#{ Imagine the ruffle on the top right tie attached to the one in the bottom left. }

[hazbinned]

BLOOD BALL ~ ATTIRE.

"I'll be your sun." / Alastor {Sir Pentious' Plus One.} - @sirserpentine

Blood Ball Event ~ @cannibalxroses

Mask under the cut:

[umbry-fic]

Just a Sunny Day for You

Summary: On the final day of Summer Break, Hikari and Tairitsu spend a completely normal day together.

Fandom: Arcaea Characters: Hikari, Tairitsu Relationships: Hikari/Tairitsu, Hikari & Tairitsu Rating: T Word Count: 5218 Mirror Link: AO3 Original Post Date: 15/03/2021

Notes+Warnings: Brief mentions of blood. Spoiler warning for the main story up until Black Fate. May deviate from any story packs released after Black Fate.

AU fic that has fluffy moments and... other stuff. Title from Yorushika's song.

~~~

The heat caused the air to shimmer before Tairitsu’s eyes, the cawing of crows echoing in her ears. She sighed from where she was kneeling on the sidewalk and pulled out yet another corner of the slice of bread she had gripped in her hand, throwing the crumb down at the feet of the crows that gathered around her. If someone walked by now, they’d surely give her weird looks. A girl dressed to the nines feeding crows alone was a strange sight. But the air was devoid of the slap of shoes against pavement or the rumbling of wheels against asphalt.

Sweat ran down her face as the heat pressed oppressively down on her. Not even the parasol that she had propped open above her head did much to shield her from the angry afternoon sun, hanging high up in the sky.

How long more was Hikari going to take? Tairitsu felt like she would melt if she remained in the open any longer. Not to mention how icky her hair felt now, matted with sweat and clinging to her scalp, a few stray strands sticking to her brow that she had to keep tucking away. The hair she had neatly combed and tied her black ribbons through, adorned with light blue roses, was surely ruined now.

The thought itself made her scowl. She’d put in so much effort, and the weather was ruining everything.

“Tai!”

The familiar peppy voice and sound of footsteps from behind her caused the murder of crows to take off, blotting out the sun for a split second with a cloud of black feathers. Staring up into the sky with a sense of loss she couldn’t explain, Tairitsu stood up, brushing any remaining crumbs off the ruffles of her dress.

“You’re late,” she muttered, picking up the parasol and twirling the wooden handle as she turned to face Hikari. Inexplicably, the crows had all disappeared. She couldn’t spot a single one anymore - not on the rooftops of the shops that lined the street, not on the curb, not on the street lamps. They were just all gone.

Hikari looked quite different from the last time she’d seen her. The white sleeveless T-shirt with a bear print on the front, blue denim shorts, flip-flops and low pigtails presented quite a different picture from the pure white school blouse and skirt, pink jacket, covered shoes and ponytail. It was a complete transformation from formal student to casual teenager.

Tairitsu found both… What was the right word to describe it? Adorable, in the same way a silly hamster would be.

“I know you’re late for every committee meeting, but I thought you’d make it on time today,” Tairitsu continued, hoping her immense disappointment was being expressed. Honestly, if she wasn’t meeting up with Hikari, she would have left long ago for having wasted her time.

“I’m so sorry, Tai. I didn’t forget! I just underestimated the amount of time the bus would take on the expressway…” Hikari apologised, bowing her head.

“You forgot to account for the traffic jams, didn’t you?” Typical Hikari.

“Yeah. Sorry. But I only made you wait for fifteen minutes! That’s not bad.” Hikari retorted, pumping her arms in the air.

“Any extra time spent in the sun is enough to kill me,” she replied drily. Gah, the fabric of her multi-layered dress was sticking to her skin. It felt disgusting.

“Don’t you think that’s your fault?” Hikari joked, moving closer and touching the pleated capelet covering Tairitsu’s shoulders, which was on the same level as Hikari’s nose. “I know you like dolls, but wearing a dress with this many ruffles and wearing tights for a summer’s day out is suicide, even if I will admit you look very pretty. Though you’re always pretty. But the umbrella is just overkill.”

“F - funny that you would say that when you’re still wearing that same stupid hat,” Tairitsu bit back. “And it’s a parasol, not an umbrella. Learn the difference.” She willed herself not to blush as she fixated on the word “pretty”. Did Hikari truly think that? She’d dressed up in this outfit she’d hand-made to get rid of the drab school uniform, but did Hikari think she was pretty in that too…?

How did Hikari say something like that so absent-mindedly? She looked like she’d already forgotten the words had ever left her mouth, smiling in a carefree manner, pink eyes sparkling with merriment.

“Hey!” Hikari put her hands on the top of her red beret protectively, shooting Tairitsu a glare with no heat behind it at all. “I will let you know I like this hat.”

“Hard to tell when you wear it every second of every day.”

“Let’s get going. Alright?” Hikari grabbed her hand, tugging her along and causing her to stumble a few steps forward. Had she not picked up on the sarcasm at all? “We’re never going to get to the beach at this rate.”

“I hate sand,” Tairitsu sniffed, resisting the urge to grip Hikari’s hand tighter. Her palm was so soft, and her fingers so agile. “It gets everywhere, and it’s going to ruin this dress.”

“But you still agreed to come.” Hikari grinned mischievously, shielding her eyes with her free hand. “The sun really is glaring today, huh?”

Wordlessly, Tairitsu adjusted her grip on the parasol so it cast its shadow mostly over Hikari. All she was doing was preventing the complaints that would surely leave Hikari’s mouth. Yes, that was all.

“Let’s end summer break with a bang!” Hikari yelled, waving her arm in the air with that undying enthusiasm she always held.

Today promised to be… interesting.

~~~

The soft, elegant tap of Tairitsu’s boots against the concrete as she walked with slow, deliberate strides of the same length clashed with the loud, erratic slap of Hikari’s flip-flops. Hikari didn’t have the same qualms about keeping a regular step, skipping down the pavement and humming under her breath. Occasionally, she’d return to the shade of Tairitsu’ parasol before jumping out into the open again, twirling with careless abandon.

Tairitsu would normally have been annoyed. The sun had only gotten more intense, and she hated unnecessarily loud people. They broke her bubble of concentration, shattered the peace she valued.

But she was too occupied noting the way the stray strands of Hikari’s hair fluttered through the air as she danced down the street. Their numbers were increasing by the second as her pigtails fell apart from the sheer force of her movement.

The joyful smile on Hikari’s face was too distracting. Tairitsu couldn’t get angry right now, too busy soaking in the warmth Hikari exuded. She was like a tiny starburst of energy, but the light she emitted wasn’t overpowering or destructive like a supernova. It was uplifting, for Tairitsu could never feel tired when Hikari was nearby, but it was also soothing, like any wound could be healed in her presence…

“Ooh! Look at it, Tai! It’s so pretty!”

Hikari paused in the middle of posing like a crane, arms raised to form a straight line level with her shoulder and right leg lifted for balance. Her face lit up as she caught sight of something in a nearby display case, and she ran down the sidewalk to press her face up against it.

Taking advantage of Hikari’s momentary pause to finally catch up to her, Tairitsu did a cursory once-over of the contents of the display case. Standing inside were various mannequins displaying the shop’s wares, which consisted of every style of outfit imaginable. There was a cute dress adorned with ribbons and a bow tie, accompanied by an asymmetrical jacket that flowed out behind it. There was a crop top not unlike the designer shirt Hikari wore now, paired with a pink skirt and belt. There was also a simple but elegant pink dress, patterned with flowers at the bottom.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tairitsu spotted a white, tiered dress with light pink carnations attached with a jacket thrown over it. Swallowing in her suddenly dry mouth, she turned to see the outfit that Hikari was busy ogling.

It was one of the shop’s summer wear - a white shirt with short, frilled sleeves with a ribbon attached to it, a blue, pleated skirt and a white overskirt.

“I think it’d look cute on you,” Tairitsu commented, closing her eyes and imagining the outfit on Hikari. She would look like a short princess. “All outfits would, with your lack of dedication to proper posture.”

Hikari giggled, spinning in another circle. How she wasn’t dizzy by now, Tairitsu would never know. “It’d be so fun to twirl in! Could you imagine the skirts just spinning around you? It’d be such a pretty sight!”

“Would it? I feel like you’d just become an indistinguishable blur of blue and white.”

“Oh.” Hikari stopped mid-spin, pondering. “I guess I would. But still, I’d like to try it at least once.”

“Well, would you like to go in and buy it?”

“Ah, no, it’s fine. I’m not going to make you go in. I know you hate mirrors, and they’re all over clothes shops.”

Focussing on her reflection in the display case, all Tairitsu could see was her pale face, scrunched brow and blue eyes holding just a hint of fear.

The surface of the display case shimmered, and she looked away.

“I doubt there’s an attendant in there anyway,” Hikari muttered. “There’s no one around.”

Tairitsu blinked, scanning the street to verify Hikari’s words. She was right. All the shopfronts appeared to be shuttered - even the display case they were currently in front of was dark. Behind the row of roofs she could see, there was nothing but a cloudless blue sky, a single shade of blue that spanned her entire view. There were no high-rise buildings to be seen looming impressively over the shops, nor was there any sign of life apart from two crows perched on a street lamp. Not a single soul, apart from them, populated the streets.

There was an almost unnerving silence. Not even cicadas could be heard chirping.

How had she not noticed this before?

“It’s the last day of summer break. All the students must be preparing for school, so the shops decided not to open.” That was a reasonable explanation, right?

“That makes sense! Whatever Tai says is always right!”

“I’m not an omniscient God, Hikari,” Tairitsu scoffed, happy that Hikari had affirmed her guess. “And how did you know I don’t like mirrors?” It’s not like she declared that fact to the world or made it super obvious. She didn’t run screaming from every reflective surface, that wasn’t practical and was far too dramatic for her tastes. She just actively avoided looking into them for longer than necessary.

“You tell me.”

“Huh?” Tairitsu turned to look at Hikari, confused as to whether she had heard correctly. That had seemed almost hostile.

But Hikari only smiled sheepishly, knocking herself on the head with her fist. “Sorry, messed up the words there. I meant to say that you were the one who told me! How else would I know?”

“Right,” Tairitsu muttered, the knot that had formed in her chest loosening just a little. It was simply a silly mistake Hikari had made. But she had no memory of ever telling her this. Searching back yielded nothing.

“I wonder why. Maybe you’re a vampire, Tai!” Hikari said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Vampires don’t exist, stupid. It would be nice if I was one. Then I could just sit around every night in elegant outfits,” Tairitsu replied, taking another step forward and hoping Hikari would follow. She didn’t want to spend another second in front of the display case. She couldn’t explain why apart from the growing sense of unease in her heart.

“That would be very much like you!” Hikari laughed, falling into step next to Tairitsu, thankfully. Instead of rushing ahead as she had before, Hikari instead hung by Tairitsu’s side, staring up at her with wide eyes.

“Is there something you want? If it’s the dress, I can make one that’s as close as possible for you. But it won’t be ready by the end of today.”

“No, that’s not it, though it would be nice if you did that for me.” Hikari grinned, a sight that warmed her heart every time she saw it. “I was going to ask you what homework we have.”

Tairitsu sighed. “You haven’t done it, right? Even though today’s the last day of summer break. When were you planning on doing it? On your way to school tomorrow?”

Hikari grimaced, shrugging. “Maybe? So, uh, would you mind telling me what we owe the teachers? I didn’t note it down.”

Tairitsu searched through her mind, clinging on to the notion of “homework”. But instead of alighting upon the memories, she reached only a plain of blankness. “I… I don’t remember.”

“But you’ve always had the homework perfectly memorised!”

“I finished it in the first week, so it probably slipped my mind since I didn’t need to remember it anymore.”

“Aw, you’re too model of a student! Ah, but it means I can’t rely on you now! That’s terrible, Tai! Why would you do this to me?”

Tairitsu let out a breath she didn’t even realise she was holding. Things still made sense. But the words “why would you do this to me” echoed in her head, refusing to disappear. What was this vice gripped around her heart? “It’s your fault for being so absent-minded in the first place, Hikari. Don’t blame me.”

It wasn’t her fault.

As they continued their trek towards the beach, Tairitsu sneaked a glance back at the shopfront. The two crows she had spotted earlier had landed before the display case, staring back at her with beady black eyes. Somehow, the dress that had been tucked away into a corner was now front and centre, illuminated by a red spotlight. It turned the white of the dress to a bloody red, giving the illusion of a garish wound and dripping blood.

Dread settled in the pit of Tairitsu’s stomach and she deflected her gaze back to Hikari’s bright face. She was aimlessly chattering on about the most mundane of topics, a much-needed bout of normalcy after the strangeness of the last few minutes.

She needed to stop imagining things and get her head back in the game. Today was a day to be enjoyed, not soured by the dreadful terrors her mind was conjuring up.

It wouldn’t be fair to Hikari.

It wouldn’t…

~~~

“Here’s yours, Tai!” Hikari handed over one of the two popsicles she had bought from the nearby vending machine. It was wrapped in pastel pink packaging with the word “cherry” emblazoned across it in capital letters and the company’s font.

The two of them had finally made it past the shopping street and emerged onto the bridge that overlooked the ocean. It was low tide right now, the azure waves lazily lapping onto the cheerful yellow sand and leaving behind trails of playful foam. The gentle breeze brushed through Tairitsu’s hair, tickling her neck and refreshing her spirits. She was perfectly content to just lean against the railing and watch the diamonds of light that the sun’s rays left on the ocean, licking the blood-red cherry popsicle in her hand and relishing the strong aftertaste on her tongue. She’d seen this very sight countless times, but she would never get tired of the ocean’s beauty.

Hikari would drag her down to the beach at some point. That’s just something her fun-loving friend would do. Maybe they’d even get down to building sandcastles or something inane like that.

Sand would get everywhere. She’d never manage to get it out of her clothes.

If it was Hikari, she’d be willing to do it.

For now, though, she could just relax and avoid dripping melted ice-cream on her clothes.

“Cherry’s boring, don’t you think?” Hikari spoke up, waving her yet unopened popsicle in the air. Hers had forest green packaging, and Tairitsu could barely make out the words “bamboo” as the letters blurred in the air.

“I’m not going to listen to someone who bought bamboo-flavoured ice cream. Why do the vending machines even stock them? It’s a disgusting flavour!”

“Don’t mock bamboo! It’s amazing!” Hikari scowled, ripping open her package at the top and giving the popsicle a good lick. “As you can see from the contents of the dustbin, people clearly agree with me!”

The dustbin Hikari was pointing at was overflowing with empty popsicle packages. All of them were either forest green or pastel pink, matching the crumpled packages in their hands.

Did everyone here only eat cherry and bamboo flavour? How… how odd.

The frown on Tairitsu’s face only deepened as she noticed the bamboo packages were ripped open at the top, while the cherry packages were ripped open at the sides. It was the exact same way Hikari and Tairitsu had opened theirs.

There was a niggling thought at the back of her mind that Tairitsu couldn’t quite pin down. She didn't know if she wanted to.

Wrestling the packages from Tairitsu’s clenched fist, Hikari threw the empty packages into the endless pile in the dustbin. Tairitsu stood motionless, melted ice-cream dripping onto the floor, stuck in a trance until Hikari grabbed her hand.

“Come on! Let’s go down to the beach.”

“Ah, yes, let’s.” Tairitsu let herself be led, telling herself to stop worrying so much. There was nothing wrong. Maybe the vending machine only sold two flavours. Yes, that had to be it. There were only two ways to open popsicle packages anyway. It wasn’t that strange.

Everything was fine.

Hikari kicked off her flip-flops, both flying through the air and one landing nearly a metre from her original position, before running across the sand barefoot, screaming in joy.

Tairitsu slowly sat down on the sand, crossing her legs and watching Hikari with a tired smile as she finished her popsicle. That childish, carefree energy was being radiated in full force now. Hopefully, it would be enough to make her forget about everything else.

There were faint footprints in the sand, going round and round in wild circles, much like Hikari was doing right now. Tairitsu wondered who else had been here.

It didn’t take long for Hikari to lose steam, stumbling over to Tairitsu with a grin on her face. She plopped down next to Tairitsu, panting slightly, a light sheen of sweat shimmering on her forehead. With no warning, Hikari leaned her head on Tairitsu’s shoulder, sighing.

Tairitsu went ramrod-straight, heart skipping a beat at their proximity. The closest she had ever been to Hikari was… when Hikari held her hand. No other part of them had touched for more than a second, and there was always at least a hand’s width between them.

Tairitsu had never been one for physical contact. She wasn’t one to hand out hugs or accept them easily. Being in the embrace of another made her feel vulnerable. Hikari knew that, which was why she limited herself around Tairitsu. She didn’t jump on Tairitsu from behind and wrap her arms around her, or touch her face, or lean on her.

Tairitsu had gotten curious. How would Hikari’s warmth feel, if she could touch it? She had begun to yearn but didn’t know how to tell Hikari such an embarrassing request. She had simply let the desire simmer within her, never to be brought up.

Now… Hikari must be really tired to forget. She was always conscious of Tairitsu’s boundaries.

But it was better than Tairitsu could have ever imagined. Hikari’s ponytails were brushing against her arm, and Hikari’s hair was softer than she’d thought. Hikari’s weight, pressed against her side, was comforting. Tairitsu wouldn’t mind if this continued. Or if it happened more.

An image flashed across her mind, of cradling Hikari in her arms. But that had never happened.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Hikari shifted away, yawning with a wide mouth. “With the extra centimetres you have on me, you’re the perfect height for leaning on. I forgot I wasn’t supposed to.”

“Why are you so tired? You stayed up all night watching dramas again, didn’t you?” Tairitsu teased. How could she tell Hikari that… she, um… wanted her to do that again?

How did people do this?

“Yeah.”

“I… Um, I don’t mind,” Tairitsu muttered, looking down at her lap. “You can sleep… here. I mean. On me.”

“Oh. Oh, really?” Hikari brightened. “It’s fine if you don’t want to.”

“It really is fine. If - um, if you want to sleep, then you can… you can use my lap?” Her cheeks were warm by now, and she’d turned into a stuttering mess. It was more comfortable, right? She just wanted Hikari to feel comfortable.

“Like this?” Hikari slowly lowered her head onto Tairitsu’s lap, shifting until she had found the best position - cheek pillowed against Tairitsu’s dress and facing Tairitsu. “You’re sure you’re OK with this? I don’t mind just going to sit on a bench or something.”

“Perfectly fine!” Damn it, even her ears felt warm now.

“Thanks.” Hikari’s voice was already turning softer, eyes fluttering closed. Within seconds, her breathing had evened out and a dreamy smile had appeared on her face.

Her heart was beating so fast that Tairitsu felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She was holding herself absolutely still, terrified that if she moved, Hikari was going to be shaken awake. She looked so peaceful like this. Tairitsu couldn’t bear to disrupt her rest.

Gingerly, Tairitsu reached out a hand, only to pause a centimetre away from Hikari’s hair. She really, really wanted to run her hands through it.

Why not? Hikari was asleep. It’s not like she ever needed to know.

Gently, she pulled Hikari’s hair out of its pigtails and pulled her beret off, pushing it into the crook of her arm before beginning to stroke her hair. Delighted at its lack of knots, she continued her arm’s motions, making sure to keep it slow to avoid startling Hikari.

Tairitsu contemplated pressing a kiss onto those curly ringlets, but decided that was a bit too much.

The rhythmic motion, Hikari’s steady breaths, and the wind against her skin made Tairitsu feel like closing her eyes as well. The day and all its strange oddities had stressed her out and drained her energy.

She closed her eyes for just a moment, and when she opened them again, the sun was barely above the horizon. The sky was no longer blue, but a mixture of orange, pinks and purples. Hikari was still sleeping peacefully in her lap, but the wind had gotten stronger. The waves were larger now, having crept up the shore, and were slapping down against the sand with a much more audible crash.

The two crows, who Tairitsu somehow knew were the same ones from before, were now standing on the sand. They were still watching her, almost as if they were waiting. But waiting for what?

How has this much time passed? She didn’t feel like she’d fallen asleep. She didn’t feel anymore well-rested than before. So how…

Under the sunset, Hikari’s hair looked almost red. Just like the dress in the display case, it gave the illusion of blood. Pulling her hand back, Tairitsu stared down at it.

It was drenched in red as well, every finger dripping blood onto the sand below.

No, no, no! It had to be a stupid illusion. She shook her hand, closing her eyes. It would be gone once she opened them again.

But the blood was still there. Her fingers curled as she tried to comprehend what was going on.

“You stopped.” Hikari’s flat, disappointed voice reached Tairitsu’s ears, and she looked down to find that Hikari had shifted so the back of her head rested in Tairitsu’s lap. Her expression was unreadable, a stark contrast from the usually open and cheery face.

“You’re awake?” Tairitsu tried her best to hide the tremor in her voice. Hikari didn’t need to know.

She didn’t need to know anything. It was safe as long as everything remained under control.

Hikari didn’t answer her question, only pushed herself upright and turned to look at the sunset, not facing Tairitsu. “The sun’s setting. That means the day’s over.”

“You know I have to go, right?” Hikari’s voice echoed in her mind despite her having never said those words aloud. But Tairitsu knew. She knew.

“You don’t need to go just yet! Or even if you do, I’ll see you again tomorrow! Summer break will be over, but we’ll still see each other in school again!” Tairitsu’s voice cracked, her desperation spilling through as she did her very best to grasp at the unravelling threads before her. The wind had picked up even more, howling around her ears as day turned to night. She had to scream to be heard, breath quickening as panic infused her heart.

Hikari still wouldn’t face her.

“What do you even know of school, Tairitsu? You’ve never been.”

Not Tai. Tairitsu.

Don’t say it. Don’t say my name. Don’t tell me!

“What are you talking about? Silly little Hikari. We’ve been friends forever! We attend the same school. Are you only half-awake?”

“...”

“Why won’t you look at me?”

“Because I’m not really here, Tairitsu.”

It was at this moment that Hikari finally turned around. Tairitsu stumbled back at the sight of her, struggling to get her breathing under control at the horror that faced her.

Hikari’s image shimmered like the display case had, warping with every second - the familiar property that every piece of Arcaea had. There were what appeared to be fault lines along her front where her features didn’t quite match up, like a broken mirror. The two sides of her face weren’t aligned. The clothes she was wearing and her hairstyle flickered and changed with every second until they became an indistinguishable kaleidoscope of colour. The only thing that stayed constant was Hikari’s face, misaligned as it was, and her lack of a beret, which Tairitsu had dropped onto the sand.

“Don’t you remember? This world you created that’s so fake, you can’t even convince yourself it’s real? Don’t you remember what you did with your very own hand?” With each word, Hikari’s sneer only deepened, as she took step after step towards Tairitsu, who was frozen in place. Her pink eyes seemed to darken until they resembled red - the red of that one shard, the red staining Hikari’s beret on the sand, the red dripping from her hand endlessly.

Images flashed through her mind, quick as flashes of lightning. The Arcaea she had rained down on Hikari without mercy. Hikari pleading for them to stop and come to a peaceful resolution.

The final shard that had pierced through Hikari’s defences, silencing her for good.

“No…” Tairitsu whispered, covering her face with her hands and screwing her eyes shut as she sunk onto her knees. The red smeared onto her face, going everywhere. It was everywhere. She could never escape it. “It’s not… I… I didn’t want to…”

“How many times have you done this, Tairitsu? Hmm? How many times have you gone through this hopeless cycle, hoping to get a different ending?” Hikari was standing in front of her now, continuing to mock her. She pried Tairitsu’s hands away from her face, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Except it didn’t feel like a kiss to Tairitsu. It felt like sharp glass cutting her forehead as pain radiated from the spot Hikari had touched.

How many times had she done this? How many times had she desperately tried to improve on this world, drawing from the memories she saw in the Arcaea while stripping the misery out of them, in the hopes that it would finally be perfect, that she could finally lose herself in this fabricated world and never have to know the truth? How many different outfits had Hikari gone through, how many popsicles had they gone through, how many times had they ended up at this beach?

Only for it to always end in the same way. Why?

It still wasn’t good enough. That had to be why.

“Don’t you think it’s time to wake up?” Hikari whispered in her ear, cradling her face for just a moment before letting go. Even with the stinging pain, Tairitsu could do nothing but yearn for more. More contact. More. More, more, more.

Tairitsu snapped her eyes open, frantically raising her head and reaching out. “Don’t go -”

But there was no one in front of her. There was no beach, no ocean, no sky. Only a vortex of Arcaea surrounded her, the individual pieces counting into the millions.

There was only silence.

She was alone, all alone, again.

There was nothing more terrifying than being alone in this world with nothing but countless memories to keep you company and show you everything you could never have.

Picking up and cradling the blood-stained beret to her chest, Tairitsu sobbed, mourning the latest vibrant mirage that had slipped out of her hands and faded into a monotone grey. As if responding to her grief, the vortex swirled faster, still completely silent. Only the red shard floating before Tairitsu remained motionless.

Except it wasn’t fully red anymore. It had shattered amid their heated battle. She had done her best to put it together, but the pieces just wouldn’t fit. It was like the individual pieces had lost their connection to each other.

She had no choice but to fill in the gaps with her own memories, with pieces of Arcaea that glittered a deep blue. The shard before her now was a hodgepodge of red and blue, stitched together with willpower alone. But it was the best she could do, now that Hikari was gone.

She hadn’t meant to. At that moment, with grief overwhelming her and wavering at the edge of a precipice, her hand had been forced. By the time she came to her senses, it was already too late.

She couldn’t live without the pillar of light that was Hikari. Hikari had been the only thing leading her in this dark world without hope. That was what she had come to realise in the months of aimless wandering that had arisen after Hikari’s death.

She loved Hikari, right? This was what love was? To think about the other, to need them, their soul, their light, their guidance, like a vampire needed blood?

She would bring Hikari back. In any way she could.

Reaching out to touch the shard, Tairitsu smiled. She’d just have to try again. She’d do it, over and over and over, until it was perfect. Then Hikari would stay, right? Hikari would have nothing to complain about.

Hikari would never know anything was wrong. So would she. She’d forget, let go of all of the pain, and live happily ever after. Like all of the people in the Arcaea Hikari had once held dominion over.

This time, she’d add the chirp of cicadas…

~~~

The Arcaea twisted and flitted to-and-fro over the girl in black, observing in amusement.

~fin~

[sweetness-pop]

Summer Sweets #2

Heya! 💗🍓🌟Sweetness*Pop🌈🍭🌸 here! 

So I wanna type in a special idea for a cutscene in a future game of Mortal Kombat. 8 of the female kombatants in stylish swimwear along with lovely hairstyles:

1) Cassie, hairstyle: blonde hair in high long twin tails(aka pigtails) tied in bubblegum pink retro bobbles. & swimsuit: bubblegum pink halter bikini with black trim. Black string side ties on the bottoms & front neck of the top. Back of the bikini is closed with a pink button. One pink button on both front sides of the bikini. & a light pink heart printed on the right front side of the bottoms, & on the left breast. Style of Lucky Chloe from Tekken 7.♥

2) Jacqui, hairstyle: medium-length dark brown hair tied in a high left side ponytail with a red scrunchie, & a strawberry clip also on the left side of her hair. & swimsuit: red strawberry patterned double string halter bikini. Green leaf mini ruffles on both the bikini & bottoms. The double string top is side tied. The bottoms have double side straps.🍓

3) Kitana, hairstyle: long black let down & wearing a pretty ocean blue hibiscus clip on the right side. & swimsuit: sapphire blue halter rhinestone bikini. Bottoms have an attached see through mini skirt that reveal the rhinestones on the bottoms. & the top has a front string tie that is embellished with crystal beads.🌺

4) Jade, hairstyle: long brown wavy hair with the bottom tied in a long/rabbit ear green ribbon. & swimsuit: jade green metallic halter monokini. Side cut-outs. Black side tie strings. & a jade o-ring at the center. Resembles the Kurama monokini of Nyotengu in Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3.💚

5) Sareena, hairstyle: short black/white up in a golden claw clip. & swimsuit: black metallic halter bikni with side golden chains. A black sash tie attached to the yellow gold chain on both the top & bottom of the bikini. & a golden handprint/breast grab on the bikini.🎗

6) Li Mei, hairstyle: medium-length black hair with a half-up ponytail. & swimsuit: yellow/orange leopard patterned strapless monokini with cut-outs on the sides & front. Sash tie on the back of the monokini. & matching patterned ribbons as tie sides on the bottoms.🐆

7) Verna, hairstyle: shoulder-length dark brown tied in a low braided ponytail with a classic white bow. & swimsuit: white spaghetti strap monokini with side cut-outs & white pearl o-rings on the front of the top's spaghetti straps & sides of the bottoms.⚪

& 8) Sonya, hairstyle: medium-length wavy blonde hair left down & wearing one matching emerald stone golden hair clip on both bangs. & swimsuit: emerald green spaghetti strap criss-cross bikini with the spaghetti straps being black & crisscrossed by the front, & matching black crisscrossed straps on the bottoms. Noticed that I said Emerald Green?🟩😏

Just picture the cutscenes where the ladies pick out their swimsuits especially with Cassie & Jacqui helping Kitana & Jade finding theirs. & then a beach scene where the lade kombatants show off their swimsuits as the guy kombatants like Johnny, Jax, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Takeda, Jin, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, maybe Erron Black & somehow Kotal Kahn were waiting....OMG imagine the reaction of certain dudes, examples:Takeda to Jacqui, Liu Kang to Kitana, Kotal to Jade & Johnny to Sonya.☺💞👙

I do remember the true ending of MK 11. So...hopefully certain characters like Sonya, Scorpion &.....Verna (not a kombatant, but she’d probably make a good one), Jax’s wife & Jacqui’s mother should come back to life.😌🙏🏽

I wanted to make the 2nd summer sweets a swimsuit post......which if you’re anime/manga fans, you would often see for a beach/pool episode or chapter. 😎

Hope you enjoyed reading the sweets. Are any of the swimsuits your favorite? Have fun picturing the ladies in the bikinis or monokinis that I used with my imagination..😚

& See ya!🤩💕✨

[yourdeepestfathoms]

No Use Crying Over Spilled- MOO!

In which Aragon cowsits her daughter-figure’s pet calf

——————

Aragon’s mouth settles into a frown as she felt her not-daughter’s burning forehead. The poor girl was still on fire with a fever. She placed a cool, wet flannel back onto her aching head and was about to go start making some soup when there was a mumble from below her.

“Elizabeth?”

“Mmmm... Catalina....”

Aragon perches back onto the side of the bed, taking one of Bessie’s hands in her own and squeezing comfortingly. For a moment, she thought she just imagined the voice, but then Bessie pried open her hot, heavy eyelids and looked up at her.

“Hello, sleepyhead,” Aragon cooed, smiling softly and gently brushing the girl’s flushed, clammy cheek with a finger.

“Catalina...” Bessie mumbled, struggling to keep her eyes open.

“Yes, it’s me, honey. It’s just me.” Aragon said.

“Wh-what...” Bessie’s voice broke off into unintelligible mumbling.

“You’re sick, Elizabeth,” Aragon told her, “You’re running a fever. Do you remember?”

Bessie stares dazedly up at her, blinking blearily. Then, she’s trying to push herself up on her weak, heavy-as-lead arms.

“Woah, hey, what are you doing?” Aragon grabbed her forearms to steady her when she started to sway.

“H-Hyde...” Bessie stammered. She’s starting to shiver- the chills must be back. “I-I gotta...she...” Her words morph into a soft whine, but she didn’t have the energy or awareness to be embarrassed about it.

“Shh, shh,” Aragon eases her back down onto the bed. “I’ll take care of her, alright? I’ll babysit Hyde.”

“Cowsit,” Bessie giggled- her fever was making her delirious.

Aragon chuckled. “Yes. I’ll cowsit Hyde while you rest.”

Bessie, now looking at Aragon through glassy, half open eyes, nodded weakly. She coughs for a moment, worrying the queen, but settles quickly to speak again.

“H-her bottle...you have to...”

“Elizabeth, darling, I have nursed a baby before. A calf can’t be any different.” Aragon said.

“Please don’t breastfeed my cow...” Bessie groaned, barely awake at this point.

Aragon laughs and gently swats her arm. The action doesn’t even rouse the bassist from her daze.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” She said.

“She’ll bite your nipple off...”

“I wish I was recording you.”

Finally, Bessie slips off into complete unconsciousness. After a loving shake of her head and a soft kiss pressed to the bassist’s sweaty hairline, Aragon steps quietly out of the room.

There, in the hallway, her new challenge awaits her.

Hyde is laying down right beside the door after she was exiled from the bedroom (Aragon believed the calf would make Bessie even sicker- having to explain that to the both of them was disastrous). When Aragon comes out, she scrambled to her hooves, almost slipping on the hardwood because she shot up so fast. A soft, hopeful moo emits from her little snout.

“Hush, beast.” Aragon said, not missing the way she was talking to this heifer like she was a dragon. “Elizabeth is resting. I’ll be taking care of you.”

Hyde stared up at her with big amber eyes. Then, she tries to shove her way to the door, but Aragon pushes her back.

“No,” She scolded. “Come on. Downstairs.”

She walked to the staircase and Hyde reluctantly followed. However, upon reaching the bottom step, Aragon found that the calf was still at the top, pacing back and forth and mooing in distress.

“What?”

Hyde moos.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know how to walk down the stairs.”

Hyde moos louder.

Sighing, Aragon hikes back up the staircase, lifts the mass of orange fur, and carried her down. She swore the thing was made up of 99% hair (the other 1% would go to what Anne would call “Absolute Baby Energy”) because she could barely see over the calf’s body. And when she sat her down, dozens of orange strands cling to her shirt.

“Thank you for that.” Aragon grumbled, trying to get the hair off, but it was fruitless.

Hyde mooed and then trotted gleefully into the kitchen. Aragon follows her to go get the soup ready, only to find that the ingredients she needed weren’t there.

“Well-” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. She could go run by the nearest grocery store to pick up the necessary items, but what would she do about Hyde? “Alright, beast.”

Hyde looks up from where she was sniffing around on the floor.

“Don’t cause a ruckus while I’m gone. I won’t be long.”

As she’s walking towards the front door, Aragon gets the back of her legs rammed into with so much force that she nearly collapses when her knees buckled. She whirled around to find Hyde mooing excitedly, bouncing on her hooves and seemingly wagging her tail like an eager dog would.

“What did you-?! What was that for?!” Aragon barked.

Hyde just moos again and scrambled for the half open door. She gets her snout our before Aragon pushes her back in.

“No! You’re not-”

It was then that Aragon noticed the halter hanging up on the key rack beside the door. She stared at it with her mouth hanging open.

“Oh, Elizabeth does not.”

Hyde snatched the halter off of its hook with her teeth and stared up at Aragon with big, sparkling eyes.

“Oh, Elizabeth does too.” Her gaze seemed to say.

That was how Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry the VIII, the powerful queen of England, ended up walking a cow on the sidewalks of London.

Or, rather, the cow walked her.

Hyde was bounding eagerly down the street, practically dragging Aragon along behind her. The rope her halter was made of cut uncomfortably into the queen’s hands, rubbing the skin raw with each tug of her movements.

Now Aragon understood why there were blisters in the inside of Bessie’s fingers.

“Slow down! Hyde!” Aragon hissed. She pulled on the halter and, finally, the calf stopped. “My lord...” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with the hand she wasn’t using to wrangle up the heifer. “You need to calm down, young lady. You don’t even know where we’re going!”

Hyde blinks up at her.

It is then that Aragon realizes that she was talking to a cow on the street.

“Let’s go.”

Aragon continued walking and, this time, Hyde actually kept her pace. She eased up a little now that she wasn’t being dragged around like a sack of potatoes and actually kind of enjoyed the little stroll.

However, upon reaching the nearest store, a small bolt of anxiety shot through her. She glanced at the storefront, then at Hyde, then at a nearby lamppost. She was able to take the risk and tie Hyde up when a worker from the store stepped out and called over to her.

“Hey, ma’am!” She said, “Come in!”

Confused, Aragon walked inside, slightly being yanked by Hyde. The calf seemed eager to see the worker.

“Hi, Hy,” The worker, whose name tag read ‘Kit’, cooed. She pets the cow’s head. “Do you want a strawberry?”

Hyde moos happily.

“Do you...know her?” Aragon asked.

“Hyde? Of course! Bessie comes here all the time to get groceries. Everyone here loves her!” Kit said. She looked around. “Where is Bessie?”

“Home,” Aragon answered, “She’s sick.”

“Ah.” Kit nodded.

After a few more minutes of talking, Aragon branched off to the aisles and began grabbing the ingredients she needed for the soup. As she was doing so, she could hear Hyde’s happy little moos from the front counter.

She hadn’t realized that the calf had fans. She actually found herself laughing at that strange revelation, but was happy that Bessie wasn’t seen as a complete nut job when she was out with her pet.

Once she had grabbed everything she needed, Aragon went to pay and found that a small crowd of workers had accumulated around the calf, petting and doting on her. She looked like she was in heaven.

“I see she has a fan club,” Aragon chuckled.

“Louis would be the president, then,” Kit said, pointing to a young man ruffling Hyde’s bangs. “Duckie...probably vice president.” She nods at the worker scratching behind the calf’s ear.

Aragon smiles and paid. The workers hesitantly dispersed after a flurry of goodbye’s are said to the pair (mainly to Hyde, though).

“You got more attention than I usually do when I go out,” Aragon laughed as they began their walk home. Hyde peers up at her with her big, baby eyes. “I didn’t even get asked for a single picture!”

Hyde moos, and Aragon swore it had a cocky hum to it.

“I am not jealous of you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Aragon said, “Don’t flatter yourself, beast...and I’m talking to a cow again.”

Soon, they arrived back at the lady in waiting house and Aragon puts the halter on its hook before going to the kitchen. She gets fifteen minutes into cooking when Hyde starts to pull on her shirt.

“What? I’m busy, beast.”

Hyde moos.

“I don’t speak cow.”

Hyde snorts and Aragon wrinkled her nose, reaching down to wipe the residue off of her leg. She watched the calf pad over to the fridge and paw it with her hoof. She makes a tiny noise.

“Oh. You’re hungry.”

Seemingly understanding, Hyde moos loudly.

“Okay, okay. Quiet down.” Aragon opened the fridge and grabbed the milk that was used to feed Hyde. She wasn’t sure how long she was supposed to keep it in the microwave, so she had to wing it and hope it wouldn’t burn the calf’s tongue off. By the time the bottle was filled, she was practically being pounced on.

“Calm down!” The queen snapped. She walked over to the couch and sat down, which Hyde must have saw as permission to sling her front legs into her lap and nibble for the bottle. “Hey!”

Pushing did nothing to help- the calf just kept clambering back up. Aragon sighed and finally relented. She lowered the bottle and Hyde was attached to the nipple in an instant, suckling greedily. Aragon watched her eat in amusement.

“You’re a hungry little beast, aren’t you?”

Hyde moos in between sucks.

Aragon chuckles. She watches Hyde for a few more moments, then makes the mistake of taking one hand off of the bottle to pet the calf’s head.

Time seemed to slow down as Hyde yanked the nipple right off of the bottle and spill milk everywhere.

Well, Bessie hadn’t been completely wrong about her fever-fueled statement.

“Hyde!!” Aragon shrieked, leaping up to her feet. Her lap was drenched in milk, as well as parts of the couch and a majority of Hyde’s face. And, unlike her, the calf didn’t seem bothered at all. She was just harmlessly trying to lick the wet parts of her snout. “What have you done?!”

Finally, Hyde looked up at Aragon.

And then she went straight for the queen’s legs with the full intent to suck the milk out of her soaked pants.

“NO-!!”

Aragon swats at the calf until she backs off with a grumpy moo. She swore Hyde even glared at her.

“You are a mess.”

Hyde bobbed her head at Aragon, as if to say, “It takes one to know one!”

Aragon rubbed her forehead with a heavy sigh before checking on the soup and retrieving a rag. When she was walking back to Hyde, the calf moved her hind legs back.

“Don’t you dare run.”

The queen seemed to forget that, like how she couldn’t speak cow, Hyde wasn’t quite fluent in human.

The calf charges right through Aragon’s legs and beelines for the dining room table.

Cow with bangs vs. Queen of England: Who will win? Next up on ESPN! Is what Aragon’s brain helpfully chimed as she chased the cow around the ground floor. It was very queenly to say the least, but she actually found herself laughing as she continually got her ass beat by a cow in a game of cat and mouse. And the moment she was about to win, the match was halted by frantic footsteps from upstairs.

Hyde and Aragon exchange looks for a moment before Aragon is hurrying upstairs.

Bessie isn’t in her room, but she is in the bathroom, coughing into the toilet. Aragon watches her from the doorway for a moment before going to her side, pulling her hair out of the way.

“Oh, honey,” Aragon murmured. “Not feeling any better, huh?”

Bessie shook her head miserably before vomiting again. She stops after a moment, setting her head against the cool porcelain of the toilet seat.

“I-I-...” Her words broke off into an anguished moan.

“Shh,” Aragon hushed her. She began rubbing circles against the bassist’s back.

“C-could you go down a little?” Bessie stuttered shyly.

Aragon moved her hand down to Bessie’s lower waist. “Here?”

Bessie nodded against the toilet seat.

“Does your back hurt?”

Another nod, this time more ashamed.

“Oh, baby girl... I’m sorry.” Aragon murmured. She began to rub her back again.

Bessie doesn’t say anything for a few moments, just trying to collect her bearings after throwing up. When she does eventually raise her head, her eyes are dull, scratched pieces of sapphire in her skull and her cheeks are flushed an angry red.

“...Is that milk on your pants?”

Aragon glanced down at the wet stain on her lap.

“Shh, you’re delirious, my darling,” She cooed, using the rag (which was clean because she hadn’t managed to catch Hyde) she was still holding to wipe the sweat from Bessie’s pale face.

“Yes, I am...but that is definitely milk.”

“No it’s not.”

Bessie giggled softly at Aragon hesitance to admit the truth and managed a weak smile.

“If you say so.”

Just then, she’s hit with another horrid heat flash and screwed her eyes shut, willing the overwhelming warmth to go away. Aragon wraps an arm around her.

“Let’s get you back in bed,” She said. “Can you stand?”

Bessie nodded weakly and, with Aragon’s help, managed to get back to her bed...

...which was being occupied by a milk-covered cow.

“Good lord,” Aragon muttered, making Bessie laugh softly.

“You didn’t hold the bottle with two hands, did you?”

“I didn’t know she would make a mess!”

“I thought it was easy as nursing a baby?”

“Well, my nipple isn’t as easily detachable as that bottle’s nipple!”

More laughter bubbles up from Bessie and, quickly, Aragon is laughing with her.

“Alright, alright, enough nipple talk-” Bessie snorts and Aragon gave her a playfully stern glare. “Into bed with you.”

Bessie obeys and gets back under her blankest, sighing softly at not having to be on the feet anymore. Aragon’s cool hand comes down to rest against her forehead, stroking her sweaty bangs soothingly.

“Thank you,” Bessie whispered as she began to slip off again. “I love you...”

Aragon’s heart absolutely melted.

“I love you too, my darling girl.” She cooed.

She looks up and sees Hyde staring at her through her milk-soaked bangs.

“I tolerate you.”

[smol-gay-werewolf]

Blue Apple

The sides can have their own dreams, even nightmares. Thomas learnt this via Virgil sitting at the end of his bed who'd just had a nightmare and Patton who'd come to explain it to Thomas- ignoring that he'd also had a bad dream. Now Roman was here too- he hadn't had a nightmare, just an annoying dream about his brother. They were all having a nice chat to distract themselves, Patton scrolling through his phone and showing dog pictures from his Instagram to them. Thomas was still a little confused about how his sides could get their own nightmares, he debated pulling Logan up to explain it but figured the logical side wouldn't appreciate the emotion talk.

Speak of the devil, Logan himself rose up slowly behind patron, coughing awkwardly. "May I join you? I seem to have received my own uhm...troublesome dream."

Patton smiled and patted the end of the bed, wanting Logan to sit down. "Awe, did Lo-lo have a nightmare?" He hugged the side, petting his head. "It's alright kiddo, everyone has a nightmare now and then."

"Don't call me that." Logan pushed Patton off of him, adjusting his glasses. "I'm not a fan of that particular nickname..." He straightened his tie and sighed. "But yes, I had a bad dream. It wasn't frightening enough to be considered a nightmare though, just a little irritating." He thought for a moment, pondering a thought that jumped into his mind- he turned to face Roman. "Hey Roman? I have a question concerning your brother."

Roman looked up from his book, rather surprised but not all too shocked. "Oh? Well what do you need to know?" He wondered if Remus had had anything to do with Logan's nightmare.

Logan nodded, a silent thanks for Roman's willingness to answer. "I know he's the 'bad' side of imagination but is there any part of Remus that's genuinely good?" He assumed he already knew the answer but part of him hoped he was wrong.

Roman blinked at him, confused by the question- he wondered if his brother had anything to do with Logan's nightmare. "Well yeah, he can be nice. He might be a dark side but he's not all bad, bad creativity is what he represents, not his entire personality. Like how I'm Thomas's ego as well as the good parts to creativity, Remus is all spontaneous thoughts, not just the intrusive ones." Roman wasn't a fan of his brother but he didn't want to lie about him, he'd had enough lies for a lifetime.

Logans eyes lit up, he tried to hide how glad he was to hear that news- it made him feel some kind of positive emotion he couldn't pin point. He looked to Patton who was hesitantly nodding. "Yeah, I'd be lying if I said he didn't help with some present ideas for Thomas's friends." He chuckled uncomfortably, side eyeing Roman slightly. "Oh can we change the subject though kiddos? I'm not up for talking about the darksi-"

"The others."

"-the others right now, alright kiddo?" Patton smiled at Virgil and ruffled his hair- causing the purple haired side to chuckle. The other sides nodded and began to talk about other things- Roman brought up the topic of dragons so they kept on that for a while.

It didn't take long for them to all fall asleep, curled up on Thomas's bed. But Logan didn't sleep- he couldn't, thoughts danced through his head and he couldn't keep them out. Remus was a force, that was sure- Logan had seen Remus at his most treacherous but that dream- that dream was the first time he'd seen even a hint of the dark side being nice. He wasn't sure if the dream was real- obviously he knew it wasn't real but it's possible for Remus to enter the other side's dream, it was the same with Roman. He spent the entire night wondering if it was real and if it was- what reason Remus had to be so nice to him.

The next day, Logan was the only sleep deprived side in the mindspace- meaning Thomas wasn't all there, braincells running on empty. Virgil noticed that Logan was tired and sat with him for a bit, not asking any questions but just making sure he didn't faceplant into the table. Patton noticed at around lunchtime and fixed Logan a double strength coffee- much to Virgil's worry. But the coffee seemed to wake Logan up completely so there wasn't much to worry about, the logic side seemed fine for the second half of the day.

Thomas didn't really notice since there wasn't much for him to do, he did need Logan's help with a few things but all that was after lunch so it was fine. Logan didn't have to do much all day so Virgil was confused as to why Logan seemed so anxious. Being the representation of anxiety, Virgil could sense when the other sides were anxious- Logan was most certainly feeling very anxious about something, Virgil wanted to know what.

He sat next to the logical side and watched him for a few moment before speaking. "What's wrong?" He sighed when Logan dismissed his question and continued to bug him, refusing to let it go. Virgil knew the logical side hated emotions so it wasn't too much of a surprise that it was an hour before Logan coincided.

The bespectacled side but his book down, refusing to look at Virgil as he stared determinedly at the wall. "I don't want to go to sleep but I have to, it's a requirement and...and I'm just a little nervous."

Virgil blinked at him, confused as to why sleep would scare Logan- nothing scares Logan. He thought back to last night- Logan had confessed to having had a nightmare, maybe he was scared of it happening again? "Is it your nightmare?"

Logan nodded. "I wouldn't call it a nightmare, it wasn't that frightening its just...the emotions and the implications of the emotions and I can't deal with emotions and especially not these emotions and I'm bad at emotions anyway and it's just really inconvenient." He sighed and massaged his temples.

Virgil sighed, shifting himself closer to the logical side. "Emotions huh? Care to tell me what happened in the dream?"

"I'm not sure that would hel-"

"Dude, trust me. I swear I won't tell the others, I just want to help you out."

"Alright then." Logan sighed. "Well first off, I think it might have been real."

"Uh huh."

"So I was in the grove, you know the one the dark sides live in? I don't know how I got there but I figure Remus had brought me there since he was waiting for me there, he told me he wanted to show me something so I followed him. He lead me to this little circle of trees so dense they blocked out the sun, in the centre there was a little blanket that he invited me to sit on with him."

Virgil narrowed his eyes, he didn't think that sounded like Remus at all. But he let Logan continue.

"Then he brought out a little tv and said he'd saved all the documentaries I couldn't watch because Patton got too attached to the animals and we had to turn it over before an animal died. So obviously I took him up in his offer to watch it together, he even summoned some food- loganberry crofters on breakfast muffins- and a nice mint tea to share. Then we watched the documentaries and he even asked me little questions during it, he seemed so interested in the animals and honestly it didn't seem real but what if it was? If it was real then what if it happens again? You know I can't handle social interaction." He sighed and faceplanted into Virgil's shoulder.

Virgil held him for a few moments, just letting him calm down. "It's alright Lo, I understand how social interactions stress you out. It is only Remus though, remember how easily you delt with him on camera? Just treat him like you did then, he'll soon leave you alone." He smiled at the logical side- tur ing his head up just as Patton walked in.

The fatherly side wasn't aware of Logan's clear inner conflict as he informed the kiddos that it was in fact time for lights out. He walked each of them to their rooms, stopping Logan before he entered his. "Logan? Kiddo? I know you didn't get any sleep last night so I just want you to promise you'll try and sleep tonight. Can you do that for me?"

Logan sighed, it seemed no one understood his core issue here. He nodded reluctantly, he knew better then to upset Patton. He sighed again at how pleased Patton was with him, going inside his room. He took his glasses off- placing them on his bedside table then going to remove his tie. He glanced up at the mirror and sighed. "Couldn't wait until I fell asleep could you?"

"What if you killed him?"

"That's not what I asked, Remus." Logan sighed, walking over and sitting on his bed next to Remus. "I'm not killing anyone, that would be ridiculous." He began to undo the buttons of his shirt, rolling his eyes at the blush on the dark side's face. "Oh grow up, if you were going to be immature then you should have just waited until I had finished changing." He took his shirt off- only for Remus to grab it.

"Is this silk? Do you use silk? I could make a little pillow out of this!" He chuckled and wrapped the shirt around his head.

Logan chuckled, slipping on his pajama shirt- a navy blue with little stars on it. He slipped off his jeans and into his fluffy pajama bottoms, an inverted version of the top. He stretches and yawns- very tired and not all too willing to have to put up with Remus again.

Remus himself was in shock, he'd never seen Logan like this before- face flushed and teary eyed with a yawn. Remus felt his own green blush rise to his face, he hid his face in his puffy sleeves. He wished that Deceit's plan would work so he could keep Logan like this- on the other hand he would enjoy hanging out with the blue side a lot more.

Logan opened the draw by his bedside table and sighed, looking at Remus. "Is there any point in me actually going to sleep? Since you're just going to snatch me away like last night."

Remus cackled. "Snatch is slang for a woman's private parts in some places! You-"

"I'm well aware of that, Remus, I clearly meant literally, if I hadn't I would have said so. Please do pay attention, Duke's are notoriously intelligent yet you appear to be the exception to the rule."

Remus clutched his chest and gasped, faking being offended. "Oh how you wound me!" He flopped down on the bed and raised his arm into the air. "I see the light! Tell my brother I hate him..." He dropped his arm and closed his eyes, sticking his tounge out to mime death.

"And scene." Logan claps his hands together once and pats Remus on the stomach with a little chuckle. "Very entertaining Remus, thank you." He leans over to tidy Remus's mustache for him, raising an eyebrow. "So what are you plans tonight? More documentaries?"

"Throw knives at me."

"What?" Logan was taken aback by this, he hadn't expected this response. He wasn't adversed to the idea- Roman had told him to try more hobbies then just reading after all. He sat up, pondering the suggestion for a moment before nodding thoughtfully. "Knife throwing? Well object impermanence renders this an innocent activity and the math and strategy make it an activity I might enjoy."

Remus felt his heart skip a beat, he couldn't imagine a better pastime then being target practice- especially for the logical side. He'd always viewed Logan as a little cold hearted and now he had the chance to see how the sharper side- pun very much intended- behaved around sharp objects. He grinned and grabbed Logan's arm. "Oh this'll be so much fun!" He closed his eyes and teleported himself and Logan to the darksides grove.

The grove was absolutely beautiful- not something you'd expect from the darksides. There was some luscious trees surrounding the grove and a gorgeous pond in the centre- containing little fish and plants. At one side there was a large basking rock that Deceit was currently asleep under- in the cave under the rock- Logan understood that the serpentine side was cold blooded and recognised the basking rock as how Deciet warmed himself.

Logan couldn't help but glance towards the little flowery hill that Virgil had told the sides that he'd lived in before he joined them- Logan himself had memories of being five and sitting there whilst Patton made him way too many flower crowns.

Remus's area was surprisingly pleasant, a green and black throne- not unlike the one in Roman's room- a corkboard hanging from the branch of a tree and a couple of pillows. Logan sat down on a pillow and summoned some throwing knives, examining them- they were pure silver, a mahogany handle and a blue wax insignia of Logan's own logo. He looked up at Remus and smiled. "Ready when you are."

Remus nodded, summoning a lovely wooden wall that stretched between two trees. He ran at it and leaped forwards- turning halfway so when the ropes appeared, he was tied to the wall facing Logan. He flushed lightly at the pressure from the ropes, beaming at the logical side with a mischievous glint in his eye. "I'm ready Lo-Lo!"

Logan nodded approvingly and stood, turning to face the Duke. "Alright Remus, remember about object impermanence ok? This won't cause any harm if I mess up, understand?" He nodded approvingly at the Duke's own eager nodding, lifting one of the knives to aim.

Logan appreciated the logic and strategy involved with this activity, he knew he would have a little something more then begginers luck. He aimed the knife just above the curve between Remus's neck and shoulder- making sure he wouldn't hit Remus himself- and tossed it forward, making sure to stop at the correct angle.

When Roman had described love to Remus, the Duke hadn't expected to get these bubbily giddy feeling around Logan of all people- but just as his brother had fallen for the anxious side, Remus felt himself fall head over heels for the logical one. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the light glint off the knife and shine off Logan's glasses- hiding his eyes from sight. His breath quickened when Logan licked his lips in concentration, preparing to thow the blade- and when it hit, Remus caught Logan's lips twitching into a smile and found himself doing the same. As soon as the dust cleared and he saw that Logan had landed the knife almost perfectly he cracked into a huge grin. "Good shot Lo-Lo!! You ALMOST got me!" He laughed in his usual demented manner.

Logan chuckled, hiding his mouth behind his hand. "I wasn't trying to actually hit you, was that what you wanted?" He wouldn't be apposed to the idea, it would cause no permanent harm and if Remus concented then they'd be no reason not to- Patton wouldn't do it even if Remus begged, Virgil wouldn't because he'd fear it a trap and Roman wouldn't because it was what Remus wanted. Logan didn't understand that kind of thinking, if the fun is mutual then why not?

Remus's eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly, he clicked his fingers and suddenly he was tied to a wheel- slowly spinning. He raised an eyebrow to the logical side- a challenge. Remus didn't need words to make a suggestion- he was intrusive thoughts for a reason.

Logan nodded, rising to the challenge. He plucked another knife from the box and aimed it- he figured it would be more of a challenge if he went for the head or at least the prize parts. So when he tossed it, it was a surprise to him that it landed straight in the crest of Remus's neck- Logan had aimed for the head. He sighed and turned his head away from Remus and counted to three, turning back to see the dark side completely fine.

Remus saw the flash of disappointment on Logan's face and felt empathy for him- he remembered losing to Roman everytime they duelled, it was the same feeling. He flashed an optimistic grin and laughed. "You got me!! And in the neck too! I bet if you practise you'll get it perfect everytime soon!"

Logan smiled lightly, nodding and grabbing another knife. He took aim, confident in his ability- he needed to remember that this was the mindspace and that normal physics didn't need to apply. He took aim and threw the blade- boom! Right between the eyes, Logan felt a confident smirk tugging at his lips. He took another five seconds to reset Remus then allowed himself a smile. "Bullseye I believe."

Remus nodded, feeling some kind of pride for the logical side. "Aw weldone Lo-Lo!! You hit the nail through the eyeball!"

"I thought id missed your eyes? And it was a knife i was throwing."

"Its a metaphor sweetcheeks."

"Ah, I think it's the nail on the head then- but that is an entertaining metaphor". Logan chuckled and picked up another knife, juggling it lazily. "How about another round? I'm sure I can get it in your stomach this time."

Remus nodded, happy and still spinning. The duo continued like this all night- not realising that Deceit had his eyes on them. The serpentine side was watching them from under his basking rock, he had been trying his hardest to get Virgil to rejoin the darksides and had been having no luck. He looked at the strangely cruel smirk on Logan's face and let a similar smirk grown on his own face. "At least I have a plan B~"

These 'dates' continued for weeks upon weeks, each one a little more creative then the rest and all perfectly appealing to Logan's sensibility. Logan's new hobby of knife throwing improved greatly over the span of the next month and a half, he was able to get it in Remus's head whilst Remus was running through the forest. Remus had surprised him yesterday by catching the knife with his teeth- although Logan couldn't deny that he found it greatly impressive he would deny the blush that coated his cheeks in that moment.

Virgil was the only side to notice Logan's obvious glow when he appeared, he seemed very happy to help Thomas out- even when his advice wasn't listened too. Logan loved to tell Virgil everything that happened so Virgil wasn't surprised when Logans glow seemed to be a little weaker as the dates had slowed down to be once a week. Although, the couple was yet to become official- it was debatable whether Logan even viewed him and Remus as more then friends.

He was oblivious like that.

[sassysweetcollegegirls]

Lord Forgive me for what I’m about to do:

Everyone who hasn’t seen this image ; here it is and forgive me but as I was standing at my register today.... it hit me and I can’t hold it in. Heaven help me for the hell I am about to unleash for the shit that I am about to fucking do because....

Bobs back and the whole cast of Voltron and some old faces and some of the new ones

The Bachelor AU is here ;

The tv turns on and the family sitting on the couch huddled together the father grumps sticking his hand in some type of goo,” Why the hell are we we watching this Helen?”

“ it’s for Kelly Henri.” Helen the woman on the end snipes her blond hair bouncing as she soothes a few strands in the blanket.

The T.V. Wide pans to a wide shot of earth there’s this terrible cheesy song and everyone watches as Bob blips onto screen.

“WELCOME EVERYONE TO BACHELOR NATION! Tonight is the night Keith Kogane begins the search for the Greatest teammate in his life the one whose gunna sit next to him after the fights all over and share that little shack in the middle of BUTT NOWHERE!!!” Bob’s chair floats around a graceful and pretty landscape of flowers a wide open glass mansion brimming with romantic candles sits behind him.

“So let’s meet this man of Mystery and Intrigue and find out what he wants in a teammate shall we?” bob winks his green skin seeming odd in the earthly landscapes.

Keith stands dressed in a red suit kosmo laying at his feet. Keith keeps touching the pockets of his coat like they are going to disappear if he doesn’t stop touching them. Bob floats over and looks at Keith expectantly,” Keith! Tell us what you look for in the ultimate teammate!!!” Bob’s face is to eager Keith looks at him confused

“What do you mean?”

“Well aren’t you here to find love and that person whose gunna sit down in that shack in BUTT NOWHERE after this is all over.” Bobs excitedly floating upsidedown

“Yes, but it’s not like I’ve got a lot of time to be meeting new people.” Keith runs his hand worried through his mullet and looks at Bob shyly Kosmo hrumphs in a matter of fact way.

“Well that’s why we have assembled a cast of characters you know! We think one of these lucky people could be your teammate Keith!!”

Keith stared at Bob confused,” how am I supposed to know that?”

“Well first your going to meet all 28-“

“ THERES 28 OF THEM?!?” Keith’s voice is slightly panicked

Bob chuckles,” Kid did you like ever watch this show?”

Keith blushes and shakes his head. Bob floats for a second and pats the top of Keith’s head once “I picked a virgin for this one I shoulda picked the dumb one. So basically you go on dates, talk give kisses and have conversations. Try to... connect and then every week you send one or two individuals home.”

Keith nods,” I just want someone who is gunna love me...” his voice is quiet but the microphone still picks up the line and Bob looks at him blankly.

“ Lets meet our contestants alright?”

Keith stands with Kosmo seated calmly at his feat arms crossed as a limo pulls up. The door opens and Shiro steps out. He’s dressed in a beautiful star blue gown and Keith has to blink because for one he’s in a dress and for two he’s stunning. The dress is hugging his shoulders and the sleeves are long (aside from the one that’s not on his prosthetic floating arm) and there’s a slit at the thigh and Shiro just seems to glitter.

“You look so pleased to see me Keith.” Shiro smiles and Keith has to soften and uncross his arms as Shiro steps forward to hug him.

“I’m so confused.” He confesses as Shiro touches his cheek softly.

“ I can imagine I mean. Your in a red suit and look at this” Shiro gestures to the slit on his leg and Keith looks (because Shiro asked) and swallows. He can see Shiro’s thigh which is toned and very smooth beneath the fabric. ,” I am not made for slits this high. Give me a Cinderella gown any day Keith. Not this skank of a dress.”

Keith is blushing as Shiro says a quick goodbye watching as another Limo comes into sight. Keith has about two seconds to breath.

“I REALLY DONT GET THIS SHOW KELLI.” Henri was grumbling looking at the girl sitting on the floor squealing at the man dressed in the red suit and the other man dressed like a woman.

Kelli turns to look at Henri, “ Daddy, Keith wants to find someone to love didn’t you hear him?”

The Show is on pause and Henri is watching his daughter and the happiness and joy and he knows things have been a mess lately and he’s been yelling more so he sighs,” Alright Princess but only for you.” As the show turns back on

Keith watches at the Limo stops and then he’s watching the door open and for a minute it looks like nothing comes out. Just an open door and then he looks downward.

It’s the Arusian. He never did catch the little things name so he’s surprised when suddenly it’s attached to him at the waist.

“Oh um.... Hi. Nice to see you again to.” He offers and the creature smiles up at him. Then it lets go and runs in the way Shiro has gone and Keith looks at his tummy wondering why it’s all warm and he feels safe.

The next limo is quick to show trying to give little time between interactions.

The door opens and there is James. James looks older and he’s still the same stuck personality looking guy Keith remembers taunting him during his younger years. He’s wearing a two piece outfit. The top is embellished with the solar system of earth and glitter while the bottom is very poofy almost tutu like. He wears heals that Keith thinks could double as weapons. It’s a tempting look and one James pulls off. All he would need is Keith’s current jacket and he’d look pretty fuckable. Keith shakes the idea as he watches James stride forward and stop a few feet away,”I really don’t get why they made all of us wear dresses when some of us are men.”

Keith can’t help but smile and then winks,” who knows but your still pretty tasty little snack.”

“Snack Kogane I’m the whole fucking meal. Now give me your coat I’m cold.” Keith laughs loud and audibly and shakes out of his jacket handing it over watching James walk away trying to clean up his mind because he’s not supposed to be having dirty thoughts on this show.

He looks to Kosmo who’s still seated watching amused. “ Your the worst.” He murmurs and then turns to look at the Limo pulling up.

The door opens and Krolia steps out.

Keith balks because 1. she’s his mom

2. She’s his mom

And 3. She is wearing something so revealing he can’t even look at her.

“ Mom what are you wearing and why are you here?”

“Are you not pleased to see me son?”

“Mom... you really shouldn’t be here right now.”

“Why?”

Keith shifts awkwardly and looks at Kosmo,” You realize this is a dating show right?”

Korolia is quiet. “ROBERT EVENGREENSTEIN.”

“Wait You know Bobs Full name?” Keith is shock so deep it’s almost like someone got him a new soul.

“That, among other things. He told me it was customary for mother’s to appear on these shows in shiny black cars. “

Keith rubbed his face and tried not to smudge the eyeliner he’d put on,” Alright so here’s how we fix this. YOU GO HOME. Just get right right back in the shiny car and go home. Then I have 27 individuals to deal with.”

Krolia nodded,” no one else has to know I was here then. Crisis averted.”

“ splendid. Bye mom.”

“ I love you Son. I hope this journey brings you a mate. “ Krolia said envolping in a quick hug before jumping back into the Limo and shutting the door.

Keith sighed and blinked at the stars,” You Guys can’t fuck with me like this.”

He was so wrapped up in stars he missed the Limo pulling up and opening the doors. Allura stepped out and looked at Keith he was dashing in his red and black shirt and tie and he looked focused on the stars. So focused he missed her in the sheer silver gown that shimmered and shined as she glideded up the steps toward him.

“ You will break your neck if you look up like that you know.” She said a smile crawling onto her face and Keith had to swallow as he looked down at her because GODDAMNED GIRL. She was stunning her narrow waist and low dipped halter neck were perfect in the light and the way the light was shining Keith really was beginning to think that maybe he did have a thing for women.

For some reason he held out his hand to her and she took it slender fingers meeting his with confidence.

“Your stunning Allura.” Keith whispered as he reached up and touched her silver hair noting how she somehow managed to rock the it girl earth styles despite her Alien features.

“You clean up nice as well. Now if only we could get you to look this nice for coalition dinners.” She teased

Keith groaned,” Let’s not make this about business or the lions please.”

“Then what is this about Keith?” She asked and suddenly he wasn’t sure. He shrugged and she smiled and then she disappeared down the walkway that headed into the mansion.

Keith looked to Kosmo,” What is this about boy?”Kosmo blinked having no fair response. He was a space wolf on a show about a space dude dating aliens and humans in dresses (how was he supposed to know?)

Keith stood looking at Kosmo until the next Limo showed up and he was treated to another silvery tore the of hair.

“Lotor?” Keith gasped. Lotor stood on the stairs he was dressed regally in purple ruffles that seemed to hide a lot but they stopped at the thighs leaving black leather boots all the way up to his thighs.

“Hello.”

“What on earth are you doing here?” Keith’s eyes were narrowed deep in suspicion.

“Well Bob thought I’d make an excellent contestant for your little show and I have to say the wardrobe and winning over a paladin didn’t sound half bad either. “ Lotor was clomping in his heals commanding his space and Keith didn’t like it,” So let’s make a game of it shall we Paladin?”

Lotor was touching his arm in a comforting way but it gave Keith the chills. He watched as Lotor waved goodbye and walked toward the mansion.

Keith steeled his nerves for a moment and looked to Kosmo,” your going to have to keep an eye on him.” Kosmo rolled one of his eyes and another limo rolled up.

Keith tried to relax. He knew he should smile but he couldn’t. The door opened and Hunk stepped out. Hunk was holding a plate of brownies in one hand and a bone for Kosmo in the other. He was dressed in the yellow dress that went upto his neck and covered most of his arms. It was long and it suited him it made Keith think of summer sunshine and he couldn’t help but be happy to see Hunk.

“Keith!” Hunk cheered climbing up the steps carefully and tossing Kosmo his treat. Kosmo blipped forward to catch it and then went to hide behind Keith,” Dude you look awesome.” Hunk continued as he reached Keith.

Keith blushed because Hunk was always kind,” You look beautiful Hunk.”

“You think so? “

“Absolutely”

“Thank God. I was worried it wasn’t gunna fit or it would be the wrong shade of yello-“

Keith started laughing and pulled Hunk in for a hug,” Hunk it’s perfect. Your beautiful. Thank you for being here. “

Hunk smiled and hugged back as best he could without dropping brownies,” I made brownies. Think we can share?”

Keith looked at Hunk and at the plate and took two and held a finger to his lips,” what the others don’t know won’t kill them.” Hunk chuckled and they waved goodbye Keith touched the brownies in his pockets smiling happy.

The next limo was quick as was the opening door as Rolo stepped out. He looked like he’d rather be shot than be seen in what he was wearing. The dress was a simple baby blue halter that stopped at the knees and they gave him flat Sandles. His hair was freshly washed and combed but he was reaching up and trying to find his goggles.

“What’s wrong?” Keith asked stepping down the stairs

“They wouldn’t let me wear the boots or the hat... n now I got on this dress. I feel very exposed Red.”

Keith smiled,” if it makes you feel better everyone’s in a dress. Even the great Shiro.”

“They got that beast in a dress?”

Keith nodded and Rolo made eye contact,” is it attractive?”

“Extreamly.”

“Alright Red. You talked me into this dress nonsense. I’ll see you later.” Rolo shot clomping down the way to the mansion trying not to touch his hair as much.

Keith just chuckled and watched him go thinking it would be fun to see him in different ones.

The next limo brought a face Keith welcomed and feared. The door opened and Pidge stepped out. She was in a purple dress that stopped at the knees and she was wearing a pair of heals (he wanted to pick her up and carry her because they were so freaking big).

Her dress was crushed with jewels on tops and the bottom was entirely purple tool. She wore it with pride as well as a matching headband that blinked at her.

She wobbled getting out and Kosmo blipped forward to walk her up the steps. “Pidge why did you let them put you in shoes that high?” Keith whines as he was all of a sudden forced to look at the beauty of her legs (was Keith a leg man?)

“I didn’t exactly have a choice.” She murmured as Keith reached forward and took her from Kosmo,” they give you one outfit choice and one set of shoes to start.”

“Monsters.” Keith clarified, he was trying to be gentle because Pidge was resting against his chest as he guided her forward. Keith felt oddly protective of Pidge especially because she had put such honest effort in for him and she stood looking at him now hands in his blushing.

“ You realize all I’m going to do is shitpost and meme in real life right?” She smiled and looked at him and Keith had to try to keep thinking about what she said because all of a sudden he was thinking that his little gremlin was hella cute.

“I’d expect nothing less from my favorite gremlin.” He smiled and she huffed.

“Is there a way to save me the embarrassment of walking down that pathway?” She asked her voice soft and scared.

“Want Kosmo to take you?” He offered

“That would be nice.” She said as Keith swept her up bridal style and set her carefully on Kosmo’s shoulders. Kosmo seemed to understand and he looked at Pidge and then at Keith before blipping out of sight. Keith stood for a minute thinking about the weight of Pidge in his arms.

His own voice broke the silence,” Shit. I should have warned her about Shiro.” he doesn’t have time to run to the mansion and warn her or cover her eyes because the next limo pulls up and Keith has to swallow every gay man’s dirty little secret. 

Mathew Holt. Mathew Holt is the only guy not in a dress. But he was not forgiven because what he is wearing is even more of a sin. Keith can see his chest and the V of his hips as the jeans he was wearing sunk low enough to reveal hip bones but not much else. Keith was having a hard time breathing as he watched Matt approach the cross around his neck bouncing against his pecks and his ponytail was messy he held a coat over his shoulder like he was bored. 

“ Keith. Weird, I’d have expected something a little more sparkly.” Matt tried teasing coming to stand in front of Keith. He smelled so good somewhere between motor oil and sex and Keith was having trouble speaking. “Earth to Keith?” 

Matt waved his hand in front of Keith’s face and Keith blushed coughing,” What I’m sorry.I just your not dressed like n-normal...” 

“This? Bi-Bo-Bii picked it said something about Sex appeal. “ Matt looked at himself and then shrugged. Keith decided it was unfair Pidge was cute and Matt was so sexy Keith may just die,” It’s not bad is it?” Matt asks suddenly self conscious.

Keith waves his hands around,”NONONOYOURGOODYOURGOODTOOGOODACTUALLYOHGODINEEDTOJUSTSHUTTHEFUCKUP.” Keith is panicked all of it coming out in one big rush as he lets out all the air in his lung,” IMEANSHIRO’SINADRESSYOULOOKLIKESEXEVERYTHINGSFINE.” 

“Wait they got SHIRO in a dress?” Matt asks and just as they said that theres a loud cackling scream from inside the mansion,” Is that Pidge?” Keith nods to both and Matt claps his hands smiling,” You forgot to tell her that Shiro was in a dress didn’t you?” 

Keith nods again and all of a sudden Matt in laughing and running off with Keith watching in stunned Silence as his levels of gay calm down and he can finally breath normally. He’s left standing waiting for yet another Limo. 

This Limo didn’t even come to a full stop the door opened and a full rolling body flew out. It took Keith a moment to recognize the mass of Limbs as Slav. “ THIS REALITY IS RUDE.” 

“ Slav, So pleased you could join this uh....” 

“What is this Angry one? Some type of Alternate reality where we all play along in some dating show?” Slav is waving his arms around in his crazy angry way that only slav is capable of,” You know only Shiro and I have the chemistry for that.” 

“Shiro is here. They got him in a dress.” Keith offers trying to sooth the angry scientist. His fingers going to his mullet. He’s looking at Slav who is dressed in a black and white suite and very angry.

“A Dress? Don’t they know how dangerous that is? What if he slips and falls on the train?” Then Slav is marching past Keith and his black and white suit is ignored as you can hear the angry speech he is giving the entire show about safety precautions. 

Keith rubs his hands through his hair and closes his eyes looking up at the stars when the next Limo arrives his back is turned but he can’t miss the soft sound of Shakira’s She-Wolf playing as Lance steps out of the Limo. 

Keith has to blink twice to be sure he is truly seeing it right. Lance is dressed in the tightest dress Keith has ever seen. It stops just short of his ass and Keith is looking at the heals on his feet all the way up his legs. (Keith has decided he is defiantly a leg man and OH Sweet heavens these legs) Kosmo is seated eyes forward he whimpers slightly. Keith shushes him watching as Lance bends and twirls his way towards him. Every flash of skin seems to make the dress creep a little higher and when it comes to getting close Keith thinks Lance’s underwear are red. The music stops and Lance howls gently tilting his head back hand on Keith’s chest and Kosmo joins him eyes closed. A moment of silence lapses and Keith realizes he isn’t breathing. 

“Breath.” Lance murmurs and Keith does as if compelled by some kind of magic. “ What do you think?” 

“Can I touch you?” Keith asks his voice beyond soft as he looks at the ocean blue eyes that have seemingly trapped him. 

“Only because you asked,” Lance says smiling and Keith reaches forward fingers shaking he touches the hem of Lance’s dress he can’t help but notice how smooth Lance’s skin is against the spandex fabric. 

Then both boys hear a soft clearing of throat and jump apart pretending as though nothing happened but not before Lance can sneak his hand in Keith’s pocket and steal Hunks brownie’s before sashaying off to leave Keith with  Samuel Holt. 

“That looked mighty comfortable.” Sam tried and Keith blushed.

“I can imagine that it is. Good to see you again Sam. Are you here because bob dragged you along?”

“ Yup. I figured I would keep an eye on the children. Though I will say you clean up nicely cadet.” 

“Thank you Sir. I Hunk and Pidge are probably pulling pranks on Slav and hopefully Matt hasn’t given to many heart attacks. Report back any findings please.” 

“ Will do captain.” 

Both men part ways Keith standing thinking about a particular set of Legs and Sam off to keep havoc from going all the way.