If Only Life Was Always So Simple.

Title: Helping Hand

Pairing: Manjiro x Reader

Summary: You come to the leader of Toman to help you with your stalker problem| Genre: Fluff| Warning: Mention of stalking | Words: 3.8K

‘Ex-excuse me, Sano-san?’ 

You didn’t feel particularly good about what you were about to do, but given the circumstances, you felt you were left without other options. 

You felt too self-aware and nervous to look directly at him, but you could tell he slightly turned his head to look at you even without looking.

‘Did you say something?’ asked the short blond-haired leader of Toman, and you almost yelped. You wanted to talk to him, but it still caused you great anguish that he replied, forcing you to go on with your plan, ‘Uh, I…I…well, you see…’

The boy remained patient for an admirably long moment while you struggled to find the right words before he suddenly stepped closer to you. 

‘Oi! You should look at me when you’re talking to me. I might feel disrespected otherwise,’ he said, sounding beyond casual. Still, the possibility that you might offend a known gang leader was enough threat on its own.

You straightened yourself to your full height and looked at the boy around your age who wore a strangely disinterested look on his face.

Sano Manjiro, the leader of Toman, and the boy, you came to find on a school day forcing yourself to run late, perhaps even skip, watched you with a pair of the most alluring and sad dark eyes you had ever seen. 

You saw him around before. You knew how he looked when you found him, of course, but seeing his eyes this close caught you off guard. 

They’re pretty, though; you thought something about their nostalgia speaking to you.

Suddenly, he chuckled, ‘What’s the matter?’ he closed his eyes, and a lazy but pretty grin pulled across his face while he teased you, ‘Forgot what you were going to say?’ 

You felt your face catch fire at his words, and your eyes widened, realizing how silly you must have looked. You were already nervous, but now on top of all that, you also felt beyond embarrassed. 

You slightly bowed and yelled, ‘I’M SORRY!’

When you looked back up, he was still there with his hands in his pocket, looking somewhat amused, which didn’t help your face that continued to feel all too warm or the fluttering inside your stomach. 

You were never good when it came to talking to handsome boys. If it was possible, you would have avoided this interaction completely, but you just couldn’t. 

‘You’re kinda awkward, huh?’ he asked, and you closed your eyes, fighting the mortifying feeling of embarrassment that he would say something like that out loud to you. 

It was true. But still! 

‘Yeah,’ you admitted quietly before you finally said, ‘I would like to ask for your help.’

Mikey’s leisure posture didn’t change, but you could see the corners of his lips falling a tiny bit, minimizing his smile, ‘Go on then.’

You took a deep breath and stuttered over your explanation, wishing you had written it down last night when it occurred to you, you could ask the Invincible Mikey for help. 

The truth was a few months ago, one of your neighbors took an unhealthy interest in you, and the situation had only escalated since then. 

It started innocently enough, with the boy simply walking you to and from school, attempting to be friendly. You didn’t mind back then and were even thrilled you might have gained a new friend, but things quickly spiraled as he started to make you uncomfortable with his comments about your body and asking you out. You wouldn’t mind him as a friend, but you weren’t interested in anything else. He seemed alright at first, but there were a number of reasons why he wasn’t your type. 

Initially, you tried to be polite, but with time, you even clearly stated your reasons. It came out rather nervously due to your personality, but at least for once, you stood your ground. However, it seemed like he couldn’t take the hint, and later, he ended up full-on ignoring your protests. 

‘If you give me more time, I’ll change your mind,’ he said with confidence, making you sick to your stomach since you didn’t want him to try any more than he already did.

You were an anxious person who tried to avoid conflicts and anything too uncomfortable to deal with. So, it seemed natural for you to try and stop interacting with him when you rejected his advances. It would be too awkward otherwise. 

However, he seemed to disagree. He tried to walk you to and from school and seemed to catch you whenever you went grocery shopping or ran some other errands. 

At first, it was uncomfortable and annoying, but it quickly became creepy. He was pressuring you all the time, talking about how pretty you were and how much he liked looking at you, and a lot of other things that, with the way he was looking at you and how he always seemed to catch you when you went somewhere, were beyond scary. 

It wasn’t just that you were shy or anything like that. Every time on point when the boy showed up, you felt your stomach sink and nausea take over while he smiled at you. 

Your family tried to calm you down, claiming you didn’t understand how having a crush felt or worked and that you were overacting, making you feel even worse about the whole situation. 

On top of that, your neighbor was two years older and objectively somewhat good-looking, so it seemed like every other person you confided in thought you should give in and start dating him. 

‘It’s not like you have a shot at anyone else right now, right?’ asked one of your classmates, which shocked and hurt you so badly that you stopped talking about it together.

Perhaps, you just didn’t stress out about how severe the situation was, but you still felt upset and betrayed that no one seemed to see it as you did.

Of course, it all sounded innocent on the outside because none of those people were in your shoes.

You felt incredibly alone while dealing with all of this, constantly stressed whenever he found you somewhere smiling and acting all nice and sweet while all you could think about was to run. Only to later doubt yourself and wonder if you really weren’t just being too harsh on him. 

Needless to say, you weren’t in a good place mentally, and your anxiety was running all-time high because of all of this. 

You hit your sort of breaking point when he touched you the other day and tried to kiss you, telling you he waited enough for you to be ready and that he wanted to date you already.

You froze, feeling the weight of absolute panic that entered your body and was about to tear you in half. You were never more scared in your entire life, and rightfully so. 

Your only salvation was that before he could do anything, there was a commotion nearby. Your reflexes kicked in, forcing you to break free from his hold and run home. You drenched yourself that day while crying in the shower feeling hopeless and alone like you never did in your entire life. It was soul-crushing, really.

You barely ate that evening, and when your parents asked about it, you stated you weren’t feeling too well, fearing if you confessed what happened, they would just brush it off again, further breaking your heart and trust. 

It was impossible to fall asleep that night, so you spent hours trying to come up with a plan until you remembered your classmate, who never showed up for class and just so happened to be a gang leader. You were unclear about what exactly it meant to be a part of a gang while still underage, apart from getting into fights and skipping school. However, since Mikey’s sister Emma was still spending time with him and doing a better job in staying in school, it wouldn’t be so horrible. 

You were also suffering from sleep deprivation, so last night, the idea seemed really good.

Out of other options, you took all the money your frugal self has saved so far, packed your lunch, and went on a hunt for a certain blond-haired delinquent.  

‘That’s not cool of him at all,’ said Mikey as you managed to stumble over your words explaining what was happening. Of course, you gave him a much shorter version of it all. And in your frantic retelling, you might have even watered it down a bit. 

You finally stopped talking and forced your eyes to lift up to his face as you found it impossible to look at his expressions while discussing those events. 

Your eyes widened, and you were left stunned by the ice-cold look on his face. It was so bizarrely different from the relaxed and bored one from before. It was an exceptional look that spoke volumes on its own. 

Danger 

‘If you told him to stop and leave you alone, he should have. I have a sister, and if someone threatened her this way, I would have killed them.’

 You were left speechless listening to the firm and cold way he delivered those words and felt something snap inside you. 

A pathetic soft sob broke from your mouth. 

You covered your mouth while tears started to rush out of your eyes. The whole harassment had been going on for so long, and no one seemed too concerned about it. Not your family or friends, yet this boy, who was supposed to be a scary and mean delinquent, appeared to have no problem taking your side and showing you the compassion you desperately needed.

Your insides were torn between going through the pain you endured for so long and feeling warm relief over his kindness.

‘Come on,’ he spoke with a much gentle voice now, almost like he was talking to a child, ‘No need to cry for a jerk like that.’

He stepped closer, and while tears ran down your cheeks, he leaned forward and grinned right at your face. Your vision was blurry, but you could still make out his radiating smile. Even if you couldn’t see it properly and were a mess, you still couldn’t help but think it was rather beautiful. 

‘He doesn’t deserve your tears, yeah?’

You started to brush your face and speak, only to eventually nod as you felt it would take far longer for you to be able to sound coherent again. You just couldn’t help yourself. Until then, everyone seemed so dismissive of what was going on. 

Mikey barely knew you and immediately chose to take your side on all of this. It was a bit overwhelming for you, to say the least. 

‘Mikey-kun, sorry it took so long, but they-AAAA!’ 

You immediately stopped crying, startled by the yelling, and looked behind Mikey at another blond-haired boy you weren’t familiar with, who was looking and pointing directly at you with shock written all over him. 

‘Hm?’ Mikey turned back to the boy with seemingly disinterest before he said, ‘Takemitchy, you kept me waiting for so long.’

The other blond finally dropped his hand but remained looking at you with his eyes wide, ‘W-what are you doing, Mikey-kun?’

‘Ah, this awkward girl here wants me to beat up her stalker, so he’ll leave her alone,’ he said. You were stunned he could speak so casually about it, as if girls all over town came to him and asked him for his services. 

I hope not, you found yourself thinking with a sour taste inside your mouth. You were surprised you cared. It wasn’t like you would wish your situation on anyone, and if someone unfortunate did end up in it, you hoped they had options to be helped and saved. You also hoped that option wasn’t the blond who you wished would only help you.

‘She’s kinda cute though, right?’ he asked next, causing your eyes to widen and your cheeks to get warm again, ‘Cries just like you.’

‘Oi!’ complained the other boy but remained looking between you and Mikey, somewhat panicked, confusing you even more. Did he know you or something?

You were puzzled and a bit freaked out about why he was staring at you like that before Mikey turned back to face you and let out a relieved sigh, ‘You done with the waterfalls, huh?’

‘Y-yeah,’ you said and brushed your cheeks some more before you started to search your school bag for a wallet, ‘I don’t have a lot, but here.’

‘Keep it,’ he said, and your hand paused mid-air with your wallet inside it. 

The corner of his mouth pulled into another smile, ‘I have subordinates to give me money. I would feel pretty bad if I took yours. Though, I have a request.’

‘Anything,’ you said before you could properly think about your words and blushed even harder when Mikey chuckled and then pulled the corner of your lips into a lazy smirk. Your neighbor smiled at you a lot, which often caused your belly to react, but you couldn’t help but think it was nothing similar to the strangely sweet warmth you felt now. It was still awkward and slightly out of your comfort zone, but not in a way; you wished to run as far away as you could from the boy. Quite the opposite, actually.

You slapped a hand over your mouth while Mikey lectured you, ‘Careful with such things. Someone might get the wrong impression again, and I won’t always have time to beat up your stalkers, okay?’

You dutifully nodded, and the blond-haired boy pointed at the lunch box sticking out of your bag, ‘Share your lunch with me.’ 

You blinked and uncovered your mouth, surprised. 

‘Kenchin cut me off,’ he started to explain as if you knew who that person was, ‘and Takemitchy is already buying me dorayaki-’

‘I am?’ asked the boy behind him, and you uncovered your palm and giggled at his funny antics.

Even if just slightly and for less than a second, but when you did, it seemed his dark eyes lit up with something other than that dark nostalgia they seem to carry constantly.

You tried to give him your wallet anyway, but he didn’t even reach for it, so you ultimately put it back. 

 ‘Of course, you can take it,’ you handed the nearly packed bento into his awaiting palm, ‘I’m not that good of a cook, but I hope you’ll enjoy it anyway.’

He smiled upon accepting it, ‘It smells good, so I have high hopes for it,’ he then put on a very childlike face and said, ‘I’ll be very disappointed if it doesn’t.’

You didn’t like the sound of that and went to tell him, but he suddenly stepped closer to you. Your shoulders touched obviously on purpose, and he tilted his head to be able to speak directly into your ear, ‘Go back to class, Y/N-chan. I’ll come pick you up when I’m done with that guy. Yeah?’

You felt a shiver run through your entire being for some reason. 

Your hand quickly covered your ear and stepped away feeling flushed and warm, unlike never before over his teasing. He had to do it purposefully, knowing it would leave you flustered. But he didn’t touch you; instead, he left you feeling shy, embarrassed, and warm than uncomfortable like your stalker.

Mikey only grinned at you with a look behind his dark eyes you couldn’t read before he walked further down the street, calling for Takemitchy, the other blond-haired boy, to follow, which he did momentary pausing to give you a quick wave, ‘Bye, Y/L/N-san.’

You blinked several times before you turned back to watch them get on Mikey’s bike and drive, leaving you to wonder how he knew your name. You were surprised Mikey knew it since he rarely, if ever, showed up at class, and you were certain you never spoke with one another until today. But for that odd boy to know it as well?

So strange, you thought to yourself before you made your way to your school. Your only sanctuary since your stalker didn’t go there. Yet. 

You almost threw up the one time he mentioned he might transfer even if he wouldn’t be in your class since he was older, but at least he would be able to see you more often during the day. 

The day ended, and you dutifully waited in front of the school building close enough to take refuge there if needed, even if that had never worked before. It didn’t matter if you went home too late or not; it seemed your neighbor always caught up to you. 

Finally, after a while, Mikey showed up on his bike, along with another of your classmates, Ryuguji Ken, who almost never showed up in school either, and the odd boy you only met today, Takemitchi. 

‘Here, it was delicious.’

You took your bento from his hands and stuffed it back into your bag, noting it was empty before you looked at him again. He seemed in a good mood, partly lying over his bike while smiling at you.

You grimaced, ‘Hardly. My relatives always tell me I use too much salt or spice-’

‘You did,’ he chuckled, surprising you, ‘But you also gave me the whole thing instead of sharing and did your best, so it’s fine.’

You knew you were blushing when he said that and looked away so you would calm down a bit. It was hard to watch him when he looked this happy and handsome at you of all people, ‘Y-you don’t know if I really put that much effort into it.’

‘I do,’ he said with confidence and amusement, ‘You seem like the type.’

There was no point in denying it, so you took a deep breath and looked up, ‘W-well, did you manage to…’

‘Your neighbor won’t bother you again,’ he assured with a distant look behind his dark eyes, ‘He’ll stay away from you from now on.’ 

You watched him for a moment, finally letting those words sink in. You didn’t realize how stressed you were while waiting until Mikey finally showed up again. It wasn’t like you could assess his abilities since you never saw him fight or deal with his subordinates, so you were unsure if he could do something to have your stalker leave you alone. You feared your stalker would somehow talk his way out of it like he always seemed to. Now that you knew everything worked out, you felt like crying again.

‘Ah, come on, no more of those waterfalls,’ joked Mikey and reached out, swiping a tear from your cheek, ‘A guy like that definitely doesn’t deserve them. Don’t let them go to waste on him.’

His hand was warm, and everything about him felt so kind you thought you couldn’t handle it anymore. You were dealing with it for a long time; you felt overwhelmed with it all. 

‘Thank you!’ you could help but yell before suddenly you found your arms hanging around the blond boy’s neck and your chest pressed against his while you tried to fight back tears of gratitude, ‘Thank you so much!’

You squeezed him for a second or two before you jumped away and bowed, ‘I know it’s probably not a big deal to you, but it means a lot to me, so’ you rose and offered him your best smile while still attempting not to cry, ‘Thank you for saving me.’

When you looked at Mikey’s face, you could see just how shocked he was with his slightly opened mouth and widened eyes staring at you as if you grew a second head. You didn’t blame him, as you looked like a lunatic that tossed herself on poor victims. 

You blamed the horrible stress you had to endure all this time to be the reason, not to mention the fact that the boy was so nice about the whole thing. Not even accepting your money, just your hardly tasty lunch. And he even claimed it was delicious when you knew it wasn’t that special. 

You offered him a nod, unsure what to do next, and caught yourself thinking that you should run, only to have him call for you, ‘Wait!’

His voice sounded different now, and you panicked, thinking he must have hated when people touched him without asking, and perhaps wanted to scold you only to be met with his pretty face looking especially childlike and open arms, ‘Not enough, give me more.’

‘Mikey-kun! Don’t just demand that!’ yelled the panicked blond boy distressed behind him, but you already found yourself walking to the boy who saved you and put your arms around him, having him almost dive into you while letting out a small sigh. 

‘This is nice.’

You held him closer, closed your eyes to experience the moment properly, and held onto him if he really said, ‘I’m glad.’ 

It should have been bizarre to hug a relative stranger like this, but it didn’t feel that way. Mikey smelled like food and something earthy, and he helped you tight enough that, along with what he did for you, you felt safe. It was a good, really pleasant feeling. One that you wouldn’t mind prolonging even longer to savor every second of it if you didn’t hear Ryuguji call, ‘Oi! Mikey, wrap it up! You know we need to be elsewhere soon.’

The blond let out a little pouty sound that made you giggle against his ear before you could stop yourself. 

Just as you did, you felt Mikey’s grip tightened ever so slightly, ‘I like that sound.’

‘Hm?’

‘That sound you make when you laugh,’ he said, and you smiled, trying to hide your face a bit. You couldn’t remember the last time someone complimented you, making your insides feel like cotton candy. Still, you were glad you didn’t because the idea that only the Toman leader did was far sweeter. 

Ultimately, he let you go and, very disappointed, admitted he had to go, ‘Kenchin’s right. Today, Takemitchi will walk you home. I promised to kick his ass if anything happens to you, and he has a girlfriend who will beat his ass so that he won’t make a move on you.’ 

You grimaced and tried to deny his offer since you didn’t want to bother the other boy. 

‘Tomorrow though,’ said Mikey cutting you off, ‘I’ll take you out after school, alright?’

Your lips parted in shock, although you really shouldn’t have been surprised since the blond did compliment you a lot today, and you just spent a very long while hugging him. 

It might have been pathetic, but you couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across your face as you nodded and accepted having a very good feeling about it. 

Koniec

A.N: English isn’t my first language, so I apologize for grammatical mistakes. Thank you for taking the time to read this 😊 I apologize if it wasn’t as good as some of my stories, though ☹ I was in a weird head-space. Stay safe!

Title: Habits

Pairing: Shinichiro x reader 

Summary: You ask your crush and childhood friend, Shin, to quit smoking for a month to some interesting results. | Genre: Fluff | Warning: none | Words: 2.8K

‘SHIN! SERIOUSLY?!’ you snapped at your childhood friend while covering your nose with one hand and frantically waving away the smoke from his cigarette that got close to your face with the other.

The dark-haired man glance back at you and grimaced with the cigarette between his lips, ‘Sorry.’

He leisurely took it out of his mouth and put it out against the back of his shoe while you tried to find a bit of air that wasn’t compromised by the disgusting smell, ‘You really need to stop.’

‘It’s just a bit of smoke,’ he said looking his typical relaxed and amused self.

‘It kills!’ you shot back heated since it wasn’t the first time, you two had this discussion about Shin’s less-than-safe habit.

He grinned, ‘You say that like you care.’

If he wasn’t smiling in his typical boylike charming way, those words would sound horribly accusatory, and even if you knew he was just teasing you couldn’t help but soften upon hearing them, ‘Shin, I mean it. It’s not good for you. I don’t want you to…die young.’

His relaxed look cracked a tiny bit. 

He knew you cared. 

You knew one another since before kindergarten. You were always in each other’s life one way or another. Even when life drifted you apart, you still remained friendly before you re-established your old friendship for good a couple of years ago.

He offered you a delicate look, and you knew he was thinking about all those things you told him about how you lost people from your life. One way or another.

‘I’ll be fine. I don’t smoke around the little ones,’ he tried to brush it off again. True, he was decent enough not to smoke around Emma, Mikey, or even Izana and made sure his smoker friends like Takeomi did the same, but you still hated that he smoked all the same even more so when he said, ‘I’m not hurting anyone else-’

‘Hurting yourself is more than enough, idiot,’ you mumbled now feeling annoyed over having the same argument over and over again.

You started to walk ignoring the young man.

It took Shin a while as he was probably thinking about what you said before he caught up to you and put his arm around your shoulders startling you a bit.

Your heart started to pound like crazy feeling the warmth radiating from his body against your own even through the layers of clothing. You could only hope your traitorous cheeks weren’t red enough for him to notice again. You barely made it out of the last situation similar to this by lying you had a fever.

Shin grinned at you, ‘Stopping seems like such a hassle.’

‘Have you at least tried it?’ you asked hoping being annoyed with him would busy your body from reacting in such a way to him. Even if the smell of cigarettes twisted your stomach enough to make you throw up, your heart was like Shin’s presence.

The real hassle was having a crush on your childhood friend, you thought knowing that those words could never leave your lips. You figured if he liked you, he would have said something by now, or at least initiate something. He might have been unlucky with girls in the past, but the young man was really straightforward about such things shamelessly commenting other women on the street even if you were around. Not that he would know he was making you jealous because you would never confess and risk your friendship becoming awkward.

‘Not really. I was once really low on money, but even then, I managed to get some from beating up these punks,’ he said looking awfully proud, and you pulled at his cheek rather harshly causing him to yelp.

‘Yeah, and I ended up nursing your stupid wounds, and using all my cute band-aids on your sorry ass.’

He got your hand away from his face and stepped away from you to brush his wounded cheek, ‘True, but at least it looked like I had a cute girlfriend. For a moment, I was the real King.’

‘Idiot,’ you mumbled again brushing your arm feeling disappointed over the lack of his warmth, ‘If you never really tried to quit, why not give it a go now? You would be surprised how much money you would save.’

You started to walk again. At this ridiculous rate, you would never make it to Wakasa’s gym before dark.

‘Maybe,’ he said before he chuckled, ‘Maybe not, I spend quite a lot on you, don’t I?’

Your cheeks flushed, and you managed to look away embarrassed at the last second before he was by your side no doubt grinning like a lovable idiot.

‘It’s not my fault. I’m a poor uni student,’ you used a weak excuse. It was true, Shin made it a point to take you out for dinner or lunch whenever he had the time always paying before you even had a chance to pull out your wallet. It was big and little things like these that caused your pathetic heart to beat like crazy and your face to turn into a tomato because of the former delinquent.

‘I don’t mind,’ he said, and it sounded so sincere, you couldn’t help, but look at him if only to catch that sweet look in his dark eyes.

The guy couldn’t score a date to save his life and yet here he was practically charming the pants off you.

You cleared your throat, ‘B-but to the main topic. You should try it. At least to see if you would be able to go without it for a month.’

‘For a month? Be realistic,’ he grunted a bit and put his arms behind his head like he was a kid again causing you to smile almost remembering the two of you walking home from school before you went to middle school. Those were simpler times when you considered all boys stupid. You still did, but it didn’t change the fact that you wouldn’t mind if this stupid one was yours.

‘It’s not that long,’ you said and crossed your arms.

‘A week maybe.’

‘A month.’

‘Two weeks.’

‘A month!’

‘What will I get if I manage?’

You frowned and looked back at him confused, ‘A better-improved health? More money? Not smelling like an ashtray?’ you asked listing the obvious. He had to know it was a horrible habit, right? ‘It’s really hard to be close to you when you talk. Your mouth smells so gross even now,’ you waved your palm in front of your nose as if to prove your point. It was bad. At times when Shin was his absolute best and sweetest causing you to die out of a cardiac arrest or crawl into his lap and kiss him just once because of what a beautiful human being he was, that gross smell always pulled you back to the reality.

He glanced at you for a moment, and you almost felt bad for saying it like that, but it was true, perhaps, one of the few reasons, apart from being sane, that you didn’t try to do something reckless about your crush was because the smell was just too awful to bear.

The look on his face was unreadable for a moment, and you could tell he was thinking, ‘Alright, what will you give me if I manage to go smoke-free for a month.’

Your eyes widened, and you felt your throat go dry, ‘W-what? What the hell do you mean what will I give you?’

He grinned stepping far closer to you than before causing you to catch wind of the disgusting cigarette smoke, ‘What will you give me if I manage not to smoke for a month?’

You felt so embarrassed, but at the same time, you couldn’t help but grin back at him when he was looking at you like this. No matter how silly you felt about your little crush, Shin always made it impossible to not want to be around him, ‘You’re horrible.’

‘Come on,’ he laughed, and you took a step back taking the lead again, ‘Anything you want,’ you said without thinking, ‘Now, let’s go! Wakasa will kill us if we keep him waiting again.’

‘Anything I want, hm? Sounds promising,’ he tossed it out there as casually as he did everything else causing a shiver to run through your body. You hoped he was just teasing you the way he always did. You were certain, you wouldn’t be able to survive if he was being serious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

You were definitely impressed to see Shin work his hardest to quit smoking. He seemed more stressed at times, obviously craving it, but he didn’t lose his personality completely acting his usual self toward you. It was both a blessing and curse for your weak heart though.

You noticed Shin spent more time chewing gum or eating sweets probably to keep his mouth busy as well as working odd hours in the bike shop no doubt to take his mind off his habit. But in general, it was going rather well for him. So well, that when he stepped closer to you while taking you out for lunch about two weeks in, you found yourself flushed because of how good he smelled up close without the always lingering cigarette smoke mixed with his body scent.

‘What?’ he asked confused by your sudden stiffness, and you couldn’t think of any decent lie, so you decided to go with the partly truth, ‘Nothing, you just don’t smell like an ashtray anymore. It’s…different.’

He grinned and pulled you even closer against his chest making you sweat.

If he ever found out how much more attractive I thought he was now, he would never let me live it down.

It was frustrating. Even if you would never go back on your words because you genuinely wanted Shin to stop and not threaten his health like that, you still feared you would act recklessly if he kept up. There was only so much a young woman like you could endure when crushing on her childhood friend.

Once the actual month mark passed, Shin called you over to the shop to take you out for dinner like he usually did if he wasn’t eating with his family, ‘So how do I smell?’

You felt nervous walking closer to him even if he was only wearing his work clothes since currently it seemed no matter what he wore or set it had the same lovesick effect on you.

You still grinned though, ‘Like motor oil and sweat.’

‘Rude, but fair,’ he admitted, ‘I’ll shower real quick, so you don’t have to be embarrassed by me.’

‘I’m not,’ you mumbled and went to sit down until he returned.

‘I passed my one month,’ he said with a shit-eating smirk across his face, and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes, ‘Yes, yes, so what I’m paying for dinner?’

‘Nah,’ he assured you and walked you out before he locked the shop.

You bit your lip. You knew how much it cost him to stick to his word and quit. It wasn’t easy to stop when he was addicted as he was even if he remained his relaxed easy-going self most of the time.

‘Shin,’ you said and waited for him to look at you.

His dark eyes were calm and pretty that evening making it both a treat to look at them and extremely hard at the same time, ‘You did a really good job. I’m proud of you, alright? I know it wasn’t easy. You…you always find a way to impress me, and it means a lot to you…did this when I asked you to.’ All of it was true. You could count the number of times people did something this big for you because you needed it or asked them to on the fingers of your right hand. And most of those things were achieved by Shin anyway.

He always delivered on his words.

He watched you for a moment before his lips curved into a happy smile and his eyes softened making your knees go weak, ‘Thanks. I’m glad I managed. I could tell it bothered you quite a lot.’

You nodded, ‘It did. I would hate for you to get sick and the smell…well, I told you it was really awful.’

He stepped closer to you almost to the point that your chests were touching, ‘It’s much better now, huh?’

You felt your cheeks warming up again, ‘Uh-huh.’

His bright smile faded a bit, but only because it became somewhat softer, ‘Even my mouth?’

Involuntarily the innocent question caused your eyes to move to his lips. That was a bad decision because it immediately jumpstarted your heart and caused chaos inside your mind.

We’re really close, huh? 

 ‘Well… sure?’ you said unsure about what was the question anymore all too focused on the shape and color of his mouth. You couldn’t help but think he had really pretty lips.

‘Here, have a taste,’ he said and suddenly you felt his warm palm against the back of your head pulling you closer.

Your eyes widened, and your palms pressed against his chest unclear whether you were planning to stop him or just have a place for them to settle.

Right before your lips would touch, you blurted out, ‘Shin?’

Everything stopped, but not in a good way, as the dark-haired man stepped away and hid his face away from your gaze, ‘Shit, sorry, I…I’m sorry. I thought it would be cool.’

You blinked surprised, as he started to scratch the back of his head, ‘Never mind, forget I did that. I’m…sorry.’

You snatched his hand and brought it away from his hair, ‘It was cool.’

Your eyes met, and your face caught on fire all over again, ‘Well…it was pretty cool, uh, but why?’

‘I like you,’ he blurted out obviously shocked he had as he tried to look away again.

The most beautiful flower started to bloom inside your belly, ‘You do?’

He nodded still not meeting your eyes, ‘You always looked so disgusted and annoyed because of the smoke, but when I stopped, you seemed more willing to have me close. I figured I would give it a shot. Pretty stupid, huh?’ he tried to pull his hand out of your hold, but you didn’t let him.

He finally glanced at you, and you tried to hold his gaze as best as you could, ‘Not as stupid as being into you even when you smelled like an ashtray.’

His dark eyes widened in surprise and immediately the familiar smile appeared across his face, ‘Really?’

You grinned less embarrassed than you thought you would be knowing he felt the same. The ridiculous wave of happiness washing over you, ‘Yes, I like you too, Shinichiro.’

He suddenly took his hand from your hold and cupped your face with both of his hands, ‘Then let me be cool just for once.’

‘I always think you’re cool,’ you confessed feeling too wired in the heat of the moment to deny it.

He smiled at you adoringly while still holding your face, ‘Really?’

You groaned at his eagerness and how silly it must have all made you look, ‘You’re embarrassing me.’

He grinned, ‘Good, I like it when your face is all red.’

‘Hey-’ before you could finish his lips were on yours. His mouth was soft and warm to the touch. Although you wouldn’t have expected it from someone who acts so relaxed and carefree most of the time, Shin’s lips were demanding forcing your mouth to yield to his and parting to take him deeper. Once you let him his tongue ever so slightly moved across your in an electrifying slide.

Daydreaming about your crush as often as you have, you knew you would like it regardless of if Shin was a good kisser or not but given the sensation, he sparked inside your belly that reached all the way up to the roots of your hair and fingers of your toes.

By the time, he finally broke the kiss earning himself a breathless moan that escaped your throat, you found your hands had once again found a place on his chest lightly touching him.

You blinked several times trying to catch up to what just happened while Shin offered you a grin. Instantly, you smiled back at him feeling far too happy for your own good.

His palms let go of your face in order to take hold of your waist barely touching them, but still causing you to shiver.

‘Say, what will you give me for another month without smoking?’

‘Idiot,’ you mumbled but continued to smile feeling far too pleased at that moment, ‘How about you wait and find out?’

His dark eyes and bright smile revealed his amusement and happiness before he once again pressed his lips against yours.

Koniec A.N: Thank you for reading 😊 Have a nice day 😊

Bonten men as family men

Because talking about them in disc made me soft. @blueparadis @etheralyonn

         ✩｡:*•.─────  ☆-☆  ─────.•*:｡✩

Manjiro

Has twins one girl and one boy.

Besides his s/o their his pride and joy.

Definitely sleeps with the twins a lot, the two babies are cuddled on his chest and he has a protective arm wrapped around them.

Skips bonten meetings because its nap time with the babies.

Ordered everyone that if something happens his family comes first. Their safety means everything to him.

Tells the babies about his adventures with Toman.

Haruchiyo

Has a daughter and she's just a ball of energy, keeping the pink haired man on his toes.

It doesn't help that she befriend ever b.o.y. either, they have small arguments where haru tells her no boyfriends till he dies.

Has tea parties with her to make up for making her cry. She forces a crown and everything on him.

Oh and the dog haru got to protect his family? Yep she dresses the dog up in tiaras and tutus.

"Baby the dog is supposed to be scary "

"No he should be pretty!"

He can't say no to her, which causes problems because she keeps asking for another dog.

Ran

Has a beautiful daughter, she is such a daddy's girl.

Only he is allowed to braid her hair, but nothing else because he doesn't do it right.

Doesn't mind having tea parties with her either, he always ordered them some pastries whenever they have tea parties.

Loves when she runs up to him to greet him when he comes home.

What he loves even more is coming home to find his s/o and daughter curled up in bed together.

He pulls them both closer and just wraps his arms around them.

Rindou

Has a shy little boy who hates crowds.

It took Rindou, (Name) and Ran to convince the little boy that the school was safe and he will make lot of friends.

Little boy looks just like his dad too.

Rindou and the toddler wear matching glasses.

As shy as the boy is, he has such a sharp tongue. He loves bullying Sanzu and Ran when they annoy them.

"Come on uncle Ran is your favourite right?"

"What about Sanzu?"

"I like Kaku more"

Rindou finds it amusing how his son can talk to adults like that but when it comes to kids his age. The boy hide behind the nearest adult.

Takeomi

Three kids, two girls and one boy.

He's pretty attentive, always checking up on his kids.

He doesnt want to make the same mistake again.

Works with the reward system, if his kids do their chores they get a little rewards.

Asks his son to protect the girls and (name)

But the eldest girl quickly interfered and said she'll protect everyone.

have i been having a hyperfixation on hanma and kisaki for several months? yes, absolutely

do i regret it tho? absolutely not

(okay, maybe i do just a little, because they are assholes, like you can't tell me they are not, but i still like them for some reason (why do i always like villains, antagonists, and just bad guys, i don't like liking them!!!!))

also.......... am i the only one who feels like their voices in japanese dub don't suit them? cause whenever i hear them talking i just start wheezing uncontrollably, like what the heck, why are they so funny?

BONTEN MEN and LOVE headcanons

(sad in Mikey's and Takeomi's, pretty dark in Sanzu's)

────────｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ───────

MIKEY: he's afraid of falling in love. afraid he's gonna hurt the most precious person to him so he shuts himself behind many walls and doors, on a thousand locks, hiding himself from everyone. he doesn't believe he's able to fall in love anymore and even if he is, he'll always be afraid of hurting them.

RAN: believes in "love yourself, only then anyone will love you". he probably claims he doesn't believe in love at first sight, but actually that might be exactly the way he'd fall in love. he might tight his significant other close and then let go and then it's gonna be like that over and over again, just because he's never actually fallen in love and he doesn't know how to make it right.

RINDOU: is very self-conscious because of his brother. if he ever falls in love, he'll be always afraid you'd leave him for Ran (pls, tell him you'll never do so (but only tell the truth, because Rindou hates being lied to and can always tell when someone is lying to him)).

KOKO: doesn't think he can fall in love ever again. even if he let go of Akane, he's just not ready to fall in love with anyone else, therefore he practically gets married to his job, working as much as he can. but if he falls in love ever again, it's gonna last long and he'll be very attentive towards his significant other and their interests.

KAKUCHO: doesn't believe anyone can fall in love with him, though at the same time is eager to be loved. once someone says they love him, he'll hold them dearly (but he will let them go, if their significant other ever tells them their feelings towards him have changed).

SANZU: doesn't believe in love. his life led him to believing only his king deserves his dedication and that everything else isn't worth his attention. he's probably gonna look like at a bug at anyone who ever mentions they like him, because they aren't his king, therefore he doesn't need to give his admiration to them. (he'll probably end up being the most toxic boyfriend out of all, sometimes sweet and caring, and sometimes a mental abuser)

MOCHI: if he ever falls in love, he's gonna treat his significant other as an equal to him. he's never gonna raise a fist on them, treating them as the most precious person in the whole world. he's trustworthy in every single aspect.

TAKEOMI: is afraid of falling in love and being a bad dad. he's always haunted by the reminder of how bad of an older brother he was, that's why he's afraid of being a bad dad, that's why he's afraid of falling in love. that's why he promises himself to not fall in love ever (just as Mikey does).

────────｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ───────

BONTEN MEN and how the tell you they love you

────────｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ───────

MIKEY: "before you came into my life, it was nothing but pain"

RAN: "never thought someone will be in my mind more often than anything else but you somehow are"

RINDOU: "I've never thought I would fall for someone this hard but here I am"

SANZU: "you're making my world brighter. better. you are my world"

MOCHI: "I'm not a good guy, but I want to be good just for you"

KOKO: "I never thought I'd fall in love ever again but you made me fall in love with you"

KAKUCHO: "I don't know what I would do without you, I love you so much"

TAKEOMI: "I don't know if I won't fuck up everything but I really hope I won't"

────────｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ───────

Mikey headcanons

^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°

Mikey is always touching you whenever he can. If your walking with him you better believe he's holding your hand. He'll even go as far as to give you a piggy back ride when your tired.

Knows and life's by the sidewalk rule

Won't let you open door for yourself he has to open them for you with a "A queen should never have to open her own doors."

Mikey would steal your lollipops. If you have one in your mouth he'll go and just steal it even though you had just given him one for himself.

He knows your strong and can hold your own in a fight so he'll take you to fight alongside toman. Will get mad at himself if you end up hurt even if it's just a scratch because he's the one who took you there.

Loves it when you do his hair. Like when Draken is doing it he'll complain about how you do it better

Random dates he will just appear at your doorstep like "We are going on a date yayyyy!"

Mikey has given you a lot of his jackets and starts whining when you are wearing your own one instead of his.

If or when you guys have /adopt a kid he would tell them story's about his big brother Shinichiro while he works on a motorcycle in the garage

Speaking of Shinichiro, Mikey would want to be the kind of role model Shinichiro was to him.

Kinda short I'm sorry but I couldn't really think about anything else 😅

i accidentally wrote romantic fluff with Sanzu.............. and i don't even love Sanzu............. wtf how did it happen?...............

Ran Haitani × reader, sfw, fluff, no mentions of readers appearence, afab reader, mentions of sexual assault from the past (pls don't read if it triggers you or if you have any trauma, it's brief but it's there), soft Ran, protective Ran, (super OOC Ran, but I needed some comfort with him so I don't really care), no mentions of age but Ran and you are of the same age

──────｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ──────

Ran Haitani when you go on date with a guy he doesn't like, and that guy disrespects your personal borders, because it happened to me once and I still have a trauma

- also I need some comfort with Ran because I kinda fell for him because of all soft fluff and comfort headcanons on tumblr

(you and Ran are not dating (yet))

──────｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ──────

when you agreed to go to movies with your friend (who probably had a crush on you), you didn't expect anything necessarily bad to happen

and the movie itself was nice but you couldn't shake off the uncomfortable feeling you got from the guy

he was sweet, and he was a friend and a classmate of one of your friends, so you knew for sure he wasn't a bad guy, and he always made sure to give you attention and learn about your hobbies and things you liked

but you still felt uncomfortable around him for no particular reason

so while you two were watching the movie, your body was filled with anxiety for the whole time

once the movie ended, you both went outside the building

he suggested to walk you home, but you politely refused, saying you needed some stuff to do (when honestly you just wanted to spend some time by yourself to regain control over your body and chase the stiffness in it away)

he proceeded to offer you a goodbye hug, which you also tried to refuse politely, saying that you didn't think you two were close enough for that

(now, you loved hugs, you really did, but only with those you considered close to you. your family, your closest friends, your future s/o (which you didn't have yet). but you've known this guy just for some months (and considering you were sexually assaulted twice and had a phobia of strangers (or not so close friends) touching you, you weren't really fond of the idea of him hugging you, his suggestion giving you anxiety right away)

he didn't accept your refuse, proceeding to hug you and saying that you two "will get there", meaning that you two will become close enough for him to hug you (maybe even without asking as he didn't seem to take your "no" as one)

you knew right away, it wasn't gonna work out

"take your fucking hands away from her"

hearing Ran's voice had your body filled with relaxation

he was your close friend and one of the ones you were not afraid of letting to touch you, so him being here really made you feel safe

"and who may you be?" asked the guy you went to the movies with, finally letting go of you

"her boyfriend" replied Ran firmly and you felt your breath stuck in your lungs, eyes widening in shock

now, Ran's been flirting with you for a while now but you always tried to ignore it, as you've heard a lot of rumors about him and you knew some of them (if not most of them) were true

(like the one about him being a womanizer)

(you never thought he was being serious with you, as come on, it's Ran, he flirts with so many girls all the time)

"her boyfriend?" asked the guy, eyeing Ran cautiously

(now, you knew Ran could be intimidating when he needed it, he was in the gang, after all, and he was a really good fighter at that, but you never realized the extents of that before this time, seeing how the guy you went to movies with seemed to look smaller under Ran's pressuring gaze)

"yes, her boyfriend", he replied firmly once again, sliding his hand to squeeze yours to give you some comfort. "so I suggest you run along before I beated you to death".

the guy seemed uncomfortable but proceeded to collect himself, waving to you and saying goodbye and sharing his hopes you two will see each other again soon (which didn't seem to make Ran happy), taking his leave then

(you knew you won't be coming to any of your friends group's gazerings for a while)

"you okay?" asked Ran calmly after the guy was far enough

"mhm", you confirmed with a small humm. "what are you doing here?"

"thought I'll see for your safety myself".

"you were spying on me?" you asked with a surprised laugh

"hmm... kind of?"

"okay..." you laughed nervously

now, Ran was your close friend (at least you considered him as such) and you trusted him, and he most probably didn't spy on you out of bad means but, as he said, "to make sure you are safe"

(it was cute and you were glad for having such a caring friend)

(but it still was kinda creepy though)

you two walked around the area, just laughing at some funny signs on the buildings, or looking at cute things with Ran making funny remarks or little stories about them

(let's be honest, he always knew how to make you feel better or how to make you laugh, and you've never been bored with him)

as the day was coming closer to its end and the sky was slowly turning dark, you told him you're going to be heading home, as it wasn't totally safe on the streets of city at night

Ran suggested to walk you home which you agreed to gladly

as you got closer and closer to your house, you felt his hand in yours stiffen

"everything's fine?" you asked worryingly

"no", he replied firmly, stopping in front of your house

"what's happened? how can I help you?" you asked, a troubled look on your face

that's when you felt him hugging you from behind, circling his arms around your chest, lowering his head so his jaw was touching the right side of your neck, his two braids tickling your skin there

"I hate seeing you with other guys", he replied, his voice small yet so firm and sure

"I hate seeing you with other guys so can you please give me at least one chance?"

you felt your breath stuck in your lungs as he never said anything like that to any girls he flirted with, but also because he sounded so desperate, it made your heart sank

"Ran..."

"please, just this one time, at least this one, and if you feel uncomfortable, I won't pressure, I promise, just give me a chance. just this one time", he mumbled softly, holding you carefully in his arms

Ran was always soft around you. and flirty. very flirty. but he was flirty with other girls as well so you never took it as anything serious

now he sounded so broken and desperate, yet his voice firm as if he was sure of his words, being completely honest with you and his feelings for the first time you've been around him

"okay", you agreed smiling softly, which he could see from the corner of his eye.

his arms tightened around you, holding you even closer to his warm body as he calmly breathed, smiling gently

you seemed to stay like that for quite a long time as the sky got really dark and stars started filling it around the brightly shining moon

"Ran, I have to go home", you smiled slightly, leaning your head to his

"I don't want to let you go" he mumbled whining

"I'm just going home, we'll meet tomorrow", you laughed softly, smiling slightly

(you were meeting nearly every day, so it wasn't like you'll be gone for long)

"yes, but i don't want to let you go, I wanna stay like this", he pouted

"Ran, we'll meet tomorrow, it won't be that long"

he left out a sad sigh, not wanting to let go of you

"I love you", he said after a short silence. "I really do"

his voice so desperate yet assured, so you couldn't help it when you felt your heart start racing as if it was gonna jump out of your chest

"I can't say "I love you" for now, but i know for sure that I like you"

"hopefully it can change into something more, can't it?"

"it can. and it may"

he smiled softly, finally letting go of you

"I can't wait for that to happen"

you nodded, smiling slightly, and waved him goodbye, promising to see him tomorrow

"I really love you", he whispered watching you go inside your house. "I promise I won't mess my chance up"

under the moon and the starry sky he made this promise to himself, and he never ever reneged on it

──────｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ──────

don't repost on other social medias, don't translate without permission (you can feel free to share the link to this post on other social medias if you want to tho, I'll be very greatful)