SAFE | EREN JAEGER

SAFE | EREN JAEGER

pairing: eren jaeger × reader

cw: fluff and (mostly) angst, fear of loss/death, spoilers for the last ep. of the anime and ch. 138 of the manga.

word count: 1.1k

masterlist: all characters

a/n: i was on the zaza (sleep deprived) while writing this, so the brief representation here of the paths is probably not the most accurate, especially given how the cabin scene in the anime & manga left some people confused. either way, hope you enjoy!

The birds chirped gleefully, flying over the roof of your cabin, their sound carrying the message that it was already morning– yet another day beginning and taking away your counted time with your lover, who lay serenely asleep beside you. You observed how the warm sunshine illuminated his face, casting a golden halo around his body that made him look angelic– it distracted you from the plans he would act out in the near future that were, in fact, the opposite of angelic. But pretending didn't hurt, and as long as you were here, you were safe.

You didn't understand the entire complexity and operation of the paths, but they were a very welcome escape for you. After all, if you were to live in reality on earth, Eren would be away from you, tormented and left alone to his own devices– instead, he built you both a home in the paths, which allowed you to run away from everything and just breathe, even if only momentarily.

As the sunlight passed between the curtains and hit his face directly, Eren slowly blinked his eyes open, looking at you.

“You should've slept some more. You seemed peaceful,” you asked, keeping a quiet tone.

“I was,” he replied, his gaze still melting into yours. “And if I got live like this by your side until my death, I'd live in peace.”

“Then don't go.”

“I don't want to go.”

“So stay.”

“You know I can't do that," he muttered. “I have to finish my plan.”

Your expression saddened as you listened to his words. You too knew he would have to leave you for his war, and you also knew you would be alone– all your comrades would go on with their lives, and you would be thinking back to the days when you lived in fear, but in love. It was a cruel reality, the one you lived in, and it was the price you paid for loving a man whose rage and determination made him a slave to freedom. You were, logically, more than aware of the fact that no matter how much Eren Jaeger loved you, he would never put a stop to his plan.

But you could always dream. Dream about a life where the titans never invaded your childhood home, or one where they didn't exist in the first place. In your dreamscape, you could both run off and get married, and Eren would build you a home even better than the one you had at the moment. You would live far away from the bustle in your hometown, somewhere in the countryside, where your days would be serene and quiet. Outside, you would gather the dry laundry with a big basket, watching your husband walk back home with a load of freshly chopped wood in his arms. Perhaps, inside your little cottage, you could find room for children of your own– a boy and a girl, much like Eren and Mikasa– they would each have different features from their parents, both in appearance and character. What would they be like? Would they be stubborn like their father, or curious like you? The possibilities were endless, and you cherished the thought of all of them. You could be a good mother, and you wanted nothing more than to be his wife someday. Maybe in another lifetime. In this one, all you could do was daydream as you mindlessly stared at the man lying next to you in bed.

You focused your eyes on Eren's hair, strands messy from the friction against your pillowcases. He looked serious today, and you moved your dominant hand up to softly card your fingers through his hair, continuing your observation of his features.

“I wish I could stop you from doing it,” you spoke up again.

“I know.” His gaze dropped down to your collarbones.

“It's unfair, you know. I should hate you for leaving me before we even got to live...” you stopped for a second, feeling a knot form in your throat. “But even if all of our friends are going to marry and build their own families while I visit your grave, I still can't hate you.”

“I'm sorry.”

“I know,” you mutter. “I just wish things had worked out differently for us.”

“I do too. You know, when we were younger, I used to think that I would kill every titan, and then we would run away together afterwards.”

Eren's eyes met your own again, and you could sense an odd feeling of nostalgia linger in the air.

“We were so naïve back then.” You smiled, remembering your past days.

“At least now I can save all of you guys.”

You stayed in silence for a moment.

“But no one can save you.” Your hand slid down from his scalp to caress his cheek.

“You've already saved me,” he contested, placing his hand on top of yours, over his face.

“Not from death.” You felt tears well up in your eyes, threatening to fall.

“You can't stop me from dying.” He squeezed your hand slightly. “But you have stopped me from feeling like a dead man many times before.”

You reached your limit of stoicism, and what was a threat became a reality– Your eyes turned glossy and red as tears spilled out of them and fell on Eren's thumb, which brushed under your eyes and gathered your waterworks tenderly.

“What am I going to do without you?”

“Live your life freely.”

“I don't want freedom, I want you,” you choked out between sobs.

“You'll have me for as long as we're here.”

You curled up against him, letting him run his hands through your hair while your tears dried up. Despite it all, you were still with Eren, and he wasn't going to leave you just yet– so you enjoyed his presence while it lasted, listening to his heartbeat and engraving its sound and rhythm into your brain, in hopes that you would never forget it.

The two of you basked in the morning sunlight, and lay in bed curled up together until seconds turned into minutes, and you ended up losing track of time. Not very long after your tears dried, however, you tugged at Eren's shirt, gently guiding his face until his lips collided with yours, crashing like waves in a low tide– slow but impactful. Backing out to breathe, you let your fingertips ghost over his cheekbones, drinking in the sight before you like a relic, praying that all the memories you stored would stay with you for eternity.

Eren was right. You couldn't save him, and he could not stay with you forever. But as long as you were here, in your little cabin, he would be yours, and the two of you could be happy– away from the real world and the harsh truths that awaited you. It didn't hurt to play pretend. For now, you were safe.

The Aot Characters as Yanderes

Warnings: Yandere content, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, abuse, possessiveness, obsessiveness, stalking, clinginess, delusion, paranoia, overprotectiveness, mentions of kidnapping, death, manipulation, gas-lighting, mentioning of mental illnesses, murder, suicide

Mikasa Ackermann:

Typ of Yandere:

Self-sacrifice: Mikasa will do anything for you. This is clear to anyone. She is not afraid to die for you and will often risk her own life to save yours. In your normal day-to-day life, you will often find your chores are done. It will be easy to take advantage of her and honestly, she doesn't care if you use her. She is happy as long as she is able to protect you and make your life easier for you.

Obsessive: There is no time when Mikasa is not by your side. It's like she is incapable of leaving you alone for even a few seconds. She wants to know where you are and what you are doing always, so the best way to know all this is by being with you all the time, right? If you try to keep your distance or to hide from her, she isn't going to be pleased about that. She will never hurt you but now she is even more persistent.

Overprotective: For Mikasa, everything is a potential danger. She is going to decide with which people you are allowed to talk to. If she thinks a person is not good enough for you, she will straight out tell you to shut that person out of your life. And you would probably be too afraid of what she will do to them if you don't. But she is not only concerned about people. Mikasa will take care of what is the healthiest for you to eat or the best clothes for you to wear. Because of this, she is rather controlling.

How and when started the obsession:

With Mikasa I think you never really had a healthy relationship, to begin with. She was always rather protective so it was only a matter of time until it becomes overprotective.

Do they know that their feelings are unhealthy/not normal?

Subconsciously she knows it's not normal to have such intensive feelings for someone but she will push these thoughts away and justify her action by saying she has to do this if she wants to protect you.

How far are they willing to go?

Murder: Mikasa is capable of murdering someone but it wouldn't be her first choice. She will try other things before. For example, threatening that person, so they stay away from you. After all, it would be bad for your mental state if people close to you drop dead left and right.

Hurting you: Mikasa will never lay a hand on you. She is patient and can control herself well, so she will not hurt you even if you insult her or get violent because you want your freedom back. She is also not going to emotionally hurt you. Your health - physical and mental - is important to her and she will treasure that. But she is not above frightening you if you chose to disobey and risk your life.

Blackmail: She is not opposed to blackmailing other people but to do so, she would have to leave your side in order to get information about that person and she is not going to do that. If she is lucky and found some dirty information she will use it but she is not going out of her way to dig it up. For you, she will not blackmail you even if she had the information.

Kidnapping: Mikasa doesn't want to kidnap you but should you push her away or risk your life, she will see no other choice than to lock you up. It's for your own good ♡.

Punishment: Mikasa won't really punish you if you break your 'promises' but she is going to be very disappointed and that alone is scary enough. Believe me. Other than that Mikasa will use praise and gifts to get you to do what she wants. So basically she will reward you for good behavior and kinda ignore bad ones.

Final stage: Even if you reject her and no matter what she does still not accept her or even hate her, she will never resort to killing you or a murder-suicide. Though if she is not able to protect you and you die, you won't be separated for long because she will also follow you in death.

What is it overall like to have them as a Yandere?

Overall she is not the worst yandere to have. Mikasa is not dangerous and rather annoying with her constant worry over your well-being more than anything else. If you play your cards right you are able to live a pretty comfortable life. Though if you are a person, who strives for freedom and doesn't like it when others make decisions for you, you might have a hard time with Mikasa. Also, she doesn't want anything from you, like your love or affection. Of course, she will be more than happy to accept your affection, but she will not force it out of you. In the end, her only goal is to protect you. You don't have to love her for that. But even if she is patient and values you as a person, at the end of the day she is a lovesick yandere, so if you push her enough she will snap...

Eren Jäger:

Typ of Yandere:

Wrong idea: He strongly believes that the outcome he wants, is the same one you want. And he will go to great lengths to archive it. You are just misunderstood and you need him to help you because otherwise, you will never live the life you want. Or better the life he thinks you want. His savior complex plays into this as well.

Stalker: In the beginning, it really was not intentional. Eren just found himself being drawn in by the sound of your voice. But after a while, he goes out of his way to follow you where ever you go. He wants to find out what you like and with whom, you are close. Eren might even steal a few things from you while he is at it.

Overprotective: He wants nothing else than to protect you. He already lost so much. There is no way he will lose you as well. He will threaten everyone, who he sees as dangerous to you. Because of that, he is also really clingy. Eren is normal already pretty clingy, as a yandere, it is 10 times worse. He wants you to see him as your savior and hero.

How and when started the obsession:

He was always afraid that he might lose you on a mission. When you were almost eaten by a titan, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Do they know that their feelings are unhealthy/not normal?

No, not really. He is someone, who is rather obvious about his own feelings.

How far are they willing to go?

Murder: He became a scout to save humanity, so it would go against his principles to kill the same people he swore to protect. But he wouldn't hesitate to hurt and beat up anyone, who dared to harm or make the moves on you.

Hurting you: He would never hurt you intentionally. His top priority and goal in life is to protect you and not let any harm come to you. So it would be absurd for him to hurt you himself when he sacrificed so much for your well-being. But he has a rather short temper and is easy to anger. He has that much control over himself that he would never hit you or take out his anger on you. But sometimes it can happen that he grabs you more roughly to get you away from somewhere. It is not intentional and he does not notice it himself, which is why he does not apologize afterward. However, if you bring it up, he apologizes immediately.

Blackmail: He is too impatient to try and search for dirty information on someone. Also, he would always jump in right away in situations like when someone would ask you on a date. So he wouldn't really get a chance to blackmail someone. But for you, it would be different. As said before, he is a stalker, so he knows a fair share of things you wouldn't want anyone to know. He is not openly using it against you, but he would bring some stories up if they fit the situation.

Kidnapping: He values freedom more than anything. He wants to extinguish the titans so you finally get that freedom. Because of that, he would never take away your freedom.

Punishment: He will not physically punish you. If you do something you are not supposed to, he might be a bit mean to you. For example, he will tell you that he is the only one, who can protect you because you are fragile and don't know what is good for you. If you are someone, who takes things like that to heart, this might feel like a punishment to you.

Final stage: Like Mikasa, he is not going to kill you, when you reject him or push him away. But if you die, he will, first of all, take revenge on whoever did this to you, before joining you. The person or persons he will take revenge on, do not necessarily have to be connected with your death. But if he makes them responsible for it, he will not rest until they get what they deserve.

What is it overall like to have them as a Yandere?

Not the worst yandere to have, but I think worse than Mikasa. While she is fine with just knowing that you are safe, Eren would want your love and affection, after all, he always protects and helps you, so it's only fair if you reward him for it. He wants to feel loved and you are the person he chooses for that. He will also force you to be in a relationship with him if you refuse. But other than that you and your loved ones a relatively safe with him as your yandere. After all, he wants to protect you and will do anything he is capable of to preserve your emotional and physical well-being.

Armin Arlert:

Typ of Yandere:

Manipulative: He is super manipulative. Most of the time he really doesn't want to manipulate you but he can't help himself. He knows it's wrong and he feels awful afterward. But he always finds himself saying to you that, that one person he happens to not like, is in reality, talking bad about you behind your back or is a fake friend, who is just waiting for you to make a mistake. He is rather weak from the get-go but he will play a bit extra weak, so you will help him and talk to him. Of course, he knows it's out of petty but he doesn't care as long as he gets your affection.

Loneliness Induction: Armin does not target anyone you are close to but rather you. He will manipulate you into believing that it's better for you if you block the people out of your life, he thinks are bad for you. When you are alone and vulnerable Armin will take his chance to manipulate you even more, so you will only rely on him.

Harmless: Because he is so aware of his unhealthy feelings and how wrong it is to do things like that to you, he would distance himself from you, so he can't harm you anymore. He wants you to be happy, even if it is with someone else, he will accept his fate. He wasn't worthy of your companionship, to begin with, because he is so weak.

How and when started the obsession:

It started already before you even knew him. After seeing, how kindhearted you are, he couldn't help but fall for you. But because he is shy and insecure, it took him some time to actually approach you.

Do they know that their feelings are unhealthy/not normal?

Yes, he is aware since the first second they appeared. That's what makes this whole situation so hard for him. He is aware that what he does is wrong and he can't justify it.

How far are they willing to go?

Murder: He will not murder. He is already feeling guilty enough for manipulating you and your surroundings, he wouldn't know what to do with himself if he would hurt someone physically. But that wouldn't stop him from sometimes wishing that that one person, who is always flirting with you, gets eaten by a titan. For wishing something like that, he would feel bad again.

Hurting you: He would not physically hurt you, but his manipulative tactics would hurt you mentally. Armin will use your insecurities against you and hit you where it hurts the most. Anything to get you where he wants you.

Blackmail: Yes, he will blackmail the people around you. It's not hard for him to find the information he can use against them, so they stay away from you. But he would only do that if there is no other way. He will first try to manipulate you into turning away from them yourself, but if you don't do that no matter how hard he tries to push you in the direction he wants, he is going to directly confront the problem. But other than that he is not likely to interact with "obstacles".

Kidnapping: He would be capable of kidnapping you, but I think it would never come to this because he would have distanced himself from you before he would find himself at a point, where he thinks kidnapping is the only way to have you.

Punishment: He will not directly punish you, but if you did something that really hurts him -unintentionally or not - he would put obstacles in your way. For example, you really wanted to buy that limited-time item, but just that day your alarm clock didn't ring and you missed your chance because you overslept. Or right when they have your favorite food in the cafeteria it is oversalted. His little acts don't always have to happen right away but they will happen because he won't forget.

Final stage: Because Armin will leave you be after a certain time, he will not murder you or do a murder-suicide. But there is a good chance that he will kill himself after he left you. The guilt is slowly killing him from inside and then there is the fact that you are not by his side anymore.

What is it overall like to have them as a Yandere?

Armin is definitely one of the nastier yanderes to have. Yes, he will distance himself from you and your loved ones are more or less safe, but the time he is with you - be it short or not - will leave a mark on you. One shouldn't underestimate mental abuse and manipulation. There is a good chance that you will suffer from severe mental issues like paranoia, trust issues, or fear of commitment. Maybe he has even broken you to the point that you end up returning to him on your own, even though he keeps telling you that it won't end well for you...

Christa Lenz:

Typ of Yandere:

Projection: Christa always plays the role of the sweet and nice girl, everyone likes. But that's not, who she really is and she knows it. While she will never be able to be truly like the ideal and perfect person, she now has you. It doesn't matter if you are the complete opposite of her ideal in reality. She projects this ideal onto you and expects you to act like that. If you want to or not.

Manipulative: She is good at acting and no one would ever suspect her to do anything bad to you. If you try to expose her, she would be fast to act and would manipulate the others not only into believing her, but also to turn against you. So she is the only person you have. She is also very good at gas lighting. If you confront her about her unhealthy behavior, she will make you think, that in reality, you are the lovesick manipulator and she is the one, who has to put up with you. You should be grateful to her for that.

Removal: She only needs you, so you only need her, right? There is no need for other people in your life, who will just distract you from her. Christa will remove friends, family, comrades. Just everyone from you. She wants you to depend on her.

How and when started the obsession:

Her obsession with you started when she decided that you are "perfect". Honestly, it could be anything you did, that triggered her yandere side.

Do they know that their feelings are unhealthy/not normal?

No, she is not aware in the slightest. She thinks it's completely normal for her to behave and feel that way. If you or someone else told her that it's not normal and unhealthy, she will make them believe that what they or you think is wrong.

How far are they willing to go?

Murder: If someone doesn't get the message that you are hers, she will kill them. She looks so innocent and sweet that no one would suspect her. It's easy for her to lure her victims away, where she can easily dispose of them. For example, pushing them off a high building. She will not outright tell you, that she murdered these people, but she will not go out of her way to hide it either, because she knows even if you find out what she did, she can still manipulate you into thinking it was an accident or necessary.

Hurting you: Yes, she is someone, who would hurt you both mentally and physically. Mental abuse like gas-lighting is more common and the first thing she would do but if you refuse to listen she is not above breaking your ankles so you can't leave.

Blackmail: Different than most of the others she would not blackmail others because there is a chance that that would blow her cover but she would blackmail you if she has dirty information about you. But there is a good chance that she will ignore anything that wouldn't fit in her ideal image of you, so she has nothing to blackmail you with. Her favorite tactic is to show you how nothing you do would harm her because everyone believes her and in the end would even hate you for spreading false information about the sweet Christa.

Punishment: She will punish you and threaten you with them as well. It can be physical or emotional. It really depends on her mood or what you did. She always tells you that she has to punish you and that it's your own fault. Honestly, I can imagine that she has broken you enough that you would beg to be punished in order to pay for your "sins".

Kidnapping: If you refuse to be with her she will make you. She wants only you, but why is she never enough for you? You don't need to be outside with your friends because she is your world and her basement is your happy place where you can be together forever without interruptions.

Final stage: She sees an ideal in you, if you break that image she has of you, she has no need for you anymore. You don't have a purpose, so it's the best for you if she puts you out of your misery, right? It's her last mercy as your past lover. If you die, there is a good chance that she would see you as imperfect and not worthy of her anymore. But if she doesn't think that, she might be delusional enough to still believe that you are alive.

What is it overall like to have them as a Yandere?

She is the worst yandere to have out of the four. While the others love you for, who you are, she just loves you for the perfect image she has of you. And oh, well if you happen to break that illusion, it will not end well for you... Your friends and family are in great danger as well. If you want to protect them you better start to scratch them out of your life or Christa will do that for you but with murder. She will constantly push you to be that perfect person, she wants you to be, even if you are completely different, Christa will form you the way she wants, as if you were her poppet.

Literally Nagito Komaeda. The amount of tweets of Kodaka saying he also loves women, or the game itself and official interview were it’s written black on white that he loves “people”, “someone”, “everyone”… And the fandom is like: “nope! He has a crush on Hinata/he blushed at Izuru so it’s a gay man!”

Or worst: “His wiki page says so, so he is.”Like…Imagine trusting more a wiki page written by fans than the creator himself.

The coup de grace is that just to prove his sexuality, some shippers will take images from the different mangas out of context and tell you it's canon.

Except that when you show them that these mangas say he also likes women, they'll reply, "it's not canon, so it doesn't count." For real…

who else is fucking tired of fandoms seeing canon bi and pan characters being called “straight” because they show interest in/have been with people of the opposite gender, or lesbian/gay because they’ve shown interest in/are with someone of the same gender and they can’t comprehend that people can like more than one?!?!?!

Not very long ago, I came across a post where a user was analyzing the meanings of the names of different pairings. And I wanted to do the same with komamiki! What did I end up with:

If we take "Komamiki" (since I use it most often), then nothing particularly beautiful comes out. These are 狛 (lion-dog shrine guards) and 木 (tree). Of course, I applied my skills to search for deeper meaning. Then it can be considered with a stretch as a "guardian of the tree" or even a "guardian of power", since a "tree" can have such symbolism. But this is not exactly something that can satisfy me.

If we take the name "Tsumaeda", then the situation is more interesting and prosaic. These are 罪 (sin) and 枝 (branch). Which ultimately gives us a "sinful branch". It seems to me that there is already a lot more symbolism here, and it also sounds much more beautiful, haha. It can be considered as a biblical reference (the branch on which that apple grew) or as a "branch that brings destruction", "grows, breaking covenants", etc. The search for deep meaning will help you.

Thanks for reading my little crazy throw-in, I hope you were interested! If you have any thoughts about the meanings, then you can write in the comments or reblogs, I will be happy to discuss!

Hellooo! Can I have a talentless reader who's a huge simp for Nagito and finally gathers the courage to ask him out on a date? Thank you! <3

♡ Talentless! Reader Asking Nagito on a Date!♡

Awwwh!! I love the idea of this one, I hope I did it justice!! Thank you for requesting, my lovely, feel free to come back anytime!! Have a wonderful day. <3

I went moreso off of a Non-Despair AU for this particular scenario. I feel like with the threat of the killing game there, his behaviour is more affected; so a Non-Despair AU seemed healthier to me. I did a little bit of backstory at the start to flesh it out, but I promise I wrote what you requested as well!! I really hope I did it well! I’m sorry it’s taken so long. College has been kicking me since I came back and I’ve had some other life stuff to attend to!! I am working on everyone’s requests though, I promise!

~

♡ When Nagito first found out you didn’t possess an ultimate talent, you were genuinely rather scared as to how he’d react.

♡ You were friends with Hajime, and you’d heard from the man himself about how awkward things could get with Nagito on the topic of lacking a talent.

♡ You knew Nagito would eventually know, but you hadn’t actually met him.

♡ That was, until, the day the two found you by accident.

♡ You were in the local park making friendship bracelets when you looked up to see Hajime walking just a little bit away from you.

♡ He seemed to sense you looking, and turned to glance. With a smile, you nodded at him, not unable to wave due to the bracelet you were crafting.

♡ He gave a small, wave at you in response, and that’s when you noticed the person standing next to him.

♡ That must have been Nagito…

♡ You weren’t one for the myth of “love at first sight”, but you had to admit you were immediately drawn to him.

♡ That is, however, until he noticed you.

♡ Within a mere moment his eyes latched onto yours, the dulled out greens of them catching in the sunlight. In a surprised state, you gave him a smile.

♡ He seemed a little taken aback by this, eyes widening.

♡ Was that a bad idea?

♡ Sometime during your staring, the two seemed to have come over.

♡ Long story short, you were introduced, with context as to how Hajime knew you, and of course the realisation had occurred that you did not possess an ultimate.

♡ It honestly didn’t go as bad as you expected, with Nagito just pausing before quietly going “Oh, that’s a shame.”

♡ However, this seemed to prompt you to ask if he wanted a friendship bracelet. Stubborn determination, perhaps?

♡ To see you be so kind despite his comment towards you honestly touched Nagito to some degree. It made him feel a little guilty as well.

♡ That’s probably what prompted the soft spot he held for you.

♡ Fast forward sometime into the future, and you’d managed to somehow befriend Nagito. You’d text him pretty much everyday, show genuine interest in him as an individual, as well as actively aim to spend time with him whenever you could.

♡ Through the friendship you’d formed with Nagito, you’d gathered quite a bit of understanding for him. It was hard for a while, since he’s not the most clear in communicating, but you got there.

♡ Eventually, you began to realise you were beginning to develop a crush on the guy.

♡ This crush turned into sincere affection, which soon turned into love.

♡ Which brings us to the present.

♡ Honestly, you’ve become a total simp for Nagito. You’d do anything for him, and you do. You text him good morning and good night, you always hype him up, and you love bringing him little gifts whenever you can. You also just really enjoy talking to him.

♡ It confuses him greatly, and he’ll tell you that. He constantly goes on about how he doesn’t deserve such treatment, not from anyone.

♡ “I can’t understand why you’re so merciful, so gracious, to someone like me,” he’ll tell you, unprompted or prompted, “I don’t deserve such devotion…”

♡ “Well, I happen to think you do,” you’d say “I think you deserve the world.”

♡ Needless to say you absolutely devoted yourself to him. Somehow, you not possessing an Ultimate seemed to not be as much as an issue as you thought.

♡ If anything, it made him feel somewhat more comfortable around you. He seemed to feel slightly more at ease because a root cause of his inferiority was not there. Nagito’s always seen himself as worthless, below everyone he used to attend Hope’s Peak with, so for you to lack an Ultimate in a way made Nagito feel more on a level with you.

♡ You enjoyed his company, to say the least.

♡ However, there was a thought that had been nagging at your mind for a while now.

♡ You wanted to take him out.

♡ “Not…Not that sort of “take out”!” you remembered exclaiming, directing your self-correction towards Hajime as you threw yourself onto his beanbag, “I just wanna make him feel special…”

♡ You remember hanging your head bashfully at this, shaking it.

♡ Hajime idly shrugged, “Try it,” he told you, “Ask him.”

♡ “No,” you recalled yourself mumbling, “No, I couldn’t. I’m not exactly…”

♡ “Exactly what?”

♡ “His…Uhm…” you struggled, “Not exactly type, but…I don’t know. Even if I was, I just don’t think he’d ever consider me because of my plainness.”

♡ “Your plainness?” Hajime remarked, squinting, “As far as I’m concerned, the only plain thing about you is that you never attended Hope’s Peak as an Ultimate. You have a lot of life in you though and, if anything, I’m the plain one.”

♡ “Besides,” he added, “I think Nagito…cares about you, genuinely. With him and I, there was a lot of work that had to be done, but with you…”

♡ …

♡ “Well, he just seemed to latch onto you instantly, right? Sure, at first he was rocky because of our similarity, but…he let go of it a lot faster with you than he did for me.”

♡ “I’d personally go over everything between the two of you, mentally of course. I don’t see a reason why you couldn’t ask him out on a date.”

♡ So, that’s what you did. You thought things over, analysed everything, observed his dedication, observed your dedication.

♡ However, you just couldn’t shake the feeling that what you were planning to do would backfire horribly.

♡ There was always something at the back of your mind that made you anxious.

♡ You’d have everything planned out, rehearse what you wanted to say, and then when the time came you absolutely crumbled.

♡ You eventually decided maybe asking via text was better, rather than whenever you and Nagito managed to interact physically, but even then it was a struggle.

♡ On the other side of things, Nagito was beginning to get the sense there was something you wanted.

♡ I mean, you messaged him rather frequently, always seeming to want to say more than what was said.

♡ When he saw you in person, the air seemed a little shy.

♡ He wasn’t sure if it was something to do with his luck, either that or you were beginning to tire of him.

♡ Something about the latter theory made him ache in a way he didn’t think he quite could.

♡ It felt…nice, talking to you.

♡ Nagito struggled a lot with interacting, never quite understanding social cues, and often had his luck bail on him.

♡ However, this time around, it seemed to bless him.

♡ You were so patient with him, so kind to him, devoted even…

♡ It startled him. He didn’t expect, nor was he used to it.

♡ Yet still, you made yourself present, even after he’d judged you so harshly that first time he saw you…? Even though there were so many other people out there, so many people to befriend?

♡ Goodness me…

♡ He was flattered, of course, but back to the original point.

♡ He knew there was something on your mind and, eventually, he started trying to subtly ask about it.

♡ Either you didn’t understand his meaning, or you were intentionally ignoring the subject, it did not work and he was left wondering.

♡ Your choice to show consideration for him and befriend him immediately set in a newfound feeling of slight hope for Nagito which, in turn, created a soft spot. He really did care for you, and tried to do everything right. He didn’t know whether he was being a good friend, and he felt he likely wasn’t.

♡ But, truthfully, he cared dearly for you.

♡ You, on the other hand, weren’t sure if you were worthy of having his friendship; let alone the privilege of taking him out on a date.

♡ You kept trying to motivate yourself, going over what to say, but that question of anxiety kept appearing.

♡ It wasn’t even entirely about the fact you were talentless, you were just…scared.

♡ But you knew you had to bite the bullet someday. After all, you’d hung out with him plenty of times as a friend, so why would this be any different?

♡ Well…you supposed it would be a little different, but you’d already been alone with Nagito and you knew how to take his energy. In a similar fashion, he’d grown comfortable with yours.

♡ You just hoped he didn’t become cruel when you decided to ask.

♡ As you approached Nagito after a group hangout with Hajime, you were so frightened.

♡ It had been a month of you deliberating asking him and, with Hajime’s advice in mind, you decided to.

♡ Confidence had finally sided with you. You’d spent the past month planning, debating asking, searching for places he’d enjoy; or things he’d like to do. Nagito was most definitely the type of person to just happily let the other party make all the decisions, but you wanted it to be something he’d like too.

♡ Assuming he’d agree, anyway…

♡ Regardless, you knew you had to try at some point.

♡ Nervously, you caught up to him, calling out.

♡ When the time came to ask, your mind was so scrambled.

♡ There you were, middle of the park, struggling to find your words even though just five seconds ago they were so well-prepared.

♡ And there Nagito was, just standing there, oh so patiently waiting.

♡ His face displayed no irritation, no judgement, just mere curiosity.

♡ You had to take a moment.

♡ “Y/N,” you heard him say, voice gentle, though prompting, “Is…Is there something you need?”

♡ You looked at him, analysing his features. You took in the way his eyes glistened as he squinted, hues of grey and green catching in the sun.

♡ Inhaling sharply, you stared back at him.

♡ Oh, he was adorable…

♡ Sheepish nerves clung to you as your head dipped, fumbling with your hands once the words began to come out.

♡ “Well, it’s not exactly a need,” you began, glancing back up at him meekly, “It’s…Well, for me maybe but…not in that kind of…”

♡ You took a moment, apologising.

♡ Nagito laughed at this, which only seemed to make you shoot back into silence.

♡ “What is it, Y/N?” he asked, neither threatening or impatient, just curious, gentle.

♡ “Nagito,” you swallowed your panic, raising your head, “I don’t know if this is the right way of approaching this topic but…”

♡ “But…?”

♡ “I really value you as a friend. I love your company so very much but…but recently I’ve been starting to ponder on some things.”

♡ You took a second, gathering yourself.

♡ “I really do enjoy the times we have together, Nagito. You’re wonderful, and it’s because of this that I was wondering, and you can say no, but I was wondering if you’d…”

♡ …

♡ “Would you like to go out on a date with me?”

♡ …

♡ You hung your head for a second, terrified, before hearing quiet laughter from in front of you.

♡ You slowly looked up, anxious to see his reaction, only to see that Nagito’s face was glowing.

♡ His lips had slowly grown into a relieved smile, flattery ever present through the red that adorned his pale skin.

♡ He looked at you softly, tilting his head, eyebrows dipped in a sympathetic manner.

♡ Overall he seemed…happy. Grateful, even.

♡ It surprised you, but as you looked at him, his laughter faded.

♡ With it, came a steady, but certain, nod.

♡ You felt yourself grin, the terror leaving your body.

♡ And Nagito seemed to know.