Slow Burn - Blog Posts

The Lie of Providence - Recom/Na'vi Miles Quaritch x Na'vi Female Reader - Masterlist

Rating: Adult, Explicit (eventually) Relationships: Recom Miles Quaritch x AFAB Na'vi Reader Tags/Warnings: Slow Burn, Romance, Redemption Arc, Angst, Comfort, Family, Sibling Shenanigans, Eventual Smut, Fluff (might add more later), Dreams don't make sense, Ewya is testing you and you have not studied Author's Note: I don't know what I'm doing LMAO! I havn't written fanfic in over a decade?? But I keep reading deliectable Quaritch x Reader fics so I got inspired to try my own! I hope you enjoy :)

Summary: You are the eldest child of Jake & Neytiri. When you were a child, you had strange dreams of a Human man. As you grew older, so did your frequent dream visits. He is cold and mean to you. You don't understand why. Yet despite his disposition, sometimes he does engage with you in conversation. Miles is his name. But one day, the visits suddenly stop. You chalk it up to the imagination of a child. Yes that's what he was; an imaginary friend. Yet when you and your siblings are suddenly in trouble, caught in the clutches of Dreamwalkers, you are unsettled to see a familiar face. Though he doesn't seem to recognize you at all.

Chapter Index:

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 (coming soon)

Hawk X Reader SMUT

Warnings: Smut, just absolute SMUT!

A Burning Passion 4

  "I'm tired of you being so defensive over everything" You huff. Hawks face turns stone cold as he scoffs.

  "Well if that's how you feel then this-" he points to you and him "is over" he spits as he harshly hands you his hoodie.

  That was definitely not what you wanted, your heart tells you to go after him but your feet keep you planted where you are.

  Turns out he was the one who got you after all.

-

  Hawk hadn't spoken to you since then. He wouldn't even glance at you in the halls, and even if he did he would throw snarky comments your way. You showed defeat, not daring to utter another word to him. In fear you'd only push him away more.

  Every time you closed your eyes all you could see was him, as you ran the tips of your fingers against your lips gazing at the mirror in the schools bathroom, you felt his lips on yours. Your fingers moved to your arm to which you could only feel how he was touching you that night.

  Your eyes started to water as your heart ached, why hadn't you gone after him that night? He was so sweet and caring until you let your mind get the best of you.

  You still had his hoodie from the last encounter. It smelt like him, and over time as it faded you grew more needing of him. Not just the sex and the thrill of being caught, but him.

  You were snapped back into reality when the bathroom door snapped open, your hands automatically come to wipe away the tears threatening to fall from your eyes.

  As the stall door slammed shut you looked back into the mirror and let out a deep sigh, touching up your concealer to cover the puffiness under your eyes.

  The bell rang throughout the school house, signaling for lunch. Your heart started to race because of what you were about to do. You couldn't hold back anymore, all the cold shoulders and hateful glares Hawk sent your way ate you up.

  You rushed out of the bathroom and into the lunch room, automatically spotting Hawk and his friends as they were the loudest group.

  Hawk has his leg propped up onto the chair beside him, head to the side laughing because of something his friends had said. You were so close to backing out, but your legs had other plans as you neared his table.

Their laughter dies as Mitch slaps Hawk on the shoulder signaling your way, you now stood just a few feet away from him as he turned to look at who Mitch was pointing to. His smile automatically fades as he stands up quickly, his nostrils flare up and his jaw clenches.

"What do you want, princess?" He sneers with such venom as he closes the gap in between you two, he glares down at you while you look up at him with nervous eyes.

"I wanna talk about us" Your voice comes out weak and shaky.

"Us? There is no us Y/n" Hawks expression hardens at the word.

"You...you don't mean that..." You protest, your heart shatters as your legs grow weak.

"Oh I mean it, you of all people know I keep my word princess" he laughs angrily.

Your expression hardens, matching his anger. You needed him so bad that your emotions got the best of you, your anger started taking over, you couldn't take his constant switching up moments. Yes you had messed up, but so had he and right now he was acting entitled, he isn't the only one who gets to be angry.

You start to laugh, matching his anger as tears start to fall down your face. Though Hawk found you extremely hot in this moment, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Okay have it your way, but if you think we hated each other before then your in for a rude awakening...-" You lift your head up as you stand on your tippy toes, faces side by side and before you could even stop yourself. You whisper "-lip" into his ear.

You back away from his face, his eyes softened as he looked around subconsciously, his hand come up to cover his mouth before he could stop it. You felt bad, but that didn't stop a smirk from falling onto your lips.

It wasn't until you walked away and was out of his view when you pressed your hands against your head, squeezing your eyes shut "what the fuck did I just do..."

-

After that day you stood true to your word, you would flip him off in the hallways, laugh at him when he would trip up, constantly calling him lip or loser- even though you knew it hurt him and your heart twisted in pain every time you put him down you couldn't stop.

-

The coach blows the whistle, telling us to get back in place. You take your place in front of the soccer ball and on the sound of the whistle you start kicking the ball to the goal until someone's foot comes under yours, stealing the ball and causing you to trip.

"Thanks princess" Hawk mocks you with his laugh.

You glare at him as he laughs over his shoulder, but nonetheless you run up until your beside him, shoulder to shoulder you push him as hard as you can watching as he falls on his side.

You hear the sound of the whistle go off "let's take it easy on the physical contact!" The coach yells as it was your turn to mock Hawk.

You bend down to Hawks level "good job loser" you laugh as you start back running with the ball.

He's pissed. He stands up while the guy in front of him runs like a sloth, he's so pissed off he pushes the innocent guy harshly and watches as he hits the ground.

Another whistle goes off "hey!" The coach warns as you kick the ball into the goal, winning for your team.

You go for a water break as the coach yells for another round, you expect Hawk to come up to you but instead he yanks the red team shirt off and makes his way back into the school, to which you assume would be the locker rooms.

You couldn't help yourself so you went after him, just before the door to the boys locker room closes you wrap your fingers around the handle. Careful not to make too much noise you walk in, closing the door and locking it.

Hawk went to one of the sinks, placing both of his hands on either side. He looks in the mirror, sweat dripping from his face, his jaw clinched, nostrils flared and his knuckles turning white from how hard he was gripping the sink.

"Didn't know i got to you that much lip" You smirked, keeping up your act.

You watch as his eyes move from his face to yours through the mirror, he slams one of his hands against the sink and rushes over to you. His body flush against yours as he harshly pushes you up against the hard wood door. His right hand slams on the door just above your head.

Your skins on fire just from the small contact, the heat from his body dragging onto yours as your sweaty bodies collided. Your breathing picks up, eyes immediately drifting to his lips but quickly back to his eyes before he noticed.

"Who do you think you are princess?" Hawks gaze turns harsh as the veins and mussels show against his arms.

You don't give him a response at first, until you've finally had enough. You harshly push his body off of yours, "no. Don't you dare Hawk! I know it was wrong of me to act like a bitch that night, but you don't get to treat me the way you did and not expect me to do the same! I fucking hate you for that!" You yell.

  "Yeah? You hate me?" Hawk says almost seductively. He walks back up to you, hand on your waist "show me how much you hate me princess..." He starts breathing unevenly as you look up at him.

  You practically throw yourself on him, exactly like you did that night. But this time, you know you won't regret it. You grab Hawks face, eyes staring into each others while he tightens his grip on your thighs. Your legs wrap around his waist in a death grip, you could already feel how hard he was for you.

  You smashed your lips onto his, moaning as he uses one of his hands to hold the back of your head as he kisses you like he's in love with you.

  Hawk try's to carry you to the bench but instead he ends up slamming your back into the lockers, creating a loud noise as you whimper and arch your back into his.

  Your eyes widen and you pull away from him, "wait we're at school Hawk" you say as you try to get down from his hold.

  "Oh no. You wanted this, you're gonna take it" He groans, he pushes his crotch into yours to keep you steady as he grabs the top of your gym shirt, ripping it in half exposing your bra covered tits.

  "What the fuck Hawk?!" You push his shoulder.

  "Shut up princess" He rolls his eyes as he places his lips on yours while his hands wander to your chest, feeling you up.

  He pulls away from the kiss only to actually carry you over to one of the very thin wood benches and places you on it so everything but your ass is against it.

  Hawk yanks his shirt off before he spreads your legs farther so he can bend down to your face. He lightly kisses your lips, trailing the small butterfly kisses all the way down while holding eye contact as you moan.

  He yanks your shorts and panties down in one swift motion, exposing your bare pussy to him all over again. He wastes no time before pulling his own down, his hard cock dripping with pre-cum.

  He makes you watch as he strokes his cock with his hand, his head falls back as his mouth falls open "y/n" he moans out.

  "Fuck. Please Hawk...." You beg of him.

  He looks at you, still stroking his cock but at a faster pace "be patient princess" he whimpers as his cock starts leaking with more beads of pre-cum.

  You practically whine until he lightly slaps his cock on your clit, the slightest touch making you a whore for him.

  Your dripping pussy begging to be fucked by him, you roll your eyes at the teasing "c'mon stop being a loser and just fuck me already" you say, resorting to the worse possible comment. It worked.

  Hawks eyes turn a darker shade as his jaw clenches, forcefully he stuffs his cock into your soaked pussy. It takes you by surprise as you let a small squeal fall out by accident.

  His cock hits all the right places as he stretches you out, "can a loser fuck you like this?" He asks condescendingly as he uses both of his hands to yank your bra down, your perky tits bouncing with each harsh thrust.

  You don't say anything, it feels so good it leaves you speechless. Your hands go behind your head voluntarily to steady yourself, grabbing onto the sides of the bench. Your hair goes everywhere as your bodies slip together easily because of how sweaty you both were before.

  There was something so thrilling about the possibility of getting caught which only made you more wet, gushing around Hawks cock as your pussy makes lewd sounds.

You found yourself gazing up at him, he looked so pretty even in such a state. As his cock continues to fill you up in every way possible, you found yourself questioning why you even 'hated' him to begin with.

Maybe it was because he was an arrogant asshole sometimes, or because he would bully innocent people, or maybe just maybe it was because you were in love with him.

Your eyes meet Hawks again and in that moment you wanted to reveal all your deepest secrets to him. You wanted to tell him how much you were in love with him. You could barely suppress your moans until loud banging erupted from the other side of the locked door.

Hawk's hips stilled, cock fully stuffed inside of you. You're eyes widened as you covered your mouth and Hawk snapped his gaze over to the door. You both watch as the door knob starts to jiggle.

He pulls you up keeping his cock inside of you as he rushes to one of the showers, turning the hot water on and closing the thin curtain behind you both, once again slamming you up against the wall.

You're both completely soaked, you expect him to pull out of you as keys start to jiggle from behind the door but instead he looks you straight in the eyes "think you can be quite for me princess?" Hawk whispers, tightly wrapping his hand against your mouth as he smirks, not allowing you to answer him.

The next thing you know he's using his other hand that's holding you up to help move your hips with his, fucking you perfectly as your hips start moving with his hand movements.

Your eyes roll back into your head as the coach lets in the rest of the boys. You pray your underwear are somewhere out of sight as you're being fucked in the shower.

"Hawk is that you?" A voice calls out and you can barley comprehend what's going on, all you feel is pleasure from his cock.

"Yeah!" he yells over the shower, his breathing staggering as his head leans against yours.

You look so beautiful like this, his hand wrapped around your pretty mouth as you're taking his cock. He feels his high near, letting out more noises than intended.

The hot water from the shower has hawks hair completely down, crowned around his face. You've never seen him like this, your pussy clenches at the sight, your nails dig down his back, surely leaving marks.

He brings his mouth to your ear, hand tightening on your mouth "cum for me princess" he whimpers. That's it for you as your eyes roll in the back of your head, your cum leaking around his dick, tightening up around him.

Hawk clenches his jaw as he tries to stay quiet, fucking you with no mercy while he tries to make less noise as possible. Your hands move to his hair, pulling it as you feel his hot cum fill you up to the brim.

His movements still as he removes his hand from your mouth, letting it go to your other thigh to hold you upright. Hawk makes eye contact with you, he can't help himself from pressing his lips up against yours.

He's so gentle with you, he's slightly shaking from his orgasm as are you. He pulls away from your lips, listening as he hears the last person leave the locker room. You whimper as he falls out of you, gently placing you back on your feet.

He turns off the shower while you flip your bra back to its place, though it sticks to you like glue. Hawk pulls the thin curtain back in search for a towel. He grabs the nearest one and places it around you, grabbing one for himself.

You felt exhausted.

But the question is; What happens now?

Tags: @let-love-bleeds-red @royalstydia @ryvrelinkin @jester2407 @diaphragmjellyfish @shadowmoonlight0604 @ion-even-know @potentialgay @olivv33z

Let me know if you want to be tagged for the next part!!!

A MadaTobi sick fic where Madara has to take care of Tobirama

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Romantic relationships: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara , Senju Hashirama/Uzumaki Mito

Platonic Relationships: Senju Tobirama & Uchiha Izuna, Senju Tobirama & Uzumaki Mito, Uchiha Izuna & Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama & Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama & Uchiha Kagami

Characters: Senju Tobirama, Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama, Uzumaki Mito, Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Kagami

Additional tags + Summary under the cut

A few of the additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Founders Era, Uchiha Izuna Lives, Senju Tobirama Needs a Hug, Slow Burn, Misunderstandings, Miscommunication, Angst with a Happy Ending, idiots to lovers, Sick Tobirama needs a caretaker, Tobirama has the flu at the start of the story

Summary:

He was going to wordlessly hand the paper to the white haired man to sign and then hurriedly leave before one of them could say or do anything to irk the other’s temper.

Though as soon as Madara looked up from the yet unsigned form in his hand and saw the Senju, his hand paused mid-movement.

“You're sick.”

Tobirama’s flushed face looked strained and had a light sheen of sweat. He was wrapped in an oversized, worn haori that he likely had snatched from Hashirama when the latter had been distracted.

At least judging by the size and unflattering colour choice. Vomit green and pale yellow. Really?

(Or: Overworked Tobirama is sick and unfortunately Madara gets roped into taking care of him by Izuna. Only to then realize that he may have slightly misjudged the younger Senju.)

Rivalry: Atsumu Pt. 5

The sharp clang of the school bell signaled the end of class, jolting you out of your thoughts. You blinked, realizing you had barely absorbed a single word of the lecture. Your fingers mindlessly traced the spine of your textbook as students shuffled around you, chairs scraping against the floor, the din of conversation rising as everyone spilled into the hallway for lunch.

Your body moved on autopilot, gathering your belongings and slipping into the throng of students, but your mind was somewhere else entirely. The past few days had been a blur, a tangled mess of secrets, frustration, and moments you couldn’t quite categorize. Your lips tingled at the memory of his mouth on them, your skin still seemed to burn where he had touched you, and no matter how much you tried to shake it, you felt restless.

Lost in thought, you barely noticed when you stepped into the cafeteria—

Until a loud, unmistakable voice cut through the noise like a whip.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

You barely had time to process before Hana Yoshida came barreling toward you, her long dark hair swaying dramatically behind her, eyes narrowed with accusation and concern.

You winced. Shit.

"You have been straight-up ghosting me, and I swear to god if you say it's because of some stupid schoolwork, I will lose my mind."

Her hands found her hips as she planted herself in front of you, blocking your path with the kind of intensity only Hana could manage. She was radiating energy, a force of nature wrapped in an oversized school sweater and a skirt she had definitely rolled up against dress code.

You opened your mouth to protest, but she immediately cut you off, her sharp brown eyes narrowing further. "No. Don’t even try to make an excuse, because I know you. And I know when you’re hiding something."

You shifted uncomfortably, your hands gripping the strap of your bag a little tighter. "I—uh—"

"Yeah, uh-uh, my ass." Hana scoffed, grabbing your wrist and dragging you toward your usual lunch spot with zero room for argument. "Spill. Now. Before I start making up my own theories, and trust me, you won't like them."

You swallowed hard.

"I've just been busy," you tried weakly, avoiding her piercing gaze. "You know, school, club activities, the usual."

Hana’s eyes narrowed even further as she leaned in closer, scanning your face with an almost predatory level of scrutiny. And then, as if something suddenly clicked, her jaw dropped.

She gasped so loudly that a few students actually turned their heads in curiosity. Then, without missing a beat, she pointed an accusatory finger directly at your chest.

"Oh. My. God. You’ve been having sex!"

Your stomach plummeted.

Panic shot through you at lightning speed, your hand flying up to clasp over her mouth before she could blurt out another humiliating declaration for the entire cafeteria to hear.

"Shut up!" you hissed, your face heating up so fast you thought you might combust on the spot. "Would you keep your voice down?!"

Hana’s muffled laugh vibrated against your palm before she wrenched your hand away, eyes practically sparkling with glee. "Oh, I knew it! I knew something was up! And judging by how flustered you are, I’m right!"

She smirked, leaning in even closer, her voice dropping to a dramatic whisper. "You look so mellow and relaxed lately. And honestly? You’re glowing. Whoever is dicking you down is doing a great job."

Your face erupted in flames. "Will you just shut up?!" you hissed, mortified beyond belief, your eyes darting around to make sure no one else had overheard.

Hana only grinned wider, clearly having the time of her life. "Oh, I am so not shutting up. I need details."

You stuttered, scrambling for a way out of this conversation. "T-there's nothing to say. It was just a fling," you lied through your teeth, knowing full well that wasn’t the case.

Hana's eyes narrowed like a predator locking onto its prey. "Oh, sure. Just a fling? You, Miss ‘I Don’t Do Hookups’? You expect me to believe that?"

Before she could press you further, a loud voice cut through the cafeteria noise, pulling you from Hana’s relentless interrogation.

"Hey, manager!"

You turned, internally sighing in relief, as Osamu, Atsumu, Aran, Suna, and Hitoshi made their way toward you. The group moved with familiar ease, their casual bickering bleeding into the air like background static. Even before they reached your table, you could tell they were in the middle of one of their stupid arguments.

"God, you guys can’t leave me alone, huh?" you teased, forcing yourself to sound as normal as possible while shifting slightly in your seat. You could still feel Hana's gaze boring into the side of your head, but for now, she was momentarily distracted.

Hana huffed, crossing her arms. "Yeah, you guys get her before and after school. Can't I reserve her for lunch?"

"Don't worry, we only need her for a quick second," Suna added with a smirk, earning a roll of your eyes.

"We got a serious debate," Hitoshi declared, arms crossed, his expression dead serious. "Would you rather fight a hundred duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?"

Osamu sighed, shaking his head. "A hundred duck-sized horses, obviously. A horse-sized duck would be terrifying."

Suna scoffed. "Nah, you’re thinking too hard about it. A horse-sized duck would have hollow bones. It wouldn’t even be that strong."

You blinked, deadpan. "That’s what you’re arguing about?"

Atsumu grinned, leaning forward, his golden eyes glinting with mischief. "C’mon, we need a tie-breaker."

You rolled your eyes, already feeling the familiar urge to snark back. "Knowing you, Miya, you’d lose to both."

Atsumu’s smug expression instantly dropped, replaced with mock offense. "Excuse me? I’d destroy that oversized poultry."

"Doubt it," you shot back. "You’d probably trip over your own ego before you could throw the first punch."

Atsumu’s golden eyes gleamed with challenge, his smirk widening as if he was ready to throw another quip your way. He leaned in slightly, opening his mouth—

"Oh, sweetheart, you really gotta work on your comebacks. That one barely stung."

"Oh, up yours, you insufferable—" you began with a sweet smile, voice dripping with venom, but before you could finish, Aran cut in with a sigh. "Okay, okay, let’s get food before this turns into another screaming match."

You raised your hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I'm the one with self-control."

Atsumu shot you a glare, clearly not amused, his mouth opening to retort, but you only grinned wider. "That being said—a horse-sized duck."

Half the boys erupted into a small but silent victory celebration, their smug grins a stark contrast to the ones rolling their eyes in annoyance. With that, the group turned and began heading toward the lunch line, still bickering about the logistics of fighting oversized poultry.

Atsumu threw you one last smirk, his golden eyes flashing with something too smug, too knowing, before turning on his heel to follow the rest of the team.

It was quick, almost imperceptible, but there was something in that fleeting glance—a silent challenge, a lingering amusement, a spark of something neither of you wanted to name. Your stomach twisted at the way his smirk lingered even as he walked away, his broad shoulders disappearing into the lunch crowd.

You barely had time to process it before Hana's nails dug into your arm with newfound intensity.

"Oh. My. God. Miya Atsumu?!"

Your stomach dropped, the cafeteria suddenly feeling too bright, too loud, every sound around you fading into a dull hum compared to the sheer horror of what had just left Hana’s mouth.

Hana’s voice was barely a whisper, but the absolute horror and uncontainable glee in her tone made your face burn hotter than the sun, the heat creeping up your neck and settling into your ears.

"What?! You are out of your mind—" you sputtered, words tumbling out before you could even think of a solid defense. Your hands instinctively gripped the edge of the table, like you needed something to ground yourself before you keeled over in embarrassment.

But Hana just grinned, completely unfazed, watching you with a predatory kind of giddiness, like she had just unearthed the juiciest gossip of the century.

"I mean, it makes sense," she continued, tapping her chin as if she were solving a grand mystery, her eyes dancing with amusement. "He’s stupid pretty, and you both hate each other’s guts."

You opened your mouth, ready to argue, to tell her she had completely lost her mind, but then—

Hana’s expression shifted.

As if a switch flipped.

Her eyes widened, her breath caught, and then—

She gasped, loud and dramatic, clutching your arm so tightly you thought she might dislocate your shoulder.

"You’ve been having hate sex and didn’t tell me?!"

You winced, her words cutting through the already overwhelming noise of the cafeteria, but to you, they felt magnified, exposed, like she had just put you on trial in the middle of lunch hour.

A groan ripped from your throat, your hand dragging down your face as if you could physically wipe this moment from existence.

"Goddamn it, can you stop being so perceptive?" you gritted out, your voice half a plea, half a curse, the mortification settling deep in your bones.

Hana, however, looked delighted, her grin only stretching wider, eating up your suffering like it was the most entertaining thing she’d ever witnessed.

Your shoulders slumped in defeat, your head dropping onto the desk with a resigned sigh.

"What do you want to know?" you mumbled, knowing full well you had just opened the floodgates to hell.

--

You told her everything—from the late-night encounters to the insults exchanged between breathless moans, the ridiculous tension that neither of you acknowledged in daylight, the way he was just so frustrating even when he wasn’t talking. Every stupid detail, every infuriating moment, all of it. The way his smirk made your skin prickle with annoyance, how his hands always seemed to leave behind an unbearable heat, the way he had this infuriating ability to push every single one of your buttons. And yet, somehow, you kept going back. Again and again.

By the time you finished, Hana was just staring at you, blinking slowly, like she needed a moment to actually process the sheer absurdity of the situation you had just described. Then, she leaned back, exhaled slowly, and with the most deadpan expression, simply said:

"Wow. I'm so jealous."

A snort escaped you before you could stop it, your body tensing and relaxing all at once. "Only you would be jealous of this kind of situation."

Hana shrugged, her lips pulling into a lazy, knowing grin. "I mean, what’s not to like? The sex is good, he’s not bad to look at—"

"I hate his guts," you cut in, scowling, your fingers tightening around the edge of the table. There was no way in hell you were letting her finish that sentence.

Hana just stopped, her eyes scanning your face with undisguised skepticism, her head tilting slightly like you had just said the dumbest thing imaginable.

"Right." She dragged the word out, voice drenched in disbelief, as if she was humoring a child who just declared they didn’t like sugar.

Your teeth clenched, frustration flaring hot in your chest. "I’m serious, Hana. I can’t stand him."

She raised an eyebrow, her smirk only growing, clearly unimpressed. "But you can stand him inside you."

Your mouth fell open in horror, your entire body locking up before you slapped her shoulder—hard enough to make her burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh my god, shut up!" you hissed, your face burning.

Hana just grinned, completely unrepentant, rubbing her arm with mock injury. "I’m just saying. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a thing for him."

You scoffed, rolling your eyes so hard it almost hurt. "Absolutely not. I could never see myself with him. It’s just physical. That’s it."

"Mmhmm," Hana hummed, tapping her chin dramatically, like she was filing away her own private analysis of your situation. Then, after a few seconds, she tilted her head, as if casually remembering something.

"Then you shouldn’t care that Ayumi Tanaka is planning on asking him out."

Your entire body tensed before your head snapped toward her so fast you nearly gave yourself whiplash.

"What?" you blurted out, voice sharper than you intended.

Hana blinked, her lips quirking as if she knew exactly what she was doing. "Oh, yeah. She was talking about it in the locker room the other day. Said she’s been into him for a while and figured she’d shoot her shot."

Your jaw locked, a strange heat curling in your chest. "And… he said what?"

Hana shrugged. "Dunno. She hasn’t asked him yet. But she was pretty confident."

You hated the way your stomach twisted at that. Absolutely despised it. Because it shouldn’t matter. It really, really shouldn’t. This thing with Atsumu? It wasn’t real—just something to get out of both your systems. That’s it. That was the agreement. And yet, the thought of him with someone else, letting someone else touch him, whisper things into his ear, run their hands over his skin—

No. Absolutely not.

Wait. Why do I care?

Hana leaned forward, watching your expression with obvious amusement. "Oh, wow. You hate him so much, yet here you are, looking like you just swallowed a lemon."

You tore your gaze away, forcing yourself to breathe. "I don’t care."

Hana smirked. "Right. Totally buying that."

Before you could snap back, the sharp ring of the school bell split the air, signaling the end of lunch. You shot up from your seat so fast it nearly knocked your tray over.

"Oh wow, the bell! Gotta go!" you rushed out, grabbing your bag and making a beeline for the exit like your life depended on it.

Hana, still seated, only crossed her arms, watching you flee with an exasperated shake of her head. "This isn’t over!" she called after you, her voice carrying over the cafeteria noise.

You barely heard her as you pushed through the hallway, her words still rattling in your head. Your stomach twisted as you replayed the conversation, the image of Atsumu with someone else digging its claws into your brain like an itch you couldn't scratch. The idea of another girl sliding her hands over his skin, pulling those same groans from his throat, whispering in his ear—it sent a fresh, unwanted wave of irritation crawling through your veins.

You trudged down the hallway, weaving through the clusters of students lingering outside their classrooms, your mind still clouded with the lingering conversation you had barely escaped from. Hana’s words played on a loop in your head, irritating and persistent, no matter how much you tried to shake them off.

It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter.

Rivals: (Haikyuu! x Reader)

A sharp-edged, slow-burn collection exploring the tension-filled dynamics between Reader and various Haikyuu characters. Fueled by banter, unresolved competition, and the kind of chemistry that crackles under the surface, each drabble blurs the line between hate and something dangerously close to desire.

1. Tsukishima 2. Terushima 3. Atsumu, Part 2 (NSFW), Part 3, Part 4 (NSFW), Part 5, Part 6 (NSFW) 4. Akaashi 5. Kuroo, Part 2, Part 3 (NSFW) 6. Sakusa 7. Oikawa 8. Kyotani/Mad Dog (NSFW) 9. Tendou 10. Iwaizumi, Part 2, Part 3 (NSFW) 11. Shirabu 12. Kita 13. Suna

Back to Masterlist

Rivalry: Suna

This was supposed to be a career-maker.

You’d been selected to shoot the promotional campaign for the Japan National Volleyball Team’s off-season fundraiser—portraits, motion stills, and digital spreads for press releases. High-profile. High-pressure. This was the kind of assignment that could land you on the map, get your name known, secure you work for the next five years. You’d planned meticulously: shot schedules, lighting plans, subject rosters, backup batteries labeled by time stamp.

And still, you were already behind schedule because some players couldn’t grasp the concept of being on time.

Most were manageable. Bokuto was loud but sweet, Hinata actually listened, even Sakusa—grumpy and allergic to public attention—cooperated if you kept things sterile enough. You had to work around quirks, sure, but it was doable.

The only real problem?

Rintarō Suna.

Tall, smug, unbothered—he made disinterest an art form. It wasn’t just the tardiness (though that was frequent and infuriating). It was the casual disregard, the deliberate poking. Like he enjoyed watching you unravel, one eye-roll and bored shrug at a time. Like he thrived on getting under your skin.

You were halfway through setting up for his shoot—adjusting the overhead lights for the third time, irritation clawing at your spine—when the door creaked open.

12:17. Seventeen minutes late.

You didn’t look up. “You’re late.”

A pause. Then, his voice—dry, bored, and tinged with something close to amusement.

“Traffic.”

You glanced at him, eyes cold. “You live five minutes away.”

Rintarō Suna leaned against the doorframe like he’d just wandered in off the beach. Hoodie loose, hair messy, sweatpants slung far too low to be appropriate for professional media. His duffel bag hung lazily off one shoulder, and he was sipping a drink from a vending machine cup like he had all the time in the world.

“And yet,” he said, taking another slow sip, “I’m here. Aren’t you glad?”

“Take off your jacket and shirt,” you snapped, already adjusting your camera settings, fingers tight on the dial.

He blinked, exaggeratedly. “That’s aggressive.”

“No. You’re aggressive to my time.”

He didn’t move. Just gave you that flat look, the one that made your blood itch. “So bossy. Did no one ever teach you how to ask nicely?”

You dropped your hand from the camera, straightened to your full height, and glared. “Did no one ever teach you how to respect someone’s job?”

That actually made him smirk—low and slow, like he was settling into a familiar game. You watched his gaze flicker across the studio, land on your lighting setup, the gear cases lined up against the wall, the stool you’d carefully marked with tape for positioning. He took in every detail like none of it mattered.

You crossed your arms. “Shirt. Off. Or I’m switching you out with Komori and sending you to the end of the rotation.”

He gave a soft whistle. “Cold.”

“And still warmer than your sense of professionalism.”

Suna sighed like this was the hardest thing anyone had ever asked of him, but peeled off the hoodie in one slow pull. Then the shirt followed—revealing lean, cut muscle, smooth planes and sharp lines that even you had to admit photographed well. Unfortunately.

“Happy now?” he asked flatly, chest rising and falling with deliberate boredom.

You lifted your camera. “Hardly.”

Flash.

He winced, and you didn’t hide the satisfied smirk that flickered over your face.

“Consider that payback for last week,” you said, angling for another shot. “You were thirty-five minutes late and came in with an iced matcha.”

“Should’ve brought you one,” he muttered, half to himself.

“You wouldn’t survive the fallout.”

“I’d go down smiling.”

You rolled your eyes so hard it hurt. “God, you’re infuriating.”

“I get that a lot.”

He settled into the chair you’d positioned, slouching immediately, arms dangling over the sides like a ragdoll. You hissed under your breath and gestured for him to sit up.

He stared at you. “You’re fun when you’re mad.”

“And you’re only photogenic when you shut up.”

You lifted the lens again. Behind it, you scowled.

I hate him. The thought pulsed with every snap of the shutter.

And of course—of course—he looked like a goddamn magazine cover. But in the same fashion, he rarely made it easy for you to capture it.

Because here you were, staring down the barrel of a nightmare: the man himself, draped across the chair like it was a hammock, posture all wrong, arms sprawled like he didn’t have a single working bone in his body. Slouched so far down he could have been auditioning for the role of human puddle.

"Back straight," you barked from behind the camera, adjusting your focus ring with a little more aggression than necessary. "Stop slouching."

He didn’t budge. If anything, he leaned further into the chair, eyelids heavy with boredom, like your orders were more of a gentle breeze than direct instruction.

"Suna."

He tilted his head at a lazy angle, all dry amusement and half-lidded interest. "I am straight."

You set the camera down. Firmly. The slap of the base against the table echoed far louder than it needed to.

He didn’t flinch. Of course he didn’t. He just watched you approach like you were the most interesting thing to happen all day, which you knew damn well wasn’t a compliment. His gaze slid over your body with that practiced, bored sort of curiosity, like he was cataloguing all the ways you might explode.

You stepped into his space, squatted slightly behind the chair, and shoved a hand between his shoulder blades. He didn’t react. Didn’t resist. Just let you press into the muscle there and guide him upright like he was a mannequin.

"There," you muttered, voice tight. "Like that. Hold it."

A beat of silence. Then: "You touch all your clients like this?"

Your hand dropped instantly. "Only the ones who act like toddlers."

He chuckled, low in his throat, and the sound crawled over your skin like static. "That explains a lot."

You turned on your heel, ready to toss something back, but froze mid-pivot when you saw his eyes.

They weren’t where they were supposed to be. Not on the lights, or the set, or even your face.

They were on your hands.

Lingering.

He blinked slowly, like he wasn’t even pretending to hide it. And when his eyes flicked up to meet yours, there was something in them that hadn’t been there before. Something molten. Heavy. A heat that made your stomach pitch and your spine go stiff.

"You done staring?" you snapped, jaw clenched.

He shrugged, as if the motion took effort. "Didn’t say it was a bad view."

You turned so fast you nearly tripped over a light stand, heart thundering in your ears. The temperature in the studio was suddenly unbearable.

You didn’t want this heat.

"Hands on your thighs," you bit out. "Chin down. Eyes here."

He obeyed—not quickly, but without any more smartass comments. For once, the air between you felt still. But it wasn’t calm. No, it was charged. Like the moment before a summer storm—hushed, tense, humming with something about to break.

You snapped three photos. Then five. Then a dozen more. Through the viewfinder, he was a dream. The kind of subject you could build an entire portfolio around. Not because he was cooperative—God no. But because he was magnetic in a way that made you want to curse.

Every line of his body, every tilt of his head, the lazy sprawl that shouldn’t have worked on camera but did? It translated into something raw. Compelling. Something that sold.

You adjusted the lens. Moved closer. Framed his face in the shot. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Just stared straight through the camera like he knew it would rattle you.

And then he smiled.

Not a real one. Not the wide, winning kind the sponsors loved. Just the faintest pull of one corner of his mouth. Just enough to sharpen his cheekbone and twist his mouth into something between a smirk and a secret.

Click.

The flash snapped.

You dropped the camera from your face, brow furrowed.

"You smiled."

"You looked like you needed the win."

You wanted to scream.

Instead, you checked the preview screen. And sure enough, it was perfect. Lighting. Angles. Expression.

Damn him.

You turned the screen toward him like it was a slap.

"You’re welcome," he said, not even looking.

"You’re not that charming."

"But I am photogenic."

Your teeth ground together so hard your jaw ached.

You hated that he was right.

And you hated even more that he knew it.

Rivalry: Iwaizumi Part 2

The office door clicked shut behind you, tension coiled tight in your shoulders like a spring ready to snap. The argument with Iwaizumi had dragged on longer than either of you expected, every word exchanged like a verbal spar, blades dulled by professionalism but no less sharp.

Coach Fuki Hibarida sat behind his desk like a man who’d already fielded more than his share of chaos before lunch. His fingers steepled under his chin, his gaze sharp as it flicked between you and Iwaizumi. The air in the office was thick enough to choke on.

“I appreciate both of your passion,” he said finally, voice flat and uncompromising. “But if you keep at it like this, the only thing we’re going to accomplish is splitting the damn team in two.”

You leaned forward in your chair, back ramrod straight, the fire in your voice only barely tempered. “With all due respect, Coach, I’m not trying to split anything. I’m trying to protect these athletes from outdated training philosophies that completely disregard their medical history.”

Iwaizumi’s jaw flexed, arms crossed so tight across his chest it looked like he was trying to restrain himself from lunging across the room. “And I’m trying to prevent injuries before they happen. Without a baseline of strength, flexibility means jack shit.”

“Tell that to Sakusa’s ACL.”

He scoffed, sitting forward just enough that your knees almost touched. “You think I don’t know their files? I’ve worked with these guys longer than you’ve even been part of this team.”

“And yet your ‘expertise’ almost put Yaku back in a brace.”

“Enough!” Hibarida barked, and the room dropped into silence.

His eyes moved from Iwaizumi to you and back again. “You’re both right.”

The words hung in the air, heavy and begrudging.

“I’m signing off on your proposed changes,” he continued, nodding toward you. “Flexibility and personalized conditioning will take precedence moving forward. But Iwaizumi—your job is to ensure the training stays rigorous and strategic. Adjust programs for injury history. No exceptions.”

There was a long pause.

Iwaizumi’s voice, when it came, was stiff as granite. “Understood.”

Hibarida’s chair creaked as he stood, clearly eager to be done with the two of you. “I want the updated plan submitted by Friday. Together.”

You stood without looking at Iwaizumi. But as you passed him, shoulder nearly brushing his, you said under your breath, “Try not to screw this one up.”

His grunt of irritation followed you out the door.

--

Iwaizumi stood at the front of the gym, clipboard clutched tightly in his calloused hands, the glossy finish damp where his fingers curled. The fluorescent lights hummed above the Olympic training gym, casting cold, clinical shadows over the rows of elite athletes stretching and rotating through warm-ups. Despite the early hour, the place buzzed with restless energy.

But Iwaizumi wasn’t paying attention to any of that.

His eyes tracked every movement with practiced detachment, but his thoughts were far from the court. A dull headache had taken up residence behind his eyes, and the usual rhythm of morning practice only aggravated it. The pressure building in his temples had nothing to do with lack of sleep—and everything to do with you.

He was still pissed.

“We’re holding off on the strength circuits until the new plan is finalized,” he said, voice clipped, tone leaving no room for discussion.

Heads turned.

Atsumu blinked up from the mat where he’d been balancing his ankle on his opposite knee. “Wait, what? We’re not lifting today?”

Bokuto, halfway through a forward lunge, perked up instantly. “What happened to ‘no excuses’? Did we slip into an alternate universe or something?”

Even Sakusa raised a brow. “Did she win the argument?”

Yaku’s smirk was slow, subtle. “Feels like she won.”

Iwaizumi’s jaw clenched so tightly it made the muscle near his ear twitch. “I said they’re on hold,” he growled, tone sharpening. “New guidelines. End of discussion.”

“Wow,” Suna muttered, droll as ever. “He’s actually mad.”

“I will make you run drills until your legs fall off,” Iwaizumi snapped, voice a low bark. “Stretch. Now.”

That shut them up.

A beat of tense silence passed before the team shifted into their warm-ups. The sounds of light chatter and sneakers resumed, but the atmosphere was noticeably stiffer. The undercurrent of curiosity and amusement didn’t go unnoticed by Iwaizumi, but he shoved it down beneath years of discipline.

The rest of the session moved efficiently. Too efficiently. Every minute felt like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

By noon, the players filtered out of the gym in loose, staggered groups, sweat-darkened shirts clinging to lean muscle and jerseys half-hanging from relaxed shoulders. The air in the locker hallway was humid with effort, and banter floated lazily through the corridor.

Bokuto swung a towel behind his neck like a cape, laughing at something Suna had deadpanned. Sakusa lingered by the door for a beat, casting Iwaizumi a thoughtful glance before slipping out.

“Wonder if she’ll sign my cast when he snaps,” Aran muttered, nudging Hinata, who bit back a laugh.

Iwaizumi said nothing.

He turned on his heel, movements stiff, and marched toward the small office tucked off the side of the gym.

The door shut with more force than necessary.

He dropped the clipboard onto the desk. Papers slipped free, fluttering to the surface like discontent made manifest. The training revisions glared up at him.

And all he could see was your face.

The way you’d challenged him in Hibarida’s office—calm but cutting, your words sharpened like scalpels. The way the coach had leaned in your favor, as if your voice carried a gravity his didn’t. It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept change—he wasn’t stupid. He knew you were right about the numbers. About the science. About the goddamn knees.

But it burned anyway.

It was personal. He couldn’t separate the two. Not when you looked at him like that, like every disagreement was some gleeful test of willpower. Like you were waiting for him to crack so you could claim the final point.

Iwaizumi dragged a hand through his hair, sighing harshly. His shoulders were still tight from holding his voice steady all morning.

He sat down with a grunt, chair creaking beneath him as he opened his laptop. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, poised but reluctant.

He didn’t want to change the entire system. Didn’t want to concede. But the damn truth was already there, glaring back at him from between the numbers and patient logs.

So he typed. Adjusted. Modified.

And when he hit send, the sting of it settled low in his stomach.

The phone lit up before he even closed the tab.

You.

Of course.

He stared at the screen, jaw tight, teeth grinding as your name lit up the caller ID.

Twice it rang. He let it.

On the third, he answered—no greeting, no softness. Just barked, “What now?”

“This revision is still garbage,” came your voice, flat and scathing. “Komori’s and Hyakuzawa’s circuits are identical. One has chronic shoulder fatigue, the other doesn’t.”

“The adjustments are proportional,” he snapped back, voice low and sharp. “That’s how progressive loading works.”

“Progressive loading my ass. You copy-pasted three damn circuits and called it a day. You didn’t even touch their mobility metrics.”

“I factored in what matters.”

You laughed. Cold. “What matters is that Hyakuzawa won’t last another month if you keep pretending his joints aren’t glass.”

His hand slammed against the desk before he could stop himself, palm stinging. “You’re not his goddamn physical therapist.”

“No,” you snapped. “I’m the idiot burning her day off trying to keep him out of a hospital.”

He froze for half a beat.

Your words landed hard, scraping under his skin.

And god, you weren’t done.

“I’m not playing translator for whatever bullshit this is. If you want my sign-off, you’re getting it the right way. You clearly don’t understand the changes, so I’m coming in to explain them. In person. Like a teacher walking through homework with a slow student.”

He tilted his head back, jaw ticking, breath exhaling like steam. He glared at the ceiling tiles like they’d give him strength.

“Fine,” he bit out. “Thirty minutes.”

“Good,” you hissed. “Try not to screw anything else up in the meantime.”

The line went dead.

Iwaizumi stared at the phone for another second, his thumb hovering above the darkened screen.

The silence afterward rang louder than your voice.

And under his breastbone, the pulse of it—his rage, his pride, the heat of your words—all of it throbbed, slow and persistent.

Like something ready to burn.

--

You stormed into Iwaizumi’s office like a gust of controlled fury, not bothering to knock.

He barely had time to glance up before your voice cut through the air like a scalpel.

“It’s my day off, Iwaizumi. You know that, right?”

His brows lifted, clearly caught off guard—not just by your tone, but by your clothes. Joggers clung snugly to your hips, your tank top fitted and dipped in a way your usual business-casual never did. A jacket hung loose around your shoulders, unzipped, and your hair was tied up messily, strands falling out in a way that was entirely unfair.

Still, he bristled at your tone. “You didn’t have to come in.”

“Then maybe don’t make me rewrite your entire plan for you,” you snapped. “I told you Hyakuzawa’s shoulder range isn’t compatible with Komori’s. And you still sent it over like I wouldn’t notice.”

“I adjusted for mass and range—”

“You adjusted by copy-pasting,” you cut in. “Do you even read the assessments I send you?”

His jaw flexed. “I read everything. And I know how to train a team.”

“And I know how to prevent torn rotator cuffs.”

A sharp silence settled between you. You stood with your hands on your hips, breathing hard, Iwaizumi staring at you from behind his desk, every muscle in his arms coiled with tension.

He should’ve barked at you to leave. Should’ve snapped something back just as biting.

Instead, he stood.

“I’m not arguing with you in here,” he said, voice tight. “Let’s go.”

“To the gym?” you asked.

He nodded once, already stepping past you. “You said you’d show me. So show me.”

--

The weight room was empty save for the two of you. Echoes of distant foot traffic from the other side of the facility drifted in and out through the thick walls. Overhead, a single bank of lights buzzed faintly.

“Start with the squats,” you said, tossing a pair of 40-pound dumbbells his way.

He caught them with ease. “Loaded squats? Really?”

You folded your arms. “Humor me, Captain.”

He rolled his eyes but turned to face the mirror, feet shoulder-width apart, and dropped into his first rep. His form was solid—predictably—but your eyes tracked the subtle tremors in his posture, the way his shoulders bore tension even during a movement that should be driven by legs and core.

“Pause,” you ordered.

He straightened slowly, setting the weights down.

“You’re bracing too much in your upper back,” you said. “You’re engaging traps when you should be isolating quads and glutes. Komori compensates the same way, which is exactly the problem.”

You moved behind him, slid your hand down between his shoulder blades, pressing lightly.

“Here,” you murmured. “You feel how stiff this is?”

His breath hitched, almost imperceptibly.

“Try it again, but keep this area loose. Let the legs drive.”

He picked up the weights again and dropped down, this time more controlled.

You circled him once, sharp eyes on every joint.

“That’s better,” you said. “Still not perfect.”

He huffed through his nose. “Then what is?”

Your lips twitched, eyes gleaming. “I’ll show you.”

You stepped forward, picked up a lighter set of weights, and took your stance in the mirror. Your movements were deliberate, slow, each line precise. You dipped into a squat, spine long, and spoke as you moved.

“This is full isolation. Core tight. Knees over toes. Glutes firing.”

You looked at him through the mirror.

“Here—” You set the weights down and grabbed his wrist, tugging him forward. “Put your hand here.”

You placed his palm on your thigh, just above your knee.

“That’s the difference between alignment and load. You feel that tension? That’s what Hyakuzawa can’t hold for more than five reps. So when you give him a template that pushes twelve, you’re training him into injury.”

His fingers twitched where they rested against your leg.

You didn’t look up. Neither did he.

But the silence was loud.

You finally moved, stepping back, letting the contact fall away. His hand lingered for half a second before he pulled it back and flexed his fingers into a fist.

“Alright,” you said, exhaling. “Shoulders next.”

He didn’t speak, just nodded tightly and picked up a new set of dumbbells.

“This one’s more relevant for Komori. Upright rows. Don’t use momentum—go slow.”

He stood tall, lifting the weights to chest height with steady control.

You stepped in again, brushing your fingertips along his forearms as he moved.

“Good... Now hold.”

His muscles tensed, veins stark beneath tan skin, the curve of his biceps flexed just enough to make your breath catch.

You swallowed hard, refocusing.

“Lift from the delts, not the biceps,” you murmured. “They’re stabilizers here.”

Your hand moved to his chest, palm flat over his pec. The contact startled him—just enough for his eyes to flicker up and land right on the exposed line of your cleavage through your tank.

He froze.

And you saw it. That split second of his eyes widening before snapping back up to yours like he hadn’t seen a damn thing.

Your brow rose. “Focus, Iwaizumi.”

He gritted his teeth. “I am focused.”

You pressed a little firmer into his chest. “Then stop compensating here.”

His breath came a little heavier now.

He didn’t say anything.

Didn’t have to.

The tension snapped taut between you. Neither of you moved, the air thick with something sharp, electric.

Then—

“Ah—sorry!”

The door creaked open.

You both jolted, stepping back so fast you almost tripped.

A janitor stood in the doorway, expression blank. “Didn’t realize the room was still in use.”

You cleared your throat. “We were just wrapping up.”

Iwaizumi grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat from his forehead, still avoiding your eyes.

The janitor nodded and disappeared.

Silence returned.

You slung your bag over your shoulder, trying not to show how fast your heart was racing. “I’ll expect the revised plan tomorrow.”

Iwaizumi didn’t answer.

He was still staring at the spot where your hand had been.

Would it be interesting to ask for Aran? Even something as simple as him noticing Inarizaki’s manager or their friend, anything is fine.

Done :D Thank you for the request!! <333 --

Aran wasn’t someone who let his mind wander. Not during practice, not during games, and certainly not when it came to things that didn’t concern him. He kept his head clear, his priorities in check, and his focus sharp. That was what made him reliable—one of the only people on Inarizaki’s team who could keep the chaos from completely consuming them.

But lately, there was something—or rather, someone—slipping through the cracks in his usual composure.

You.

It wasn’t anything dramatic. Nothing obvious. But little things started creeping up on him. He started noticing the way you always sat near him whenever the team went out to eat, how you rolled your eyes at Atsumu’s antics but never actually walked away from the conversation, how you seemed to know exactly what someone needed before they even had to ask. He wasn’t sure when it started. He wasn’t sure why it started. But he was noticing you, and now he couldn’t seem to stop.

The realization hit him on a random afternoon practice.

He had just finished a long rally, sweat clinging to his skin as he steadied his breathing. Coach was yelling at Atsumu for something—probably for ignoring his setter duties and trying to go for a ridiculous dump shot—and the rest of the team was either catching their breath or groaning at the delay. Aran wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before reaching for his water bottle, only to feel something tap his arm.

A cold water bottle.

He glanced up, and there you were, holding it out to him without a word. Your expression was neutral, not expecting anything, not waiting for some kind of thanks. Just… handing it to him, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Aran hesitated for a fraction of a second before taking it. “Thanks.”

You only nodded before turning back to your clipboard, jotting something down. No big deal. Except it was a big deal, because now Aran was standing there gripping the water bottle tighter than necessary, feeling something stir in his chest that he didn’t know how to name.

It didn’t stop there.

At first, Aran tried to ignore it. Tried to brush off the way his eyes lingered on you a little too long during breaks, the way he found himself listening for your voice even in the middle of a crowded gym. He told himself it was just habit, just familiarity. You were part of the team, and he was just used to having you around.

But then there were the moments in between—the ones that didn’t happen during practice, the ones that felt like something else entirely.

Like the time he was stretching after a long day and you plopped down next to him with an exhausted sigh.

“Tough day?” he asked, not looking up from his toes as he reached forward.

“You have no idea,” you groaned, flopping onto your back. “I think I have permanent damage from listening to Suna and Atsumu argue about some dumb anime for twenty minutes.”

Aran huffed out a laugh. “Could’ve walked away.”

You turned your head, peering up at him with something amused in your gaze. “Yeah? And leave you to suffer alone?”

Something about the way you said it made him pause. He glanced down at you, the corners of your lips twitching like you were fighting back a grin. He opened his mouth, but whatever he had been about to say got stuck in his throat.

Because that—that right there—was the problem.

You weren’t just the team manager. You weren’t just a familiar presence. You were something else, something more, and Aran was beginning to realize it too late.

It got worse after that.

He wasn’t the type to let distractions get the best of him, but now it was like you were in his periphery all the time. The worst part? You didn’t even know. You just carried on like normal, making sure the team didn’t destroy themselves, shooting sarcastic remarks at Atsumu when he got too unbearable, handing Aran a towel when he looked particularly drained.

And he just kept taking it. Kept letting it happen. Kept letting you happen.

But it was when he started getting annoyed that he knew he was screwed.

Because lately, you’d been spending more time talking to Kita.

It wasn’t like Aran had any reason to care. Kita was Kita. He was good at everything, the kind of person who had an effortless way of drawing people in. And you? You were the kind of person who enjoyed good company.

So why did it bother him so much?

It wasn’t jealousy. It wasn’t. That would be ridiculous. But he couldn’t stop noticing it—the way you stood a little closer, the way your conversations stretched a little longer, the way you laughed at something Kita said and Aran felt something sting in a place he hadn’t even realized existed.

He didn’t plan to say anything about it. But then, one day, he caught you laughing at something Kita said, and before he could stop himself, the words left his mouth.

“Didn’t know you two were so close.”

You blinked at him, caught off guard. “Huh?”

Aran crossed his arms, his expression carefully neutral. “You and Kita.”

Your head tilted slightly, eyes narrowing just a bit like you were trying to figure out where this was coming from. Then, slowly, a smirk tugged at your lips. “Why? You jealous or something?”

Aran scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Please.”

“Uh-huh.” You didn’t sound convinced.

He clicked his tongue, looking away. This was stupid. He wasn’t about to sit here and act like some lovesick idiot. That wasn’t him. He had better things to do. More important things.

… Then why did his chest feel tight?

You were still looking at him, clearly entertained by whatever this was. Then, after a pause, you leaned in just slightly, voice dropping into something softer—something unreadable.

“You did notice, though.”

It wasn’t a question. It was a fact.

Aran felt his jaw tighten, but he didn’t say anything.

You let the silence stretch between you before pulling away, grinning like you had figured something out. “Huh. Interesting.”

And just like that, you turned and walked off, leaving Aran standing there with his arms still crossed, his pulse unsteady, and the realization settling deep in his bones.

You were right.

He had noticed.

And that was the problem.

I guess I started drawing… and I'm quite happy with how nicely Aziraphale turned out. Hopefully, I'll finish it soon :D Hard to guess from that little cutout, but it's inspired by a fic The High Road and the Low Road I recently read, and I'm completely smitten. By these two idiots (again) and Scotland (again). Can't wait for next chapter @saretton ♡

You got me!

do you know any long angsty slow burn eighth year fics? v specific but I love them

It just so happens that long angsty slow burn fics are my favourite! I’ve recced a few of these before but I’ll add some others. Here you go -

Bond

The Standard You Walk Past

In Plain Sight

Mental

At Your Service

Get Some

Two Sides Of The Same Coin

He Was He And I Was Bunny

Helix

Something I Don’t Want To Stop

Tired

𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭?

Pairing: Virgin!Basement Era!Gerard Way x AFAB!Reader Summary: You and Gerard have been best friends for four years. After years of ignoring your crush on him due to your feelings of inadequacy, it begins to seem like maybe he likes you as well...but like always, your personal issues seem to get in the way. Warnings: Gerard is a complete and total virgin but its implied reader is not, oral sex (M receiving), P in V sex, high school AU but they're both 18, lots of angst, kinda slow burn, self-hatred, substance abuse and reader is depressed if you squint, drug use (not by Gee or reader), making out Word Count: 6.5k

If you had been different, you would have kissed Gerard by now.

This thought flashed constantly through your mind every time you were around him. And there were times where you thought you might anyway. Times where you were with him in his basement bedroom as he ranted about the latest cartoon he was watching, curled up on the opposite side of the couch as he was. When it would have been so easy to lean over and place your lips on his, rake your hands through his hair, maybe push yourself into his lap. Maybe do more.

But you never did. Because the thing was, Gerard was the sweetest person you knew. Gerard, who you had met the second day of freshman year when you’d dropped your lunch on the floor in the cafeteria, who had helped you clean up the mess while other students stepped around you or snickered. Gerard, who despite his shy nature had quickly become one of your best friends. Gerard, who would always lend you his sweater if you were cold, knowing even if you didn’t say anything. Who you would rant and cry to about failed romance after failed romance, relationships you knew didn’t work out mainly because of your poor decisions, who would pick you up late at night when you got drunk at some random house party and needed a ride home. Gerard, who was loving and gentle. And you were a mess.

You already felt bad enough about how much he cared for you, knowing you could never truly reciprocate everything he did for you. You knew there was something deeply wrong with you that never allowed you to truly care for someone else in a healthy way. Dragging him into your messy life further than he already was, surely would not result in anything good happening. You loved so hard and overbearingly, and you were scared to drown Gerard—Who you knew had never had a girlfriend, let alone had his first kiss. So how would he be able to handle you? You didn’t wonder about this in an egotistical way. You didn’t believe you were a catch, anything particularly special, in fact you felt quite the opposite. You simply couldn’t imagine a boy as pure and innocent and kind as him not getting overwhelmed by you.

If you had been different, you would have kissed Gerard by now. But you would settle for stolen stares and brief, fleeting touches that meant nothing. There was no harm in that, right?

On Saturday afternoons, you would go over to Gerard’s house, spending the afternoon doing homework and watching horror movies. You would never admit it, but it was what you looked forward to the most every week. The thought of having to go home at the end of the day felt nearly unbearable every time. One day in February, he was walking you home after several pleasant hours of slasher movies and pizza, the winter air crisp, sharp against your lungs. You buried yourself into your coat, eyes flitting over to him.

The pale sunlight cast against his skin made him look undeniably beautiful. In that moment, you wanted to throw caution into the wind and kiss him, to not care about any consequences that may come with the action. These thoughts caused your eyes to flicker down to his lips, an action that unbeknownst to you, he caught, his cheeks dusting a light pink. Your gaze snapped away from his face and onto the ground in front of you when you realized Gerard had stopped talking about his theory about the next Scream movie. You were saved from the awkwardness by arriving at your front door.

You turned to him. “Thanks for walking me,” you said quietly, even though he always did. You stepped forward and gave him a hug, his arms carefully wrapping around your back. He was so gentle. He was always so gentle, and it made your heart squeeze painfully. You pulled away after a moment and looked up at him, his hands immediately leaving your body as you did. He looked slightly flustered. You tried to act as if that alone didn’t make you want to pull him in and—

“I’ll see you at school on Monday,” he mumbled, ruffling your hair awkwardly before turning around and walking away without a glance back at you. You watched him go for a moment before entering your house, shutting out the cold but also the chance to stare at him a little longer. Not that that would do you any good.

It was so frustrating. You were trying, trying so hard to ignore your feelings, but the way Gerard was acting was making it nearly impossible to do so. Whenever you felt like you had successfully pushed down your crush, he did something to remind you of it again. The two of you had been close for years, but the way he looked at you sometimes, especially recently, felt different.

You would catch him staring every so often, while you were doing your homework at his kitchen table or watching a movie. It made you wonder if he felt about you the way you felt about him. Which sent you down another spiral. With all your issues, did he genuinely believe you were worth it? You hoped that he did while simultaneously telling yourself it didn't matter in the first place, that there was no chance he even thought of you that way.

The following Monday at school, you saw him only briefly in the halls, but the slightly tense moment the two of you had shared on Saturday kept you from speaking to him, opting instead to look away quickly as you tried to hide the blush that would creep onto your skin. However, you and Gerard had been paired together for a small project in Chemistry.

Luckily, he seemed unfazed by the interaction that weekend. Unfortunately for your workflow, he received the latest issue of Fangoria the previous night, so his rambling about it distracted you from actually working on the assignment. When the bell rang, he was still speaking about the magazine.

“Shit. We didn’t finish the worksheet, did we,” he said with an embarrassed huff, pushing some hair behind his ear. You smirked at him, amused.

“No, we did not. But you did manage to spoil the entirety of the new Fangoria for me,” you responded teasingly, bumping his shoulder gently with yours.

He blushed slightly. “Oh. Sorry.” He said sheepishly. “We can go to my house after school and finish it. The worksheet. If you’re free,” sounding a bit more nervous than he usually did when he asked you to come over.

You agreed, and parted ways for the rest of the day. After school, he was waiting for you by the main entrance, his hair messy as it always was, his eyes squinted and darting around, searching for you. You waved and ran up to him, absentmindedly wrapping your hand around his upper arm as you began to walk next to him.You could have sworn the tips of his ears flushed at the contact, but ignored it. It could’ve just been the cold.

His hand tentatively reached around your lower back, resting respectfully on the side of your hip. Your heart began to beat a little faster than normal. He usually wasn’t very touchy, even though you were—not like you minded.

After the two of you had finished the worksheet, you spent the afternoon together drawing, sitting on opposite sides of his bed together, the soft sound of the radio playing in the background. You felt Gerard’s gaze constantly flickering over to you, making it hard to focus on your sketch of the view outside his window, something you’d drawn a numerous amount of times. After a while, you became restless, distracted by his eyes on you, and set your sketchbook aside. “What’re you drawing?” You asked him suddenly, looking to him.

He immediately glanced away from you, his face turning a slight pink, trying to subtly tilt his sketchbook away from you. “Nothing,” he said unconvincingly, which piqued your interest even more. You wondered what he possibly could be sketching that he didn’t want you to see.

“Come on, please?” When he didn’t budge, you leaned over to see what he had been working on. Your eyes widened as you saw what it was.

You. He was drawing you. Curled up against his bed frame, your eyes narrowed in concentration. He had captured your essence perfectly, as if he’d studied you for so long that he was able to meticulously catch your energy and place it onto a piece of paper. The realization seemed to enter your bloodstream and curl its way into your heart, flooding you with a dreaded hope that you already knew wasn’t going to do any good. You didn’t speak, just looked up at him. Neither of you dared to break the silence, the eye contact you were holding intense enough to drown out any thoughts.

His widened eyes flickered down to your lips. Once. Twice. You had been leaning forward to see the drawing, your weight on your arms in front of you, and in the back of your mind you registered that your palms were pressed into the mattress on either side of his body. The two of you were so close you could feel his breath on your skin. Noses almost brushing, lips almost meeting, causing a tingling sensation of anticipation across your skin. Almost. Out of nowhere, you got a startling snap of reality. Almost there, but not quite enough. You were not enough. Not enough to lean forward just a couple more inches.

As his eyelids began to flutter shut, you suddenly felt just as embarrassed as he’d looked when you’d asked to see his drawing, warmth spreading to your cheeks. You retreated at the last moment, clearing your throat. “Um. It’s good. It looks good. The drawing,” you stumbled over your words.

Gerard looked confused as you spoke, and you wished you hadn’t seen the flicker of disappointment across his features. “The drawing,” he repeated, blinking slowly. “Thanks.”

“I should go,” you said after a heavy silence. He opened his mouth to speak, but you were already gathering your things and heading for the stairs to leave the basement. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” were your final words as you retreated from the room. You didn’t turn back, no matter how much you wanted to. As you trudged home, countless thoughts were swirling through your brain. The further you walked from his house, the further you separated yourself from the possibilities the afternoon could have held. You could have kissed Gerard. The boy who you’d been yearning for since the beginning of high school, for four years. Who was kinder than any guy you’d ever been with, but the only one you were scared of kissing.

You could easily imagine his lips against yours, how gentle they’d be, but also the thoughts that were bound to flood your mind if that were to happen. You knew you’d feel like you were taking something away from him, you knew you’d feel as if his untouched lips deserved someone better than you to share a first kiss with. That night, you tossed and turned in bed, not able to get the sketch he’d made of you out of your head. The flawless portrayal of your facial expression and body language made you wonder if maybe this wasn’t the first time he’d drawn you. Your stomach twisted painfully at the thought.

Gerard was too good for you. This was something you’d believed for a long time. But for some reason, you still couldn’t shake the feeling that you should have leaned in. To his face, to your desires, to the opportunity that had quite literally been right in front of you.

Throughout the next few days at school, you avoided him as much as possible. Which deemed to not be so difficult, seeing as he seemed to be doing the same to you. That bothered you more than it should have. You wanted him to speak to you, ask you why you weren’t talking to him, beg you to. But the thought of going up to him made your stomach drop. It was a clear paradox, just like everything revolving around how you felt about him. He made your head spin, and it was impossible to shut him out of it.

After several days of your mind being clouded by him, you turned to the most idiotic solution for your emotional turbulence, but not an uncommon one for you—going to a shitty house party, one that nearly all your friends were headed to. However, doing your makeup and choosing your outfit while blasting music, lying to your parents and saying you were going to sleep over at a friend's house, hopping on your bike and heading over to the party, didn’t give you the same adrenaline rush it usually did. The intention of getting drunk and dancing with your sweaty classmates and most likely hooking up with one of them didn’t entice you for once, nor divert your thoughts of Gerard, leaving you distracted and off kilter.

You mindlessly left your bike on its side in the front yard, wandering into the party. You allowed yourself to be drawn in and out of conversations for an hour and a half or so, trying to slow yourself down from immediately rushing to the drink table. Just as you were about to pour yourself a cup of a crappy vodka bound to get you tipsy quick, a strange guy you recognized from your gym class approached you and somehow got his grimy fingers on the alcohol bottle.

“Here, let me get that for you,” he said with a dumb smirk, making the drink for you, of course managing to spill some in the process, you noticed with irritation. You had to resist the urge to roll your eyes, instead giving him a tight lipped smile as he handed you the red solo cup which you knew you were going to throw away the moment you were out of his line of vision.

Unfortunately for you, he began to follow you around as you weaved through the crowd of people, searching for a familiar face that would help you escape the guy who was still speaking, seemingly not noticing or not caring about your obvious disinterest in him. Eventually, you told him you needed to go to the bathroom, and you were finally able to slip from his sight. You managed to leave through the front door, annoyed that your night had been spoiled, ready to risk stealing a bottle of your parents liquor to sooth your craving for intoxication instead of spending another minute in that house.

You walked toward where you were sure you’d left your bike, only to see it wasn’t there. Frantically, you searched for it, to your dismay finding it rammed against the side of the garage with a group of incredibly drunk kids around it, the one lying on the ground next to the bike obviously the culprit of crashing it. It truly was not fun to be sober around non-sober people, you thought at that moment, bitterly wishing you’d been able to get drunk before that boy had started to throw himself at you. You ran up to the group, cursing and upset, though they were too inebriated to acknowledge you or care. You pushed past them and kneeled down to examine your bike that was clearly broken. It was fixable, but at the moment unrideable, causing you to mutter another string of curses.

To the best of your ability, you dragged the bicycle to the sidewalk in front of the house, sitting down on the concrete next to it with a huff. You supposed you could ask someone at the party to give you a ride home, but most of the kids would be too intoxicated to drive. Then, there was the problem of explaining to your parents why the sleepover you had been at had ended prematurely. You had been relying on spending the night with a hook-up or one of your friends.

But you would have to seek someone out. Going back inside to ask to spend the night with someone meant having to deal with that creepy guy again, standing by on the lawn for someone you recognized to leave was not an option due to how cold out it was, and besides, your appetite for partying—and waiting—had dwindled to be nearly non-existent. You chewed your bottom lip as you faced the only real solution you could think of—calling Gerard. He’d picked you up at parties countless times, but this wasn’t the same, right?

You weren’t drunk, for one. It was different. Everything had felt different the past few days. In fact, that was the problem. It would’ve felt easier to call if you hadn’t nearly shared a kiss the last time you’d seen each other, if you hadn’t pulled away from him. As you rang his number, you wondered if he’d even pick up.

He did. He always did. His voice was clearly raspy with sleep as he answered the phone. “Hello?”

You sucked in a breath before speaking. “Hey. It’s me. I was at a party and this gross guy wouldn’t leave me alone, then some fucknut broke my bike and I can't fix it and I don't have another way to get home. I just—”

“It’s okay. I’ll come get you,” he said in his soft voice. “Where are you?”

You were surprised but also deeply comforted by his response to your predicament, behaving as he always was when you were in a situation like this. A part of you had expected him to act differently than he usually did, given the current state your friendship had been in, but you realized in that moment how much you’d overlooked just how much Gerard cared for you, causing an cascading wave of emotions to crash over you, so intense that you had to take a moment to respond to his question.

“The Johnson’s. I’ll check the house number.” He stayed on the phone until he knew exactly where to find you. “Thank you,” you said quietly, your tone almost guilty. You heard the sound of his engine revving up, knowing he’d be there soon.

“Of course,” he responded in a gentle tone that made you want to cry. A part of you wished he wasn’t so caring. If he was less forgiving, less tender, the thought of him waking up late at night to come get you wouldn’t’ve made you feel so bad. You hung up the phone, and waited, huddled on the corner for the next fifteen minutes, shivering slightly—your thin sweater not doing much to keep the cold from eating away at you.

Relief washed over you when Gerard’s familiar car turned around the corner. You stood up, a weak smile on your face. He parked and got out, walking over to you, his expression unreadable. God, he was so beautiful. Even though he’d already taken the action of coming to get you, you were a bit nervous about how he’d treat you after several days of not speaking to one another. “Hi.” you said awkwardly, the one word spoken almost as a question, your arms wrapped around your body in an attempt to maintain some warmth. He gave you a small smile in greeting which further relieved you of your worries of where your friendship stood. However, they didn’t disappear fully.

Your mind flashed back to his hurt expression after you’d pulled away from him the other day. He noticed your physical state and took off his jacket, placing it over your shoulders without a word, before bending over to pick up your broken bike. You buried your face in the coat, inhaling the familiar smell of magazine paper and coffee, overwhelmed with gratitude at his kindness, the way he acted even after days of you ignoring him. “I can help—” you began as he carried your bike to his trunk. But he cut you off with a shrug, placing it carefully in the car.

“Come on, let's get you home,” he spoke softly.

You slid into the passenger seat, as he did the same on the driver’s side. You bit down on the inside of your cheek before saying, “Gee, I told my parents I was staying over at a friend’s house tonight.” A silence, similar to the one after your near kiss a few days ago, settled over the two of you for a moment.

“You…can stay at mine,” he said, in a voice that seemed cautious, anticipatory, even though you’d had sleepovers before. You smiled a little, despite yourself, as you thanked him. The ride was quiet, the only sound a soft mixtape of The Smiths and David Bowie songs on low volume that you’d heard many times before. It was strange, to be surrounded by so many familiar things in an atmosphere that felt so utterly different than it had for several years, that had been changed in only a matter of days.

You glanced at him as he drove, wondering if was contemplating the same thing, as he had a thoughtful gleam in his eyes, though they stayed on the road. You wanted to ask. You wanted him to turn around and drive you back to the party, so you could drown your feelings in alcohol and not have to deal with them till the next morning. You wanted to scream at him for acting like nothing was different. You wanted to make him pull over and press your lips to his. But you stayed quiet, opting just to admire his face rather than act on any impulsive emotions, which you registered was very unlike you.

You shook off your musings as you pulled into Gerard’s driveway. Your brain was still slightly muddled, so you barely noticed when he got out of the car and was quickly over at your side, opening your door for you. Your heart squeezed in your chest. He never stopped being kind to you, regardless of how you treated him. You followed him into the house, the silence between you ensuing. It would be comforting if there wasn’t so much you wanted to say. You walked down the stairs to his bedroom, the familiarity relaxing you, making you feel better than you had in days.

You plopped down on his bed, where the two of you had almost kissed. It irritated you how that was all you could think about. You tried to ignore that fact, and the pressing question of if you’d be sleeping in his bed tonight, or upstairs on the couch like you usually did when you slept over. It wouldn’t have even been something you were wondering about if the air wasn’t thick with tension. In the dark room, you watched Gerard’s silhouette move over to his dresser and pull out a pair of shorts and a shirt for you to use as pajamas, walking towards you with the clothes in his hand.

He sat next to you, and you turned to look at his face, highlighted only by the moon, as you took the bundle in your hands. “Will you ever stop doing nice things for me?” you tried to joke, but coming off much more serious and desperate than you’d meant to. His face flushed, his hand tentatively reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. You could hear your heartbeat as his hand brushed lightly against your cheek.

“No,” he whispered, his tone mirroring the sincerity in yours. His eyes caught yours, and you couldn’t help but be reminded of a few days prior when you were in nearly this exact same position. His head dipped down slightly, perhaps subconsciously, and this time you didn’t pull away. Still, you didn’t close the gap fully, allowing the question to hang in the air, allowing him to make the final decision.

As he finally leaned in and pressed his lips to yours, you expected your mind to be met with a churning storm of guilt for taking Gerard’s first kiss, images of arguments and tears, of his back turned away from you as you inevitably did something to hurt him. But no, you instead tasted coffee and the promise of something real that you couldn’t quite grasp and somehow didn’t feel the need to in the moment. Instead of fear, you felt his gentle hands on you; one on your cheek, the other resting gingerly on your hip. He pulled away after a moment, searching your face anxiously.

“Is…was that good?” he breathed. You nodded in response, too desperate for your hands to be on him to give him a teasing remark, and shortly after, your lips met his again, your fingers finding their way to his hair, while your other hand cupped the back of his neck. The kiss was soft, exploratory on his behalf, his arm snaking around your waist slowly. Your tongue swiped across his bottom lip before entering his mouth, eliciting a small moan from him.

The sound dizzied you, and your worries of ruining Gerard’s innocence immediately left your head. He wrapped his arms tighter around you, gently pushing you down onto the bed. You were slightly surprised by his forwardness, given that this was his first kiss—his first anything—but it was not unwelcome. Your arms wrapped around his neck as he continued to kiss you. You bit down gently on his bottom lip, the kiss still soft, the nip only an encouragement for him to do more. His hand slipped under your shirt, palm pressed against your abdomen.

With the kiss turning more heated, you supposed it would be best to leave your assumptions behind, as this night had consistently proved you wrong; the party hadn’t saved you from your distracted mind, kissing Gerard hadn’t been as scary as you thought, and he was infinitely less timid than you would have guessed, seeing as he was on top of you with his hand up your shirt. The kiss became more passionate, your legs wrapping around his waist.

As you did this, he shifted slightly, trying to hide his obvious erection, instead doing the opposite by making you aware of it. Your breath hitched slightly, hand wandering south. He pulled away for a moment, watching your hand and mumbling against your lips, “I’ve never, um. Done anything before,” (despite the fact that you knew) but making no move to stop what you were doing. You stopped the movement of your hand at his words.

“Do you want to?” you whispered.

“Please. D-don't stop,” he responded, voice trembling with need as he moved his kisses down your jaw. You pushed down his sweatpants with his help, his boxers following shortly after. His breath hitched as your fingers wrapped around him, letting out a shaky moan. After a few pumps of your hand, you pulled back, and he let out a slight whimper at the loss of contact.

“C’mon, sit on the edge of the bed for me,” you said in a soft tone, almost as if you were trying not to scare him away. He got up off of you and moved, and you slid onto the ground between his legs, shifting onto your knees in front of him. Gerard looked down, biting his lip slightly. There was no arrogant smirk or over-confident facial expressions written across his features, the way most guys were in a situation with a girl on their knees in front of them. He instead stared at you with tenderness, lust evident in his gaze but not the main nor most noticeable aspect of it. He seemed nearly startled that he was even in this position, but incredibly willing at the same time—not just willing to be here with any person, but with you.

The thought caused something within you to twist in a way you couldn’t decide made you feel guilty or not. You didn’t want to be worrying right now, when you were finally between the legs of the guy you’d had a crush on for years. You pulled him in by the front of his shirt, giving him a quick kiss before moving your attention down to his dick that was leaking precum, desire swirling in your gut.

You leaned in, licking it off, which caused him to let out a sharp whine, his fingers digging into the sheets on either side of him. You smirked slightly, wetting his cock with your tongue before your lips wrapped around it, beginning to suck him off. He began to breathe heavily, his head tilting back slightly, eyes squeezed shut.

“Fuck…” he groaned, your name escaping his lips shortly after. His trembling hand went to the back of your head, not pulling your hair but gently holding onto it like he was scared of hurting you, a subtle action that made your heart twinge.

“Is this alright?” he asked between broken breaths, opening his eyes to look into yours. You pulled away for a moment, murmuring a quick yes, before delving back in, mouth moving with purpose, drawing more noises from his throat, his fingers in your hair tightening slightly as his eyelids shut again. You pushed your head further down, eliciting a string of words that bordered on nonsensical from Gerard. This encouraged you further, taking as much of him in your mouth as he could, his tip hitting the back of your throat as you bobbed your head. You weren’t thinking about anything anymore, your only goal to draw as many sounds from him as you could, barely stopping for air as his moans grew louder. His hips began to buck up to meet your mouth, clearly beginning to lose control.

“Shit, sorry,” he mumbled, face flushing.

You let out a small laugh, “It’s okay. I don’t mind,” which seemed to reassure him, his face screwing up in pleasure as you continued. Your heartbeat raced, your only thought was his pleasure. Occasionally he would whisper small words of shy praise between his gasps and moans. After a few more minutes, his whole body was trembling.

“M’gonna—” he gasped out, the hand that wasn't in your hair digging further into his sheets. He finished with your name in his mouth, his cum shooting down your throat. You swallowed it, licking up the remainders along his length as he stared down at you in almost disbelief, still breathing heavily.

“Would you come here?” he whispered to you, and as you stood up from your kneeling position, he gently pulled you into his lap, arms wrapping around you. He buried his face in your neck.

“God, that was—Thank you,” he said sheepishly against your skin, planting a small kiss against your shoulder. A soft smile spread across your face at his shyness that didn’t fully leave despite his sudden bursts of confidence. Gerard lifted his head up, eyes flickering to your lips as he drew you in to kiss you again. It soon became more intense, and he led you onto your back where you’d been before.

After a moment, he reached for the button on your jeans, looking at you for permission. You were slightly surprised, expecting the night’s activities to have ended at the blowjob, perhaps a bit more kissing and nothing more. However, you were not opposed to the idea of it, nodding for him to continue. He kissed your lips again, whispering a small thank you, before gently undoing the button and pushing your jeans down. You kicked them off, before reaching up and pulling off your shirt, now just left in your bra and underpants.

Gerard’s fingers lightly grazed over your clothed core, then traced light patterns across your bare body as his lips met yours again, your back arching up slightly to help him as he fumbled with your bra clasp. You giggled slightly at the moment that would have been awkward had it been anyone else, causing him to blush as he finally unhooked it, pulling the nylon fabric off your body. He left small nips and kisses between and across your breasts, drawing shivers from you, before kissing you once more. A brush of his bare skin against yours had you craving more. Your hands roamed over his chest before slipping under his shirt, pulling it up and over his head after he gave you a nod of consent.

“D’you have any condoms?” you asked, leaving a peck on his clavicle.

“Yeah. Yes,” he mumbled breathlessly, reaching over to the drawers by his bed and pulling one out.

Once he rolled it on, you kissed him again, and spoke softly, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

He nodded, his hand brushing against your hip. “I…I’ve thought about it before. A lot,” he admitted, and even in the dark you could see his face turn red, making you smile. “I really want to.”

“Me too,” you said, shifting yourself under him slightly. He inhaled, planting a final kiss to your neck before lining his dick up with you and pushing in. Gerard let out a quiet moan, a sound similar to his leaving you as well. Your fingernails dug soft crescents into his pale skin as he sunk into you.

After a moment of waiting to make sure there was nothing that made either of you want to stop, he began to gently move his hips against yours. He was soft, like he was in every setting, every scenario, but you could feel the passion behind his movements, letting out a soft whine.

“Everything fine?” he whispered, and you responded with a small nod, eyelids fluttering shut. He sucked a dark spot into your neck as his body rocked against yours. Your breath hastened along with his as Gerard quickened his pace, causing the whimpers and moans of the both of you to gradually become louder. He kept his hand on your hip, his other arm propping him up.

Your fingernails dragged up and down his back, a clear contradiction to his gentle movements, which somehow didn’t leave you feeling like a thief of innocence, maybe because he didn’t seem to mind at all. You left small kisses and marks against his throat periodically, which would prompt him to move faster.

His hands and lips traveled across your skin, slowly, mapping out every inch and committing it to memory. His fingers across your stomach made you weak, drawing another shaky moan from your mouth. As he treated your body with nothing but tenderness, you realized it had never mattered to Gerard that you were a mess. He had always seen past it, and you’d never noticed the way he still thought you were beautiful when you were crying or hysterical, the way he still admired you when you were falling apart. You had always known that he was the most understanding person you’d ever met, but never imagined his empathy applied to you as well—at least not to this extent.

But right here, right now, with his loving hands across your body, you knew that he saw all of you—and still wanted all of you. Every emotion, every touch, became heightened, your body beginning to reach its limit. Near the end, he sped up, his movements growing slightly sloppy but never losing the gentleness he always carried, no matter how hard your nails were digging into him. He shifted slightly, hitting a new angle within you, the sounds leaving both of your throats becoming uncontrollable.

He finished right before you did, moaning out your name, continuing to move his body against yours until he was sure you were done too. Your fingers dug into his back a final time as you reached your peak, causing him to shiver, and he pressed a soft kiss to your collarbone. You both stayed still for a moment, wrapped in each others’ arms, the rate of your hearts gradually slowing down, pressing shaky pecks onto the other's skin.

After a while, he pulled out and threw the condom in the trash, still breathing heavily as he pulled his clothes back on. You looked at him as you dressed in the shirt and shorts he had given you to wear earlier, sitting up, and grateful you’d decided to finally ignore your fears and kiss the boy you had wanted to kiss for so long. His hand brushed against your jaw, pulling you closer to him.

“Are you okay? Was that…okay?” he asked, looking slightly nervous. “I mean, I thought it was. Not just okay. More than okay. Like, I really liked it. I really—” You smiled at him through a bitten lip, cutting off his rambling although you were still a bit short on breath.

“Don’t worry,” you softly peppered his lips with small pecks. “It was really good. You were really good. Especially for a virgin,” you added the last sentence teasingly, seeing the tips of his ears flush when you spoke. He didn’t know how to respond, instead leaning forward and kissing you slowly again.

You didn’t exactly know what else to say either, with so many thoughts swirling through your head it felt impossible, gratefully leaning in. “Let’s get some sleep, yeah?” You suggested after a little while. He nodded, lips grazing your neck, and you nestled under the blankets together, head pressed against his chest as you listened to the still quickened beat of his heart, his fingers tracing invisible patterns on your hip.

“I really did. Like you for a long time,” he said after a moment of silence. You lifted your head up to look at him, a stupid grin on your face.

“I should’ve kissed you sooner,” but behind the casual way you said it, you meant it sincerely. With those words, you meant that you should have realized how he saw you, accepted yourself and the fact that he desired you. He returned the smile, perhaps not understanding the meaning behind the five simple words, giving you a final trail of pecks against your lips and neck before leaning his head down and closing his eyes.

Gerard would probably never know about your internal battle to act on how much you wanted him. He would never know about the nights you had spent, wishing you were different so that you would be worthy of his lips on yours. He would never know about the guilt that tore away at you when he dealt with your problems or looked after you, or all the times you had nearly taken a chance, but hadn’t.

But as you drifted off to sleep that night, you decided it didn’t matter. You would make it work, because the very thing that had held you back from him was the very thing that would make you stay: Gerard was the sweetest person you knew. You would never allow yourself to lose him because you would be better for him than you ever had in a relationship.

If you had been different, you would have kissed Gerard. But in the end, he had not wanted a perfect girl, one who you yearned to be. He had chosen you.

Ay bbgirl wanna become a 200k slow burn fanfic?

about to read this whole thing on one night. We love a slow burn

1 • A New Kind Of Mission | OPERATION: FAKING IT ...? 

1 • A New Kind Of Mission | OPERATION: FAKING IT …? 

Description: You are summoned to a meeting with Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes & the long suffering PR Executive to present a new kind of mission: Operation: Faking it. Fake dating Bucky Barnes to raise his reputation with the public sounds fun, right?

Pairing: Beefy Bucky Barnes x Female Avenger Reader

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: Cute Bucky, swearing.

A/N: I can't believe the response the master list got so thanks for all the likes & follows!! FYI I wanted the presentation above to look as goofy & ridiculous as possible, as though Tony actually sat at a computer tongue out in concentration drawing tiny hearts around Bucky.

Series Masterlist

[Next Chapter]

---

‘Could you repeat that again from the top Tony?’ you glanced at the shy super soldier to you left expecting a similar annoyance that you were feeling to be reflected back at you, if anyone looked like they wanted the floor to open up & swallow them whole it was him & quite frankly you were ready to jump in there with him because you were convinced you had entered a parallel dimension before you were summoned into this meeting; that is the only explanation.

You didn’t even give Tony the chance to open his mouth, holding your finger up to shush him as you began summarising the tomfoolery that had just been presented to you.

‘You are concerned about the image of the team, specifically public opinion of Sargent Barnes, the man whom I might add saves the world on the regular & has jumped through hoop after hoop to appease the government & public, so the only way, literally the only strategy a so-called ‘genius’ with a powerhouse of a PR team behind him can come up with is to stage a romance between said super soldier & myself? Did I get everything there? Encompassed your PowerPoint presentation you worked so tirelessly on, clip-art hearts & everything?’ 

‘You seem to have grasped the basic concept of ‘Operation: Faking It’ & also thank you for noticing the hearts.’ Tony cockily boasted; you loved Tony, you really did, but even this was trying your patience.

After giving yourself a moment to gather your thoughts, including a exagerrated irritated breath release & nose bridge pinch you were ready to verbally rearrange his insides, when in doubt point out a man’s stupidity & misogyny aka the Romanoff technique.

‘Again, it’s not quite adding up for me because you’re telling me that all the years I have been working my ass off to be in the position I am was leading up to the moment where I have basically been told my sole use in the team is to fake a relationship so that the public, who are complete morons by the way will like a man who was a prisoner of war, tortured & brainwashed for 70 years?’

You caught the smirk on Bucky’s face out the corner of your eye, you knew he would enjoy witnessing Tony Stark being firmly put in his place & you hoped he didn’t think your reluctance to participate was anything to do with him. 

Tony’s offended face & fake pearl clutching almost broke your composure ‘Don’t twist our words kid, you know you’re a valued member of the team & everyone’s favourite Avenger.’

‘Then why was I asked? Why me? You could have chosen Natasha? Hell, you could have actually thought outside the box & suggested Steve, Sam, Thor? You know be an ally & get the LGBTQ+ community behind this.’ Yours & Tony’s silent battle of raising a brow to each other was swiftly interrupted by the ‘expert’ PR Exec.

‘You were chosen because your image with the public is solid across the board which will intern lift Sargent Barnes’ & the market research concluded that the idea of two assassins together would make the public nervous.’ 

‘Ex assassins’ you & Bucky corrected in tandem between gritted teeth. If looks could kill she would have been dust from the scowl you gave her.

Tony was quick to lower the tension, knowing you were a hair's breadth away from walking out, ‘Plus you’re his type & Thor doesn’t look like he’d snuggle up to Barnes quite as adorably as you would for the cameras.’

‘Would people even buy it?’ the whole time the ridiculous proposal was being presented you couldn’t help thinking that the public wouldn’t even fall for it?

‘If you make it convincing enough they will, public dates, hand holding, glancing into each other’s eyes, bit of PDA, under the jumper action around the city.’

‘Thin ice tony’ You warned. A wave of humiliation overcame you at having to ask the question & address the elephant in the room. ‘What I was implying is that Sargent Barnes is a 10. I am … well not, would they even believe he’d date me?’

Tony’s face fell at your comment & you could see Bucky’s expression of confusion in your peripherals, normally you’d explain a modern term to him but this one he could remain clueless about, the last thing he needed to hear was that you thought he was a 10.

You were confident enough when it came to guys, but Bucky wasn’t any other guy, he was probably the prettiest man you’d ever laid eyes on, he was huge & had a hell of a stare on him but was so soft once you got to know him, you’d become friends since your arrival in the tower. You never thought of him as more than a friend, he could do date anyone he set eyes on, like someone supermodel levels of hot so never thought of him as more than a friend.

Tony looked at you with the sincerest face you’d ever seen on him, ‘You’re an 11 kid.’ 

As much as you appreciated the gesture & threw him a little wink of thanks you were still completely unconvinced this was going to work.

‘Whilst I commend the work that went into the presentation, I’m not sure going for a coffee & dinner is going to get anyone talking.’ 

‘Well, there’s a little more to it than that.’ Tony stated like he was pointing out the obvious that this stuff is rife in the entertainment industry.

‘We hire a photographer & leak some pictures to the press for your coffee date, it will drum up some attention for the gossip sites & then fan attention with social media will do the leg work to get you noticed in the wider news circuit.’ 

‘So, you’re almost encouraging strangers to spy on us, that’s a bit of an ick for me Tony.’

‘You’ll be safe with Tin Man over there.’ He assured.

‘I know I will be, but who’s to say that when I’m on my own I will be safe if people are reporting my location to Deuxmoi every day, where I hang out, my schedule.’ You shuddered at the thought, yeah you could handle yourself but the idea of looking over your shoulder constantly wasn't appealing.

‘Tony, I’m not putting her in danger just to score points.’ Bucky warned, he’s a man of few words but when he does speak everyone in the room pays attention at his deep gravelly voice, you couldn’t help noticing the way his jaw was clenching.

‘Ok, if you agree to this then switch it up, go to a new coffee place, bakery, book shop etc just whilst we’re running the campaign. Oh & it’s probably best you both temporarily re-locate to the tower too, just to prevent any potential for people following you home. I’ve already set up the arrangements on the assumption you agree.’

The very quiet PR chimed in. ‘It’s not that we expect crazy fans to show up at your door, we just expect the media focus to be intense at the start & you really don’t want them chasing after you home.’

‘Enough Tony, she’s not uprooting her whole life, putting herself in danger for me & my mistakes, all to prove to people I’m no longer a psycho killer.’

You reached across to squeeze his arm, he wasn’t huge on physical touch but you both needed grounding to keep this meeting from boiling over, you spoke to him earnestly ‘They weren’t your mistakes Bucky.’ Before turning back to Tony ‘if and it’s a big IF I do this then relocating to the tower is a sensible option I guess, I’d have a list of demands though & so will Bucky.’

‘I expect nothing less kid. Look, it will be initially coffee, dinner, a bit of social media interaction, attend a party or Gala nothing taxing & nothing you don’t already do as friends, so just hold hands, stand closer to one another & the gossip sites will put two & two together & write about you. Then we’ll reassess in a month to see how it’s going & if it’s worth continuing etc. Think it over & we’ll reconvene tomorrow.’

‘Ok but how does it end? It can’t go on forever, what if one of us meets someone, we’ll eventually start seeing other people for real, I mean a girl has needs Tony.’ Bucky’s stomach weirdly dropped at the thought of something not even real ending, then couldn’t get his mind off you at your other concern.

‘Easy tiger, it’s simple, a ‘close source’ will tell a reputable publication that you work better as friends & decided to call it a day. You both get out of it your reputation intact & Bucky’s elevated if all goes to plan.’

You let out a breath & rubbed your face trying to keep your mind from going into overdrive, ‘Ok, can Bucky & I use the room to talk it over & decide if we want to do it?’

‘Sure you can Kiddo, oh … and no missions whilst this is going on, k byeee’ 

As the eccentric billionaire swanned out the office in style with the PR exec on his tail you turned to the Super Solider on your left, you couldn’t help but laugh at his expression, it was a mix between being perplexed by the situation & angry about being benched.

‘So, no missions aside, what do you think about all this?’

He couldn't quite look you in the eyes as he gathered his thoughts, ‘I think … I’m mainly embarrassed that I’m 107 years old & being made to stage a romance so that strangers on the internet will like me more & that you of all people are being dragged into it.’ A little sad smile graced his face before his customary scowl returned.

‘I get it, modern times suck I bet, but there will be more than just strangers paying attention. It’s laughable that they didn’t lead with appeasing the higher ups which could intern give you more freedom & less scrutiny seeing you as a ‘functioning’ person. I would have agreed to it in a second had that been mentioned, if you were comfortable with it, of course.’

‘But why are you so willing to help? It’s a lot to ask of you to put your life on hold, move & then the fake dating thing.’

‘Helping out a friend is reason enough. Plus, think about it, we won’t have to cook, clean or do laundry for like a month if we’re living in the tower, it will be like a vacation & Tony will give us whatever we want.’ You wiggled your brows coming up with a list in your head of ridiculous items you could ask Tony for as the Super Solider shook his head chuckling at you.

‘I only need a bed.’

‘Where’s the fun in that Bucky? We could be outrageous I’m thinking new car, a puppy, cinema room in my apartment, unlimited ice cream, a unicorn.’ You checked off your fingers at every wild thing running through your imagination.

He raised his brows trying to stifle a laugh at your ridiculous list, ‘you do realise unicorns are mythical beings, don’t you?’

‘Hey if anyone can get me a Unicorn, it’s Tony Stark.’

‘And a puppy? You are an actual puppy you couldn’t handle one on your own.’ 

‘Yeah, a puppy, why not? You can be their Papa. We could take him on walks around the city, the beach, oh my god we can set him up an Instagram account & all wear matching outfits in our pictures. It’ll be so freaking cute.’ You were practically bouncing on your chair. 

Bucky being the voice of reason wanted you to think this over a bit more, ‘Don’t get your hopes up Doll, Tony hasn’t agreed to it yet, what about missions? Who will look after him? What about this when it’s all over, we won’t be living in the tower, so I won’t see him.’ He looked so sad saying that & you knew you had him wrapped around your finger, no one can say no to you.

‘You could come over & see him whenever you like or us come to yours, we’ll share, he’ll be ours. Tony can’t say no to me, he thinks he can, but I just need to flash him some fluttery lashes & he would sign over Stark Industries to me, so me asking for a puppy is showing him mercy, trust me, the puppy is ours. Fury will love him, did you know Fury loves dogs, he has two, I'm not supposed to say what kind, if anyone asks they are Dobermann's ... they're actually Pomeranian's, white little fluffy things. I bet we’ll have so many people fighting to look after him when we’re on missions.’

Bucky couldn’t help being swept up in the imaginary scenario of you sharing a dog with him, despite him knowing it was a terrible idea & all the horror scenarios his brain conjured at the thought he nodded his head at you. His therapist would be proud of him choosing the path that leads to potential happiness instead of the safe miserable one he usually went for despite it being reckless & not thought out in the slightest. Who was he kidding, he couldn’t say no to you.

‘Ok so the puppy is on the list’ he conceded, ‘But, do you actually need a new car?’ You beamed at him agreeing to the puppy so easily, you should use your powers of persuasion for evil if the hero life didn’t work out for you, you thought.

You shrugged your shoulders trying to justify the request knowing Tony would expect a valid argument presented to him to justify the cost, ‘Nope, I never drive but you just never know when you’ll need a ride so it’s handy to have, ya know?’ You argued.

‘Where are you going to keep the car, does your apartment have a parking garage?’ 

‘No, it does not. I could keep it at the tower, yeah Tony will let me.’ You nodded trying to convince him with your smug smile & challenging eye contact.

He looked at you amused knowing you would fold at his next logical question, ‘So, you’d have to travel to the tower to then travel somewhere else?’

‘I see your point.’ Ok, so you couldn’t win every battle & you really didn’t think the car through in fairness, it just sounded so fun to be able to go on rides in the middle of the night to McDonalds without anyone from Uber judging your eating habits.

‘How about if you need a ride you call me & I’ll take you, I’ve got my bike or my car if the puppy is with you.’

‘Sweet. I guess it lowers my chance of being kidnapped by an Uber driver.’ You grinned at him, he’d learn to regret that offer, you really did get on with Bucky & he seemed comfortable with you, he tended to keep you in check & according to Tony ‘within the atmosphere of reality’ when your enthusiasm or imagination ran riot, so you knew this would be a fairly simple assignment for you both.

‘hmmm what else could we get?’ you said thinking out loud, your fingers drumming on your chin as you pondered what else to ask for.

‘Like I said, having a bed, you & a puppy seems a good deal.’ You let his words sink in because he would be stuttering in no time at the gaff, oh his sweet innocent 1940’s mind.

‘What I mean Is …’ Bucky stuttered, he was such a gentleman that any accidental innuendo or double meaning took him a second to register & then a flood of embarrassment would hit him, it was incredibly cute really.

‘I got what you meant, don’t have a coronary. What about a cabin in the woods, co-ownership? We can take road trips, swim in a lake, see baby deer, build a fire. Oh, the puppy will love it, we need to think of a name for them, we can get matching Kagools.’ You quickly clapped your hands in excitement, you wanted a rainy forest & warm cabin covered in blankets & all snuggling up in front of the fire.

Bucky chuckled at you knowing there was no talking you out of something once you’d painted that picture in your head, ‘Whatever you want Bambi. Just make a list & see what you can get away with I say.’ He chuckled.

You blushed at the nickname, you needed to think of a woodland related one for him. ‘So, we’re doing this? Coffee, dinner dates, bit of insta flirting?’ 

‘Sounds like we are, no idea what insta flirting is though.’ He admitted shyly.

You smiled warmly at him, ‘I’ll teach ya.’ He couldn’t help reaching out for your hand & bringing it to his mouth, he didn’t understand why you were always so kind & understanding towards him, he always enjoyed spending time with you so to have an excuse to be in your vicinity whenever he wanted felt like it was his lucky day.

You winked as his lips touched your knuckles gently, ‘That’s the spirit.’ 

‘Hey, that was genuine.’ He faked scowled at you as he unlinked your fingers.

‘Oh, Sorry.’ You blushed at his gesture & that him being sweet came from a real place, you reached out to him & placed a kiss on his cheek. 

‘So we’re doing this.’ You smiled at him & Bucky found himself reflecting it on his own, he would even go so far as to say he was looking forward to the next month.

As you made your way home to pack up your belongings & spend one final night in your apartment you couldn’t help but be excited for what was to come, yes for the puppy but Bucky being there with you too, he was a good guy & needed pushing to leave his house when he wasn’t on missions. He had once told you that living his life as a free man was stressful, he’d missed out on so much, having been held captive for so long he found the choices of what to do & where to go overwhelming at times so just stayed home. You always hated the thought of him alone, so having a little family tied together with a puppy would be good for him, who cares about the PR bullshit you thought.

The next day you both crossed the T’s & dotted the I’s & laid out the final plan & agreements with Tony & Rachel the ‘PR wizard', you’d snitch on Tony to Dr Strange at a later date for the ridiculous title he gave her. 

So, you didn’t end up getting the blue whale on your list, you compromised graciously with a whale watching trip, a trip to Wakanda to see Bucky’s goats, use of Tony’s log cabin in the woods whenever you liked, a puppy & unlimited Ben & Jerry’s for life for both you & the super soldier, quite frankly it seemed like a sweet deal. 

Bucky quietly admired your strength in arguing every crazy demand & saw Tony almost working out how he could get you a blue whale at one point before you relented to common sense once Bucky had managed to talked you down but mostly he loved seeing the sheer joy on your face at every yes from Tony, immediately turning to him with a wink, he knew that the next month or so would be filled with your unwavering enthusiasm for every event & would hopefully let him experience some of it through you, it was just a few dates & pictures with a friend, nothing more, right? 

---

Hoped you enjoyed guys, this was just the set up chapter ready for the two fluffy idiots to commence their faux romance. Don't forget to like, reblog & follow!!

TAG List:

@enchantedbarnes @anonymously-ominous @criticaltrinket @enlyume @getofffmydick @sebsgirl71479 @nash-dara @tanyaspartak @blithecapricorn @cjand10 @spicoli-waves @happytimeunicorns @ifilwtmfc @sarapolare @buggy14 @ka-x-in @lokisasgardianvampirequeen @justab-eautifulmess @openup-yourmind @namelessav @queen-mal @teambarnes72 @nikkig496-blog @mooievis @julesclues @giftedyoungster3000 @beware-my-thorns @redbarn1995 @povlvr @intense-sneezing @l3itchy-but-cute @capswife @littlelizardlizzie

Just wrote my first Sonadow fanfic! Well, at least the first chapter. It’s an idea I’ve had in my head for a while, and I finally just wrote it out lol. Here’s the summary below if anyone is interested!

Slow burn Sonadow :) Sonic finally convinces Shadow to open up a little more, which ends up going a long way over time. The first chapter is kinda like a long prologue that leads to the beginning of Shadow and Sonic getting closer. Each chapter after will be little one shot-type stories in the same storyline that all lead up to, y’know, relationship and feelings lol. While Sonic and Shadow are young adults in this, there will be no sm*t. If anything there may be some tension, but mostly few and far between. I’m expecting about 4-5 more chapters before the romance really blossoms, but don’t worry, there will be a lot of cute and romantic things building up to that point. Also, final thing. While I try my best to write the characters as accurately as possible, I will be inserting my own head canons ofc. Anyways, hope you enjoy! And feel free to comment tips or suggestions!

Is the title still a work in progress, or are the hedgehogs a work in progress? You decide :)

Okay, so I’ve been wanting to write a a Logan x OC fanfic with the OC as a professor at Charles school and I wrote the first chapter (really short cause its just sort of a bit of background) and I thought I’d post it here just to see how people would receive it!

(Also this is set when she’s about fifteen, the actual first chapter is going to be a major time jump, so through the fic she’ll be about 30)

Warnings: runaway teen (?), sleeping in a diner, she thinks Charles is kinda weird, not proof read lmao, nothing else I don’t think?

———————

She woke up cold. Her lashes flutter against her cheeks, sore with sleep. It was too frigid in the small diner, the heater did little in the winter and they had put her right by the door that let in a breeze every time it swung open; biting her skin. Her own attire wasn’t much help either, she thought.

The too-big sweatshirt hanging off her shoulders wasn’t thick enough to keep her warmer than her own body heat could, and her jeans were still wet from falling into the snow outside of the empty diner. The only warmth she had was from the thick leather boots on her feet that were two sizes too big.

The heavy thrill of hail outside the small diner window was a heavy patter in her ear drums. The bright beaming twenty-four hour sign hummed against the window, the fluorescent light flickering harsh blue and red light.

She pressed her open palm to the side of her cheek, eyes looming over the other patrons. Most of the diner was vacant, the waitresses bide behind the counters and the heavy steam of coffee burned in the air. She felt hunger nestle in the pit of her empty stomach, if she had enough shoved away in her rucksack she could get pancakes, if she had enough energy she wouldn’t need to pay for them at all. But she had a feeling she would.

She pushed against the table, stretching carefully, ignoring the always present ache in her limbs. Her fingers pushed against her scalp, feeling against her boyish cut hair.

It was just getting long enough for the curls to furl beside her ear, but it still bristled against her fingers. It made people stare less the more it grew, and she was thankful. Soon enough she’d attract even less attention.

Maryn could hear the soft clicking of heels, it was the waitress, she could hear the whisper of her thoughts flutter against her skull. Her mind was always hazy after sleeping, so none of the whispers were coherent enough for her to understand. She didn’t look up until she was right beside the table.

“You want anything, sweetheart?” She had a pot of coffee in her hand, and a southern lilt in her voice. “You’ve been here a while, you must be hungry.”

If she had noticed Maryn sleeping only moments ago she didn’t mention it, but her thoughts fluttered with concern.

“Pancakes?” Maryn blinked up at her.

The waitress nodded, her name tag read Hellen. She had blonde straw-like hair and yellow rimmed glasses.

“How about some chocolate chip pancakes, huh? Knock your socks right off.” She smiled, and Maryn nodded, unwilling to deny the indulgence. “I’ll get those right out, sweet pea.”

She walked away, bright red shoes clicking as she did. She was nice.

Maryn sunk back into her seat, one of the waitresses turned on a radio and through the storm the music didn’t sound like it had any words, covered by static, but its gentle tune was nice enough.

She rubs the ache over her tired eyes, she’d have to walk further when the sun finally came up. If her jeans dried before she left the diner maybe she’d make it further than she did today. Just the thought of more walking made her head throb and ache.

Hitching a ride wasn’t a far idea for her, but didn’t like all the questions that came with asking for help. They can’t help it, always the most obvious questions first, Where are your parents? Are you all alone? Shouldn’t you be in school? She was tired of it.

The soft jingle of the bell hanging over the door rang lightly as it swung open. Maryn tugged her sweater closer when the biting breeze crept through the sleeves.

Another soft flutter of whispers filled her head, she ignored them. She didn’t care to hear anyone else's thoughts. But they grew closer, until someone was coming up beside her table again, and then the whispers were gone.

“Hello.” An accented voice greeted. “Mind if I join you?”

She looked up at the man beside her table, her eyes trailing up the silvery metal of the wheelchair he was sitting in before his face.

He was older, weathered and looked at her with a familiar kind of smile while wearing the nicest suit she had ever seen. A deep blue with a matching tie and one of those pieces of fabric people shove into the chest pocket. It made him stand out, looking strange in the rickety diner.

She doesn’t say anything, but he picks up the menu at the other end of the table and she doesn’t stop him.

“I’m Charles Xavier.” He said warmly, he extended a hand, “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

She looked at his hand curiously before reaching out to shake it slowly. His hand is warm.

“Hi.” She said, wearily. He looks at their joined hands when they touch.

“Cold,” He smiles, “I’d imagine this is the warmest place around these parts.”

“For a few miles.” Maryn shrugs, he didn't seem like the worst person to have a conversation with.

“Did you walk yourself here?” She nodded. “The next town isn’t for miles. You must be exhausted.”

She shrugged, again. She felt how she always felt. Cold, tired, achy. His eyes trail over the rucksack tucked into her side.

“Is that all your things?” She nodded, tugging her bag closer.

“What I can carry.” She tells him. He hums.

“It looks heavy. Must have been difficult in this weather.”

“It’s alright.”

“If you say so.” He smiles.

She nods.

Charles, the strange British man, didn’t seem annoyed by her silence, but she was rather perturbed by his. His mind was completely silent, not a single whisper.

Usually she couldn’t keep other people’s thoughts away, only if she really concentrated she could quiet the noise down for a little bit, but it’s like his mind was completely empty.

Her dark fawn-like eyes trail up his head. She usually didn’t have to focus so much, and even now as she did, she heard nothing.

You won’t get anything up here, Maryn.

She jumped in her seat.

“Alright, baby, I got your pancakes and–oh,” Hellen came back with a hot steaming stack of chocolate chip pancakes. She looked between the two, eyeing Charles, “Is everything alright over here?”

“Yes, splendid, could I get some coffee, please? And,” He pauses to look at Maryn, “A milkshake, for my friend.”

There was only one milkshake on the menu, vanilla.

Hellen looks at her first, and then back at him.

“Of course. Coming right up, sugar.” And she clicks away again.

Charles smiled at her, kindly.

“It’s rude to snoop, you know.” He says, though there’s not much sternness in his tone.

“Most people don’t seem to mind.” She said plainly.

Charles dipped his head with a funny smile.

“I’m sure they don’t.”

“How do you know my name?” She asked, picking up her fork and butter knife as she did. She was curious but still starving. She grabbed the syrup at the end of the table, smothering her cakes.

“Because I have been keeping an eye on you for quite some time, Maryn.” He admits, watching her scarf down her pancakes like they’d run away from her. “You are very special.

“Special" isn't the word most people use.” She says out of the edge of her mouth, still chewing.

“We are not most people.” Charles hums.

“Yeah,” she muttered plainly.

“I’ll admit, your…capabilities are more advanced than I’ve seen in others your age.” He observed, “It’s quite impressive.”

Maryn doesn’t say anything to that. She didn’t have anything to say. Charles continues.

“You know, most mutant children I find are often in groups. They find one another, and protect each other.” His fingers drum on the fake carved plastic, “You remain by yourself. Have you not met others?”

She cuts jaggedly into her pancakes.

“I have.” She chews.

“And what happened?”

She thought about not telling him, then she thought he already knew and was just waiting for her to say it. Either way, he waits patiently across from her, waiting for her to say something; same gentle look in his eye.

“There's something inside me.” She admits, dubiously, “It scares people.”

“Does it scare you?” Again, she doesn’t answer.

Charles looked at her for a long time, she almost thought he was going to go away, leave her there, growing frustrated with her insolence. But he doesn’t. Instead, he looks at her with the same familiar smile.

“I have a school.” He says, “It’s not much now, barely a handful of students, even less teachers, but I created it for gifted children. Children like you.”

Maryn stared at him, her fork stabbing a piece of pancake on her plate.

“A school?”

He nods.

“I’d very much like you to attend.” He tells her, eyes looking her over, “Perhaps I can help you.

He seems to mean it. It’s the first time she can’t see into someone’s mind to know if they’re telling the truth or not, but she has a feeling, an unfamiliar feeling, that she can trust him.

She looked down at her plate, “What if you can’t?”

Charles looks at her carefully.

“Then maybe I can help you learn to control it.” Maryn looks up at him. “At the least, you’ll have a warm bed, food. Clothes that fit.”

For the first time since they started talking, she smiles. It’s small, but it’s there.

“Alright, a coffee for you,” They both looked at Hellen as she came back, “And a milkshake for you, Angel.”

“Yes, we’ll have the check please.” Charles says kindly. Then he places his forefinger and his middle finger to his temple and looks Hellen in the eyes,“You will not remember us once we leave.”

Maryn watches the waitress's eyes glaze over from behind her glasses before she smiles again.

“I’ll get that right out for you.”

Maryn looked at Charles.

“Can I do that?”

“We shall see, won’t we?” His lips spread into a thin smile. “Finish your pancakes.”

——————-

Omg I feel so anxious I literally have never done this before 😭 but please let me know what you guys think! If I do decide to post the whole fic it’ll prob be on ao3 just cause I plan to make it pretty long/slow burn

But I hope u guys like it 🙌🙌

I've only read like 2-3 stories but they are amazing. Pls go check them out. You wont regret it.

Masterlist

I hope you enjoy what I write! Please like and reblog. Thank you!

Keep reading