Can U Imagine Pantalone Having A Spouse That's Way Too Over Powered, And The Rest Of The Harbingers Are

Can u imagine Pantalone having a spouse that's way too over powered, and the rest of the harbingers are just

They're just scared. Like no one wants to piss them off because that has a 0% survival rate 😭

Andkwjdkajdksnd Pantalone ironically does not wear the pants in that relationship

Mans is a simp, down bad and slightly scared of them too. And you can’t tell me he would purposely egg on the other harbingers to say things that would annoy his spouse bc he finds it so attractive when they’re mad but would rather be anywhere but on the receiving end 🥲

Also, you cannot tell me this isn’t a conversation they have daily

Childe on his first day at the fatui thinks he's going insane because he keeps seeing Dottore in every room

pretty girl ! eren jaeger

summary: [high school au] the school's biggest troublemaker has got his eye on the miss perfect of trost high school

➭ troublemaker! eren jaeger x fem! reader

➭ fluff, modern/high school au, kinda enemies to lovers? but bc i'm not much of a fan of that trope so it's more lovers than enemies if it's even enemies at all, also there's a little bit of angst and hurt/comfort

➭ warnings: foul language

( masterlist | requests )

There was this utterly riddiculous thing that teachers did. To seat the trouble making kids next to the calm ones. Up to this, your last year at trost high school, you had naively believed that this habit had ended in, like, middle school, and you had been really relieved back then to sit next to your friends in class for once. But your math teacher Mr. Ackerman had had other plans for you: in the beginning of the year, he had made you sit next to notorious class clown Eren Jaeger in math class, and now you had to deal with that- or, more correctly, with Eren.

And Eren- was a nightmare. He was always late and always loud. It amazed you how he was still able to pull through with fairly good grades, since he appereantly thought that building towers out of his pens, exchanging notes with his friends, playing table tennis against his books and covering the table with pencil drawings was more suited for him than following the teacher or the class. But what entertained Eren Jaeger the most, was to annoy you. And he couldn't get enough of it.

For example, he always tried to distract you from working. During class, he always leaned close to your ear and whispered an endless waterfall of words. You desperately tried to tune it out, something that was clearly amusing to Eren, but it was impossible. Also, he was always asking you questions. Not about the subject of the class, of course, but about you. It was extremely irritating when your more than six foot tall table neighbor was asking about your favorite icecream, season, baseball team, movies and shows, color, band and just about anything that came to his mind, out of pure devilish delight to see your face scrunch up, trying to solve a math problem with his annoying voice rambling next to you.

And when Mr. Ackerman called him out on it, he began asking you questions about the class, which was somehow even worse. You didn't have a reason not to answer them, and after all, maybe he really wanted to know, but he was asking them without a pause, amd they were always about stuff you'd done months ago.

When he was particularly bored, Eren began to play with your hair that you kept in a messy bun most of the time, though you liked to have some loose strands that he snatched, twirled around his fingers and sometimes tugged at when he wanted your attention. Sometimes he even took several at a time and braided them into mini braids some of your friends had already unknowingly complimented after class.

All of his incredibly annoying and absolutely not endearing antics had earned Eren a special place on your heart- on your black list. Someone simply bringing up his name made you internally roll your eyes. And maybe you were childish, but he was more childish! Unfortunately, not everyone shared your opinion on Eren. In fact, he was quite popular, celebrated by many of your class mates for being so 'cool' and 'hot'. They encouraged his demeanor and you were sure that they contributed a lot to his massive ego.

You could see why people, especially girls, liked him, you weren't blind. Eren was incredibly handsome, as not to say really hot with his shoulder length dark hair that seemed right out of a shampoo commercial. He kept it in a loose man bun most of the time and, with all your critique you had for him, you had to admit that the guy knew what was good for himself- at least look-wise. His height and muscular built only added to the image of a greek god, and Eren sure had style with his rings and earrings that complimented his skin tone, and undoubtedly the most green eyes in the whole wide world.

Aside from that, Eren also had his fair share of charisma, and the much hated goofy grins and flirtatious smirks did something to anyone he encountered.

Yes, Eren was hot, but no pretty face or well placed smile could make up for the annoying little monster lurking beneath the surface. It seemed to be his sole purpose in math class to- well, you didn't really know. Was it to annoy you because he despised you? Or was it only to distract himself because you were just another person he could use for his entertainment? No clue. But you hated to think too much about him.

➭

07:53 am. You mentally cursed yourself and lifted your head from your watch, otherwise you would've collided with the wall. Damn it! You were more than twenty minutes late! Out of breath, you sprinted down the corridor as you mentally panicked. You were never late. In fact, you hadn't been late since middle school when you had a rather formative experience with Mr. Shadis because of it, and now your blood ran cold at the memory. This was bad. A worst case scenario. Shit! The class had started twenty-five minutes ago and you almost stumbled over your own feet, trying to increase your pace.

With a little too much momentum, you ran around the corner and straight into an obstacle. You bounced off of it painfully and landed butt first on the ground. Even worse, you lost hold of your bagpack, and now books and pens were sprawled out on the floor. When you saw the shoes in front of you, you suddenly realized that you had run into a person. Jeez, how much bad luck could one have on just one morning?

"I'm so sorry," you apologised profusely and crawled around on the floor to collect your stuff, but your fingers trembled with stress. Oh god, now you would be even later to class! This couldn't be! And Mr. Ackerman surely wouldn't take it lightly, he was known to be strict, and what if this meant a repetition? What if he'd do what Mr. Shadis had done years ago? Shit, shit shit!

"Y/n?"

Your head shot up as you were met with the sight of those gorgerous annoying green eyes and raised eyebrows. It was Eren. Eren fucking Jaeger was the one you had run into, him of all people. You probably shouldn't be surprised, Eren was notorious at being late- other than you. Normally, you would've given him the cold shoulder or snapped at him for some dumb reason, but you were far too stressed to feel anything put panic and worry right now. Not sparing him another glance, you hurriedly proceeded to pack your things.

Eren was confused. On the one hand, you were late. You were never late, always already there when he arrived, so he didn't quite believe his eyes. But there was no doubt to it, there you were, crawling around on the floor and looking for books and pens as if your life depended on it, as if the devil was after you. And the most curious thing of all was: you weren't angry, you hadn't scolded him for standing in the way. You hadn't even acknowlegde his presence properly, or so it seemed. He didn't like it. And what were you so distressed about anyway? Your fucking fingers were trembling! Not only your fingers, but your bottom lip, too. Were you about to cry? Why, for fucks sake? Were you hurt?

This was one of the rare time you didn't act annoyed or resentful towards him, even though that was probably his fault. But why were you in such a state? Worried, he watched you grip tightly onto your backpack, your pretty little face filled with fear. "What's wrong, pretty girl?" he asked, sounding as casual and teasing as possible, even though the question was genuine.

Instantly, he knew something was very wrong, you didn't even react to the much hated nick name, and you didn't huff in annoyance or tell him to mind his own business, but actually answered his question. "I'm late!" you shrieked out of breath and you sounded as if you were announcing the end of the world. You were completely broken. So devastated, in fact, that you seemed to just forget the grudge you held against him.

"Ah," Eren said confused and continued to watch you as you were on the verge of tears. "So, you're just late"

"I've never been late!" you answered, causing Eren's eyes to widen and a chuckle to leave his lips. God, you were cute. What now, tease you or comfort you? Both choices were tempting. You were just so helpless right now. His year long crush on you told him to calm you down and help you, but the meaner part of him wanted to see you squirm a bit, just a little.

"Never? Like, never ever?" he asked, still teasing but you almost heard some genuine interest. You nodded and he laughed. "I knew you were a good girl but I didn't know you took it this far, jeez"

"Yeah, whatever," you sniffed, in fact at the verge of tears. But then, Eren did something you hadn't expected of him at all. Actually, you thought that he would just stand there, watch and enjoy your misery, all while making fun of you, but Eren actually crouched down in front of you, took your books out of your trembling hands and stuffed them into your backpack. Then, he helped you collect your pens. His hands were steady and calm and actually reliable, and even though he had teased you before, he seemed to genuinely intend to help you.

"What are you doing?" you asked, which was a really dumb question, but you weren't thinking very clearly right now.

"Being your knight in shining armor, pretty girl," Eren smirked, closed the zipper of your bagpack, threw it over his shoulder and pecked your cheek as he pulled you up. With his sleeve, he gently wiped away any signs of the tears you'd almost spilled, took your hand and then pulled you with him. When he suddenly began to run, you, still a bit dumbfounded from the kiss, stumbled a bit before adapting to his pace and let him pull you with him as he sprinted through the corridors. With an almost boyish smile, Eren turned his head at full speed to look at you. "It's time to make some memories!"

God, he really was fast! No wonder he was the star of the football team. With your shorter legs, it was quite difficult to keep up with him, but Eren happily dragged you along, still carrying your bag which didn't seem to bother him at all. Loose strands of his bun flew around his head and his eyes held a weird sort of determination. Still too shaken to complain, you watched him, because when you watched him, you didn't have to think about what might happen as soon as you set foot into the classroom.

All the snarky remarks and you couldn't help to be so thankful. If it hadn't been for him, you'd probably be crying in some corridor now. As you knew yourself, you would've probably just decided not to face the emberassement and quit on school altogether today, which would've been very bad since the next math exam was only a week away. If you looked at it that way, Eren really had been your knight in shining armor- not the one you would've hoped for, but he had seemed surprisingly genuine in his attempts to help you. Actually, he had been very kind. But why all of the sudden?

In no time, you reached the door to the class room and the anxiety kicked in again. Involuntarily, you clutched Eren's hand harder as you stared at the door in fear. What would Mr. Ackerman say? Would he reprimand you, expose you in front of your whole class? Eren looked down at you. Panic was written all over your features as you tightened your grip on his hand. But Eren left you no time to think about all the possible bad outcomes of this situation, he winked at you as if you were old friends and then knocked. The door opened.

When the two of you stepped in, you were met with Mr Ackermans sinister gaze. Clearly, he wasn't happy that you disturbed the class and you felt yourself shrink next to Eren under the glare he sent your way. "Morning," Eren said unbothered, not even explaining himself at this point.

Mr Ackerman glared at him angrily. "Is there a single cell in your body that gives a shit about anything at all, Jaeger? Or are you just a petty, attention hungry little child?"

Next to Eren, you panicked even further as you watched and listened Mr Ackerman scold him. Though Eren didn't seem particularly bothered. Contrary, he seemed to be pretty relaxed about the whole situation, in a strangely good mood actually. He was more of a grumpy guy mostly, but right now, he looked as if he was having fun. Not you though. The more you heard of Mr Ackerman's lecture, the more you wanted to turn around run out of the class room. Or jump out of the window. What would he say to you? How would he punish you? At this point, you'd be relieved if he'd just give you detention, as Eren was getting right now for not being on time for the whole month, and not say anything else. You'd take everything but public humiliation.

You felt sweat on your temple as the class looked at you- specifically your hand in Eren's, who let go of it quickly but waited for you, not yet taking his seat, even though the teacher had told him to. Maybe he could sense that you'd crack under pressure If he left you alone here.

"I'm sorry, sir," you heard yourself say and saw your middle schooler self before your eyes, saying the same thing. "My alarm didn't ring"

"Tch," said your teacher and you panicked internally, trying to appear composed. "It's fine, go to your seat"

A big, big, weight was lifted up from your chest at those words and you almost felt like laughing. Had he just let you off the hook? Really? Relief, sweet, sweet relief flooded through you and you felt like flying. All this worry... He hadn't said a single mean thing to you! You couldn't believe it! You were so happy, in fact, that you showed no reaction at all when Eren patted your back and you followed him to your seat where you quickly sat down to escape the stares of the bored students. Only then you remembered that Eren still had your bagpack, and you were already prepared for him making it a game for you to try and get it, but when you turned around, he simply handed it to you with the proud smile of someone who'd just won a competition.

That was, in fact, how Eren felt right now as you took your bagpack and even gave him a little smile. And there was his prize. A smile. You'd never smiled at him! But he loved it. It was like standing in the spotlight on a stage, and it made butterflies dance around in his stomach. Eren smiled back instantly, still enjoying the high he got from your smile, placed his head on the table to look up a you as loose strands of hair fell into his face and remarked jokingly: "What, you aren't angry at me? Guess you really were serious back there, huh?"

Something was different. The way he looked at you. First, you couldn't quite understand what it was, but then it struck you. Eren was smiling. Not smirking, not sarcastic, not scowling, he was smiling. A real, genuine smile that made his green eyes shine, that made your stomach twist and turn and heart skip a beat.

You noticed you were staring at him when he winked at you and you spun your head around so fast that your hair flew around your head and into your eyes. Emberrassed, you looked away from him as your cheeks grew hot. What had just happened? God, you bet you'd never hear the end of this!

Eren watched you curiously, your reddened cheeks that he could only make out when he leaned over the table. As he remembered the look in your eyes when he'd winked at you, he had to chuckle quietly.

"Watch out, I might still snap," you warned him without properly looking at him yet, trying to overplay your emberassement. It was the first time you'd joked around him and he wanted to cradle you up in his arms and tell you how great you were as he watched you from the table with a lovesick smile. In truth, Eren had had a crush on you for months, hence the reason he enjoyed bothering you so much, because he was, in fact, attention starved. He wanted your attention and your praise for carrying your books - he'd tried before, but you'd snapped at him - but he didn't know how to tell you, how to let you know he was serious, how to push his teasing troublemaker persona aside, so he just kinda did crap, just to get a little huff, a little scrunch of the eyebrow, a little side glance out of you. He wanted to prove to you that you couldn't just ignore him.

In his eyes, you were magnificent. Your intelligence, the fact that you were able to read people, that you weren't shallow at all and not afraid to show it, your kindness to others and the fact that you always hold your head high. He loved every single one of your mannerisms and it also helped that, to him, you were the prettiest girl at trost high school.

You sighed, knowing nothing of his train of thought that was all about you. "Thank you for carrying my books, and your help, I-" you stopped yourself, cleared your throat and got out your stuff for the lesson. Curious, Eren eyed you from the side, but he didn't ask further questions.

Something was different today. Eren was. You would've thought that he'd return to his old ways as soon as Mr Ackerman began to speak again, to annoy you, keep you from listening or doing the tasks the teacher gave you. But, surprisingly enough, he didn't. He was quiet. The whole time. Maybe he was dead. You glanced to the side, but there he was, alive and breathing. Still not paying attention to the class, but also not annoying you. What was going on? Was he sick? Was he okay? What was wrong with him? Why didn't he act like usual? Like he always did, every time you two had math together. But no.

When he realized you were looking at him, he glanced at you shortly and sent you a quick little smile before he focused back on fiddling with his jeans. Confused, you shook your head and turned your attention back to the teacher.

Halfway through the lesson, Eren took your left arm, and soon after, you felt the brush of a pen. He was drawing or writing on it. But he didn't say a thing, just quietly drawing on your left forearm. Out of fear he'd begin to talk again if you asked him about it, you stayed silent. It wasn't so bad. The pen tickled you lightly. Eren's warm hands sent tingles through your whole body and goosebumps appeared all over that arm. He had to have noticed it, but he didn't say anything. In your reflection in the glass of the window, you could see that he was bend over your arm, tongue sticking out of his lips in concentration. You tried not to get too caught up in the sight.

➭

"Now ... tell me," Ymir grinned and shoved an elbow into your side rather roughly. "What were you doing with Eren Jaeger, holding hands and missing out on class?" The two of you were walking down the hallway to get to the cafeteria after English class. The last time you'd seen Eren today was back in math class.

At the implication, your cheeks burned and you hit her back. "Oh shut up! It's not- it's wasn't like that"

"What's not like what?"

Both you and Ymir spun around to be met with the sight of Eren right behind you. You would've almost stumbled due to the shock and your clumsy turn, for the second time that day, if Ymir hadn't catched you. The tall girl glared at Eren who seemed a little nervous under her hostile stare. It was only then that you noticed the change in his expression. His dorky smirk had been replaced by a nervous grin- not much of a difference, one would say, but as someone who knew these smirks better than most, it catched your eye. Eren seemed more genuine as his eyes found your's helplessly.

"What do you want, Jaeger?" Ymir growled, making no effort to hide her hostility. You almost pitied Eren. Almost. The amusement overpowered it. Undoubtedly, you liked seeing Eren squirm a little.

"Uhm," Eren said, "Historia wants to see you. At the basketball field"

Ymir and you shared skeptical glances. True, Historia and Eren were loose friends, but why would she sent him and not just a message? "Are you sure Historia knows that she wants to see her?" you asked with a raised brow and a little grin on your lips.

You could see in Eren's face that you'd caught him, nontheless he feigned innocence and showed Ymir away from you gently and draping a hand around your waist. Ahh. Then, he even had the audacity to pat Ymir's shoulder. "Doesn't matter, she told me, you need to go now, love is great, get your girl"

Both Ymir and you were staring at him aghast. You were so perplexed about his weird behaviour that you didn't even think about getting out of his rather tight grasp, but you couldn't ignore the feeling of his waist rubbing yours and the warmth radiating from his body. Actually, his hoodie was pretty soft and cozy. No wonder he wore it so often, you just hoped he cleaned it regularly. Though he probably did since he smelled pretty good- well, normal. Very normal. God, what were you thinking about again?

"Also," Eren added when Ymir didn't walk away, "Reiner and his team are on the way to the field. If I were you, I'd go and mark my terretory, you know how he is."

Ymir scoffed at him, but she did turn around with one last look at you and left with a frown plastered all over her features. When she was out of earshot, you snorted amused. "'Mark my terretory?' You dog."

Jokingly, Eren bowed a little and lead you down the hallway. It was only then that you realized he still had his arm around your waist, so you tried to wiggle out of his grasp but to no avail, he was just too strong.

"Eren," you said annoyed.

"Hm?"

"Let me go, please"

Sighing, as if it caused him a lot of pain, he let go of you but didn't create any distance. Since you couldn't really think of a reason to push him away, you continued to walk by his side. At first, the silence was quite nice and you wondered if he'd gotten so little sleep last night that he just didn't have the energy to talk, but, after a few minutes, you felt the urge to start a conversation. Shyly, you glanced his way, unsure how to start one. Eren was looking straight ahead and you quickly did the same before you would begin to stare again. It was quite easy to get caught up in the sight.

"Historia didn't ask for Ymir," you said, more as a statement than a question, but, nontheless, he answered.

"No"

Biting down on your bottom lip, you studied his features. He seemed relaxed, cool, as always, but his left hand was fidgeting with his hoodie. This was one of the little things he did when he was nervous, and suddenly you wondered why you even knew that. Sure, you'd seen it somewhere, but why had you remembered it? Why had your mind decided that this was important information? And why on earth was Eren nervous? Since you didn't have an answer to these questions, you asked another one.

"Why did you lie to Ymir? Why do you want me alone?"

"Because I didn't take you as someone who'd like a threesome," Eren joked. You hit him with your bag and he raised his hands in surrender and defense. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry y/n! I was only joking. It was a - ow! - very, very dumb joke, I'm sorry!" Maybe his apology would've sounded a little more genuine if he hadn't been laughing, and even though you wanted to push him into the school pond, a little smile tugged at your lips, too.

Mercifully, you lowered your bag and glared at him, but when he smiled at you, it was hard not to smile back. Huffing, you surpressed it, but you couldn't do anything against the fact that your expression softened a little. What was wrong with you? What was wrong with him? Why were you both like this?

Eren's shoulder bumped into your's as you continued walking, causing you to look at him. He had his hand stretched out to you and, for a confused moment, you wondered if he wanted you to take it before he asked: "As an apology... do you want me to carry your bagpack for you?"

"Nah," you said and rolled your eyes at his disappointed expression.

"Come on, please," he begged and tugged at the strap over your shoulder and at the heartwrenching look in his eyes, you almost gave in.

"Why?" you asked as you narrowed your eyes at him. "Do you want to drown it in the school pond? Do you want to hide it somewhere? Do you want to set it on fire?"

"What're you thinking of me?" Eren exclaimed- he seemed surprisingly genuine. "I just wanna carry it for you"

Well, you may just test him now. For safety reasons, you took your phone, keys, wallet and earphones out of your bagpack and handed it to Eren skeptically. Delighted, Eren threw it over his shoulder and grinned at you. Other than you, he was very aware of the eyes following you two, the students sharing glances when the unlikely pair walked by, and this display - you letting him carry your bagpack, none of the other boys, only him - satisfied him greatly. This was his way of marking his terretory.

When he looked back at you, you looked more serious, in thought. Then, you stopped walking in the middle of the hallway but didn't look at him. He noticed you were chewing on your bottom lip- you didn't know the words to say what you wanted to say. Finally, it broke out of you. "You must think I'm so riddiculous now"

Eren, who was sure that you didn't want the whole hallway to heat this kind of conversation and you surely had everyone's attention, urged you to continue walking gently. "Only a bit riddiculous," he said with a soft little smile and led you outside where you had more privacy. Since you were standing right next to him, he noticed the deep breath you were taking and suddenly remembered the look in your eyes when he'd found you before math class. At the memory, he felt the frustration wash over him for not knowing why you had gotten so panicked and how to make it go away.

When he was just about to ask you about it, you broke the silence, still not looking at him but a little smile tugging at the corner of your lips. "You were awfully quiet this morning"

"You didn't like it?" he replied, only half joking, as he eyed you from the side.

Immediately, you burst out in panic: "No, no, I did! I was just ... surprised, I guess" The shy look in your eyes when you shared a glance plastered a wide grin upon his face and made his heart flutter. Weirdly enough, his grin made you blush and you cursed yourself for getting flustered this easily.

"Well," he said and you looked back at him, or better, up at him. "I figured you'd already missed out on the first half of class so you shouldn't miss the second half, too. After all, we have a class test next week."

Your eyes widened, surprised how considerate he had been- and by the fact that he knew you were writing a class test next week. When you voiced that last thought, he laughed whole-heartedly and you even joined in a little. "You're not going to actually learn for it, I'm sure."

"No," he said. "I know most of the stuff, but if you need help learning..." He had lowered his face so it was only a few inches from yours and wiggled his eyebrows. You pushed him away with a smile, but Eren suddenly stopped and leaned down to your height. You hoped that he just assumed this was your natural skin color by now. "Now, I get to ask a question," he said. "Why the rush?"

A deep sigh left your lips and you hugged your body with your arms without looking at Eren. You felt the urge to tell him, insufferable Eren Jaeger who wasn't as insufferable as you'd thought, about it, but now you felt riddiculous. Finally, you explained: "When I was in middle school - i was new to the class - I was late once to Mr Shadis class. He- I don't know, it's just so dumb, but he kind of scolded me and slandered me in front of the whole class." As you spoke, your voice got higher and rushed. "And, you know, I was kind of sensitive, still am, and I had a bad day and that was just all coming back so I panicked you know? And-"

You fell silent and stared at the ground. You sounded like a total dumbass. What did he think of you now? You felt the tears in your eyes. This was so emberrassing! Humiliated, you avoided his eyes.

"Mr Shadis?" Eren asked, sounding unbothered. "Man, I remember him! That guy really was a pest"

"Yeah?" you asked and looked up at him with wide, glossy eyes.

He smiled back reassuringly. "I still now how he always bullied me in gym class"

"Poor you," you smiled and swallowed the tears as Eren rubbed your back gently.

"You know," he said, "I met him in town recently and he was actually pretty nice- he was propably just not good with kids"

You nodded and sighed a little. Never ever would you have guessed that Eren was this good at comforting, and the arm wrapped around your shoulder made you want to cuddle into this hoodie of his "You're probably right- let's talk about something else before I begin to cry on your hoodie"

"Never thought I'd hear you say that to me," Eren grinned. "It's nice though. By the way, have you looked at your arm yet?"

There it was again; the slight nervousness in his eyes, the fiddling with his hoodie. You shook your head truthfully. "No"

"Well, then do that," Eren said, and before you knew it, he had pressed a kiss on your cheek and had slipped back into the school building. Dumbfounded and blushing again, you looked at the door students walked out of now. They walked past you as you just stood there, not knowing what to do with this. You felt so- good. So weirdly happy that you wanted to hug every single one of them and then Eren. Whatever this weird new thing was- you liked it.

Surpressing a smile, you looked at your arm and your eyes widened. It was full of little drawings, quite simple but really good. You saw a dog, a pen, a braid, a coffe cup and a piece of cake and much more. Amazed by how good he was at this, you ran your fingers over your arm that Eren had turned into a work of art and then noticed the only letters on your arm, in a comic-like font and surrounded by little symbols.

Wanna go out with me?

Hey Aly. I loved your chishiya confessing headcanon and was wondering if you could do a one shot based on it. Like a story prompted by it? Sorry the request isn’t detailed but I love your writing and wanted to see where you would go using the hc.

i'm glad you like it, nonnie! thank you so much for requesting, i would be happy to write this out for you! there are a few differences from the original so it doesn't end up being a carbon copy (location is the only major change) but the premise of the game is the same

you can find the original confession headcanons here !

i also changed the riddle bit simply because i was too lazy to come up with riddles that actually made sense haha (naturally, this changes the suit of the game as well)

word count: 3,293

warnings: near-death experience, fluff

an unexpected adoration — chishiya shuntaro

“Registration has closed. The game will now commence.”

The robotic voice of the device in your hand rang out and you observed the players around you. Not too closely, of course. Residents of the borderlands were naturally suspicious people. If they were to notice you giving them a strange look, there’s no telling how they would treat you in the game.

Luckily for you, you had Chishiya on your side.

You had trust in him. Maybe it was misguided and you shouldn’t have put an ounce of faith in him at all—he was quite deceptive from what you had observed. Falling as hard as you did was a grave mistake, but one doesn’t always have full control over their feelings.

You were sure he would never feel the same. Yes, you were put into games together more often than anybody else at the beach (and you may have been his shadow outside of the games more times than you’d like to admit), but there was never a hint at any type of feeling towards you. Nothing negative, nothing positive. More often than not, he remained neutral.

It didn’t bother you too much. If it did, you wouldn’t have fallen for him in the first place.

Because of his cold attitude, you tried to make it a point to not show any sign of your feelings. You preferred admiring him from afar, swooning where nobody else could see.

You glanced over at the said boy, taking in his appearance as the voice began to read out the rules. Stoic as ever, leaning against the wall with his hood zipped up and closed-off body language.

“Game: Scavenger Hunt. Difficulty: Three of Clubs. Location: Aquarium.”

“Clubs game, huh?” you mumbled to yourself, contemplating what could come next. After playing through a variety of different card suits, you had ultimately decided that clubs were your strength. They were based on a team effort, which was something you worked well with. As for Chishiya… you weren’t sure you could say the same.

He specialized in diamonds because it allowed him to use his intelligence alone. He didn’t need the assistance of anyone else, and as a result, he thrived. Nonetheless, this was your specialty. If he cooperated with you, it should be a piece of cake.

“Rule. One player must be locked inside of the container ahead. If this task is not done by the game’s start, it will result in an immediate Game Over for all players.”

You shot a look over to the container the voice was talking about. It was large and intimidating. At the top was a tube with a large diameter. You noticed that it was completely sealed, and the only way in or out was the clear door at the front. On the door rested a keypad, and you could only assume that would be what locked the player in.

“Each player will receive a picture on their device one at a time. They must use this picture to figure out the accompanied code to the keypad. When all numbers are found and the keypad is unlocked, it is Game Clear.”

It seemed simple enough. With good communication, you could have this done in five minutes. You were about to begin speaking to the other players but were quickly cut off by the voice resuming its speech.

“The container will begin to fill up with water. Your time limit will last until the trapped player drowns. Any attempt to break the container or disconnect the hose will result in a Game Over. Please choose a player to enter the container before the game begins.”

Your blood ran cold at the words. There were two ways this could go. The first option seemed to be the nicest; somebody would volunteer themselves and trust in their teammates to get them out before they died. The second, on the other hand, seemed much more realistic and true to the character of the borderlands. The group wouldn’t be able to decide and would force somebody in there, leaving mistrust and poor communication left with the remaining participants.

You bit your lip harshly, feeling the slight taste of blood at the tip of your tongue. Damn it.

Nobody spoke up at first. You could assume that the common belief was that by speaking up, you would put an immediate target on yourself and be volunteered by the other participants. From what you had seen from previous games, this option seemed accurate.

“I have severe asthma,” the youngest of the group spoke up. She was in a school uniform, and from what you could see, she was no older than seventeen. “If the water fills up and I have to hold my breath, I can only do it for around fifteen seconds.”

The woman next to her seemed to gather a bit of courage after hearing someone else speak. “I’ve always been bad at holding my breath…!” It was clear she was nervous by the way her voice wavered. She fiddled with the ring on her left hand. Your eyes trailed down to the floor after seeing it, shaking your head with a frown.

“Bullshit,” the man to her left accused. “You’re lying.” His voice was filled with anger, but it wasn’t the red-hot anger that was typically used. It was cold and dark, one that sent a shiver down your spine. You could tell that he would refuse to go in the container and would put up one hell of a fight if forced.

With those three out of the question, you glanced at the other two by your side. There was Chishiya, yourself, and an older man, hair becoming gray and wrinkles forming on his face. From his posture, you could tell he was on the frailer side. It seemed that the other came to the same conclusion, immediately turning their gaze over to Chishiya.

Your brows furrowed in protest. Chishiya had a brilliant mind. If there was one person that you could trust to get you out of here, it was him. Because of that, there was no way you could let him be locked up and out of commission for the entire game.

You mustered up all the courage you could, releasing it out of your body with a single sentence.

“I’ll do it.”

The group turned to you at your sudden declaration, some with open jaws and others with a grateful look on their face. You shoved your hands in your pockets, giving them a shrug.

“If I drown, you all die too. I’m counting on you.” The sentence turned most of them as stiff as a board, finally realizing the reality of the game. It was a race against time, and what mattered most was how long you could hold out.

Just before you walked over to the container, you turned to Chishiya. You weren’t expecting to find him staring straight at you with an unreadable look on his face. You shot him a lopsided grin, whispering a phrase so small that only he could hear.

“I trust you.”

It was a simple expression, and if you were being honest, it could be seen as an empty encouragement said for the sole purpose of motivating somebody. You’re not sure how he took it. You said it with all the feelings in your heart, but there was a chance he received it in the opposite way. You could only hope he understood you properly.

With that, you shut the door of the container behind you. It was now locked, and the voice on your device initiated the oncoming events.

“The game will now commence. Begin.”

The first sensation that dawned on you was the coldness of the water splashing down on your form. The second sensory stimuli that your brain processed was how loud it was in your closed container. The sound had no other area to run off to, resulting in the waves bouncing off of the walls directly back into your ears. It was unwelcome and overbearing. Aggressively entering your ears without a second thought—you couldn’t hear yourself think.

You could only hope they moved faster than the water, which by now had made it’s way past your ankles.

Chishiya was lucky enough to be the first player to receive their image. He was quick to start, not wanting to waste any of his time when there was a possibility he would have to pick up the slack of the other players.

The image was a simple picture of a dolphin, and it didn’t take a genius to understand what had to be done. If he wanted to enter the combination correctly, he had to find the numbers, and it seemed that the first number was by the dolphins.

As briskly walked over to the area they would be in, the other players hesitantly followed him. The trick was finding the correct number, there were multiple possibilities. Was it the number of dolphins? Or was the number hidden around the area?

He arrived to the big pool of water, quickly analyzing the perimeter. As far as he could see, there wasn’t a sign of any number on the walls. He pursed his lips and walked towards the dolphins. It was hard to see with the ripples of the pool and the unnecessarily bright lighting, but at the bottom of the pool was a number painted onto the ground.

With a closer look, Chishiya managed to make out the number.

3.

He rushed back to the container and immediately punched the number into the keypad, relief crossing his features as it lit up in a neon green. The players behind him spent a moment cheering at his success.

From the inside, you let out a sigh that contained all of the worries in your chest. He understood what he had to do and it showed by how quickly he solved the first number. You saw his lips move as he spoke to the players behind him, and before you knew it, they ran off.

The rushing water emitted too much sound for you to be able to tell what they were saying. Not to say that you would be able to understand without it, the thickness of the container was a feat in itself.

Over the course of the next three numbers, the water was now up to the top of your ribs. Your hair was sopping wet and you were shivering; the frigid temperature of the liquid was nothing to sneeze at. Each time Chishiya came rushing back with the other players, he always shot a look up to you.

You weren’t sure what he was doing in those moments. Whether it be making sure you were okay or making sure you weren’t screwing things up for him, you didn’t care. The moments his eyes met with yours gave your chest a little bit of warmth compared to the iciness of the rest of your body.

They had successfully gone through four of the five players and were currently discussing the final location in front of you. It seemed as if the image was displayed on the teenager girl’s device, and Chishiya was taking the position of leader amongst the group.

It was surprising seeing him in such a role—you knew that he normally liked to things alone. Clubs games were always his least favorite, he was most likely cooperating with his fellow players because he would die if he didn’t.

Before he ran off, the blonde derived from his typical glance to one full of meaning. The emotion behind his gaze was something you hadn’t seen before from him. Before you had time to process what was happening, he had ran off with the others.

As the water continued to rise, the only thing keeping you sane was the small remaining comfort of his gaze. It was slowly fizzling out like a candle at it’s wick’s end, the light getting dimmer and dimmer until there was nothing left. The metaphorical light was little to nothing at this point, and you weren’t quite sure how much longer your hope could hold out.

By the time the group dashed back over to the container, there was only a few inches between your mouth and the top of the container. You were fighting against the water for air, and you were fully aware that there was only a minute or two left until you were fully submerged.

An immediate feeling of relief washed over you when the keypad flashed green, and the emotion was reciprocated by the rest of the group as well. It didn’t last long.

The group stood in silence as water continued to pour down into the container, your breathing space getting smaller and smaller. They were dumbfounded, unsure of what they did wrong. Each number lit up green, they had done everything correctly and followed the rules… why wasn’t it working?

You were confused and desperate as well. You had no longer than ten seconds until you had to survive off of the leftover oxygen in your lungs. What went wrong? You thought back to the rules, playing them over and over in your head.

One player must be locked in the container—check.

You tilted your head farther back, taking in a deep breath as the water completely submerged you.

Each player will receive a picture on their device one at a time. They must use this picture to figure out the accompanied code to the keypad—check.

When all numbers are found…

Your thought process trailed off and you contemplated the phrasing of the rules. And then it clicked.

Each player will receive a picture on their device. One at a time.

You opened your eyes, ignoring the foreign feeling of icy cold water making contact with your optics. You looked down at your device, almost letting out a gasp at the image on your phone. As quickly as you could (which wasn’t incredibly fast, given your slow underwater movements), you pressed your device up against the glass, praying that they could figure it out in time.

Through your blurry vision you watched as a head of blonde hair sped away.

Chishiya was frantic.

The average human could hold their breath for around thirty to ninety seconds, but you were more than an average human. You had determination and you cared for other people. Not only was your own life resting on your shoulders, the lives of five others were as well.

Critical brain damage commonly occurred after four minutes without oxygen. There was no way of telling how long it would take your brain to force you to pass out; it was different for everybody. This is why he had to move fast.

You could still survive with brain damage, but you would never be the same. The other would get out without a scratch. They secured that fate the moment they chickened out of volunteering. But you were different, you willingly entered that container knowing the dangers, and you left Chishiya with a sentence that had been resting on his mind for the entirety of the game.

I trust you.

“Shit! She’s out of air!”

He recognized the distinct voice of the loud man in the group; his outspoken ways were hard to miss. The least of his concerns were who had said it though, he needed to get this number to save both his life and yours.

Your lungs felt as if they were shriveling up and burning to ashes. When you were a child you’d have silly contests of who could hold their breath the longest with your friends, but the moment you felt uncomfortable you could pull out of the contest. You were always the determined one and reigned victorious most times, but it was nothing like this.

The oxygen in your lungs was gone. And it was painful. You squeezed your eyes shut as you attempted to hold on—the thought of water flooding through your respiratory system was much more unappealing than the thought of passing out.

You had initially volunteered not to be the hero and gain admiration from the group, but to make sure Chishiya wasn’t the one who was going to be trapped in this container. Even in the event of death, a laser to the brain seemed so quick and painless compared to the cruel fate of drowning.

You felt your mind get heavy. You were losing all cognitive function. You knew that your time being conscious was quickly coming to an end and death was nearing you faster than you had hoped, so in these last moments, you thought of the first thing that came to mind.

The feelings that had somehow blossomed for Chishiya. You had never expected to get something so beautiful out of a world like this. Something that gave you butterflies and made you feel like a giddy teenager once again. It was… comforting.

You let the darkness take over your mind.

It felt cold—it felt like nothing at all.

That was until the feeling of fresh oxygen entered your lungs, your eyes opening slowly as water trickled down your chin. Your senses came back to you. Your hands, your legs, your torso and your neck, and… something on your lips…

Huh?

You blinked rapidly, clearing your vision and finding yourself being met with Chishiya, lips against yours as he tried his hardest to bring you back to consciousness. His lips were warm, unlike yours which had been submerged in ice cold water.

An uncomfortable feeling came across your chest and you felt water rise up your airway, coughing out excess water as Chishiya lifted himself up. He looked at you blankly, giving you a nod as your E/C eyes met his.

“Game Cleared. Congratulations.”

The voice from your device rang out and the tension from the group immediately diminished. You were alive and okay, and that meant that they were going to live too. They didn’t overstay their welcome in the area, quickly leaving to go relax as they enjoyed the extra days added to their visa.

As much as you wanted to get up and go back to the beach so you could get a fresh change of clothing, it proved to be difficult. Your body was weak and so was your mind. You had almost died, after all. You needed a moment to gather yourself. Chishiya stayed by your side, staring out at the large amount of tanks surrounding the two of you.

You were surrounded by silence, the both of you finding comfort in each others presence. It was a close call for both of you, and you could only imagine he was somewhat happy that he got to live on for a few more days. You knew you were.

“Y/N,” Chishiya called out, not moving his gaze. You perked up at his voice, about to give him some type of response to let him know you had heard him, but you were quickly cut off by a straightforward sentence.

“I like you a lot.”

You froze. Were you hallucinating? Had the near death experience given you brain damage, or did Chishiya just confess to you? You felt your face heat up, fighting the urge to squeal in joy. But you had to play it cool, you didn’t want to come off as overbearing.

You sat up, scooting closer to him. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders from behind, you whispered a simple, ‘I like you too,’ into his ear. He stuck his hands inside of his pockets, his lips twitching into a smirk.

If you had known a near death experience would lead to a confession from the man of your dreams, you would’ve done it sooner.

omg yessss the al-haitham agenda! pursue me on campus until I say yes to your tutoring and keep me locked until I get every answer right (never, the questions are impossible)

I... I actually like the idea of him with a Dancer!Reader.

You are something this world fails to properly appreciate. Everyone had their eyes riveted on you as you danced, with your two graceful arms moving above your head, the sun kissing your bare shoulders, and your lively gaze hypnotizing him.

You were akin to something otherworldly. Like a flower blooming in a garden overrun with parasites. It makes his stomach turn knowing that others look at you with the most shallow of lusts, never caring to stop and awe in the perfection of your movement, the mastery over your expressions that conveyed more than a thousand words in a single glance... your beauty, your maddening beauty.

A beauty so rare that it seemed to give off a kind of light of its own; Once brushed by it as you pass by him, he imagines examining it in a closed room, away from the sun and the vulgar public, like a torch transferred from brightness to darkness, you would appear incomparably more beautiful, and more radiant, and meant for him to revel at.

Only him.

Something I've come across often in reading fanfiction is this... pervasive idea that people cannot love wholly twice, and that if they've chosen one person, it's because that love is greater than the other.

It's not expressly said that way. It's couched in gentler, loving phrases like "he's never felt this way before" and "it wasn't like this with anyone else." It's especially prevalent when there is a canon love interest to be denied, or a mutually exclusive ship to push back against, and it feels like trying to quietly dismiss a contrived love triangle instead of recognizing that different loves can share intensity and one might still not work out.

And I'm not saying it's bad, I'm not saying it's problematic or amoral or something that needs to stop, that people shouldn't be doing this. I'm not saying that one true love is a bad trope. I guess I'm just asking, what are we afraid of?

Why can't the character have felt that way before? Why can't they have loved someone with their whole heart before? It's the tragedy of love isn't it- that sometimes it doesn't work. Not that the love was missing or less, but that it was there, that it was whole and full and real, that it mattered... but that it didn't change anything, couldn't work out. The circumstances were wrong, the people were wrong despite their love, it was everything and that wasn't enough. Love doesn't have to be less or gone to recognize that maintaining a relationship for it is unsustainable. A character can leave behind a great love and find a new great love, and while love is never quite The Same between people, it can be As Much.

And I guess I'm wondering, you know, how it is better, to love wholly only once? "It was never like this with the other person" is surely meant to be a soft sentiment declaring how much greater this love is, but, all it does is make me wonder what is so weak about it that if there was an equal love, this love wouldn't survive it, wouldn't be chosen.

"I have loved like this before, and I'm choosing to fight for it this time" is surely not a lost cause to explore.