❉ 139 Dreams (Toyoda Shun) Understanding

Table of Contents

• Genre: Fluff, angst, slice of life
• Word Count: 7,876
• Pairing: Reader x Shun
• World: My Love Mix-Up!
• Note: Bro, this took me too long to write and I doubt anyone is even gonna read it because he’s not a popular character lmao Oh well, I had fun and I’m proud of the result for the most part.Also… holy shit it’s almost 8k words what the fuck bro xD

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

“Hey~ kids! Spare some hicchange for the less fortunate?” A middle-aged man giggled, the alcohol in his system making him sway where he stood, blocking the path of the three high school students.

Aoki felt nervous and wasn’t sure how to handle this situation. Should he just offer the man some money in the hopes that he would go away? He started to reach for his wallet when Ida stepped forward, his voice firm. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re quite drunk, you should go home and sleep it off before you do something you might regret later.”

The once jolly drunk quickly shifted to anger, jabbing his finger in the boy’s chest. “Hah? Who are you to get all hic high and mighty with me, eh? Eh?”

Toyoda frowned, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Let’s just go, Kousuke.”

“You think you can just w-hic-alk away from me, punk? Eh?” His glassy eyes fell on the brunette and he reached forward to grasp a hold of his shirt, but fingers wrapped tightly around the man’s wrist before he could, making him cry out in pain. “Ow, ow, ow! Let hic me go!”

You clicked your tongue in annoyance, eyes narrowed at the drunkard. “Oi, don’t you have any shame? Picking on a bunch of high school kids.”

“Mind your own hic business!” he slurred, trying to pull his wrist free from your grip.

“I think you need a nap, man. Here, let me help you out with that, free of charge.” You cocked your fist back before slamming it into the man’s face.

He cried out in pain, stumbling backward when you released his wrist before falling onto the pavement and curling up into a ball, sobbing like a baby.

“Pathetic,” you scoffed, raking your eyes over the three boys. “Anyone hurt?”

For several moments, the three just stared at you.

Aoki snapped out of it, closing the distance between you. “Y/N! What are you doing here?”

“We haven’t seen each other in two years and that’s the first thing you say to me?” you quirked a brow at him, hand over your heart. “Not happy to see me, Sota?”

“Of course, I’m happy!” he pouted, tugging on the hem of your shirt. “I’m just surprised. You didn’t tell me you were coming back.”

“It was kind of a last-minute decision.” Your eyes flickered to the other two boys, watching you with curiosity and confusion. “These your friends?”

“Ah…” Aoki’s eyes landed on Ida and he bit his lip, feeling anxiety grip his heart. “Y-Yes, they’re my… friends.”

You quirked a brow at him, knowing full well that he was hiding something from you but he just smiled nervously before introducing them to you and you to them. You hummed, nodding at them as a sign of acknowledgment. “Nice to meet you.”

Toyoda smiled politely, giving you a bow. “You too, Y/N-san.”

You nodded before turning back to Aoki, patting his arm. “Let’s get you home. It’s getting late and your mom sent me to find you.”

“Okay…” He sent an apologetic look to the two boys, offering them a wave. “Good night.”

“Good night, Aoki.”

“Sweet dreams.”

You sent them one last look before throwing your arm around Aoki’s shoulders and the two of you started toward his house. He smiled up at you, leaning into your body as he played with the bracelet around your wrist.

“I can’t believe you’re really back. Are you staying for a while?”

You thought about your new job and hummed. “Yeah, I think I will.”

“I’m so excited! Are you going to be staying with us?”

“Just until my apartment is ready to move in to.”

“How long will that be?”

You shrugged a shoulder. “Couple weeks, maybe?”

He grinned at you, pulling away so that he could stop in front of you, his eyes shining like stars. “Then let’s make these next two weeks the best of our lives!”

You chuckled, ruffling his hair. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

You scratched the back of your head, looking at the poorly drawn map that Aoki’s mom had given you. It had gotten you this far but you weren’t even sure if you were in the right place or not. Where the hell was the school? It was pretty early so there weren’t too many students around for you to follow, either.

Toyoda turned the corner and paused when he saw you, your brow furrowed at a tiny piece of paper in your hands. You looked lost. He smiled softly as he approached you. “Y/N-san?”

You lifted your head, looking at him blankly for a moment before recognition flickered across your face. “Ah, it’s you. Sota’s friend, uhh…”

“Toyoda Shun,” he bowed.

“Toyoda, right. You go to the same school as Sota right?”

“Yes. Are you looking for the school?”

You gave him an exasperated sigh, showing him the map. “Aoki’s mom drew this but how the hell am I supposed to follow it? I think a five-year-old would do better.”

He hummed softly as he looked over the map. “Well, you did well because the school is right around the corner. You just took the back way.”

“Eh? Really?”

He motioned for you to follow him and when you rounded the corner, you saw a few students making their way toward the school entrance.

“Well, shit. Thanks, man.”

Toyoda smiled. “Of course. If you’re looking for Aoki, he might not -“

“Y/N-chan?!”

You turned around, seeing Aoki with a confused look on his face but he wasn’t alone. Aida was with him, stars in his eyes as he looked at you. “Oh god…”

Aida launched himself toward you, his arms held out but you lifted your foot, pressing it against the side of his face, pushing him away from you. “Y/N~” He complained. “You’re so cold to me! Oi, Aoki, why didn’t you tell me Y/N was back?”

“Ah, well…”

“Beacuse I told him not to,” you replied simply. “You annoy the hell out of me.”

“It’s called love.”

“Pretty sure it’s hate.”

Aoki cleared his throat, stepping forward. “What are you doing here? You were gone when I woke up.”

“I was trying to get here before you,” you rubbed the back of your neck.

“Eh? Why?”

“I got a new job…” you replied slowly, watching his face for his reaction. “Here, at the school.”

“Eh… Eh?!”

Aida grinned. “We get to see you every day? I approve of this!”

Toyoda looked at you in surprise. “You’re a teacher?”

You sent him a look, nose wrinkled. “Hell no. I could never be a teacher because of people like him.” You jabbed your thumb toward Aida who pouted in reply.

“I know you bully me because you love me but it’s still hurtful, Y/N.”

You sent him a deadpan look, not even offering him a response. “I’m a security guard.”

“Oh, I see,” Toyoda hummed softly. The current school guard was quite old and moved slowly so the more troublesome students often teased him or messed with him. He hoped that you would stop them from getting away with that and make the old man’s life a little easier.

You looked at Aoki, a frown tugging at your lips. “Sota?”

“You should have told me.” He lowered his head before rushing past you, his shoulder bumping yours.

You sighed as you watched him rush into the school. Honestly, you should have told him but at the time, you didn’t know it was his school. And when you found out, you figured he’d be upset so you couldn’t find the right time to tell him. He probably thought you were checking up on him or invading his privacy, but that wasn’t the case.

Aida patted your shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him. I’m looking forward to seeing you every day~”

You scowled at his back as he headed after Aoki. “I already regret this decision.” You noticed Toyoda still standing there and you figured he felt awkward, unsure of how to leave without seeming rude. “Thank you for looking after Sota.”

He looked surprised. “Ah, Kousuke looks after him more than I do.”

“Kousuke?”

“Ida Kousuke. You met him last night.”

“Ah, the kid that faced off against the drunk. I see.”

“Thank you for that, by the way,” he told you with a soft smile. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to end up.”

“It’s fine. Sota’s always been the sort to find trouble even when there is none.” You patted his shoulder before approaching the school building to start your new job.

Toyoda watched you until you disappeared into the building. He wasn’t sure what to make of you. You were unlike anyone he had met before, rough around the edges but you seemed to care deeply for Aoki. He wondered just how close the two of you were. Aida also seemed smitten with you.

He had a feeling things were about to change.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

“And that concludes the tour,” Saito-san smiled kindly, his hands behind his back. He was a small man with a slightly hunched back and kind eyes.

“I appreciate you showing me around,” you replied with a bow. “Can you tell me about the school delinquents?”

He hummed. “I don’t like to think of them that way. They may be troubled, but they are not bad kids. They just need someone to care about them and show them some respect.”

You hummed, slipping your hands into your pockets. You had heard from the other teachers beforehand and you knew about how they teased Saito, making his job harder than it should be. In your opinion, people earn respect, and picking on an old man definitely does not earn them respect. “I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“If you have any concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know. Your job is to patrol the school and ensure that the students are not doing anything dangerous.”

“Understood. Leave it to me, Saito-san.” You bowed again, making him chuckle.

“You’re a good kid. I look forward to working with you, Y/N-san. I’ll be in the office if you need me.”

You smiled softly as you watched him disappear down the hall, his feet dragging across the floor. Your job was pretty easy, you just walked around the school making sure no one was doing something stupid or bullying other kids. You quickly realized what a good school this was. The students were respectful and friendly, rarely causing any problems and when they did, they did their best to fix it themselves. The regret from earlier quickly faded. ‘This is going to be the easiest job I’ve ever done. Talk about an easy payday.’

When the day came to an end, you stopped by the gym to check on the volleyball team. To your surprise, both Ida and Toyoda were members, so you decided to stick around for a bit and observe them. Ida was clearly one of the star players, if not the ace of the team, but Toyoda was close behind, offering him support and helping him block the balls from the other side. You didn’t know much about volleyball but they seemed good enough.

Toyoda felt like he was being watched and glanced around, his eyes meeting yours. You were leaning against the doorframe, arms over your chest as you watched practice. He offered you a smile before returning his attention to the game. Knowing you were there watching him made him try harder though he wasn’t sure why. Did he want to impress you? Maybe make up for how uncool he had been when faced with a drunkard? He felt it when you finally left the gym, returning to your duties and he frowned, wishing you had stayed long enough to see him serve.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Ida and Toyoda were walking down the hall, discussing the upcoming tests when they heard Aoki groan from within the classroom they were passing. The door was slightly open so they could hear him and Aida talking. They didn’t mean to eavesdrop, it just kind of happened.

“So you’re not going to tell Y/N-chan about you and Ida?”

“I can’t!”

Toyoda glanced at his friend to gauge his reaction but the male remained stoic, the only change being the slight furrow of his brow.

“Do you really think they are the kind of person to reject who you are?”

Aoki frowned, sprawling across his desk. “No, but… what if I lose them? I’m scared, Akkun. Y/N is precious to me, I don’t think I could handle it if they didn’t understand…”

Aida hummed. “You know they’re going to find out eventually. It’ll be a lot worse if they find out on their own instead of from you. They might think you don’t trust them.”

Aoki groaned again, burying his face in his arms. “What do I do~”

Toyoda and Ida exchanged a look. What were they supposed to do with this information? It wasn’t their place to interfere, but seeing a friend in trouble made them want to act. Ida especially wanted to confront you and Toyoda knew it.

As quietly as he could, Toyoda pulled his friend away from the door. “I know that look. Don’t interfere, Kousuke. This is between them, ne?”

Ida nodded, a frown tugging at his lips. He knew that, but he didn’t like it.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

You yawned as you finally got to leave the school, ready to go home and lay in bed for the next five hours. You were a lazy person by nature so spending the whole day walking in circles around the school was not what you considered to be a fun time, but it was easy so you wouldn’t complain. Much. You only made it a few steps out of the school before pausing, tugging the crumpled map from your pocket. Could you follow this thing back to the Aoki residence? You didn’t feel confident about that.

“Lost again, Y/N-san?”

You glanced at Toyoda as he stepped through the school gate, a kind smile on his lips and a scarf around his neck. It was getting colder these days and you were sure snow was on the way. Without a word, you held the map out to him.

He took it with a chuckle. “You’re really bad at directions, hm? Let’s see.”

You watched him as he inspected the map, taking note of his long lashes and pretty eyes. He was unbelievably pretty, someone you could never get tired of looking at. ‘Snap out of it, idiot,’ you scolded yourself, shaking your head as you forced your gaze toward the sky, covered with clouds. ‘This is Sota’s friend. He’s already mad at you for working at his school, imagine how he’d react if you tried to date his friend!’

“Ah, I think I understand. I’ll show you, if you’d like.”

“Sure. I’ll buy you some food as thanks.”

He smiled widely at that and nodded, holding his hand out to you. “It’s a deal, then.”

You hummed, sliding your hand into his. His fingers were calloused from playing volleyball but they were warm and lithe.

“Follow me.”

Walking side by side, a comfortable silence settled over you. You didn’t feel the need to try and force conversation and neither did he, but his mind kept wandering back to the conversation he had overheard. He glanced at you thoughtfully. You didn’t seem like the judgemental type, but he knew it was impossible to tell so early on. He just didn’t know enough about you.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Eh?” He felt his cheeks heat up when your eyes met his and he realized he had been staring. “Sorry!”

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Heh.” You went quiet after that and he was sure you had let it go but then you spoke again. “Tell me, what kind of person is Ida?”

“Kousuke?” he replied, looking at you curiously. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m curious about the people Sota’s hanging out with these days. He’s always been on good terms with his classmates, but he’s rarely ever hung out with others aside from that idiot Aida. So,” you came to a stop, meeting his gaze head-on. “What kind of person is Ida Kousuke?”

Toyoda paused, thinking over the question. “Well, he’s a hard worker and he’s pretty smart. He’s the ace of our volleyball team. He can be a bit… thickheaded sometimes, but he genuinely trys to understand the people he cares about. He’s also honest, but not in a mean way. He just states his feelings as clearly as he understands them.”

You looked away, brow furrowed as you processed the words. If that description was anything to go by, he sounded like a really good guy, but you still felt uneasy. You knew Aoki was hiding something from you, something big, and you had a hunch it had to do with Ida.

He watched you closely, biting his lip. Should he say something? He had told Ida it was best not to interfere, but he found it hard to take his own advice when you were standing in front of him.

“They seem close,” you commented softly.

“Yes.” He paused, biting his lip again. “Do you…”

You quirked a brow at him. “Hm?”

He couldn’t just come out and ask, ‘do you know they’re dating?’ He would never forgive himself if he was the one to spill the beans to you. He quickly shook his head, giving you a smile. “Nevermind. It’s nothing.” He turned around to continue on but your words made him freeze.

“They’re more than just friends, aren’t they?”

He didn’t know how to respond. You had clearly clued in on it, but if you were asking, that meant you weren’t sure. He didn’t want to lie to you, but he didn’t want to tell you the truth, either.

You sighed, settling on the metal railing that separated the road and the sidewalk, running a hand through your hair. “During lunch, I went up to the roof to make sure no one was messing around up there and I saw them. They were eating together, and they kept looking at each other. The look in their eyes wasn’t one you’d see looking at a friend though.”

Toyoda slowly turned toward you, choosing his words carefully. “If that were the case… how would you react?”

You frowned at him, knowing what he meant. “You think I’d reject him because of that? Is that how you see me?”

“Ah, no! I didn’t mean -” he started to panic, taking a step closer to you but his shoulders relaxed when you snickered at him. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. We don’t know each other, so it’s kind of expected.” You ran your hand through your hair in frustration. “But why the hell hasn’t Sota told me? Does he really think so little of me? Maybe I did something to give him that impression. Ugh, this is so frustrating.”

Toyoda settled himself beside you, shivering a bit when the cold wind picked up. “If I had to take a guess… I’d say that he’s afraid to tell you because this is all very new to him. Even if he knows how you’ll react, it makes sense that he would still be worried about it, ne?”

“You’re right…”

“Are you going to confront him?”

You met his eyes and smiled, shaking your head. “Nah. As much as this is driving me crazy, I have no right to force it out of him, ya know? I’ll wait for him to come to me. He will eventually… I hope.”

“He will,” Toyoda replied confidently. “He respects you a lot, he just needs time to find his courage.”

“I know. Thank you.” You stood up, offering him your hand. “What do you want to eat?”

He slid his hand into yours, letting you pull him off the railing. “There’s a nice ramen place on the way, if that’s okay?”

“Whatever you want. Let’s go.”

The ramen shop was only two blocks away and the inside was warm and filled with the smell of food. You settled down at a table near the back and he sat across from you.

“Order whatever you want,” you told him, halfheartedly glancing over the menu.

“Hai~ thank you very much, Y/N-san.”

Your nose wrinkled. “And drop the honorifics. I’m no different from you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded, smiling softly.

A middle-aged woman approached your table with two glasses of water and a kind smile. “Ready to order?”

You glanced at Toyoda and he nodded.

“Miso ramen and a lemonade please.”

“Soy sauce ramen and some soju.”

She quirked a brow at you. “Are you old enough to drink, dear?”

“Yeah.” You started to pull out your wallet but she held her hand up and chuckled.

“I’ll be right back.”

Toyoda waited for the drinks to be delivered before he regarded you. “Do you mind if I ask where you were before coming back here?”

“I went to Korea for a job. I was gone for two years before the contract ended and I decided to come back home.”

“Oh? Was it also a security job?”

“Yeah, but nothing glamorous.” You took a sip of your alcohol. “I just guarded the door to some idol agency, keeping fans at bay.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “An idol agency? That sounds pretty glamorous to me.”

“Eh. It’s not like I got to meet any of them. At most, they just bowed their head in greeting as they rushed into the building.” You shrugged, turning your attention to the woman as she set the ramen down in front of you. “Thank you.”

“Enjoy!”

Toyoda clapped his hands together. “Itadakimasu.”

You broke the chopsticks apart and began to eat, thankful for a hot meal since you had skipped breakfast and only ate a bag of chips for lunch. Not even good chips, either – they had been stale and broken.

“You and Aoki are quite close. Are you childhood friends?” Toyoda inquired before taking a bite of his noodles.

“No, but I’ve known him for…” you paused in thought. “Eight years? Something like that. It was actually Aida I met first, if you can believe it. He was trying to show off to his friends and jumped off the top of the monkey bars.”

“Did he get hurt?”

“No,” you scowled at him. “Because I broke his fall. Bastard landed on my back and nearly broke my nose.”

“Oh no,” he covered his mouth but you weren’t quite sure if it was because of surprise or because he was in the middle of chewing. “Is that why you hate him?”

“I don’t hate him,” you muttered, sipping your drink. “I just strongly dislike him. There’s a difference.”

He chuckled, an amused smile on his lips. “I see. He seems quite fond of you, though.”

“He’s spent his entire life trying to win me over after that because I, and I quote, ‘saved his life from certain death and/or dismemberment.‘”

“You’re his hero~”

“Oi, you’re enjoying this a bit too much.”

“Sorry, sorry.” He tried to hide his grin but it failed. “How did you meet Aoki, then?”

“Sota was the one who checked on me and tried to stop the bleeding. He was also the one that apologized for Aida’s idiocy and tried to get him to stop bothering me. I don’t know,” you propped your cheek in your hand, looking toward the door with fondness. “There was something about him. He was just so small and cute. I wanted to protect him, protect his smile. I’ve always wanted a younger brother and he fit into that role perfectly. Honestly, I sometimes wonder if I pushed that on him when he didn’t want it and he just accepted it.”

“I don’t think so. I think he feels the same way about you. It’s pretty obvious that he admires you.”

You met his eyes and smiled at the sincerity lingering there. “Thanks.” You glanced at the time on your phone. “Are you done? It’s getting late.”

“Ah, hai.”

You stood up, tugging your wallet from your pocket and handing the money to the older man in a chef’s coat. “Thank you, the food was good.”

“Thank you,” Toyoda bowed at him.

“Have a good night!” The man grinned.

The cold air hit you in the face when you stepped outside, making your cheeks feel as if someone was stabbing tiny needles into your skin. Toyoda shivered, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat.

You hummed, throwing your arm around his shoulder and tugging him closer. “Listen, I’m counting on you to help me look after Sota.”

“Eh?” He heard the words, but he was more focused on your arm around him and how close you were, how warm you were. He resisted the urge to snuggle closer and was thankful that his cheeks were already pink because of the cold.

“If you refuse,” you pointed your finger at his face. “I’ll give you detention.”

“You’re threatening me?” he scoffed, lips tugging upward.

“It’s not a threat,” you grinned. “It’s a promise.”

“It’s definitely a threat, Y/N-san.”

You quirked a brow at him and he realized his mistake.

“Y/N,” he correctly softly, feeling his cheeks warming. For some reason, it felt so intimate to say your name without using honorifics, but it felt oddly comfortable. He liked that feeling of closeness to you. Or maybe his brain was just unable to function properly because of how close you were to him. “I’ll do my best.”

“Good.” You pulled away from him and held your hand out. “Gimme your phone.” He tilted his head curiously but did as you asked, tugging his phone free from his pocket and unlocking it. You navigated to his messages, composing a new one to yourself. “You need my number if you’re going to help me look after Sato. If anything happens, make sure you tell me, yeah?”

His heart was racing in his chest but he tried to appear calm as he took his phone back, looking at the message. You hadn’t saved your number.

“Make sure you save it.”

“I will.”

“Great, now let’s get you home.”

“Eh?” He lifted his head, watching as you started to walk away before he rushed off after you. “But I’m supposed to be helping you home.”

You shrugged. “It’s almost dark. What kind of guard would I be if I let a student walk home alone? I can figure it out myself.”

He frowned at you. “Are you sure?”

You quirked a brow at him. “You doubting me?”

“No, I’m just worr-” he cut himself off, looking away from your gaze. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“Oh? You’re worried about me, are you?” you grinned. “How cute. Don’t worry, I’m smarter than I look.” You gently rested your hand on top of his head and his heart raced so quickly that he was sure you could hear it. “Thank you for worrying about little old me, Toyoda.”

He found the courage to meet your eyes and the warmth there stole his breath away. “You’re welcome…”

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

“Y/N~!”

You could sense him coming up behind you and you quickly sidestepped, watching Aida go rushing past you, stumbling when he realized what had happened. “Didn’t I tell you no touching?”

“I don’t remember that,” he grinned cheekily. “What are you up to?”

Was he serious? You quirked a brow at him. “My job? You know, patrolling the school?”

“Oh, right. About that,” he stepped closer, looking around conspiratorily and lowering his voice. “I heard a rumor about a couple of kids bullying someone in the old art classroom. They said they were going to ‘beat him to a pulp at lunch.’ You should probably go check that out, right?”

You looked at him suspiciously, not believing the story for a minute, but you wouldn’t be doing your job properly if you ignored a tip like this. With a sigh, you agreed. “Fine, whatever. If you’re lying, I’m gonna best your ass. You know that, right?”

“Yes~” he grinned, flashing you a peace sign. “I hope you get there in time!”

“Uh-huh,” you sent him an annoyed look before brushing past him and heading for the stairs. It didn’t take long to find the unused art class, nestled at the end of the hall. You slammed the door open without warning, expecting to see a kid getting bullied by his classmates, but that wasn’t even close to what you found.

Aoki sat on one of the empty desks, his hands resting in his lap. Ida stood in front of him, his hand resting on Aoki’s cheek. They had been staring at each other when you entered.m, as if nothing else existed but them.

‘That damn Aida, I’m going to kill him!’

Aoki’s eyes widened and he jumped up so quickly that he tripped on the leg of the desk, falling into Ida’s arms. The male held him protectively, a worried look on his face.

“Are you okay?”

Aoki’s face was burning for multiple reasons and he shoved himself away from the other male, his eyes wide and full of fear. His lips parted and closed several times as he tried to say something, but the words died on his tongue as anxiety and fear overwhelmed him. And like a trapped animal, he ran, shoving past you in his haste to escape.

Ida was sure if he should go after him or not, you could tell that.

You leaned against the doorway with a sigh. “Oi, you should go after him.”

That was all the encouragement he needed as he darted from the room, running down the hall to catch up with Aoki.

You ran your hand through your hair in frustration. You had wanted Aoki to come to you when he felt comfortable, you didn’t want this. Your frustration turned to anger and you nearly stomped down the hall, your aura so angry that the other students jumped out of your way in fear. If looks could kill, they would surely be dead ten times over.

“Oi, has anyone seen Aida Hayato?” you questioned loudly, not stopping to wait for a reply. “Where is he?”

A timid first year slowly raised his hand. “Um… I saw him heading toward the gym…”

You clicked your tongue and took off, dodging students as you ran. You reached the gym in record time, taking a moment in the doorway to try and catch your breath. Your narrowed eyes scanned the gym, startling the volleyball members. Where was he hiding?

“Y/N?” Toyoda frowned at the state you were in, his hand resting on your shoulder. “What’s wrong? You look ready to murder someone…”

“Where is he?”

“Who?”

Your eyes snapped to his and he swallowed at the anger burning there. “Aida. I know he came here.”

Toyoda bit his lip. Now it made sense why Aida had come running into the gym, begging him to help him hide. He had claimed that someone was trying to confess to him but he wasn’t ready to reject her and, though the story did seem iffy, Toyoda agreed to help him. He hadn’t expected that you would be the one after him.

You noticed his hesitation and took a step closer, making him take a step back. This continued until his back hit the wall and he had nowhere left to run. You slapped your hand next to his head, making him wince. “You know where he is. Tell me.”

Given how angry you were, he didn’t feel confident in thinking that you wouldn’t actually hurt him, so he was reluctant to tell you. “What… did he do?” His voice was timid and he couldn’t bring himself to look in your eyes.

“That dumbass,” you growled, hand curling into a fist against the wall. “Told me that a kid was being bullied knowing full well that Sota and Ida were in there.”

His eyes widened in realization. “You saw them? And they saw you?”

“Sato ran away…”

“Why would he -“

“Because he’s a dumbass that signed his death warrant. Where is he, Shun?”

His heart was racing within his chest and his senses fell completely overwhelmed. You were so close to him, but you were so angry. Seething, almost. He felt afraid but also felt confident that you wouldn’t hurt him. You weren’t angry at him, after all. And you had used his first name… sure, it was said with warning and anger, but you had still said it. He felt completely torn. If he told you, Aida night end up hurt but if he didn’t… would he be hurt? Or would you just be angry at him and refuse to talk to him? Both sounded like options he wanted to avoid.

You took a breath to calm yourself, knowing you weren’t getting anywhere. You were still pissed, but you at least had the ability to appear calm. At the very least, you wanted to put him at ease. You spoke calmer now, leaning your head closer. “Please tell me.”

His eyes met yours. “Are you really going to hurt him?”

“Yes,” you replied without hesitation. “It’s long overdue.”

“Then I won’t tell you,” he breathed out, wondering if he was going to regret his decision.

You groaned in frustration, hanging your head. “This is driving me crazy…”

“Promise me you won’t hurt him and I’ll tell you.”

You lifted your head, surprised by the conviction in his eyes. Honestly, you prided yourself on being terrifying when you were angry and he wasn’t backing down like most people would. You had to give him credit for that. But it also pissed you off. How could you not hurt him after what he did?

“I know you’re scared, Y/N,” Toyoda whispered, snapping you from your thoughts.

“What?”

“You’re scared of losing Aoki and you’re masking that with anger, but… think of how Aoki would feel if you hurt Aida. He would be upset, right?”

You stared into his eyes, knowing he was right but that just pissed you off more. You were afraid because Aoki hadn’t told you on his own terms and now… would things change between you? Would he just avoid you forever now?

Toyoda hesitated before reaching out to take your hand. “I think you should find Aoki instead. The longer you take to settle this, the harder it will be.”

Your fingers curled around his. “I hate that you’re always right.”

He chuckled. “Not always.”

You took a deep breath, squeezing his hand before pulling away from him and turning toward the door. Before exiting, you paused, raising your voice. “Aida, I’ll deal with you later! Don’t you dare think you’re off the hook!”

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Aoki escaped to the playground, curling into himself at the top of the small rock climb. It was raining, bringing the temperature down farther but he didn’t care. He just wrapped his arms tighter around his knees, trying not to shiver. He kept replaying the scene in his head, but he couldn’t remember what expression you had. Every time he imagined it, it would change – blank, annoyed, disgusted. Which one was it? He didn’t know and part of him was scared to know. He had nearly worked up the courage to approach you but now… he was terrified.

You knew he would be there and you hesitated when you saw him. Was it really good for you to be the one to comfort him? You pushed your doubts away. Toyoda was right – the more you put this off, the harder it’ll be to settle. You didn’t want a rift to form between you so you knew you had to deal with this now, no matter how awkward or painful it may be. Stuffing your hands into your pockets, you slowly approached him.

“Sota.”

His head snapped toward you so quickly you were surprised he didn’t get whiplash. “Y/N…” he swallowed hard, hands curling around his pants. “L-Listen, about what you saw…”

“You don’t have to tell me,” you explained softly, sitting down on the slide, not caring that the rain was slowly soaking into your clothes. “If you’re not ready to say it, then don’t. But if you are ready… I’m here to listen.”

He was silent for a moment and when he spoke again, his voice was soft and timid. “If…if I told you that I had feelings for another guy, what w-would you say…?”

“Hm, I’d say I want to meet him to make sure he’s good enough for you.”

He visibly relaxed his body, but his eyes were still unsure. “You… wouldn’t be mad? Or weirded out?”

“What kind of person do you take me for?” you muttered, standing up so you could face him. “Listen to me well, Aoki Sota. I don’t care who you like as long as you’re happy and they’re not a dick. I’ll always support you, no matter what.”

Tears stung at his eyes and he slowly made his way down before hesitating. You opened your arms and he fell into them, hugging you tightly. “Thank you…”

You gently ran your fingers through his hair, something you had always done whenever he would cry. “For?”

“Accepting me and… understand me.”

“That’s not something you have to thank me for. It’s a given.”

“Hai,” he smiled, fingers curling around your jacket. “I love you, Y/N.”

“Heh, you finally admit it, huh? I wish I would’ve been recording that.”

Sota pulled away with a huff, a pout on his lips. “You ruined the moment.”

“I’ve never been one for sentimental shit,” you shrugged, offering him a grin when he shook his head. “So~ you and Ida, huh?”

His face turned red and he quickly turned away. “W-We are not having this conversation now!”

“No time like the present.”

“I’m tired, cold, and it’s raining,” he frowned at you. “Carry me home?”

You quirked a brow at him in surprise. You hadn’t carried him since the two of you were younger, but you didn’t mind. “Come on, then.” You kneeled down and he grinned, throwing his arms around your neck. In one swift movement, you stood up, bringing him with you. He clung to you like a monkey but you put your hands beneath his thighs anyway, just to make sure he didn’t fall.

“Y/N?”

“Hm?”

“I never said it, but… I’m really glad you came back. I missed you.”

“I missed you, too, Sota,” you told him softly, giving his thigh a squeeze. “I missed you, too.”

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Your head felt fuzzy as if it were both underwater and inside a TV without a cable box. Your nose was burning and your eyes droopy, dark bags beneath them. Lifting your foot took more energy than you had, so you settled for dragging them across the pavement instead. Because of the time you had spent in the rain the day before, both you and Aoki had caught a cold.

Only, you didn’t have the luxury of staying home in bed.

“Y/N!”

You heard your name being called but took a few minutes for your sick brain to register them and by that point, Toyoda was standing in front of you, a frown tugging at his lips. “Mornin’,” you muttered, stifling a yawn.

“You look terrible.”

“Thanks.”

He reached forward, his hand resting against your forehead. “You’re burning up!”

“Ridiculous,” you muttered, moving his hand out of the way to replace it with your own. “Ah, my hand is cold. That feels nice.”

“You can’t go to work like this,” he told you softly, his eyes filled with worry. “You need to be in bed.”

“I would make a joke about you wanting me in bed but my brain can’t put them together.” He sent you a look and you gave him a tired smile, poking your finger between his furrowed brows. “Relax. I’m tough, I can handle working through a cold.”

Toyoda didn’t look convinced as he bit his lip with worry.

“Scout’s honor.” To emphasize the point, you held your hand up.

“You weren’t a scout, were you?”

“Nope.”

The warning bell chimed loudly, adding some pep to the step of those that hadn’t yet entered the school grounds. His gaze flickered to the school before back to you.

“You better get to class or I’mma have to give you some detention.”

“Fine. I’ll come check on you at lunch, okay?”

You watched him hurry into the school, leaving behind a mess of questions in your addled brain that you couldn’t quite grasp. Whatever. It was a problem for future you to deal with. You made it only a few steps before a fit of sneezing made you pause, leaving you feeling light-headed.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Toyoda tapped his finger against his desk, his eyes flickering to the clock every few seconds. Why was time moving so slowly? He swore it read the same thing five minutes ago. For a brief moment, he wondered if the clock was broken but then the soft click would erase his worry as it made its way around the circle. He hadn’t been able to focus at all, his mind constantly going to you and how bad you had looked that morning. Had you gotten better? Worse? He bit his lip, body tense as he prepared to bolt from the room as soon as the bell rang.

And that’s just what he did, apologizing to other students when he bumped into them but he didn’t stop until he reached the security office, taking a moment to catch his breath. He knocked on the door and waited, but no answer came. Were you still patrolling? His fingers wrapped around the doorknob before he slowly pushed the door open, peering inside.

You were slumped over the old oak desk, chest rising and falling as you slept peacefully.

Toyoda smiled as he slipped farther into the room, closing the door behind him. He felt relieved to know that you were getting rest but he still felt worried. His fingers brushed against your forehead. “Your fever has gone down. That’s good.” He slid out of his school jacket, draping it over your shoulders before he settled down beside the desk. He would probably regret skipping lunch, but he didn’t mind at that moment. He just wanted to watch over you. He bit his lip as his eyes slid across your face, his heart skipping a beat within his chest. “I think… I like you.” His hand cupped your cheek, thumb rubbing gently across your skin. “I wonder if you could ever like me back.”

You shifted at the sound of his voice, your eyes sliding open. A groan passed your lips, your whole body aching when you pushed yourself up. “Shit, I fell asleep…”

“You needed the rest.”

You glanced to the side, blinking at the brunette. “Ah, Toyoda. What are you doing here?”

“I told you I was going to check on you at lunch.”

“Shit, it’s lunch already?” Your nose wrinkled as you searched for your phone. “Did you eat?”

“No, I came straight here,” he told you softly, his gaze focused on his pants.

“Idiot,” you scoffed, but it turned into a cough, forcing you to turn your head away.

He stood up, his hand rubbing against your back. “Take it easy.”

You scowled at him. “Go get food.”

“But -“

“I’m hungry,” you complained, waving your wallet at him. “Hurry up.”

He reluctantly took the wallet, giving you a nod. “I’ll be right back.”

Your eyes followed him to the door. “Toyoda.”

“Hai?”

“You better get yourself something, too.”

He couldn’t hold back his smile, giving you another nod. “I will.”

When he was gone, you slumped over the desk again, closing your eyes against the headache that was beginning to form at your temple. You didn’t get sick often so when you did, it was horrible. You should have stayed home, but then… your eyes fell on the door, a smile coming to your lips as you thought of Toyoda. You had to admit, you liked the feeling of him fussing over you. It made you feel warm and fuzzy, a feeling you hadn’t experienced in a long time.

He returned shortly after, carrying two pieces of melon bread and two bottles of water. “You like melon bread, right? I thought about getting you some curry bread but thought it might be too much on your stomach right now.”

“Thanks.” You forced yourself off the desk again, taking the bread from his hand. Your stomach clenched at the thought of food, simultaneously wanting it and being disgusted by it but you knew you needed to eat since you hadn’t done so since the night before.

“You’re welcome.” He settled back down in the seat beside the desk, setting your wallet down in front of you.

A comfortable silence settled over the room as the two of you ate, just enjoying the company of one another. You didn’t miss how he kept glancing at you, his brow furrowed with worry.

You sipped the water before casting him a look. “It’s just a cold, you know. Why are you so worried?”

“Because,” he paused, crossing one leg over the other. “It’s just a cold now but if you push yourself, it’ll only get worse.”

“Hm, I dunno,” you grinned, leaning back in the chair so you could cross your ankles on the desk. “That doesn’t sound right. I’m pretty sure ignoring it is the best way to solve it.”

He sent you a look. “I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”

“That’s no fun, Toyoda~”

“Shun,” he replied, voice so soft that you didn’t hear what he said.

“Eh?”

“Call me Shun.”

“Ho, we’re on a first-name basis now? If I didn’t know any better,” you leaned forward, a smirk on your lips as your eyes locked with his. “I’d say you liked me.”

His cheeks dusted with pink nut he couldn’t force himself to look away. “And if I do?”

Your gaze flickered to his lips. “Ask me that again when I’m not contagious.”

The bell rang loudly and he clicked his tongue. “Promise me you’ll take it easy?”

“Scout’s honor.”

“We’ve already done this bit, Y/N.”

“That doesn’t make it any less good.”

“It wasn’t good the first time,” he chuckled, hesitating a moment before leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead. “I have practice after school, but I’ll come get you after.”

You grabbed his hand when he pulled away and you had to hold yourself back from kissing him right then and there. Instead, you settled for bringing his hand to your lips, leaving a gentle kiss against his knuckles. “I’ll see you soon… Shun.”

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Table of Contents | Previous

• Genre: Angst, fluff, romance
• Word Count: 3,328
• Pairing: Heavyset Female! Reader x Tej
• World: The Fast & The Furious franchise
• Warnings: Violence

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

“Ah! There they are. Disaster.” Safar shook his head in disbelief as the group entered the garage, led by Ramsey.

“I’m sorry,” she told him, but he wasn’t having any of it.

“I get you an invite to the most exclusive party in Abu Dhabi -”

“Safar…”

“No, no, no. You steal the host’s car and you jump it between two buildings.”

“Actually, it was three buildings,” Brian interjected, holding up three fingers. You snorted, elbowing him in the ribs and getting a grin in return.

“Oh!” Safar laughed sarcastically. “Two? Insult. Three? Honor. My bad.”

The door closed loudly and Mr. Nobody approached the group with Sheppard close behind. “Well, well, well. I have to say, you’ve got an interesting interpretation there of ‘low-key,’ Mr. Toretto. You know, Dom, I thought we had an understanding.”

Dom shrugged nonchalantly. “Sometimes you have to play the hand you’re dealt.”

“Now, that’s why I prefer to be the dealer.”

You shifted your weight and winced, holding your arm over your stomach. One would think having extra weight would help shield a person, but it really doesn’t. Especially when someone hits your stomach with the leg of a table like they were batting for a homerun. It honestly hurt like a bitch, but you were confident that the damage wasn’t anything serious. More of an inconvenience than anything.

A warm hand rested on the small of your back and Tej leaned toward you, his voice soft so as not to draw attention to the two of you. “You good?”

You released a shaky breath, partly because of the pain and partly because of how close he was to you. “Yeah… yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.” You glanced at Ramsey as she approached a set of computers with God’s Eye in her hand. You nodded toward her. “You should be over there. Might learn something.”

Tej hesitated, looking from you to the computers a couple of times before finally nodding and approaching them. His eyes lit up when he did. “Oh damn, this is crazy.”

Ramsey plugged in the drive and the monitors flickered to life.

“What’s it doing now?” questioned Rome.

“It’s hunting,” she answered. “Hacking into the security cameras at Etihad Towers. That’s the last place you saw Shaw, so that’s where we’ll start.”

Footage of the party popped up, showing Shaw on the elevator.

“That’s him.” Brian stepped closer, pointing him out. “Right there.”

“Wait, wait.” Tej leaned closer. “What are these numbers right here for?”

“It’s bio-mapping Shaw’s face. It’ll run it against every camera. Every audio device in this hemisphere.”

“So much for privacy,” you muttered, slowly lowering yourself onto a nearby stool.

“Bingo. Looks like he’s holed up here.”

“That’s perfect,” Brian stated. “Automated factory, no people, lots of places to hide.”

Mr. Nobody was impressed. “You just changed the face of manhunts forever. Congratulations.”

Personally, you believed the thing should be destroyed. It’s impossible to keep power from the evil that desires it and, honestly, no one should have that much power no matter what side they consider themselves on. It’s a literal disaster magnet! But you kept your thoughts to yourself, not wanting to risk making yourself look like a fool in front of Tej.

“Hey, uh…” Rome leaned toward Ramsey. “Can I check my email real quick?”

You shook your head in disbelief. The others sent him deadpan stares.

Dom was the one to break the silence, but it wasn’t an answer to Rome’s question. “Dawn’s up in two hours. We’re gonna go take down Shaw then. Go get changed.”

You caught Brian’s eyes and you knew what he was thinking - no way was Dom gonna wait 'til dawn, he just didn’t want to put his crew in the line of fire. 'He can be such a dad sometimes, sheesh.’

The others started to clear out, happy over the idea of getting changed and getting some rest, but you stayed put, asking one of the soldiers if they could get you some painkillers. While waiting on him to return, Tej approached you, tapping your arm with the back of his hand.

“Come on, Y/N. You can ride with me.”

As badly as you wanted to accept that offer, you knew you had a job to do. Instead, you offered him a small smile. “Thanks, Tej, but… I think I’ll hang back here for a bit.”

His brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Oh, uh…”

An arm slung around your shoulders as Brian appeared at your side. “I asked her to. We need to have a little chat about something private.”

Tej didn’t look convinced as his eyes darted between the two of you, but he did trust both of you so he finally nodded. “Alright. Call me if you need me.”

“Night, Tej.” You gave him a little wave and he smiled before turning around and leaving the garage.

“Let’s go,” Brian urged before the two of you rushed toward the other side of the building where Mr. Nobody and his men were preparing. Dom was there, as well, already out of his suit.

“I thought you said at dawn,” commented Mr. Nobody.

“My guys are racers,” Dom told him seriously. “The best drivers in the world, but they ain’t killers.”

Brian stepped around the corner, sending you a look. “I told you he’d say that.”

You were close behind, clicking your tongue. “Maybe not direct killers, but we’ve ended quite a few people inadvertently.”

Dom sent you both a look, much like a parent displeased with his unruly children.

“We know you too well, Dom, and we’re going with you.”

You nodded, giving him a grin. “Can’t get rid of us that easily, man.”

“Well, looks like we’ve got a nice little hunting party.” Mr. Nobody clapped his hands as he looked over at you. “Let’s go bag a shadow.”

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

“Have you ever heard the saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend’?” Shaw sat at a small, square table eating a steak dinner. He didn’t look the least bit surprised or worried by the group of armed soldiers surrounding him, their weapons trained and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

You gripped the assault rifle tightly, stepping closer to Brian. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I don’t have friends,” Dom told him confidently. “I got family.”

“Well, I got a lot of friends.”

The lights cut off suddenly, plunging the factory into darkness. An explosion went off somewhere behind you, the light showing off a group of armed men before fading. Gunfire filled the air and you dived for cover behind a large wooden crate. Bullets grazed it seconds later, sending slivers of wood flying everywhere.

“Two-two formation!” Mr. Nobody barked loudly. “Sheppard, peel one!”

You couldn’t see shit beyond the flash of muzzles as they fired and you squinted into the darkness. Your eyes started to adjust and you slowly peered over the top of the crate, lying down fire on the men closest to you. You saw Mose raising his gun, aiming at a soldier who had his back to the man and you scowled, shifting your aim to take fire but you were too slow, Mose downing the soldier in a matter of a couple seconds with a shot to the head. You fired at him and he dodged.

From the corner of your eyes, you saw Mr. Nobody hit the ground. The second your attention was elsewhere, Mose took advantage, aiming for your head but you moved at the last second. A sharp pain ripped through your shoulder and you gritted your teeth in pain, spraying fire toward him. Blood soaked the white dress shirt you wore, trickling down your arm. Adrenaline did its job, keeping most of the pain at bay so you could continue fighting for your life and the life of everyone else on your team. They were pushing up, though, forcing you to snake between crates and large metal drums to get closer to your team.

“Cover me!” Brian yelled at you before attempting to grab the God’s Eye. You did your best, taking out several of the enemies before they could attack him, but there were just too many. For every guy you took down, it seemed like two more popped up in his place.

“Brian, leave it!” Dom ordered, helping Mr. Nobody toward the exit while you and Brian laid down cover fire. You heard something heavier than bullets clang against the ground.

“Get down!” Brian cried.

“Shit, shit, shit!” You rushed after them and the grenade exploded behind you, the blast pushing you forward so quickly that you lost your footing, falling to the ground. Your ears were ringing, head fuzzy, and body sore, but there was no time to rest. Brian grabbed your arm and yanked you up.

Dom lifted Mr. Nobody like he was nothing more than a sack of potatoes. “I got you!”

You rushed out of the building, stepping around Dom so you could pull the back door open to the closest SUV. He put him inside rougher than he meant to before hopping in beside him, slamming the door. Brian jumped into the driver’s seat and you got in beside him, breathing heavily as he put the SUV in reverse and whipped it around, the tires squealing in protest.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

“We gotta get you two to the hospital,” Brian said in a slightly panicked tone, glancing at Mr. Nobody who had begun coughing loudly. His bulletproof vest had caught one bullet, but another had lodged deep into his side.

“No, you’re not,” he ordered in a pained voice. “I carry my own… health insurance. SOCM medics on standby. They’re already inbound. Pull over, kid!”

Brian was reluctant to do so, but he relented. The sun was beginning to rise, the sky lighting up around you. You tugged the white dress shirt off with a grunt of pain, earning a worried look from the blonde beside you. You just smiled tiredly, tearing a strip of the cloth before wrapping it around the wound as best as you could, using your teeth to tighten it. The adrenaline was nearly gone now and waves of pain were beginning to crash over you.

Dom got out when the SUV came to a stop, helping Mr. Nobody out and over to a metal barrier. After ordering you to stay put, Brian jumped out to join them. You wanted to retort, to ask where you could possibly go, but you honestly didn’t have the energy for sarcasm. You were exhausted and in a lot of pain.

It wasn’t until the helicopter appeared on the horizon that the two men returned to the SUV, peeling off down the sandy road.

“A war is coming for us,” Dom stated from the backseat. “Whether we like it or not. If a war is coming… we’re gonna face them on the streets we know best.”

“We’re going home?” you wondered softly, watching the sand dunes fly by out the window.

“Yeah,” Dom gently patted your arm, mindful of the wound. “We’re going home.”

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

“Should’ve taken you to the hospital,” Brian muttered as he helped you out of the SUV.

“We don’t have time for that,” you muttered back, following Dom into the lobby of the hotel. “The wound isn’t too bad, I can stitch it up myself before our flight leaves. Just…” you winced in pain, clutching your shoulder. “…get me to my room.”

“I’ll wake up the others,” Dom told you.

When the elevator stopped on your floor, Brian helped you to your room, but he was crowding you like a mother hen and it was working on your last nerve. “Brian, can you please go buy me some painkillers, whiskey, and bandages?”

He seemed hesitant to leave you.

“Please, Bri.”

“Yeah… yeah, alright. I’ll be right back so hang in there.”

You breathed deeply when he finally left, sliding down to the floor with your back against the bed. With more effort than usual, you managed to tug over the black duffel back from beside the bed, pulling it open to search for the items you would need - fishing wire, a needle, a tiny bottle of rum, and a white towel. You realized that you should probably start investing in red towels instead.

The door slammed open, bouncing against the wall and your brow furrowed in confusion, knowing there was no way Brian had returned that quickly. To your surprise, it was Tej that rounded the corner, looking equal parts worried and panicked.

“Jesus.” He fell to his knees beside you, inspecting the wound. “You said you wouldn’t do anything reckless.”

“Technically speaking, that only applied to the party, not what happened after.” You resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably under his penetrating gaze.

“Don’t move,” he told you sternly before leaning closer, his hand on your arm. “Looks like the bullet went straight through.” He folded the towel, holding it beneath the wound before slowly pouring the rum over your skin.

You hissed in pain, fingers clenching around the carpet.

“Sorry. Just bear with it, baby girl.”

The pet name sent waves of heat to your face and you quickly turned your head away so he wouldn’t notice, your voice soft. “You don’t have to do this, you know… I can do it myself.”

“Not happening,” he shook his head, lighting pressing the soaked cloth over the wound. “What were you thinking, going with them?” He dipped the needle into the rub for some sort of sterilization before threading the fishing wire through it. “I can’t believe they took you with them.”

“I didn’t give 'em much choice,” you muttered, leaning your head back against the mattress and closing your eyes. “I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t go.”

“Stop putting others before yourself,” he scolded with an angry tone, pressing the needle into your skin. “You’re always throwing yourself in the line of fire, not caring what happens to you.”

“Well… yeah. As long as you guys are safe, that’s all I care about.”

“And what about what we care about? What Icare about?”

You slowly lifted your head to look at him, meeting his gaze. You had never seen so much heat, so much raw emotion in his eyes before. It stole your breath away. “Tej…”

“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you,” he told you softly, resting his hand on your cheek. “I can’tlose you, YN.”

Your heart skipped a beat, lips opening and closing as you tried to form a sentence. The door opened again and Brian rounded the corner with a plastic bag in his hands. He seemed relieved to see Tej there.

“Here, this will help.” He set the bag down beside you, taking out extra strength pain pills and your favorite drink.

“Thanks, Bri,” you murmured softly, holding your hand out so he could place the pills into your hand

“How’s it look?”

“It looks worse than it is,” Tej told him, tieing off the fishing line. “It’s a solid fix for now, but I’m taking her to the hospital as soon as we land.”

“Do I get a say in this?”

“No,” they both chorused, making you scoff.

“Rude asses.”

Brian patted his shoulder. “I’ll leave her in your hands, then. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Your eyes followed him as he rounded the corner, listening to the sound of the door closing behind him. A thick silence had settled over you as Tej wrapped the wound with the bandage. You wanted to say something to him, to give him an excuse for your behavior, but you couldn’t manage more than a soft, “Sorry…”

His expression softened. “I’m just glad you’re okay, baby girl.”

That damned pet name again! Tears stung at your eyes and you bit down hard on your lip but it didn’t stop them from rushing down your cheeks. He noticed your trembling shoulders before your tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he inquired softly, cupping your cheek to make you look at him. “Are you in a lot of pain?”

You shook your head, wiping furiously at your eyes but the tears refused to stop. “No, it’s just… everything!” You breathed out.

“It’s been rough lately.” His thumb brushed away your tears and he smiled softly. “But we’ll get through it, we always do. Right now, you only need to focus on healing up, baby girl.”

You shot up, ignoring the pain in your shoulder. “Stop calling me that!”

“I’ve always called you that.” He stood up, a frown tugging at his lips. He reached out for you but you stepped back, running a hand through your hair.

“I know that! It’s just… when you call me that, you give me hope and that fucking hurts.”

“Hope for what?”

You didn’t answer, turning your back to him. Regret filled you and you scolded yourself for opening your big mouth. You felt embarrassed, you were in pain, and you just wanted to sleep and forget everything but Tej wasn’t going to let this go, you knew that.

He tried to turn you toward him but you wouldn’t budge so he moved to stand in front of you instead, lifting your chin up to meet his eyes. “Hope for what, Y/N? For this?” His lips captured your own, stealing the breath from your lungs.

Your hands shook as you reached for the polo shirt he was wearing, your fingers curling around the fabric. And then you came to your senses, pushing him away. “Why are you doing this to me, Tej? It fucking hurts, okay? Every time you call me that, it gives me this tiny sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe there’s a chance you could like me, but I know that won’t ever happen…”

“You seem pretty sure about that.” Tej’s face was blank, not betraying how he was feeling or what was going through his mind.

You scoffed. “Of course I am. You don’t exactly hide the type of women you like and I’m nothing like them! The perfect girls to parade around in fancy cars… I’m fat and don’t even qualify as cute. No one wants to see my fat ass on a car and I get that. I accepted it but you always do these small things that give me hope and I can’t take it anymore!” Tears were now falling freely from your eyes and you didn’t care to stop them this time.

“I won’t lie, I do find them attractive,” Tej slowly closed the distance between you. “But to me, you’re damn sexy, Y/N.”

“Stop it.”

“It’s not just about the external, baby girl. It’s about what’s here,” he tapped two fingers over your heart, looking deeply into your eyes. “So what if you’re not skinny? You are the strongest, bravest woman I know with a heart of gold, and that makes you the sexiest woman in the world. Those other girls may catch my eyes, but you’re the only one who caught my heart.”

“Tej…” You searched his eyes for any sign of deceit but you saw only genuine love and warmth.

He smiled, his thumb brushing your cheek as he leaned in, claiming your lips again. You clutched at his shirt, bringing him closer as you tilted your head to deepen the kiss. “I love you, baby girl. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I… love you too, Tej,” you replied softly, a smile tugging at your lips. Saying the words for the first time out loud felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off of your shoulders. You felt so much relief and happiness swirling inside of you. You never thought you would ever see this day but now that it was here, you wanted it to last forever.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

❉ 139 Dreams (Ichinose Rui) Exterminate

• Genre: Friendship, drama, angst
• Word Count: 5,322
• Pairing: Reader, Ichinose
• World: Cool Boys Only High
• Note: Am I the only one who sees the resemblance between Ichinose and Kise?? He’s the real life Kise, man.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Maybe you should have seen it coming, but you never would have believed she would take things so damn far. This was something that tended to happen in dramas, not in real life and yet, here you were, bound to a chair in some dusty old warehouse, the ropes digging into your skin as you tried to wiggle your wrists free. How had this happened? You knew it was your fault and guilt threatened to consume you, but if you were going to get out of this, you needed to stay focused. Not only for yourself, but for him, too.

You glanced to the left where Ichinose Rui sat, also tied to a chair but unconscious and unaware of the current situation, unaware that you were partially responsible for him being kidnapped. You frowned at the cut on his brow from where he had been knocked out. It was definitely going to bruise and might even leave a scar, something that would surely affect his modeling career. You never could have imagined that one simple comment could lead to so much destruction and pain…

One Week Earlier

You stretched your arms above your head as you headed to the cafeteria, trying to decide what you wanted to have for lunch. Maybe you could snap a few pictures for your friends so they’d stop texting you until three in the morning. They were so boy crazy, you didn’t understand it at all. Sure, they were nice to look at, but they were more than just their looks. You didn’t approve of girls staring them down like pieces of meat, yet you enabled your friends simply so they would stop bothering you about it. You hadn’t even wanted to attend Minami Gakuen, but they had pressured you into it so you could take pictures for them. Why they couldn’t do that themselves, you’d never understand.

While waiting in line, you held your phone up as if you were watching a video, ensuring that the flash was off while you took pictures of the most attractive boys you could find, ones that you knew matched your friends’ type. You always felt so strange taking pictures of them without their knowledge, even though you knew most of the school already did so. Most of the boys welcomed it, even posing when they realized their picture was being taken, but it just felt so wrong to you.

“Sneaking pictures again, Y/N-chan~?”

You jumped in surprise, your phone slipping from your hand only to be caught by the very person who had startled you. “Yanagi-kun, I told you not to do that.”

His lips quirked up and he flipped your phone around, taking a selfie with a peace sign before handing it back to you. “I don’t know why you act so sneaky. Ask anyone and they will happily pose for you to get a better picture. The sneaky ones are always blurry, no?”

“You sound like my friends,” you sighed, attaching the pictures to a new message and sending it to the group chat you had with them. They responded instantly as if they had been waiting, but you didn’t bother reading them.

He hummed, skipping in front of you in line. “If you dislike it that much, you should tell them to get the pictures on their own. They want them, after all, and they’re not even paying you.”

“They go to school on the other side of the city.”

“You’re always defending them,” he sent you a look. “You have to wonder, though… are they really your friends? Or are they just using you because you go to Minami?”

You frowned as he walked away, his words replaying in your head. You had wondered that a few times yourself, honestly, but you had been friends with them since elementary school. Surely they would have dropped you sooner, especially since you never had any plans to go to Minami. A sigh passed your lips as you took your food, heading over to an empty table in the corner, far away from the screaming girls. You expected to eat alone, but Ikeda and Wakabayashi soon joined you, giving you warm smiles as they greeted you.

“You’re always eating alone,” Wakabayashi scolded before holding out his hand.

You blinked at it before slapping your hand against his. “What?”

“Your phone. I’m going to take my picture for your friends!”

“Does everyone know about this?” you groaned, resisting the urge to let your face fall onto the table.

“I know about everything that goes on at this school,” he winked, waving his fingers. “Phone, please.”

You slid your phone over to him, watching him take a dozen or so selfies in various poses and with different expressions each time. He looked so natural, you just didn’t understand it. You hated having your photo taken which, at a school like Minami, was hard to avoid unless you actively avoided every single male in the school. You had tried that when you first joined, but for whatever reason, you seemed to attract the males around you like a magnet, becoming their friends with very little effort, if any at all.

“Ta-da! You now have twelve days’ worth of awesome photos to send your friends!” he chirped happily, returning your phone to you. “Let me know if you need more, okay?”

You had no intention of doing so because it felt weird, but you knew he wouldn’t let it go if you refused, so you just nodded your head, promising to do just that. You could feel the subtle buzz of your phone with every new message from your friends, but you had learned to ignore it after a while, knowing that they would either be dying over the hot boys or complaining that you hadn’t taken enough pictures of good quality. There really was no in between with them.

You didn’t understand this world and… on second thought, you really didn’t want to.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

You sat at the desk in your bedroom, trying to focus on your homework, but you just couldn’t. Maybe it was the pain in your stomach or the incessant buzzing of your phone, but you eventually called it quits and decided to just speed run it in the morning. Seemed like a decent strategy. Probably not the most recommended, but it had gotten you through middle school, so you could speak for its effectiveness.

You grabbed your phone and fell onto your bed, pulling up the chat room that your friends belonged to. They weren’t talking about the photos, to your surprise, but had branched off onto the topic of an anime called Kuroko no Basket. More specifically, Megumi was gushing about how gorgeous one of the characters was – Kise Ryouta. You hadn’t seen the show and had no idea what he looked like, so you responded asking for a picture, knowing she probably had about fifty ready to send at any given moment.

When it finally came through, your eyes widened in shock. From the information dump she had just replied with, you realized something interesting. This Kise looked almost identical to one of the boys in your class. Not only that, but they were both first years in high school, they both modeled, they were both kinda air-headed, and they both played basketball. You pointed this out and she demanded a photo. As luck would have it, you had exactly one photo of said male which you had taken just before leaving school. He had been by the gate, looking up at the sky with a soft smile on his lips. Even you had to admit how pretty he was so you ended up snapping a photo of him without much thought. Honestly, these girls were completely corrupting you.

While Ryuusei and Nao freaked out over how similar they looked, Megumi went quiet, even when you sent a message directly to her. Had you offended her in some way? Maybe she didn’t think he looked the same at all and got annoyed by the comparison. She had always been a bit of a sensitive person, always taking things the wrong way and turning light-hearted situations into full-blown war. You just sighed, telling your friends goodnight before tossing your phone onto the bedside table and flicking the light off.

Like always, you would let her stew for a while before apologizing and sending her a dozen more photos to appease her. It was a foolproof plan that worked every time and you had no concerns that it would work again.

If only you knew that this time would be very, very different.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

You rushed onto the bus, barely managing to catch it before it left you behind. You had overslept so you had to skip breakfast, plus you still had your homework left to do. With a huff, you fell into the first empty seat and pulled out your notebook to get to work on your report.

“That’s just like you, Y/N, waiting until the last moment to do your work. How did you ever get accepted into Minami Gakuen?”

Your head snapped up, eyes wide as you looked across the aisle to the other seat. “Me… Megumi?”

“Hi~” she smirked, giving you a small wave.

You frowned, brow furrowed in confusion. Why was she on your school bus? More importantly, why was she wearing the school’s uniform? “I… you… huh?”

“You’re so slow,” she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. “Is it not obvious that I transferred schools?”

“But…” You really didn’t understand. If she could transfer that damn easy, why did she need you to get the pictures? Why did she encourage you to apply to Minami instead of doing so herself? This girl never made any sense to you.

“Starting today, I will be your classmate. Let’s get along well, Y/N~”

“Ah… sure…” A bad feeling settled in your gut, like a swirling mass of anxiety just waiting to explode, but you didn’t know why and worrying about it would only make it worse so you decided to do what you do best – you were going to ignore it and hope it goes away while focusing on more pressing matters, like your homework. You folded your legs beneath your body and got to work on the report.

“Ne… Ichinose-kun is in your class, right?”

“Yup.”

“Do you think he’ll like me?”

“I’m sure he will. I don’t think there’s a single person he doesn’t like,” you replied without much thought, missing the way her eyes darkened.

“Oh, is that so?” Her eyes narrowed at the window as she started to twirl her hair around her finger. “Well, we’ll just have to fix that, won’t we?”

“Hm? What’d you say?” you questioned, glancing up from your work.

She gave you a fake smile. “I was just talking out loud, don’t mind me.”

“Hm, okay.”

When you finally made it to class, Megumi was pulled aside by the teacher until the rest of the class could settle down. This gave you a little extra time to finish your work, which you were grateful for.

Yanagi quirked his brow at you. “Again?”

“Don’t you scold me, Yanagi-kun,” you told him, pointing your pen in his direction. “I am a mess of a human being but at least I’m trying.”

He hummed, not even trying to hide the smirk on his lips or the amusement dancing in his eyes. “As long as you understand.”

The bell rang just as you wrote the last word of the report, the teacher stepping inside and giving the students a moment to find their seats. “Class, let’s welcome Nanaki Megumi-san to the class. She just transferred from Hosaido Gakuen. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

Megumi took a step forward, her eyes glued to Ichinose who just smiled back without a care in the world. “My name is Nanaki Megumi, I’m sixteen, and I love fashion and anime. My measurements are 5-“

“Alright,” the teacher cleared her throat, sending the girl a look. “You can go sit at the empty desk behind Y/N-san.”

Megumi did not look happy about being interrupted, but she kept her bright smile as she slowly walked toward the back of the room, running her manicured fingers across Ichinose’s desk as she went. When she sat behind you, she leaned forward, tugging on your shirt to get your attention.

You leaned back, keeping your eyes on the teacher.

“He’s even more gorgeous in person,” she sighed blissfully. “He really is Kise Ryouta, I can’t believe my luck. To think that my favorite character actually exists!”

You frowned, turning a bit so you could see her. “Ne, Megumi, you know that he’s not -“

“Ahem!” the teacher cleared her throat, dark eyes glaring into your soul. “While I appreciate you trying to make the new student feel welcome, Y/N-san, please wait until class comes to an end. And since you’re so zealous, why not show Nanaki-san around the school? Do make sure she gets to all of her classes.”

“Yes, ma’am,” you sighed, sliding down in your chair. This is not how you wanted to spend your day, but it could have been worse, you supposed.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

As soon as the bell rang, Megumi shot up from her chair and made a beeline for Ichinose, stopping so close to him that he fell back onto his chair, blinking up at her in confusion. This caught the attention of the other students, the boys looking on with a mix of envy and confusion, while the girls glared at her.

“Ichinose-kun,” she called sweetly, folding her arms under her breasts to push them up. “Would you show me around the school?”

“Sure, but…” his eyes flickered to yours and he smiled warmly at you. “Y/N-chan is supposed to take you.”

“Well, you see, Y/N is busy since they didn’t finish their homework last night. I’d hate to take them away from that and they recommended you for the job.” Her eyes met yours and though she was smiling, there was something dark in her eyes that sent a shiver down your spine. “Isn’t that right, Y/N?”

Several pairs of eyes fell on you and you thought that the other students were far too invested in this situation. The girls were sending you pleading looks and looks of fury, wondering how you could dare turn over their Ichinose to this new student.

“Is that true, Y/N?” Ichinose frowned, pulling himself up with an apologetic look to Megumi. “I can help you if you want! It’ll go much faster that way, don’t you think?”

But Megumi wrapped her arms around his before he could make it over to you. “Y/N doesn’t like getting help with their homework.”

One of the girls scoffed. “You seem to know a lot about Y/N-san. Why not let them speak for themself?”

“Of course, I know them,” Megumi smirked at her. “We grew up together.”

The girl looked at you for confirmation and you slowly nodded, not liking the situation you had been placed in. This caused her to huff in annoyance, her arms folded over her chest.

“See? Let’s go, Ichinose-kun!” Megumi giggled, tugging on his arm. He sent you one last look before being dragged from the room.

A tense silence settled over the room before the girls huffed and started to complain.

“Who does she think she is?”

“Right? She just came in here and took control of Ichinose-kun like she owned him.”

“She even called him -kun. They’ve never met before, right?”

“I don’t think so, He didn’t seem familiar with her, at least.”

“Ugh, he’s too nice for his own good. She’s totally going to take advantage of him!”

You tried to quickly but quietly pack up your things and slip from the room before they turned their wrath on you but in doing so, you kicked the chair, wincing at the loud sound it made. Their heated gazes snapped to you and you smiled sheepishly, feeling like prey being cornered by a predator.

“She’s your friend.”

“If she hurts Ichinose-kun, it’s on you!”

“Seriously, why didn’t you stop her?”

“You’re the one that’s supposed to be showing her around, the teacher said so.”

You frowned, rubbing the back of your neck as they continued to whine and moan to you. Why should you be held responsible for her actions? You weren’t her parent and she sure as hell wouldn’t listen to you if you tried to give her advice. But now you would be on the chopping block if she did something they didn’t like? What kind of bullshit was that.

They just kept going on and on, showing no sign of stopping so you sent a desperate look to Yanagi, who quirked a brow in response.

‘Help me,’ you mouthed, seeing his lips twitch up. He continued to sit there, bringing out his phone instead of getting up to help and you assumed that was his answer. “Look, I -” Your phone suddenly buzzed back to back, an indication that you were receiving multiple messages. Confused, you tugged the phone from your pocket, surprised to see a dozen messages from Yanagi.

‘You wanted my help, ne?’

‘Act like this is an emergency.’

‘Perhaps your cat, Miko, is sick?’

‘Miko being pregnant could work, as well.’

‘Though, if they find out it’s a male cat, they might get mad.’

‘You could also fake your own illness.’

‘You often get headaches, ne?’

‘You should be thankful I’m helping you.’

‘Make sure you pay me back, okay?’

‘What are you waiting for?’

‘You asked for my help and I’m giving you the perfect opportunity.’

‘You’re welcome, Y/N-san.’

You glanced over at him as he smirked at you, his eyes flickering to your phone. With a small nod, you looked at the girls. “I’m really sorry, but I have a family emergency and I need to call home. Please excuse me!” Before they could even reply, you turned on your heel and darted from the room, running faster than you ever had before.

Despite somehow managing to befriend some of the most popular boys in school, you had mostly managed to remain lowkey. You didn’t participate in drama or gossip and you went out of your way to avoid making enemies or getting in people’s way and you had done a good job of doing so. Yet… Megumi shows up for less than an hour and your life is already beginning to shift in the wrong direction. You wondered if that was a sign from some deity or maybe from fate itself, but you shook your head. ‘What a ridiculous thought. She’s not some kind of jinx or something! She’s just new so of course, she’s going to stir the waters. I’m sure it’ll be fine after a few days.’

Oh, if only you knew…

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Things did not get better. If anything, they just got worse!

Megumi was completely obsessed with Ichinose, sticking by his side at every possible moment. She even somehow managed to get her schedule changed so she shared every class with him which, honestly, you’re pretty sure involved some type of bribery or blackmail. She had become very possessive, trying to run off any girl that even looked in his direction, which turned most of the school into her enemy. In turn, you became the school’s number two enemy just because you were friends. It’s not like she treated you any different. She didn’t want you anywhere near him, either, which was a bit difficult since he kept trying to speak to you.

You were feeling like you were wedged between a rock and a hard place. How were you supposed to get out of this situation? All you wanted to do was go about your business without drama but at the same time… you felt bad for Ichinose. At the end of the day, Megumi is your friend and it kind of is your fault that she found him in the first place. What could you do, though?

You frowned as Megumi clung to Ichinose’s arm, tugging him down the hall, tugging at him almost violently every time he tried to greet his classmates. You were already regretting this, but you had to do something. “Megumi.”

She paused, eyes narrowed at you as you approached them. “Y/N, we’re going to be late for class.”

You swallowed hard, your heart picking up speed as your nerves got worse. “Can we talk? It’s important.”

“We are talking. What do you want?”

You glanced at Ichinose who offered you a warm smile. “It’s private.”

Her eyes darkened at the thought of being separated from him, giving the other girls plenty of opportunity to get close to him.

“Please, Meg?”

A huff left her lips as she turned to Ichinose. “Rui-kun, please wait for me in the classroom. I’ll be back soon!”

“Sure…” His smile was unsure as he looked between the two of you, giving you a bow before he started off down the hall.

Once he was out of earshot, she turned to you with eyes narrowed and arms folded. “This better be good, Y/N.”

“I want to talk to you about Ichinose-kun.”

Her body tensed up at the mention of his name and she took a threatening step toward you. “What about him?”

“Don’t you think you’re taking things a bit too far? You’re completely controlling him. I mean, he’s not even allowed to look at another girl and you’re constantly at his side, he doesn’t even have time to himself. I understand that you have feelings for him, but don’t you think you should consider his feelings?”

Her eyes darkened, sending a chill down your spine. “How dare you speak about things you know nothing about. Kise-kun loves me. Me and no one else.”

“Meg, you… you do know he’s not Kise, right?”

“What? Of course, I do! I’m not stupid like you.”

“But you just -” you took a deep breath, shaking your head. “Look, I… I-I’m just saying that maybe you should think a bit more about what he might want… since you love him so much and all.”

She tilted her head to the side, lips twitching up. “Oh, I see. You’re in love with him, too, aren’t you? You’re jealous that I got to him first!”

“W-What?” you replied with disbelief. “That’s not -“

“You listen here, Y/N,” she growled angrily, stepping closer to you. You stepped back until you were against the wall but she continued, getting right up in your face. “He is mine and I won’t let you take him from me. You’ve just started a war you won’t win.”

“Now wait a minute, I didn’t start any -” you tried to grab her arm, a pleading look on your face, but she ripped it from your grip, shoving you back against the wall. Her glare was so vicious that it pinned you in place and you could only stand there as she walked away, filled with anxiety and confusion. What the hell just happened? And why did you suddenly have such a terrifying feeling creeping up in the back of your mind?

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

You strained against the ropes, ignoring the sting you felt as it dug into your skin. “Come on, come on!” You struggled as hard as you could, wiggling back and forth to try and gain some momentum as if that would somehow help you with your current problem.

Ichinose’s nose scrunched up in pain as he started to come to, his eyes fluttering open. When he tried to move and realized he couldn’t, his eyes widened and he looked around frantically before his gaze fell on you. “Y-Y/N? What’s going on?”

You paused, meeting his terrified eyes with a forced smile. “Don’t worry, Ichinose-kun, I’m working on getting us out of here. Just…” you started to struggle again, mustering up all of your strength to tug at the ropes. “…give me a few minutes, yeah?”

He frowned, noticing your split lip and the blood smeared across your cheek, dried after having been there for so long. He tried to pull his hands free of his binds, but they were tight around his wrists, refusing to give an inch. “I don’t understand what’s happening. Were we kidnapped?”

“Something like that,” you grunted. Before you could elaborate, the door creaked open behind you, flooding the room with light for a few seconds before it closed again. You tensed up, hearing footsteps slowly moving closer, clicking against the concrete floor.

“You’re finally awake, hm?” Megumi stopped in front of you, her eyes cold but a smirk on her lips. “I was beginning to wonder if you were dead.”

You glared at her. “I’m not so easy to kill, sorry.”

“Hmph. I wonder if you’ll still have that cocky attitude when I’m done with you.”

“What’s the point of this, Megumi? Huh? What do you hope to gain from this? You think Ichinose-kun will love you if you kidnap him? Love can’t be forced. All you’re going to do is push him away!”

She backhanded you and you winced, the cut on your lip opening up again, filling your mouth with the taste of blood. Ichinose winced as if he had been the one that was struck. Megumi leaned toward you, gripping your chin to make you look at her. “He will love me once all of my competition is out of the way.”

“Do you even hear yourself? Ichinose is one of the most popular boys in the district, let alone at Minami. Are you going to kill half of Japan?”

“If I have to,” she growled, squeezing your chin tightly. “I will exterminate you all.”

“M-Megumi-chan,” Ichinose called softly, his voice trembling. “P-Please stop this. Let Y//N go…”

Her eyes snapped to him and he winced, lowering his head. “What are you saying, Rui-kun? Are you admitting that you’re in love with her?”

He quickly shook his head, unable to answer her question.

“Aw, is my baby scared?” she purred, running the back of her hand across his cheek. He tried to pull away but could only lean so far. “Don’t worry, my love. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I’ll protect you.”

“Who’s going to protect him from you?”

“Shut up, Y/N!” she snapped, raising her hand again but Ichinose cried out.

“Please, don’t!”

Her hand froze mid-air, trembling with anger. Why was he so concerned about what she did to you? It made no sense to her and she honestly hated it. It angered her to no end. What made you so special?

“You really think you’re going to get away with this?” you questioned, twisting your wrist back and forth slowly, not wanting to let her know what you were doing. You could feel the ropes starting to come free, you just needed a little more time.

“What? You think anyone will notice you missing?” Megumi laughed, putting her hand on her hip.

“Not me, him.” You nodded your head toward Ichinose. “The second he doesn’t show up for school tomorrow, everyone will be in a frenzy trying to find him. And fangirls? Detectives can’t hold a candle to their sleuthing skills. You’re not the only one that thinks she’s head over for him, plus he comes from an influential family. You’re right that no one will miss me, but everyone will miss him. What then?” You felt the rope give way and tried to hold back your wince as it passed over your sensitive flesh.

“I already told you that I’ll exterminate anyone that tries to take Kise-kun from me!”

You carefully grabbed at the rope around your other wrist, tugging it back and forth to loosen it. “You called him Kise again. Wake up, Megumi! He is not Kise Ryouta, he’s Ichinose Rui. They’re not the same person. One is fictional and the other is a living, breathing human whose life you’re putting on the line. Does that mean nothing to you?” The rope fell from your skin and you just barely managed to grab it before it could fall to the ground and alert her. You had your arms free, but you had to bide your time and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Megumi turned her attention to Ichinose, her gaze softening the tiniest bit. Her fingers brushed his blonde bangs away from his forehead before ghosting down his cheek and neck, making him flinch away in fear.

You took a deep breath to calm your racing heart but it did little to help. ‘It’s now or never… go!’ You darted forward with everything you had, grabbing onto her. With your ankles tied to the chair, you fell to the ground but you made sure to take her with you, punching and hitting her with all of your strength. “You psycho bitch! Everyone always used to call you weird, call you crazy. No one wanted anything to do with you but I took a chance on you. I was nice to you, I convinced the other kids to give you a chance, and this is how you repay me? Bitch!” You hit and hit and hit until your knuckles were bloody. With a cry, you pushed away from her, breathing heavily.

Ichinose swallowed hard. “Is she… d-dead?”

You glanced at her, noting the soft rise and fall of her chest. “Nah, just unconscious.” You sat up with some difficulty so you could untie your ankles from the chair, kicking it away angrily. You then stood up, keeping an eye on Megumi as you approached Ichinose, tugging the ropes from his wrists. “Are you okay? Any serious injuries?” You held his arm gently, inspecting his wrist. They were red from the ropes, but there wasn’t any serious damage.

“No, I… I’m okay,” he breathed, his eyes flickering to your own wrists. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’ll be fine,” you reassured him, taking the rope over to Megumi and tying her arms behind her back, pulling it tighter than necessary just because you were still angry.

“What do we do now?”

You rubbed the back of your neck. “Uh… I guess we just leave? And hope for the best. We should definitely call the cops when we can.”

He nodded, glancing at Megumi with fear in his eyes. You held your hand out to him and he smiled gratefully, slipping his hand into yours before stepping over the unconscious girl. He tugged the silken scarf from around his neck, wrapping it gently around your wrist and you scowled at the sting.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. If anything, I… I should apologize to you.”

“What for? You saved me.”

You scoffed. “I had to since… I’m the reason you ended up in this mess.”

He tilted his head to the side, a confused look on his face. “What do you mean?”

“I’m the reason Megumi came to Minami.” You came to a stop in front of him, giving him an apologetic look. “I knew she was obsessed with Kise Ryouta but I sent her your picture anyway. The next day, she showed up at Minami. I should have known it was bad but I didn’t want to think the worst of her like so many others always had. Even when I saw her obsession growing, I… I did nothing. I tried talking to her and thought that was good enough. I’m so sorry, Ichinose-kun!” You bowed, screwing your eyes shut.

“It’s okay, Y/N,” he replied softly, pushing at your shoulders to get you to stand up straight. “You saved my life. Nothing else matters.”

You gave him a relieved smile. “Let’s go home.”

He nodded, slipping his hand into yours again.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

❉ 139 Dreams (Han Hoyeol) Ocean Air

Table of Contents

• Genre: Fluff, slice of life
• Word Count: 1,405
• Pairing: Reader x Hoyeol
• World: D.P.

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You sipped on your drink as you scrolled through your phone, liking posts about animals and ignoring everything else. Your best friend sat across from you, mumbling softly as his eyes darted across the pages of the textbook in front of him. It was just past noon and the cafe was experiencing a lunch rush, all of the tables full of people chatting loudly with no regard for those around them. You glanced at Jaeho, amazed by how hyper-focused he was on his studying. How could he concentrate with so much noise around him? It was giving you a headache.

You glanced at the time and smiled. In just a couple of hours, you’d be with your boyfriend relaxing at the beach. Being a corporal in the military meant that he was often too busy to spend time with you and you often went days without even seeing him or hearing from him. And when you did, it never lasted long before he was being called away again. He always promised to make it up to you but rarely did, though not for a lack of trying.

The phone dinged softly, your boyfriend’s name popping up at the top of the screen along with the notification that you had received a new message. Your smile widened but quickly fell when you read the message he had sent you. A sigh of frustration passed your lips, grabbing Jaeho’s attention.

He glanced over at you, taking in your deep frown and furrowed brow as you stared at your phone. “He canceled again, didn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s so lucky,” he clicked his tongue in disapproval. “You know, I canceled on my girlfriend once and she broke up with me the next day but he’s canceled on you at least a dozen times but you haven’t even considered leaving him. What an ungrateful bastard.”

You quirked a brow at him. “It was her birthday dinner.”

“What’s your point?”

A chuckle of amusement passed your lips. “You’re such an idiot, Jaeho.”

“You’re a bigger idiot,” he stuck his tongue out at you. “Seriously, though. He totally takes you for granted.”

“He works hard and goes through a lot on the job,” you defended him, picking at a loose piece of thread on your jeans. “He doesn’t have a choice when he gets an order from the higher-ups.”

“Yeah, I get that but,” he leaned closer, a frown on his lips. “A relationship is two people, right? You’re always sacrificing for him but when has he ever sacrificed for you?”

“That feels pretty weird coming from a guy who canceled his girlfriend’s birthday dinner and can’t see why she was upset about it,” you accused with a scoff, making him shrug.

“We had only been together for two weeks. Besides, I got courtside tickets. How could I possibly pass that up? It was a once in a lifetime opportunity while she has a birthday every year.” He started to pack up his things, sending you a pointed look. “You’ve been with this guy for, what? Seven months?”

“Six.”

“And in those six months, how many times have you seen him?”

You racked your brain but could only come up with a handful of times that you had spent time together for more than five minutes.

“See? It’s really low, right? I bet you’re lonely.”

You sighed, running a hand through your hair in frustration. Of course, you felt lonely. Jaeho and Hoyeol were the only people in your life and both of them were busy men which meant you were more often than not left to your own devices. And that was just fine, you enjoyed the peace and quiet of being alone, but you’re still a human being and even if you enjoy it, you still get lonely.

He watched your expression carefully before standing up and throwing his bag over his shoulder. “Okay, you convinced me.”

“What?”

Jaeho slapped his hand on the table, leaning toward you with narrowed eyes. “I accept your challenge.”

“Are you on drugs?”

The two of you stared at each other for a minute before he grinned. “I’m going to keep up the tradition of beating you in Mario Kart.”

Realization dawned on you and you stood up with a scoff. “Tradition? You beat me once because I stopped racing to reply to Hoyeol.”

“All I hear are excuses. You scared to lose again?”

“As if. Try not to choke on my dust, loser,” you taunted as you headed for the door.

“Who’re you calling a lose, you loser?” he huffed, following close behind.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Stretching your arms above your head, you let out a loud yawn. You hadn’t planned on staying at Jaeho’s apartment for so long but you were thankful for the distraction. Night had fallen and you felt exhausted after such an intense battle with your best friend but at least you had come out victorious, beating him ten to five. So much for his tradition.

You tugged your phone from your pocket both to check the time and to see if Hoyeol had messaged you but he hadn’t. You considered sending him a good night message but it was well after midnight and you didn’t want to risk waking him up. A sigh passed your lips as you climbed the steps to your apartment, tugging the key from your pocket. When you pushed the door open, you paused. The strong scent of the ocean hit you like a wave and you wondered if you had entered the wrong apartment, but how was that possible? Surely your key worked only on your own apartment, right? You backpedaled, checking the number plate by the door.

It was most definitely your apartment.

With a furrowed brow, you kicked off your shoes and stepped farther inside, reaching for the light switch before turning the corner. Your eyes widened as the living room was bathed in light, revealing quite the surprise. Hoyeol was asleep on the floor, his upper body sprawled across the coffee table, his arms acting as a pillow. A candle the color of the ocean sat beside him, the flame dull as it started to run out of wax to burn. The label held a picturesque beach scene with the words ‘ocean air scent’ printed above it. Two plates sat beside the candle, a big mac on each one with a few chicken nuggets and fries from Mcdonalds.

Your heart fluttered as you sat down beside him, gently brushing the hair from his forehead.

Hoyeol’s eyes slowly opened, a slightly darker shade than normal due to sleep. It took him a moment to realize you were beside him and he groaned, forcing himself to sit up. “Jagiya, where were you? You left me waiting for so long.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” you told him softly, resting your hand against his cheek. “I had no idea you were gonna be here. If I had… why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to surprise you,” he frowned, tugging you closer.

“You definitely accomplished that goal, babe.”

He hummed, shifting so he could wrap his arms around your waist and rest his head on your shoulder. “I’m sorry I couldn’t take you to the beach like I said I would. The woman I bought the candle from promised it would smell like the ocean once it was lit. Does it?”

“It does,” you gently ran your fingers through his soft hair. “I had to pause when I entered because I thought I might have entered the wrong apartment.”

He chuckled, lifting his head to capture your lips in a passionate embrace. They were soft when they brushed against yours, his voice soft. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“You already did.”

“Hm?” he blinked at you in confusion and you found yourself smiling at how cute he was.

You cupped his face, bringing his lips back to yours. “I really don’t care where we are, Hoyeol. As long as you’re here with me, I’m happy.”

He bit his lip to hold back his grin but it was a futile attempt so he buried his face in your shoulder instead. “I love you so damn much, jagiya.”

You held him tightly, a bright smile on your lips as you pressed a gentle kiss to his head. “I love you, too, Han Hoyeol. More than anything else in this world.”

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Originally a drabble challenge on Quizilla called “139 prompts”, 139 Dreams is a set of fics I started a long time ago. It features many different anime, kpop, and various other things that interest me. Because I have been working on this set for so many years, it’s very dear to my heart and I hope to finish it one day soon.

Status: In Progress ◔

If you’re on a PC, you can use CTRL + F to quickly search for a fandom

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

1. Sand _ Tsuna / Katekyo Hitman Reborn (fluff)
2. Longing _ Adult Reborn / Katekyo Hitman Reborn (angst, romance)
3. Animal _ Visone Tempesta / Katekyo Hitman Reborn (fluff)
4. Trivial _ Adult Skull / Katekyo Hitman Reborn (fluff)
5. Arrow _ Sanada / Prince of Tennis (friendship)
6. Realization _ TYL Xanxus / Katekyo Hitman Reborn (fluff, slice of life)
7. Aftermath _ Juumonji / Eyeshield 21 (angst, fluff)
8. Relaxation _ Vongola / Katekyo Hitman Reborn (crack)
9. Apples _ America / Axis Powers Hetalia (crack)
10. Essential _ Hoshi / Seventeen (comedy, fluff, friendship)
11. Hazardous _ Shin, 1 of 3 / Eyeshield 21 (comedy)
12. Regret _ Shin, 2 of 3 / Eyeshield 21 (angst)
13. Forgiven _ Shin, 3 of 3 / Eyeshield 21 (fluff)
14. Vacation _ Ryoma / Prince of Tennis (teen, romance)
15. Official _ Hibari / Katekyo Hitman Reborn (fluff)
16. Unexpected _ Sakuraba / Eyeshield 21 (friendship, crack)
17. Useless _ Kotaro and Tsuna, 1 of 2 / Eyeshield 21 and Katekyo Hitman Reborn (friendship, crossover, crack)
18. Rain _ Eyeshield 21 (angst)
19. Questions _ Kaname / Vampire Knight (comedy, suggestive)
20. Astound _ Kotaro, 2 of 2 / Eyeshield 21 (comedy)
21. Music _ Akaba / Eyeshield 21 (friendship, slice of life)
22. Grow _ Yukimura and Kenichi / Tenipuri and Kenichi the World’s Mightiest Disciple (friendship, comedy, crossover)
23. Hide _ Child Hibari / Katekyo Hitman Reborn (comedy, slice of life)
24. Valentine _ Senoo / Prince of Stride (angst, fluff, romance, comedy, valentine’s)
25. Yawn _ Hyungwon / Monsta X (fluff)
26. Intentions _ Daehyun / B.A.P (angst, fluff, supernatural au)
27. Reckless _ Jake Webber / YouTube (angst, fluff, supernatural au)
28. Anxiety _ Jaemin / NCT Dream (angst, fluff, friendship)
29. Sports _ Haechan / NCT Dream (fluff, high school au, friendship, sports)
30. Remorse _ Vernon / Seventeen (fluff, smut, angst) 18+
31. Traitor _ Chanyeol, 1 of 2 / Exo (angst)
32. Ethereal _ Hoshi / Seventeen (fluff, fantasy, au)
33. Ominous _ Taeil / NCT (slice of life, casual, fluff)
34. Allow _ Winwin / NCT (smut, fluff) 18+
35. Art _ Renjun / NCT (friendship, fluff, angst, au, high school au)
36. Serves _ Leo / VIXX (fluff, angst)
37. Insensitive _ Sehun / Exo (angst, fluff)
38. Rare _ Sanada / Tenipuri (fluff, friendship)
39. Sorry _ Chanyeol, 2 of 2 / Exo (casual, friendship)
40. Torn to Pieces _ Eddy / JJCC (fluff)
41. Misinterpret _ Tezuka / Tenipuri (angst, fluff)
42. Evacuate _ Izuku / Boku no Hero Academia (fluff)
43. Natural _ Himchan / B.A.P (fluff, au)
44. Along the Way _ Jaemin / NCT (fluff, comedy, mafia, angst)
45. Slower _ Ten / NCT (fluff)
46. Together _ Mark Tuan / Got7 (fluff, angst)
47. Now or Never _ Jongdae / Exo (fluff)
48. Retaliate _ Jake Webber / YouTube (fluff, comedy, friendship)
49. Knowing _ Original (angst)
50. Umbrella _ Pewdiepie / YouTube (friendship, fluff, slice of life)
51. Normal _ Patchy Pumpkin / Sims 4 (friendship, slice of life)
52. Invite _ Maya Yoko / Bamboo Blade (angst, school, slice of life, fluff)
53. Independent _ Ciel Phantomhive / Black Butler (au, slice of life, fluff, family)
54. Never Say Never _ Nate Rivers / Death Note (smut, romance, fluff) 18+
55. Off Guard _ Shinichi Okazaki / Nana (??)
56. Hell Bent _ Marui Family / Mitsudomoe (angst, family, fluff)
57. Fascination _ Molag Bal / Skyrim (angst, suggestive 16+, romance)
58. Defend _ Shouta Aizawa / My Hero Academia (fluff, slice of life)
59. Exception _ Lucifer / Obey Me! (angst, fluff, slice of life, friendship)
60. If the World Ended… _ Naga / Beelzebub (angst)
61. Elysium _ Jinyoung Park / Got7 (fluff, au)
62. Instinct _ Naga / Beelzebub (fluff, slice of life)
63. Memory _ Tetsutetsu / My Hero Academia (fluff, slice of life, friendship, angst, drama)
64. Spontaneous _ Ikejiri / Haikyuu!! (suggestive 16+, fluff, romance)
65. Internal _ Matsukawa / Haikyuu!! (angst, fluff)
66. Karma _ Dr Huang / Law and Order: SVU (slice of life, drama, crime)
67. Magical _ Koushi Sugawara / Haikyuu!! (slice of life, fluff)
68. Annoyance _ Baiyang / Chinapuri 2019 (slice of life, angst, fluff, school, friendship)
69. Use _ Mammon / Obey Me! (school, angst, friendship)
70. Revolve _ Chie / My Otome (romance)
71. Monopoly _ Juzou / Boku no Hero Academia (friendship, fluff, comedy, romance)
72. Environment _ Wakabayashi / Cool Boys Only High (fluff, friendship, angst)
73. Survive _ Floyd / Twisted Wonderland (fluff, comfort)
74. Surrounded _ Patrick / The Rain (friendship, comedy, angst, fluff)
75. Mocking _ Kamitani, 1 or 2 / Gakuen Babysitters (drama, friendship, slice of life, studentxteacher)
76. Explain _ Murai / Great Teacher Onizuka 2012 (fluff, slice of life, studentxteahcer)

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

❉ Waiting: 

Feel free to send me an ask on my main blog to suggest a character + prompt.

[x] = denotes a reserved prompt, subject to change.

[~] = denotes a written but unposted prompt.

1. Reign
2. Kingdom 
3. Royal
4. Havoc 
5. Inspire 
6. One Thousand
7. History
8. Before I Die… 
9. Understanding
10. Surrounded 
11. Unify
12. Illustrate
13. Movement
14. Tragedy
15. Guard  
16. Early
17. Universal
18. Savior
19. Source
20. Ocean Air 
21. Entry
22. Yesterday
23. Detonation
24. Magical
25. Inquire  
26. Never  
27. New Age
28. Amazing
29. Mixed Up
30. Song Bird
31. Anticipation
32. Emphasis
33. Around
34. Systematic
35. Access
36. Antagonist 
37. Time
38. Calculation
39. Creation 
40. Hunt
41. Random
42. Various
43. Of Course
44. Trance
45. Utopia
46. Yellow
47. Remember
48. Expel
49. Unrelated
50. Element
51. Avalanche
52. Legend
53. Exterminate
54. Asphyxiation
55. External
56. Gage
57. Entertain 
58. Neon
59. Keen 
60. Undefined
61. Indefinite
62. Master
63. Re-enforcement
64. Near
65. Evidence

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁