• Have A Sweet Treat •

Peach • 21 • Multi Fandom

[peachygal-1009]

・❥・𝘾𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜・❥・

Hii, I’m peach or whatever else you wanna call me. I’m just someone with a lot of free time who consumes a lot of media, so do feel free to request different characters or ideas!

Masterlist

- I will be mainly writing sfw and a little suggestive.

- Do not translate or copy my work on any other platform.

[peachygal-1009]

Milkman! Gyomei

Pairings - Milkman! Gyomei x shybaker! reader

Milkman! Rengoku and Gyomei started their work together early in the morning. Loading their truck with dozens of carts of glass milk.

Milkman! Rengoku and Gyomei, who had people salivating at the mouth, impatiently waited on the porch for more than just milk.

The way both of them rolled up their sleeves, showing their thick forearms. 

Who could blame anyone for looking? 

Anyone besides you, of course, you wanted to remain loyal to your husband. So instead of looking from your porch, you would gaze from your window. 

At least it wasn’t blatant. You had only truly gazed at one of them, Gyomei, from your porch once. 

“You must bake a lot of ma’am?”

His chest fell and rose normally, as if he wasn't carrying two full milk carts.

“Yes, I do, maybe one day you’ll be delivering to my bakery,” you murmured. Your flour-covered hands attempted to grab the milk carts from his huge hands. 

“Then you'll have to give your name so I can remember,” he firmly spoke. His hands still tightly gripping the cart.

No doubt he could probably carry five of those carts without breaking a sweat. 

“I don't know about that, you make so many deliveries you would probably forget.”

That made the corners of his lips curl. “I can assure you I wouldn't” 

You could only hum with your hands held out, hands gently closing and opening. Now, feeling far too timid to grab the cart from his firm grasp.

You didn't mean to stare. He just looked so big in that white uniform of his. 

“Your husband won’t grab these,” Gyomei questioned. 

Snapping you back into reality.

He could easily hear your husband rumbling about inside, probably still sitting on the couch. 

You’d ordered a hell of a lot of milk for you to carry in without any help.

“I can handle it, thank you” 

Milkman! Gyomei nodded his head, gently releasing the cart in your hands, only for your arms to jerk

You shrieked, your arms scrambled around the cart trying to find a place to hold. 

Time and strength weren’t on your side; you had two orders of cake to bake, but the box was just too damn heavy. And, you knew your husband would come up with some excuse for why he couldn’t bring the milk inside.

Milkman! Gyomei could only bite his tongue. 

He couldn’t bear to hear your little whines and moans leave your mouth from the discomfort, when your husband was clearly inside and could assist if he wanted. 

So he scooped the box up and whispered,” How about I take the box in for you. Don’t worry, I won’t go completely into your house. I can leave the milk in front of your house, and then you can ask your husband to get it” 

Your lips pushed together, and a small groan left your lips. It took you far too long to realize what he was saying as his proximity flooded your eyesight and his wood-like scent entered your nose.

You knew, from the way his velvety voice made your heart thump, that this was a problem you didn’t want to see unravel. 

However, you were on a time crunch and didn't have time to persuade your husband to help.

“Could you put it on my decorative table, please?” 

Milkman! Gyomei , who, from that moment on, enjoyed personally delivering your milk. He wouldn’t admit it aloud, but he enjoyed hearing your feet shuffle as he approached. 

He liked to think you were maybe just as nervous as he was. 

Milkman! Gyomei, who was shocked to smell the rotting of his last delivery of milk.Spoiling away on your front doorstep. His jaw only dropped even lower when he realized he could hear your cries too openly. 

Your door was cracked open.

He didn’t wish to intrude, but he hated how hard his heart started throbbing in his chest, how he could easily hear your muffled cries. 

We're you safe?

“Morning, ma'am milk delivery,” Gyomei grunted, trying to hide the shudder in his voice.

“I can’t afford it,” you deadpanned. 

Unfortunately, your husband didn’t hold that same loyalty for you and left, spewing,” he was made for better opportunities in the city”

You spent all that night yelling, begging for more explanation, and you knew there were other things he didn’t mention. Another woman, maybe? 

You didn’t know for sure, what you did know for sure was that it took him no time to shove divorce papers in your face and pack his whole life away like he never existed in your life.

like he never got down on one knee. 

Like owning a bakery was only a desire you had. 

“I didn’t ask if you could afford it, I said Milk delivery”

Your sniffling halted. He heard you slowly come over, clearly tired. 

“Why, if you start now, I might get used to it,” you barely muttered, your throat itching after each word. 

“I want to help you,” he admitted. 

You narrowed your teary eyes at him, trying to figure out what he was so helpful for. 

“We only spoke once, but I enjoyed it. If anything, you could pay me through conversation… not that you have to; this isn't transactional by any means. I wish to help,” He gushed, surprised by the amount of words that spilled out of his mouth—surpassing his three-word limit in his other deliveries.

Your eyes analyzed him, shocked by the quickness of his voice. 

He was nervous. 

The giant who completely towered over you with just his shadow alone was nervous. 

Towards you. 

“But….”

“A baker needs milk, correct”

“Correct,” you whispered, your hand slowly finding the doorknob. “Would you mind bringing it in”

And from that day on, he formed a habit. He would ensure you were his last delivery, and you would still watch from your window. 

Milkman! Rengoku,whose loud banter began to turn towards Gyomei. Teasing Gyomei for his crush on you.

“She’s not going to be single forever, try to talk to her!”

Milkman! Gyomei rubbed the back of his head shyly, almost like a child being questioned after being caught doing something they shouldn’t have. “I will don’t rush me” 

“He says for the 5th time, ' Oh, don’t make that face at me, go deliver her milk” 

Milkman! Gyomei only shook his head, ignoring Rengoku's teasing and bracing himself for you. 

“Milk delivery”

The door quickly opened, smacking the wall. “Hi!” you beamed. 

You had your cute yellow mittens and apron on, carrying your cake pan. A thin layer of sweat sat on your forehead; you’d be damned if you made a bad cake. 

You couldn’t hide your excitement; you had finally had the energy to greet him, not empty-handed, of course.

Milkman! Gyomei, baffled by your presence, could only grip the milk cart harder, trying to hide how flustered he was.

 His nose quickly smelled the sweet, fruity aroma in the air. 

“Do you like strawberries” 

Milkman! Gyomei had no other choice but to say yes. His red complexion only made him resemble one. 

“If you would come inside, I could give you a slice of the strawberry cake I made,” you shyly admitted, your lips pursed against each other, eagerly waiting for a response. 

Milkman! Gyomei could pass out and never wake up again. You didn’t realize the sweet tooth you would give him, and he wasn’t just referencing the cake. 

To think you said he might just always have you expecting milk, well, you would always have him expecting that warm, sweet scent of yours peacefully invading all of his other senses.

Milkman! Rengoku, whose eyes practically fell out of his head when he saw Gyomei enter your house. He could see the red on Gyomei's face from the truck. 

Milkman! Rengoku had to honk the horn twice. He clearly saw the silhouettes through your window. He needed something to eat, while you clearly had more than enough for Gyomei. 

Image credit: /enjey_nekii and einruji_ on ig

Do not repost on any other platform.

[peachygal-1009]

Told You I Like Gentle Giants, So you softened up pt 4

Synopsis: University isn't cheap. Fortunately, your parents live 30 minutes away from campus. Unfortunately, you have to take care of your nerdy brother. Until you realize your parents have already sorted that out and that the local preschool teacher has an afternoon program. Your only job is to drop your brother off and pick him back up. But why is his teacher so considerate? Not just towards the kids but towards you?

Pairing: f!reader x teacher! Gyomei Himejima

Content: Modern Au, no demons, slight angst, slight age gap (reader is 23 and Gyomei is 27), reader has mommy issues, fluff, hurt/comfort, and happy ending!

Word count: 5.4k

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

A fruity aroma entered your nostrils

The soft scent danced in the air, quickly waking you up faster than any alarm you used.

Surprisingly, a small cake slice sat on your nightstand.

The bright light blue frosting decorated the light cake you presumed to be vanilla.

To make things even better, a miniature fork sat perfectly in the middle of the cake, just begging to be eaten.

And you would never say no to a sweet treat—especially cake.

Your mouth remained focused on the delicious, warm flavor on your tongue, while your mind silently roamed.

Did your mom do this?

You glanced at your phone: 5:42 am. If you wanted to catch your mom, you would have to sprint outside and catch her before she pulled out of the driveway.

"MOM…MOM WAITING," you shouted, running out the front door, whacking it so hard it sounded like a bag of rocks being thrown at the wall.

Your mom whipped herself around, her eyebrows knitting together and her mouth ajar.

"W-What is… are you ok"

"Did you leave me that cake?" you determinedly asked. Not caring that you were giving your neighbors a show from your lack of clothing.

"What?"

"Did you or did you not le-"

"Oh no, I heard what you said. I'm confused on why you ran out here looking like a hot mess when I left you a note saying that I did," she scoffed. Her hand sat on her hip as she shook her head from side to side.

You ran your tongue over your mouth. Embarrassed at the free shot you gave your mom to take at you.

A note. Huh, maybe you were just so tired you didn't see it.

"Did you not pick up the plate? I placed the note underneath it."

Your eyes darted from side to side.

"Tell me you didn't just eat off the plate from your nightstand to your bed"

"I didn't feel like getting up," you lazily spoke.

God forbid you want to be comfortable.

"The fork would have dropped crumbs," she paused, " did you eat with your hands again"

"My hands are clean, and if you wanted me to see the note, you should have placed it on the side"

She lazily shook her hand in the air, as her lips dramatically pushed themselves out, "Since you didn't read the note, I will just tell you, remember Catherine from my job, well, she is having a housewarming party, and I wanted all of us to go to show our support, you know, buying a house isn't cheap"

Did you even want to go?

A night of binge-watching movies sounded way better.

Your mom read your thinking expression," You can bring a friend, I know my work friends may not be the best company for you, but I really need you to go since Catherine always supported your fundraisers and stuff"

This was the closest to a 'beg' you'd ever get from your mom.

"ok" you muttered.

Your mom's lips curled, and she headed towards her car without a single thank you.

You glanced at your phone once more.

Well, you had a good bit of time before you had to take Miki to school, so that you could sneak in a little TV watching before dropping Miki off.

Like usual, you parked at Miki's preschool and kindly let yourself in.

Rengoku had even started talking to you.

He could tell the interaction with you, and Gyomei was going to stay, and he enjoyed the short little interactions you two would have before Gyomei would come and whisk you away.

"Y'know Gyomei has been a little stressed lately," Rengoku said.

"Stressed," you quickly looked up from looking down at Miki. "Doesn't he meditate or pray"

"Correct. But his workload keeps increasing, and he doesn't-"

"I don't want to add any workload to the other teachers; we already have a small staff," Gyomei interrupted.

His large stature slowly came into view.

Rengoku's smile only brightened. "You can only spread yourself so far; sometimes you have to ask for help, like your friends"

He gently nudged you forward, his hands resting in the middle of your back.

Someone's Handsy.

"No, if I can't handle my responsibilities now, I never will," Gyomei spoke.

His tone was very strong. There was obviously some conversation that you missed, one you weren't sure you wanted to hear in the first place.

And, you,so desperately caught up in your thoughts, failed to notice the Gyomei standing right in front of you, at arm's reach.

Gyomei's hands rose to your shoulders, and warmth immediately entered your body. His hands clung to your shoulders, not tight enough to hurt, but to stop the nudges from Rengoku

A low laugh erupted from Rengoku; his closeness to you made your body vibrate. " It's not just your responsibility if you are not the only teacher"

His hands once again pushed you forward, but Gyomei's hand grounded you still.

You were happy Gyomei couldn't see the way your eyes remained glued to the ground, as your cheeks only heated up.

Gyomei and Rengoku clearly didn't understand personal space. You were so caged in that you couldn't even see the clock on the wall.

Were you complaining, though?

Paris had never been closer, but the red car lights beaming through the window quickly snapped you out of thought.

"Right…..um, can this be a conversation later when parents aren't coming in?" you whispered.

"Of course," Rengoku beamed. His hand slowly retained itself before heading to his classroom.

Gyomei didn't budge, though, as if he was deep in thought.

"Don't worry, I won't badger you about your serious responsibilities. He's gone now"

A sigh escaped Gyomei's lips, his hands releasing themselves and returning to his side.

Instantly stiffening themselves, as if moving from you sucked away all his warmth. You noticed slight dark circles underneath Gyomei's eyes, and the usual put-together hair looked messy.

You would surely ask him what was wrong, but right now, he needed a break—a friend.

But as you entered the room, you noticed a difference immediately.

Folders.

Gyomei was working on had to be a lot.

But, again, you wanted to be a nice friend, not an interrogator, so you just watched Gyomei pull out your chair and sit down.

"What's your favorite TV show or movie? You paused.

Wrong icebreaker.

"I'm so sorry that the question was so insensitive" You quickly cupped your face.

His eyebrows scrunched together "Hm… favorite show I would say Our Planet" he spoke completely ignoring your small fit of embarrassment.

A small smile crept on his face " I use screen readers to guide me towards app and audio descriptions, a secondary track that describes the visuals, no need to apologize"

"oh… is that a nature documentary?"

"Yes, I particularly enjoy the episodes involving the ocean" he calmly exhaled. You wouldn't even guess he was just playing tug of war with you a couple minutes ago.

His mood seemed far more at ease.

"Really?, I can imagine that, I prefer to watch more things with drama" You eagerly spoke.

You loved being entertained.

"But I don't take you for a drama person"

"Then you would be correct"

"I'll find a happy medium of a show or a movie we can watch. " you boasted. Your eyes narrowed on Gyomei.

“I actually want to put a water fountain in the back, but I think it would be too troublesome, but it would be very relaxing"

"Then you should totally put a water fountain out there, if your going to bare all these responsibilities you should at least have something to regulate yourself and people would love the aesthetic of it all"

He clicked his tongue 'Everything sounds better when you say it like that."

"I can be very therapeutic," you teased.

"who knows maybe next I can convince you to get out of this school and hang out with me or your friends"

"My other friends?" he questioned.

"Rengoku, right?”

a light chuckle escaped his lips. Gyomei obviously Rengoku's friend but he imagined his idea of hanging varied much greater to yours. He couldn't see himself doing something else than sparring or training with Rengoku outside of work.

A silence rested in the air besides the times you couldn't help yourself to slurp the tea.

" I also like cats… not that you asked or anything but since we were sharing things I thought it was appropriate. But I do think they can qualify as my company outside of work," Gyomei softly spoke.

"And it is, cats are adorable I would look at you differently if you said otherwise"

" I even sometimes bring my pet cat in sometimes and let the children attempt to pet her. She has her moments.”

“Aww, you're so cute."

He pulled his mouth down to meet his mug, he hoped you couldn't see the way water pulled in his eyes.

He tried his best not to cry, but you had a way with your words that always made him emotional.

slurp, slurp, slurp

"You're going to make yourself choke if you don't slow down" he cautioned.

"No can do, gotta leave early today," you reasoned.

Gyomei tilted his head.

"Because of construction they shut down a lane on the highway, so I have to leave early"

Gyomei rose, his head somewhat down, "well at least give me your mug" he sighed

His large stature made it's way to you, his hand gently resting on the back of your chair, as he awaited for you to finish.

"Thank you," you said. gently passing him the cup, his warm hands swiping past yours, only heating your cheeks.

"Rengoku stole your time from me," he quickly muttered, walking away from you.

"What was that? I can't tell what your saying if your back is towards me"

"Nothing"

"OK well I will see you tomorrow…. wait also Just know that if you do ever need any help or just a shoulder, you can always call me."

"Of course"

Gyomei knew he couldn't call a phone number he didn't have. 

Another day had passed, and he swore to himself he would get your phone number; another day, he would have to deal with Rengoku's teasing eyes; another day, he failed to separate himself from work.

For years he could easily surrender himself in his work, feasting day in and day out on schedule plannings. not once considering time for himself.

It was only when talking to you that he had realized how profound the hole his work had dragged him into, every giggle at a online reference he failed to get, all the confused looks he received when he had mentioned an out of date app, or even today when he had realized people watch other people not just animals.

Gyomei had gotten what he wanted to achieve at work, but lost everything socially.

He longed for social connections that would haul him out of the desk chair; he wanted a reason to be cutting it short for deadlines as crazy as it sounds. He had buried himself in a hole he couldn't climb out of.

One he so desperately wanted to escape so he could finally feel like he deserved to talk to you.

"All the flier's have been printed for the fun fair"

You made it so easy for him to forget his responsibilities , but morning tea was over and work just had to start.

You hastily made it to your classroom.

Luckily for you, you weren't the only one cutting it close.

Construction in the city was horrible, but you are here now.

The professor spoke in his usual drone tone and fast pace, so you somehow managed to catch up to write notes.

"You all will have a project-" now that snapped you out of your thoughts.

" You all will have a group project. You will be tasked with making a digital exhibition displaying one theme's evolution being tracked through different types of media. you have freedom to choose what theme, just make sure you follow rubric. I already put you all in groups since there are 23 of you all so there will be five groups of 4 and one group of three. Come check the bulletin board before you leave and see your team members. Since we have covered everything on today's schedule. You are dismissed"

You only slumped lower in your seat.

You hated group projects, so you only watched as everyone slowly rose to their seats to head towards the board, you would get up in a second.

By the time you lunged yourself out of your seat, you felt your eyelids barely remaining open. 

let's see" you murmured to yourself.

It didn't take you long to find your name, fifth on the paper. What did take you long was wrapping your mind around how this project would work.

Mitsuri, an old friend of yours and a girl named Kira you barely knew about sandwiched your name.

You weren't irritated but anxious. When you got evicted, you ghosted everyone out of embarrassment . It felt as if everyone's eyes followed you around, haunting you with your horrible judgment.

But, in the midst of your emotions peril, you left Mitsuri behind.

She didn't deserve to feel ignored, however you couldn't bear to feel humiliated in her presence, so every day you swore you would talk to her again, knowing that knot in your stomach only grew tighter.

"Hiii! it's been a while," Mitsuri exclaimed. Her rosy cheeks perked up as she spoke.

If she didn't make this interaction, you wouldn't.

"Right, how are you"

"Great, I went to a spa yesterday and I still feel at peace, what about you?!"

you blinked quickly." I'm good" 

Her kindness only made you want to jump off a cliff.

To your surprise, a brown-haired girl walked up to you guys while you were speaking. She gave a gentle smile before speaking," Hi guys, I'm Kira.”

"Mitsuri" her hand quickly flew out, her pink sparkly nails evident as ever. You followed suit.

"Oh ok. Well what times do you guys want to meet up?” you asked.

“I'm free tomorrow,” Mitsuri quickly added.

“Sorry, I’m not,” Kara quickly dismissed.

“Oh…. Um, how about the day after”

“Sorry, I can't do that day either, kinda,” she trailed off.

“Dang, girl, maybe we should just make a group chat and discuss dates there”

“Works for me”

“Me too.”

It's not like you were eager to start.

To say you were tired was an understatement.

A project in one class and a whole load of assignments in another.

Moments like this make you want to scream into a pillow.

When you were picking up Miki, even Gyomei noticed.

He had asked for a just a small moment of your time. To your surprise, he had you wait for a….. Unicorn squishy?

When you first saw it, you could only laugh.

“An extraordinary creature for your extraordinary hard work” he muttered. His hand lightly covered his mouth, as his eyes never met yours.

His attempt at shrinking himself only made you laugh harder.

So, you entered your house with Miki and a unicorn squishy.

Miki ran to your mom as you entered the house. You quickly about your project and headed to your room.

Luckily, the time you got home, dates and roles in your project were established in the group chat.

Wanting to be finished with it early you made the rash decision to just go ahead.

The idea sounded great in your head, but proved to be terrible by morning.

Besides, the appetizing slice of cake sitting on your nightstand. There sat your clock.

8:32

You quickly rose up like a mad man, rushing to your brothers room not caring what you looked like barging in.

But his bed was empty?

And so was the driveway.

Strange .

The only thing that you could think of was calling your mom but before you could you saw a message.

Saw you were sleeping so I just took Miki to school but I need you to pick him up though.

You scavenged the message, searching for something you obviously weren't seeing. You didn't expect the worst out of your mom, but you also failed to fathom the thought she didn't shake you awake.

Chastising you for another habit, yet instead here you were confused in the middle of the hallway only left with the warm scent of vanilla cake dancing around you, forcing you into a rather good mood.

If she gave you a chance to have a slow and calm morning before school you would take it.

For some reason you felt the need to tiptoe into your Miki's school.

Not dropping Miki felt as if you were breaking some unspoken rule, but unfortunately you were two steps behind Gyomei.

Who sat at the front, rubbing his red shiny beads.

His day had run smoothly like usual, his class listened to instructions on the first try, his lunch tasted great, Rengoku was so busy with his students painting projects to nag him, and his tea…. well his tea was alone.

Gyomei was ashamed of how fast his lips forced a pout when the realization dawned on him you wouldn't be dropping Miki off.

It felt as if his body had a mind of its own that wasn't pleased without getting a single wave from you. Surely that would have sufficed.

He had expected the morning to go as they usually do he would hear Miki say something and know to come out and see you.

But, he didn't see your warm expression, no he saw a woman who wanted to leave just as fast as she came in, a woman who couldn't even spare a full wave and just gave a simple hand in the air.

He understood though, people had places to be and morning traffic was no joke.

And, it was for the first time he had realized how greedy of a man he had become. He couldn't understand why you got coffee everyday if it only added to the time to your drive that you dreaded in days of heavy traffic. It was simply impractical. 

Just like having tea 2 to 3 times a week.

He had somehow convinced himself the tea time you two shared fit into schedule, when he knew it didn't, you had simply made it easy for him to take other things out of his schedule that no longer seemed to be necessary and rushing in areas that he used to have time in. Simply impractical. Yet, for the first time he didn't mind as for the first time he had enjoyed himself.

Which is exactly why your attempt to shrink yourself only made him pause in his tracks.

"You came?"

You jumped, surprised by his presence. You caught the side of his open shirt and ruffled arm sleeves to his elbows. If you didn't know any better, you would have assumed he was trying to seduce someone.

However, the thin layer of sweat on his forehead and the still-dark under-eye area only reminded you of his heavy workload, Rengoku mentioned.

"Yeah. I overslept this morning so my mom brought Miki" You said. There was no point in sneaking now.

Gyomei's chest fell ever so slightly, releasing a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

You tried peaking into Miki's classroom only to see his little hand moving with such precision.

"They're working on a group art project, however, Miki said he wants to take his time and focus so it turns out good. Can you give him 20 maybe 30 more minutes"

"umm" you glanced at your phone, it wasn't entirely too late if he did want to stay for extra time." sure, I wish I had something to do though."

Gyomei quickly sprung up his hands while clasping together "you can walk on the nature trail with me"

As if the walk were the prescription for his extreme exhaustion.

You glanced down at your shoes, deciding whether they were truly meant for walking outdoors.

Crocs were only comfy for sitting, not for walking, but you needed some movement in your day.

“Sure.”

Gyomei quickly led in the forest; he seemed so comfortable, you would think his house was only a couple of steps away.

"Come out here often?" you laughed.

"Yes, it's very calming for me, I love to hear the sounds of nature living around me, it's grounding"

"That's nice, I used to walk a lot when I was younger, but…. Gyomei, are you ok?

His hand gently rubbed the back of his neck, and if you were seeing things correctly, his eyes looked… glossy

"Oh.. umm.. I'm alright I just remembered… that umm"

your eyes widened, shocked by his lack of fluency.

"I usually keep all of the parents, guardians or family members who are on the pick up sheets phone numbers-"

Gyomei felt his hands only got clammy the more he spoke. His eyes only swelled with tears, threatening to erupt.

"Oh, for like emergencies, or anything," you said.

"yes!"

"Right of course, except" you quickly paused, stepping in front of Gyomei, slowly pointing your finger, "You already have it and if you haven't realized that, then you must want to use my phone number for different reasons."

Gyomei gasped. Tears spilling from his eyes.

Normally, you would be concerned, but over these weeks, you have concluded that he cries when emotional, of course, but in your case, he cries when he gets flustered.

"How shameful! A preschool teacher asking for students family members numbers, oh how promiscuous"

"Promiscuous," his hands slapped his eyes out of shame, almost punishing them for crying.

"I'm joking, if you wanted my number, you had- AHHH”

A small black thing lurked in the grass; you couldn't see what it was clearly, but you surely didn't want to find out. You instantly pushed yourself next to Gyomei, grabbed his arm, and frantically pointed.

" I can't help you if you don't say anything"

"There's something black and furry moving into the grass"

"Is it a cat?" he gently asked as if you weren't one step away from doom.

"No, do you just attract stray cats near your school?"

"Yes"

"What?" you gasped.

"Yes, everyone deserves food and water"

The only reason your mouth didn't open was the fear that a fly might fly right in. You could only imagine Gyomei delicately taking care of the cars.

"I told you I liked cats"

that he did.

By his standards, he liked them a hell of a lot more than you.

You guessed that was just what made him so likable.

"Hm. You were scared of a cat"

"And you hid from me a second ago”

“You don't know if I have allergies or not.”

You shook your head. Jerking once more when the black cat appeared once again. Not that you were scared of it, you couldn't predict its movements.

While Gyomei, on the other hand, followed the sound of the crippling leaves one by one and walked right up to the cat.

His large hands gently raised it in the air as if the cat was the most prized possession he could ever own.

"One of my students does. His eyes always turn red and water on certain days."

"Maybe he's allergic to your cats, you know, cat hair can easily track into places"

His face froze, "Don't say such things. I care deeply about my cats "

You gasped, "More than your students"

"Of course not, I care a lot about both," he placed the car down. " You are teasing me and laughing"

You couldn't hide your laughter. Gyomei made himself an easy target.

"Are their evil intentions in trying to make you and someone else smile? Especially if the other person seems a little stressed"

Gyomei could only sigh. You had set your sights on him, and he knew you didn't intend to stop until he could assure you he was truly fine.

"I'll be fine, just a harder time of the year"

"Well, you have no reason not to reach out to me if you decide to change your mind and get my help.

Gyomei felt naked around you, as crazy as it sounds.

You stripped him of all authority and let him feel relaxed. To see sides of him that he was sure only the orphans saw. Even right now, he couldn't stop the way his smile stretched across his face.

But even the moments of stillness didn't frighten him. He didn't feel the need to fill the silence; he felt comfortable in it, in knowing you two could both relax in a room before preparing for the work you both would do.

He had admired you. You knew how to balance work and play, something he knew you would never give credit for. You worked hard for your master's while still caring for a small child, which was amazing. Sure, you had fallen on a rough patch, but your ability to keep going only made him admire you even more and hope he would never get lost in the back of your head on the god-forsaken day of Miki's graduation.

So, for now, he would enjoy these periods; he didn't know whether this interaction would ever see the light of day in the real world outside his school.

"Want to go to a housewarming party with me? It would count as getting out of work"

Time has a way of making you eat your words.

You never intended to go on a nature walk with your life brother's teacher, yet that thought always escaped once you got lost in nature.

The nature of acting like an absolute green flag and pretending like he did nothing, when that single action meant everything.

Which only made you want to hide yourself even more.

And if that couldn't make it any worse, he was amazing with kids.

The first time you actually witnessed him teaching was when Miki forgot his lunch, and your professor had luckily called out for the day so that you could bring it to him.

When you walked in, you were immediately hit with warmth.

He was crouched beside a child, helping them with their phonics. Despite the child's frustrated expression, Gyomei only sat there with patience and hope, further motivating the child.

A warm smile sat on his face as he eagerly encouraged the child to keep trying, and he lit damped candles around unknowingly.

Never truly knowing how much he helped light a spark.

So, yeah, he was a whole deal.

One you knew you couldn't handle. He seemed so logical and planned, you couldn't really tell if he was flirting or simply being the kind soul he was.

And at the moment you weren't sure whether inviting him was the right decision, you were supposed to invite a friend, and you weren't sure why you struggled to call Gyomei that.

When you asked him to come with you, it looked as if his whole body was locked in ice and unable to meet your eyes. You assured him he could say no, only for him to assure you he had zero problems going.

He said you caught him off guard, and you were struggling to understand what that meant to him.

"Heyyy….. Are you still there?" a voice spoke while a hand waved in your face.

crap.

"Right, sorry I got off track," you apologized. You cupped your cheeks, attempting to hide the blush you knew sat there.

You hoped Mitsuri didn't think you were some weirdo if that was even possible.

You had arrived at the school library to work on the project and your man wouldn't stay put on the work ahead of you.

Mitsuri and you had already left on not the greatest of terms and you zoning out thinking about your brother's teacher isn't helping the situation whatsoever, Gyomei is practically haunting you.

Maybe you should switch back to coffee.

Coffee allows your eyes to remain on the prize: your grade and participation in class.

It was cold and somewhat bitter besides the caramel drizzle, but that's what you liked. It didn't warm you up and make your mind and body feel mush or better yet safe.

More or less, it wouldn't take away your focus from your project.

Your third partner, Kara, was late, again, and at this rate would only get credit for typing her name on the paper.

"You know, maybe we should just take a break, I mean it wouldn't be fair at all if we just did all the work………..sooooooo in the meantime you can tell me how you have bee," she smiled.

you laughed. "you're so nice to me."

she stroked her hands through her pink and green hair "Of course we were friends, am I supposed to be mean to you? Even though it did make me cry and mess up my massacre when you suddenly stopped answering my text! I kinda realized it had to hurt way more for you to be alone in such a sad time."

"Yeah, I just felt so mortified to see all my belongings on a fucking curb," you spat. Just thinking about that God-forsaken day when your books no longer sat in your pretty Amazon bookshelf but on stained pavement.

Mitsuri's nose scrunched as if she could also feel the same shame and rage you did. " Were you able to pay the landlord back?"

"Yeah out of my savings, which led to me living out of my car until I moved back in with my parents"

"OH! That's good, right? You're in a home," she asked her face confused in whether to smile or frown.

You shook your hand. Having a roof over your head was good but it only intensified how pathetic you felt now that you were back in your parents presence.

"Well… um…. tell me something good or something recent that you did… anything happy" She was practically about to be on the table at this rate of her excitement.

You ran your tongue around your teeth, "I started bonding with my little brother; he actually started hugging me every time he saw me"

"Wait, that's good!" her smile only intensifying.

"Yeah, I have to take him to school everyday and his teacher is somehow never mind, how are you though!"

Mitsuri shook at the abrupt change of excitement, "Well I have been great, I went to the spa again yesterday. Don't make that face the spa next to the gym I go to and it's just so tempting. Oh yeah and I have been talking to a guy….. he has a pet snake. At first it sounded weird but it fits him."

"A snake?”

"You can't judge until you see it!" she beamed.

You held your hands up, “I'm not judging, just caught off guard”

"Hmm, well, I don't know how many what about you's I need to say to hear about your life. I shared mine; it's only fair you share.

Your lips squeezed together, you shook your head.”It's umm nothing… really… I don't think… It's complicated”

“How so”

“Because I can't tell whether it's one-sided. The guy is really sweet, but I can't tell whether im getting special treatment or if he's being himself, and I screwed up and asked him to go to a party with me that my family is having”

“And he said yes, correct? Her eyebrows rose as she spoke.

“Yeah”

“Then it's not completely one-sided”

You scrunched your face, “true”

Maybe you were overthinking it; he was kinda shy, from what you've seen.

"And besides, if it were nothing, you would be able to admit, not beat around the bush openly. I think you should relax a little bit.”

Oh, you hated how right she was.

Gyomei was something to you, but, given your recent circumstances, you weren't sure you could handle him. He owned a school, while you just lost your apartment. You knew he never judged you, but that didn't mean you didn't judge yourself.

And, you wanted to relax, but the more you felt at ease, the more you felt the need to run away before you got attached. Before, you would say or do fluffy things that would make someone else cringe.

You knew she was right; you had to relax and go with the flow. You were given, and you had to trust the words he had told you.

So right it was, the only thing that fled your mind when dropping Miki off the next morning.

Your mind was crammed with questions you weren't ready to answer, so you tried to focus on the tight grip Miki had on your hand.

"My art is nice, and it's a surprise," Miki babbled. His head went up and down at each word.

"Oh no, how can I see how nice it is?”

"You can probably see at the Fun Festival," a woman behind you said. An adorable girl gripped her hand just as Miki grabbed yours.

You assumed she was a parent.

"Fun Festival?"

"Yes, sorry to interrupt, but this is my daughter's second year, and I assume the school will handle it similarly to last year, where they hang up the children's art to show how they helped, but it's mainly a fun activity for the community"

"Oh, really, how big is it?" You felt your stomach begin to tussle with itself, deciding whether to jump to conclusions.

"Oh, it's huge, they have inflatables, food, ice cones, etc. The school usually ask for volunteers because that work couldn't be done alone, but I didn't see as many names on the volunteer sheet as last time. Did I answer all your questions"

"Yes, thank you," you muttered. You could only gesture lightly towards Miki's classroom and wave a tired goodbye.

The dark under eyes, his messy office and Rengoku playing tug of war with you all came down to the fucking fun Festival he "didn't" need help with.

Mitsuri was right about one thing; if it were nothing, hearing about this event wouldn't upset you; in fact, you would go about your day. But you did care, you cared that Gyomei had taken the time to listen to vent about your mom, school, and that godforsaken old apartment. He had listened and offered helpful advice that only made you feel that you two were growing closer.

So, couldn't he extend that feeling and let you help him in a time he desperately needed help.

If you were his friend enough to have tea with him, couldn't you also be his friend to help him in hard times instead of just being a damned damsel in distress?

A/N: omgggg, I didn't forget about you guys, work was kicking my ass 🥲. Butttttt it’s finally out. @helalokithor

[peachygal-1009]

Told You I Like Gentle Giants, So you softened up pt 4

Synopsis: University isn't cheap. Fortunately, your parents live 30 minutes away from campus. Unfortunately, you have to take care of your nerdy brother. Until you realize your parents have already sorted that out and that the local preschool teacher has an afternoon program. Your only job is to drop your brother off and pick him back up. But why is his teacher so considerate? Not just towards the kids but towards you?

Pairing: f!reader x teacher! Gyomei Himejima

Content: Modern Au, no demons, slight angst, slight age gap (reader is 23 and Gyomei is 27), reader has mommy issues, fluff, hurt/comfort, and happy ending!

Word count: 5.4k

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

A fruity aroma entered your nostrils

The soft scent danced in the air, quickly waking you up faster than any alarm you used.

Surprisingly, a small cake slice sat on your nightstand.

The bright light blue frosting decorated the light cake you presumed to be vanilla.

To make things even better, a miniature fork sat perfectly in the middle of the cake, just begging to be eaten.

And you would never say no to a sweet treat—especially cake.

Your mouth remained focused on the delicious, warm flavor on your tongue, while your mind silently roamed.

Did your mom do this?

You glanced at your phone: 5:42 am. If you wanted to catch your mom, you would have to sprint outside and catch her before she pulled out of the driveway.

"MOM…MOM WAITING," you shouted, running out the front door, whacking it so hard it sounded like a bag of rocks being thrown at the wall.

Your mom whipped herself around, her eyebrows knitting together and her mouth ajar.

"W-What is… are you ok"

"Did you leave me that cake?" you determinedly asked. Not caring that you were giving your neighbors a show from your lack of clothing.

"What?"

"Did you or did you not le-"

"Oh no, I heard what you said. I'm confused on why you ran out here looking like a hot mess when I left you a note saying that I did," she scoffed. Her hand sat on her hip as she shook her head from side to side.

You ran your tongue over your mouth. Embarrassed at the free shot you gave your mom to take at you.

A note. Huh, maybe you were just so tired you didn't see it.

"Did you not pick up the plate? I placed the note underneath it."

Your eyes darted from side to side.

"Tell me you didn't just eat off the plate from your nightstand to your bed"

"I didn't feel like getting up," you lazily spoke.

God forbid you want to be comfortable.

"The fork would have dropped crumbs," she paused, " did you eat with your hands again"

"My hands are clean, and if you wanted me to see the note, you should have placed it on the side"

She lazily shook her hand in the air, as her lips dramatically pushed themselves out, "Since you didn't read the note, I will just tell you, remember Catherine from my job, well, she is having a housewarming party, and I wanted all of us to go to show our support, you know, buying a house isn't cheap"

Did you even want to go?

A night of binge-watching movies sounded way better.

Your mom read your thinking expression," You can bring a friend, I know my work friends may not be the best company for you, but I really need you to go since Catherine always supported your fundraisers and stuff"

This was the closest to a 'beg' you'd ever get from your mom.

"ok" you muttered.

Your mom's lips curled, and she headed towards her car without a single thank you.

You glanced at your phone once more.

Well, you had a good bit of time before you had to take Miki to school, so that you could sneak in a little TV watching before dropping Miki off.

Like usual, you parked at Miki's preschool and kindly let yourself in.

Rengoku had even started talking to you.

He could tell the interaction with you, and Gyomei was going to stay, and he enjoyed the short little interactions you two would have before Gyomei would come and whisk you away.

"Y'know Gyomei has been a little stressed lately," Rengoku said.

"Stressed," you quickly looked up from looking down at Miki. "Doesn't he meditate or pray"

"Correct. But his workload keeps increasing, and he doesn't-"

"I don't want to add any workload to the other teachers; we already have a small staff," Gyomei interrupted.

His large stature slowly came into view.

Rengoku's smile only brightened. "You can only spread yourself so far; sometimes you have to ask for help, like your friends"

He gently nudged you forward, his hands resting in the middle of your back.

Someone's Handsy.

"No, if I can't handle my responsibilities now, I never will," Gyomei spoke.

His tone was very strong. There was obviously some conversation that you missed, one you weren't sure you wanted to hear in the first place.

And, you,so desperately caught up in your thoughts, failed to notice the Gyomei standing right in front of you, at arm's reach.

Gyomei's hands rose to your shoulders, and warmth immediately entered your body. His hands clung to your shoulders, not tight enough to hurt, but to stop the nudges from Rengoku

A low laugh erupted from Rengoku; his closeness to you made your body vibrate. " It's not just your responsibility if you are not the only teacher"

His hands once again pushed you forward, but Gyomei's hand grounded you still.

You were happy Gyomei couldn't see the way your eyes remained glued to the ground, as your cheeks only heated up.

Gyomei and Rengoku clearly didn't understand personal space. You were so caged in that you couldn't even see the clock on the wall.

Were you complaining, though?

Paris had never been closer, but the red car lights beaming through the window quickly snapped you out of thought.

"Right…..um, can this be a conversation later when parents aren't coming in?" you whispered.

"Of course," Rengoku beamed. His hand slowly retained itself before heading to his classroom.

Gyomei didn't budge, though, as if he was deep in thought.

"Don't worry, I won't badger you about your serious responsibilities. He's gone now"

A sigh escaped Gyomei's lips, his hands releasing themselves and returning to his side.

Instantly stiffening themselves, as if moving from you sucked away all his warmth. You noticed slight dark circles underneath Gyomei's eyes, and the usual put-together hair looked messy.

You would surely ask him what was wrong, but right now, he needed a break—a friend.

But as you entered the room, you noticed a difference immediately.

Folders.

Gyomei was working on had to be a lot.

But, again, you wanted to be a nice friend, not an interrogator, so you just watched Gyomei pull out your chair and sit down.

"What's your favorite TV show or movie? You paused.

Wrong icebreaker.

"I'm so sorry that the question was so insensitive" You quickly cupped your face.

His eyebrows scrunched together "Hm… favorite show I would say Our Planet" he spoke completely ignoring your small fit of embarrassment.

A small smile crept on his face " I use screen readers to guide me towards app and audio descriptions, a secondary track that describes the visuals, no need to apologize"

"oh… is that a nature documentary?"

"Yes, I particularly enjoy the episodes involving the ocean" he calmly exhaled. You wouldn't even guess he was just playing tug of war with you a couple minutes ago.

His mood seemed far more at ease.

"Really?, I can imagine that, I prefer to watch more things with drama" You eagerly spoke.

You loved being entertained.

"But I don't take you for a drama person"

"Then you would be correct"

"I'll find a happy medium of a show or a movie we can watch. " you boasted. Your eyes narrowed on Gyomei.

“I actually want to put a water fountain in the back, but I think it would be too troublesome, but it would be very relaxing"

"Then you should totally put a water fountain out there, if your going to bare all these responsibilities you should at least have something to regulate yourself and people would love the aesthetic of it all"

He clicked his tongue 'Everything sounds better when you say it like that."

"I can be very therapeutic," you teased.

"who knows maybe next I can convince you to get out of this school and hang out with me or your friends"

"My other friends?" he questioned.

"Rengoku, right?”

a light chuckle escaped his lips. Gyomei obviously Rengoku's friend but he imagined his idea of hanging varied much greater to yours. He couldn't see himself doing something else than sparring or training with Rengoku outside of work.

A silence rested in the air besides the times you couldn't help yourself to slurp the tea.

" I also like cats… not that you asked or anything but since we were sharing things I thought it was appropriate. But I do think they can qualify as my company outside of work," Gyomei softly spoke.

"And it is, cats are adorable I would look at you differently if you said otherwise"

" I even sometimes bring my pet cat in sometimes and let the children attempt to pet her. She has her moments.”

“Aww, you're so cute."

He pulled his mouth down to meet his mug, he hoped you couldn't see the way water pulled in his eyes.

He tried his best not to cry, but you had a way with your words that always made him emotional.

slurp, slurp, slurp

"You're going to make yourself choke if you don't slow down" he cautioned.

"No can do, gotta leave early today," you reasoned.

Gyomei tilted his head.

"Because of construction they shut down a lane on the highway, so I have to leave early"

Gyomei rose, his head somewhat down, "well at least give me your mug" he sighed

His large stature made it's way to you, his hand gently resting on the back of your chair, as he awaited for you to finish.

"Thank you," you said. gently passing him the cup, his warm hands swiping past yours, only heating your cheeks.

"Rengoku stole your time from me," he quickly muttered, walking away from you.

"What was that? I can't tell what your saying if your back is towards me"

"Nothing"

"OK well I will see you tomorrow…. wait also Just know that if you do ever need any help or just a shoulder, you can always call me."

"Of course"

Gyomei knew he couldn't call a phone number he didn't have. 

Another day had passed, and he swore to himself he would get your phone number; another day, he would have to deal with Rengoku's teasing eyes; another day, he failed to separate himself from work.

For years he could easily surrender himself in his work, feasting day in and day out on schedule plannings. not once considering time for himself.

It was only when talking to you that he had realized how profound the hole his work had dragged him into, every giggle at a online reference he failed to get, all the confused looks he received when he had mentioned an out of date app, or even today when he had realized people watch other people not just animals.

Gyomei had gotten what he wanted to achieve at work, but lost everything socially.

He longed for social connections that would haul him out of the desk chair; he wanted a reason to be cutting it short for deadlines as crazy as it sounds. He had buried himself in a hole he couldn't climb out of.

One he so desperately wanted to escape so he could finally feel like he deserved to talk to you.

"All the flier's have been printed for the fun fair"

You made it so easy for him to forget his responsibilities , but morning tea was over and work just had to start.

You hastily made it to your classroom.

Luckily for you, you weren't the only one cutting it close.

Construction in the city was horrible, but you are here now.

The professor spoke in his usual drone tone and fast pace, so you somehow managed to catch up to write notes.

"You all will have a project-" now that snapped you out of your thoughts.

" You all will have a group project. You will be tasked with making a digital exhibition displaying one theme's evolution being tracked through different types of media. you have freedom to choose what theme, just make sure you follow rubric. I already put you all in groups since there are 23 of you all so there will be five groups of 4 and one group of three. Come check the bulletin board before you leave and see your team members. Since we have covered everything on today's schedule. You are dismissed"

You only slumped lower in your seat.

You hated group projects, so you only watched as everyone slowly rose to their seats to head towards the board, you would get up in a second.

By the time you lunged yourself out of your seat, you felt your eyelids barely remaining open. 

let's see" you murmured to yourself.

It didn't take you long to find your name, fifth on the paper. What did take you long was wrapping your mind around how this project would work.

Mitsuri, an old friend of yours and a girl named Kira you barely knew about sandwiched your name.

You weren't irritated but anxious. When you got evicted, you ghosted everyone out of embarrassment . It felt as if everyone's eyes followed you around, haunting you with your horrible judgment.

But, in the midst of your emotions peril, you left Mitsuri behind.

She didn't deserve to feel ignored, however you couldn't bear to feel humiliated in her presence, so every day you swore you would talk to her again, knowing that knot in your stomach only grew tighter.

"Hiii! it's been a while," Mitsuri exclaimed. Her rosy cheeks perked up as she spoke.

If she didn't make this interaction, you wouldn't.

"Right, how are you"

"Great, I went to a spa yesterday and I still feel at peace, what about you?!"

you blinked quickly." I'm good" 

Her kindness only made you want to jump off a cliff.

To your surprise, a brown-haired girl walked up to you guys while you were speaking. She gave a gentle smile before speaking," Hi guys, I'm Kira.”

"Mitsuri" her hand quickly flew out, her pink sparkly nails evident as ever. You followed suit.

"Oh ok. Well what times do you guys want to meet up?” you asked.

“I'm free tomorrow,” Mitsuri quickly added.

“Sorry, I’m not,” Kara quickly dismissed.

“Oh…. Um, how about the day after”

“Sorry, I can't do that day either, kinda,” she trailed off.

“Dang, girl, maybe we should just make a group chat and discuss dates there”

“Works for me”

“Me too.”

It's not like you were eager to start.

To say you were tired was an understatement.

A project in one class and a whole load of assignments in another.

Moments like this make you want to scream into a pillow.

When you were picking up Miki, even Gyomei noticed.

He had asked for a just a small moment of your time. To your surprise, he had you wait for a….. Unicorn squishy?

When you first saw it, you could only laugh.

“An extraordinary creature for your extraordinary hard work” he muttered. His hand lightly covered his mouth, as his eyes never met yours.

His attempt at shrinking himself only made you laugh harder.

So, you entered your house with Miki and a unicorn squishy.

Miki ran to your mom as you entered the house. You quickly about your project and headed to your room.

Luckily, the time you got home, dates and roles in your project were established in the group chat.

Wanting to be finished with it early you made the rash decision to just go ahead.

The idea sounded great in your head, but proved to be terrible by morning.

Besides, the appetizing slice of cake sitting on your nightstand. There sat your clock.

8:32

You quickly rose up like a mad man, rushing to your brothers room not caring what you looked like barging in.

But his bed was empty?

And so was the driveway.

Strange .

The only thing that you could think of was calling your mom but before you could you saw a message.

Saw you were sleeping so I just took Miki to school but I need you to pick him up though.

You scavenged the message, searching for something you obviously weren't seeing. You didn't expect the worst out of your mom, but you also failed to fathom the thought she didn't shake you awake.

Chastising you for another habit, yet instead here you were confused in the middle of the hallway only left with the warm scent of vanilla cake dancing around you, forcing you into a rather good mood.

If she gave you a chance to have a slow and calm morning before school you would take it.

For some reason you felt the need to tiptoe into your Miki's school.

Not dropping Miki felt as if you were breaking some unspoken rule, but unfortunately you were two steps behind Gyomei.

Who sat at the front, rubbing his red shiny beads.

His day had run smoothly like usual, his class listened to instructions on the first try, his lunch tasted great, Rengoku was so busy with his students painting projects to nag him, and his tea…. well his tea was alone.

Gyomei was ashamed of how fast his lips forced a pout when the realization dawned on him you wouldn't be dropping Miki off.

It felt as if his body had a mind of its own that wasn't pleased without getting a single wave from you. Surely that would have sufficed.

He had expected the morning to go as they usually do he would hear Miki say something and know to come out and see you.

But, he didn't see your warm expression, no he saw a woman who wanted to leave just as fast as she came in, a woman who couldn't even spare a full wave and just gave a simple hand in the air.

He understood though, people had places to be and morning traffic was no joke.

And, it was for the first time he had realized how greedy of a man he had become. He couldn't understand why you got coffee everyday if it only added to the time to your drive that you dreaded in days of heavy traffic. It was simply impractical. 

Just like having tea 2 to 3 times a week.

He had somehow convinced himself the tea time you two shared fit into schedule, when he knew it didn't, you had simply made it easy for him to take other things out of his schedule that no longer seemed to be necessary and rushing in areas that he used to have time in. Simply impractical. Yet, for the first time he didn't mind as for the first time he had enjoyed himself.

Which is exactly why your attempt to shrink yourself only made him pause in his tracks.

"You came?"

You jumped, surprised by his presence. You caught the side of his open shirt and ruffled arm sleeves to his elbows. If you didn't know any better, you would have assumed he was trying to seduce someone.

However, the thin layer of sweat on his forehead and the still-dark under-eye area only reminded you of his heavy workload, Rengoku mentioned.

"Yeah. I overslept this morning so my mom brought Miki" You said. There was no point in sneaking now.

Gyomei's chest fell ever so slightly, releasing a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

You tried peaking into Miki's classroom only to see his little hand moving with such precision.

"They're working on a group art project, however, Miki said he wants to take his time and focus so it turns out good. Can you give him 20 maybe 30 more minutes"

"umm" you glanced at your phone, it wasn't entirely too late if he did want to stay for extra time." sure, I wish I had something to do though."

Gyomei quickly sprung up his hands while clasping together "you can walk on the nature trail with me"

As if the walk were the prescription for his extreme exhaustion.

You glanced down at your shoes, deciding whether they were truly meant for walking outdoors.

Crocs were only comfy for sitting, not for walking, but you needed some movement in your day.

“Sure.”

Gyomei quickly led in the forest; he seemed so comfortable, you would think his house was only a couple of steps away.

"Come out here often?" you laughed.

"Yes, it's very calming for me, I love to hear the sounds of nature living around me, it's grounding"

"That's nice, I used to walk a lot when I was younger, but…. Gyomei, are you ok?

His hand gently rubbed the back of his neck, and if you were seeing things correctly, his eyes looked… glossy

"Oh.. umm.. I'm alright I just remembered… that umm"

your eyes widened, shocked by his lack of fluency.

"I usually keep all of the parents, guardians or family members who are on the pick up sheets phone numbers-"

Gyomei felt his hands only got clammy the more he spoke. His eyes only swelled with tears, threatening to erupt.

"Oh, for like emergencies, or anything," you said.

"yes!"

"Right of course, except" you quickly paused, stepping in front of Gyomei, slowly pointing your finger, "You already have it and if you haven't realized that, then you must want to use my phone number for different reasons."

Gyomei gasped. Tears spilling from his eyes.

Normally, you would be concerned, but over these weeks, you have concluded that he cries when emotional, of course, but in your case, he cries when he gets flustered.

"How shameful! A preschool teacher asking for students family members numbers, oh how promiscuous"

"Promiscuous," his hands slapped his eyes out of shame, almost punishing them for crying.

"I'm joking, if you wanted my number, you had- AHHH”

A small black thing lurked in the grass; you couldn't see what it was clearly, but you surely didn't want to find out. You instantly pushed yourself next to Gyomei, grabbed his arm, and frantically pointed.

" I can't help you if you don't say anything"

"There's something black and furry moving into the grass"

"Is it a cat?" he gently asked as if you weren't one step away from doom.

"No, do you just attract stray cats near your school?"

"Yes"

"What?" you gasped.

"Yes, everyone deserves food and water"

The only reason your mouth didn't open was the fear that a fly might fly right in. You could only imagine Gyomei delicately taking care of the cars.

"I told you I liked cats"

that he did.

By his standards, he liked them a hell of a lot more than you.

You guessed that was just what made him so likable.

"Hm. You were scared of a cat"

"And you hid from me a second ago”

“You don't know if I have allergies or not.”

You shook your head. Jerking once more when the black cat appeared once again. Not that you were scared of it, you couldn't predict its movements.

While Gyomei, on the other hand, followed the sound of the crippling leaves one by one and walked right up to the cat.

His large hands gently raised it in the air as if the cat was the most prized possession he could ever own.

"One of my students does. His eyes always turn red and water on certain days."

"Maybe he's allergic to your cats, you know, cat hair can easily track into places"

His face froze, "Don't say such things. I care deeply about my cats "

You gasped, "More than your students"

"Of course not, I care a lot about both," he placed the car down. " You are teasing me and laughing"

You couldn't hide your laughter. Gyomei made himself an easy target.

"Are their evil intentions in trying to make you and someone else smile? Especially if the other person seems a little stressed"

Gyomei could only sigh. You had set your sights on him, and he knew you didn't intend to stop until he could assure you he was truly fine.

"I'll be fine, just a harder time of the year"

"Well, you have no reason not to reach out to me if you decide to change your mind and get my help.

Gyomei felt naked around you, as crazy as it sounds.

You stripped him of all authority and let him feel relaxed. To see sides of him that he was sure only the orphans saw. Even right now, he couldn't stop the way his smile stretched across his face.

But even the moments of stillness didn't frighten him. He didn't feel the need to fill the silence; he felt comfortable in it, in knowing you two could both relax in a room before preparing for the work you both would do.

He had admired you. You knew how to balance work and play, something he knew you would never give credit for. You worked hard for your master's while still caring for a small child, which was amazing. Sure, you had fallen on a rough patch, but your ability to keep going only made him admire you even more and hope he would never get lost in the back of your head on the god-forsaken day of Miki's graduation.

So, for now, he would enjoy these periods; he didn't know whether this interaction would ever see the light of day in the real world outside his school.

"Want to go to a housewarming party with me? It would count as getting out of work"

Time has a way of making you eat your words.

You never intended to go on a nature walk with your life brother's teacher, yet that thought always escaped once you got lost in nature.

The nature of acting like an absolute green flag and pretending like he did nothing, when that single action meant everything.

Which only made you want to hide yourself even more.

And if that couldn't make it any worse, he was amazing with kids.

The first time you actually witnessed him teaching was when Miki forgot his lunch, and your professor had luckily called out for the day so that you could bring it to him.

When you walked in, you were immediately hit with warmth.

He was crouched beside a child, helping them with their phonics. Despite the child's frustrated expression, Gyomei only sat there with patience and hope, further motivating the child.

A warm smile sat on his face as he eagerly encouraged the child to keep trying, and he lit damped candles around unknowingly.

Never truly knowing how much he helped light a spark.

So, yeah, he was a whole deal.

One you knew you couldn't handle. He seemed so logical and planned, you couldn't really tell if he was flirting or simply being the kind soul he was.

And at the moment you weren't sure whether inviting him was the right decision, you were supposed to invite a friend, and you weren't sure why you struggled to call Gyomei that.

When you asked him to come with you, it looked as if his whole body was locked in ice and unable to meet your eyes. You assured him he could say no, only for him to assure you he had zero problems going.

He said you caught him off guard, and you were struggling to understand what that meant to him.

"Heyyy….. Are you still there?" a voice spoke while a hand waved in your face.

crap.

"Right, sorry I got off track," you apologized. You cupped your cheeks, attempting to hide the blush you knew sat there.

You hoped Mitsuri didn't think you were some weirdo if that was even possible.

You had arrived at the school library to work on the project and your man wouldn't stay put on the work ahead of you.

Mitsuri and you had already left on not the greatest of terms and you zoning out thinking about your brother's teacher isn't helping the situation whatsoever, Gyomei is practically haunting you.

Maybe you should switch back to coffee.

Coffee allows your eyes to remain on the prize: your grade and participation in class.

It was cold and somewhat bitter besides the caramel drizzle, but that's what you liked. It didn't warm you up and make your mind and body feel mush or better yet safe.

More or less, it wouldn't take away your focus from your project.

Your third partner, Kara, was late, again, and at this rate would only get credit for typing her name on the paper.

"You know, maybe we should just take a break, I mean it wouldn't be fair at all if we just did all the work………..sooooooo in the meantime you can tell me how you have bee," she smiled.

you laughed. "you're so nice to me."

she stroked her hands through her pink and green hair "Of course we were friends, am I supposed to be mean to you? Even though it did make me cry and mess up my massacre when you suddenly stopped answering my text! I kinda realized it had to hurt way more for you to be alone in such a sad time."

"Yeah, I just felt so mortified to see all my belongings on a fucking curb," you spat. Just thinking about that God-forsaken day when your books no longer sat in your pretty Amazon bookshelf but on stained pavement.

Mitsuri's nose scrunched as if she could also feel the same shame and rage you did. " Were you able to pay the landlord back?"

"Yeah out of my savings, which led to me living out of my car until I moved back in with my parents"

"OH! That's good, right? You're in a home," she asked her face confused in whether to smile or frown.

You shook your hand. Having a roof over your head was good but it only intensified how pathetic you felt now that you were back in your parents presence.

"Well… um…. tell me something good or something recent that you did… anything happy" She was practically about to be on the table at this rate of her excitement.

You ran your tongue around your teeth, "I started bonding with my little brother; he actually started hugging me every time he saw me"

"Wait, that's good!" her smile only intensifying.

"Yeah, I have to take him to school everyday and his teacher is somehow never mind, how are you though!"

Mitsuri shook at the abrupt change of excitement, "Well I have been great, I went to the spa again yesterday. Don't make that face the spa next to the gym I go to and it's just so tempting. Oh yeah and I have been talking to a guy….. he has a pet snake. At first it sounded weird but it fits him."

"A snake?”

"You can't judge until you see it!" she beamed.

You held your hands up, “I'm not judging, just caught off guard”

"Hmm, well, I don't know how many what about you's I need to say to hear about your life. I shared mine; it's only fair you share.

Your lips squeezed together, you shook your head.”It's umm nothing… really… I don't think… It's complicated”

“How so”

“Because I can't tell whether it's one-sided. The guy is really sweet, but I can't tell whether im getting special treatment or if he's being himself, and I screwed up and asked him to go to a party with me that my family is having”

“And he said yes, correct? Her eyebrows rose as she spoke.

“Yeah”

“Then it's not completely one-sided”

You scrunched your face, “true”

Maybe you were overthinking it; he was kinda shy, from what you've seen.

"And besides, if it were nothing, you would be able to admit, not beat around the bush openly. I think you should relax a little bit.”

Oh, you hated how right she was.

Gyomei was something to you, but, given your recent circumstances, you weren't sure you could handle him. He owned a school, while you just lost your apartment. You knew he never judged you, but that didn't mean you didn't judge yourself.

And, you wanted to relax, but the more you felt at ease, the more you felt the need to run away before you got attached. Before, you would say or do fluffy things that would make someone else cringe.

You knew she was right; you had to relax and go with the flow. You were given, and you had to trust the words he had told you.

So right it was, the only thing that fled your mind when dropping Miki off the next morning.

Your mind was crammed with questions you weren't ready to answer, so you tried to focus on the tight grip Miki had on your hand.

"My art is nice, and it's a surprise," Miki babbled. His head went up and down at each word.

"Oh no, how can I see how nice it is?”

"You can probably see at the Fun Festival," a woman behind you said. An adorable girl gripped her hand just as Miki grabbed yours.

You assumed she was a parent.

"Fun Festival?"

"Yes, sorry to interrupt, but this is my daughter's second year, and I assume the school will handle it similarly to last year, where they hang up the children's art to show how they helped, but it's mainly a fun activity for the community"

"Oh, really, how big is it?" You felt your stomach begin to tussle with itself, deciding whether to jump to conclusions.

"Oh, it's huge, they have inflatables, food, ice cones, etc. The school usually ask for volunteers because that work couldn't be done alone, but I didn't see as many names on the volunteer sheet as last time. Did I answer all your questions"

"Yes, thank you," you muttered. You could only gesture lightly towards Miki's classroom and wave a tired goodbye.

The dark under eyes, his messy office and Rengoku playing tug of war with you all came down to the fucking fun Festival he "didn't" need help with.

Mitsuri was right about one thing; if it were nothing, hearing about this event wouldn't upset you; in fact, you would go about your day. But you did care, you cared that Gyomei had taken the time to listen to vent about your mom, school, and that godforsaken old apartment. He had listened and offered helpful advice that only made you feel that you two were growing closer.

So, couldn't he extend that feeling and let you help him in a time he desperately needed help.

If you were his friend enough to have tea with him, couldn't you also be his friend to help him in hard times instead of just being a damned damsel in distress?

A/N: omgggg, I didn't forget about you guys, work was kicking my ass 🥲. Butttttt it’s finally out. @helalokithor

[peachygal-1009]

Jester! Inosuke Headcanons

Jester! Inosuke, who was originally appointed because the king believed his boar-like actions were satire.

Jester! Inosuke, who never actually had to try being funny, was horribly cocky. He had this effortless manner that made people laugh and loosen up, so he wasn't offended by the title "Jester". The number of people who readily told him their secrets, or how he could blatantly disrespect others with zero repercussions, made him feel on top of the world.

Jester! Inosuke, who had watched you sit next to your father countless nights, hoping that the more time you spent with your father, the king, would gain you his favour and prevent him from wedding you off to a far Kingdom.

Jester! Inosuke, who never failed to notice the smile never reaching your eyes.

Jester! Inosuke, who began directing his jokes at you, only receiving a raised brow and a slanted head, devoid of any entertainment.

Jester! Inosuke, who could only scoff, "Does my clothing not suit you as those faraway princes?" his hands sat on his hip as he jokingly shook his head.

Your father slapped his knee, breaking into loud laughter that even your mother might hear from their chambers.

You attempted to keep on your "graceful" smile, but Inosuke didn't fail to miss the change in the atmosphere. Your hands desperately gripped your dress, your ears a dark shade of red; you didn't expect him to talk to you.

And he knew that, the wicked grin on his face only further proving his amusement.

He was the jester; weren't you supposed to be laughing?

Jester! Inosuke who was surprised to see pouting outside his chamber doors. If you wanted to see him, you could have easily requested him. But right now, you didn't even look like a princess, more like a maid.

"I wasn't aware that princesses spend their time play-acting."

"Quiet, I came to you to have a civil exchange." You briefly paused, "I would prefer it if your jokes didn't pertain to such topics of marriage and if you wouldn't make jokes about people."

The first request Inosuke could maybe oblige with, but the second could never happen.

"Those similar people who laugh at me for my own normal behaviour," he didn't intend for those words to spill so quickly. You were a princess, and he was a simple Jester who could face the palm of your hand if you saw fit.

"How unfortunate," you muttered.

"My embarrassment evaded all logical thoughts of hypocrisy from me."

Words didn't spill, but his eyes quickly darted towards you.

He knew laughter, but was a fool to empathy.

A/N: low-key thinking of making this a mini series.

[peachygal-1009]

Jester! Inosuke Headcanons

Jester! Inosuke, who was originally appointed because the king believed his boar-like actions were satire.

Jester! Inosuke, who never actually had to try being funny, was horribly cocky. He had this effortless manner that made people laugh and loosen up, so he wasn't offended by the title "Jester". The number of people who readily told him their secrets, or how he could blatantly disrespect others with zero repercussions, made him feel on top of the world.

Jester! Inosuke, who had watched you sit next to your father countless nights, hoping that the more time you spent with your father, the king, would gain you his favour and prevent him from wedding you off to a far Kingdom.

Jester! Inosuke, who never failed to notice the smile never reaching your eyes.

Jester! Inosuke, who began directing his jokes at you, only receiving a raised brow and a slanted head, devoid of any entertainment.

Jester! Inosuke, who could only scoff, "Does my clothing not suit you as those faraway princes?" his hands sat on his hip as he jokingly shook his head.

Your father slapped his knee, breaking into loud laughter that even your mother might hear from their chambers.

You attempted to keep on your "graceful" smile, but Inosuke didn't fail to miss the change in the atmosphere. Your hands desperately gripped your dress, your ears a dark shade of red; you didn't expect him to talk to you.

And he knew that, the wicked grin on his face only further proving his amusement.

He was the jester; weren't you supposed to be laughing?

Jester! Inosuke who was surprised to see pouting outside his chamber doors. If you wanted to see him, you could have easily requested him. But right now, you didn't even look like a princess, more like a maid.

"I wasn't aware that princesses spend their time play-acting."

"Quiet, I came to you to have a civil exchange." You briefly paused, "I would prefer it if your jokes didn't pertain to such topics of marriage and if you wouldn't make jokes about people."

The first request Inosuke could maybe oblige with, but the second could never happen.

"Those similar people who laugh at me for my own normal behaviour," he didn't intend for those words to spill so quickly. You were a princess, and he was a simple Jester who could face the palm of your hand if you saw fit.

"How unfortunate," you muttered.

"My embarrassment evaded all logical thoughts of hypocrisy from me."

Words didn't spill, but his eyes quickly darted towards you.

He knew laughter, but was a fool to empathy.

A/N: low-key thinking of making this a mini series.

[peachygal-1009]

Masterlist

Demon slayer

Gyomei Himejima

Told You I Liked Gentle Giants, So You Softened Up - ongoing

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

Milkman! Gyomei

Inosuke Hashibira

Jester! Inosuke headcanons

More to come, feel free to make a request.

A/N: GIFs and images from Pinterest.

[peachygal-1009]

𝘛𝘖𝘓𝘋 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘐 𝘓𝘐𝘒𝘌 𝘎𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘓𝘌 𝘎𝘐𝘈𝘕𝘛𝘚, 𝘚𝘖 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘚𝘖𝘍𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘌𝘋 𝘜𝘗 𝘱𝘵3

Synopsis: University isn't cheap. Fortunately, your parents live 30 minutes away from campus. Unfortunately, you have to take care of your nerdy brother. Until you realize your parents have already sorted that out and that the local preschool teacher has an afternoon program. Your only job is to drop your brother off and pick him back up. But why is his teacher so considerate? Not just towards the kids but towards you?

Pairing: f!reader x teacher! Gyomei Himejima

Content: Modern au, no demons, slight angst, slight age gap (reader is 23 and Gyomei is 27), reader has mommy issues, fluff, hurt/comfort, and happy ending!

Word count: 2.8k

Part 1. Part 2 Part 3.

Most people would spend their Saturdays sleeping in, cozily tucked into their beds.

You on the other hand are spending yours sitting on the other side of your brothers door, anxiously lingering to hear foot steps.

It wasn't like you were going to get any sleep anyway, so for now you would scroll away on your phone, seeing what people with actual lives were doing.

"What are you doing?" your mom asked.

As early as it was, she was all dressed up. A baggy purple sweater draped down her body, along with her black khaki pants and her signature black tote.”

"You said you had no plans with Miki today, and I wanted to take him to one of those jumpy places," You muttered, your eyes never meeting hers.

"Really? Look at you doing things with your brother without being asked," she taunted.

"Yeah"

Your mom was the first person to teach you: that someone who speaks softly doesn't necessarily have good intentions.

"Hm. Well, how are your grades?"

You glanced up once again. " Um, they're good."

It felt so painfully awkward, you've had a better conversation with a barista at Starbucks.

"Don't sound so enthusiastic, it's not like I didn't push you out or anything," she scoffed

"I mean, that's one of the three conversation starters you use to talk to me."

Your mom's questions consisted only of: How are your grades?, How was your day?, and Did you call your grandmother?

A light chuckle escaped her lips. "Should I talk to your pictures on the wall and pretend it's you?"

"Fine. Let me feel comfortable enough to stay, engage in actual conversations with me, and stop treating me like I'm a done deal. Then I wouldn't feel the need to leave."

Her eyes narrowed, as her shoulders tightened, preparing to turn away from you

You quickly rose and rushed to meet her.

"Are you serious? You complain about my attitude, yet the minute I am genuinely talking to you, you walk away. The only time I have ever even asked for help from you was when I was damn near homeless, and you can't even spare me an honest conversation," you hopelessly yelled.

She stopped in her tracks, her shoulders fell, releasing a deep exhale.

"Don't throw your shortcomings in my face, everyone knows not to have your best friend as a roommate, especially one who can't pay their own bills," She spat out.

"You're right, it was my fault, it was my stupid decisions that led back here, but do you even ask yourself why someone would choose an expensive apartment downtown, with their best friend over their own parents. Just once, I am asking you to view me as a person beyond a surface level, just like you, my actions have reasons."

"You don't get to paint this narrative that I just drove you out of this house. You never made it easy to connect with you. By the time you were in middle school, you just locked yourself in your room focusing on God knows what."

"And you let me. I am not asking you to do rocket science, I am asking you to be my mother and ask questions and talk to me instead of assuming I'm fine."

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in the air in an inverbal way, saying whatever

"What did you want me to do? Your dad and I had you at a young age, and there wasn't a book teaching us how to parent."

"Fine then, what's stopping you from parenting now you've had over 18 years of experience?"

"Because you're 23-"

"Oh, so you didn't need any help from grandma once you were 18, because I remember you living at her house, and there wasn't any arrangement dictating your stay there."

Her fingers strained as they thoroughly gripped her purse strap. She gritted her teeth, " You and-"

The creaking of the door stopped the conversation.

"Good morning, baby," your mom had quickly moved to your brother as if you were never there.

Maybe you are jealous of a 3-year-old.

Your mom had walked away as if your emotions were simply beneath her, yet she sprinted towards your brother, no problem. Watching them talk felt as if your heart would shrink 3x smaller. You understood that parents are typically better for their next child, but why couldn't she muster up some of that love for you?

"I'll pick out his clothes and fix his bag," you said, passing both your mom and your brother.

It always starts the same: you saying you won't let your mom get the best of you, and giving her more energy than you already have.

In the end, you never could win, and only promised yourself you would have a better relationship with your children.

"JUMPY PLACE!JUMPY PLACE!JUMPY PLACE!" Miki chanted. His arms proudly going up and down

"Hi, will you need two wrist bands today?" The worker asked.

"Hi, no, just one jumper today."

"One? You came to watch," your brother asked

It didn't feel like Miki was asking, but rather a miniature Gyomei given from how serious his tone was.

"Um.. I mean.. I thought.”

Your brother's eyes narrowed.

"Two wrist bands, please."

Being told what to do by a child was most definitely not on your bucket list. But you all didn't want to argue with a child either.

Once both of you got settled and bought a locker for all of your belongings, Miki quickly dragged to "wipe out."

If it's inside a children's jumpy place, it couldn't be too difficult, right?

Wrong, very wrong

Those two inflatable beams had their minds set on showing everyone how unfit you were. You were falling into positions you didn't even think were possible.

Your legs had somehow managed to go past your head, and you weren't even flexible anymore.

All while your little brother could easily dodge these monstrous attacks due to his short stature.

Never again, never.

"That was fun," your brother babbled.

"Fun? I feel like I have pulled every muscle in my body," you painted

"ok dodgeball next."

He yanked you by your wrist and headed towards the enclosed area.

Oh, the things you do for your siblings.

You were turned every way but loose in a knock-out and given the reminder of why you always hated P.E. Except instead of losing to people your age, you lose to children.

You had to hide your monstrous grin from your brother when you realized your time to play was about to be finished.

"Do we have to go?" Your brother whined, squeezing both of your hands. He pushed his bottom lip out and fluttered his eyelashes.

Unfortunately for him, puppy dog eyes don't work on you.

"Yeah, I only paid for 9 - 12pm."

Miki's head desperately dropped "ok"

your lips curved in a light smile, your brother wasn't blatantly glaring at you.

Gyomei was right. You were so focused on your studies that you only truly visited home for Miki's Birthday parties or your parents' anniversary party. You missed so many moments, you damn near felt like a stranger, and your relationship with your parents only further deepened that wedge. You always knew you couldn't view your brother differently because of your parents' actions.

You just needed a little push.

You grabbed Miki's hand and guided him towards the exit, "But I brought you here today as a way of me saying sorry. I know you had a different schedule before I came, and I messed it up. And due to certain circumstances, I can't change the times I drop you off or pick you up." You paused. Crouching down to Miki's height.

"Since I am changing your schedule, it's only fair that you can change mine. Every week, you can pick a place you want to go, and I'll take you for a couple of hours. I mean, I did choos-"

His arms wrapped around your legs, tightly squeezing you; only now had you realized how strong toddlers can be.

You crouched down and wrapped your arms around him. Only one thing rested on your mind.

A 'thank you' was on order.

For the first time in a while, you were actually happy when the weekend came to an end; you wanted to apologize again to Gyomei and tell him how his idea had helped.

So when you saw the gentle giant waiting by the door once again, you had met him on his doorstep this time.

A light smile sat on his face. "Good Morning"

"Good morning," You and Miki said in unison.

"I have tea inside again if you want to join me," Gyomei asked. His hands were once again draped with those red beads.

Miki's eyebrows furrowed as he watched.

"Sure, did you know I would stay today too?" You teased.

"No, I just hoped you would." Slight desperation tangled in his voice.

You held his gaze this time, and you watched as his eyes slowly teared up.

He must have some serious allergies, right?

"I will take Miki to his first teacher, you recall where I took you last time, correct?" he quickly blurted out, not waiting for a reply and practically sprinting inside with Miki.

You followed him inside with a big smile on your face. In moments like this, you couldn't help but laugh at him.

You felt differently about talking to him today. You trusted your gut that he was truly a loving person after your last interaction. Despite not knowing you for a long time, he ensured a level of patience and comfort with you that wouldn't make interactions feel awkward or strained.

"I am here," Gyomei projected his voice. He stood a couple of steps behind you.

Surprisingly enough, he still managed to catch up to you, open the door for you, pull out your chair, and somehow not be out of breath.

"You know if I had your stamina on Saturday, I would not have been so sore the morning after." You vaguely spoke.

"Well, what did you do Saturday?"

"I took Miki to a jumpy place, where I got beaten up by inflatable beams and children in dodgeball," you grimaced, thinking about how stupid you looked in front of children.

You didn't notice how his eyes watered once again.

But not out of sadness, he was just delighted enough to talk to someone. He knows he can be seen as stern, and to a degree, he is. He's careful who he surrounds himself with; he likes his peace. But he still yearned for a bond with someone.

And Gyomei was worried he might have scared you off, so to have you like this, talking to him freely, his cheeks could only warm up, and his palms could only be mushy.

So he couldn't hide the laugh that escaped his lips.

"Does my unathleticness and pain humour you?"

"Certainly not," he spoke, using his hand to hide his toothy smile.

You shook your head, grabbing your mug. Last time you were here, you couldn't truly enjoy the tea, but to your surprise, you did. If only it were sweeter.

"Are you enjoying your tea? Does it need more sugar?"

Being a teacher must make you have telepathy, you thought.

"Yeah, I have a bit of a sweet tooth," you shamefully admitted.

A plus of having a drastic age gap with Miki was being able to eat his Halloween candy and blaming it on the monster under his bed. So what? If you influenced his nightmares just a little, you were saving him a trip to the dentist. Your parents should be thanking you.

"Here are 3 sugar packets," you shrieked at Gyomei's voice. Snapping you out of sugar filled thoughts.

Not only did he have great stamina, but he also had to move with a certain grace that masked his every move.

"Right, thank you."

You quickly ripped the packets and poured them into your tea; you could tell the gentle giant was waiting to throw the trash away.

You grabbed his hand and gently placed the trash inside"There you go."

He quickly placed his head down and walked towards the trash can.

He walked with large strides; despite the bagginess of his pants, you could see all his leg muscles. The man was an absolute beast, from his muscular legs to his pecks that were practically about to burst out of his purple shirt.

He needs a bra.

"Do you work out a lot, or do you have God-given genetics and athleticness?"

"Work-out, I used to be underweight," He admitted

Your neck jolted out, "Seriously."

From the way his shadow alone engulfed you, you couldn't imagine him in any other manner.

"Indeed, my family struggled with money, and we had a lot of mouths to feed. To ensure everyone ate enough, I ate less. "

You stared at him and smiled," Kind people do exist, it must be a full circle moment for you to take care of the kids here and yourself. Since you're like 300 pounds."

"278 pounds to be exact," he quickly corrected

"Does that really make a difference?"

"Do you wish to find out?"

The image of his whole body lying on top of you quickly fled your mind. Surely he didn't plan to give you a hands-on lesson.

No, you're being dirty-minded

"No, just joking, but you said a lot of mouths to feed, did you have a lot of siblings?"

"I have four other siblings, but my family owned an orphanage of nine children."

Your jaw was going to fall off at this point. You can barely handle one toddler.

"Whoa, and I complain about my age gap with my brother."

"Does the gap cause problems?"

"Umm, not really problems, but discomfort. Miki was born in the middle of my second year of university. It felt weird going 20 years without a sibling and then having one. It doesn't make it any better that people always assume he's my son, too."

"But from your excitement of telling how your plans went, I can assume that the bond is getting stronger." Gyomei smiled.

"You're right, I can see why you're a teacher, I think it's a job reserved for the gentle heart and strong-minded, of course."

The more you talked to Gyomei, the more shocked you were that he wasn't taken. Either he has some obscene secret he kept and wouldn't let anyone near him.

Or he was just a little shy.

A part of you wanted to stay and talk with him, but you had class, and he had work. You felt a little intrusive; you heard the students gradually coming in, yet there he sat, sipping his tea and chatting with you.

Gyomei wouldn't know that this interaction eased you. The flow of words that made your cheeks heat up and made you want to stay. Some part of you thought it was pathetic how quickly you could warm up to Gyomei. Ironic that you call out your mom for her fake kindness yet it only took around a week or two for you to trust Gyomei.

Maybe you were naive and couldn't help yourself from plunging face-first into disasters.

You gently rose. " I know your school day is about to start soon, so I'll leave. I don't wish to mess up your schedule any further."

"Nonsense, you're on my schedule."

You quickly dropped his gaze. You couldn't hold his seriousness when he wasn't aware of how sweet he was.

"Well, have a good rest of the day," you muttered quickly

You didn't leave in tears, but rather fear of what a cup of tea could do to your heart.

A/N: Finally finished this part!

[peachygal-1009]

𝘛𝘖𝘓𝘋 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘐 𝘓𝘐𝘒𝘌 𝘎𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘓𝘌 𝘎𝘐𝘈𝘕𝘛𝘚, 𝘚𝘖 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘚𝘖𝘍𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘌𝘋 𝘜𝘗 𝘱𝘵2

Synopsis: University isn't cheap. Fortunately, your parents live 30 minutes away from campus. Unfortunately, you have to take care of your nerdy brother. Until you realize your parents have already sorted that out and that the local preschool teacher has an afternoon program. Your only job is to drop your brother off and pick him back up. But why is his teacher so considerate? Not just towards the kids but towards you?

Pairing: f!reader x teacher! Gyomei Himejima

Content: Modern au, no demons, slight angst, slight age gap (reader is 23 and Gyomei is 27), reader has mommy issues, fluff, hurt/comfort, and happy ending!

Word count: 7k

Part 1. Part 2 Part 3

It had been an entire week and 2 days since you had started this “arrangement.”

Within that time window, Gyomei had noticed some rather strange things.

Every morning and afternoon, you would come or leave with a different cup of coffee from different cafes.

Who knows, maybe you just needed that extra rush in the morning to fill your day, he first thought.

But then you told him you pick up: “I pick Miki right on the dot, so I have enough time for my work and for both of us to go to bed early.”

Yet your dark eye circles were as obvious; frankly, it looked like you had never seen a bed before.

Now, he wasn't chastising your diet or your decisions; he was just worried about your health and well-being.

And Miki, of course.

He intended to talk to you before the first week ended, but he felt shy.

An unfamiliar feeling for him. He could talk to children, parents, teachers, etc. Without a sliver of fear, yet with you, he thought of every syllable that came out of his mouth.

He quickly realized you didn’t fear him, and he desired to keep it that way.

In truth, he could count on both hands how many friends he had. Pitiful. When he compares all the experiences and conversations he wished to have with others.

He felt like maybe you two could form something; this road was very unclear to him. But what was clear was that he needed to take action; he didn’t know how long this arrangement would last.

So he decided to take up a bit more of your time this morning, over tea.

“Goodbye, Miki, have a good day!” You gently pushed him towards Gyomei.

At least one of you could have fun—the things you would do to swap your heavy textbooks for Miki’s colouring book.

“Would you enjoy tea?” his silky voice cut through your thoughts.

“Someone's nosey,” you quickly added.

You didn't intend to sound so sassy, but it felt like he was gently pulling you into some friendly interrogation.

“The children will be with the other teachers, and I have donuts.”

Your lips curled. “Are you baiting me into conversation?”

“I don't like the word baiting, I prefer starting a conversation,” he said. A gentle smile tugging at his lips

That broke the damn containing the laughter behind your lips. “You'd better have good tea.”

So what if you gave in? It’s not like having tea together would become a normal occurrence.

Gyomei silently led Miki to the other teacher.

“This is Miki’s eldest sister.” Gyomei introduced.

“Nice to meet you, just call me Rengoku,” he beamed.

His orange and red hair reflected his fiery, passionate personality. Those few words he stated felt similar to a heartfelt speech.

You smiled and gestured with your hand. Rengoku shook your hand, grabbing it like a bear, quickly getting a squeal out of you.

His smile only intensified. “You and your brother both react the same way.”

Normally, you would freeze from embarrassment, but from the sheer strength of this brute, you feel your reaction is normal.

“We’ll leave you to it.” Gyomei softly spoke. Not intruding nor interrupting.

You glanced at Rengoku one last time before mumbling, “See you next time.”

Gyomei had started leading you to a new room. A circular table sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by green-painted walls that were covered with children's charts, but to your surprise, burning tea already sat on the table.

“Did you already know you would win me over?” you asked. Quickly analyzing the room.

He hummed in response,” Who declines donuts?”

That must be one of his “prepared” jokes, you thought, heading to grab and pull out the black seat.

His hand met the chair before you could first say, “What a gentleman.” You said.

He gently pulled out the chair before heading to his own.

sniffle, sniffle, sniffle.

Was he crying? Were you harsh, or did the man have some indoor allergies?

“I wanted to talk about Miki,” he briefly paused.

“Miki is a smart kid; he’s already pretty decent at reading, but when he gets emotional, his words and his work become rather difficult.”

Your cheeks heated up, following the slow movement of your chest. You knew where this was going.

“He speaks in fast mannerisms, his words slur together, and his classwork shows rashness and lack of care. Recent events have ruffled his feathers. It's easy to upset children, let alone toddlers. Children can be quite the followers. Which leads me to ask: how are you?”

Your eyes squinted in bafflement,” Me?” you questioned

“Weren’t we talking about Miki?”

“We were, see children learn from what they see, feel or hear. When we act in discomfort, they feel it. I don’t believe you are intentionally disturbing your brother. But, he feels upset by a new schedule you aren’t “happily” abiding by.”

Your eyes fell, and your feet shuffled beneath the table.

You hated this. The feeling of being read felt humiliating. This horrible dynamic between the two of you had to cease. Who was Gyomei to tell you that he could stick his nose in your business?

“So what, am I supposed to tell my brother the only reason I’m around so much is that I made a dumb decision. That led to me having to end my lease at my apartment, move back in with my parents, under the condition that I watch him?” you spat.

“Should I just vent all my problems to a 3-year-old?”

You hated how defensive it came out, but it was all you knew. Everything in these last couple of months felt like each step you made was a screw-up. Ones that no one bothered to help you with. And now here Gyomei is telling you how your stupid actions have impacted your sweet gremlin of a brother.

It didn't help that Gyomei had his life together; he owned a school for crying out loud, and you were drowning in problems you caused.

Grind, Grind, Grind,

His red beads draped his hands as he slowly moved them.” A conversation is the exchange of emotions, not just a mere vent. Obviously, there are words a toddler shouldn't hear, but if you truly want a connection with your brother, there has to be some give.”

“That sounds easier said than done,” you quickly added.

“Then talk to me. Allow me to help you decide how to tell Miki.”

You let out a big exhale,” I feel like a child.”

You didn't imagine your brother's teacher would teach you something, too.

“Communication is a skill that you must cater to like a plant. I know you may think I am judging you for your methods. But I promise you I don't judge your methods, I am just struggling to understand your well-being.” he paused.

“I am not saying to stop your methods, I am saying include Miki with your methods. Instead of just going to the cafe by yourself, you could bring him with you, buy him a sweet treat or a drink to start his day, and then bring him here. Both of you are going through changes in your schedule; you might as well bond over it.”

Gyomei didn't sound like a smart alec, no, he sounded wise from experience. Did he actually care about you?

He didn't scrutinize you; he just gave a recommendation.

All you could do was silently nod and sip your tea.

You had bit Gyomei’s head off before he had a chance to speak. You were so used to having to defend yourself alone, you didn't know what it felt like to actually have someone care enough to notice the thought behind your action.

To see you as more than just a control freak with an attitude.

“Thank you, I will work with that information,” you quietly spoke.

Your throat heated up as your eyes watered.

The room suddenly took on a chill.

You weren't an angry person, so why did you bite so easily?

“I’ll see you at 5:30,” you say quickly, dismissing yourself, not giving Gyomei any time to blink.

You needed to go.

Quickly.

A/N: This ended up being a little longer than intended, but that's ok. 🍓

[peachygal-1009]

ᴛᴏʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ɪ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ ɢɪᴀɴᴛꜱ, ꜱᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴏꜰᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ

Synopsis: University isn’t cheap. Fortunately, your parents live 30 minutes away from campus. Unfortunately, you have to take care of your nerdy brother. Until you realize your parents have already sorted that out and that the local preschool teacher has an afternoon program. Your only job is to drop your brother off and pick him back up. But why is his teacher so considerate? Not just towards the kids but towards you?

Pairing: f!reader x teacher! Gyomei Himejima

Content: Modern au, no demons, slight angst, slight age gap (reader is 23 and Gyomei is 27), reader has mommy issues, fluff, hurt/comfort, and happy ending!

Word count: 6k

Part 1. Part 2 Part 3

Throughout K-12, you were an unmistakable prodigy.

Winning spelling bees, Straight A honour rolls, hell, you even won the science fair one year without even trying.

But even with a full-ride scholarship, you were still struggling.

By some miracle, you managed to fill the money gaps that your scholarship didn’t.

And you practically leapt out of the dorms when you finally saved up enough money to rent an apartment with your “Best Friend”.

But one time of “Hey, could you cover the water bill this month” turned into “Come on, this will be the last time you have to cover my part of the rent, pinky promise” as her pretty manicured finger danced in your face.

You should have swatted it out of your face, demanding that she pay her own share of the rent, but you waited too long. And like a thief she ditched.

Leaving you at your parents’ mercy, and in their mind, they made you a “gracious deal.”

You could come back home and live rent-free and be their all-time glorified nanny.

Which led to your current predicament: a whiny, Cheeto-fingered 3-year-old in your back seat, damaging all of your gorgeous sky blue exterior you worked so hard to put in all by yourself.

Because at 48 and 55, your parents thought:

“Wow! Even though my daughter just graduated, I am going to have another child, then have my eldest help me take care of them while I still live my life.”

But free living is free living so you'll take what you can get.

“Come on, please get out of the car,” you desperately begged.

You didn't oversleep.

No, you underslept out of sheer fear of screwing this up, having to go back to sleeping in a cramped car and pretending your body isn't in shambles the next day.

The full moon taunted you. Reminding you of your current nanny-like duties that required being up early to drop off a real-life gremlin.

“Miki, I swear!” You plunged into the backseat, ready to do everything imaginable to get him out.

“NO!” He quickly protested, “Early… too early the sun not out,” he babbled on. His tiny fingers were turning red from the tight grip of his stuffed elephant and the seatbelt.

“Fine,” you mumbled before snatching the elephant and holding it over his head.

“NOO…. TOO EARLY….” his eyes quickly fell as his babbling quit for a brief moment. “ I come out now.”

Maybe your big sister authority had kicked in, or you just failed to realize the colossus titan behind you.

“Does he usually cause you problems?” a smooth tone questioned.

You spun only to see the reason your brother quit his tantrum.

Him.

He was huge, like “stand in front of me so you can block the sun,” huge. You could only imagine him as Godzilla in a classroom setting, wiping out every ruler, pencil, or God forbid, a child in his path.

“Unfortunately, there's not much a 23-year-old and a 3-year-old can bond over,” you say, glancing at the ground.

Should you feel ashamed that a man who only knew your brother for 4 months had more of a bond with him than you?

Grind, grind, grind. “ How pitiful.”

His red shiny beads rubbing together quickly got your attention to how massive his hands were.

“Right. From now on, I will be the one bringing Miki and picking him up.”

“We can mend this relationship now,” he firmly said. His broad shoulders lightly moved, his hands remaining in motion.

A giggle escaped your lips.

“I haven’t said any of my jokes yet” His voice eased as he set his beads in his black pants and patted Miki’s head

“Do you usually have jokes prepared?”

His eyebrows furrowed with confusion. “I work with toddlers; everything must be prepared.”

You had only now noticed the bushes trimmed to perfection, the trimmed grass, and the exterior's perfect balance of warm wood and smooth metal. Of course, only someone earnest could pull this off.

In fact, he probably planned every step of the day in some journal.

Yet, he believed he had the time to “fix” your and your brother's relationship.

Debatable.

“Can I have snuggles back, please?” your brother pleaded.

“Right!” You practically leapt to return his plushie. This interaction was supposed to be cute and short, but your brother's shenanigans hindered that

“ Thank you, Mr….”

“Gyomei is alright.”

Gyomei didn’t intend to watch you drive away, but he also didn’t intend to become.

Concerned.

He had a schedule, a comfortable one. He wasn’t joking when he said he had jokes planned; people are uncomplicated when they're satisfied.

All he wanted was to make his work day easier for the children and the parents. It took him months to even get 1 single student because of his past. And now he has been gifted with thirteen.

But like a rotten apple in a basket of good apples. Their moods influence each other, and it was blatantly obvious that your little brother was upset.

He stuck out his lips and bound his arms around his chest.

“Too early and too mean” was all Miki uttered.

Unknowingly, you had interrupted his schedule; anyone with eyes could see that. But Gyomei didn't see you waking Miki up early maliciously, but rather out of unfamiliarity.

The twitch in your voice didn’t escape him; it wasn’t mere annoyance but utter exhaustion.

Exhaustion that was somehow infectious to your brother.

Yet, you flipped some enchanted switch and laughed at him.

He didn’t find himself that funny.

And with his past, he knows that the parents of the students surely didn’t think so at first glance.

But that doesn’t matter; he can help these children have a better education and a better childhood than he did.

Now, you were anything but a child, but he would still share a similar goal.

He would mend this relationship; you might have laughed in his face today, but he would return that laugh soon.

A/N: Hiiii, this is my first work, so please feel free to leave any constructive criticism. Hope you enjoyed!

[lilacgrayskies]

☁︎⋅ gojo leaving his infinity on after an argument

the argument wasn’t even that serious. at least, that’s what satoru told himself.

something about him being reckless. something about you not understanding. voices raised enough to sting. it was one of those fights that settled between pride and apology.

you went quiet first. that should’ve been the first sign. 

satoru leaned against the wall, arms crossed, pretending like he wasn’t watching you from the corner of his eye as you paced the room. the air felt tense, too tense. he hated that feeling.

“so…” he said lightly, cocking his head. “you done being mad at me yet?”

you stopped and turned to him. your expression wasn’t angry anymore. and somehow that was worse.

“I wasn’t just being mad, satoru.”

he shrugged, forcing a grin. “yeah, yeah. you were being emotionally invested, same difference.”

it was a bad joke, he knew it the second it left his mouth. but instead of taking it back, he doubled down, because that’s what he did best. deflect. distract. make it lighter before it could get heavy.

before it could get real.

you walked toward him slowly, something soft but fragile in your eyes. “can you not do that right now?”

“do what?” he asked, a little too quick.

“this,” you gestured vaguely, like you didn’t even know what to call it. “joking everything away.”

there it was again, that tight feeling in his chest. he hated that you were upset, and he hated it even more that he was the reason for it. so he did what he always did when something (someone) got too close. 

he smiled.

that rehearsed, easygoing smile that he gave everyone. the one he plastered on his face when his students walked in the room. the one he gave utahime as she threw a cup of tea at him. the one he gave suguru when…

“c’mon,” he said, voice teasing and lighthearted. “you love it.”

“I love you,” you corrected softly.

that should’ve been enough to stop him, it should’ve cracked something open. instead, it made his chest tighten, panic curling somewhere he refused to acknowledge. so when you stepped closer, your hand reached for him. your hand stopped just before his chest.

he didn’t turn his infinity off.

there was a breath of space between you. untouchable. invincible. a small reminder of the difference between you and him. 

satoru smirked automatically, like it was a game. “woah, sweets, you almost got me.”

silence. not the usual kind. not the comfortable quiet you shared late at night. this one felt…hollow. 

you didn’t pull your hand away immediately. for a second, it hovered there, like maybe, just maybe, you thought it was an accident. like he’d drop it any second. like maybe he wanted you to reach him.

“right,” you said softly. and you lowered your hand. the look on your face hit him a second too late.

oh.

oh.

he straightened, his smirk faltering. “hey, wait I-”

“you left it on.”

it wasn’t a question. you didn’t sound angry. and somehow, that made it worse.

“I was just playing, baby,” he said quickly, waving a hand like he could brush it off. “you know, like-”

“you didn’t want me to touch you.”

satoru opened his mouth, then closed it once he realized there was nothing to say. that wasn’t what he meant, right?

you took a step back, putting actual distance where there had only been invisible space before. 

“you always do this,” you said, voice still painfully calm. “you push me away. you joke, you disappear, or…” your voice cracked. “you make it so I can’t even reach you.”

his chest tightened. “that’s not- I wasn’t-”

“then what was it, Satoru?”

he didn’t have an answer. well, he didn’t have a good answer. the truth sat ugly and exposed between his ribs.

safer. it felt safer like this. to be untouchable. unreachable. untangled. because the last time he let someone in… he chose to forget about that.

but you. you were already too close.

“...I wasn’t thinking,” he muttered, quieter now.

“yeah,” you let out a small, humorless breath

you turned away slightly, like you needed space to steady yourself. “I’m not asking for much. I just…I need to know that you actually want me here.”

something in him cracked.

“satoru,” you said, softer now, almost tired. “I can’t keep reaching for you if you’re just-”

“I do.”

the words came out rushed. immediate. 

satoru ran a hand through his hair, the usual ease gone completely. “I do want you here.”

silence stretched again, but this time it was different. fragile, honest. he swallowed, forcing himself to keep going even though every instinct screamed at him to stop. to laugh. to run.

“I just don’t know how to not ruin it,” he said softly.

you turned back slowly. his hands dropped to his sides now, fingers flexing like he didn’t know what to do with them. “I’ve spent my whole life keeping distance,” he said, voice quieter than you’d ever heard it. “it’s easier…it’s safe.”

he let out a small, breathless laugh. “when you’re the strongest, people either want something from you…or they leave.”

your expression softened, but you didn’t interrupt.

“I guess…I got used to it. being alone. being untouchable,” he murmured. “then you came along and I realize that…it’s not enough.”

satoru looked at you, really looked at you. no blindfold, no mask, no jokes to hide behind. just his piercing blue eyes staring into yours. 

“I didn’t turn infinity off,” he admitted, the words feeling heavy and sour. “because for a second…I panicked.”

he laughed weakly. “I’ve never felt panic before. it’s stupid, right?”

“it’s not,” you whispered.

“but it is,” he insisted, shaking his head. “you weren’t trying to hurt me. you were just reaching…for me.”

the weight of his actions settled in his chest. 

“I’m sorry,” he said.

no teasing. no deflection. 

“I didn’t realize how much it would hurt you until I saw your face,” he said. “I never want you to look at me like that again.”

you hesitated, slowly stepping closer. cautious, like you were approaching something fragile. “can I try again?” you asked softly.

in that moment, satoru’s breath caught in his throat. he didn’t move. didn’t joke. didn’t run. he closed his eyes, letting the mask melt away. it felt strange, peeling away armor he wore for so long.

your hand reached out again.

and this time, it touched him. warm. real.

he let out a breath, like he haydn’t relized he’d been holding it. your fingers curled lightly against his shirt, grounding yourself.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you said softly.

he leaned into your touch, his body relaxing. “...that’s what scares me,” he admitted.

“I know,” you smiled, sad but gentle. “but I’m still here.”

satoru looked at you, his blue eyes soft and unsteady. “yeah…” he murmured. 

slowly, he pulled you in, enveloping you in his arms. his touch was gentle, like it was something new. something he was still learning how to hold.

masterlist

© lilacgrayskies on tumblr

{dividers from @/cursed-carmine}

[anniewinniie]

conductorjo

[satosugusthirdwheel]

Run To You...

synopsis: An arranged marriage with playboy, nepo baby Ryomen Sukuna is anything but pleasant. He's cruel, cold and completely disinterested in you. He doesn't want you at all, even if you try to be the perfect, polished wife you'd been groomed into being. He makes it clear that he'd rather have any other woman. After his infidelity leaves you running out of the estate, hiding in a park for a semblance of peace, you meet Satoru. He's nerdy, and kind, with soft eyes and a sweet smile. He talks to you like you're someone special, plays games with you like it's okay to be childish, and cares about you. At first, you're unaware that Satoru, the beautiful snowy-haired man with the eyes that sparkle, is from the Gojo family, the biggest rival of your husband and his family.

Will you finally find freedom in Satoru Gojo? Or be forced to burn with Ryomen Sukuna?

warnings: NSFW, 18+ mdni. angst (arguments, themes of: forced/arranged marriage, abuse, control, infidelity, power dynamics.- sukuna & readers parents are the worst) sexual content/smut, fluff, comfort (not at first).

chapters: ch1- 2.9k; ch2-2.3k; ch3-4.4k; ch4-4.9k; ch5-3.1k

[tonycries]

"It might just have everything to do with you, MADAM GOJO."

To love Gojo Satoru was to love death himself - and dead men tell no tales. But that means they can’t keep secrets either…

When the most infamous clan leader in all of Japan asks, everyone answers. When he draws his blade, everyone falls. And when he seeks a wife, everyone scrambles to accomplish either one of two things - to make a name for themselves as the madam of the esteemed, elusive Gojo household or to simply make it out of there alive.

Embarrassingly rejected by the council of elders, and stumbling upon truths about the family that might get you killed - or worse - none of this had anything to do with you, right? Right?

Turns out, it might just have everything to do with you, Madam Gojo.

A/N. Ahhhh I'm so excited to finally be posting this ehehe!! This is just a teaser and I'll be uploading the clan leader!Gojo series onto AO3. I'm undecided as to whether I'll post on Tumblr due to my schedule, but trust daddy when I say the next chapter will be more fleshed-out, until then have a lovely day <33

[getopilleds]

where the lights drift | r. sukuna

You've spent your whole life locked away in a tower. lonely, aching, and staring at the floating lights from afar. enter: Sukuna.

content: non-graphic violence, physical restraint/captivity, threats/coersion, home invasion?? LMFAO, implied criminal activities, manipulation ig, power imbalance in a way? enemies to allies, themes of isolation/sheltered upbringing. not proofread sorry for any mistakes scratches head! as always likes, comments, and reblogs are very much appreciated <3

wc: 2.5k

check out my masterlist for more works like this one <3

You didn't mean to knock him out.

It just sort of happened.

What else were you meant to do? Some intruder just climbed into your tower carefully hidden in the forest, far from civilization.

Panic rushed through your veins as soon as he turned, his eyes sharp and analyzing, already one step ahead of you. In a moment of poor timing and even worse judgment, the frying pan striked the back of his head.

You're not exactly great at making good decisions, clearly. But you panicked! And this is self defense, right?

The pink-haired intruder drops, hard.

The sound of it echoes against the tower walls.

You're frozen as you stare at his unmoving figure sprawled across your floor. Your heart is slamming so violently you're sure it might rouse him.

"Oh god." You whisper to yourself. Your grip on the frying pan in your hand tightens. Is he breathing?

It's perfect timing that mother's just left for a long trip, you think. She'd have an aneurysm if she witnessed this.

A soft frown settles on your lips as you think about her. The argument about the lights you'd had just before she left.

You push that to the side. There are currently way bigger problems at hand.

Like what the hell you're gonna do with this stranger's unconscious body.

You tilt your head, taking him in. A quick inspection to help you actually decide what you'll do with him. Mother's warned you insistently to be cautious of the outside world.

"This world can be so cruel, my flower." She'd crooned to you, tone dripping in candy-like sweetness. "Full of ruffians. Men who will lie to you, hurt you."

You swallow the nerves building in your throat and focus.

You brace yourself for the worst.

But his features are...human. Too human to match the grandiose descriptions mother always gave you on men. He does look a little intimidating. Broad, brutish shoulders and a scowl that looks permanently settled on his lips.

But you suppose you'd look the same too if you were hit clean in the head with a heavy kitchen utensil.

You take a small, careful step forward. "Not a ruffian." You murmur to yourself, almost amazed. So mother was wrong, in some sense. The outside world wasn't entirely dangerous.

A small, snow-white chameleon with piercing blue eyes perched on your shoulder clicks his tongue. Like he's saying Are you sure about that?

"I'm sure." Your shaky voice replies as you glance back at your lizard friend. You're unsure who it is you're trying to convince. "Just..for now."

Gojo makes a noise like a snort. Your eyes return to the body, heart racing when you realize just how limp his limbs look. "Oh, no." you panic, dropping to your knees and pressing two fingers to his neck.

You could cry as you find a pulse, steady. A long sigh of relief escapes you and you have to sit back on your feet. "Okay. You're okay." You assure like he can even fucking hear you.

Your eyes catch, then, on the satchel slung at his side. It's a brown and worn thing, but it calls for your attention immediately. The strap is twisted to his side, having taken the fall with him.

Curiosity eats at you. Caution argues back.

For a moment, you hesitate.

Satoru is like the little devil on your shoulder, hopping off and crawling over to nudge at the flap of the bag.

So, you reach for it. "...Just checking."

It opens easily.

There's something cold and solid inside, hidden under a folded cloth. As you pull it free, your breath catches.

A crown.

Gems set deep and softly glittering in the sunlight that filters through the tower's singular entrance.

It looks valuable, irreplaceable .

You glance back at him, still unconscious.

A stupid, careless idea sparks in your mind the longer you hold it.

This could very well be irreplaceable. Something dear to this man.

You could use it as leverage.

You clutch it closer to your chest. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why he risked climbing your tower for this. Why he looked so determined as he panted when he made it in.

Clearly, it's stolen.

The rational part of you tells you maybe you should turn him in. But how would you manage that? You've never left the safe confines of this tower.

You can't wait for mother to get back. What if he awakens? What if he's angry beyond belief and tries to hurt you?

You realize that even now that is still a very real possibility, on either path you decide to take.

You sigh heavily as you come to terms with today's events.

How did you get here?

୨♡୧

How the fuck did I get here?

The thought runs through Sukuna's mind, slumped in a chair with literal hair wrapped around his limbs like chains.

Just a couple of hours ago he'd been running.

Sprinting through narrow alleyways and rooftops, the loud sound of royal horses hooves hitting the ground as the guard chased behind him.

and now he's here. tied to a chair.

He doesn't struggle, but he very well could. He simply stares at your figure in the corner, pacing back and forth and whispering to someone...yourself?

He squints and furrows his eyebrows. You're hands are cupped together like you've got something in them, ranting. His eyes catch a flash of white. Is that a fucking lizard?

He thinks maybe he'd prefer it if the guards had captured him instead. You still haven't realized he's woken up, and Sukuna doesn't have patience. "Sit still, would you?" He barks.

You startle, jumping hard and nearly throwing the animal in the air. Said animal squeaks too, and Sukuna swears it glares at him when it settles again.

You quickly place Toru down and whip your frying pan back out again, inching closer and circling around Sukuna like you're hunting him. He might've snorted if he wasn't so annoyed.

"How did you find this place?" You try for demanding, but it falls short and sounds entirely too shaky. The deadpan expression on his face doesn't change.

He only looks to grow increasingly agitated the longer he's tied up.

You fight off the impulse to tuck tail and run, standing your ground as you thrust the pan closer to his face. "Answer me."

He lets out a sharp, impatient breath.

"and why should I answer any of your demands, brat?" He snarls, tugging on the restrains that are your hair. He had gotten over the initial shock of that a couple of minutes ago. It's actually quite sturdy, much to his dismay. "How the fuck do you carry around this shit?"

You opt to ignore his comment. His attitude was starting to tick you off, too. He's tied up, completely out of control of this situation, and still managing to be snarky. "You broke into my home!"

"It was on the way?" The corner of his lips twitches just a touch.

Your jaw sets firmly, grip on the handle of your weapon tightening. "I'm sorry, is this funny to you?"

Sukuna shrugs. "It's a little unserious."

"There are many places to seek refuge around here. Caves." you're bluffing, trying to sound like you know what you're talking about. You've only ever seen the outside world just outside your windowsill.

"I figured here'd be empty." He deadpans. "You know. Because no sane person lives this far from the kingdom lest they're in trouble."

You bristle at his implication. "I am perfectly sane."

"Hm." Red eyes flicker from you over to the chameleon you were chatting it up to earlier, also glaring at him very similarly. "Debatable."

You turn away from him with a huff rather than dignify his taunt. He doesn't ask where you're going as you walk some ways away. He doesn't really care.

With a roll of his eyes he tries again to, uselessly, tug himself free.

"You won't be able to free yourself, y'know." You call without turning back to look at him. Your hands brush the velvet of the curtain you've hidden your desires personified behind. You go to pull them back when you hear a clutter.

You're head whips around.

Sukuna looks beyond pissed, still tied to the chair and now uselessly thrown against the floor. You hum, pleased, but don't make a witty remark like you know he'd do if the roles were reversed.

You sharply tug at the trail of your hair behind you, swiftly setting the chair back up onto its legs. "Alright, Mr. Intruder." You begin, turning back to your masterpiece just behind the curtain.

Despite his frustration, Sukuna finds his brows jutting. "You don't know who I am?"

It isn't out of a place of cockiness.

okay, maybe just a little. I mean, come on. He's one of the most notorious criminals around the kingdom. He's on wanted posters throughout.

"Should I?" You quip back, furrowing your own brows.

"Sukuna." He drawls, zeroing in on you. "Doesn't ring any bells?"

You stare at him like he's grown two heads.

He's never found a single soul capable of making him so humiliated. "Forget it." he snaps.

"As I was saying." Your glare isn't meek anymore. It's truly annoyed. "Sukuna. I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

Sukuna's fingers tap rather impatiently against the arm of the chair his hand is strapped to. "Has anyone ever told you how much nerve you have?"

You finally pull back the drapes. Behind it lies a mural, from the ceiling nearly to the floor. The night sky is painted wide and deep, stretching rich blues and purples over the walls. It's dotted with almost hundreds of orbs, yellow and nearly glowing as they drift upwards. They're imperfect, hand-painted.

But admittedly beautiful nonetheless.

You finally turn back to him, nervously playing with your hands but still trying to keep your confidence. "Do you know what these are?"

He looks back to the painting and finds it does look familiar. "You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?" He grumbles, resigned.

He found that whole ceremony quite foolish. The princess has been missing for twenty years and counting. The King and Queen couldn't seriously still be hoping she'd reappear?

She was probably dead, and that's the best case scenario.

Lanterns. Your heart soars. So that's what they are. Mother always insisted you were being silly. Told you over and over again that they're merely stars. You nod once at his words.

"Well." You continue, chewing the inside of your cheek nearly raw. "I have a favor to ask."

"No." came Sukuna's reply, blunt and straight to the point.

If you were a worse person, you would have already swung your frying pan back into his skull. Your eye nearly twitches. "I haven't even told you what it is yet."

"I'm preemptively declining."

You blink, a breath of air escaping your nose. "Is everyone out there this rude?"

"Oh, worse." He smirks.

You won't let yourself be shaken, though. Not when this is all you've ever wanted. You study him for a long moment. Then, wordlessly, you spin him away from you with another tug of your locks so he can't see your actions.

You turn and walk towards the stairs leading up to your room, lifting the loose wood from one, and pulling out the satchel he came in with.

You stalk towards him, determination glinting in your eyes. You step in front of him, dangling the object from one finger in front of his face.

Sukuna goes very still.

His hands instinctively try to shoot out and snatch it, but the chair beneath him only rattles with his effort. You can nearly see the vein in his forehead.

"Where did you get that?"

You keep your victorious smirk restrained. "This old thing? Well, i found it alongside you."

Sukuna's jaw tightens. "Put that down."

You hug the satchel closer to your chest. "Take me to see the floating lights."

"That's what you're fucking doing all this for?" He grunts. "Answer's still no."

Your head tilts. "You don't sound as confident as you did before."

"I'm doing you a favor by not taking that by force." A lie. He's very heavily restricted by your hair. Is it some sort of damn magic?

You seem to know it too, unshaken and growing even more sure of yourself by the second. He despises it.

"Listen." He says, slowly, like a parent explaining to an overeager child why they can't have a toy. "You release me. You give me that satchel, and I leave. Peacefully. It's not something I do often, but I'm extending you that grace. Best favor you're gonna get."

You shake your head, just feeling his hardened resolve slowly crumbling. "The lights." You demand.

Sukuna will not lose it in front of you. Never has a woman tested his patience like this before. Usually, they scoff and turn away or he has them in his bed at whatever inn he managed to frighten his way into.

But you're unlike other women. You're strange. Immune to his charms and unafraid of him. He doesn't let his anger reach a breaking point.

He doesn't understand why you don't just get up on out of here yourself. But then again, you had hair that probably extended from this tall tower all the way to the ground below and you talked to that stupid chameleon like he could understand you.

He doubts you've ever gone outside.

He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and counts to three.

When his crimson eyes open again, his expression is flat and deeply annoyed.

"Fine."

The unseen tenseness in your body loosens, an exhilarating and thrilling feeling bursting through your being.

"But let me be clear." He goes on, glaring still. "We are not friends. I am not your damn guardian. This isn't a tour. I'm accompanying you as a courtesy to get my satchel back and be done with this."

Your eyes are practically lit up, and you're bouncing on your toes. "But you'll take me?"

"Yes." Sukuna snaps. "Only to the lights. Then back. Then I leave."

You make quick work of scrambling back over to the hiding spot you originally placed his satchel in. You peek over your shoulder to make sure he isn't watching before putting it away.

He'll get it back once he completes his quest.

Sukuna's booted foot taps against the planks rather impatiently as you begin unravelling your hair from around him.

You honestly start to feel a touch bad for him. Maybe you were being a little bit crazy. But wasn't he the one who broke in here?

"For what it's worth," You break the silence, softly, like you're afraid to speak after making literal demands of him. "Thank you."

Sukuna merely scoffs in return. "Don't thank me yet. You're gonna learn soon why I'm terrible company."

You smile at his seriousness. "I think you'll be fun."

Sukuna ignores the ache in his chest at your expression. He snorts instead. "You're wrong already."

a/n: yes this IS a tangled au. i was rewatching it and my mind seems to be plagued by sukuna these days so. y'know, this is the result. I WAS NOT INTENDING FOR THIS TO BE OVER LIKE 5OO WORDS. idkkk should i make this a series..?? would u guys wanna be tagged if i do? lmk! it was gonna be a oneshot but honestly im kind of attached now. anyway hope u guys enjoy this one!! one of my favs by far.

[whatsgoesaround-cums-around]

His greatest Ally

PART ONE: Problem Solver

Heian Era Sukuna x concubine!reader

CW: Implied rough sex (NOT READER), so much historical politics, BAMF!reader, smart!reader, courtroom politics

SLOW BURN THIS IS SFW

a/n i did so much research but at somepoint i gave up. some things are historically accurate and some arent, idc, i just want my historical drama.

A noble woman such as yourself has been made into the Emperor's concubine, and frankly you could do worse. But little things are slipping between the cracks, and you've never been one to stand back when something can be done- so you do what you do best. Quietly solve problems. However, there's a new problem, the Emperor wants to know who's been doing the work of ten people- and he want's to know now.

It'd been two weeks since you had joined the Emperor's harem. You and two other women at his beck and call. Soji- convinced she's to be the Empress, constantly trying to win favor in court; and Hana- sweet but if the noises you've heard are to be believed, she likes it rough.

Then you. Eldest daugter of a noble family, raised in the very courts you now watched idly. The only thing you're to do in court is look pretty. It's.... frusterating to say the least. Especially considering you were literally made for this. Your eyes are fixed on everyone- reading body language like Soji reads poetry. It's painful how these nobles lie through their teeth- and how the Empire suffers for their ass kissing.

The Emperor has been battling for weeks on end, fighting a war with a clan on the eastern border of Edo, acting as the commanding officer for the Shogunate- which while below his station he insists upon.

Of course when you first arrived you made friends with the staff. Anybody who wants to know what is happening in the palace knows that information travels by the mouth of the lower classes. It takes nothing for you to know the servants, and even less to probe just enough to establish trust, and then the flow of information.

Perhaps thats why you're the first to notice when things stop running smoothly. Someone in charge of paying the servants retires- something that was planned in advance- but due to the war there is no replacement. You hear worried murmurs from your servants about how they don't know if they'll get paid- because nobody knows the how the former financial worker organized.

two weeks of worried murmurs which build into panicked chatter finally make you enter the mans office. It takes you days to read through past ledgers, reports, all of it- but when you finish you under stand the system inside and out.

Once you learn the system it laughably easy to fill out all of the ledgers and divvy up coinage- including any missed backpay. You pass the filled out information to the treasurer- and the staff is paid. It becomes a task, something you spend your hours alone in the palace doing.

The next thing that slips through is you notice that when court meets- nobody goes over the transcript. When you realize you have to sit down for a few minutes. Court transcripts must be gone over at least twice- they're the only record of what happens in a court room- and if not checked the transcriber has the abillity to alter history itself.

So you gain another task. You start transcribing court, it takes forever, but the sanctity of the Empire is ensured. Court is meeting daily, and you record everything. However, the nobles are speaking of things, palces, and people that you are unfamiliar with. So you do some digging. You establish a simple network- you recieve weekly letters from various servants in every major noble household in Japan- and stars did it take so long to establish your network but fuck it's worth it- and from minor lords across the prefectures.

You compile....... cheat sheets? Summaries? Regardless of the termonology, you compile information. You've pages upon pages of information about various nobles, their dirty secrets, tells, goals, anything and everything. Then you condense it into just a few sheets of paper- updates on major players at the time, moves being made, and best of all places to press on to make it hurt.

Then the season changes, and someone needs to submit the next croprotation. it takes minutes, and you leave it in the courtroom. It passes with little question as to who created the plan.

Other little things like that happen, you'll edit a proposed law and leave it in the court and it will be considered, a proposal for the coming years budget, it's..... a little intoxicating knowing how much power you wield even if it's indirectly. But you continue to work, why would you stop? It keeps you busy, keepsyour mind sharp, and no one else is going to do it, so you might as well. Then The Emperor returns.

You continue as usual- except now your leaving your notes and updates in his study. You have months of information- so you leave the scrolls about each noble in court on his desk, then you set the annotated law proposals (summarizing and suggesting alterations), proposed trade routes (you know what places are struggling before the noble's do- the poor feel pain before the wealthy), and the court transcripts all on his desk.

The first few days nothing comes of it- though considering Hana and Soji are basically trapped in his private chambers you're not suprised- then you finally see him enter his study.

It's a complete coincidence- you're passing his study as you head to the gardens and his eyes flick over you. It's a brief flick of his eyes and entierly dismissive so you carry on- but as you walk away you hear a loud "What the fuck?"

You smile to yourself and head to the gardens.

Court comes three days later- apparantly people are being questioned about the notes and their involvement. But nobody realizes its you doing it all. You're not trying to be sneaky or dishonest- but if you're found out odds are they'll force you to stop- and things are running so well it'd be a shame for you to stop now.

All the concubines have been summoned to court, you're all seated to the sides of the throne. Soji and Hana sit together- murmuring quietly. Finally the Emperor enters- holdign the notes you dropped off last night. His foot steps are heavy as he walks and sits on his throne. "Silence." His voice is low. "who did this?" He holds the notes up, the court room breaks into whispers.

"Not us your majesty." The nobles say eventually.

The Emperor growls. "Then who is transcribing court? proposing trade routes? Handling financial matters?" He shouts standing up form his throne. At his outburst you realize he can't find out it's you- you value your life and he's furious. "Surely one of you knows something!"

The nobles all panic faintly buefore shaking their heads.

"Useless." He hisses, sitting down with a thump.

"Perhaps its the servants?" Sojo says looking to him. "Would they not have the combined knowledge to perform this?"

The Emperor hums. "Perhaps, but the handwriting is to well done to be a peasant."

"Does it matter who they are?" Hana asks frowning.

"Of course it matters! We know nothing of this person's motives- nor their qualifications to be handling such information!" A noble shouts.

The nobles murmur in agreement. "Perhaps its a spy- lulling us into a dependant pattern!"

You raise a brow- this is spiraling and spiraling fast. "Perhaps," You start, glancing around. "this person doesn't wish to be found. There's no name attached, this is the sort of thing that people want to claim. This is done intentionally anonymously, can we not just.... move on? When we check the validity everything lines up. Nothingis being reported incorrectly- therefore.... whats the issue?"

The Emperor meets your eyes and a shiver runs across your skin- but you maintain your face. "perhaps you're right." He murmurs finally.

Slowly court moves on, and finally you get to see the Emperor in action. He's quite the sight. He doesn't speak much, watching, listening, you can see his mind working behind his eyes, sharp and analytical.

When he speaks his voice sucks the noise from the room, it commands attention without trying. When someone proposes something absurd he quirks a brow and they fall silent. Every action is loud and purposeful.

You can't help but be charmed. He handles court sharply, as if he's still on the battlefield. As if he expects nothing but obedience and loyalty.

Sure he's ruling with an iron fist, and he's smart about it, but you can't help but feel that he could be smarter. He works with what he sees- nothing more nothing less. But it means he misses the nuance, the sublte motions and moments.

He's moving chess pieces in response to threats, zoomed into one part of the board, ignoring the subltly developing as other pieces move quiet and quick.

Lucky enough for him, you're happy to expose the sublties for him. After all, if the problem is he isn't seeing something, the solution is to show him.

Night falls, and you set another stack of papers on his desk and leave.

[zuunary]

avatar x gojo