses anywhere against her was making her tense. Fiona couldn’t tell if Robyn was turned on, embarrassed or scared. Probably all three since she stuttered, “S-sure…”

Fiona pulled May up into a kiss only to sink her back into the couch again. For a moment she regret it, being so aggressive and quick because May was still for a few seconds. Sure May have wanted it but was she ready-

The doubt immediately vanished, lightning and fire shooting through her spine as May kissed back. It was soft at first, unsure and timid but May was making these little needy noises. It had Fiona’s ears dancing, trying to focus. But it was so brief so Fiona tried for more. She got little sighs and mews, a hand clutching at her chest.

Then a whimper when Winter’s voice came from the Scroll, dangled nearly forgotten in May’s other hand, “Robyn, I want to see.”

Fiona broke the kiss, instantly missing the rush in her blood. Both of them watching Robyn aim the Scroll at their softly blushing and panting faces. During the kiss Joanna walked out to watch, standing besides an embarrassed Robyn with an irritatingly smug I-called-it grin.

“What? Has our little lamb finally got cold feet?” Winter taunted. “You chased us so hard during our first date on the carnival too.”

“Shut up, I’ll deal with you later,” Fiona mumbled, frustration boiling under her skin. Her semblance needed to touch something now. And knowing three people were watching… Energy coiling hot under her skin making her more than restless. So Fiona pressed her lips back onto May’s, teeth sinking slowly into her bottom lip.

May shivered and moan, mouth opening and welcoming Fiona. She only groaned at how easy it was. May let her move her around, arching as Fiona slipped from on her hips to between her legs, shivering as one hand clawed into her blue hair, angling her head for a deeper kiss. When Fiona’s hand slipped under May’s shirt, the lion forcefully broke the kiss.

“Nothing… nothing more than kissing until Winter is here,” May said between pants. She blushed hard, looking away. “At least for the first time…”

“I’m not arguing against that,” Winter said. She sounded a little out of breath and flustered herself. “My orientation finishes in two days.”

Fiona gasped, ripping her hands out of May’s shirt as her ears fluttered happily, “So we get to see you soon?” She asked. Winter nodded.

“… Sweet,” May mumbled, trying hard to hide her happy smile.

“Come on, ladies. Let Winter rest,” Joanna said picking the pair up from the couch. May tensed for a moment, not familiar with Joanna’s strength while Fiona only giggled and kissed Joanna’s lips.

“Can we… leave the Scrolls on. Glade wakes up randomly at night and seeing you might help them.”

“Long distance relationship when your barely half an hour away,” Robyn grumbled under her breath. She sighed and gave Winter a gentle smile, lavender eyes on Glade. “Don’t let Atlas break you too.” Winter scoffed at the idea.

Fiona was surprised at how easy it was to find a comfortable position for all four of them. She was a little sad when May took her favorite spot onto of Joanna but Robyn spooning her around Joanna’s side and May’s hand softly massaging her ears was worth it.

They heard a soft huff from the Scroll propped up on the night stand. As soon as Winter got dressed, which actually included a shirt since she was sleeping with a guest, and laid back in bed, Glade nuzzled up to her. Head tucked under her chin and strong arms squeezed her hard. Fiona barely heard the soft Faunus whimpers.

“You’re okay…” Winter said softly petting their back. It took a bit of work to get them to let go so she could at least throw the lab coat off camera somewhere.

Fiona fell asleep with her forehead pressed to May’s, Robyn’s soft breathing against her hair and Joanna’s slow and powerful heart beat. But her hands felt empty, a little too warm without Winter’s holding her, so she wrapped it in May’s braid and slowly drifted off. The smell of the forest, and flowers and spring, almost perfect.

The two days till Winter’s day off was was a bit… chaotic. They decided to have a small dinner date at home so Winter could relax. Though Joanna and Robyn ended up being a nervous wreck.

“You only have one chance to make a good impression on the youngest Specialist in Atlas history and I blew it!” Robyn said. “And the first thing I did was hit on both of her crush!”

That made the two pause. Fiona stopped trying to distract May from her mobile game by peppering her blushing neck with kisses and May finally stopped pretending to play her game and set down her Scroll down. “Huh… yeah you did.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe that stupid lambchop line ended up working,” Fiona sighed, half disappointed in herself. Then she heard May’s laugh and remembered she could kiss her to shut up so Fiona did just that. Still the rich girl sneered into the kiss.

“Stop making out for a few minutes and help me decide on what to wear!” Robyn huffed at the two, throwing a jacket at their heads.

May grumbled and rolled her eyes, “The point to staying home is to keep it casual, Hill. Fuck, Winter would probably like it if you wore your sleep wear.”

“So… no pants, no bra, just panties and a shirt?”

“Sounds like a good time,” Fiona said with a laugh. She snuggled up to May, pressing her back to her front while Robyn disappeared back into her closet to find something she thought would be good. “Do you have a dress?”

“Not happening, Thyme!” Robyn yelled, blindly throwing another piece of clothes at the laughing duo.

Joanna took it upon herself to cook. She dragged them to the store and was a little surprised when May’s hand naturally ended up in hers. Fiona blinked at it for a second, then grinned up at her, making the cute little lion blush and huff. Joanna kissed them both on their foreheads to get their attention.

“I noticed Winter likes Mistral foods, very earthy and herbs. You think she’ll like some oxtail or dim sum?” May tried not to make a face at the first thing. Joanna’s brows pinched a little in panic, “It’s very good and tender-”

Fiona pulled her shirt down so she could kiss her check because she couldn’t quite reach even if she was on her toes. “Your cooking is great. Win will eat anything you put on the table.”

“Desert though,” May said. “Winter secretly has a sweet tooth, Klein bribed us all the time with candy.”

“Oh! I know a good chocolate mousse recipe!” Joanna said gave May a quick peek on the lips before pushing the mountain of food to the baking section. It was quick and casual, Fiona wouldn’t count it as a first kiss but it still had May stunned.

Fiona laughed softly as May stood still and stiff, blushing hard with her eyes glancing between the ground and Joanna’s wide back. Fiona could feel May’s heartbeat speed up in their linked hands.

"By the Brothers, Win was right. You are such a bottom."

“… Shut up, Fi.” May grumbled. Fiona only giggled, rolling onto her toes to kiss her.

On the day of the date Fiona woke up to the smell of coffee and pancakes. But Joanna’s steady heartbeat and two soft snores told her she was the first one to wake up. The charging Scroll showed that the night long video call ended almost an hour ago. That… that meant-

Fiona carefully slid herself out of Robyn and May’s hold. The three stayed up late last night, a little to anxious and excited to see Winter again. She wanted to run, to tackle the women to the ground but the first few steps were wobbly and legs were heavy with sleep. So instead she creped forward, quietly closing the bedroom door and adjusting to the dim kitchen lights.

As expected, Winter was in the kitchen. That stupid Atlas uniform was a weird contrast to Joanna’s cute ‘Ask the Chief’ apron. The orientation and training must have sharpen her Aura detection skills because the moment Fiona was in the room, blue eyes were on her.

Winter blinked a little surprised and embarrassed. The feint blush got deeper with every step Fiona took and spread to her neck and ears when Fiona was finally pressed, front to front with her former leader.

“… Hey,” Winter said softly. Her hands hesitated for a moment before setting the spatula down.

“Hey yourself,” Fiona kept walking forward till Winter’s back was against the counter. She could feel the large smile on her face, felt her hair tickling her wiggling ears.

Winter was slow to relax after all those days in Atlas but when she did, she easily lifted Fiona up onto the counter. Fiona yelped a little surprise, hands immediately on her shoulders and feeling the flex of hard muscles. She was quickly catching up to Joanna.

“I see your as spoiled as every, Ms. Thyme,” Winter purred against her lips. Fiona shivered. She forgot how cool and calm Win’s voice was. Almost condescending but the light in her blue eyes were far too playful.

Then the words registered and Fiona pouted, “I’ve waited three years for this.” She confessed, slowly wrapping her arms around Winter’s neck.

The women blinked in surprise, blush deepening for a moment. Fiona grinned, “And besides you always you like needy.” Before Winter respond Fiona finally stole a deep kiss from the Specialist.

Winter wasn’t May. Wasn’t Robyn or Joanna, they all kissed differently and Winter’s was the most demanding one yet. She used full advantage of her height, angling her heard in a way that forced Fiona to submit, swallowing soft moans and cool hands balm-ed Fiona’s suddenly warm body, pressing at her bare back.

Fiona was a brat, usually biting and deepening the kiss first. So when she suddenly felt Winter’s tongue, sliding against hers Fiona shivered and moaned softly in surprise. All too soon, the little lamb pulled away, gasping for breath while Winter was only blushing softly. She looked better happy, with a soft smile and completely relaxed, even in that stupid uniform. She reached up, pressing their foreheads and nose together. Taking in Winter’s soft smell, and the lingering scents of everyone else. “Welcome home, Win.”

Winter gave a broken and side smile for a moment. She tried to hide it, burying her face into Fiona’s neck and hugging her tight, “I missed you idiots.”

“I’d hope so,” Fiona said with a light laugh. This… this was going to be a rare thing. So Fiona let the women bury her fears for now.

“I’m glad you woke up first, there was something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.”

“This isn’t a peace treaty, Win,” Fiona scoffed. She tried to keep the smile on and not make a face at that formal tone.

But Winter only shifted a little too embarrassed. She quickly returned the forgotten pancake and flipped it before it burned. “It’s… about May.” Fiona raised a brow and hummed. Her hands wove through Winter’s hair messing up the tight bun a little each time. Winter gave her a playfully annoyed look but continued. “She um- wants to be pegged.”

Fiona nearly pulled out Winter’s hair, jerking in surprise. The two definitely fucked, Fiona vividly remembers how riled up Robyn and Joanna was when the three came home to May screaming Winter’s name and begging on their first date. Fiona even shivered lightly, the feeling of Joanna holding her down and Robyn’s hands clawing her back as she ate her out a little too real.

Fi shook her head out of her daydream, “You haven’t- she’s such a bottom! How haven’t you fucked her already?”

“Since I took her virginity, May wants to give you her other one,” Winter confessed with a small blush. “And I never pegged a virgin before so-”

“So you two have done nothing with her ass?”

“Don’t be so crass, Thyme.”

“Really?” Fiona asked with a wicked grin. “Not even a rimjob?”

“Fi!” Winter blushed hard, trying to escape but Fiona grinned and locked her ankles around Winter’s back.

“What?” Fiona asked in an a faux innocent tone, “I’m only getting to know my girlfriends better.” Winter glared lightly at her. “Seriously… not even-”

“Yes! I’ve licked her ass!”

Fiona snorted, head dropping to Winter shoulder with a hand over her mouth trying to smother a laugh. She always loved how Winter played her image just to break it in unexacting ways. Winter grumbled and huffed, shutting her up with a kiss-

“Ahem.”

Fiona nearly screamed, grabbing tight onto Winter. The other three stood at the hallway, sneering or chuckling. Or in May’s case, lovestruck and embarrassed. Winter huffed, picking Fiona up by her thighs and returning her to Robyn before pulling May into a kiss.

A really deep one, that ended when May was pushed against the wall and the back of her neck cradled and angled. Robyn and Joanna playfully cheered, making their elites break apart with a blush. Only for a second before Winter kissed May again, just as deep but a little more heated. Fiona saw a flash of teeth and May moaned. “Oh…” Fi was still in Robyn’s arms and her own legs went weak. The playful cheers died down to soft and deep pants.

Winter smiled stepping back with a pleased hum and eyes cutting to Robyn, “Finally lost that silver tongue of yours, Ms. Hill?”

Robyn huffed, brows knitted and smirking at the challenge, “You know how I deal with authority, Specialist Schnee.”

“Oh my gods, please don’t pull rank before breakfast.” Fiona said quickly fidgeting in Robyn’s arms. Fiona’s semblance was too hot under her skin, hands becoming a little to restless as she played with Robyn’s hair and massaged her neck and shoulders.

She was suddenly grateful everyone liked to sleep near naked as possible and hated it at the same time. Fiona took a deep breath, trying to stop thinking about how she’d get Winter out of that stupid uniform. Winter laughed pulling May from the wall only to have her trapped besides Fiona, between their taller two girlfriends.

“I think a little demonstration-”

“Okay seriously,” Joanna interrupted, voice a little high and adorably panicked. She swallowed hard, trying to look innocent by looking away but Fiona new better. She was the biggest enabler, “If we fuck before our first real date I’m getting you all chastity belts!”

Winter only laughed shaking her head and finally backing away. May took a deep nervous breath, quickly stepping behind Joanna to hide her blush and… Fiona brought her eyes up. She squirmed in Robyn’s arms feeling too hot. Her leader only tighten her grip and gave a light warning glance.

“I- I can behave!” Fiona murmured, trying to get on her feet. She didn’t escape fast enough and was pinned down by all four of her girlfriends disbelieving stare.

“That one store would disagree.”

“It was May’s fault!” Fiona blurted out in panic, repeating Robyn’s words.

“Why are you still trying to blame it on me?!”

“Because Winter only riled me up to rile you up!”

“Then it’s Winter’s fault!”

“I’m going back to cooking,” WInter said with a grin, slowly stepping back only to be grabbed by Joanna. Winter did yelp when she was suddenly thrown across the living room and onto the couch.

“You woke up before dawn, flew down here, cooked breakfast and made coffee,” Joanna listed with a small smirk, “Go enjoy your damn break, you work workaholic.”

Winter huffed, meeting Joanna’s eyes calmly, "Yes ma’am," She said. Then Joanna was the one blushing again, shifting and grumbling and hiding her head in the fridge, looking for more things to cook.

Before Winter could get up her three other girlfriends boxed her in. Robyn dropped Fiona onto Winter’s lap then pressed into one side while May pressed against the other.

“So we get to keep you all day?” Fiona asked, finding her hands cupping Winter’s face. This rich girl was a little better at hiding her nervousness than May. But she was still unfamiliar with so much physical affection. Robyn played along, an arm slung over her shoulder and half nuzzling into Winter’s neck. May was content to hug and cuddle her missing girlfriend, pressing as much as her body to Win as she could.

“Yes,” Winter answered softly in a nervous whisper. She couldn’t escape and Fiona loved feeling her skin warm up before seeing the blush. Those blue eyes flickered to Fiona’s to hear dancing ears then got stuck on her lips.

“Good,” Fiona breathed slowly onto her lips. This was the women that saved her countless times from her own shitty teammate, that got him expelled. Her late night study buddy so she could keep hall her scholarships and unofficial sponsor when even that wasn’t enough.

No amount of kisses would show Win how grateful she was, but Fiona could still try.

#Robyn Hill #Winter Schnee #springthyme #rwby #rwby7 #May Marigold #Fiona Thyme #Joanna Greenleaf #Show Your Teeth #wlw #hellbore #schneewood forest #sassagrass #gold leaf #fic

27 notes · View notes

kvhottie · 7 years

Photo

<=Prev | Part 2 | Next =>

Spring. Taisho Era Japan, 1920. There is a small percentage of the population that is born with mysterious, magical tattoos. When these people find each other, an inexplicable feeling runs down their spine and they somehow know the other person is just like them—especially if the tattoos have a pre-determined affinity to each other.

That is exactly how Kageyama, the young noble, and Hinata, the blacksmith’s son, met.

Rating: Mature |Pairing: KageHina |Tags: 1920′s, Magical Tattoos, Soulmates

[Read the full fic on Ao3]

Together: pages flipping, sporadic comments, and bodies next to each other despite the size of the bed—this is how they spent the majority of the next few weeks.

At first it was just shoulders touching. When they lay on their stomachs to read, Hinata would lean in just a tinge, and Kageyama would grumble, shoving him back with his shoulder in a playful manner. But Hinata never relented, each time flashing one of those shameless smiles as if that alone would let him get away with anything. And he was right, it did. With just that smile Kageyama carefully, with bated breath, leaned on Hinata as well and bashfully buried his face deeper into his book. Hinata was always so warm, and just from their shoulders touching Kageyama could feel that warmth enshroud him. He liked it.

Then, it was arms flush against each other. Each kept one by their side and the other holding the book up when they lay flat on their back. And even when the working arm tired, the next move logically being to switch to the other arm, neither of them budged from fear of being the first one to break the contact. But one of them had to give in, and when he did, breaking the contact to hold the book up, the other would turn to lie on his stomach and prop himself up on his elbows. They'd then touch arms this way, forearm to upper arm, again and again, cycling through the different positions until Hinata had to go home.

They never acknowledged this behavior. There wasn't a need to.

With them, everything flowed with such ease. From the beginning there was never a question or doubt—they were meant to be like this, it was natural, as if it couldn't be helped. Yes, this magnetism couldn't be helped.

It seemed to progress in increments. Like the lightness in Hinata's singsong laughter when they'd fight over a book, or the fluffy hair that brushed against Kageyama's cheek when either would lean closer to show the other a a passage. Gentle, like those rare moments when Hinata spoke quietly into Kageyama's ear, confused, asking Kageyama to explain the line that his nimble fingers were pointing to. Those very fingers that loved to trace the edges of Kageyama's tattoo at even the slightest taste of boredom—leisurely, lovingly.

Next was a timbre that was reserved for the other. Kageyama's steady, calm voice when reading aloud to a Hinata that was feeling particularly lazy on that day, and how it undulated from slight irritation when he assumed Hinata was sleeping, to tenderness when the smaller boy assured him, golden eyes wide and attentive. And Hinata's playful and mischievous ramblings, which turned to comforting whispers at the sight of a weary Kageyama.

It was so different from their voices outside of that room.

With others, Kageyama's tone was cold and harsh—but Hinata had never heard him be as frigid as when his parents attempted to kick Hinata out one unlucky afternoon. All Hinata could do was burn holes into the floor as his parents went on and on about the difference in their social class, and how Hinata just wanted to use their precious son, and that Kageyama had nothing to benefit from the relationship. Kageyama simply pulled Hinata behind him, as if guarding him from his parent's insults, and turned his eyes into daggers. With his chin held high and a voice so purposefully acidic that Hinata's hair stood on end he said that they 'made a deal' and as long as Kageyama eventually worked in the government, they had no say in his life. And that was that. Kageyama intertwined his fingers in Hinata's, gave his hand a good squeeze, and dragged him up to the safe heaven of his room. Never again did his parents revisit the issue; they merely treated Hinata like he was air. Sure, that also didn't make Hinata feel bright and peachy, but it was much better than outright disrespect.

And, well…by the end of the month, the slightest distance felt unnatural. Kageyama's lap became Hinata's favorite place to rest his head, and even though the backing of the bed wasn't the least bit comfortable, Kageyama would sit up and lean against it just to spoil him. It wasn't too bad though, after all, Kageyama would then absentmindedly run his hand through Hinata's hair as he read to him aloud. There were a few times where Hinata would fall asleep, his light snore an obvious signal, but more often Kageyama would peek out of his book to find gold watching him through wispy eyelashes, and a blissful smile gracing Hinata's face. He never quite understood what Hinata enjoyed about hearing him drone through textbooks of zumi history and tattoo cases.

Hinata had once tried to explain that he simply liked Kageyama's reading voice—the steady tone felt reassuring, and much like how his mood circle tattoo would be overcome with a pale blue, he would feel a calm take over him. It was drastically different from the yellow and red splashes he felt when they were bickering, or the icy gray color that tainted his tattoo when he heard Kageyama speak to his parents.

"To me," Hinata pointed at his mood tattoo one day, "this blue, Kageyama's pale blue, is the prettiest color I've ever seen."

Honest. And crystal clear, like always. It never failed to impress Kageyama how easily Hinata expressed his feelings.

Kageyama, on the other hand, had a harder time. Though his flushed cheeks and averted eyes were a big enough sign of those words' impact on him, Hinata mercilessly pushed him for more. He teased Kageyama, trying to get in a good poke of his reddened cheeks while asking why he was so embarrassed, but Kageyama just slapped his hands away, face growing hotter each second.

Heat—the effect of Hinata's touch bubbled like boiling water: warm, then hot, and now searing. And it lingered, clinging to his skin and mind for hours after Hinata had already gone home. It even stuck to his sheet, along with that sweet vanilla scent of Hinata's. Just like his breathing when asleep, that joyful laughter, and every little detail of Hinata's he had engrained in his mind, that scent seemed to follow him around, only stoking more fire underneath his skin.

He couldn't shake it off.

There was a fever and ache inside him.

Hinata was having difficulty sitting still. He kept shifting around in the plush black seat of the Kageyama's deep red Mitsubishi Model A. The four-door sedan was a rarity not only because it was Japanese-made, but also because it was reserved for high-ranking government officials to travel in luxury. Hinata almost felt ashamed that his butt was touching this moving treasure.

"You're going to give yourself seat burn," Kageyama cautioned, his slight amusement at Hinata's reactions to high-class items an undertone in his voice.

Hinata slid closer to the window, "But it's so freaking polished. And look how high up we are." He ran his index finger along the golden piping of the windowsill. "Where are we going?"

"On a date to Ginza," Kageyama quickly muttered, all of a sudden fascinated with his cuticles.

Fuck. His mind was just a chorus of 'fuck' right now.

"Ginza?!" Hinata gasped, whipping his head away from the car window and redirecting his wide-eyed excitement to Kageyama. "I've never been to Ginza! Oh—wait, a date?"

"Huh? The date?" Kageyama averted his eyes and turned his head towards his window. "Today's May 1st."

"No, not that. You said—"

"Why are you asking for the date? Did you have other plans today?"

"Oh, no. I didn't. " Hinata slouched back on the seat with a dry chuckle, looking down at his thumbs as they spun around each other. "Yeah…sorry, I thought you said something else. Thanks for reminding me."

"You should at least know the date, idiot," Kageyama grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah. Jerk."

That was the last thing Hinata said the whole ride, and Kageyama knew it was completely his fault.

He was the worst. He was the fucking worst. This was supposed to be a nice, relaxing, romantic (but subtly romantic) break from all the research they had been doing. And he was already messing up.

"We're here," announced the chauffeur, who then got out of the car and walked around to open the door for Kageyama. "Where would you like me to wait for you?"

Kageyama hopped out and waved his hand dismissively, "You don't need to wait for me. Just return to this spot at 11pm tonight and in order to take me home."

"Yes, sir, " the chauffeur replied with a nod. He closed the door after Hinata, got in the car again, and quickly drove off.

Hinata stretched his arms over his head, a small yawn slipping from his lips. "So, what's your plan?"

"First, I wanted to try this place here." Kageyama pointed to the iridescent white, two-story European-style café right behind Hinata. "I hear it's really popular right now. It's got drinks and desserts.."

Hinata smirked, "Looks nice. What, are you trying to be a 'mobo' now?"

"A mobo?"

"Modern boy, Kageyama." Hinata explained with a face-up flat hand pointed at the café as if to display it, "You know, the counterpart to 'moga', or modern girl?"

Kageyama furrowed his eyebrows, "I have no idea what you are talking about. Why are you using English phrases?"

"It's what's hip now." Hinata walked towards an available round table in the front porch of the café. " I have no idea how you live with parents that are obsessed with western culture yet aren't aware of any of this."

Kageyama pulled out the pale green, metal garden chair and sat down. "I'm sure you can tell by now that we don't get along too well. I try not to involve myself in their hobbies."

"True…" Hinata sat down across from Kageyama and leaned on the table with his elbows, and brought the long white menu to his face. "Damn, everything is so expensive."

Kageyama read through the menu as well, trying to decide whether he wanted a cappuccino or a plain black coffee. "Obviously I'm going to pay, dumbass," he muttered indifferently.

Hinata put down his menu with a scrunched nose and pout. "But then it's like I'm taking advantage of you. Your parents would flip and say 'I told you so'."

"No, you aren't." Kageyama sighed, glancing up to meet Hinata's eyes, "I know you aren't like that. Anyhow, I'm using my own money, so who cares what they think. Just…" Kageyama looked down at his menu, his index finger playing with the creased corners, "Just let me treat you. I want to."

"Okay," Hinata relented with a grin. "But only because I'm super broke."

The waitress approached their table and pulled out her notepad. "Hello, sirs. Do you know what you want to order?"

"Can I get a large cappuccino and an almond biscotti?"

She turned to Hinata. "And you, sir?"

"Hmm…I want a fruit tart and a lemonade."

"Okay, your orders will be right up." She took their menus and left.

Kageyama leaned back on his chair, "You don't drink coffee?"

"No." Hinata scratched the back of his neck, "So, there was this one time my mom gave me some and I was literally bouncing off the walls. It doesn't really work with my system."

"That's true." Kageyama grinned. "You are incredibly hyperactive already."

Hinata kicked his shin under the table, "Oh, shut up."

"Ow. I'd punch you if we weren't in public. " Kageyama bent down to rub the spot. "You should have told me you don't drink coffee. I would have taken you somewhere else."

"I don't mind. There are other drinks on the menu." Hinata crossed his arms and gave Kageyama a curious look. "What's all this for, anyway? Are you just taking me along to places you've been wanting to go to but were too scared to go by yourself?"

"If that's all this was, I could just make Fumiko-obasan or my chauffeur accompany me." Kageyama tapped his finger on the table. "I just wanted us to take a break from all the research. I feel both of us were getting quite frustrated with the little we found."

"Your orders," the waitress interrupted, placing each of their items in front of them. "Enjoy."

Kageyama nodded as she turned to leave and took a spoonful of sugar from the ceramic jar in the center of the table, slowly mixing it into his cappuccino. He took a quick sip, his face overcast with strong displeasure, and then continued to add more sugar. Once he was satisfied with the unreasonable number of spoonfuls he had lumped into his coffee, he tasted it again and declared, "That's better."

"You are basically drinking pure sugar," mocked Hinata while sipping on his lemonade. "What's the point of drinking coffee if you don't like the taste?"

"I like the taste…" muttered Kageyama. "I just don't like how bitter it is."

Hinata chuckled. "Okay, sure." He plunged his fork into the fruit tart, cut off a big chunk, and joyfully munched on it. The kid always made everything he ate look particularly appetizing. And Kageyama couldn't deny the shiver that ran down his back with the way Hinata licked his spoon. "So, all that reading and we barely learned anything new."

Kageyama dipped his almond biscotti into his cappuccino, "Yeah, as I thought, there aren't any available records of cases similar to yours. But I've been reading the books the central library sent me on this ward and many of the neighboring wards' history around 1910, the year you were presumably separated from your family." He bit off the dipped piece of the biscotti and quickly chewed on it. "It was quite a messy year…"

"Really? How?"

"Well a few years before 1910 there was the war we won against Russia, and afterwards there were all those riots and that unsteady political climate. And 1910 was the start of us annexing Korea…"

Hinata chewed on his fork, "So you're saying either the war or some riot left me an orphan?"

"Maybe. Or—and look this is a stretch but it gives us more to work with—but maybe you were the child of the staff of some prestigious family?"

"And where the hell did you get this theory from?"

Kageyama paused to dip the remainder of his biscotti and inhaled it. "Well…" He took a sip of his cappuccino. "There was this really tragic event in 1910 in the Shinkawa ward were they murdered and set on fire the Akiyama household. The records said none of the noble family members survived."

"That's so sad." Hinata swallowed the last bite of his tart. "Did it say who killed them?"

"It didn't go into much detail, but supposedly it was some radical nationalist group. They all got caught and sentenced to death."

"And...you think I was the kid of a family that helped the Akiyama family?"

Kageyama nodded. "Fumiko-obasan's family has served my family for many years. I thought maybe you belonged to the family that served the Akiyamas. The records say nothing about what happened to the rest of the household. I'm sure some of them were also killed, but there had to be some servants who made it out alive."

"Still, I could be anyone. Why this family?"

Kageyama considered his coffee. "Well, they lived across the Sumida River."

"And?" Hinata asked. Of course he could sense Kageyama knew more.

"And because my tattoo morphed into the character for 'aki' when I was reading the records on the Akiyama family murder."

"What?!" Hinata coughed and grabbed at his lemonade, sipping the last bit before croaking out, "For real?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure this is more than just a hunch. If you were a servant child of the Akiyama family, it would explain why they found you by the river, and why you were injured."

"I'm sold." Hinata fiddled with his straw. "So what do we do now?"

"I need to talk to my parents. The head of the Akiyama household—Akiyama Haruto—was a viscount and also in the house of peers. And that means my father knew him."

"Whoa, that's crazy."

"Yeah, it is." Kageyama waved at the waitress for the bill. "I also have the town hall meeting tomorrow. I'll come by in the evening so we can talk about all this."

"Okay." Hinata beamed, then glanced down at his watch. "It's only four. What are we doing next?"

The waitress gave them their check and Kageyama stood up, leaving the bills on the table. "Next we're going to a tailor shop. My mom wants me to pick up a suit."

Hinata stood up and walked beside Kageyama. "You see, you are taking me out on errands."

"No I'm not," Kageyama huffed. "When's your birthday again?"

Hinata frowned. "What's that have to do with any of this?"

"Just answer, you idiot."

Hinata pulled at his suspenders. "June."

"Perfect." Kageyama grabbed Hinata's hand and quickened his pace. "The shop is two blocks from here."

"What do you mean, perfect?"

Kageyama just kept impatiently pulling Hinata towards the shop while racking his brains for a fairly smooth way to get him to try on new clothes. It was hard to concentrate, though. With every second that passed, Hinata's hand warmed up in his, and his own heart beat got just a little bit faster. And with his thoughts distracted, he wondered if his palms were sweaty, or if Hinata could feel his rapid heartbeat through their linked hands? Soon enough, they arrived at the door of the shop and Kageyama reluctantly dropped his hand. The bell overhead chimed their arrival, and they approached a middle-aged man in the corner.

"Hello, Sato-san." Kageyama extended his hand for a handshake.

Sato pushed up his glasses, a warm smile rounding his lips. "It's been a while, Kageyama-kun. Are you here to pick up the suit your mother ordered?"

"Yes. And something else."

"Something else?"

Kageyama pulled Hinata in front of him so Sato could get a good look, "Do you think you can help me pick out a new outfit for this guy from the pre-made pieces you have here?" Kageyama scrutinized Hinata's small frame. "Do you have things in his size?"

"Wait, what!" Hinata exclaimed as he whipped around to face Kageyama.

"Shut up. It's a birthday present."

"But—"

Kageyama covered Hinata's mouth. "Just. Take. It."

"Fine," Hinata mumbled through Kageyama's fingers and tugged his hand down. His cheeks were turning pink. "…Thank you. I'll accept it."

"Oho?" Sato chuckled. "It's rare of you to have a friend."

Hinata placed his hands at his hips. "Yeah, I'm his only one. Unsurprisingly."

Kageyama lightly shoved Hinata towards Sato. "Stop yapping so much and get yourself measured. Sato-san, you'll probably have to use the kid sizes."

Sato laughed. "I might have to. But I also think the styles we have in that section would suit his body a bit better." Sato pulled at the measuring tape that rested over his shoulder and started by measuring Hinata's shoulders. "What kind of clothes do you like …what's your name, boy?"

"It's Hinata Shouyou." He glanced at Kageyama, then around the store, and finally down at his own clothes. "I don't know if this stuff is gonna be my style. But Kageyama always looks really sharp and cool in his clothing…"

Kageyama bit back a small grin, his gaze moving with Sato's hands and taking in every inch. In moments like this he could unabashedly stare at the smaller boy, taking note of Hinata's slender neck, his toned shoulders and biceps, and that thin waist that would easily fit in Kageyama's embrace.

"Okay, all set." Sato patted Hinata's head. "Let's go look at the pieces and decide together. Right this way."

They walked to the back wall of the store, the section a few feet away from the dressing room. Everything was much smaller in size so it was pretty obvious it was for kids. Hinata crossed his arms and pouted, his facial expression an interesting mix of embarrassed and offended.

Sato chuckled with just one look at Hinata face. "Don't be too mad. The good news is that you only fit in the biggest youth sizes. I'm sure you'll outgrow it in no time."

"I hope," Hinata sighed.

"So," Sato clapped, "looking at the selection, what are we feeling?"

"I want to use a suspender…I like the look. Also, black slacks, 'cause I get dirty easily."

"So you are a kid," Kageyama scoffed.

Hinata glared. "Bakageyama."

"Suspenders and black slacks, huh." Sato examined the pants display "How about these?" He picked up black slacks with thin, light grey pinstripes. "They're black, but a little different from what you have already."

Hinata softly passed his hand over the fabric. "Yeah. These are nice."

"Good. And they go well with these black suspenders." Sato handed Hinata black leather suspenders with a silver plate across the front bands. "The leather is durable, and the silver detailing is quite fashionable right now."

"Whoa." Hinata beamed. "This is amazing."

"Hmm, what should we do about the shirt?" Sato glanced over at Kageyama. "Do you have any opinions?"

Kageyama took off his boater hat and scanned the wall, his eyes stopping at a light blue button up. "Is that one short-sleeved?"

Sato pulled out a shirt in Hinata's size. "Yes. And a beautiful color, too."

"Hinata once told me he really liked light blue," Kageyama said with a smirk, eyes locked with Hinata's.

"I do." Hinata's eyes glimmered. "I love it."

They continued staring at each other, a heated tension sparking between their eyes, until Sato stood in front of Hinata to hold the shirt against him. He yet again nodded in approval, "Yes, this is a great pick, Kageyama-kun. Should we get a tie for him?"

Kageyama shook his head. "I think a bowtie that matches his pants would look cute—I mean, good."

"Oh, great idea." Sato flashed a wide grin. "I see all of Fumiko-san's nagging has taught you something."

"Yeah, I've learned a lot."

Sato held up two black pinstripe bowties by Hinata's neck to compare. "That's wonderful. You should let her know that, you know. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear you say it."

"I will."

"Well, I think we're all done here." Sato ushered Hinata to the dressing room. "If you have any trouble, just let me know."

Hinata took the pile of clothing into the dressing room and closed the curtain behind him.

"Oh!" Sato snapped his fingers. "Hinata-kun, what's your shoe size? You can't wear those lace up boots with that outfit."

"I'm 25 centimeters," Hinata shouted between the hushed curses he let out under his breath.

"As expected, his feet are also small…" Sato bent down in front of the shoes display. "Oxfords would be the way to go. But what color?"

Kageyama ambled to him and leaned over. "The dark brown ones look nice. Give him those."

Sato slipped his hand through the curtain to pass Hinata the shoes and Kageyama sauntered over to the plushy seat in front of the dressing room. He plopped down and stuffed his hand in his pockets, twirling a few coins in his pocket to pass the time. It was a little while until Hinata emerged from the dressing room. And when he did, Kageyama felt his heart get just a bit more full. Like his vest was too tight.

The first thing those golden, wavering eyes did once in full view of Kageyama was search for a reaction. Kageyama wasn't sure what Hinata found displayed on his warmed face, whether it was the suffocating desire to hug him, or that inner voice that was screaming you are so fucking cute, but whatever it was, it made Hinata's face burn a deep crimson. And he snapped his head down, looking at the floor to hide his face, but Sato didn't let him off easy.

"Aw, are you feeling embarrassed?" Sato teased as straightened Hinata's bowtie. "You look good. Hold your head high."

Kageyama cleared his throat and stood up, trying to think of ice cream, the Antarctic, ice baths—anything to get the heat to leave his face. He walked over to Hinata and pulled off his newspaper boy hat. "Here. It's better this way."

Hinata combed his fingers through his hat hair and let out a tiny laugh. "My hair probably looks horrible." He quieted down, biting his lip, lowering his gaze, and looking up at Kageyama through those thick eyelashes of his. "Help me fix it?"

Oh my fucking god. This kid was going to be the death of him.

Kageyama simply nodded. For one because his breath was trapped in his throat. And also because he was sure he'd say something extremely stupid the moment he opened his mouth. He gently ran his hands through Hinata's hair, trying to fluff up the top that was flat from the hat, and sweeping the sides away from Hinata's face.

"Do you want some hair grease?" Sato offered, extending a small tin to Kageyama. "His hair seems hard to budge."

"Thanks." Kageyama took some and warmed it up in his palms, repeating the motions he tried before. This time the hair listened. "There. Now you look less dumb."

"Even with the insult, I'm still thankful."

Sato strolled over to the bag on top of the register counter. "By the way, this is the suit your mom ordered. I'm assuming Hinata-kun will be wearing what he has on out of the store?"

Kageyama blushed. "Hinata, bring your stuff from the dressing room and we'll have Sato-san put it in a bag."

Hinata dropped his things into the bag Sato held out for him. "Isn't it a waste for me to keep these clothes on? "

"It's not." Kageyama grabbed the bag from the counter. "Our day's not over quite yet."

Hinata grinned. "Please tell me there is food involved. I'm starving."

"There is." Kageyama turned to Sato. "Please charge all of Hinata's things to my tab, not my parent's. I'll come pay off my tab some time next week." He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure my mom will have ordered something else by then.."

Sato waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry too much about it. It was fun."

Hinata bowed at the entranceway. "Thanks for all your help Sato-san!"

Sato chuckled and patted Hinata's head. "You're adorable. Take care of Kageyama-kun for me, okay?"

Hinata nodded and followed Kageyama, who was already hurrying to their next destination.

<=Prev | Part 2 | Next =>

#kagehina #haikyuu!!#hq fanfic #magical tattoo au #soulmates au #fanfic #part 2 of 4?#fic:BSATG

19 notes · View notes