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Teacher Fatgum x NB reader 3
“Relax, it’s just who you are. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The click of the kettle broke the tender moment, the rolling boil becoming quieter as you begrudgingly pulled away from Taishiro’s tender embrace before turning quickly to make the hot cocoa.
“Do you want marshmallows or cream?” You asked while rummaging around the cupboards blindly, eventually finding the thin plastic bag of white and pink blobs you were searching for.
“Both please, an’ some cinnamon if it isn’t too much trouble.” He replied, scraping the wooden chair legs against the tiled floor as he turned towards you.
“If I’ve got some, sure thing. Let’s see,” you rummaged around for a few moments, picking up and inspecting a small glass container, giving it a shake to see if the brown powder inside moved, “Yup there’s still some in here!”
Not missing a beat you squirted the whipped cream into the mug, watching it sink slightly before floating on the surface, then sprinkled the mini marshmallows atop the fluffy mountain before finishing the decoration with a dusting of cinnamon. Placing the piping hot drink in front of Taishiro you grabbed yours from the side and took a seat beside him, smiling while watching him eagerly gulp down the mug of cocoa.
“Feels like a hug for my insides,” the blonde man said as he let out a content sigh whilst reclining, his golden eyes meeting yours “Thanks, that was amazin’.”. His cheeks blushed crimson as he realised you were gently sipping from your mug. “Kinda wish I hadn’t guzzled it down.”
Shaking your head silently you sipped your hot cocoa, reaching your free hand over to hold his before setting your mug down on the wooden table.
“You don’t need to keep up appearances – I’ll just have to get you a larger mug next time.”
“Next time?” An impish grin appeared on his lips as he cocked an eyebrow, whilst you let out a groan before hastily trying to backpedal, unaware of the flushed colour of your cheeks. Taishiro let out a chuckle before leaning over and wrapping his arms around you. “Now who needs to relax? It’s like you said, this is just how you are. I like not bein’ the only one that puts their foot in their mouth.”.
After initially squirming in his arms you relented, opting to bury your face in his strong yet pillowy chest, letting out a muffled sigh as Taishiro began stroking the back of your head gently. After a few minutes passed you heard his soft, drawling voice whisper softly to you.
“Hey, why don’t we head upstairs and get more comfortable? If I’m not bein’ too forward.” He waited patiently for your response. After a few moments you agreed, kissing his lips briefly before leading him by the hand to your bedroom.
You took a moment to breathe in the comfortable scent of your room as it washed over you, a mixture of deodorants and perfumes created a unique aroma, simultaneously sweet, spicey, and tinged with citrus, that relaxed you both as you walked in, the door clicking shut behind Taishiro. After removing your bandana and returning it to the drawer you took a seat on the duvet, looking over at the slightly anxious blonde standing to attention next to the door, before patting the space beside you. Warily he sat beside you, his hand brushed against yours as he did. The two of you sat in silence for a while simply holding each other’s hands and staring at the crème wall opposite you.
“So…is everythin’ okay?” Taishiro asked softly as his thumb gently circled the back of your hand, “Are you sure you’re comfortable with me bein’ in your room? I know you said about it earlier, but I don’t want you to rush further than you’d want to go.”
You took a moment before replying.
“It’s not you, it’s just…” your words trailed off as your mind raced, images of previous encounters flashed behind your eyes as a feeling of resignation to the inevitable ending of the night filled your stomach. Before you could speak your body was pulled tight into Taishiro’s embrace, his large chest acting again as a makeshift pillow while his arms squeezed you to him.
“It’s okay darlin’ if you don’t wanna speak right now, I’ll talk instead.” he waited a few moments, giving you a chance to interject before continuing,
“I don’t know if you’ve been with people before, or how things went if you were, but I’ve always wanted to take my time before bein’ fully intimate with my partner. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothin’ against it, but it’s the last thing I look for – I’d rather someone where they’re on my mind constantly, conversation flows like honey, and there’s a feeling of bein’ in sync before movin’ beyond cuddles and kisses.” He let out a slightly frustrated sigh before continuing.
“What I’m tryin’ to say is, tonight doesn’t have to be the night, if there ever is one. I’m here because I want to be with you as you are.” Taishiro stopped and rested his chin on your head, attempting to remove his hand from yours before you grabbed hold of it and squeezed.
Without turning to face him, your eyes welling up as you fixed your stare on the design of his hoodie, you took a deep breath and slowly replied.
“I’m glad you said that. I’ve been in a lot of places where, I don’t know, I felt like I had to do that because it’s just what you do. It’s a bit fucked up, I’ll admit, but I didn’t really have a template for a relationship – just had to muddle through and guess really. I just know I want to be with you too.” You felt your face being lifted to face Taishiro’s, his golden eyes looking simultaneously sad and tired as his thumb grazed your bottom lip.
“You shouldn’t swear darlin’, but it sounds like things have been rough for you. Just know that I’m not goin’ anywhere. You’re stuck with this soft mallow man until the end, even beyond that if you wanted.” His smile slowly returned to his face as you chuckled softly, wrapping your arms around him before your bodies tumbled onto the mattress, the large man letting out a laugh as you both crashed into the surprisingly deep duvet. Resting your forehead against his you leaned forward and kissed him gently, feeling as though it were the first time again, you noticed an unexpected blast of peppermint as he kissed you. Leaning back slightly, temporarily breaking the kiss, you whispered.
“Did you sneak a breath mint while I wasn’t looking?”
“Guilty, didn’t want to scare you off with mixed-flavour Takoyaki breath.” He chuckled in response before asking “Did you want one? Not that you need one.” You felt him feel in his pocket with one hand before pulling out a half-used tube of mints, the turquoise wrapper easily recognisable as you thanked him, taking one and popping it onto your tongue.
Once it had dissolved in your mouth neither of you hesitated before returning to kissing deeply, rolling slightly on the bed as the kisses became more passionate. Once you eventually broke the kiss, both panting to catch your breath, you placed your hand on Taishiro’s cheek, the blonde mirroring your action as you both ran your thumbs over the others face.
Time passed by, the two of you content with simply being in each other’s arms and occasionally kissing before Taishiro stretched, letting out a groan and yawn at the same time, before sitting up and turning to face you with a slightly awkward expression.
“As comfy as I’m feelin’ I don’t fancy sleepin’ in my clothes – you don’t happen to have any spare pyjamas I could squeeze into?”
“Ah, about that…” You replied, your cheeks began to turn bright red as you answered “I don’t own any nightwear at all, except my dressing gown, I always sleep au natural. I might have an oversized tee shirt but that’d be it.” You rolled to get off the bed so you could search the depths of your wardrobe, only to feel his paw like hand grab your wrist.
“Relax darlin’” his sweet comforting voice filled your ear, swinging his thick legs over the edge before wrapping them around your waist, “It’s not like we haven’t already seen each other in the nude, plus it’s just for tonight.”
Before you could answer back Taishiro stood up and began taking his clothes off, removing his hoodie and t-shirt exposing his strong yet soft torso. His golden eyes locked with yours as he bent forward, shoving his trousers and underwear around his ankles, before stepping out of them.
“If you’re okay with sleepin’ naked next to me, then I’m okay with it.” He replied, a slight warble in his voice, despite his defiant pose exposing every inch of himself to you. Taking advantage of this moment you looked over his body whilst you slowly took your clothes off – even with a layer of fat covering them you could see the outlines of his pecs, abs, biceps, and triceps in the low light. You took in the sight of his impressive quads and calves as you removed your trousers and underwear, following his action and stepping out of them.
For a few moments neither of you moved, the reality of being exposed in front of each other sunk in and felt completely different to when you were in the love hotel earlier. With his hands trembling slightly Taishiro placed his hands delicately on your shoulders before running them slowly down your arms, eventually holding your hands in his.
“Damn darlin’, next to you I feel like…”
“Like what?” You interjected in a slightly curt tone.
“Well, like I’m not good enough for you and, with this,” he grabbed his slight belly with one hand and jiggled it slightly “I don’t know.”
“You’re kidding right? You think I’m going to be bothered that the sweetest, most genuine man I’ve ever met has a little extra meat on his bones?” You raised an eyebrow, watching the stunned Taishiro slowly shake his head before continuing, “Exactly, plus your muscles are still visible but that’s not the point. I agreed to go on a date with you and brought you back because I really like being with you and I’d like to spend more time with you. Hell…”
Your words were cut off as Taishiro pressed his supple lips tight against yours, pulling your body tight against his whilst wrapping his arms tight around your torso.
“Hush now darlin’, I’m sorry I get a bit insecure about myself. Give me some time, but for now how about we turn in for the night?” He whispered softly in your ear before walking your bodies towards the bed, waiting for you to pull back the thick duvet and get inside before joining you in the warm cocoon.
Once you’d gotten comfortable in the bed Taishiro placed his hand behind your head and pulled you close to him, resting your cheek against his soft chest while he placed his chin atop your head. The mixture of his comforting scent and soft rhythmic rising and falling of his pecs carried you off to sleep, the combination of the warm duvet and his limbs wrapped around you made you feel more secure than you’d felt in ages.
A few hours later you were woken up by the sunlight streaming in through a crack in the curtains. You reached over to drape your arm across Taishiro’s shoulders only to feel the crumpled duvet in your hand. Feeling around you were hit by the realisation you were alone, making you sit bolt upright as your eyes adjusted to the daylight. You scanned the room and noticed that the pile of his clothes were missing and the door to the corridor was ajar. Letting out a sigh as you stared up at the ceiling you started to get out of the bed, stopping as you heard a light knocking before the door slowly opened.
“Are you awake?” Jo’s voice slid through the crack of the door as their fingers wrapped around the side of the door.
“Yea, give me a second,” you replied, propping your pillow up and pulling your duvet up over your chest, “alright, you coming in?”.
The door creaked open as Jo stepped into your room, their rucksack in one hand and a half eaten slice of toast in the other and sat on the edge of the bed smiling over to you.
“Just wanted to pop my head in to say thanks for letting me stay over. Mum is coming to pick me up and we’re going to grab a coffee and talk about things. It may not sort everything right away, but it’s a step in the right direction I guess.”
“I’m really happy to hear that Jo, the first move is always the hardest. There’s always a safe place for you to come to when you need to, or even if you just want to visit, but I want to make sure you’re learning to stand up for yourself.” You smiled at your sibkid as they stood up, shot a smile back at you before biting into the toast, and walking into the hallway.
You sighed contentedly to yourself before getting up, throwing on the thick dressing gown that hung behind the door, and making your way downstairs whilst stifling a yawn. As you rounded the foot of the stairs to head towards the kitchen, the need for coffee pulling you in, you almost knocked into Taishiro, a mischievous look in his gleaming eyes.
“G’mornin’ darlin’. I hope you don’t mind but I fixed us some breakfast, as a little thank you for lettin’ me stay here. Jo helped out as well, but they said they didn’t want to be a third wheel first thing in the mornin’. I was gonna brin’ it up to ya,but, seein’ as you’re already up.” He took your hand in his and lead you back into the kitchen, just as the kettle came to a boil.
Author's Note - Thank you to everyone that has read this mini-series and for all the feedback I've received. It's the first time that I've worked with a subplot inside a story so it's been some new territory for me. As I'm wanting to step away from fanfiction to work more on developing writing as a career I'll probably be adding less here, but I'll probably still revisit Fatgum fictions from time to time - of all the characters I've written for, he's definitely my favourite (and who doesn't love a dorky guy who just loves cuddles).