Still Dancing: An Interview With Ilya Kaminsky By Garth Greenwell

"Such a lovely bride" - Thomas Shelby X Reader

SUMMARY: The Shelbys didn't expect who they met when Thomas presented his new wife.

REQUESTED: Yes, you can find it here.

A/N: I really liked this idea, it's something pretty different from what I usually write, but it was something so... attractive? That I couldn't resist it. But still, I want to say some stuff before:

1. I'm kinda worried I didn't write the bimbo reader justice, but I hope it's good anyway. Just wanted to make it clear here that this is the first time I try to write a Reader like this.

2. The story is placed before and on S1, but Thomas never fell in love with Grace here.

3. This is the first time I write a story in 3rd person, I'm not that good at it yet.

4. The book I mentioned as the Reader's favorite it's something of my creation, only for this fanfic, but I liked it so much that I may post something of this story after.

I hope you liked it! Feedback it's always welcome.

WARNINGS: English is not my first language.

WORD COUNT: 3,814

𓂃 ♡︎ 𓂃

“Tommy, have you ever stopped thinking what if animals could talk?” She asked, staring at the ceiling.

“Yes” he nodded, with a smile already growing on his face.

“Really?” She got up on her elbows.

“Yes, luv” he took a last drag on his cigarette before putting it in the ashtray on the nightstand.

“So which species do you think would be the rudest?”

Tommy chuckled, repressing one laugh. She always asked these questions but he was still surprised.

“I don't know,” he answered, honestly.

“Well, I think the turtles would be brassy, like ‘I'm the one who's always right” she got back to her previous position, Thomas turned to face her, a sweet smile still playing in his lips “but the rudest… hm, maybe the crows?”

“No, they would be wise” Thomas sometimes was surprised with himself, she woke up a side of him that he thought was already dead.

“Wise?”

“Yes, wise but not giving advice to everybody, they would be selective.”

“Smart.” She smiled widely, making Thomas' heart warm, he knew how much she loved when he talked like that with her “so, the rudest would be…” they both stared at each other before saying “snakes.”

𓂃 ♡︎ 𓂃

“What a dumb way to die” She snorted “and what a boring way this one is.”

Thomas looked at her with fun in his eyes.

“What are you doing?” He left the papers he was reading on the desk and walked towards her.

“Reading.” She answered, still focused on the book in front of her.

“Reading what?” He stopped behind her on the sofa, from that angle he could read the pages she was reading.

“A boring book about boring people,” she sighed, “and their boring deaths.”

“Darling,” Thomas started, a tone of amusement in his voice “I don’t think there exist boring ways to die.”

She looked at him shocked, her mouth opened and her eyebrows raised “What? Of course there is.”

“You seemed almost upset, I think like this” he stated.

“Well, maybe I am, I thought you had more imagination.” Thomas rolled his eyes and she left out an angry grumbling.

“Death is death, (Y/N)” Thomas shrugged.

“So you would like to be Thomas Shelby, the one who died because he choked on his own saliva?” Thomas was surprised with himself that he was able to hold back a laugh.

“(Y/N)...” he started, but she cut him off.

“Really, Tom, what would you prefer? Thomas Shelby, a legend, dying like one, even in death being able to spread a story that would make your arch nemesis show respect or being Thomas, the guy who didn’t know how to swallow?”

Thomas shook his head in the negative, still holding back a laugh “I would prefer to be alive and make my arch nemesis die.”

“Always the winner” She rolled her eyes “but you understood.”

“I did.” He nodded.

“And didn’t answer.”

“Aren’t you thinking too much about my death?”

“That’s because unlike you I have a pretty good imagination.”

𓂃 ♡︎ 𓂃

“I- what’s happening?” She asked, looking at Thomas with a confused expression.

“It’s a race, darling” he threw his cigarette on the floor.

“I can’t understand absolutely nothing,” she sighed, “and I can’t see nothing” she gestured to some man in front of her, they were much taller than her and they were blocking her vision.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” He showed her some places that were on the other floor, there she could see properly.

“Yeah” she nodded with a smile and Thomas guided her.

When they were already accommodated on the superior floor, the race started and (Y/N) took about five scares in a three-minute period, all of them making Thomas give deep breaths and control himself for not smiling at her. The man around them were screaming and making a notorious confusion, one that his wife observed with mixed feelings, he could see when she smiled of some men, thinking it was funny how he got nervous because of a bet, but in only a few seconds she would change her whole posture when people started to fight, or try to fight.

“They’ll kill each other” she whispered to Tommy.

“Welcome to the races, my love.”

“And that’s definitely not a boring way to die.” And then Thomas couldn’t hold his smile anymore.

“I still don’t understand anything” (Y/N) said after some minutes.

“It’s okay” Thomas shrugged “you’ll get it sometime.”

“I hope it will be soon,” she pouted.

He furrowed, she had never shown interest in the races before “why?”

“Because they seem so interesting to you…” Thomas smiled, bringing her closer, a hand on her waist and another still on the iron bar in front of them.

“No need to worry, it’s okay” he consoled her.

𓂃 ♡︎ 𓂃

“How orange can be a color and a fruit?” She asked while mixing the cake batter.

“That’s how it works, they are the same colour” Thomas said while reading the journal.

“But grape is grape and purple is purple, even though they are the same colour” she pointed.

“Well, maybe the person who named orange a fruit didn’t have an imagination like yours and wasn’t that creative for making two names.”

“That’s not fair.”

“What is not fair?”

“You’re praising me.” She said, feeling her face get hot “Ironically.” Even if it was in a sarcastic way, coming from Thomas that meant the world for her. She knew they had opposite ways to show affection, she could recognize when he was - in his own way, telling her he loved her.

Thomas turned around and faced her, he could see she was flustered. He only smirked and went back to read the papers.

“We’ll marry (Y/N)” he stated.

“I know.” He could hear the smile on her voice.

“So will you act like a schoolgirl falling in love for the first time every single time I praise you?”

“I am falling in love for the first time, Tom.”

𓂃 ♡︎ 𓂃

“So, when will we meet your wife?” Arthur asked Thomas, they were all in the Garrison, drinking together at the snug.

“When it’s the right time” Thomas answered.

“You spend a lot of time in her house Thomas, you already know her family, and we didn’t even see her once” Polly said, lighting a cigarette.

Thomas gave her an annoyed gaze, but at last he shrugged “Fine.”

“Fine?” Arthur raised his eyebrows.

“Yes. Fine, I’ll arrange a meeting.” He explained.

“Oh my dear God!” Polly chuckled, “stop talking like it’s business Thomas.”

“I wonder to myself who is the crazy lady to marry Thomas Shelby,” Ada joked.

“An insane woman, indeed.” Polly agreed.

Arthur and John smiled, both of them exchanging looks. All of them were joking, but Thomas could only imagine how they would react when meeting (Y/N). He knew most people didn’t understand how he ended up with (Y/N), she made too many questions, was daydreaming most of the time and she was good, honestly good, with a pure heart. They were opposites.

Sometimes Thomas didn’t think he deserved her - if he was honest, he thinked that all the time. But only he could see her, see how truly enchanting she was, in those moments she would make questions all the time about everything, Thomas could see how intrigued by life she was, how smart too, she was smarter than him for a lot of stuff. She was easy to distract, but when she wanted she could read hours and hours of science books and then study experiments and see how things actually worked, but even then, when she reached the explanations, the dreams and sentimentalism she carried never went away. She was stronger than Thomas for this. She had seen real life, she had seen things that made man cetics, and still, she was herself, with all her ideas, dreams and values. Seeing good things where she wasn’t supposed to, like him.

“We aren’t that opposites Tommy, not all the time” she whispered to him one day, they both were laid together.

“We’re not?” She only nodded, but Thomas understood, he saw her determination, her way to protect her loved ones, how she was still able to work and take care of things after a tiring day, yes, even when she was making her silly lovely questions, even when she was dreaming about other worlds, about her books and favorites stories, even when it was late at night and she woke up because she really needed to write something down before the idea went away, even when she was completely clueless about what was going on, not understanding anything, just giving out her silly smile as a false confirmation that she understood everything, even in those moments, Thomas loved her and could see a younger Thomas in her. He could tell they were the same, for seconds, but they were. “You are very innocent to think so.” He said, not a single thought running in his head at the moment escaping in his voice, but (Y/N) giggled, she giggled, making Thomas smirk.

“I’m innocent?” She faced him, her eyes sparkling. Thomas wanted to freeze that moment and engrave that image in his head forever. Her face was illuminated, glistening from the few rays of the sun that came through the window, she still kept a hand on his chest to support herself, but now their faces were closer. Her lips called Thomas, a light smile playing on them.

Thomas kissed her, a kiss he would never forget. A kiss that felt like their first; magic, right. Her hair was loose, so a few strands were loose in front of her face, Thomas pulled one of them out and wrapped it around his finger affectionately as they walked away. He could see she was surprised, she always was every time he kissed her suddenly, Thomas never got tired of that expression.

“Very innocent.” He then answered. And that was one of the moments he looked at her and felt an urgency to hold her close, to never let her go. She was brilliant, adorable, so pretty for him, but what he liked most was the feeling of home, of safety, of innocence, of kindness she had and could pass to everyone.

“I’m not!” She rolled her eyes, pouting. He kissed her again, thinking with himself he would never get tired of that lips “this is not fair.”

“What’s not fair?”

“I can’t be mad at you when you’re kissing me like this, I could never.”

Maybe it was the way she said it, mad and soft at the same time, her voice denouncing that every bit of her was in love with him. Or maybe it was because it was a good day, with business, with family, with her, with everything. Maybe it was because at that moment, for just a few seconds he could swear he was young again, with a lot of dreams and hopes, innocent. Maybe it was all of that. But Thomas laughed, out loud, something inside him waking up after a long time. He would never know the exact reason, but he knew the exact moment that happiness inside of him decided to show up, she was there, by his side, and that was enough.

𓂃 ♡︎ 𓂃

“Meet your family?” She widened his eyes at him, he only nodded “I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“Well, you can’t meet them only on our marriage day.”

“Can’t I?” She looked at him with begging eyes.

“No (Y/N), you can't,” she sighed “you don’t need to be so scared. It's about time.”

“I’m scared” she got up off her chair and started to walk in the room “weren’t you scared when you met mom?”

“No” Thomas lied, she widened her eyes at him.

“Really?”

“Yes.” He lied again. He wasn’t terrified, and he wouldn’t call scared… but he was nervous, in a way he didn’t feel for a while, he was afraid - maybe this word is a exaggeration, wary or anxious would be more appropriate - things went wrong and her family didn’t approve him, her mom the most. “It’ll be okay, love, you don’t need to worry that much. They’re your family too now, you’re me wife.”

“Not yet” she pointed, with a cocky smile, it was rare to see her joking like that.

Thomas rolled his eyes, pushing away a good joke and a smile. “Already feeling better, I see.”

“No, actually I’m freaking out” she started to walk in circles again “oh, what if your Aunt doesn’t like me?”

“I’ll marry you anyway, I’m the one who has to like you.”

“But-” she started, but Thomas cut her off.

“I’m the one who has to like you (Y/N), end of the story.” He stared at her seriously, she nodded, but he could tell she was still nervous “come ‘ere” she crossed the room and sitted on his lap “why don’t you tell me about that story of yours?”

“What story?” She furrowed.

“Of your… red cover book? Yes, I think it was that one, one of your favorites” Thomas pretended he was having problems remembering. He would never have difficulty remembering anything she liked before, she could tell him once, like it was nothing important, but Thomas remembered .Everything. But this time he was pretending for a good cause.

“Oh, ‘the autumn wife” she smiled widely “you really want me to read to you?”

Thomas noticed how excited she was, the idea of reading to him enthusing her like it was the best thing in the whole world “yes, I had a tiring day, I want to hear you reading.”

Thomas didn’t know what the story was about, not with details at least. She had told him once it was about a girl who falls in love with a guy who promises her everything, but only some months after proposing her and her father had approved he disappears, leaving nothing but a letter and a pen behind. “Oh, it’s magic Tom, it’s really good” she described the book briefly - Thomas saw how hard that was for her - but after that day he saw her reading, they never talked about it again.

“Okay” She sitted on his lap again, looking at him and asking if she could start, Thomas nodded, waiting for her. He watched while she changed, her posture, her face, everything; getting comfortable and ready to read. When she finally started, Thomas thought to himself why he had never asked this before, her voice was different when she was reading, and her face too, she could make all the expressions of the characters and her tone was always perfect. “She smiled at him, sad, the saddest smile he had ever seen, and it broke him, she was his daughter, his baby, crying in his arms and asking him ‘why did he leave? Why did he leave me?’, that was his worst nightmare, not being able to answer his daughter questions ‘I don’t know’ he whispered, afraid that the words might tear him apart.”

She stopped in the thirty page and looked at Thomas, asking him if she should go on with the reading. Thomas looked at the clock, it was already midnight, he was tired, he could see she was too, but thinking of stopping right now wasn’t in his mind, and he could tell she was thinking the same.

“Go on, love” she nodded with a light smile

“Idora finally got up, her head was heavy, hurting a lot after last night. After crying for what she thought was two hours. She could still feel her father's arms around her, his attempts to comfort her. She felt embarrassed. And then she felt angry. Hasr didn’t have the right to make her feel ashamed or herself, he was the one who left, he should be the one embarrassed.”

Thomas was trying hard not to close his eyes by now, (Y/N)’s voice was too good, music to his ears, and the way she was caressing his hair was making it harder to keep focus and not fall asleep.

“How did she survive? The question repeated on Idora’s head. She had no idea. ‘How have I survived after losing the love of my life and my dad?’ She asked herself, but deep down she knew the answer. ‘I survived because there was nothing else I could do, too afraid to die, to scared to live, so I survived.’”

“That’s your favorite quote,” Thomas said, suddenly. (Y/N) looked at him with surprise.

“Yes” she tilted her head a little “you remember.”

“Of course I do, sweetheart.” His voice was in a low tone now, (Y/N) could see how much he wanted to listen more, but he was already tired.

“We can go to bed Tommy.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“It’s already two in the morning.”

“Just a few more pages,” he shrugged.

“Oh dear God, you said you’ll have a busy day tomorrow, you need to sleep” she insisted, already closing the book.

“I can take care of myself on my own” he stated.

“Rude.”

“Go on.” He knew he would win that fight, (Y/N) could never refuse reading out loud, it was something she liked too much.

“‘Oh, what must my dear father be thinking of me? Too miserable? A little bird in his cage?’ Idora hugged her body and let all the tears consume her. She had sworn, she had sworn she would never marry. So why was she doing this? Why was she lowering herself like that? She was desperate, desperate for a new life, for changing, for help, but she didn’t need it to do it this way. She’d had to recompose herself and find a solution, alone, again.”

Those were the last words Thomas listened to before falling asleep. Still in the armchair in (Y/N)’s living room, with her sitted in his lap, she only realized he was sleeping after five minutes. Then she stood up as quietly as possible and covered him with a blanket. He was too heavy for her to carry him alone to bed, but because she didn’t want to leave him alone for the night, she decided to sleep on the sofa, to be in the same room as him.

The next morning Thomas woke up with his body aching, but it was worth it when he saw her sleeping on the couch. He left a note for her at the center table and tried his best to leave the house without making any loud noises.

“Tomorrow at six o clock. Be ready. I’ll pick you up.” Said the note (Y/N) picked up later.

𓂃 ♡︎ 𓂃

“What the fuck?” Whispered John for what should be the sixth time.

They all looked at the girl sitting in the snug, affectionately playing with Finn. They both were laughing at something only they could understand.

“How did you meet her?” John faced Thomas.

“Long story” Thomas shrugged, it wasn’t long at all, he became obsessed with her the minute he put his eyes on her. She was only walking, going to a friend’s house who lived next to watery lane. One day, for a mere coincidence, he bumped into her. “We met because of Priana’s daughter, Gabriela” it wasn’t all a lie.

“So this is the insane woman” Ada only shocked her head, too shocked and confused.

“Well, at least Finn likes her a lot,” Arthur pointed, scratching his beard in pure confusion. The girl in front of them was pretty different from their brother, too different.

“Of course he does” Polly said, but even in her usual harsh and sarcastic tone there was a hint of surprise “they speak the same language.”

Indeed, Finn was making some questions none of them had ever answered him in their house. “How do planes fly?” (Y/N) immediately started to explain what she had read in a book and how the structure of a plane worked. Finn's eyes shone when she started to draw the small parts of the plane in the air.

“She’s…” Arthur started, trying to define the lady in front of him “how old is she?”

“I thought the questions would be made for her” Thomas stared at him.

“She’s just, so... different?” Arthur tried, John was too shocked to be cocky, but still chuckled, more because he agreed with his older brother than because he was mocking his choice of words.

“This life is not for her Thomas” Polly simply said.

“She’ll not live this life.” He harshly retorted.

“She’ll marry you.” Polly looked at him in a worried way “what makes you think she’ll not live this life?”

“I’ll guarantee she won’t.” His tone indicated he didn’t want to talk about it anymore “now go on, talk to her, she came here to meet you, not to be observed.”

All of them walked to the table in the snug, in the minute (Y/N) walked inside of the Garrison with Thomas, all the adults got up from the table and went to talk in the pub common area, letting (Y/N) and Finn alone in the snug, they were too shocked to start the conversation they were planning when they saw her.

(Y/N) was all happy, despite her anxiety she got into the Garrison the same way as always. A huge smile on her face, little jumps when walking and a lot of noisy and brilliant bracelets accompanying her movements.

“So… you guys already finished talking?” She looked up at them, her expression pure curiosity and caution.

“Yes,” Polly quickly nodded.

“Good, ‘cause you were staring at me like I’m a puppy” Ada and John couldn’t hold their laughs, Arthur and Polly only smirked.

You are one. That was passing in everyone’s mind.

The beginning was strange. They didn’t know how to exactly talk to her, afraid of even speaking bad words in front of her. She was too different, like Arthur said. But after a while they all loosened up and talked to her normally, getting comfortable and getting used to her way. It was still impossible to understand how (Y/N) and Thomas had ended up together, but even they could understand why Thomas had fallen for her, just not the other way around.

“Such a lovely bride,” Polly whispered to Ada. She was being honest. Already enchanted by her.

“Too lovely for Thomas,” Ada answered “how could he fall for someone like her? Maybe he's not that heartless.”

“But she’s definitely insane.” John whispered too.

The girl had no idea what was happening, looking at Thomas with loving eyes and paying attention to every word letting his mouth. She had no clue what they were talking about.

Thomas stared at her and felt at peace. They could never understand, sometimes he didn't understand either. But she was his and that was enough.

𓂃 ♡︎ 𓂃

TAGS: @angelofthenight

sukuna who is your self defense instructor and is always rough and mean to make his examples more “realistic.” and he’s got the most sardonic smirk when he stands in front of you and says, “okay, so pretend i’m the bad guy.”

but like meet awful. he’s a terrible teacher and is so taunting and mean you just kick him in the nuts and run out after quickly grabbing your bag. and you meet him again months later on a blind date.

Hey! I love your works! Can I request badboy! Satoru x nerd!fem reader with glasses where she is dared to prank call him (she has a crush on him) and sing some seductive song or something (my mind went to a gangster's wife but you can choose another song too!) and he finds out that's her next time they meet? He corners her in a classroom and things escalate and they have heavy make out session in classroom, Followed by him asking her out on a date!

˗ˏˋcontains: f!reader x fuckboy!gojo, reader wears glasses, suggestive language, use of pet names (pretty/pretty girl), university setting, descriptive make out scene, 18+ only pls MDNI !!!

˗ˏˋwc: 3.4k

˗ˏˋa/n: sorry this is so late, i also hope u dont mind that i took some creative liberties with this prompt :v rather than reader singing i had them play the song ‘careless whisper’ over the phone for a dash of silliness heh.. other than that ive never really written any fuckboy-type characters before so i hope he’s as cocky and annoying as he should be 💔💔 ++ tagging @softgirlgonehaywire for brainrot purposes

“here,” your friend hands you an innocuous slip of paper that she pulled out of her wallet, the smirk she adorned stretching further across her face when you hesitantly grabbed it. “that’s his number, you have to call him tonight when he’s in the middle of his date.”

a heavy sigh leaves your lips as you unfold it. no doubt it’s his handwriting, messily scrawled over a piece of scrap paper he likely ripped out of his own notebook in the midst of a boring university lecture. it’s probably the very same one you saw him handing to her when he leaned over her desk at the end of said lecture, a sly grin on his face as you saw him mouth something along the lines of— “you dropped this earlier.”

it’s not like you were staring, though. obviously not.

“do i really have to do this?” you frowned at your friend, huffing in protest when she only grinned in response. “is it too late to change the terms of the bet we made?”

when she nods with a mischievous grin, you find yourself suppressing another groan. “a bet’s a bet,” she muses, taking another sip of her smoothie before continuing. “i scored 5 points higher than you on our midterm, so now you have to prank call your crush.”

you found the bet itself to be a little juvenile, if you were honest. it’d been an ongoing tradition since you both were in high school — betting on getting a higher score than the other on an important exam motivated the two of you to study your absolute hardest. the terms weren't always the same, and you usually had no problem with this — since you were often the one getting a better score. admittedly, though, you’ve been rather… distracted, as of late.

when your friend caught on to the crush you had on the biggest flirt on campus, satoru gojo — it was immediately over for you.

it’s not your fault that he was insanely good looking; that despite the two of you hanging around entirely different crowds, you couldn’t help feeling drawn to him. he seemed a lot nicer than most made him out to be; his reputation surely preceded him. and he was smart, annoyingly so— the type that never needed to study or pay attention in class, yet somehow got every question right and aced every exam.

even the small interactions you’d had with him plagued your mind. the one time you’d let yourself get dragged out to a party which happened to be hosted by his last girlfriend, you found yourself chatting with him on the porch over drinks. he didn’t seem as happy as he’d been making himself out to be.

it’s funny, how even some of the brightest people can have dark moments.

and so, you fell for him. it was more of a distant, puppy-crush— nothing really serious, since you didn’t actually know him like that, but it still happened.

which is what led to your current predicament: your thumb, hovering over the green call button.

you chewed on your lip anxiously, eyes darting between your phone and your laptop screen, where you had a window opened with the song ‘careless whisper’ by george michael. you even skipped ahead a bit, purely to get to the good part with the saxophone solo you were planning on playing.

this was stupid. this was really fucking stupid.

you called him around the time your friend said you should and the phone rang a bit, making your nerves grow with every additional ring. just as you were considering hanging up and backing out on the bet, he picked up.

“hah— hello?”

the gruff in his voice didn’t go past you, nor did the slight pant he let out as he answered the phone. your cheeks warmed up at the thought of what he could’ve possibly been doing right now with his date for the evening, but you cleared your throat and readied yourself to say the dialogue your friend had prepared for you.

“hey, uh… sexy man,” you cringed as you spoke, hoping the tone of your voice didn’t give away how humiliated you felt right now. you were supposed to be humiliating him, after all. when he didn’t respond you swallowed thickly, hovering your finger over the touchpad of your laptop.

“i thought i’d play some sexy tunes to really get you in the mood.”

before he could say anything, you were pressing play. the famous saxophone bit in the song began playing, and you put your phone down to turn away from your laptop and bury your face in your hands. you can’t believe you’re actually doing this.

you’re unsure how he initially reacted on the other end, but you thought you heard a small snort of a laugh— that is, until the sound of a woman’s voice broke through.

“are you fucking serious?” she sounded annoyed, which made him laugh harder, but then the distinct sound of bedsheets ruffling over the phone speaker made you have to fight back a laugh of your own. the sound was muffled after that — you presumed the phone had fallen under the sheets — but you could hear the woman complaining about the phone call, and satoru trying to convince her to come back to bed. when a door slammed shut on the other end and he went silent, you hung up the call if only to finally let out the laughter that was threatening to burst through you.

it’d been a week since you placed that call, and satoru still had no idea it was you. according to your friend, he’d been trying to ask around and gauge who it was, but he had no luck.

that is, until today— when your professor called on you to answer a question he’d asked. as you spoke up you were sure you’d felt satoru’s eyes on you, and they remained burning holes into your head for the rest of the lecture.

or maybe you were just imagining things, right?

you were usually the last one to leave the room at the end of a lecture, since you always liked to wrap up your notes for the day. your professor knew this, so he usually left you to lock the door on your way out.

yet, as you were finishing up your notes, you heard the sound of a lock clicking behind you.

you spun your head around, only to immediately regret it when you came face-to-face with the very person you’d been dreading speaking to all week. satoru smiled at you; it was a smile that was a little too soft to mean anything good. he walked around you and leaned over your desk, and you fought the urge to stare at the muscles of his arms as he practically caged you in where you sat.

“um—” you stammered, blinking up at him in confusion before slowly closing your notebook. “can i help you?”

he hummed, shrugging before lifting his hands off of your desk and leaning back against the one behind him, crossing his arms over his chest. “i believe you can. i’m actually looking for someone…”

you held your breath, feigning your best smile as you tilted your head at him. “i’m not sure i’m the best person for that, i don’t know as many people here as you do.”

he just laughed at your words, waving you off. “trust me, i wouldn’t be asking if i wasn’t sure you were the perfect person for this,” he mused, letting his eyes rake over your demeanor for a moment before meeting your gaze once again. there was a glint in those cerulean eyes that made you feel nervous; a fluttery feeling took hold of your gut and made you swallow thickly.

“well, whatever it is, i’m sure we could talk about it on the way to the dining hall,” you mumbled, breaking eye contact with him as you haphazardly stuffed your belongings in your bag. “i’m a little hungry after this lecture, the professor always goes on and on—”

you were rambling, completely missing the way he pulled out his phone and unlocked it while never taking his eyes off of you. you slung your bag over your shoulder as you spoke, turning around to walk towards the door of the classroom, but right as you reached the doorknob you felt it— a buzzing in your pocket.

your phone was ringing.

satoru hummed again, and you finally looked back at him to realize that he’d been calling your phone number. he twirled his phone in his hands for a few seconds before ending the call, biting his lip to suppress the grin that was currently taking over his facial features.

“you see,” he started, pushing himself off the desk he was leaning on. he started walking towards you, hands in his pockets, and you hadn’t realized you were about to bump into the wall behind you until you did. you gasped softly in surprise, feeling your heart in your throat when he only advanced further. “i was hoping to consult with you, maestro. i’m in need of some more… sexy tunes, to make up for my date walking out on me the other night.”

you closed your eyes and sighed, opening them again after a moment only to find that he was standing much closer to you now. “listen, i can explain—”

“i’m sure you can,” he chuckled softly, tilting his head as he grinned cheekily at you. “i mean, if you wanted me to ask you out last week instead, you should’ve said something.”

“it was just a dare, i— wait, what?” you blinked at him, not having expected him to say that. he just laughed again, shaking his head as he took another step forward.

“it’s not like i don’t think you’re super cute, especially right now… all flustered like this,” he cooed, lifting his hand to lean it against the wall, just beside your head. you gulped, noting how it brought you that much closer to him. “it could’ve been you in my bed last week instead of that other girl, come to think of it.”

“gojo,” you swallowed again, feeling your heart race at his words. “that’s not— i, um… i was only—”

“oh, by all means,” he interrupted you, leaning closer as he did. he lifted his other hand up to your coat, gently tugging on the fabric. by now his face was a mere inches from yours, and you were starting to forget where you were going with your explanation. “tell me what’s on your mind, pretty girl.”

he smoothed his hand over your coat, bringing it up to your shoulder before squeezing it gently. you lowered your head slightly to avoid the intensity of his gaze, but then he brought his hand up to your chin to lift your head again, holding it in place.

“do you want me to ask you out, or no?”

you swallowed, unsure how to respond. “um…”

he chuckled lowly, stretching his hand beside your head to reach the light switch for the classroom before shutting the lights off in one swift flick of his wrist. “there, that should bring that confidence of yours back.”

you let out a shaky breath before relaxing yourself, closing your eyes in the newfound darkness of the room as you leaned further against the wall. “maybe, i… wouldn’t be opposed to it.” you confessed, feeling your cheeks heat up further with your own words.

you heard him chuckle, but you couldn’t see the look on his face and it made you all the more nervous. his thumb, the same one over your chin, then slid up; he swiped it across your lower lip and your mouth parted open instantly.

“i can hear your breathing picking up,” he murmured, his breath fanning across your lips, making you blink in surprise at the fact that he’d leaned in ever closer to you. “are you nervous?”

you didn’t respond, unsure how to. he took the risk of another step forward, pressing into you against the wall. the hand leaning against the surface lifted up, and he brought it down to your face, cupping your cheek and swiping his thumb over your cheekbone. his hand then slid lower, against the side of your neck, and he bent his wrist to tilt your head up further.

you felt the wispy strands of hair on his forehead tickling the space between your eyebrows, just above your glasses. you didn’t realize you’d been holding your breath until he pressed his forehead into yours fully, sighing softly.

“you can relax. i won’t do anything you don’t want me to,” he mumbled, his tone almost in a whisper. he rubbed his thumb along your jawline, lightly pressing it against the pulse point in your neck and making you automatically grip the back of his shirt in response.

“w—we shouldn’t—” you stammered, your voice squeaking at the end when he pressed his body weight against you a little further. despite your words, your body was betraying you; at the feeling of his other hand slipping towards your lower back, you arched into his chest, making him chuckle softly.

“but… you want to, don’t you?” he hummed, his voice low enough to send a chill through your spine. he was so close to you now that every syllable he shaped with his lips had them brushing against yours, making your breath hitch with the barely-there contact.

his lips pressed forward a little further, gracing your own in a soft manner. he felt your jaw go slack at the contact, and as you started to try and kiss him back he pulled away, eliciting a small whine to escape you.

“what are you doing?” you groaned softly, feeling your entire being heat up. he merely hummed in response, sliding his hand up and down your back, coaxing you to melt into his embrace more than you already have. he then brought up one hand to your face, removing your glasses for you and setting them down on the nearest surface; the action making you blink up at him with a dazed expression.

“jus’ testing the waters… you’re not like the others, y’know…” he murmured, inhaling through his nose before pressing a short kiss against your lips. he felt you chase his lips as he started to pull back again, which made the corners of his mouth curl up into a cheeky grin. “take it easy, now, pretty.”

you caught on quickly that he was toying with you, testing how far he could push you until you reached your limits. while it’s true you weren’t one to go out on dates all that often, it’s not like you’re completely new to this either. he was trying to find what makes you tick, what could push your patience over the edge and make you crave him more than you already did.

and, unfortunately for you — it was working.

with an impatient huff you slid your hands up his chest and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him in for an actual kiss. he snorted softly in mild surprise but the smirk you felt on his face as he kissed you back told you he got exactly what he wanted from you. he laid out the bait for you to take it, and you did so without another moment’s hesitation.

things moved quickly now; his hands slid down to your waist and gripped it harshly as he pressed into you again, caging you between himself and the wall. you could feel his heart racing in his chest, or maybe it was your own heart — finally beating in tune with his. he deepened the kiss as his fingers dug into the flesh of your love handles which pulled a small gasp out of you. he then used the opportunity to slip his tongue inside your mouth, moaning softly when you reciprocated the action.

his hands slid lower now, gently squeezing your ass before he bent his knees to hook his hands under your thighs. as quickly as he did this he was lifting you up into his arms, wrapping your legs around his waist and pressing his crotch right up against yours. you could feel the steadily growing tent in his pants and it pulled a moan out of you, which he responded to by sucking your lower lip in between this teeth and biting down gently.

“fuck—” he groaned against your lips, unable to stop kissing you. your hands slipped into his hair, and with a small tug on the white strands you felt his movements falter for a moment, his mouth parting again in a silent gasp. you both made out like this for another moment longer before you couldn’t take anymore; not with the way your heart was beating out of your chest, how he was making you dizzy with the way he kissed you breathless.

you gently pushed on his shoulder and he responded accordingly, pulling away from the kiss with a sharp gasp for air. his eyes were closed and he was panting softly, his adam’s apple bobbing when he swallowed thickly before he decided to meet your gaze. even in the dark you could see how the bright blues of his eyes were darkened, clouded with something you could only describe as pure desire.

the fact you were able to make a mess of him like this just by making out with him made something low in your gut curl up, your legs tightening around his waist in a meek attempt to press your thighs together and give yourself a little bit of relief.

he picked up on this and chuckled lowly, his tongue darting out to lick his kiss-swollen lips. “felt good, huh?”

“whatever,” you grumbled, your voice shakier than you’d anticipated. you tapped your finger on his shoulder, a silent request for him to put you down. as your feet landed on the ground your knees buckled slightly, making you instinctively grab his arms.

“i mean, it sure looks like it did if you’re already weak in the knees,” he teased, nosing at your jawline and pressing a ticklish kiss on your neck when you rolled your eyes at him.

you blindly reached around behind you, switching the light back on in the room. once you did, you could finally see how red in the face he was. you could even see how there was a sliver of worry swimming about in darkened ocean eyes.

“so,” he cleared his throat, brows furrowing for a moment before he took a step back to give you your space. his hand came up to the back of his neck and he rubbed it awkwardly, trying to think of what to say before meeting your eyes again. “how about that date?”

you raised an eyebrow, unable to hold back the giggle that bubbled up in your chest. “what, you were serious about that?”

his expression broke out into a sheepish grin and he shrugged, his cheeks tinting a slight shade of pink. “i was, yeah… to be honest, i’d been kinda working up to asking you out for a while now. it’s easier with the others, but you… i could never figure you out,” he mumbled, clearing his throat again.

you hummed, crossing your arms over your chest. “so, what, you just want to figure me out and then toss me aside like the rest? is this still part of your little ‘game’?” you teased, tilting your head to the side in a questioning manner.

despite your words, his demeanor didn’t falter at all. “nah, it's like i said… you seem different. besides, if you keep kissing me like that i’m gonna have a harder time letting you go,” he said coolly, snickering softly when you shoved his arm in response.

“you’re annoying.”

“—annoyingly good at kissing, eh?” he added with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “so, what d’ya say? friday at 7pm?”

you gave him a contemplative look, before biting your lip softly to hold back the grin threatening to break past you. “i guess… we can have the one date.”

he perked up at this like an excited dog, his back straightening out again as he threw his signature smirk at you. he turned around, grabbing your glasses that he set down a few minutes ago and bringing them back up to your face before carefully placing them back on your head.

“trust me, it’ll be a night you won’t forget.” he said with a cheeky grin, pushing your glasses up the bridge of your nose before booping the tip of your nose in a playful manner.

YOU don’t have to be perfect to be loved. but I do

💄💋 ♡ 210414, Bobbi Brown x KAI Instagram live.

Finally a ghost recognises them for what they truly are

BAEKHYUN + Red & Black (for anon ♡)

[Vladimir Nabokov, Letters to Véra — Joseph Lorusso, Playing Their Song]

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why do all the words sound heavier in my native language?

—  @metamorphesque, Yoojin Grace Wuertz (Mother Tongue), Still Dancing: An Interview With Ilya Kaminsky (by Garth Greenwell), Jhumpa Lahiri (Translating Myself and Others), @lifeinpoetry

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