Requests Open! Yay! I'd Like To Request A Oneshot With Hantengu: Reader, A Human, Ends Up Somehow Protecting/saving

Requests open! Yay! I'd like to request a oneshot with Hantengu: reader, a human, ends up somehow protecting/saving the scared little guy (from the sun, perhaps?) and he is now Attached and kinda crushing, living in their house, and tries to make a move but is just way too scared. So he does what any good demon would do: gets bashful and rips his head off so his clones can make a move for him. Surprise now there's four guys with a Big Crush and they're not quite so cute about it anymore (not that reader complains). Hope this request finds you well and thanks for being super rad! ❤️

All For You [Hantengu X Reader]

Reader is Human Female | Romance

Recomended Song - Cheri Cheri Lady by Modern Talking

In such a terrifying battle, he hadn't realised that despite killing the hashira, they had stranded him in a field with no shade and the sun was just moments away. He could run, but he didn't have much power remaining, so all he could do was try.

Even as he cried and wailed, he could hear what he could only assume was another member of the corps catching up to him, taking advantage of how little he had left in him.

If he needed to, he could surely muster just one more strike-

He could feel a burning heat on his back, causing a squeal, before it all stopped, and two arms fell in front of him, which he ran into and fell back into the grass.

Whimpering, the upper-rank shielded his face, waiting for some kind of attack, only to hear the rigorous panting of the being that had caught him.

Shakily, his hands moved from his face, gazing up to see that someone was on their elbows and knees, shielding him from the sun.

"Aren't you supposed to be hidden from the sun?" A head dipped down, looking curiously at the small being. You were just going for a stroll since you hadn't been able to sleep, and after hearing a loud commotion all you found was a weak, stranded demon.

The being shakily waited to see your movements, taking the chance to replenish itself. Hantengu had nowhere to run, unless he wanted to try digging.

"Well, I'm sure we can work this out." When your hand reached to him, he crouched and moved his hands to protect his head, which didn't stop you from hiding him in the thick cloth of your woollen cloak, which you had used to protect yourself from the cold spring air.

What was this human thinking? Hantengu pondered the implications, though realised if you were so certain about taking him in, he could always kill you when you got to shelter and he would be free once more. Besides, doing so now would be a waste with the sun around, and since the fabric surrounding him was so soft, warm, and smelt so, so enticing.

With the distraction hidden in your coat and your rushed jog back to your hidden home beyond the forest line and up a hill, you never looked back to catch a glimpse at the body left behind.

Before daring to remove him, you had shut all your blinds so little to no light peaked in, and turned on the light in your home yourself.

When he finally crawled out of your cloak of his own accord, which you had laid on the table and waited for him, his eyes scattered and landed on objects he deemed of importance.

One, a nichirin blade hung on the wall.

Two, a demon slayer corps uniform hanging beside your other garments on a rack.

And three, a portrait of a blue spider lily, one he recognized from one of Muzan's books.

Clearly, you were no normal human, you were a part of the corps. So then why weren't you dressed up and killing him? Perhaps you were going to try to reason with him, like many idiots had tried.

"Ah, you're finally awake."

Of course, he also noticed you sitting in a chair leant up against a wall, just a gust of wind away from it slipping and you falling. But you remained balanced for now.

"You don't have to worry, I won't harm you. I'm just trying to figure out why you haven't harmed me, is all!" In your hands was a cup of tea, which, when you sipped, left a line of green matcha on your lips. It disappeared when you took yet another sip, and set the cup down beside him.

"To be honest, chasing after you really exhausted me, so I think I better head to bed now. You can leave if you'd like should you find a way, but feel free to stay as long as you like."

With that, you left the cowering demon in the nest of a cloak, closing the sliding door to the other half of the cabin where your futon was. Hantengu watched as the lights in the room went out.

You awake early in the afternoon, having achieved a quarter of a day's rest.

Unfortunately serenity was not in the picture, for the moment you opened the sliding door you nearly fell back on your ass upon seeing a fully grown man sitting on one of two cushions by the low table, his hands neatly folded in his lap.

He looked to be asleep sitting, but you knew from experience that it was less akin to sleep, and more of a hibernation tactic demons had during the day.

Only now did a shiver run sharp down your spine, the intense energy surrounding the being only now just hitting you. You must have been so exhausted yesterday that none of it registered.

Limping towards your food prepping station, you picked up a wooden bucket, getting ready to retrieve water for your breakfast. Your leg was acting up again, perhaps you shouldn't have overexerted yourself hours prior.

Once you made movement towards the door, the being sat up semi-straight, red eyes glowing similar to the lanterns scattering the room. He looked to be moving away from you, but stopped when he analysed you as familiar.

You, on the other hand, nearly dropped the bucket upon reading the kanji in his eyes.

When he was small last night, you hadn't noticed. I mean, you were also tired and, god, what have you gotten yourself into?

Not even a low rank, he was upper rank four, god, your heart quickened to a point where you knew he'd notice. Sure, you were a member of the corps, but you'd been on leave for months now since you almost lost your leg, and you were still recovering!

Not only that, but you could count the number of demons you'd killed on one hand, being only a Mizunoe.

Despite these facts, he seemed to be more afraid of you than you had been of him, and you were never that good at hating demons, so you just meekly pointed to the pail.

"I'm going to fetch some water, but I'll be back soon."

Closing the door behind you, your hand met with the cloth over your heart, gripping it as if your life depended on it, trying to slow your heart rate and push forwards.

'What the fuck, what the hell do I even do?' With every heavy step, a lighter one followed as you tried not to put too much pressure on it, approaching the water pump and putting your bucket under it.

Sucking in a breath, you grabbed onto the lever and pushed down, letting it slowly inch up before repeating the process, letting the sputtering first gushes of muddy water spray out until a steady stream formed, which you kicked the bucket under to collect.

Your crow wouldn't be back for a week since it was retrieving medicine, if you could stall and keep him trapped here then maybe your crow could eventually get help! But you'd have to make it for, at the very least, a week.

Removing your calloused hands from the pump handle, you picked up the bucket with far more care than before, assuring yourself you wouldn't spill.

You'd just have to do it, because there was no fighting in your condition, and if he was that much of a threat he surely would have lunged at you while you slept, right?

"So, what's your name?" Your hearth had a burning fire below it, water boiling away as you added sugar and rice, covering it entirely and setting the pot aside so it could cook. The entire time, his eyes had been trained on you, flinching at every loud sound such as a ladle hitting the cast iron of your pot.

"M...me?" His voice broke as he spoke, though when you nodded he cleared it, "Hantengu."

"Han-teng-ou...!" You played the syllables out, as if testing how the name would taste, before pointing to yourself.

"Well, I'm y/n, but you can call me anything you want really. I have a feeling you won't be leaving anytime soon, so try to keep it non demeaning." You joked, though he seemed to take it seriously, nodding vigorously.

When your rice pudding was complete, you scooped a ball of it into a separate spoon, offering it to the demon. You knew they didn't eat human food often, but you figured you should act as clueless as you could.

Much to your surprise, Hantengu ate it, though you could tell he didn't like it by how harshly he swallowed. You giggled, taking the kindness of the demon into consideration, he must have done it not to hurt your feelings, which was relatively cute!

Even as the sun dipped below the horizon, Hantengu never left, instead enjoying your company, and as nights came and went, you found that every morning he'd be there, already preparing the hearth or with water ready for you. You'd become so used to the schedule, you never noticed that your crow hadn't returned, only interested in getting along with the demon.

On one summer evening, as the leaves had fully grown on the trees and the summer heat began to settle in, you'd been cleaning up the home while Hantengu came back in with firewood, stretching his legs now that the sun had gone down.

All the windows were wide, allowing any breeze in to help with the head, and you fanned yourself off with your hand.

"I'm really glad I picked you up, I never realised how lonely it was out here." You spoke up the moment he entered as if it had been on your mind for some time.

Hantengu always listened closely, having long forgotten his plan of ever so much as laying a scratch on you. You'd been nothing but kind to him, and had always treated him better than anyone he had met in his life. It would suffice to say the demon adored you, but he would never say it.

Your words stunned him entirely, which made him gaze down at the floor, hiding the expression of endearment on his face.

"I built this place far from any villages with the help of a few other corps members, but after that I never saw them again. I just didn't want to be anywhere demons would be, because if I was home I wanted to feel safe. But it's pure solitude. You've made it so much better."

Your head had begun to droop, moments from leaning on his shoulder, before the demon squealed and tumbled to the other side of the room, panting. You had become fully alert now, holding your hands out in a panic.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you--!"

Despite your apologies, the being shook, seemingly muttering to himself with both hands clawing at his heads, before in one swift motion he tore his head from his body, blood splashing along the walls and quickly disintegrating.

Mouth agape, you stared in horror as a transformation began, carefully inching towards the blade on your wall. The head rolled on the floor, before regenerating a new body that resembled a much younger demon, entirely shirtless. He caught himself easily, and sprung up on his feet in mere seconds.

The body, on the other hand, changed heavily in appearance until a head popped from the torso, similar red eyes glowing, though they were a more saturated cherry red compared to the Hantengu you knew.

"Ahah! Finally~ A vessel of my own..." Snapping your head back to the other, he was now crouched down, green eyes staring at you with a shimmer of interest.

Despite this, the other one walked behind his duplicate, barely giving you enough time to react to the fact that your companion was entirely renewed, and tore his head off once more, much to the dissatisfaction of the green eyed being, which the green eyed one reacted by ripping the others arm off.

They replenished themselves in seconds, though the two loose limbs quickly multiplied once more, introducing a sulking blue eyed demon, and what looked like a man-bird-thing.

"It never gets any easier..." A soft voice came from the blue eyed individual, of which you caught a kanji on his tongue which read 'sorrow'.

Shivering in the corner, the four seemed to bicker with each other for what you wished was much longer, before their full attention was on your cowering form in the corner.

Oh, how ironic it was, you and Hantengu had entirely switched places, if you could call these beings such a title.

You just hoped they liked you as much as he had.

"Don't you have better things to do than stare?" The red-eyed one hissed, though with malice or anticipation you couldn't entirely pick out. Despite his near-hostility, the showy one crawled forwards, reaching out a clawed hand to hold your chin, pushing it up to meet his eyes.

'Uppermoon Four' It was the same as Hantengu, but they acted so differently, or perhaps to his extremes?

While you were lost in your thoughts, the demon hissed a laugh, enjoying the empty look beyond your curious eyes that scanned him over.

"Before you call me anything I'm not, how about we start with Karaku, unless you prefer 'man of your dreams' better?" The tips of his nails pushed into your skin, but not nearly close enough to damage you. Oh no, he wouldn't dare do such a thing to his doll.

Karaku was promptly pulled back by the claws of a bird foot, which led to the tumbling forward of a very, very strange being, whose wings quickly blocked your view of all others and forced your eyes to gaze into his yellow ones, though he only grinned.

"Look what you've done, making big bad demons go falling for your stupidity, you're lucky you're so damned pretty!" Once he got his word in, he backed off as the other called him by his name strictly, allowing the two remainders to stand before you, gazing down.

You caught the name Urogi, and hoped you caught right, being hoisted to your feet by the hands of a very rough being, the one most similar to Hantengu, though the blue-eyed one placed his hand on your back, keeping you from moving back and providing little comfort.

"You poor thing, you must have no idea what’s going on..." Pity seeped from the sorrow demon, though he muttered his name to you shortly after.

'Aizetsu.' You repeat to yourself mentally, almost leaning into his hand, which moved slowly up and down as if he was giving a futile attempt at comforting you. The one holding your wrist in a vice-like grip only grumbled, seemingly irritated at nothing.

"Sekido."

"S...sekido...?" He only huffed in annoyance at your confirmation, as if it was stupid that you'd even thought of his name in the first place. You hadn't noticed how badly you were shaking until the tremors of the table met your ears, and your heart was skipping beats left and right.

"I- I don't," your voice paused, daring to reach forward, cupping Sekido's cheek, "aren't you?"

The loss of words seemed to amuse Karaku and Urogi, who erupted in giggles and grinned respectively. You were adorable, all your confidence sapped as if anything had changed.

"Yes, and no~" Urogi piped up, tilting his head to get a better look at you from where he was sitting, since Sekido's arm was in the way.

As Sekido dragged you back to your room, you watched Aizetsu carefully close your front door and lock it, each pair of eyes staring at you from the darkness of your living room, shining with light.

Looks like you'd have to make room for four more.

Author Note -  Okay this is the longest oneshot I have every written on here, and I couldn't even fully finish it!! So kind of a cliff hanger but I got to every point so win! I hope you enjoy, and thank you so much for requesting! This req inspired me sm <3

Shoutout to @mister-gooday1 who actually beta reads all of my oneshots I post because I would die if I had to do it myself xoxo

Word Count - 2,669

Art Credit - Hira_Daphne (twitter)

Men whose personalities flip when they have a crush on you

Suna, Atsumu, Oikawa, Suga, Yaku, Daichi, Futakuchi, Tendou, Kita x gn reader

God himself couldn't stop Suna from flirting with you. You'd think he has a secret twin; honey eyes dull and uninterested until you walk in. He's got a sly smirk on his face as he leans in to talk to you, the first conversation he's engaged in for the day. Calloused fingers poke your cheeks and tease their softness. You and you alone can make him seem this alive.

Atsumu could not be more quiet in your presence. His abdomen is starting to cramp up from how he's been sucking it in for the last two hours, not daring to breathe too loudly in front of you. He's clumsy and dazed, making you repeat yourself a handful of times before his ears regain their function to listen instead of just staring at you. A far cry from the perfect player he is on court.

Oikawa is insufferable. Whether it’s to the people around you both, or you directly, he’s flaunting everything he’s got. He has the pointless delusion that his friends will play wingman for him instead of sabotaging. He’s not a tyrant captain but seeing Mattsun purposely distract you as he sets up for a floater makes him think Seijoh can go for a few laps after practice. Nicknames and small affections galore. Sure, he smiles and waves at all his fans but does he hold their hand and give them long hugs even if they’re just excusing themselves to the restroom? Also he leans on you a TON. Has no spine when you’re around, just always draping himself over you and whining for your attention.

Sugawara gets a little mean. He can't help it! He knows he's the poster boy of being a kind senpai, but one glance at your sweet face has his inner desires tumbling out. He's fairly good at controlling himself but you are his one exception. He'll make sharp quips in the sweetest voice possible just to see you get whiplash over it. He knows he should stop, that there's a chance he might drive you away with his behavior, but he's addicted to teasing you in the worst way.

Demon senpai Yaku? Did you mean angel boyfie-to-be Mori 😇😊🥰 Man is the simp of simps and everyone knows it. Nekoma is disgusted with the way his forehead vein disappears and he immediately stops yelling once when you walk in. Yaku spoils you rotten even if there is no label on you two; he's holding your hand to kiss the back of it, walking you to class, buying you dinner all the time, and complimenting you non stop. He's a perfect gentleman. That's not to say he won't tease you (relentlessly at that,) but that comes later. First, he needs you to know that you're the apple of his eye and there isn't anything he wouldn't do for you.

Daichi would forget his head if it weren't attached to his body. You're just so pretty and wonderful, it makes him nervous! The type to drop his food all over himself if he's eating around you. He's knocking things over and tripping over his feet in your presence. Daichi is adorably clumsy but he always gives you a bashful grin, blush staining his cheeks and ears.

Futakuchi teases you so badly, you'll think that you're the one with the crush instead of him. This man won't let you live. You're not even dating but he already has an entire folder of blackmail on you- when you fell asleep in class, you tripping up the stairs, dropping a whole bag of chips on your white pants. He brings up your embarrassing moments so often. I wonder how much attention he must have been paying to you to catch them all 🧐

Tendou is selectively awful to you. The definition of ‘gives you his worst to see if you deserve his best.’ He’s so tired of people abandoning him when they realize who he is as a person. He’s almost expecting to scare you off, so he goes overboard as some assurance that ‘yeah, you’re not the one.’ Color him surprised if you do stick around and dare he say….treat him normally. If you get to that point, he’s gonna be clinging on you like there's no tomorrow. He might even seem like he’s leading you on a bit with all his hot and cold teasing, but trust me, there are definite feelings behind it.

Nobody expected Kita to be offering you his shoulder for a nap, but here we are. He cares about you deeply. Deep enough that when he sees you yawning, he folds his cardigan in his lap as an extra pillow while he gently guides you to his legs for a quick rest. He keeps his warm hand on your shoulder the entire time and gently rubs it, even long after you drift off. His highly valued personal space is now your highly valued personal space. He has the sweetest smile and a warm blush on his face whenever he talks to you. The team can’t even make fun of him because it’s so adorable.

.masterlist.

— broken promises

pairing: earth 42 miles x fem!reader

summary: while earth 42 miles comes off a lot tougher than 1610’s based off his cold demeanor and his trauma induced apathy, somewhere under that hard shell, he’s still the sweet boy he used to be and wants love just like anyone else. miles is aged up to 17 in this, simply for the plot! wc: 2,640

contains: spoilers!!! angst to fluff

word bank: “mi vida” - my life, “mi amor” - my love

playing now: Wasted Love Freestyle by Jhene Aiko

You and Miles have been dating for 7 months now, and lately he hasn’t been around as much as he’d like to, for obvious reasons. Well, not obvious to you. You still don’t know that Miles is the Prowler, and he’s intent on keeping it that way.

It’s the third time he’s flaked on plans he arranged himself this month, and he can tell you’re beyond tired of it with the way you just blew his phone up.

— Miles POV —

Miles’ phone buzzes in his pocket but he decides against checking it, marking it off as something unimportant. He’s already accepted a job from his Uncle and a distraction wouldn’t do him any good right now.

8:03 PM

Mi Vida: please don’t tell me you’re doing this again bro.

Mi Vida: this is a joke, right?

Mi Vida: hello?? you were supposed to be outside thirty minutes ago.

Mi Vida: Miles Gonzalo Morales I swear to GOD if I don’t hear your motorcycle revving outside in the next five minutes so help me.

*buzz buzz*

Ignored.

*buzz buzz*

*buzz buzz*

He kissed his teeth, lashes fluttering in aggravation and air puffing through his nostrils at the continuous buzzing against his leg. His shoulder fell to the side a bit as he reached down into his pocket to grab his phone while he climbed up the stairwell, following his uncle. Seeing your contact name on his lock screen, his brow raised as he read over the message, then they bunched together in the middle of his forehead incredulously, the tone of your texts causing his strides to falter.

Miles was genuinely confused for a moment, trying to think back on if he’d done anything to upset you, until the memory of him assuring you he wouldn’t do this again slapped him across the face harder than his mom did that one time he’d cursed at her on accident. The two of you had a date planned for tonight, and he swore to you he’d be there this time, fifteen minutes early at that, even though he knew there was a big chance he wouldn’t be able to make it all. It was selfish of him to promise something he couldn’t guarantee, knowing how demanding the other factors in his life were, but he was so tired of disappointing you, and how happy you looked when he told you you guys would finally get to spend some time together really had him thinking he could make it work this time.

Eyes falling shut for a beat, a heavy sigh leaves his lips, tongue darting out to dampen them as he quickly tries to think of something to respond with that won’t piss you off more than you already are.

He texts you back: sorry Mami, something came up yk how it is. i got you tomorrow tho fasho

Yeah. Real smooth.

*buzz buzz*

Mi Vida: yk what, just forget it, Miles.

Damn, she called me by my first name? I definitely fucked up this time. He thinks to himself.

Mi Vida: whoever you’re with is clearly more important to you than what we got goin on, so it’s cool. stay where you at, i’m done

Shit.

His heart beats a little faster in his chest, the sensation a semblance of something he hadn’t felt in years. Fear. He texts back as fast he can, head snapping up to see he’s fallen behind his Uncle, and he hurriedly jumps a few stairs before he comes to a stop again.

Miles: done??? the fuck you mean you done?

You don’t respond fast enough for his liking, so he double texts.

Miles: baby stop playin. you trippin it ain’t even like that at all

Mi Vida: i’m deadass. don’t call my phone.

He utters a string of curses under his breath, alerting his Uncle who had already noticed he was falling behind when he heard the inconsistency of his nephew’s footsteps. He’s ample steps above Miles, turning his head only slightly over his shoulder to address the distracted teenager.

“C’mon man, get off the phone. We got business to tend to. You in or you out?” Aaron asks. “You know I can’t have nobody holdin’ me back.” There’s a hint of something deeper playing within his words, and Miles knows he doesn’t have a choice.

He swallows hard as he looks up at the older man. Taking one last look down at his phone, his jaw clenches in contemplation before he’s shaking his head with a quiet sigh and shoving it back into his pocket. He’ll have to deal with this later.

“My fault. Yeah, I’m in.” He mumbles, doing a quick jog to catch up to the man.

His uncle’s lips quirk into a smirk, a heavy hand coming down to clap Miles’ back and squeeze his shoulder.

“My man. Aight, let’s roll.”

— Your POV —

8:05 PM

You: i’m deadass. don’t call my phone.

You watch closely as the three dots bubble at the bottom left corner of your screen, an indicator that he was typing. But instead, a quiet scoff slips from your mouth when they disappear, your shoulders slumping in disappointment at the word that appears below your last message.

Seen

You angrily toss your phone onto your bed, bottom lip quivering when you catch a glance at yourself in the mirror when you walk by. You’d gotten dressed up all nice just for him, because you knew the chance of him being free for a night to take you out was rare. You’d started your makeup early just to make sure he wouldn’t have to wait outside for you while you finished, and you’d even styled your hair the way you knew he liked. All for nothing.

You kicked your shoes off and dropped your purse to the ground, heading to your bathroom to undo all your work. You washed all the makeup off your face, the act feeling more humiliating than ever when you remembered why you’d even put it on in the first place. To feel pretty for someone who barely even showed up.

You closed your eyes and tried to calm down, hastily reaching back over to check your phone just one more time. Maybe he was thinking of what to say, and that’s why he’d left you on seen.

Seen 25 minutes ago

Maybe not.

You hated crying. And more than anything you were tired of doing it, especially when broken promises were the cause of your wasted tears. Your evening was basically wasted, and you weren’t in the mood to do anything else anyway, so you decided that you’d call it a night and head to bed early. You slipped on some comfy sleep shorts, tying your hair up for the night before grudgingly tugging a large t-shirt over your head. Your brow perked up at the scent that wafted past your nostrils, and pinching the shirt with your forefinger and thumb, you brought the fabric to your nose and immediately caught a whiff of Miles’ cologne. You then realized you’d put on a shirt you stole from him a while back, and the way your heart fluttered made you even more upset than you already were. You brushed it off to the best of your ability and crawled into bed, trying your hardest to keep your sniffling to a minimum as you pulled your blankets over your shoulder.

____

As soon as he’d gotten the job done and his Uncle gave him the okay to dip, Miles’ feet were moving at the speed of light down the stairwell. And while he had sort of rushed the plays he made with some of the city’s goons, he just had to pray that all his Uncle’s money was in the banded wad of cash he returned with, or it would be his ass.

Skipping a few steps he hopped down onto the platform before the next set, checking his phone for the time simultaneously.

10:15 PM

“Damn.” He groaned, pushing through the doors, cool wind hitting his face. Once he reached his motorcycle he shoved his helmet over his head, hopped on, and sped off with a “skrrrt”.

He sped through the streets carelessly, something you definitely would’ve scolded him for had you been riding on the back of his bike with him, with your arms tight around his waist to hold on like you always did. He bobbed and weaved through cars, lane splitting between a few of them and he may have even ran a red, but he wasn’t paying enough attention to remember. All he could focus on was that you said you were “done”, whatever the hell that meant, and he was adamant on making sure you weren’t.

____

You didn’t know when you’d dozed off, three steady knocks, a fourth one after a pause hitting against your window, resulting in your eyes snapping open at the disruption. You sat up on your mattress, the ball of your hand rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you peered across the room. Once they adjusted in the darkness and you recognized the familiar, lanky body of your boyfriend standing outside on the fire escape, the events of just two hours ago played over in your mind like a record.

With a roll of your eyes, you huffed and swung your legs over the side of your bed, pushing yourself onto your feet. Miles watched as you sleepily trudged over to the window, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, head slightly lowered and tilted to the side, as if he were already apologizing before you’d even made it to him.

Hooking your fingers underneath the edge of your window, with a quiet grunt you pulled it up, effectively lifting the barrier between your bodies. You instantly felt your yearning for him come back full force, and wanted nothing more than to throw yourself into his arms, but you restrained. Your eyes met his, the cool night air breezing into your room, and his heart clenched. Somehow he was able to feel the coolness in your demeanor, yet the cold weather hadn’t bothered him at all.

He was the first to speak.

“Hola, Mami.” He sized you up once, taking notice of your eyes that were slightly puffy from crying.

His voice was like silk to your ears, alluring and confident, almost hypnotizing, and it aggravated you that you felt yourself gravitating towards him off two simple words.

“Why are you here, Miles?” You sighed, arms slapping at your sides in exasperation.

He looked slightly taken aback, chin lifting a bit as if you’d asked something completely outlandish.

“What you mean why I’m here? You my girl, shit, this my crib too.” He shrugged, so nonchalant, as if nothing had happened. You wondered if it had even been him texting you earlier.

“You left me on seen, remember? Stood me up, too?” Your head cocked to the side to match the attitude in your tone, brows raising at him. What excuse would he use this time?

He dragged a hand down his face, exhaling heavily before he spoke up again.

“I was… busy. Look, my bad, okay? You gon’ let me in or what? Ian come all the way over here to stand outside.” He demanded with a gesture towards the opening, his hazel eyes glinting in the moonlight and thawing the ice that’d been temporarily encased around your heart. There was the smallest hint of a smirk on his lips, because he already knew the answer.

Your lips pursed and you stepped to the side, a laggard arm stretched out beside you, silently granting him access to your room.

He stepped through the window frame and you closed it after him, his hands folding around the collar then the hem of his jacket as he adjusted it and turned towards you.

“I can’t keep doing this with you, Miles. It isn’t fair.” You mumbled, hating the way your voice split your words.

His head dipped to the side a bit as he took in your solemn expression and the way your gaze was cast to the floor, as if you were trying to contain your tears. He wasn’t the best at this, he knew that, and showing affection effectively really wasn’t his strong suit. He usually made it up to you by bringing you a few hundreds he’d made from a deal, paired with some roses he’d picked up on the way to your house at the last second— but you both knew paper and flowers wouldn’t fix it this time.

“I’m sorry, I mean it.” He said, reaching for your hand to bring you close and grateful when your eyes finally lifted to lock onto his, although seeing them tear-filled wrapped him in a deep-seated emotion he didn’t even want to acknowledge.

Miles rarely said he was sorry. If ever. Did he apologize? Yes, but it was usually a ‘my bad’ or a ‘my fault’, or some other term that’d get the point across without him have to use too much emotion. Hearing the words ‘I’m sorry’ from him was an anomaly, it happened once in a blue moon, so this time you knew he really meant it. In your heart you knew he meant it, but that didn’t stop the tear you’d been trying to keep at bay from rolling down your cheek.

His thumb caught the tear almost instantly, swiping it from the soft of your skin. It didn’t belong there, and he hated to be the reason why you were crying in the first place.

“Where do you disappear to, Miles?” You sniffled.

He sighed, glancing back over at the window. He considered telling you the truth, but he knew he couldn’t.

“I’m just tryna keep you safe, ma.”

“You always say that!” You squeaked, making sure to keep your voice down, you had technically snuck him in. You ripped your hand from his grasp, turning your face away from him as another tear fell. “Do you not trust me or something? Is that it?”

“Of course I trust you,” His eyebrows knit together at your question and he stole your hand from your side again.

“So why can’t you tell me?” You pleaded, eyes big and glossy.

“I just-“ He paused. “I can’t let you get hurt. The shit I do…” You watched as he hesitated, like even speaking about the subject pained him. “It ain’t good.” He swallowed, a hand coming up to cup your cheek. “And I’ll be damned if I put you in the middle of my shit. I love you… okay?” He moved closer to you, and when you turned from him once again he brought your face right back to his, this time with both his hands. He wasn’t going to let you go, and while Miles was rough around the edges, and seemingly devoid of any emotion other than anger or resentment for the world—he always handled you with care.

“I love you, Y/n, I put that on everything. I’ll burn this whole world down for you, you hear me? Don’t think I won’t.” He stared into your eyes longingly, intent on making sure you didn’t just hear every word, but that you understood them, too.

You couldn’t help but lean into his hand, your own coming up to hold at his wrist as you inhaled shakily and gave him a bleak nod.

That wasn’t enough for him. He needed to hear you say it.

“Do you understand?” He articulated his words, bringing his head down slightly to match your height a bit more.

“I understand.” You said softly, looking up at him through your lashes before your gaze fell to his lips. He took that as his sign, leaning forward and bringing you into a kiss.

You melted into him immediately, like you always did, eyes fluttering closed as your lips moved against his, and as his hands fell to your hips to pull you in closer, like they always did.

You broke the kiss for air, your hand resting on his bicep and your lips ghosting his as you spoke, as you shared the same breath. “I love you too…” You breathed, standing on your toes.

“Good,” You felt him grin before he pulled away, his hand pinching your chin to make you look at him. “Cause you not leaving me, ever. I can’t let no one else have you, Mami, you know that.” He cooed.

You felt heat flush your cheeks, a smile you couldn’t hide finally spreading on your face.

“Yeah yeah, I know.” You answered, chewing at your bottom lip. “Can you stay?” You whispered, eyes shifting between his hopefully as you awaited his answer.

“Ah…” He rubbed at the back of his neck, piping up again before you could get disappointed. “What about your moms?”

“She sleeps in on the weekends, you just gotta be outta here by nine. Please, pa?” You whined, already reaching for his hands.

He chuckled to himself and shook his head slightly, having to look away from the adorable look on your face. He tried to remain in denial of the fact that he was so deep in love with you he could hardly think sometimes, let alone say no, but he was failing. Miserably.

“Of course I’ll stay, mi amor.”

Your expression lit up, a toothy smile brightening your features as he let you lead him to your bed.

He made sure to remove his shoes before he laid down, settling on his back. He extended his arm out to you as he tucked the other behind his head, motioning for you to join him with his fingers.

You crawled into his open embrace, getting comfortable on top of his chest and nuzzling your head under his chin. You began to feel drowsy the second he wrapped his arm around you, a yawn leading your eyes to water. His hand slowly moved from where it was resting on your back, dipping beneath the hem of your shirt, the warmth of his skin against yours comforting to you. His large hand rubbed up and down the expanse of your back, the tips of his fingers drawing lines along your spine— you always fell asleep easier when he did that. You listened to the steady beating of his heart, fingers idly toying with the gold chain he kept around his neck.

“I’m really sorry I ain’t make it tonight. I know you prolly got all pretty for me n’shit… and I wish I got to see it, but that’s on me.” He grumbled. He’d beat himself up over this for a while.

“S’okay.” You say it is, but he knows it’s not. He knows better. “I missed you.” Your quiet voice murmured from below him as you scooted in impossibly closer.

His jaw tensed as he stared up at your ceiling, a deep breath from his diaphragm raising you a little bit with his chest, and lowering you as he released it. “I know.” His response was hushed, and as sleep continued creeping in, you wondered if you’d imagined it.

But when you felt a long, drawn-out kiss press to the top of your head, his hand rubbing soothing circles between your shoulder blades, you knew it was real. The last thing you heard before you dozed off was his voice, mellow and gentle as he assured you.

“Ima do better, mama. I promise, for real this time.”

- do not copy, plagiarize, or post my works onto a different platform.

likes, comments, and reblogs are very appreciated!

The Very First Night (mha boys x you)

summary: you lose a bet and volunteer for a blind dating show for pro heroes. here's how the dates go with dynamight, shoto, and deku.

wc: 1k

cw/tags: aged up characters, mentions of food and eating, very very slight manga spoilers, reader is also a pro hero, language, just fluff and mha boys being idiots in love

note: asdjflasdkjalfksd i had so much fun writing this so i hope you enjoy !! this is what i offer you while i continue to chip away at all my wips <3

likes/reblogs/feedback are always appreciated :)

Bakugo Katsuki/Dynamight

he also lost a bet either to kirishima or denki lol

still puts in 100% because he'll be damned if he's with someone attractive and doesn't exceed their standards his pride can't take it

he takes you to a night market and pays for all of your food as long as he's allowed to freely critique it

questions why the fuck everything is fried

"HOW DO THEY FRY LEMONADE ITS A FUCKING DRINK"

"it should be considered a federal offense to add more fucking batter to a slice of cake"

"who the fuck would eat any of this- don't say you because i won't let you"

if you try to eat dessert first he'll steer you to savory items

and by steer i mean pick you up and throw you over his shoulder and walk away leaving the cameramen in the dust

if you're waiting in line to buy more food he'll heat his hands up and keep the trays warm <3

doesn't let you hold anything and is insistent on balancing all of your food on his arms

when you sit down with him you find he's actually hilarious and easy to talk to

like you're spraying fruit punch from your nostrils because of how hard he makes you laugh

it feeds his ego when you're cackling so hard you can't breathe and he just grins

if you have a crumb or something on your face he'll wipe it off with his thumb and call you messy (affectionately)

when you're done eating he follows behind you patiently as you browse through the different artisans' tables

he's very confused as to why people are fascinated with crystals

"i think this one is supposed to bring romance?"

"it's a fucking rock."

"hmm. guess it's not working.."

"shut up you don't need the rock you have me."

if someone looks at you for too long he'll get all protective and scowl even though he just met you

if there's a live band playing he'll either talk shit on the drummer or ask to play with them for a song so he can show off to you

he'll nonchalantly slide an arm around your shoulder and pull you closer to him at the end of the night

he doesn't have any charm at all, just straight arrogance and self-assurance and it's hot as fuck

he doesn't ask for a second date

he just texts you a time he'll be at your house to pick you up, blind date camera crew or not

Todoroki Shoto

was signed up to participate by his publicist because he's notorious for not attending press events or any media conferences

still rei didn't raise no BITCH so he goes all out to impress you even before you meet him

brings you flowers that he thought were pretty (doesn't matter if there's a meaning to them or not, he wasn't paying attention)

first you get coffee and pastries at a cat cafe (and if you're allergic then he'll take you to an upscale cafe and go on a walk with you in the park)

BUT BACK TO THE CAT CAFE

for whatever reason the cats just

gravitate to him

they like when he heats up his left side and just snuggle up against him

you're literally speechless from how cute it is

"what do i do now"

"you let them lay there, shoto"

"but my pastry"

you roll your eyes jokingly and feed him a bite of his pastry

he looks like one of the cats when he opens his mouth and takes the bite

when he wants another bite he'll just open his mouth like a toddler

if your coffee gets cold he'll just warm it up again

he talks to you openly in a low tone that the mics can't really pick up and that's the point he wants this shit to be secret

he doesn't ever want to go on another blind date again

just more dates with you

he may seem like a himbo but he knows exactly what he's doing to win you over

after the cat cafe you get soba (surprise surprise)

you switch bowls to try his food and let him try yours

you end up finishing his and he ends up finishing yours

if you have time he'll go window shopping with you and take note of what you linger by so he can buy it for you in the future

yeah mans is in love as soon as you feed him the pastry but he doesn't know how to express it yet

so instead he just shows up at your house and asks if you're free for a second date

"wait, like right now second date?"

"yes let's go"

"i need to get shoes, hold on"

"i'll buy you new ones. let's go."

Midoriya Izuku/Deku

signed up because he thought it would be fun and wanted to make new friends

but then oh boy

he saw you

and poor dude didn't know how to act so

ALL MIGHT MUSEUM

no i'm just kidding

ya know rogers the musical

he'd take you to see that

except it's all might and deku

is shocked when he is in it but he's played by a girl (ember island players anyone) who's doing like gymnastics all over the set that is definitely not his style

he's literally shrinking into his seat and covering his face with his hands like it's a horror movie

you end up laughing really hard together about how inaccurate the storyline is

during the part about vigilante deku the costume is so bad that you're in tears

"why do you look like the easter bunny?"

"it's supposed to be like all might's but they weren't THAT huge"

you're like grabbing his bicep in shock and slapping his hand when something exciting happens and he's not even watching the show anymore

he's watching you :)

you scream when bakugo is hurt during the first fight with shigaraki and izuku is very quick to remind you that kacchan is, in fact, alive

at the finale of the show you're curled up next to his body and he has his arm around you as you just watch in shock how badly they screw up the ending

"i'm fighting demons in my head to not pull down the curtain early with blackwhip"

"izuku.."

"do you think if i released fog everywhere they'd stop the show forever"

"IZUKU"

he's a little embarrassed but you honestly have the time of your life

afterwards he buys you ice cream and you sit on the street and just talk for hours and hours about your interests until the cameramen have to clock out

even afterward you still keep talking

you ramble just as much as he does

he loves to listen to you just as much as he loves to share about his life

he talks about his mom a lot lmao and all might and bakugo and basically all of his friends

definitely wants to introduce you to them even if you don't end up dating (but you do)

he asks for a second date right then and there

cute old man in your area

other ver

MEMORIES OF YOU

in a timeline where your presence is lacking, they do everything to keep you beside them.

a/n; i really want to know what the brothers in our current timeline are doing. how are they holding up? sorry for another long post, i felt insane (m;_ _)m. a few of them got a bit out of hand compared to others.

Lucifer plays your voicemails on repeat.

there are times when the workload gets a little bit too much now. lucifer hadn't ever noticed how much he had relied on your presence to soothe him after a stressful day; the shoulder massages and brief kisses, the comforting words, the mere company of you beside him had begun to feel like second nature.

unfortunately, you're no longer here to provide that for him, and neither is he there with you to offer a guiding hand in whatever it is you might be going through right now. the thought that you could be in danger sends a dull ache to his head, and the thought that it could be him being the one harming you is enough for him to put down his pen. no more work will be getting done today.

in moments like these—and he hates to admit they've been frequent—lucifer reaches for his d.d.d. the device feels heavy in his hand, and he has to stop himself from trying to once again call you. instead, he goes for the next closest thing.

"lucifer!" your voice is bright and cheery, it rings out clearly enough that he almost believes you've teleported right next to him. the tension of his shoulders ease as you continue, "i'm really sorry for leaving early today, but i did make breakfast before i left!"

lucifer leans his back against his chair, chuckling at the flustered sound of your delivery. it sounds as if you were running while recording this.

"there should be enough for everyone plus seconds and uh..." he can hear the quiet mumbling of your counting. "tenths for beel! again, i'm really sorry for leaving without all of us getting to eat together. i accidentally left an unfinished project back in the classroom and—oh! there's RAD! i'll see you in a bit, lucifer. tell everyone i said good morning!"

the voice message ends with a click, and he feels like the weight of the entire world is once again stacked upon his shoulders. as it always does.

with anchored fingers, he goes to tap the next voicemail when a knock on his door stops that.

"i'm comin' in," the voice from the other side warns before opening the door. mammon steps inside with a single cup balanced on his hand and places it on lucifer's desk, sparing a glance at the papers strewn across its surface. "still working?"

"it's never really done," lucifer responds, taking a sip from the cup. his eyebrow raises at the flavor. "is this barbatos' tea?"

"not really." mammon reaches out to sort the files into a neater pile. "i asked him to teach me in exchange for helpin' with castle cleanup."

it's the second time today lucifer's shoulders relax. "thank you, mammon."

Mammon fills his room with trinkets.

it's hard to keep mammon from spending all his grimm without you there to stop him anymore. for a while, the habit had dampened with your absence, and his brothers had wondered if he would drop it all together until you were back. that thought lasted all but two weeks.

when he had started back up again it was his usual treks—gambling at the casino, buying luxury items he had no real need for, spending it on bets he was sure to lose—and then they shifted.

there's a pile of boxes and paper bags settled carefully inside the seats of his car—the safest area of his room. they range from big to small, all designed and painted with different colors and patterns. a few of the logos and brands repeat, and asmo is the first to take notice that they're all from the stores that you like to visit.

it's somewhere near high noon when mammon leaves the house of lamentation and late evening when he comes back home.

he lets out a silent thanks that his brothers aren't around right now. or maybe they've gotten used to his schedule for the past couple of days and have decided to give him the privacy he needs. whatever the case may be, he's grateful there's no one at the entrance to chide him again.

kicking the door closed with his foot, mammon does his best to not let the multiple shopping bags hanging on for dear life in his hands slip.

it's almost like clockwork, the way his feet leads him to your room first, as they always do. he spares only a moment to take a look around. many of the things he's bought have been tucked securely in his room, but there are times, like today, where he just wants to show them off.

"Didja know Beel keeps comin' in here to eat his snacks lately? I bought a candle to clear out the air." true to his word he pulls out a candle in an intricately designed glass jar, scented in your favorite fragrance.

though it doesn't stop there, and soon your entire table is filled to the brim with different items.

mammon takes a look at everything he's bought once before pulling out a lighter and flicks it on. a mild, familiar scent fills the air, and he hates to admit it's the most calm he's felt in weeks.

Leviathan can't stop updating you.

if there's one thing that hasn't changed, it's the frequency of your texts with levi—or more accurately, levi's texts with your d.d.d. even if it's for the most mundane thing, he doesn't hesitate to whip out the mobile device and let his fingers fly across the keypad.

no one tells him to put his phone down anymore during their meals together, and even the pit pat of the letters being pressed feels more like comforting ambient noise now. the new normal in lull of conversation topics.

sometimes, there's nothing for him to talk about. times where he doesn't leave his room, where he isn't playing a game, or watching a new anime, or reading the latest manga volume release despite the media being right at his fingertips. the house of lamentation feels like it becomes empty during those days, but he doesn't want to tell you that.

levi finds that his bathtub becomes more comforting as every day passes by. the small, slightly confined space that hugs at him from both sides feels reassuringly warm with the blankets and pillows he's stuffed in there.

still, even as he shifts into a more relaxing position, nothing beats the joy he feels tapping away at his d.d.d.

he hasn't left his room for the past five days for anything other than the usual family meals, and even the games that usually pull him in no longer grab his attention. the only thing that does is the device settled within his hands, the dim glow it admits being the only thing he can focus on.

[ have you eaten yet? if not you better get to it, beel's been clearing out the fridge so fast lately i don't even bother going to the kitchen anymore. it's straight to the store for me LOL. ]

[ there's a new anime that's releasing soon. it's based off a manga about two twins that fall from the sky and end up saving the nation that raises them. i hear it's a real tear-jerker! i'll wait until you get back though so we can watch it together. ]

eventually, even levi runs out of things to talk about, and so he reluctantly marks the end of the the conversation with a goodbye.

[ talk to you soon, i'm going to pass out. sleep well when you do! ]

he does his best to ignore the fact that the messages aren't sending.

Satan sees your name in every word.

in the beginning, satan goes through every tome within every library the devildom has to offer. there must be a way to get you back from where you've disappeared to. and while he trusts solomon to keep you safe, he wants nothing more than to be there to guarantee that safety, or better yet—not have you disappear at all.

still, after turning every archive upside-down and over, satan resigns that there's nothing more he can do but to trust the sorcerer. but he can't; the thoughts of his years right after the celestial war ended haunt him and he fears that if anyone was to jeopardize your safety the most, it would be him.

and so he throws himself into his pastime. yet even then, his eyes can only skim the pages, the words nary processing in his mind. how could they, when every term, every phrase reminds him of you?

satan's hope of losing himself within the world of a story doesn't go as planned. it hasn't been going as planned for the past couple weeks.

the spine of a book cracks open, and the coffee-stained colored pages are flipped. his finger slides over the finely inked words, and then pause just minutes in when he realizes he hasn't retained a single thing he read.

rinse and repeat, the same old pattern.

frustrated, he snaps the cover closed, the force of his action loud enough to be heard by anyone who would pass by his door.

the protagonist of the book he had picked up was described as kind and forgiving. they would brighten up every room they entered and had as much fear in their body as they had caution—which was little to none. they face many trials to bring happiness to those they love all without a care for their own well-being. satan sighs, curling in on himself from his seated position.

a strained laugh nearly leaves his throat, but he holds back. of course he would gravitate towards this book with a description like that.

with a heavy heart it tucks it back ontop of the pile of other unfinished tomes—the height of it becoming increasingly worrying—and hopes that the ending is a happy one.

Asmodeus can't stop talking about you.

without your presence, asmo delves himself deep into his social circles. it takes his mind off of how concerned he is about your well-being; he doesn't need to keep himself awake thinking on how much he misses you or how you might be missing him and the rest of his brothers.

well, at least he thinks he's taking his mind off of things. it's hard for anyone to put a word in once asmo starts opening his mouth, especially when the only thing that leaves from his parted lips every other sentence is your name.

if it wasn't evident in his conversations then it's evident in the way his shampoo has been swapped out for a fragrance you had always been more privy to, or the way his style has slightly shifted towards what style you like to wear. he picks up your habits like it's his own even if he doesn't notice it.

"oh, you'll never believe what they did next!" asmo laughs, his sing-song voice ringing above even the loud blasting of music from the party speakers.

one of the demons closest to him leans in closer, a sparkle in her eyes as she continues listening to his story. a story that he's been telling for the past two hours since they sat down. "what happens next?" she pries, genuinely curious.

the stories continue on for the rest of the night, until the music dies down and the crowd thins out. the female demon is still by asmo's side, a yawn leaves her lips and he mimics the notion.

asmo blinks, eyes trailing to the watch she wears loosely around her wrist. "oh! i didn't realize it was so late, sorry to keep you here for so long."

"not at all!" she smiles, waving her hand. "thank you for telling me such interesting stories! it's the most fun i've had this week. it's obvious you must care for this person a lot."

it's only when she says that does asmo realize you were the only topic of his conversation this entire night. a smile creeps to his lips before he can help it. it's the first time in a long while that he's thought of you without fearing about how you might be doing.

because it's you. and you're always getting out of every situation the world throws you in.

Beelzebub gravitates towards the food you eat.

alongside belphie, beel—like everyone else—makes regular visits to your room. it becomes his primary hangout spot now outside of his own shared bedroom and so the snack stash that you usually keep in a drawer under your desk has recently expanded.

it practically bursts at some points from how much he tries to stuff in there on some days, but it's always empty again by the end of the week. sometimes he finds items that he didn't buy settled on the top of the rest snacks, though they always seem to be foods that you enjoyed nibbling on.

he misses the food that you used to cook for everyone at the house of lamentation, and no matter how good simeon's cooking might be, it just isn't the same. still, he does his best to replicate it sometimes. maybe by the time you get back he can surprise you with a home-cooked meal... if he doesn't eat it first.

it's usually mammon or asmo that walks through the doors with half a dozen bags grasped in white knuckled grips, not beel, but here he is. in contrast to his older brothers, though, beels bags aren't filled with clothing or make-up, but food.

"are you sure you don't need help with that?" belphie asks, a little more than concerned at how even with how wide the doors are to the house of lamentation he was barely able to fit through the opening.

"it's fine," beel shakes his head. "this is nothing."

they make their trek to the kitchen with little difficulty. as beel said, those bags really did feel like they weighed nothing. "what do you think we should try making?"

"hmm," beel looks over their ingredients. they hadn't really thought that far ahead. whatever was on sale, they bought. "how about shadow pork ragu pasta?"

thankfully, with belphie's ability to keep himself conscious, he helps beel from continuously 'taste testing' their creation. it goes well until they're half-way through and the door opens, a head of blonde hair popping inside.

"i thought i smelled something here, what are you two doing? it's not your turn tonight for dinner duty." one look at the dish they're making though and satan gives a nod of understanding. it's the dish you had made for belphegor some time ago. "need some help?"

satan's help is very much needed as belphie was on his last winks and that meant there would be no one to keep beel in check either. by the time the pasta was finished there's five-too-many more servings than intended on the counter and four more demons surrounding it.

seems like they won't be having dinner in the dining hall today.

Belphegor takes your room as his own.

there's no other room in the house of lamentation that's as comforting as yours—that's simply a unanimous fact. and with the absence of your presence now, it's also the only place belphie can go to feel the closest to you.

he spends more time in your room now than he does in his shared room with beel and the attic combined. there are days where mammon sneaks inside during the night only to already find the twins loitering around, laying on your bed or sitting at the table having a snack (or at least, beel's definition of a snack).

while belphie admits he likes the time he spends in your room alone, he feels more at peace when his brothers decide to join as well, uninvited or not. it makes the days feel like they've gone back to normalcy, when you're still here and they can just relax in each other's company.

"mammon stop clinging to me, dammit! you're the one who wanted to watch a horror movie!" levi pulls away from his older brother as much as possible, holding a container of popcorn above his head to prevent it from spilling all over the floor and dirtying your carpet.

satan's groans are louder than any of their yelling, "quiet down! i can't focus on what the characters are saying! and beel your chewing too loud!"

"sorry," comes the prompt reply followed by even more chewing.

asmo leans his back on the bed frame, head tilting to the side in order to get a better view of belphie's face under the dim light of the monitor. "having fun?"

"what do you think?" he groans, pushing his head further into your pillow.

and while belphie can't see the expression asmo makes, he has a good prediction that he's grinning. "i think you're having fun. after all, you haven't kicked any of us out yet."

"it's not my room," he replies.

"but you know everyone would gladly leave if it meant you felt more comfortable."

the youngest brother turns his back. "you guys are too loud, i'm going to sleep."

"yes, yes, sleep well, belphie," asmo quips. "have nice dreams."

and he does.

even over the loud noises of his brothers yelling and the muffled sounds coming from the speakers of the tv, belphie finds that he hasn't fallen into a sleep this deep since you disappeared. and while morning comes eventually, he treasures the dream with you in it for as long as he can.