[busterbby]

𝐃 ANCING THROUGH LIFE . . .

virgo • she/her • 🇱🇧 • yume • jiro yamada enthusiast

this blog is for my buster bros thoughts and writings! Likes and reblogs are much appreciated. My inbox is always open for chats and any stray thoughts! Including yume thoughts for any and all hypmic characters. Please read the rules through thoroughly before engaging with or requesting from my blog.

requests : closed!!

inbox : open for soft thoughts and rambles !

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[busterbby]

// bday outfit spoiler ( not sure if anyone cares but )

i believe in choker jiro supremacy ;; such a pretty place to put my leash on. and ofc a tag with his name with a ‘if lost, return to owner’ 💕

[busterbby]

i wonder if ichiro is a bit stingy when it comes to spending money since he and his bros grew up in a poor orphanage where everything was spread thin. he knows it’s a habit he should grow out of since they live pretty comfortably now, but he can’t help the little grimace he sometimes gets when the price of groceries is too high, or when he talks himself out of buying this new figure he really wanted bc it’s a bit much and he can’t justify it.

ofc that’s normal, but he kinda takes it to lengths. like if the washer needs fixing or the ac unit is down, ichiro pulls up his sleeves and tries to fix it himself instead of calling a repair man. as jiro and saburo had been begging bc they can’t stand having to share a room anymore.

esp as an odd jobs handyman, im sure he’d want to do everything himself instead.

if you have a leaky sink or the dryer is broken, ichiro insists on fixing it himself. you can use their washer and dryer for the time, can shower at their place, until ichiro gets around to it ; you can rely on him! and he sorta takes it as this pride of a man, being able to fix things for you.

and it wouldn’t be until he makes things a little worse, and a little more expensive than initially, that ichiro would finally give in and admit that maybe he can’t fix this at all.

(but he still grimaces a bit at the price even though he understands lol)

[busterbby]

coming home from a late shift

fluff. gn!reader. ichiro. jiro. saburo.

i'm on nights this week so this is entirely self-indulgent lol. entirely rough since i haven't had much time yet to sit down and write, but nonetheless, i hope it's still sweet!

ichiro yamada [ 652 words ]

“You’ve had a long day babe.”

Ichiro is always up the moment you get home, despite it being so late — or early in the morning rather, you should say.

Despite how you bite your cheek and say he should really go to bed before you; despite how he needs to wake up early because he has a full day of odd jobs ahead, he's always here. Even if his odd jobs ran late today, they'd never be later than yours.

But even when he’s sound asleep already, the moment that door unlocks, it’s a dream he wakes up from.

You’re finally here.

You knew that, of course. When you see a glimpse of the soft flicker of the living room’s light from the front door, when your heart finally rests at ease, you know you’ll come in and see only Ichiro standing by the door with this cozy smile, messy hair and tired eyes.

He’s glad you’re home.

He always knows — how does he do it? Well, it’s only his brotherly instinct, he’d laugh and ruffle your head; it’s an internal clock all big brothers have. like when Jiro comes home late despite promising he’d be back two hours ago, and he tries to be oh so discrete sneaking in. Or when Saburo comes home from cram school way past when Ichiro should already be in bed; he has a job at six in the morning tomorrow, he knows.

But Ichiro can’t sleep soundly if you guys weren’t safe back in bed first. That’s just not the sort of brother he is. not the type of boyfriend, more so.

He’s the one that turns off the lights, the last to go up. He’s the one that carries you guys off the couch, up the flight of stairs as he holds you close, and tucks you in warm. Even with his eyes closed and mind at rest, it’s his heart still on high alert.

And tonight, when you open that door, he’s still standing there as always.

But your heart swells, and your gaze falls, and you bite your tongue again today. Because as much as he should be in bed, as much as you don’t mind being all alone in this dark once you come back, it’s Ichiro you missed the most.

You couldn’t wait to finally be home.

“You must be tired," oh he still laughs gentle as Ichiro draws a strand of hair behind your ear. Even with his voice raspy and slow, when Ichiro only has sleep on the mind, you're the one he thinks about first. "Here. Let’s go to bed.”

And the curtains are already drawn closed. His words are so low and warm, when he cups behind your ear, when Ichiro leans in close and places a kiss on your forehead so chaste — he missed you. It’s only a dream.

He’s proud of you; Ichiro hopes you know from the look of his gaze, from his thumb that grazes your cheek tender. You worked so hard today as well, huh. It must be truly exhausting, he knows, he knows.

Ichiro coos so sweet as he follows you to bed; your tired eyes and the weight of your body entirely give in the moment you feel his warmth surround you, warmer than any blankets you're sure. And his lips tickle, his breath when it barely grazes by the cusp of your ear. When he mumbles 'good night' and turns off the lights.

He's a siren luring you to the haze of your dreams, or maybe a big bad wolf — a monster your mother has always told you to be wary of before venturing out, who would feast upon your love and your heart once you let him in.

But of course not, he’s Ichiro.

Of course he’d stay up waiting for you, no matter how long. You’re now here safe within his arms.

jiro yamada [ 800 words ]

“You’re finally home babe..”

Your name drawls on his tongue quiet and soft; and his lazy eyes are already half past closed, fluttering in and out of sweet dreams, as Jiro mumbles so hushed in between his yawns.

He doesn’t mean it, really. He never means to be half asleep (more like three-quarters) when you’re home at last; you’re much more tired than him, he’s sure.

He wants to be the first to greet you when you're home, not the dark lights of the living room once you unlock that door. Jiro wants to be the one to kiss you 'good night' rather than the moonlight outside.

He only wants to be the best boyfriend, after all.

But it's difficult when it's still only a little past midnight, and the sleep is already getting to poor Jiro. The weight of his heart missing you only drains him more, and sooner rather than later, he closes his eyes for just a second. But when he wakes, he hopes it'll be reality then, not a dream, and you're actually right there in his arms.

Could he be dreaming you up even now? that you’re finally home safe and sound, gone from such cruel jobs that take you away from his arms.

Maybe you’re still at work. Maybe he’s only in rem now making you up — you’re nothing but a dream to him anyway. It’s ever a wonder you’re with him, a wonder you hold his hand and never let go, kiss him so sweet. He never wants to wake up then.

And you’re unlocking the door right about now, at last after such a cruel, agonizing wait, and you’re still just as cute as the hour you left.

Maybe it’s only his dream that you’re here safe at home, happy to see your puppy waiting close by for his owner. But his mind would be oh so cruel to do such a thing then.

He tried to stay up for you, truly! tried his very best, you can see, until the weight got to his eyes, and he succumbed to the warmth of the blanket — the warmth he’s imagined your embrace, of your arms wrapped around him.

“Jiro..” even his name he thinks he dreams when you mutter it so wistful; and the gentleness of your gaze too. It's got to be a dream when you look at him like that, with all the stars in the night sky ingrained, and yet you still only see him.

It’s even difficult to keep his head up, to open his eyes and look at you so hazy — a dream, for sure. Oh Jiro.. the stress of the day melts away in your eyes and on your tongue; you cup his face gentle, thumb running over his cheek. “I told you that you didn’t have to stay up.”

“mm.. ‘wanted to..”

Well, he barely did.

Jiro may just melt right into your touch now though — it’s no more than a dream.

But he cuddles you in close when you finally crawl in bed, and he feels the dip of the bed in the haze. Jiro hums sleepy, tired; it's your name that's a lullaby as he drifts off, the last thing on his mind day in and day out. Why, it can only be you after all.

He’s been missing this all day.

His arms lazily wrap around your waist as if it’s instinct, pressed up against his chest, and Jiro nuzzles right into your scent. His legs are already tangled up in yours, knotted with the blankets he’ll kick off — but he’s the warmest here now.

You did well today babe. so so well. He doesn’t really know how you can work so hard — well, yeah he works hard at odd jobs, but you’re better than him. wayy better.

You’ve worked so hard and long, so just rest with him for now.. mm alright?

He’s heavy like this, you can’t help but sigh. but it’s the type that relieves all the weight of the day, the type that lets you close your eyes as you nestle right into his weight.

And your heart gives in already, when it feels the familiar touch of Jiro around. You’re already home.

It’s not a dream though, when he holds you tighter against him, when he nestles right into your hair. Your heart beat resonating against his is very real. The warmth of your skin underneath his fingertips, the shape of your waist in his arms — Jiro holds you tighter once more, afraid to let go.

Yeah, it’s real. You’re actually here.

And the scent of his shampoo you’ve used still lingers on — but it smells better on you, really. the best.

Now he can sleep snug, safe and sound.

saburo yamada [ 920 words ]

“You’re home.”

Saburo doesn’t sound all too welcoming, does he?

It’s almost a scolding, when he's up on the bed in the dim light, when he gazes at you with such a pretty pout. Almost a 'how could you be out this late'; 'you were supposed to be back an hour ago'; 'do you know what time it is right now?'

But you know just what his heart truly means.

Why, with the glisten in his gaze, prettier than any of the stars above, and the sulk to his pout.

You’ve been working hard. Too hard and too long — it’s unconscionable. How could you make him wait this late? Don’t you love Saburo enough? Don’t you know his heart has been on edge all this time, waiting for you to be safe here in his arms.

You texted him. You’ve let him know; he knows it’s just your horrible work keeping you back. He knows it’s your shift times. Saburo knows it’s all him.

Just.. please try to come earlier next time. He’d mumble with a pout, whispering right into your ear. It’s not your decision — he knows. It’s something so childish of him, as Saburo looks away much too embarrassed. There's no logical reason he should be acting like such a fool. But still.

He couldn’t sleep. Not a wink, not when you’re not here by his side.

He cuddles you so close in his arms in bed (that you've taken way too long to get in, might he add), afraid you’ll slip away soon enough. When he opens his eyes, what if you were to fade away, your warmth lingering only on his fingertips for a second more like a dream. What if he wakes, and it's only the semblance of your warmth he gets.

Saburo gazes longingly this close through the dark, piercing eyes so bejeweled — brighter than any star, of course. He’s still able to make out your features: the curve of your nose, the wisp of your lashes, the sweetness of your lips. He's memorized you in and out, but of course.

What if he wakes, and you’re still back at work — his breath hitches in his throat. What if he’s got to spend another morning alone again; what if he’s gone mad and dreaming this all up, and you're still at work. You're still not with him.

I love you.

The words are carried by the still night winds, yet they still travel across the world before they reach you.

You don’t think he’s really said it. You think you’ve dreamed it all up, right as you get in bed. And you’re only dreaming up his arms around you, dreaming of the graze of his lips against your ear.

It seems like a dream: the heat of his breath, the sweetness of his tongue, the little kiss he gives right at the angle of your jaw and ear. It’s Saburo you’ve been wanting to come back to the most after all; it’s only your mind making connections in your dreams.

How annoying.

Saburo huffs when he realizes you're fast asleep. Irksome, bothersome: you're so annoying making him wait all this time, only to not realize your very own boyfriend beside you. Even a kiss doesn't wake you, huh — but isn't he your true love's kiss?

Don’t you know it’s reality instead? Saburo grumbles, furrowing his brows as he watches you underneath the moonlight. Of course he loves you.

Oh but, you’re the most tired after all..

With the gentle touch of your breath against his lips, and your hands are loose in his despite their weight. Saburo can see the fatigue in your eyes, even as you're fast asleep.

It's sleeping beauty right next to him.

With the gift of song when you mumble his name in your sleep — it's only him you've missed the most; and lips so sweet they shame the saps of trees and the nectar of a rose; a voice so kind, a touch so gentle, Saburo wonders how he could ever live up.

He knows he's smart. Saburo knows he's the best odd job worker there is, and the better of the rappers here in Ikebukuro. He knows he's a pretty caring lover, knows how hard he works. But you're the better of the two like this, he's sure.

Before your work calls again, he’ll have to cherish you then.

So he holds you close, despite how his heart and fingertips shake; despite how he's not good at this whole 'boyfriend' thing; despite the time you two have been together.

Saburo nestles in close, closer than you would ever know if you were awake; and he kisses you gentle once more, before he succumbs to sleep as well. No matter how tired he is, no matter how long he's waited for you to be safe in his arms, he knows it'll never compare to you.

It's only the night he gets vulnerable like this, and he's up late waiting for you. You're the only one that sees his faults illuminated underneath the stars, yet you'll stay with him. Even after how long your work has been, how tiring, you're still in his arms at the end of the day, and Saburo is safe.

But even if you're fast asleep, you should know: he’s proud of you, and you work too hard (seriously, you should take a break and see him once in a while). And.. he loves you so — it’s reality, y’know.

[busterbby]

hii !!! just wanted to say your works are absolutely amazing and ngl i'm lowkey embarrassed how many times i've reread them lol😭u really are just that awesome! it's also totally okay to take a step back from trying to write smth especially when life is being messy and work is, well, being work lmao cause u and your well-being matters most! and is priority!! take care out there !! ❤️🫡

wait this is so cute you’re so cute anon i wish i saw this before going in today!! honestly you made my entire week already thank youu ☹️💕

genuinely hearing you go back and reread my works means the world to me!! i always wondered if i was ever that sort of writer when i go back and reread my fav fanfic writers works too; that was the sort of writer i always strived to be since i first got into fandom so it kinda feels like a dream realized 💕and its not embarrassing at all dw im the exact same way. the amount of times i’ve reread the same hypmic yume fics over and over since there’s such limited supply on here is dreadful lol

please take care of yourself as well dear anon!! going to keep your message and everyone else’s support close to my heart as i finish this brutal month of gen surgery 🩷 wish i could convince my program that our wellbeing matters too though

[busterbby]

im sorry guys i really want to try to write and post more but surgery clerkship is genuinely kicking my ass rn 😭 im too tired to do much anymore i just feel like a zombie even on my days off. can't believe I still have two more months of this.. ugh..

[busterbby]

hehewhehwehehe have you heard the new Jiro voice lines for spring they're so cutee hehehehweh the contrast between the two is soooo adorable he's sooo puppy coded..,,.

the voice lines are always so good i swear even if they get a bitt repetitive. but jiro is soooo cute, the cutest golden retriever 🥺 (idk many dog breeds but he prob sees himself as this intimidating guard dog sort, but really, he’s nothing more than this energetic puppy with the cutest barks).

getting all tired from running around and then napping in the sun.. he’s a puppy indeed. and obviously he’s a good boy, the best.

think it’d be really nice for him to nap in your lap, and the sun hits his face so pretty, and you dust off the petals so gentle.. i can’t wake him up only after ten minutes that’s so evil!! he should sleep peacefully for as long as he needs (but he’d wake up from a true loves kiss, right?)

[busterbby]

Hi um I think this probably counts as a request and I'm sorry for that but I was in a car accident today and I want to take my mind off things but I've already consumed all the Jiro content on this website and was wondering if you had any headcanons of Jiro that you haven't shared with us yet

that's so horrifying anon I'm so sorry you went through that! I hope you're safe now and feeling a bit better after getting everything checked out :( hopefully you don't have any fractures or injuries from the accident! and dw i don't mind at all; my inbox is alwayss open for any stray thoughts about buster bros or any hypmic character really!

I have a bunchh of jiro hcs since I talk about him too much with my friends lol, but for now I'll say a few fluffy ones I have! Some of them I did plan to share later on in a fic/hcs or something of the sort, so I'll just write them here instead. I don't really remember what I have and haven't shared before, so I hope these are all new! Not really sure if these are hcs or more like very mini scenarios lol but either way, I hope you love them! And again, I hope you're safe and taking care anon 🫶💕

1. Jiro loves it when you run up to his arms right after a drb or when he comes back from an odd jobs trip.

He’s been thinking about you this whole time. whether he was setting up for this restaurant’s grand opening in nagoya or going up against a team in the regional bracket (he had a slip of tongue once, where he almost accidentally said your name in a rap, after thinking about you for too long); were you watching him from afar? cheering for him, with his name leaving your mouth even when he’s hours apart? even if he couldn’t hear it, he’s sure that’s what makes his heart beat the entire weekend.

and he’ll catch you, but of course. he holds you oh so tight in this crushing hug, picks you up with ease and spins you around so fast it makes you dizzy. you’re actually here, in his arms.

then jiro puts you down but doesn’t let you go. he’d nestle right into the crook of your neck, the warmth he had longed for, and his hair is ticklish on your skin. he'd been waiting for this exact moment the whole time. like hachiko waiting for you by the door.

maybe he’ll mumble something incoherent — not japanese in the slightest. or maybe he’ll just hum. he missed you, he loves you. he’s glad he’s back home in ikebukuro.

2. Whenever he breaks a leg or his arm from football/soccer and has to get a cast, of course every single one of your guys' classmates signs it. It becomes so full of their signatures, of their well wishes and charms (and perhaps some left their phone numbers as well? if he ever needs anything ofc, like notes or homework and the like); there's not enough room anymore.

but i mean, you might as well have been the only one to sign it. a cute 'get well soon ♡!' written tiny in some corner. it's obvious, your message is his absolute favorite.

He rereads it over and over. when he's in class or eating lunch. when he gets into bed and he traces your cute wobbly heart with his gaze. Jiro gets the heart flutters fr.

(he hates not being able to move around these next few weeks, but getting pampered by both aniki and you kinda makes up for it. and saburo is actually a little bit nicer too)

3. Jiro replaces the names in the songs with yours sometimes, and he always gets super flustered in doing so. he can never actually spit out your name; his cheeks flush, and jiro can barely utter it underneath his breath before he hits the wrong note on his guitar and ruins the song. his heart just beats too quick, and your name tickles too much on the tip of his tongue..

When he plays his favorite songs on guitar too, especially if they're love songs, he always thinks of you. whether the two of you are a thing or he's just crushing, hard. Jiro would love to play a song for you one day though (once he gathers the guts, that is).

4. Always needs (wants please please please) a good luck kiss before either a drb or a football match. He'll say something like how it actually helps him and he can't win without it; but he's honestly such a huge dork as cool and sauve as he acts that he can't even say that without mumbling, slurring over his words and not meeting your eyes.

He gets really sad though if you don’t show up to his games or practice, and he actually plays a little worse those days, his teammates notice (and they beg you at school to show up even if for a few minutes lmao).

5. not really a hc, but i just think jiro would look good with a piercing. I know the bros weren’t close during tdd era, but I think once they mended all their wounds and relationships, jiro, who looks up to ichiro sm, would want to get a piercing just like his lol. and he’d look good!! so good..

6. I just think it’d be really very cute that he always cooks for you. ofc he loves the cafe outings and the skate park and the arcade, but I think just as much, Jiro would love to invite you over for a date on a day his brothers would come home late, cook dinner for you two and just laze around and watch anime on the couch or something. He's a pretty good cook actually! (well apparently according to arb lol) so i think he'd love to make any dishes for you that you're craving or have you try out what he made, with this glimmer in his eye and waiting oh so antsy for you to say that it's good.

and with the flutter of his heart and blushed cheeks, he'd come over and give you a bag full of dinner for you and your family to try. because he made too much or something. by accident, but ofc. especially if you're sick or are studying for big exams, he'd want to take care of you.

He asks aniki for help with some recipes since he's a much better cook than Jiro, and Ichiro is always elated to help out when he sees just how much you mean to Jiro. like this shyness to his gaze or the way he looks away when he talks about you. it's sooo cute.

7. Jiro puts up a front. he's not actually all that loud and abrasive and confident; i mean, he is, but he's just a touch insecure about his abilities if he dwells on himself too much, especially when he sees his brothers who he believes are sm better than him and deserving of the yamada name. when he sees you and can't believe he actually managed to bag you. sometimes you feel so far away from jiro even though you’re right here in his arms. and those moments hurt the most.

I think he's honestly a really tender-hearted boy at the core of it that's trying his best to be good (i'm sure you can tell from how i write him lol)

8. soo I just think he’d be very submissive. idk i love that. like always calling him good boy or petting his head, and he only listens to you. and he always loves to sleep in your lap, especially if he's had a long day or if he's feeling a bit down. those moments he's the most quiet, simply nestling into your lap and hiding himself away from the world, and it's your warmth and soothing touch, the sound of your heartbeat and all, that makes him feel that everything will be ok.

but I also love submissive puppy boys so I'm a little biased lol. your name on his heart, like a collar — if lost return to owner. ughh i love that too much.

9. I think he’s actually really good at housework and doing his chores. maybe not always on time, and ichiro would have to sometimes remind him to take out the trash and do the laundry, but he does them! (he’d make the perfect house husband idcc)

10. either shows up right on time or a littlee late to dates bc he can never get the time or location right lol. his sense of time or like his internal clock is a bit messed up. but ofc he always makes it up to you for waiting.

11. When the two of you begin dating, Jiro doesn't actually tell his bros right away. Not that he doesn't want you to meet them or anything — his family is most important after all! And ofc he'd lovee nothing more than to show you off, and he's sure his brothers will love you. but that's kinda why.

He knows Saburo would just make fun of him and go on and on about how he's so surprised that someone as incompetent as him managed to bag someone like you. And Jiro's oh so afraid that Ichiro will think that you're wayy too good for him. like out of his league. and he really doesn't want to answer any questions. he loves his bros but jiro doesn't want them to butt in, to ask anything, to know. just for now.

and Jiro can’t keep a secret, we all know. he’d accidentally slip a super important detail about an odd job out in the open, or he'd let it slip that he failed a test that he actually really didn't want aniki to know aboutl lol. but surprisingly, he’d be pretty quiet about his relationship with you. I'm sure Ichi and Sabu get some hint, and they most definitely know there's someone he likes, especially when he's in the kitchen making chocolate to give on white day. But they don't know.

so just for now, jiro likes the fact that it's only him and you.

12. ofc he’s always sending you memes and videos and music he thinks you’d love. especially music. thought of u he texts each time he sends a song over, and even though it's such a simple text without even proper spelling, your heart always skips without fail.

his recs always hit the spot too; it's always a song you love, or a playlist curated specifically to your taste. or maybe that’s just bc Jiro gave it to you that you listen to it over and over.

(sharing earbuds, with one in your ear and the other in his, would be very cute too)

13. The more he’s with you, the more his laugh and sense of humor becomes like yours. Jiro loves big, so I think he’d unknowingly pick up on some of your habits and mimic you. like the way you end your sentences or words you always seem to say or how your laugh has this cute little curl to it.

He also picks up some of your music taste! some of the songs he'd never think he'd like or something you sent him to give a listen. he gets very annoyed at sabu when he plays a song and that brat says it’s garbage. bc it’s the song you love, a song you’ve played to him, so jiro in his mind equates that to sabu calling you trash and gets into an argument lmao

14. he says i love you easily and over any little thing. At first it was hard bc the two of you were so new, and Jiro had always thought about this, daydreamt about you and him, well, he loves you! but it’s super weird now right. he has to play the cool guy and not scare you off, or else he'd blurt how much he loves you from the very first day. but no jiro isn’t cool. he’s not cool at all really, so the longer the two of you are together, the easier it slips by.

when you give him homework answers or share your lunch. when you simply fix his tie because it's crooked and messy, jiro will say 'i love you' no matter what. it's kinda cute really, how he says it over the smallest things.

(if you don't say it back he gets very down then becomes very veryy annoyed, very antsy, and won't stop telling you until you do)

15. the kind of texter that just spams bc he never says everything he wants to in one text. your phone just keeps buzzing, and sometimes (a lot of the time) he'll just text you during class or as you're studying, so you'd have to mute it.

16. obviously he’s not at all discrete about his crush. he grins and blushes when you catch his eye, waving so big. then he gets super duper sad if you ignore him. a literal puppy, and lowkey your full time simp (his friends always make fun of him for it lol)

17. the type that can’t let you or anyone go. we know ichi has abandonment issues, and i think jiro would too to some extent since he and saburo don't really know rei, y'know. So jiro would let you go, bc he loves you so much and if that’s what makes you happy then.. so be it.

but he’ll always think about you even years later bc his heart still loves you. he still yearns for you even then, still keeps everything you've given him because he can't bear to throw it away. even if it's your lip balm that you left in his room one time, and it's been used but not much. because that's like admitting he doesn't care. he doesn't love you and he has never loved you, and that's simply not true.

Jiro will always love you until the end of time and even beyond, even if you were to leave, because that's just how big his heart is, with all the room. that's what love means to jiro.

Okk that was a very long list I apologize. I had so many thoughts and just wanted to keep adding instead of actually studying lol (this too is jiro). Hope you're doing better now though anon! Ofc if you or anyone else has any other thoughts on the bros or hypmic please feel free to send me an ask!

[busterbby]

if it’s not too much…

can i get a strawberry shortcake and a cheesecake with a hot chocolate for ichiro for here 🤭🤭

i apologize for the long wait!! i'm still not too confident writing much smut or adjacent, but it's always sm fun writing ichiro and all his deep-rooted issues he refuses to address; i hope i was able to get that through w/ this fic, though apparently, i'm incapable of writing anything without feelings lol. anywayy, I hope you enjoy 💕

strawberry shortcake + cheesecake + hot chocolate for ichiro: a hickey someplace it shouldn’t be + a messy / desperate kiss ( werewolf au )

gn!reader. nsfw-ish, hurt/comfort. 3822 words. prompt.

It’s rather embarrassing for a werewolf at his big age to be so sensitive to his heats.

Why, with the way Ichiro can’t help but whimper and mope around all day rather than getting any work done. Seriously- was he still a pup of all things? Does he still need his toys he's outgrown, still need to be pet on the head and cooed at in such sweet ways? Such a good boy! Ichi's the bestest, isn’t that so?

Ichiro groans, putting his head in his hands, almost breaking his own desk with his weight; he needs to get this paperwork done soon.

Heats aren't anything new. He's had them for quite a few years now, most especially with you around; and Ichiro had been pretty good at suppressing his urges and getting himself to focus on literally anything else — usually odd jobs, running around Ikebukuro, prying Jiro and Saburo off each other before they poke their eyes out.

Most certainly not on how you greeted him 'good morning' today while passing by, and not how the sweet smell of fresh bread clings to you as you come back from the bakery. Not on how you looked extra cute today, or maybe that's just his heat playing mind games on him.

Because he's a good boy, right? who wouldn't think such things about a good friend.

Except you're his partner now, have been for quite a few years, and yet, heats were never this difficult. Ichiro wonders why he can’t keep it down this time around. as if it was some cosmic mystery still left unsolved.

His mind wanders more often these days.

With a twitch of his ears, thinking he’s heard you call out his name. Lush and low — Ichiroo. Don’t stop. And he’s already on edge, with all the times he grinds his teeth, muscles tense, when he’s just at his seat filling out odd job paperwork.

Oh and he daydreams so sweet.

Of you calling out his name gentle, in a shirt with a collar too low just below the collarbone to rid of the heat. and he sees you turn to him, fanning yourself oh so innocent, as if you don’t know what you do to him with the most tempting bit of skin shown.

“It’s hot today, right Ichi?”

Well, he is hotter than usual today, that’s true.

Of you standing in the kitchen making dinner, wearing his clothes. and the scent smells oh so good, delectable — yours mixed with the musk of his shirt. It’s his favorite dish too, on the stove; seriously, it’s like he hasn’t eaten in days babe, he’d joke.

Ugh. He knows, and he knows you know too. He has you; of course, werewolves mate with their partners to help with their heats. Y’know, that’s just what they gotta do.

But toys are too degrading for a wolf of his size, of his ego and pride. They're just not the same. It's not the right grip nor the same feel when he uses them. Some toys are too small for a big guy such as him, some too large, and none are even the warmth he seeks.

Seriously. How could they ever compare to you?

And no matter how many times he sprays your cologne or perfume on his clothes (oh so discrete, might I add. with a ripe blush and avoiding even his own gaze in the bedroom mirror, he sprays a puff so gentle it barely gets on. as if he had just done the worst of deeds); no matter how much he ruts into your pillow when you're not home, whining your name out a touch too loud right as he cums all over your sheets; no matter how many times ichiro hides himself away during his heats to keep himself out, to keep you safe, it’s never enough.

He’s simply the worst.

But well, it’s not as if Ichiro could simply ask something so demanding out of you. Werewolf heats.. they’re intense, y’know? He tries to tell you each and every time, rubbing his nape shy as you wonder what excuse he comes up with this time.

They’re intense, and they can get rough. He can go on and on for hours without ever needing to stop and- you’ve never been with a werewolf, so you don’t really know, right? how difficult it can be to control himself, how Ichiro feels more wolf than human those nights and days.

It's what he sees, whenever he looks in the bathroom mirror: a wolf that towers too large, with glowing bright eyes that are his father's staring right back; hands brutish just like his, with knuckles scarred and cracks underneath his nails that'll never mend, almost breaking the sink when Ichiro leans into it. And a breath so hot it's still seared onto his skin even then.

He'll leave an imprint on everything he touches if he's not careful. A scar on your arm and a mark on your heart that'll never heal, no matter how much time passes, even if Ichiro is long dead by then; he's part human, mostly wolf, just like him — all he'd ever do is hurt you if Ichiro doesn't pay attention. He'll never be quite enough for a human mate, neither for a werewolf too.

And when he washes the nighttime off his face in the morning, no matter how hard he tries, Ichiro can never get himself clean enough. The traces of the full moon night are still left behind.

The hair that grows back quick, no matter how much he shaves clean; his eyes that glow even in the dark that'll instill fear; the teeth that shimmer even in these dim bathroom lights when he brushes them. sharp, canine; and a smile that will only ever instill fear not comfort, even when he practices in the mirror, no matter how soft his heart appears. Only ever deceptive, he'll be seen as, only ever telling lies.

All Ichiro can see is his werewolf father, not the gentle human of his mother.

Because wolves always leave after the kill. They dig right into their precious prey where the vessel of life lays — a tender kiss, so gentle as they hush them to sleep and tell them lies. That it'll all be fine, that they'll still be there when they wake in the morning.

Then the wolf will only walk away satisfied, with blood still stained on their pretty glinted teeth, and the prey is left struggling for his life, with the mark of the wolf they bear, hidden deep away.

Ichiro isn't like that. He can't be.

Despite his messy black fur, as dark as the night sky, how easily he can blend in to hide; despite his nails that grow sharp, as much as he trims them down, how easily they could cut into you; despite the hair on the back of his hands and his fur that grows back quick to remind him; despite canines as sharp as a silver's blade

He’s a human boyfriend to you, first and foremost.

He'd never walk away after ravaging your entire heart for the night; he'd never let himself treat you as nothing more than prey and leave you behind with an imprint for life.

Well, that’s what Ichiro wants to be. He should be more human than wolf- it's what you deserve and what's best, what he promised when he held your hand in his large wolfish ones and confessed with his whole heart — so then he could never hurt you.

And that's why he can't, no matter how much he wants to, no matter how hard his body wants to betray the logic of his mind and heart. He'd never subject you to his werewolf heats and never break you from his strength.

Above all, you’re a human too! Quite meek and fragile compared to him. Ditzy, oblivious, cute.

Why, his teeth are so sharp they cut glass, yet you almost manage to bite off your own tongue when you slip on words — how could he even think of kissing you like that!

When he holds your hand, he can’t help but worry, wondering how human hands could be oh so small; you were eating properly, right? Not skipping any meals and making sure it’s all fulfilling. Ichiro would hold your hand tight, making sure you wouldn’t slip out of his grasp. like the breeze, carrying you so far away.

But that’s what he loves about you. There’s no way another wolf would be meant for him. A human is his only mate.

They're more resilient, he's sure; even if he were to accidentally break you, you'd build back up and stay by his side still. You're never afraid even when he's standing over you so tall and broad. Even with his hot breath that can cover you from head to toe, and glinted teeth that could tear right in, you stand firm and look him in the eye, because it's you who understands him the most.

And human touch is so faint. He can barely feel it compared to the weight of a wolf's paw, as if you could easily slip away, but that's also what he loves. He knows he'll need to hold you close to him then, where you can feel his every touch on you, and Ichiro can then know that you're safe in his arms, right where he can feel.

When you hold his face — even both your hands isn't enough — Ichiro can't focus on anyone but you. Although you're much smaller and although he has to hunch over, you're still the only one in his eyes.

"Ichiro it's fine."

Your voice coos and eases his worries. Oh you're so understanding, unlike the monster he was destined to be; you're only huma after all, when you fix his wounds with a kiss, dissipate his thoughts away. More kind-hearted and patient with a beast.

It's his heat — of course you weren't going to let him go through it alone. Even if he insists, it's difficult when you can hear your boyfriend whimpering through the bedroom walls, moaning out your name so loud, even if he tries to quell himself down.

You know he only means well, but Ichi. You can handle yourself. He couldn't do everything himself; he needs you.

"If you do- if anything happens, I'll tell you." Promise.

But it's Ichiro, your werewolf boyfriend — part human, equally wolf. such a romantic soul, so tender and protective over the ones he loves, just as a wolf is. He makes only the best lover; you know there's no way that could ever happen.

You can see the struggle in his eyes.

Oh how he wants to. Ichiro would love nothing more, and his body is already saying the same thing, with the way he presses against you, and his hands are already all over. But how could he when you're his human lover?

But well. It’s just one little kiss. Ichiro is sure it couldn’t hurt.

His palms seem large, when they cup your cheeks, as if he could hold you whole with just one hand and carry you everywhere he goes. Yet they weigh almost nothing it seems, as he’s easy on his strength, and Ichiro still holds himself back. He's careful not to prick you, and when Ichiro leans all the way in, he even takes great care as he presses his lips to yours.

It starts off slow and gentle, like any other kiss of his; he's got to keep mindful of his teeth after all, careful to not bite a piece of you off (though surely that'd be tasty, but don't joke like that around him).

But really, he's still a wolf — Ichiro hates it so.

He tries to hold himself back to nothing more than innocent; you can feel it when Ichiro's nails dig right into your skin, and his hold gets more hard, as if trying to hold himself back.

But it's difficult when his breath gets more heated by the second, and his tongue only gets more messy, more desperate as the kiss turns open-mouthed. And he has to swallow the whines of your name that gets muffled, and he's rubbing against your leg.

And oh he's eager. So eager to finally have you after he's deprived himself for too long.

"Ichir-ohh.."

Your moans of his name drown out before Ichiro can even hear them, only ever thinking about kissing you more and more; it could never be enough.

He's not strong. Despite being this towering beast over you that even the strongest of hearts would waver at the sight; despite being a fiend that would be killed, Ichiro is the weakest wolf to ever exist at the mere touch of you.

The big bad wolf could easily devour little red riding hood if he wasn’t too careful. Little red is simply oh so sweet; Ichiro whimpers at such a simple taste — of ambrosia on his tongue.

And he finds himself lost in your kiss, with his ears low and tail curled in on itself. He might just break the countertops then, if his knuckles dig into it anymore.

When he has to pull back, Ichiro almost whines. His lips pulse, and his tongue is already aching to be back on yours once more; he should never stop, his ears stand high, listening to the rush of your blood and his, to the beat of your hearts as one.

It's his spit glossed on your bruised lips; it's his chest as he pants, and his lips hover above yours close, a mere breath apart. He can practically feel them on his despite just pulling back, already soft, already aching. But he saves himself for Ichiro is a wolf — he should have self-restraint. a gentleman, never one to play with his meals, nor your heart.

Ichiro stops himself, before he gets any worse.

“You sure?”

He mumbles so raspy against your lips, so quiet and meek. so human. It's barely the Ichiro you know. His pants get faster and heavier on your skin too; even such a simple phrase has him out of breath.

His eyes trail down and. Ichiro spots the little red shirt from his drawer you don. Average in werewolf sizing, much too big in human.

My, it's so big on you, he gulps thick. So cute, with your neck and collarbone showing full. Such pretty skin his lips long for; Ichiro isn't sure he can stop himself then if you gave him the go.

He's afraid to look you in the eyes, for you'll see the side of him that he's so afraid of losing. The lust that'll cloud his human soul, and then you'll see him completely transform like a full moon's night: no longer the human you know.

He’s only a wolf in boyfriend clothing.

Ichiro lures you in with his gentle touch and words so warm and soft out of his lips, promising that he'll be gentle with you this night too, only for his body to betray his mind.

Bigger, heavier too, as Ichiro pushes you all the way, and now you're splayed out on the countertops; and sooner rather than later, he'll hurt you when he's not in complete control, when he's the true wolf he's tried to suppress all this time.

But it's both the wolf and human part of Ichiro you love the most.

So you brush the hair out of his eyes that could never be cold; wolf ones are always warm. Warmer than any human you're sure, why, with the way you light aflame whenever he looks at you, how you can feel Ichiro's gaze. You'll always know when he's around, because he finds you first in a crowd and it's the sort of weight in the air you can feel.

And with your answer already hanging on your tongue, you kiss Ichiro again first with much more force, much more longing. You wrap your hands around his neck, pull him in close so he leans against the counter, so he knows.

This is what you want. He can rely on you.

"Ohh.."

It's so cute, actually embarrassing, when such noises slip from him. Ichiro didn't even know wolves could make such puppish sounds.

He's such a good boy.

And his lips only get more fervent, when Ichiro pushes you all the way onto the countertops, and now you're splayed underneath him like a prey waiting for it to come. When it does, it's his lips messy atop yours, as if Ichiro is desperate, trying to get the most before you slip away.

He suddenly forgets all his woes with the first taste of you on his tongue.

So, so good to him.

"You've been- ah. You've been waiting, huh," you can't help but tease, biting down on the little whines that slip by as Ichiro hits all your weak spots. Lips trailing from your lips down to your neck and chest.

"You have no clue- fuckk."

His breath quivers, and his moan only grows and lingers on the tip of his tongue, echoing out. hunger in his eyes, and his hot breath smells of lust, drool almost glistening.

The taste of you is what he's been missing all this time.

Little red must be careful — Ichiro always made it a point. wearing his shirt around the house like that, tempting him so unfairly.

He’s not a good guy in his eyes- he tries to be! obviously. Ichiro would never dare.

But the scent hits him dizzying, as his lips move lower and lower.

His nails are sharp, of course, not trimmed as they dig into the plush of your thigh and break your skin, but it’s never rough. You could always escape. You can run far far away if you so wish, escape his hold, and Ichiro would watch helplessly because he understands.

Yet, you stay.

And you remember he’s part wolf, pure muscle, when Ichiro throws your leg over his shoulder with ease as if you weigh nothing to him. He puts his lips to your skin so faint; have you ever seen a wolf that can’t eat a sheep? a lamb, a bunny, a fawn. because it was too gentle-hearted.

Oh but he can’t help himself now.

“Ichi-!!”

You try your hardest to conceal the whimpers that slip so easily as Ichiro kisses and bites gentle your inner thigh, dangerously close to your core where you're already wet and sweet for him.

Ohh he moans low, ecstasy. His first meal in days. rumbles deep. so good he forgets to hide it as Ichiro’s kisses get more sloppy, his tongue more messy with the drool running down your thigh.

“Babe,” he slurs in between, slipping on his own spit on his tongue, like he’s drunk on the heat of your name. But Ichi continues to press hot kisses to your skin, this time more tame, to ease you right into his touch. “So so good.."

Too good to him, the best lover he could ever ask for — helping him with his heats. Ichiro is such a lucky puppy indeed.

When he pulls back, there’s a mark of a wolf he leaves.

Right on your inner thigh, hidden where only you can see. It’s hot and a secret, between only you and him; you're his. But it won’t scar like he’s afraid, and it doesn’t hurt, when you brush your fingers across.

His teeth won’t take a bite out of you, and his claws wouldn’t dig in. He won’t hurt you and tear you limb from limb — simply prey.

You can be sure because it’s Ichiro, both human and wolf.

He’s human when you’re underneath him, splayed out on the kitchen counters, because it’s only you he wants the most right now. It’s the human in him when he nestles himself in your crook and tries not to cum right then and there.

But he’s so close, Ichiro grunts. And it’s your scent, it’s your fingers brushing across his skin, it’s the way he just melds so perfect against you, as if you were made for him.

He’s only human — how could he ever resist.

But he’s more wolf, where he nudges your cheek and kisses your temple light. When Ichiro nips your thigh, and his lips kiss lovingly right where he marks. always careful, ever gentle. And his tail wraps around your other leg tight, afraid to let go.

Not prey, never. You’re his only mate rather.

He’s only a wolf, of course. There’s no way he wouldn’t be so devoted and aware.

But really, it’s because he’s Ichiro. not anyone else.

Ichiro kisses higher up your thighs, leaving trails tender as he gets closer to his edge and yours. So hungry he couldn't possibly stop. Not until he's full to bursting — but that's not even close; how could he ever get enough of you?

He’s the big bad wolf madly in love with little red, who gives you your name wearing his red shirts that are much too large for a simple human to bear.

The big wolf who only wants to protect little red from the perils of this world, including himself. The bad wolf who gives in to his desires — he can’t hurt you. That’ll kill him so. And yet.

His hips roll up into the kitchen drawers naturally, and his ears are held high, listening to every little sound that comes out of you; and oh when Ichiro gazes at you just like this, you think he can see right through to your soul. dark, hidden within the shadows of the room, and hungry as he keeps quiet, as if watching his prey from afar and waiting for the right moment.

Bit by bit, the human side of him seems to slip away.

It's not the Ichiro he puts up and tries to convince himself he is. It's his heart he keeps buried down, instinctive when he gravitates to you and nothing else. And his hips rut deeper without him knowing, and all he thinks about is you, you, you; your lips, your taste — he only needs you if he wants to live through his heats.

He’s a monster to his desires. Ichiro can never be the normal boyfriend you best deserve.

When he bites you more often than he nips, accidentally breaks your skin; when his tongue is rougher than yours, almost like sandpaper, as he mends your wounds; when he whimpers and whines the cutest sounds, so high-pitched it couldn't possibly be your Ichi you heard — he begs for just a taste. at your feet, on his hands, a beast always so gentle tamed by you alone.

He's more wolf than human, but you know that's what you deserve best.

[busterbby]

hello!!!!! congrats on your test!!! may I please order a strawberry shortcake with Jiro for here?

soo sorry for the wait!! ofc, i always have a weak spot when it comes to jiro lol, and hopefully this was short and sweet, just what you wanted! please enjoy💕

strawberry shortcake for jiro : a kiss someplace it shouldn’t be

gn!reader. fluff / a littlee suggestive. 1549 words. prompt.

No one is allowed into the locker rooms except for the football players.

Jiro knew surely he’d get into deep shit with coach if he ever found out you were in here after hours. and he's already on thin ice regarding the few instances as well.

But he had to grab something real quick from his locker, and you were already there watching the game, congratulating him on their win. It’s not as if Jiro could just let go of your hand to pick up his bag, have you wait outside for a bit. That's simply not the kind of boyfriend Jiro is.

So you walked in with him — it'll be fine, promise! and how could you ever doubt that charming grin to him? — looked around the place as he showed you his locker with this sorta pride he boasts.

I mean, it's not much. Only a locker. But it's his, your superstar football player boyfriend's, yeah? It's musty, it.. definitely has some sort of stench to it, with all the dirty clothes he keeps stashed in there that he really should get around to washing. And you can see the pochacco wrist bands you gifted him once too, the ones he always brags about to his friends, the ones he always wears out on the field for luck. heh.

And really, he didn’t know how — Jiro would put his arms up in innocence, he swears — but one thing led to another: goofing around, showing you his locker and around the place. This is like a second home to him, y'know.

And now you’re pressed into his locker, into his chest, with his lips on yours. Slow and sweet, as if the two of you have all the time in the world. which, you don't.

But like. Coach shouldn’t mind too much, yeah? as long as the two of you don’t make much of a mess. It’s only ever innocent.

Satoru literally had his partner in the other day. Jiro would know. He accidentally walked in on them when he forgot his change of clothes; not that he saw anything though, he swears! Not the way Satoru had them pressed against his locker, nor the way his hands were all over them messy, the hushed whispers loud.

Nope. Jiro didn't know anything. And they were hidden in plain sight too..

If Satoru was off the hook, then you guys should be fine too. You can trust him, oh of course; Jiro would never put you in any sort of trouble.

No one was around right now. Thankfully, Jiro thinks; he has you all to himself.

And you’re just too cute cheering him on from the stands.

Ugh, too cute calling his name just like that, too cute in that extra jersey of his — 18, Yamada. his. Jiro had to stop himself from running straight to you instead. But that’s where the true goal lies, right? Except Jiro certainly has to practice his flirts since he can’t even say it without tying his tongue and his heart hitting the wrong note each time, despite the fact you're now his.

And every time he’d turn to you, wiping the sweat with his shirt. You’d give him this big adorable grin. Smile so wide, make a heart with your hands. I love you! you’d mouth, and already Jiro’s heart would beat faster than it already was from all the running around; he gets even more pumped then.

He’d have to make this goal so this game would end soon. Then, he can see you.

His cleats seem so big compared to your shoes, when Jiro pushes you against him, boxes you in between his chest and the cool metal of the locker that pinches your skin. Even if they’re the same size as yours, even if they’re just a little bit tight on him.

Jiro has never seemed as large before; but he's bigger than giants, it feels, with his forehead pressed against yours, hair grazing your skin, and his arms on either side. He's taller than you thought at first.

And his lips don't give you much room to breathe, not with the way Jiro kisses you breathlessly. As if he has never kissed you before, as if it's a dream come true, and he hopes it doesn't end so soon. He makes sure his don't leave yours for even a second more; Jiro misses you, and he missed you today too, the entire time he was out on the field. He tells you with that heated breath of his, so hot, so wet, the way he whimpers shamelessly into your lips. So loud too, as if no one could possibly be around. Not a single soul in Ikebukuro.

Coach can stay outside for a little bit longer, yeah? Jiro is the star player after all.

So he’ll take his big congrats kiss right now, the one you promised him right before if they won.

His hair is greasy, when you run your hands through. full of sweat yet still fluffy. He definitely needs a shower when he gets home. He probably smells, most likely, Jiro knows, most especially when he's this close; he just got done with a match after all. Jiro hopes you don't mind though — you smell so sweet compared to him after all. Nice and clean, dizzying; Jiro only wants to cover himself in you more and more.

And his skin is slightly sticky against yours, warm. Jiro clings to you like he hasn't seen you in three months, and the must only grows hotter, heavier.

He's gross.

But you kinda like this.

It's cozy this close in the locker room with Jiro, no concept of personal space whatsoever. And the smell of teenage boy sweat, hormones, and humidity (yuck) clings to your skin, your lips bruised from his barrage of kisses.

He's your gross Jiro, after all. The star football player of Ikebukuro High, the best hypnosis mic holder in the city too. Nobody else's.

Your fingers lace at the back of his neck, grazing over his sensitive skin so gentle, as you comb through the soft strands; he always liked this, when he'd lie in your lap and you'd play with his hair slow, or like this, when Jiro holds you close, and you run your hand through slow. And oh he just melts with ease, no resistance at all, right into your warmth. There's nothing he loved more in the world.

Yeah, just like that babe..

Jiro whimpers breathless, incoherent. adorable. so not like the man he wants to be.

And his lips never leave too- how could he? When he breaks, and he presses his forehead to yours for just a moment. Your breaths are intertwined, lips glossed with his spit, and he gazes at you this close like there's no other soul in the world. With his breath so heavy on your skin, lips thumping and he whines because he already misses you, he goes back in for yet another. And one more too, because Jiro can never stop at just one.

Yet he holds you stable against himself and his locker, the one decorated with his awards since freshman year — now you. His arms are so strong, hands on either of your sides, his hold firm; he'd never ever let you go — he told you that from his confession. Exactly the man for you.

He cozies himself into the crook of your neck after his own lips and yours are bruised; his soft, tufted hair grazed against your skin, and his whines are almost buried in the heat, tired from the practice game, breaths heavy from all the cardio he’s been doing.

He really needed this babe.

After a match, when he's dead tired and his legs are sore, when Jiro wants nothing more than to laze on his bed and take a fat nap, he only needs you in his arms the most.

It's his post-game ritual, of course.

He can’t hear the footsteps in the back, checking to see if anyone’s still here. And Jiro certainly can't hear his coach's booming voice that fills the hall, talking about strategy for the next game in a couple of days.

All he can hear is the moans of his name on your tongue, the beat of his heart. It's louder than anything else — faster than even the speed of sound.

But Jiro will just take the scolding from coach tomorrow, yet again. And he’ll take all the teasing from the team about how Jiro is such a dirty delinquent, sneaking you in and making out at his locker. He has such game- seriously, he treats you so well. How lucky you are.

I mean, they all saw the marks on his back last time while he changed, and damn. They’d whistle, laugh at how red the tips of his ears got and at his desperate attempts to hide the inconspicuous love bites — they're mosquite bites, ok! all over his neck so bright and red. It's true!! — but they already know. Jiro isn't a very good liar anyway.

He’ll take the ten extra laps he has to run around the field if it meant he got you in the end instead.

[busterbby]

umm i dunno if this's already been requested but sfouf for here w/ ichiro? pls & thank u!!

haven't made sfouf yet this year which is so very depressing bc it's one of my favorite desserts ever.. it's a turmeric cake that's not overly sweet at all and it's just soooo very delicious i could probably eat a pan of it. anyway, this one isn't emotional, but I got a bit in my sentiments bc I was really reminiscing on bts's hyyh album and listening to it (illegaly ofc) as I wrote lol. namely 'hold me tight' and 'butterfly' (but the entire trilogy is fire i fear, pun intended). there's a lot of themes on fleeting moments and being able to grasp youth before it slips by, so i like to think it fits ichi pretty well! having said all that, I hope you enjoyy your request 💕

sfouf for ichiro : a fleeting kiss

gn!reader. fluff. 2598 words. prompt.

Ichiro and you were never supposed to be anything more than friends.

It’s a promise he’s kept; he’s held himself to that. And who is Ichiro if not a man of his word: loyal to the point, and he’d die before giving out a secret. His lips are sealed tight.

So is his heart, with his feelings he's held on to for years and years that only seem to grow stronger as time passes; and the two of you become closer, yet you're still so far away from his grasp, Ichiro just knows.

But he's loyal, again, with lips stitched tight; he'd never utter a word against you, would never admit the trembles of his heart when you're around. He'll also take that to the grave with him also.

Ichiro would never want to ruin friendships over something so trivial as the beat of his heart after all.

The two of you were something special — that he’s sure. Ichiro wouldn’t be able to find a friend like you in the entirety of Ikebukuro if he looked.

It's the same he's said about Kuko, sure. And Samatoki as well, the rest of the dirty dawg that stays in the back of his mind. But that was all those years ago, and friendships were only bound to fade with time, even if he was sure in the moment. He was young, and he was dumb, and the world was much different back then. A different set of circumstances he grew up with, a different relationship, and different people he surrounded himself by.

No, this time he's certain: you're different too.

There are only things you get he's sure no one else has. not even his younger brothers who live with him at home. like, his actual favorite anime, the guilty pleasure one he gets oh so embarrassed to admit to anyone; or how he'll lie and say he's full so his brothers get the last bite of dinner; or how he's a horrible guy, deep down, the sort you should never be around, never trust with your life. because he's a liar too, when it comes down to it.

He has always been alone, the one to carry all the burden himself. Ichiro has never loved anyone before. And it's just friends. Not anything more, and never anything less.

But everyone already knows that part of him.

Feelings were just that: transient and malleable, subject to the times at any moment; they could change so quick. As with the dirty dawg and mad comic dialogue, as with his brothers growing older, everything would be gone the next morning he opened his eyes.

No one stays forever.

Not his past friends, not his family, and certainly not you. Even if his feelings were to linger years past, and if Ichiro were to reach out to you, to hold you in his arms just once, he's sure you'd fly far away too.

Even though his heart easily sways when he sees you across the street, his mind is much more sound and logical. And the two of you were already friends — why would Ichiro want to change what the two of you already have? If he were to confess, then there’s the possibility of rejection and the possibility of heartbreak. There’s that possibility that aches at the back of his mind, that you’ll run away.

That the entire time you’ve known him, Ichiro was pining for you through. Every simple action you did, he saw differently: a bite of your dish you ordered at the café, the grin you’d give when you catch him out and about.

That’s fucking weird. He's gross. You wouldn’t be able to handle it, and sooner or later, you’d slip away like all the others.

friends, now strangers, all because Ichiro wouldn’t seal his heart away.

And even if you somehow felt the same, breakups are inevitable. Distance always follows, just like the sun that always sets at the end of the day and the winter that follows the spring. The you that stays with him in Ikebukuro will sure disappear too.

So there's no use in confessing. He's loyal to himself, a deep secret for nobody else. His heart is sealed tight.

And sure, the two of you could remain friends, but would that ever work? Once you figure out he’s hopelessly in love, and even if he keeps the distance from then on, would you be able to handle the occasional brush of your knuckles when you walk down the Ikebukuro streets; handle the bite of your dish you give him to try; handle the weight of his love crushing you down?

I love you.

But Ichiro is sure of the answer. It's too much for only a friend to bear.

So he holds his tongue, keeps his pride, and Ichiro goes on today as well. So that once you walk away, it won't be as hard as all the others.

Even when it all becomes too much to bear. When he lies in his bed at night, and Ichiro sighs because damn, he never thought it’d hurt his chest when he sees how cute you looked today in your new fit.

But he knows it’s just psychosomatic. His heart is playing tricks on his chest, this tightening sensation he feels; the butterflies make him nauseous, but it’s all in his head.

So Ichiro simply pulls the covers up and tries to brush all these foolish thoughts to the back of his mind so that he can rest.

He’s your friend. There’s nothing more to it. He’s there for you through the ups and the downs, when you need it most. He'll just have to settle with what the two of you have instead.

But it's difficult when he lets you try a piece of his dish at the café; and he buys you the little trinkets in the stores that remind him of you, because this would make you happy, he can't help but beam; and the two of you hold hands walking through the Ikebukuro streets on valentine's day — the most romantic date of the year.

It’s. It’s not a date, ok. He insists to Jiro and Saburo when they bother him about the details all week leading up to it. He’s only hanging out with you, as friends — Ichiro makes sure to emphasize that point very clear, his voice a bit more stern, loud. But Jiro and Saburo would swear that it wavered the slightest bit.

There’s nothing romantic or couple-like going to the pop-up café together with a friend which had a valentine's discount. with you, who clings to his side, look so perfect when paired with him, and the employees assume the two of you must be together. but you guys are only good friends.

Saburo and Jiro look to each other

Yeah sure bro. totally.

He’s only holding your hand — Ichiro squeezes it tight as the two of you cross the street. exactly like when Jiro and Saburo were young, and he’d teach them to look both ways. It’s not anything more than that, what friends would do.

And the shyness in his gaze is.. fine. The way you also don’t say anything, can’t look him in the eye back is also reminiscent of just friends.

There's not a word spent, for if Ichiro or you were to speak, he’d fear this moment wouldn’t last. It’d all be a fleeting dream, and he’d wake up in his bed, with his right hand warmer than the other and the gentleness of your touch lingering from his dream.

There’s.. nothing more to it.

“I had fun today.”

Ichiro grins so wide and cute. Not in a dependable way; not the you can count on big bro he gives to odd job clients and you all the time.

But it’s sweet and it’s lax, and you can see it in his eyes. No other thoughts on his mind and no responsibilities on his shoulders.

He’s nineteen, in this moment in time.

“Me too!” you clasp your hands and give a smile so bright it's almost the morning time, in Ichiro's mind. Time speeds up the most when he's with you, even though this is when he wants it to stop instead.

A skip of a heartbeat passes — awkward.

“We should hang out more.”

You fidget with your fingers, standing at your doorway. I mean, the two of you barely see one another anymore with adult life happening; he’s busy with odd jobs — and you’re glad it’s popping off, really! — and you’re there with your work or school.

This moment will only ever happen once. He looks like the nineteen-year-old Ichiro you’ve wanted him to know: the one that can hang out with friends when he’s free, who can leave his house any time you text and forgets all about the chores he has for the day- he’ll get to them later, certainly.

And you want to see this Ichiro again, for as long as it lasts.

There’s a hopeful feeling in his chest, in yours too, when the both of you gaze into one another’s eyes softly, smiling gently, without another word needing to be said.

Maybe something will happen.

Your heart flips, Ichiro bites his cheek; there’s anticipation, and the two of you feel so close to one another, closer than ever before.

But another moment passes, and nothing does.

A shame.

“Ah. I should get back home,” Ichiro chuckles a bit shy, but it’s still warm and dry, still shakes the very earth you stand on. “I’m worried Jiro and Saburo will blow up the place if I’m gone any longer.”

“Can’t have your home exploding,” you laugh along, to the beat of his rhythm. The two of you will always be connected, different from all the others.

Then another awkward spell falls, where you’re fidgeting with your hands, biting your lip, and Ichiro rubs his nape, looks away.

Ah.

Neither of you want to go so soon; the time spent just wasn’t enough. But the stars are bright in the sky, and all times end. It’s inevitable.

For only a split second more though. Your lips thump, fingertips numb, and something in your heart gives; you want the moment to linger for a tiny bit more, before you let it slip by your fingers.

You act on your instincts, on the beat of your heart, not on logic.

It’s quicker than Ichiro can register — faster than the speed of light, certainly.

But you lean over from your doorway and kiss him goodnight.

He doesn’t even register it at first. A fleeting dream, transient in the moonlight. And when he wakes up, he’s sure his lips would feel weird also.

It could be as if the kiss never existed. only a moment in time he’s innovated in the fabric of his mind. In the way back, where he pushes all his thoughts he doesn’t want to dwell on — Jiro and Saburo moving out, you look extra cute today, the beat of his heart around you.

And yet, the touch of yours lingers long after. Much longer than the kiss itself.

It’s real. A kiss with you that wasn’t just dreams. The ones he embarrassingly has on the regular, where he'd wake up with the sun hitting his eyes, and he'd flush bright this early because the image of you in his dream, the thump of his lips, lingers in his mind.

He’s so pathetic, it’s sad.

“Good night, Ichi..”

Ichi. But it’s only a fond nickname you always call him, as friends. It’s never anything more, and the skip his heart does is nothing unusual either. The way you miss his gaze — that's just something you always do. He does too.

“Yeah.. good night.”

He’s not even sure he said the words. They slip from his lips unknowingly, doesn’t even register in his mind. like the sounds of the night wind that passes by with the mutters of night life on the breeze, or the warmth of the night even under this cloudless sky. It’s all so fleeting and easily passes by him.

Ichiro stands by the door, making sure you’re safe and sound with a click of the lock. And he waits for the moment when you look back and give him one last shy wave ‘goodbye.’

And the walk back home is slow, with his hands in his pockets and lips sewn shut, lost in his nothing thoughts as the world having stopped its turn.

Nothing happens. There's nothing he could think as he embraces the silent night, and Ichiro walks home like nothing has happened today once more. It was just another hangout with you.

Until he's almost at his door, and Ichiro stops right before.

A kiss?

Ichiro puts his fingers to his lips, where it sparks and burns from the slightest of touch. He remembers it then: the weight of your own, the softness against his, the warmth of your breath in the cool night.

No. It couldn’t mean anything else.. right? It’s only a kiss ‘goodnight.’ on the lips. But that might only be a friendly gesture to you! ..right?

And his heart that he thinks has been shut tight comes undone at its seams, and everything bursts all at once.

His face warms, and Ichiro can't help but blush, oh so embarrassed at everything he feels at once. He's a man, there's no way it's possible.

No way he should cover his mouth, look to the side even when there's no one there, because it's himself he can't stand the most — the no-good scoundrel from back then, always getting himself tangled up in all sorts of troubles and knots. He really should stop getting himself in such dangerous situations, like falling in love with his best friend. Everything has an end, even time.

But Ichiro has loved you for a long time, and he’ll keep loving you until the end of time and beyond; that's just the sort of troublesome guy he is. Despite the fears he holds, despite how Ichiro is convinced he can never measure up to you- surely you'll find someone better.

He knows he’d be a good boyfriend to you — maybe not the best, though he'd try. because anything you want, he'd do, and anything that burdens you, he'd carry without much thought — but Ichiro would rather not lose what the two of you already have.

It's only for this moment that his lips tingle, and the touch of another lingers on him. In the next year, just as he's afraid, you'd go away. The feel of your lips on his he'd forget, as much as he'd try not to.

Only this night you guys kissed — that's bound to leave him soon too. So there's only hurt to be felt if Ichiro lingered on this too long. You only consider him a friend, and yet..

It’s you who kissed him first, and it’s the voices in his heart he hears in the breeze passing by. Oh so quick, everything happens: your lips on his one moment, then it’s gone the next.

But it's an hour later, and it's you he still feels on his lips and in his heart only. It's you that still colors his life, even after all these years of denying himself. It's you he holds tight on to, hoping you'd never let go, even as the seasons change.

Maybe it's time. He won’t let his moment slip by any longer.

[busterbby]

HII I MISSED YOU!!! 😭😭🥹🥹🥹🥹

CAN I PLEASE ORDER A PETIT FOUR ASSORTMENT FOR HERE FOR JIROO 😭😭😭

thank youu for patiently waiting! i missed you guys too!! jiro is a fool so i feel that arguments are inevitable lol but he's quite sensitive so it takes it to heart!! anywayy this is a little similar in themes to my last jiro fic bc i'm a one trick pony. but regardless, please enjoy 💕

petit four assortment for jiro : an angry kiss

gn!reader. hurt/comfort. 2634 words. prompt.

Jiro doesn’t get it.

He knows he's never the brightest in the room, but he prides himself on being your boyfriend, first and foremost. He's the only guy that would ever understand you deeply, in ways no one else could fathom; the only guy who would stand between you and any agressor. He doesn't know what's going on, but all he knows is that he's got to help. as a guy who runs on emotions, a guy with a strong moral backbone, and as your boyfriend above all.

He's the only guy that could take one look at you and know immediately that something was wrong, even if you were to put on a faux smile and everything. His heart was attuned to yours, beating at the same frequencies and hertz. Everything you feel, he feels tenfold after all.

He's your boyfriend, the only guy who could ever get you. And in a way, you're the only one that would ever get him as well, more so than aniki or Saburo. They don't know the parts of him that you do.

Or well, that's what he thought, as part hopeless romantic who easily believes in the shoujos he's read. as a dimwit, first and foremost.

Because now, as Jiro is standing in front of you — and he knows something is wrong, no matter what it was. One look, and he knows, with the way his heart hurts with yours. he's your boyfriend after all — he doesn't get it.

It's the first time he doesn't understand you: the emotions written in your gaze, the scowl to your lips and furrow of your brows when you look at him like that. as if he was a total stranger (but it's even worse than a stranger since he is your boyfriend, yeah?)

Even now, Jiro doesn't get why you’d be so angry at him. He doesn't get how you're so far away, even when you're in the same room. He doesn't get how love could hurt so much when he only cares.

He never gets anything though.

"Jiro-" don't say his name like that, he scowls at the mere sound of it on your lips. not smooth, not loving. It's so ugly; he'd rather you forget and not say his name at all anymore, to spare the hurt. "I can't believe you got into another fight. You promised last time that it'd be the last."

You're so fucking exasperated. You try to keep your patience with this guy, try to give him the benefit time and time again; you know he just cares, oh so much, with that big heart of his that was three sizes too large. But it's fucking hard when he's irresponsible, he's stupid, and he breaks his promises all the time — oh I won't get into a fight the next time babe, I'll just report it. I promise I'll do the homework on my own. Yeah right.

When all your friends chatter, 'oh, isn't that your boyfriend beating up the freshmen over there?' Fuck, you hope that wasn't your Jiro. But of course it fucking is. every single time.

He never gets that this is how you care. You can't see your boyfriend get into any more fights or any more suspensions. No more bruises to his cheek, no more cuts to his knuckles with the dried blood, and no more split lips that roughen the kisses.

But his ears are stuffed full of cotton, and he doesn't understand again.

And now it's been days since the two of you have talked; no 'good mornings' exchanged in the school hallways, and no lunch being shared. There's no moment where he walks you back home after a long day and does homework with you on your dining room table, only to cuddle on the couch and watch anime.

There's no Jiro, no you.

So he showed up to your door to, well, try and apologize. But clearly things didn't work out as he would've liked.

"Babe-" still, he says it sweet, the love of his life; Jiro could never say it as something else. "I had to do something! They were gonna beat him." He always just had to do something, doesn't he?

If he was getting jumped, then did that mean you wouldn't step in to save him too? Even if you don't have a hypnosis mic, even if you're not strong, it's the mere thought that counts. And Jiro thought you loved him just as much as he loves you this whole time.

Oh, he has such a vile mouth. So loud to the one he loves, when it shakes the house. So much vigor on his tongue even when it's only you, even when he doesn't mean it, when you can hear the venom in his spit; he only wants you to understand now, but instead, he's quite unforgivable, isn't he?

But Jiro never was good with his words. He’s the type that stumbles over his own breath and ties his tongue into knots if he’s even so much so as caught off guard (it was even worse when he tried to confess). And he's just barely passing his language classes.

So he does what he’s best at instead: using matter over his mind, his heart overtaking his brain. because he always does stuff without thinking first — that’s why you’re so angry with him.

“Jiro-"

He kisses you, cutting off your words.

And this is why. He acts before he thinks, listens to his heart so full of emotion rather than logic, never the other way. He's always rushing into danger without ever ruminating on the consequences.

He doesn’t even listen to you now, when you say his name so harsh, not sweet nor loving. You’re angry with him. but he doesn’t think his heart, oh so sensitive, could take hearing such words, hearing his name being said like that, coming from you.

And you should still be angry; see? this is why you're so fed up with things. He never listens, has cotton in his ears. blah blah blah. You only want Jiro to take better care of himself and not be so quick to get involved; his brothers need him, you do too.

But. There’s something in his kiss, almost pleading.

He wants to tell you something, you notice. to listen to what he has to say, without any haze clouding your mind about him. He knows he's not the best and knows that perhaps he isn't worth listening to, but.

You melt almost instantly right into him.

Jiro.. you don't say anything, instead let yourself be swept away by him. It's the one you've missed all this time: the warmth of him so close, the kisses that taste so sweet, and his name that sparks on your tongue and flutters your heart rather than shame.

It's fast, rough. lots and lots of spit, as Jiro kisses so roughly like the first time after a date. when he had been fidgeting the whole night through, and you kept wondering why, but right before he dropped you off back home, he had asked the question he had been most dreading — um, can we..kiss?

Because that's just who Jiro is: frantic, still new to all of this. He's afraid you'll see the truth before you, of who Jiro the fool really is, and slip away.

If he only has a second more with you, then he wants to let you know all the words he couldn't say. because he's not smart, because he knows you should have someone better.

Does he deserve to be loved by someone like you?

His kiss deepens. Jiro pushes you into the wall, and you're chest-to-chest with him now. heart-to-heart. cornering poor you just like the delinquent he looks like, like the miscreant he is — can never not get into a fight. Perhaps he deserves this torment; perhaps you were right all along, and Jiro is a no good violent fool who really should be better.

But it’s the frustration boiling over. The heat of his breath grows heavier, hotter too — the hottest thing in the universe, you’re sure. with the way your lips are plump and bruised, and he sears his name into your tongue.

Jiro. The brazen idiot you unfortunately love.

Yet also. It’s the desperation. when Jiro holds you close, and his fingers are heavy, indenting on your soft skin. when he sparks alight the moment you wrap your hands around his neck, play with the sensitive strands at the back of his neck; just like that. It's what he always loves. when he kisses you like it’s the last thing he’d ever get to do. with his heart skipping in his chest, and his thoughts racing in his mind.

He loves you he loves you he loves you. Even when you hate him right now, Jiro still loves you. Even when he's angry at you right now since you're angry too; he simply doesn't get why you're even annoyed in the first place since you've always known this is just who Jiro is, but he should hate you since you hate him first. yet Jiro still loves you so. He could never bring himself to say that he hates you, to even think such a thing. because.. dammit babe! You make it hard. Oh so very much..

Because Jiro loves you. Even when the two of you are arguing, and you wonder why you even give your time to this fool, he’s the only man he wants you to love.

Jiro doesn’t know. He doesn't know anything, obviously; no one said you were dating Japan's next big prodigy.

And his kiss is hungry, greedy. Even when he’s angry and forceful, Jiro is only ever desperate all the more. Like a pup that craves attention. a small puppy that wants to be taken seriously as a guard dog.

He pulls away for breath, as the two of you pant, breaths mingled because the two of you are one. And suddenly, the argument seems to have been lost, whatever it was about in the first place.

And. It’s the first time Jiro is truly scary, something in you quivers, and your heart drops from your chest. When he looks you deep in the eyes with such a dark gaze, how his very own seem to glow. scowl to his lips, hands on either side of you on the wall.

He’s so desperately close. The tip of his nose touching yours, and a few strands of his hair brushing against your skin. dangerously close.

"Babe."

Yet. There’s a sense of forlorn. heart torn in his chest, pain radiating all the way to his back. When he says your name like that, you can hear the cracks that were starting to show, that he tried so hard to cover up time-and-time again.

Jiro's hands are heavy when he cups your face; his rings are cold, pinch your warm skin, and his fingertips leave little marks and indents. He's oh so heavy-handed — he's afraid he only breaks you rather than completing you whole.

And his eyes have a sadness to them, beneath the anger and buried down where he tries to hide. It's a mix of emotions, so unlike the Jiro you thought you knew: the sorrow, the love, the confusion, and the realization that even if you're here, right in his arms, you're still much farther ahead than he ever will be. He already misses you; he can never catch up, no matter how much he tries, how much his heart beats for you.

He doesn't want to argue anymore. Jiro loves you, so let's let this go now babe.

But yet, can’t you see how Jiro tries his hardest for you? Jiro wants to spit it out, to never let you go and yell it until you very well understood.

Yeah, he’s not good with words, and he’s not smart, can’t even get into college nor sit in the same entrance exam room as you. He doesn’t ever think with his head; and he can’t even be a proper big brother to Saburo, nor the best boyfriend in your eyes. the type never to argue, never to raise his voice (it’s a mere accident. He hadn’t even realized, in the heat of the moment, but Jiro doesn't blame you if you're still ticked that he had yelled first. He'd hate himself too).

He gets it. He’s not the best. Maybe not even the sort of boyfriend you’ve always pictured you’d have by your side. But you don’t see that he tries.

You don’t see how he stumbles over the words he doesn't know to try and say the right ones to you when you pour your heart out to him; you don't notice the scratches on his arms from all the damn cats he’s had to find for odd jobs that he covers up with his sleeves so you wouldn't have to worry.

And he tries and tries not to get into fights so often, but he's not the type to ignore what his heart says. That's simply not who Jiro is, but that's one of the things you love most about him, you remember.

You don't say a word for now; you don't want to disturb the atmosphere or the peace. If you speak, you're afraid it'll all slip away so delicately: this vulnerable side of Jiro you rarely get to see. It's the Jiro who trusts you wholeheartedly, because you know him more than anyone else, right?

Even aniki and Saburo don't know about this Jiro. the one that lays in bed at night and wonders if he's truly loved. He is, he knows, but is it really that deserving? As a guy who isn't the best big brother — but he tries! As the boyfriend who woke up late, forgot the directions to the place and was an hour late to the date — he's sorry, truly! Jiro will apologize over and over. nAd he'll apologize that he forgot to make a reservation at the café, so the two of you wound up stuck in the rain.

But he's determined that tomorrow will be better. He'll try to be a better man tomorrow, as Jiro drifts off to sleep; he'll have the guts to kiss you 'good morning' tomorrow morning for once, just like he's been thinking about. because he's got to be a better boyfriend too, he knows.

This time, you cup his cheek with your hand instead, and slowly yet surely, you kiss him back. Jiro reciprocates almost immediately, because he's missed you more, you know that the most.

It's your apology, for now. But you know Jiro deserves more apologies than anyone else later on.

It's not the shy yet messy kisses you’re oh so used to. not the ones that seem like they end so soon, no matter how long it's been. But it's gentle, tender. the type of kiss that lingers long after, when the two of you pull back and you both can hear the pop of lips.

When Jiro closes his eyes into the kiss and lets you take the lead this time instead; he'll listen to you from now on, he's such a wreck — never the guy he always wanted to be, never the one for you.

And he's the most vulnerable now, as you kiss the wounds on his heart better. The same as when you tend to his bruises, when you wrap his knuckles up in bandages in the nurse's room after school. The cracks begin to mend the slightest bit as you heal him the quickest.

He always tries his best, you're aware, to be the man most deserving of your love.

[busterbby]

i was reading your jiro fic and it was so cute 😭😭

it made me think about maybe king ichiro courting reader? 🤭

this was really cute ☹️ I should probably write more royal au stuff soon since you guys seem to love it sm. but thank you for patiently waiting!! I know I've slowed down a lot lately :') regardless, I hope you enjoyy 💕

courting hcs ( royal au )

gn!reader. fluff. ichiro.

king!Ichiro . . . is the fairest in all the land, anyone and any mirrors on the walls would surely claim. He’s younger than you think, quite mature for a king so young, having inherited the throne at such an age once the previous king had slipped away

you're so different from him: a king who bears a great duty upon his shoulders, crushed from the weight of everything, while you were only a noble who did what the advisors of your kingdom asked of you. high on the hierarchy, but never quite the same as a 'king'

but you’d make a great fit to rule by his side, the kingdom’s advisor had told him one day

the two lands were always close allies, and each kingdoms' needs could be met with the other; you'd join quite harmoniously

it’d be a wedding of great proportions. for economics, for wealth

and that’s why Ichiro agreed without much thought. for his people; for Jiro and Saburo to have some semblance of a normal life; for his duty as king to protect all. That's just what he had to do

it's an arranged marriage, and really, it shouldn't matter much to Ichiro who it might be. It's for the kingdom after all, first and foremost

he's sure a noble of your caliber would be poised, of course; it's only in the royal handbook after all. Composed, refined, and elegant with each step, even down to the way you dress. And your name would polished and graceful on his tongue, weigh heavy on his heart

Ichiro isn't expecting much, not that it has anything to do with you per se. It's his duty, regardless; but he wonders if you'd be a kind soul, a family person most importantly. If he could be a little bit selfish, as king, that's all Ichiro would ask

no matter, he's still so kind and loving, even upon the first meet

when he bows his head to you, despite being king himself, and his words are gentle, welcomes your kingdom so kind. When he takes your hand in his, places a kiss on the back, as he looks up at you through his lashes

it's his duty as king to make sure you feel welcome at your new home. It's only his job to love you with his whole heart

“Welcome, your majesty.”

Ichiro is quite the charmer, isn’t he? as he leans over to place a chaste kiss on the back of your hand. lips so delicate, and his hold so gentle upon yours.

He flashes this handsome grin, gazes tender through his lashes. never lifts his head, never turns his cheek nor looks down at you; he’s always below your level, despite how he towers over anyone else, despite his rank as king.

Your heart skips, already knowing something you’ve yet to figure out yourself.

He’s the one that greets you first at the door, never his loyal butlers or dukes and duchesses. Ichiro is the one that holds his hand out to yours, helps you step out of the carriage upon the first meet.

It’s the first you’ve seen him: windswept hair, black as the ravens coat, and a royal beauty mark right underneath his eye. He's royalty, just one look could tell

“We hope you enjoy your stay.”

You’re rather sure you will.

it's only political, never for love. It's to help your people, you keep on telling yourself; surely Ichiro doesn't have anything else on his mind

and yet, despite your insistence and how you try your hardest to wall your heart off, keep your feelings shut. the sound of “your grace” leaving his lips, the touch of his kiss on the back of your hand, ever so gentle..

certainly it was inevitable, right?

you have to compose yourself. to remember that you’re here to discuss the contract of courtship and not anything else

he shoulders a responsibility so great you couldn’t fathom. Remember, a noble of your status couldn't begin to understand what a king such as him had to do, you try to humble yourself

the lives of everyone in his hands, the role he plays for his younger brothers. My, being heir to the throne at such a young age — you wonder how he is even able to do it all

but he’s sweet. Almost more of a prince really, rather than a king. A commoner amongst nobles — that’s the rumors you’ve heard after all

He's so easy to talk to, quite simple to befriend. He's not shy, but he's careful with his words alway. His own laugh could light up the room, and he gets excited and loses his composure over the smallest of things — unfit of a king, a major dork

then you remember he’s still only a boy quite young, just as you. Despite how composed he keeps himself and the image he bestows, despite how the truths he tells roll off his tongue so smooth

("I can't wait to see you again, your grace," when Ichiro bids you goodbye after this week's rendezvous as well. "It suits you, your majesty," when Ichiro slides the engagement ring on your finger ever so slowly, and he has to avert his gaze, clear his throat first. breathtaking

oh what a smooth talker, the king is. scandalous. You don't think you can take much more)

he may be king with the heaviest of weights upon his shoulders, but Ichiro is still only a boy in love

Did you enjoy the flowers you received? he asks, trying to be discreet

Alas, you see the faintest of blushes on the apples of his cheeks, and Ichiro averts his gaze, keeps his head low, as he coughs and somehow stumbles over his words. so unlike a king

They're roses right from the kingdom's garden, with the brightest colors and the strongest of smells that's enough to knock you out. It fills the room, sweet and floral

did king Ichiro send you roses, your grace? the maid asks, but it’s only a hypothetical. The smell of the room and the shimmer in your gaze is more than enough to know

“A gift for you, your grace.”

It’s so perfectly wrapped up, in the prettiest ribbon you’re sure to save. Elegant and refined even in its wrapping, with not even a single crease to be seen. You’ve gotten gifts such as these at least a thousand times; surely they don't move your heart as much anymore. Yet, it's the little details in this one, with the ribbon in your favorite color as well. You've been looking forward to this one the most.

“Who is it from?” But deep in your heart, you already had a hunch.

I mean. It’s wrapped so pretty and neat. It could only be..

“King Ichiro, your grace.”

Ah. Of course. He’s quite the lover as well, isn’t he? A soft smile tugs at your lips, unbeknownst to you, unfit for such a noble as yourself. You mustn’t show the desires of your thoughts on your face, nor the sensitivity of your heart; you must conceal any weaknesses, you know. And you must always remain confident and graceful in the prescence of others. But..

You turn the gift over and look at the tag to whom it was addressed: his love. the only one.

It’s Ichiro.

“My, isn’t he sweet..” but your voice is quite gentle and meek when you speak with the image of Ichiro in your mind — messy, unkempt hair, a gentle smile, and a kiss on the back of your hand. He doesn't have to do much of anything else, with the gifts piling up; he's already got your heart. “Send him my thanks."

It’s proper conduct for any gift you receive. Not a single word you’ve made on your own — everything memorized from the textbooks — and not the quiver of your voice that you’ve let slip on accident.

But your butler notices how gentle and soft your voice goes, quieter than it is usually in this vast room where everything echoes off the walls. He notices the timidness in your gaze, the way your fingers trace over the wrapping pattern slowly. And he notices you slip the gift under your sleeve, not added to the growing pile of wedding gifts you’ve been sent from other royals and kingdoms you have niceties with.

You’ll save this gift to unwrap yourself in the comfort of your own room.

he enjoys taking you out to the gardens so that the two of you can be alone, and he gets to know you more

I mean, certainly Ichiro must learn more about his soon-to-be fiancé before the big day

it’s supposed to be in the eyes of others, he knows, where the other members of the royal court can see. The two of you couldn’t ever be alone. but Ichiro is king after all, and he’ll ask for them to leave you two be for now

somewhere private, beyond the canopies of roses he grows. where he slips his hand into yours, and your heart grows fond of your fiancé

it’s only for politics. never love

and he's not supposed to take you out around town, but if you were to be his, then surely the townsfolk should know as well, correct?

so Ichiro takes you out on the town, shows you off to everyone to make sure they also know. And everyone seems to talk to him as an old friend

"this is my fiancé," he greets, and you know it's always been, but hearing it from Ichiro's own lips makes your own feelings swell even more

He always invites you over for dinner up at his castle, with the most tasteful and massive spread right before you. And of course, it's always warm right as you sit down

Ichiro made it all himself, he grins as he pulls out a chair for you to sit down. He's dusted with flour and sugar, a bit of the sauce he tasted on his cheek — so unheard of for a king

of course, he had to be the one to make dinner for his fiancé though, right? with all your favorite dishes that you've told him previously (oh he remembers everything). It's a little housewarming

Oh he flirts with such ease, the closer the two of you got, words so callous and unbefitting of a king. But, the more he gets to know you, the more he grows fond, and the more the heart in his chest grows gentle

you harbor such a great responsibility for your kingdom; you never really wanted this — always figured you might be able to marry for the love you hold in your heart, rather than politics. But the people of the kingdom are struggling, and it’s your duty as well

the two of you are one of the same, he comes to realize. Your love for your people, your responsibility and willingness to carry it out, your fondness for his brothers all the more

and the kiss on the back of your hand lasts longer this time, that you’re sure. The gleam in his eyes when he gazes at you up through his lashes seems more brighter too. His lips leave your skin slow, his hand not wanting to let go

he can’t wait for next week already, your majesty

"I look forward to meeting with you again, your grace."

It’d only be a fortnight until the next meeting, but Ichiro is already beginning to miss you since the very moment you've sat in your carriage. He flirts so smooth, with so much audacity in that smirk, as if he wasn't a sitting king right this moment.

He'll leave you with this, your grace: a delicate kiss to your cheek, as Ichiro leans over ever so gentle, ever so soft. It's not proper etiquette, but you're his fiancé now, so surely it's allowed? If you don't mind that is, Ichiro holds your gaze in his; and his lips are so slow to move away, his hands careful as he slips away from yours.

This isn’t a marriage of love. It’s only political, from the start. but Ichiro hasn't been all that good of a king, has he?

He escalates his kisses goodbye each and every time. The first on the back of your hand, which tingles and lets it numb; then it’s on the top of your head, then your forehead, then the cheek; and he kisses the corner of your mouth at last.

And next time, at the altar, he'll do it properly then.

even if it’s only a political marriage, to form alliances with each other’s kingdoms, Ichiro wants to ensure that he’ll love you properly until kingdom come

he has accepted his fate. As king, he’ll shoulder the responsibilities and marry whoever the advisor deemed best for the people of this land; and surely, Ichiro is aware you're facing a similar dilemma yourself, for the betterment of your people

but you deserve better than this: a political arrangement only, no love in the name

you deserve a regular type of love rather than this arrangement: a love that stays with you in bed until the late morning hours, without much hurry to get up; a love that tends to your wounds tender, and the kisses are ones you look forward to — not for appearance; a love with your whole heart and his

so Ichiro will do his best to be a proper husband for you in this arrangment of yours

not as king Ichiro or your majesty. Not as the mightiest of kings nor the ruler of this land; not the person you’ll swallow down your pride for and marry, for the sake of your people. It’s duty

but please. only call him Ichiro, he asks of you, pleading as he looks you in the eye

the best husband you could ever ask for

it’s a promise. You can see it in his eyes, behind the canopies of the sweet roses he’s sent a bouquet of to you just last week, the ones that still sit pretty atop your desk; they’ve withered already by now, but you couldn’t bear to throw them out

it’s his duty to marry you; he’s never had much of a choice. So there’s no reason for his heart to beat in such a way when he’s with you, no reason he doesn’t want to let your hands go when it’s time for you to go back

I love you. but those are words unbefitting of a king who must contain his conduct. never show your heart, always keep your chin up and head held high; it's only politics, never love

but Ichiro knows that isn't true. He doesn't mind being a terrible king if it was for you

he’ll save those words for at the altar, and he’ll save the first kiss until then too. As the terrible king he is, as your husband first

[busterbby]

Please consider donating to the displaced people of south Lebanon. These are links I have seen people currently living through the ethnic cleansing post about. As it stands, there is a currently an estimated 700,000 people from jnoub/south Lebanon and Dahye displaced; however, this is a conservative estimate, and I'm sure the number is much higher.

Beitelbaraka at Taplink

❤️ Embrace Lebanon 24 🇱🇧

Embrace Lebanon 24 🇱🇧 is charity organization to help Lebanese in need, including orphans, elderly, disabled, and impoverished. The donat

Donate to Hope & Relief for Displaced Families in Lebanon This Ramadan, organized by Hussein Raad

Hello, my name is Hussein Raad, and I am organizing this fund… Hussein Raad needs your support for Hope & Relief for Displaced Families in L

Donate to South Lebanese Evacuees, organized by Benjamin Hansel

This fundraiser supports the families who got displaced in South Lebanon because of the Israel… Benjamin Hansel needs your support for South

Lebanon Emergency Relief

Arabic, Dutch, French, and Spanish below: 

I know I don't post about global affairs on here, but one of the very reasons I went into healthcare was because of all the stories I’ve been told growing up and all the wars and violence I’ve seen on the news enacted on my very people and on my siblings in humanity. So I can't continue to post without addressing it, at the very least.

Please keep west asia and the entirety of the global south in your thoughts. I'll only speak on Lebanon for now as I'm Lebanese. The imperial core is currently attempting to ethnically cleanse south Lebanon again. Dahye, a southern suburb of Beirut, were ordered to all leave and be displaced as every single building can be a target and thus be bombed. This is alongside the fact that jnoub has been bombed every single day since 2023. Alongside the white phosphorus continuously sprayed to poison the land and the carcinogens that hang in the air and burn their lungs and flesh, alongside the amputees and the trauma and the deteroriation of health.

This is ethnic cleansing.

The shia of Lebanon, who are the vast majority of jnoub and Dahye and have been historically marginalized (which is a topic for another day), have been through so much. So many of them had to leave their homes in the middle of the night with mere bags, unknowing if they'll even have a home to return to. So many are still on the streets because Lebanon is such a small country, with nowhere to go. And yet, a mere 15 minute drive can mean the difference between life or death. The struggle of south Lebanon has always been closely intertwined with the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

I've included just a few videos underneath for you to click the link to show the violence and unbridled destruction currently being experienced. Unfortunately, if you were to ask any Lebanese, they'd say they're used to it; all my friends and family have said the same thing. Yet, no matter how many times my people live through the same thing, it's still the same amount of fear. No amount of experience will make the sound of drones flying above head less frightening. No amount will make the sound of bombs less deafening. But despite that, no matter what, this isn't something humans should be getting used to.

I understand that many of us live in the global north where we are so far removed from the horrors of war and genocide. I understand that sometimes you feel hopeless and paralyzed by the grief to do anything. It happens to me too, where all I can do is cry and refresh the news every few seconds instead of studying or going on with my life because that's such a privilege we have.

But the people in west asia are resilient, and they're still continuing on with their lives and readjusting to such horrific circumstances. Our lives are financed by the continued exploitation of the global south. The very least we can do is not look away and continue to speak up for them and stay informed.

Please continue to speak up for them and all other marginalized and oppressed groups of the global south. Please continue to remember their humanity, and if it's something you do, please pray for them as well. Thank you ❤️

[busterbby]

Reblogging again since the violence keeps escalating!!

Now it's estimated that over one million Lebanese have been displaced from their homes and their land. There's nowhere for all of them to go since there's no room in the tiny country; many are living on the streets and on the beaches in tents, which if you guys have heard, have been bombed as well. People are picking up pieces of their loved ones and of their countryfolk from the beaches, and they're also being poisoned by white phosphorus being sprayed onto their land. If you guys aren't aware, this chemical burns the flesh.

I know you guys come here to read fanfic and to get away from the horrors of the world, but these are my people, and every day I see villages getting bombed, my land getting poisoned, and I see the faces of people who look like me martyred on the streets with names I can pronounce easily. Every person I see is my friend, my family, myself.

So please keep your attention on Lebanon and keep the people in your thoughts 💕

[busterbby]

Hii, I really like your writing style!

Can I order a mint refresher for here for jiro please?🤧💕

thank you for giving me the chance to write about my mermaid au anon; i've always had it rotating in my mind but never had the chance to write it down properly lol. hopefully i can write some more with this idea! regardless, this is with the reader as the mermaid; and you didn't mention a type of kiss, so i went with lemon bars if that's alright! Hope you enjoyy 💕

lemon bars + mint refresher for jiro : a kiss goodbye ( mermaid au )

gn!reader (mermaid is used for gn). light angst. 1881 words. prompt.

Jiro always knew he had to say goodbye.

Mermaids simply weren’t meant to be part of this land. Their tails allowed them to swim through the waves, not walk through lush grass; their lungs could only ever breathe water, never the very same air Jiro has; and their lips could only speak in a language of their own, to never know what he tells you, never know how his heart beats for you differently than all the others.

Jiro was never meant to understand you.

His thumb brushes across your lower lip, rough, absentminded, but you know he means it gently; it's simply not the touch he holds, one so heavy-handed that the humans own.

And Jiro gazes at them with such uncertainty in his eyes. A bite of his lip, skip of his heart, tightening in his chest. Oh how he wants. His heart says over his mind; and it entices him in closer to you, like a magnet, leaning in slightly, but.

Like oil and water — the two of you were never supposed to mix.

He knows. ever since the beginning when he found you injured by the seaside. Jiro isn't that dumb.

He knows he shouldn't have approached; knows that it wouldn't have been good if he gotten involved; knows he should've never let you stay, let himself fall in love. That's the way of nature, the cycle of life.

But that's just not who Jiro is. It's not the sort of heart he possesses: the one three sizes too big for his chest, the one he wears on his sleeve and listens to over his mind at all times.

He’s gotten quite close with you, these past four weeks he’s spent tending to your wounds. It was only supposed to be out of the goodness of his heart, because Jiro refuses to stand by and let someone he sees bleed out on the seaside. Despite not knowing even your name, and despite the fact he may just be hallucinating the fact that mermaids are real — he still rushed over to you, still picked you up and carried you on home. because he's human, first and foremost.

But summer is coming to a close, and his classes are about to start up soon. And your home is far far away, deep beneath the blue of the ocean waves. I mean, fuck. Don’t your friends and family miss you too? Surely they had sent out search parties looking for you, unaware that this entire time you were being tended to by a human, up above the shore.

Contact with him.. was it forbidden? Jiro freaks himself out at such a suggestion. But like. Shit, what if you were punished when you went back? What if he never saw you again? Mermaids and humans could never be; it'd be a strict violation of the laws of nature.

He knows it’s wrong — Jiro isn’t that much of a fool (even if he was lovesick). You cannot survive on his land, and he cannot breathe in your water for it’d fill his lungs, and he’d drown.

There’s no way for you to turn human, and there’s no way for him to turn into a mermaid. to leave his brothers and the entire world he knows behind, all his friends from school too, and the convenience store's ice cream he so loves on hot days, and aniki's curry too — that's simply not who Jiro the human is.

He couldn't be that selfless to abandon everything he has to stay with you; he couldn't be that selfish to abandon his brothers, to only be with you in a fairytale. He's only human, not mermaid.

He gazes you in the eye, holding yours gentle and never wanting to look away. so that you could understand his whole heart, everything Jiro wants to say to you and more.

He's sorry. and you don't need the words to understand what he conveys; you don't need to know his language, not when his eyes say it all, and his heart beats the same way you comprehend.

But, dammit! who cares. Jiro wants to yell it out, the way he looks at you with tears in his eyes, biting his lip until it bleeds. Because he knows if he’s not careful, he’ll just let it all slip.

But when you bring your hand to cup his cheek and press your forehead against his, it’s hard not to cry out.

Just.. live in his bathtub. He’s sure aniki wouldn’t mind if he explained it once he came back from the odd jobs trip; ‘mean, they could always just get a second tub. And Saburo might want to study you since he’s never believed in mermaids, so that might be a little uncomfortable, Jiro would mumble underneath his breath. Just sayin’.

Who cares. He wants to be with you. He doesn’t need to follow what everyone says, what nature has put into place since the very beginning. It doesn't make any sense.

He knows it’s silly. He knows he’s stupid, a fucking idiot. He’s love stricken and fallen for a mermaid in just four weeks. That could never be love, he could hear Saburo retort. It’s infatuation. only ever that.

But that's not what mermaids are either. They can't live above shore, in the bathtubs of some weirdo human who took them in; they can't get close and fall in love in the same way; and certainly they couldn't abandon their whole life for him either.

He's oh so selfish, exactly what makes him human.

And Jiro thinks it's fine, for this one time, when he takes the lead. Unlike the time in the bath when you took his hand and let him touch your tail, fingers grazing over the scales; unlike the time in the pool, where you pulled him under, kissed him first (and Jiro thinks he could breathe water for the very first time).

This time instead, Jiro takes the lead, as a selfish human being.

He presses his palms to your cheeks, and closing his eyes, afraid you'll slip away — nothing but a dream, Jiro kisses you long and hard.

Your lips are smooth. No cracks, no dryness at all. It's soft and like silk on his own — Jiro whimpers, already breathless. Salty from the sea, a little sweet because it's you he's kissing. It's just like back at the pool. the same coolness, the same way he melts instantly; if he’d be lured to his death like this, then so be it.

Jiro doesn’t believe that he’d ever be able to understand mermaids; you spoke in such a different language than him. A human and a mermaid could never be, he used to be so sure.

But he understands you perfectly right here and now, right by the seashore between sea and land. Jiro understands the adorable noises you make, taken aback by just how impulsive humans could be — emotions first, never logic. He understands when you close your eyes too and lean right into him, press your lips just as hurried as him.

He understands when you imitated him, and Jiro taught you his name.

"Ji..ro!"

Jiro understood that, most especially. And Jiro understood the skip of his heart that moment then. When you smiled so hard, just like any other human on the land, but it's different when it came from you instead.

The two of you spoke such different languages, with words he couldn't quite pronounce just right. But Jiro knew he could understand what you were trying to convey when you giggled at how stupid he sounded.

And he understood when you took his hand and put it over your chest, and he flushed, because oh man. He’s touching a chest- your chest, bare and intimate, so cool yet paradoxically warm at his fingertips. And he's never quite touched anyone before! never got too intimate. But Jiro realized then, with the beat he feels at his tips, that mermaid and human hearts beat the exact same.

When he pulls back, panting and lips bruised, it's only for air, since he's only human all the more; you didn't need to. It's one more difference that hurts him so.

“Jiro.”

You say his name again, taking him out of his dreams of having land and sea meet. This time much more clear, much more confident, when you smile at the name that tingles on the tip of your tongue, like having kissed an electric eel. It’s pretty. Suits a human, would suit a mermaid even more so.

Don't smile like that, Jiro wants to whine. Don't say his name the prettiest he's ever heard, more so than any other human — his brothers, his friends, his teachers when they scold him on such bad test scores. No one quite says Jiro like you.

His fingers intertwine yours, holding on tight; if you keep looking so cute, he might never want to let you go. not so soon.

And humans have the same exact expressions as mermaids, you’ve learned. When he furrows his brows and pouts his lips, when you notice the gloss in his eyes — he doesn’t cry. Or well, that's what Jiro tries to tell you; humans don't cry. They're strong like that. But well, humans also lie so easily, you've come to learn.

"y/n.."

He says your name nice and slow, thinking that if he never completes it, then you won't let go. It's cute, the tips of his ears flush, and Jiro refuses to meet your eye (it's strange, how humans can change colors so quick, you can't help but laugh). cuter than any human names he's said.

The last vowel of your name lingers on his tongue, as Jiro holds his sound.

It's cute, it's nice and so easy to say. He'd say it everyday if he could: calling out to you in class, hanging out as friends, and maybe, just maybe, as a couple too. with your name said with so much love, and he calls out to you when he sees you after a long day, running up with human speed, and he kisses you so quick and sweet.

But his voice drowns out, and your name finishes too soon.

And before he knew it, you were already gone — slipped from his grasp with ease, slick and smooth like all the fish in the sea. Jiro can't hold on. because you're from the ocean where everything passes by, and it's so easy for you to let go. He's from the land, where he grounds himself to become attached, and sightings from the sea are merely transient to his eye.

The two of you are so different, and there's not a chance he'd get to see you again; land and sea, humans and mermaids, are always separated by a thin strip of land no matter where.

But yet, it's the very same when you touch; your hot breath feels familiar atop his warm skin, and your heartbeats overlap, one in the same. For a moment more, the two of you were able to breathe in the very same air, as Jiro kisses you. And your breaths entangle, hot and warm.

And Jiro understood you completely for the very first time.

[busterbby]

Please consider donating to the displaced people of south Lebanon. These are links I have seen people currently living through the ethnic cleansing post about. As it stands, there is a currently an estimated 700,000 people from jnoub/south Lebanon and Dahye displaced; however, this is a conservative estimate, and I'm sure the number is much higher.

Beitelbaraka at Taplink

❤️ Embrace Lebanon 24 🇱🇧

Embrace Lebanon 24 🇱🇧 is charity organization to help Lebanese in need, including orphans, elderly, disabled, and impoverished. The donat

Donate to Hope & Relief for Displaced Families in Lebanon This Ramadan, organized by Hussein Raad

Hello, my name is Hussein Raad, and I am organizing this fund… Hussein Raad needs your support for Hope & Relief for Displaced Families in L

Donate to South Lebanese Evacuees, organized by Benjamin Hansel

This fundraiser supports the families who got displaced in South Lebanon because of the Israel… Benjamin Hansel needs your support for South

Lebanon Emergency Relief

Arabic, Dutch, French, and Spanish below: 

I know I don't post about global affairs on here, but one of the very reasons I went into healthcare was because of all the stories I’ve been told growing up and all the wars and violence I’ve seen on the news enacted on my very people and on my siblings in humanity. So I can't continue to post without addressing it, at the very least.

Please keep west asia and the entirety of the global south in your thoughts. I'll only speak on Lebanon for now as I'm Lebanese. The imperial core is currently attempting to ethnically cleanse south Lebanon again. Dahye, a southern suburb of Beirut, were ordered to all leave and be displaced as every single building can be a target and thus be bombed. This is alongside the fact that jnoub has been bombed every single day since 2023. Alongside the white phosphorus continuously sprayed to poison the land and the carcinogens that hang in the air and burn their lungs and flesh, alongside the amputees and the trauma and the deteroriation of health.

This is ethnic cleansing.

The shia of Lebanon, who are the vast majority of jnoub and Dahye and have been historically marginalized (which is a topic for another day), have been through so much. So many of them had to leave their homes in the middle of the night with mere bags, unknowing if they'll even have a home to return to. So many are still on the streets because Lebanon is such a small country, with nowhere to go. And yet, a mere 15 minute drive can mean the difference between life or death. The struggle of south Lebanon has always been closely intertwined with the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

I've included just a few videos underneath for you to click the link to show the violence and unbridled destruction currently being experienced. Unfortunately, if you were to ask any Lebanese, they'd say they're used to it; all my friends and family have said the same thing. Yet, no matter how many times my people live through the same thing, it's still the same amount of fear. No amount of experience will make the sound of drones flying above head less frightening. No amount will make the sound of bombs less deafening. But despite that, no matter what, this isn't something humans should be getting used to.

I understand that many of us live in the global north where we are so far removed from the horrors of war and genocide. I understand that sometimes you feel hopeless and paralyzed by the grief to do anything. It happens to me too, where all I can do is cry and refresh the news every few seconds instead of studying or going on with my life because that's such a privilege we have.

But the people in west asia are resilient, and they're still continuing on with their lives and readjusting to such horrific circumstances. Our lives are financed by the continued exploitation of the global south. The very least we can do is not look away and continue to speak up for them and stay informed.

Please continue to speak up for them and all other marginalized and oppressed groups of the global south. Please continue to remember their humanity, and if it's something you do, please pray for them as well. Thank you ❤️

[busterbby]

Hii do you think you could do a petite 4 assortment + strawberry for here with ichiro please and thank you ❤️

ichi is a hothead so i feel that arguments are inevitable! he'd surely apologize with his whole heart though afterwards~ thank youu and hope you enjoy 💕

petit four assortment + strawberry shortcake for ichiro : an angry kiss + a kiss/hickey somewhere it shouldn't be

gn!reader. hurt/comfort. 2174 words. prompt.

It’s a small issue that snowballs away.

He hasn't been spending much time with you lately, but you get it. The odd jobs business is growing, and Ichiro needs to take care of his brothers, you know. He's the family man; he has the responsibility on his shoulders. So despite how much your chest tightens, how your heart longs for Ichiro, you swallow it all down and tell him it's ok. You're sure things will calm down eventually.

You want to study abroad for a few months, but for some reason, he’s antsy. He trusts you, and Ichiro knows that you're strong, can face things head-on. He wants you to experience new things, and Ichiro will be fine, seriously. but. three months? That's a little.. excessive.

The two of you haven't touched on it since. But it's fine; the application is due in a couple of weeks anyway.

And he came back late today from odd jobs, much later than usual. No text to let you know, not a single call to tell you that you can go to bed without him, that you can put dinner away that has gone cold now.

"Babe." He's amused when he comes home and still sees you awake. as if you would never be awake to greet your boyfriend after a long day. "Why're you still up?" It's late.

But he doesn't speak in that gentle tired tone, hushed, coos your name sweet. He doesn't seem to melt at the sight of you, doesn't kiss you a chaste 'good night' just as you were expecting. Because your lips pulse, and your fingertips tingle. You miss Ichiro, so very much.

Instead, he's exhausted, furrows his brows. And it's accusatory, as he sighs so heavy. Why aren't you in bed? You need your rest. He can't believe you're still awake when you have to get up extra early tomorrow- you're going to be tired all day, y'know. He can give a scolding just from his very gaze, even if he just got home and was tired from the day.

He knows what's best for you, right?

And that's what starts this argument now.

I mean, seriously. What if something had happened to him? Does he not think about you at all? You make a point, glaring right into his eyes, and Ichiro wonders what happened to even make you look at him like that.

That maybe, just maybe, you were waiting for him to come home safe and sound. That maybe he should call and check that you got home safe from school or from your job, that he misses you and can't wait to see you at home.

"I was busy." Ichiro tries to keep his cool, pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath; he's not a patient man by any means, but he tries to be for you. This is fine.

And his voice booms, shakes the entire room. He tries not to raise his voice when it's you, but it's difficult when his emotions get the best of him. And he's completely exhausted from today's work, and his last client just wouldn't shut up about their personal life, no matter how many times he'd just nod along. No, he doesn't care that she accidentally picked up parsley instead of cilantro for tonight's dinner. He just wants to get the job done and get the hell out.

"So that means you couldn't even send me a small text?" One that took a few seconds to send; there's no way he could've been that busy, right.

But you get it. You're not important enough for him to keep in the back of his mind; Ichiro only wants you at home, to sit all nice and pretty and wait for him. Why should he let you know if you're going to be home? He knows what's best for you after all, so you suppose you shouldn't bother with anything anyway.

He furrows his brows. "That's.." A heavy sigh thuds to the ground; you can hear it loud.

Fucking stupid. absurd. the furthest thing from the truth.

But Ichiro isn’t good with words the moment he gets like this. When his gaze only pierces right through your heart, and his scowl is the scariest you've seen of him — almost not Ichiro, but it is him, standing in front of you. When his head is only clouded with negative thoughts: what if you got hurt, what if he’s not there. what if what if.

His heart hurts in his chest — heavy, from the weight of duty that crushes him day by day. He has to do good and keep everyone safe. Because why don’t you get it? What doesn't he understand. He’s only looking out for you: worried sick, wondering if it's even ok for you to travel alone for a whole three months because it's dangerous out right now, alright? The situation with Chuohku and everything has been getting more tense. He only cares, and Ichiro thought you knew that too. There wasn't anything he's done wrong.. right?

So instead, he does what he knows.

Grabs you by your shoulders, looks you right in the eye, and squeezes you firm. Then Ichiro kisses you.

It’s not sweet like all his other kisses tend to be. Not the usual kiss he gives you as a greeting, nor the kind of kiss where he takes you in his arms and spins you around, kissing you once then twice. because he’s missed you after his odd jobs trip.

No. It’s hot, has weight to it when he presses himself against you. And he bites your lower lip, so his tongue kisses yours. It’s not a kiss he’s done before.

He envelops you completely. Not the protective type, standing by your side. but the one where he cages you in between his arms, and he's much bigger than you thought. Of course, you know Ichiro is a gentle giant; but he towers over you now, your heart skipping a wrong beat.

And he forces you to meet his eye. Look at him. Ichiro has something to prove — that he's only ever been thinking about you.

But of course, he’s never scary. He’s never threatening, with sharpened eyes that could pierce through even a metal heart. His breath is hot, yet it never burns. Never when it’s you.

Because he loves you. Ichiro isn’t going to let the two of you argue over something so miniscule- something so obscene and stupid.

(Of course, it wasn't. Your worries could never be so idiotic. But Ichiro is exhausted, and he refuses to let the two of you argue any longer this late into the night. He'll make it up to you properly later.)

Instantly, your heart remembers who it's been longing for all week; your mind suddenly forgets; and the harsh words you want to say — so he understands for once — subside on your tongue. Only the moan of his name on your lips remains.

“Ichiro-”

You whimper quiet in between his kisses. And, you try to stay mad, try to harden yourself. You won’t coo his name, and he won’t melt your heart. You won’t let him forget all that he’s said; Ichiro needs to understand for once what his words mean to you.

You’re not a weak person by any means; you can care for yourself (contrary to what Ichiro seems to think), and you refuse to let Ichiro get through this argument unscathed, with a mere kiss of all things. You’re still angry with him. And no kiss, no matter how hot and heavy it is, no matter how weak your heart trembles at the lone feel of his lips, will change that.

But your knees are weak up against the wall, with his chest pressed to yours, hands on either side of you. His lips on yours just feel oh so good- it's reflex, only nature, as you close your eyes and give in to Ichiro. This is what you've been missing all day.

What were you thinking about again? Doesn't matter, it's Ichiro with you now.

Wait, that’s right- you’re mad at him. for being such a pretentious prick, thinking he knows everything about what’s best for you.

“I-Ichiro..”

And your voice gets quieter, so small and meek. More of a whine. You won't let your heart falter, but your voice betrays.

He moves on to your neck. messy, greedy. Ichiro wants you right here and now, to show you how much he still thinks of you and how you cloud his mind and heart. Even today at odd jobs, all he could think about was when he could get home and climb into bed with you.

He knows he’s selfish. arguing with you two minutes ago, now he’s kissing up and down your neck, wanting to show anyone out there that you’re still his. He’s still the exact same — only ever thinks of himself. What’s best for him is best for you too.

He knows he should've sent you a text saying he'll be home late, but Ichiro was with a client, and he forgot. Not that he always forgets about you — but just. It was only this once, alright? And he'll make it up, he promises.

“I, Ichii..”

So you weren’t mad at him anymore; Ichiro knows he shouldn’t- he's already on thin ice, and he tries to hide it — his audacity. But he smirks into the heat of your skin, and Ichiro only kisses you deeper now to make you forget.

You wrap your arms around him, crane your neck so he gets a better view as you invite Ichiro. and he leaves a mark above your collar, high enough to not be hidden by any of your shirts.

Because he's selfish, still. It’s still the part of him that misbehaves, the self that he thought he’s buried deep down. He wants you all to himself now, to show you how much he dedicates everything to you, despite how much greedier he can get.

He can’t help but be giddy, when his heart skips, and he gets much more heated with the kisses.

Say his name like that instead. Moan it smooth and saccharine.

Not Ichiro, the man you’re mad at and wish you’d never see again, wish you heart never beat for. Not the insufferable guy that gets on your nerves. Not the annoying, over controlling boyfriend that you’re not sure even loves you in the same way you do. Not the Ichiro that makes him want to change his name, when you say it so irate.

But rather, the man you know would never let anyone lay a finger on you, who’d sacrifice his whole self to keep a hair on your head safe. The man who you’ve already dedicated your heart to, written his initials and yours right there at the apex. And the man who knows he's selfish at times, the man who tries to better himself for you.

Ichi.

Of course, he knows, this shouldn’t be enough; you deserve an actual apology from him after all of this is done. He’ll lower his head and say the proper words, and Ichiro will explain that he’s stupid. a fool, nervous that you’ll get hurt. afraid that you’ll so easily walk away despite how he's given you everything. that it still wouldn't be enough.

He has always been the one to keep everyone safe, so just.. what if something happened, and he wasn't there? Ichiro doesn't think he could ever forgive himself then. Miles away and hours apart, without the warmth of your skin and the sound of your voice to keep him sane — Ichiro just knows that neither him nor his heart would be able to handle that much.

But he trusts you, and he'll believe in your words when you hold his face and look him in the eye and tell him that nothing will happen, that you'll keep safe. You'll message him every day, and even if it's four in the morning in Ikebukuro, Ichiro will pick up anyway. And even if you're five hours away by plane, if you ever need him to come and get you, Ichiro will do so right away. without a second thought and without a single complaint.

He’s determined to show you just how much Ichiro loves you. Even if the two of you argue, despite the fact you hate him so — that he deserves, Ichiro grimaces. He deserves it all, he knows — he’ll still love you through the ins and outs of it all.

But that's for tomorrow, after the two of you fall asleep in each other's arms, and Ichiro holds you close right to his heart. He won't be able to do that once you go away for the semester, not for three months.

For now, with his hot breath on your skin, and your name on his tongue, Ichiro will apologize to you thoroughly the entire night through.