#(I'll let you imagine what Luka did next)

[mc-lukanette]

Marinette sat on the couch in her house while Luka was busy in the kitchen preparing popcorn. They hadn't felt like their usual creative sessions that day, so a simple movie would have to do.

Though they did go back and forth for a while on who should be in charge of preparing popcorn, Marinette chuckling recalling their "argument." "But you're the guest!" "And you're letting me in your space." "Guests aren't supposed to be doing anything." "Not in my house. We let guests do what they want, and I want to make the popcorn for you."

She finally relented to him and let him do as he pleased, satisfying popping noises going off behind her like they were the fireworks of his victory.

Granted, it wasn't like there wasn't anything in it for her. There was an akuma that day and she hadn't eaten much as a result, so she spent the time he was preparing eating a handful of nuts.

Not that she really even liked nuts. They were okay - not good, not bad - but her options had gone down ever since she got her miraculous. Chips had gone off the table a long time ago even though she enjoyed them as most did.

"Ugh," she voiced the frustration aloud, "being Ladybug is the worst."

Beyond the popping sound of the popcorn, every other noise stopped; Luka must've heard her.

He raised his voice to be heard over the popping, asking, "Does it have anything to do with what you've been eating?"

She snorted in amusement. Of course he'd notice that my diet changed.

While she'd only known Luka after having become Ladybug, she tried to hide her dieting habits from other people. Luka knowing her secret identity meant that she didn't feel the need to hide it from him anymore, even subconsciously and she just hadn't remembered that she hadn't told him about the dieting aspects until now.

Turning her head to direct her voice towards him more, she confirmed, "Yeah. I used to be able to skip a meal or two if I was in a hurry, but Ladybug can't. There are more akuma now that Hawk Moth is Shadow Moth too."

Luka tapped the counter as he mulled that over, deducing, "So being a hero burns through your energy."

"Exactly, but I can't just eat more food either."

"Because people will notice if you're playing off notes," he finished.

"Yeah. I just need to eat more... nutritiously, I guess." She raised one of the nuts to show him. "Like these; protein and healthy fat."

"Mm," Luka hummed in thought. She could imagine him nodding even if she couldn't see it.

Things went silent from there beyond the occasional sounds from the kitchen and the crunch of Marinette biting into a walnut. She'd already picked out a movie she thought they'd both enjoy, so she could just kick back and wait for Luka.

Eventually, he arrived with two separate bowls of popcorn and set them on the table, though he paused rather than pulling back to join her on the couch. She blinked, curious at the contemplative expression on his face.

"...I can cook," he said suddenly.

"Huh?" She tilted her head, puzzled by the statement. "Oh, I—I know? That's... I always thought it was great that you—"

He hunched over as he choked out a laugh, muffling it with a hand and waving his other hand to reassure her. "Sorry. I..." He straightened, running a hand through his hair before clarifying, "I was asking if I could help."

"...H-huh?" she repeated, somehow more confused than when he told her something she already knew.

He sat down next to her, looking wholly serious. "I'd have to practice and find some recipes, but I could make the kind of food you need." Her averted his gaze, looking up and to his right like he was still thinking it over. "I'll eat too, so you don't have to feel bad about it. It'll give me an excuse to eat well"

Marinette didn't even know what to say; she could only gape at him. Luka had - of course - always been wholly understanding of her role as Ladybug. If anything, he was too understanding, willing to make excuses for her absences without hesitation and always ready to pick up right back where they left off if their one-on-one time was interrupted. She liked to think she knew how to read him by now and he genuinely seemed unbothered by it. She still didn't fully comprehend how he did it all like it was nothing simply because he liked her and they were friends.

Well, she was pretty sure they were friends, anyway: friends who spent a lot of one-on-one time together, friends who shared their deepest secrets with each other, and now potentially friends who ate food together that one of them prepared.

...I have to ask, she thought reluctantly.

"Do you—" She took a breath, then tipped her head back and tossed the remaining nuts in her mouth, chewing and swallowing as if they'd give her courage. Making sure to look him in the eyes, she tried again, "Do you mean... like a date?"

The slight blush that appeared on his face gave her a rough answer. He must've only been thinking about her and making sure she knew that he was getting something out of it by eating the food he'd make for both of them. The romantic implications hadn't even entered his mind.

Still, she waited for him to respond properly, wanting to see what he said.

He shifted in place, looking from her, to the popcorn, to the movie, and finally back at her. When he opened his mouth again, it felt like an eternity until the words actually came out.

"No, but—" He offered a gentle smile her way. "If that's what you want, then..."

He'd trailed off, but she got the message. She just hoped the spontaneous giggle that came out of her didn't sound too giddy.

"W-we could give it a try?" she offered, twirling a strand of her hair and hoping that the coyness might come across. It would've been easy to confess outright, but after all of the relationship failures she'd gone through, it was appealing to try something a little slower even if her endgame goal remained the same.

Luka agreed, his smile widening as he nodded. With that, it was officially agreed upon that it would be a date. Many dates, in fact, if his promise was accurate and he'd start cooking for her regularly.

The only shame, Marinette thought, was that it'd be hard to focus on the movie when she was already imagining her future dinner plans with him.

[liverpool-enjoyer]

footballers reacting to being called something,,, impolite

requested by anon :)) the prompt said "mean name" so i'll jus leave that up to yalls imagination hehe. thank you sm for requesting!!

leo: he does not care. like at all. man physically could not care any less.

ney: we wouldnt start like a fistfight or anything but he'd be all like "tf did you jus say???" n he'd get all up close n personal to whoever said it without actually hurting them.

luis: luis says "rip to ney but im different." yeah he swings. once ney n leo overhear him being called something unsavory they immediately get ready to go break it up.

gavi: gets JUST as angry as luis, if not more, but due to his smolness hes not taken very seriously. whoevers taunting him jus laughs which makes things so, so, much worse n poor gavi jus explodes.

luka: genuinely doesnt let it get to him. rolls his eyes n brushes it off like a normal fucking person.

muller: for some,,, strange reason, this fella finds it,, oddly motivating?? hes like yknow what. now im gonna interpret the space even HARDER.

alisson: oh God help whoever calls ali something outta pocket. GOD help em cause theyre gonna end up BODY CHECKED by a scary ass 6'5 dutchman.

sergio: not only does he pummel whoever had words for him, but he ends up calling them something infinitely worse.

kdb: you think hes gonna care? dude gets flamed by the entire belgian national team during every international break this is just friday.

klopp: if another manager calls him something nasty, he doesnt get too bent outta shape; he jus retaliates by making sure liverpool SLAUGHTERS their team next time they play each other.

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Long awaited kiss - Lukadrien June Day 11, 12 + 13

So I had the idea for Winx Club, it's not the same Winx Club au I've done before, this is different. I did try diving a little into the lore throughout the story but if it seems interesting, maybe I'll make a post about what I imagine this AU to be like. Anyway, it ended up falling into three prompts so I mixed them all. Enjoy.

@lukadrienmonth

Royalty Another fandom au Magic

Adrien- fairy of the sun

Luka – fairy of sea

Nath – fairy of art

Marc – fairy of stories

Max – fairy of technology

Nino – fairy of music

Kagami, kim, alix, ivan (dates mylene, fairy of nature) – specialist

Marinette, chloe, felix, alya – witches

Sabrina – goes from witch to fairy

Rose – fairy of joy

Juleka – half mermaid

________________

“What do you think?”

Luka looked up from his phone, texting the others and took in the sleeveless tailcoat with ornate embroidery Adrien wore.

“It’s nice.”

“Nice?”

“What he means to say,” a familiar voice said, as a near identical person walked off his own clothing platform and stood next to Adrien, “is that it looks better on me.”

Felix wasn’t wrong. The Witch was more fitting in the suit, with the cravat and knee-high boots, seeing it was more his style. His put together hair and all-knowing eyes seemed to tie everything together.

“What do you think? Can I be a better Prince of Solaria?” he asked, puffing out his chest and waving, Adrien rolling his eyes.

“Ok, not for me then.” He said, pushing his cousin off the platform and pulling up the screen again. Felix sent the outfit he wore to be bought and picked up under his name, the magic dropping and leaving him in his normal clothes before he dropped next to Luka.

“How long have you two been here? I thought the plan was to go to the beach?”

“Juleka is going to meet us there, she just has to get here from Andros. The others are exploring and we’re meeting the Specialist at the beach. Are the other Witches coming?” Luka asked.

“Marinette dragged Alya back to her home planet though she will be there for the coming out ball. She’s been getting flack for being controlled by Lila. As if half the school wasn’t under that fox’s spell. Literally.” Felix said. “They’re only bothering her because of her whole easy ability to use both fairy and witch magic, so half of them think she acts likes she better than she is. It’s like they’ve never had a conversation with her.”

Most of the Witches at Cloud Tower were, well, as nasty as their magic typing casted them as. They weren’t any nicer when there’d been a dark force operating from their school during first year and draining the school to summon dark creatures to attack everything with the Magix dimension. Not even when Chloe had been the person the dark force was after, her and her sister Zoe.

Second year revealed said force to be Lila, or whatever her actual name was. She managed to take control of Marinette and used her ability to use both sides to locate and collect to codexs of all the schools and Pixie Village to reach the Realix dimension and the Ultimate Power. Even after all that, it seemed they still stuck to being rude and mean.

“I’m assuming you took care of them?” Luka asked.

“Oh no, Chloe took care of that. No one is allowed to bully Marinette except her. But enough about them, let’s talk you two. How have things been since the final battle?”

Luka looked back at Adrien, who switched to another suit that didn’t look good. During said battle where Marinette was stuck in the mind controlled dark version of herself, the Fairies, Witches and Specialists tried fighting Lila, anything to get an advantage over her. Adrien hadn’t been there originally, at the entrance with Nathaniel to keep the monsters Lila had from storming them. Luka had been fighting against Lila and one of her hits managed to get him really bad, slamming into the ground hard enough his transformation dropped. His injuries were bad, like really bad. He didn’t remember much before Marinette snapped out of it and used her own healing powers on herself and the others, but he did remember Adrien begging him not to go.

And a kiss. Luka would have thought he was dreaming or hallucinating with the blood loss, had Adrien not gone completely red when he woke up. They hadn’t spoken about it since.

“Well, I’m here and the others are, around.”

“Uh huh.” Felix said. “You two haven’t said shit have you?”

Luka didn’t bother responding when Felix knew the answer already.

“Ok, this. this is the one.”

Luka turned from Felix’s knowing look to take in what Adrien put on.

“Wow. Much better.” Felix said. Luka was finding it hard to find words.

“Do you like it?” Adrien asked, looking nervous.

“You look amazing.” Luka was eventually able to get out.

“And on that note, let’s go pay and meet the others. Or you two can catch up on your own.” Felix said, trying to throw them a bone.

“Ah, it’s ok. Luka’s coming with me to the castle first.”

This was news to him but Luka nodded.

“Alright then. Food and then beach?”

“Well, we actually have one more stop, but you can go ahead, we’ll meet you there.” Adrien said, his order sent ahead and got off the platform, left in his clothes. “Luka has an appointment to get to first.”

___________________

The trip to the beach had been cut short when the waves went out of control. Luka couldn’t understand it, not knowing the reason for the near tsunami sized wave that appeared, only that he felt mermaids in the water nearby. Juleka had gone under looking for anyone, but she only caught the tail end of mermaid guards swimming away. The trip had been cancelled and everyone headed home to get ready to come to Solaria.

Luka was focused on his phone, biting his nail as he hoped to get a reply back from his mom. Mermaid guards were mainly in Andros and Luka’s mother worked at the castle in close quarters with the royal family.

“Nothing still?”

“No. it might be nothing but that wave was sudden. The sea was, I don’t know, not angry, but…I don’t know. it just, it wasn’t normal. Would your dad know anything?”

Adrien hummed, trying to think. His father wasn’t the best ruler and hadn’t been since his mother’s death. He was getting better, actually trying but for the most part, “Nathalie is the real person who runs the kingdom. We can ask her, assuming she’s not too busy. Dad’s on the Solarian Council but Nathalie really does the work.” Luka nodded, looking back to his phone, seeming to ignore the hair falling out of his bun. “I really like your hair. I don’t know if I mentioned it to you.”

During the final battle as the Specialist flew them to Lila’s castle, Luka had made a joke that if they made it out with minor injuries and Marinette back with them, he’d get his hair longer, a choice he’d been debating the whole school year. Luka tried arguing when Adrien told him of the appointment he made, that his own injuries weren’t minor.

“We all survived and Lila was defeated for good. If you don’t like it, just cut it off.”

His hair was now just past his shoulders when out and the blue in his hair was brighter with the new growth needing to catch up. Luka looked like a siren already in his fairy form, the longer hair made it even better.

“Thank you.” Luka said, tucking the strand back. “Everything is probably fine. we only defeated Lila, what, nearly 2 weeks ago? There’s no way that she’d regain any power that quickly, even if she could. She was essentially poisoned by Marinette’s healing powers eating into her own powers.”

“exactly. It’ll be fine.”

“Ok.” Marc said, exiting his dorm.

The group split up back to their schools after the cancelled beach day, most wanting to repack with Adrien’s invitation to stay at the castle for the summer. Those who went home, promised to be at the Solarian castle when the party happened the next day. Adrien was just hopping nothing bad would happen, that Luka’s worry over Andros was just a small thing that wouldn’t spell Lila regaining power and coming back.

“I’ve repacked my bags, but now I don’t have space for my books. Or Nath’s art supplies. He had to want to go traditional this year.” Marc finished.

“I have another bag under my bed. Just use that.” Luka said, fiddling with his phone before finally putting it down.

Marc went back into his shared room with Luka as Nino ran into the common area of their dorm.

“Alya asked for help convincing Marinette to come to the party. I have to head there before Chloe gets wind and tries her hand.” The music fairy said, grabbing his bag and pushing his suitcase towards Adrien. “Can I send my bag ahead with you?”

“Sure. call if Marinette still says no. I’ll beg if I have to. In fact, if anyone else is ready, we can head to Solaria now.” Adrien said, pulling his silver ring off his finger and tossing it, the ring turning into Adrien’s sceptre.

“We’ll be there later, you go!” Marc called, Nino agreeing as he waved and darted out the room.

Adrien shrunk all the bags and held his hand out for Luka to take. “Just us then?”

“Ready when you are.”

Arrival at the castle was quite subdued, just the way Adrien liked it. they were greeted by Nathalie and Gorilla, Adrien’s main bodyguard until he began school at Alfea.

“Your father is working on the finishing touches of your party.” Nathalie had explained when Adrien wondered where his father was.

Adrien decided not to question it too much and instead showed Luka the entire castle, from the gardens, the different hallways full of tapestries and finally, his favourite room of all.

“Welcome to the Hall of the Universe. Every single dimension is represented as a planet and it’s always spinning. The shinning one? That’s Solaria.”

“Andros, right there.” Luka said, finding the pale pink and blue planet that represented his dimension. “It’s kinda weird to think that if we decided to finish our fairy education on our own dimensions instead of accepting the invitation to Alfea, we would have never met.”

Adrien looked over at Luka, who was still focused on looking at his planet. He had to beg his father to let him attend Alfea. If he let him talk to Feragonda and have him be in a complete single, he wouldn’t have been assigned to the Kwami dorm, wouldn’t have found the amazing friends he had, would have never gotten the chance to meet Luka. he would pass on Lila and everything she did but everything else, he’d do all over again.

“What?” Luka asked.

“Oh, uh…nothing. Come on, I’ll show you to your room while I go find dad.”

______________________________

Felix picked up another jewellery box and opened it, blinding both him and Luka with the bracelet’s shine.

“Moons below, that’s gaudy. No surprise there though.” he said, looking at the not left with it.

Adrien was speaking with his father and Felix had arrived with his mother as Luka was trying to decide how to keep himself occupied. Felix wanted to poke around Adrien’s gifts and Luka needed advice and a bit of help, which was why he wasn’t stopping the Witch.

“Can I ask you something?”

“I asked my mother already; she doesn’t know what’s going on with Andros.” Felix answered.

That was helpful to know but, “it’s about my present for Adrien.”

“Oh. You know, you don’t have to get him something. Most of this is because this is Adrien being formally recognised as the heir of Solaria. That and a decent number of them wanted to thank him for helping to save the Magix dimension after Lila’s first attempt at control.” Felix reassured.

Luka pulled out a box from his jacket pocket and handed it to Felix. The necklace inside was simple, a gold crescent moon and dangling from it in the centre was a stylized sun with an opal set in it.

“the sun can open into a locket.” Luka explained, watching Felix find the catch and open the empty pocket. “I was hoping you can point me in the direction of Adrien’s favourite picture of his mom. And if you think it’s a good idea.”

“I swear to Red Flame Dragon, if you don’t tell him how you feel but he doesn’t get it seeing this, I might actually murder the both of you. yes I will help you get the picture. I know exactly which one.”

“Your highness, oh!” standing in the doorway was a woman wearing a stripped jumpsuit, an oversized white hat and obnoxious sunglasses. There was something familiar about her. “Prince Felix, what are you doing in here?”

“I’m allowed to be here. Luka, this is Audrey Bourgeois, Dutchess.”

And Chloe and Zoe’s mom. The one who made sure each daughter could only handle one type of magic, which got Lila’s attention in the first place.

Magic could bend either way, some more aligned with Light like Faires and other aligned with Dark, like Witches. A person could go either way, depending on what their magic felt most comfortable in, which was why Sabrina transferred out of Cloud Tower and to Alfea after the first battle against Lila. Marinette was one of those rare people who could handle both, despite being more aligned with being a Witch. Chloe and Zoe, however, could only ever handle Dark and Light respectively. Any attempt to dive into the other side didn’t end well. doing the spells together worked, but never apart. Lila needed someone who could do both which was why she went after Marinette next when Zoe and Chloe didn’t work out. their magic had been stolen and it nearly gotten them killed, all because their mother wanted her kids to be perfect and special.

Chloe was Adrien’s best friend and he’d promised Audrey full hell when he finally saw her again after they found out the truth.

“I hope Adrien will enjoy my present; the bracelet was expensive.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll shine bright.” Felix said, point to the box he just opened. “Can I help you?”

“I was just curious if he knew that his babysitter was leaving. I saw her things being removed from her room.”

“That’s because my father’s proposing.” Adrien appeared behind Audrey and Felix closed and tossed the box to Luka to hide in his pocket again. “Dad said he wanted to use the party as a way to have everyone here so he can ask Nathalie to marry him. I don’t mind, Nathalie is going to make an amazing queen of Solaria.”

That seemed to piss Audrey off. “But she has no royal breeding.”

“And yet, she has more grace and elegance than most members of high society I know.” Adrien said, quickly looking Audrey over and giving a fake smile. he’d give that to the Witches who wouldn’t leave Marinette alone for being friends with Fairies. “If you don’t have anything else, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

_______________________

Luka blocked the sun as he watched the Specialists ship touch down. Max had to of asked to give it a go because it was one of the smoother landings.

“The party has arrived!” Nino called out as the gangplank extended and let everyone off. Nino’s suit was much fancier than the one he wore for their first-year mixed school dance. There were still music notes sewn into the lapels of his jacket. “Luka!”

“Welcome to Solaria guys. Adrien wanted to come greet you put he’s been pulled in to helping his father make the surprise perfect.” Luka said, seeing Chloe walk down and head straight for him. She started to tug at his jacket. “Marinette ask you to do her job?”

“Why do you think I’m doing it? How else am I getting her off the ship?”

“Chloe, it’s a cropped jacket! It’s not supposed to go any lower!” Marinette, dressed in a pink dress Luka knew she designed herself, rushed down and moved Chloe away. “You look very nice. The gold detail looks like suns.” She commented, adjusting his collar.

“Honestly, it kinda matches Adrien’s outfit.”

“Does that mean we’ll have an answer to the ‘will they, won’t they’ debacle?” Nathaniel asked, the mix of colours working with his white suit.

“You, do not get to judge me.” Luka remarked. “let me know when you and Marc have talked.” Luka smirked as Nathaniel shushed him while Marc came down with Alix and Kagami. “We have a bit of time before we’re supposed to join everyone in the ball room. I can give you the quick tour.”

Kagami took charge as she normally did, leading the large group towards the back doors to the castle. Chloe pointed out a few things they walked around. They started up a flight of curved stairs when Luka spotted Audrey. She was leading a girl, probably about their age down the hallway they were walking towards. There was something about her short brown hair and fox-like eyes that seemed very familiar.

“Who’s that?” Zoe asked.

“Who cares? She didn’t see us and we don’t want to see her. Come on, before she hears us.” They all went in the opposite direction, though Luka kept looking over his shoulder. When brown eyes met his, his stomach clenched and he turned away.

“Are you ok?” Juleka asked, her black dress fitting her almost like the mermaid she was.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. anything from mom?”

“No, nothing. Honestly, it didn’t go through but every channel I checked says everything is ok. It’s the other mermaids I’m worried about. I haven’t heard from them either. Do you think Adrien would be mad if we headed for Andros tomorrow?”

Luka gave her a dry look. “you say that as if he wouldn’t shove all of us onto the ship so we can all go.”

“That’s very true. Speaking of Adrien, are you going to give it to him?”

Luka nodded. “Felix has it now. I’ll get it back when we go in.”

They eventually made it back downstairs and into the ballroom. It was amazingly decked out, fit for a prince but just understated enough that Adrien would love it. Roses with starlights were all over in vases on the table, green table clothes in all shades and the faintest piano music playing. Gorilla waved them inside before refocusing on his group of guards. Kagami, Chloe and Zoe seemed at ease surrounded by so many high members of society, while Marinette and Marc looked nervous.

“What if they know who I am?” Marinette asked, hiding her face in Alya’s arm.

“Then they know a highly skilled Witch who has the ability to use Fairy magic and that’s it. anyone else tries to dig deeper will be dealt with by being kicked out. or worse, by Adrien.” Felix said, appearing in the outfit he’d chosen, the sleeveless tailcoat still looking good on him. He slipped Luka the jewellery box before looking at Marinette again. “Or I can deal with them. Can’t let Chloe have all the fun.”

“Or maybe we save the scathing comments for after Adrien’s long-awaited party?” Sabrina suggested.

“At least until after the surprise. Adrien might kill us if it’s ruined.” Luka pointed out.

Many of the group asked for answers on what the surprise was but Felix and Luka continued to not say anything. Audrey finally made it in, obnoxious ballgown and all but thankfully she ignored her daughters, which left Chloe in a better mood. Kagami was just being talked out of using her Dragon Sword as a way to eat meat on a stick when trumpets started to go off and the doors at the top of the stairs swung up to reveal King Gabriel of Solaria. Dressed in his standard white, he walked out, head held high. While Nathalie was definitely the one who ran the kingdom while he dealt with his grief, he was still a king, no matter what a person said.

“Welcome everyone, guests and citizens of Solaria. Today is an auspicious day. Today, my son is recognised as heir of Solaria. My son has been at Alfea for the past 2 years learning to become a great fairy and with time, the Guardian Fairy of Solaria. But it hasn’t been without its challenges. He has done out dimension proud though, standing against the dark force once known as Lila with his friends and saving us all. I truly couldn’t think of a better person to lead us when the times comes. Please, join me in formally welcoming, Prince Adrien Emile Gabriel Donatien Athanase Agreste, Prince and Heir of Solaria!”

Gabriel moved, starting the applause as Adrien came out. the dark grey and tan of his tunic, like Luka promised, matched with the gold throughout. The crown on his head was delicate and fitting of a sun fairy. Adrien took his father’s hand as he led him down the stairs, where everyone bowed.

“I have one more announcement to make before the party formally starts. And not to worry, I have Adrien’s permission for this. as most of you know, I lost my wife 4 years ago, the Moon Queen Emile. I turned into myself and I admit, not been a good king after her passing. But this dimension was well looked after by one of her dearest friends and a person I don’t know where I’d be without. Nathalie?”

Not a look most people would see on the woman, Nathalie was surprised when Gorilla took her ever-present clipboard and pushed her to take Adrien’s hand. She started to look disbelieving when he joined the adults’ hands and took a step back.

“Nathalie, I don’t know where this dimension would be without you. I don’t know where we’d be without you. you’ve never given up on me and try as I might, it became hard not to ignore how it made me feel. You told me that you thought Emile would be my only love and how you were fine with that. You were wrong. She’s not my only love and I know what she meant now when she told me to always keep my heart full. Nathalie, even if I was not king, I would be forever lost without you and I can’t bear to lose another I love again. Will you marry me?”

Eyes shiny with tears, she nodded, Adrien leading the applause and cheering this time. He gave his father a small box, bouncing away as he continued clapping. Luka caught his eye, sharing a smile. it was hard not to be swept up in all the love. Adrien was fine sharing the spotlight with his father and his new fiancée but if Luka was going to do this, he wanted it to just be them.

“Please welcome the first dance of your king and future queen!” Adrien called, rushing over to his friends so the adults couldn’t say no. “Stars and suns, finally! I thought he’d never propose.”

“How long has that been brewing?” Nino asked, the only one other than Chloe and Kagami who’d interacted with Nathalie the most, not to mention Adrien’s father.

“pretty much since first year. Dad’s stuck in his ways and Nathalie would never overstep if she thinks she is. But before the final battle with Lila, when we were heading towards her hideout, I called him and told him he had to. I didn’t know if we’d all survive and I didn’t want him facing another loss alone.”

“Well luckily for him, Lila is gone and his son gets to spend the whole summer break with him planning a royal wedding. I already accept my invitation.” Alix teased.

“I think it’s a sign for us all to not take things for granted. And with that, to the dancefloor!” Alya decided, grabbing Nino.

All the pairs joined them, Alix getting Zoe to join while Chloe dragged Marinette. Sabrina had been quickly spirited to the dancefloor by a court boy who caught her eye.

“Should we join them?” Adrien asked.

“Actually, can I talk to you? I wanted to give you your present.” Luka said, pointing towards the open balcony doors. “Or are you not allowed to disappear just yet?”

“Not there. Over here.” Adrien led Luka to an alcove that was thankfully clear of people. They could see the ballroom even if they weren’t seen. “So, what’s up?”

Luka took out the box Felix had given him and presented it. “Felix was snooping at your presents and I know comparatively, this is pretty simple, but I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it.” Adrien reassured as he took the box. “Oh, it’s so pretty.” He said as he opened the box.

“The sun is also a locket.” When Adrien let out a stuttered breath and his smile got bigger, Luka said, “I know Nathalie has been like a mother to you and you’re really happy she’s joining the family, but I also know how much you love and miss your mom. Now you can always carry her with you.”

“Thank you. oh,” Adrien put his hand to his neck, fingering the high collar of his tunic. “I can’t wear it right now. The after party that Chloe planned, I have a different outfit. Will you help me put it on then?”

“Of course.” Luka promised. Now seemed a good a time as any. “I was also wondering if we could talk, about the final battle.”

Cheeks going pink, Adrien looked at the ground, keeping the box with his necklace close to him, like it was a pillow he wanted to hide behind. “W-which part?” he stuttered.

Luka took the smallest step forward, trying not to be discouraged by Adrien moving back. He was getting redder though. “I think you know which one. I just, I don’t want to think it didn’t happen, because I know it did.”

“You nearly dying isn’t something anyone would forget.” Adrien threw in.

“No, no I don’t think so. I know my Charmix wasn’t enough to keep me protected so my transformation dropped. I know I was hurt badly when everything hurt. I knew you were there, calling my name. your hands run warmer when you’re transformed.” Luka said, managing to get Adrien take one of his hands. “I know you were begging me not to go and I wanted nothing more than to tell you I wouldn’t. not unless you wanted me to.”

“You like giving people what they want.” Adrien reminded.

“And you like making people happy. Aren’t we a pair? I know, when it started to feel like it was fading away, you kissed me. I didn’t want our first kiss to be like that. I wish I kissed you when we were on the pavilion.”

After the battle, a party was had at Alfea and Luka had gone looking for Adrien who’d disappeared. He found him by one of the gardens, standing on the pavilion, standing in the moonlight. Sun fairy he might be, but Adrien was also made for moonlight. There’d been a charged moment when Adrien looked over his shoulder and looked at him and Luka regrated not saying anything then.

“Why didn’t you?” Adrien asked, finally looking at him.

“I’m an idiot? I can’t stop thinking about losing the chance to do it if I don’t say anything. Adrien, you’ve, enchanted me since the first moment we met. The more I got to know you and the closer we became; I just couldn’t help falling for you more. the song in your heart has been replaying in my head constantly. I want nothing more than write a symphony for it.”

Adrien let out an embarrassed laugh. “no need to go that far. You could just kiss me.”

“Can I? Kiss you and date you and be with you?”

This time, Adrien was the one to step forward, staring up at Luka. “I didn’t want you to leave because I didn’t want to lose a friend. I didn’t want you to leave because I couldn’t bare losing you, not before you knew how much I wanted to be with you.”

Not needing words, Luka started to lean down, Adrien closing his eyes when Felix came around the corner.

“Adrien, your dad – fuck!” he cried when the two sprang apart. “I have the fucking worst timing.”

“It’s fine.” Adrien reassured. “It’ll happen,” he promised, squeezing his hand in Luka’s.

Felix looked like he was struggling to walk away and let them have their kiss but he groaned and held out his hand like he normally did so he could drag Adrien places. “Your dad wants to really start the ball with a dance with you. I had better not see either of you for at least an hour after the dance.”

Adrien went to his dad while Luke rejoined the others, all of whom had looks on their faces like they had had a guess as to where they disappeared to.

“So, anything you want to tell us?” Nino asked.

“We confessed, but no kiss.”

“Seriously!” Zoe said. “We’ve been waiting for just that for like nearly 2 years at this point.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault.” Luka said as Adrien and his father went to the middle of the room. “Adrien still has duties right now. But soon.” Catching his favourite green eyes and gentle sunlight smile, Luka couldn’t help but smile himself. “Very soon.”

[tev-the-random]

Je t’aime

(Another Miraculous One Shot, because yeah.)

Oh man, it’s been so long since I wrote so much, I’m happy! Anyways, enjoy the angsty Lukanette I thought about when I was wondering what tearjerker scenarios I could come up with.

Also on AO3!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was supposed to be just another normal day.

Of course, the concept of a normal day in Paris was very different from other places. If you take into account the magical terrorist attacks that happened every twice a week – sometimes more, sometimes less. Usually more, because the universe is apparently an ascending comedian with quite the twisted sense of humour – and the (also magic) superheroes that swung around the city in an almost daily basis, Paris was pretty far from ever being normal. But honestly, you get used to it; you have to, unless you want the aforementioned magical terrorist to target you and your fear.

Sometimes people do fall victim to their own negative emotions, however. That’s when the akumas happen. That’s when Ladybug and Chat Noir enter the scene. They were the superheroes, the dynamic duo responsible for stopping super-villains, re-establishing peace across Paris and, occasionally, fixing some major security issues – crazy hero wannabes included. They were powerful, strong, invincible, miraculous…

And Luka was just a guy on a bike. So obviously, he chose to stay out of the way once the latest akuma decided to wreak havoc on the streets. A quick detour from the centre of things should keep him out of trouble, right? But then, the “quick detour” ended up becoming a gigantic detour as the fight of the day heated up, and he couldn’t keep much further away unless he left Paris. You see, battling six versions of the same akuma took a much larger area than battling just one. It’s only reasonable that Ladybug and Chat Noir used a lot of space to take on six versions each.

That sure was a harsh battle.

Luka was once magic too. He got to be magic a few times, actually. As Viperion, he had the ability to call for a Second Chance. A powerful ability, he might add; one that, albeit very useful, demanded its bearer to be wise. So even if circumstances might never allow him to become Viperion again, Luka felt honoured that Ladybug deemed him the right person for the job. He was glad he got to be a superhero.

But right now, he was just a guy on a bike. And there was only so much he could do to help – or rather, there was only so much he could do to not make matters worse, and not throwing himself in harm’s way without a miraculous felt like a great starter.

There was a loud “crash” sound in the distance, followed by the quake of the floor and the screams of people. The centre of Paris was engulfed by light and filled with smoke that spread to the outskirts of the city.

Luka was all but hoping Ladybug and Chat Noir were alright; he was all but praying his loved ones were alright.

The akuma’s name was Truth Digger. Whether it was a reporter desperate for a scoop or a person who had been lied to one too many times, Luka didn’t know. What he did know, however, was that the truth had many versions, and so did Truth Digger. And at the moment, all of those versions seemed set on uncovering people’s secrets, be it by stripping them of their disguises or by making them spill everything they previously kept to themselves; the akuma also seemed to have a knack for destroying things with what appeared to be a sword-like pencil – that wasn’t exactly the weirdest thing Parisians had seen so far, to be honest.

To fight an akuma worth twelve villains – unbeknownst to him, there were now sixteen of them – without ever being touched and having their identities revealed was a challenge Ladybug and Chat Noir hadn’t faced yet. It’s not that he didn’t believe in their saviours, but Luka had seen it before: Paris’ favourite superheroes, despite all of their might, were only human. They had feelings the young musician could translate into a more than a little chaotic melody.

Maybe they were invincible. But that didn’t mean they never felt the toll of it. So Luka wished the battle ended soon; if not for Parisians’ sake, then for their heroes’. And the universe had better keep its jokes to itself for another week, otherwise he’d be having a strongly worded conversation with it.

The blue-haired boy got off his bike and peered at his surroundings. He was in a more deserted part of the city now; there was nobody around except for him. Smoke and dust filled the air like a faint mist and the floor still rumbled from impacts far away. A flock of pigeons passed him by, trying to escape the noise, for even pigeons knew how to identify a threat. The wind made an eerie sound as it hit the dirty graffiti-filled walls, like it rehearsed to be the symphony of disaster.

Luka ignored the ominous atmosphere. He was fairly sure he would reach the Seine if he took a series of turns starting with the third street to the right. He would probably reach the Liberty before dusk and, if he dared be so hopeful, the akuma attack would also be over until then.

The boy was about to hop on his bicycle again and head off, but something made him stop. It wasn’t the tremors of the floor nor was it the pigeons or the wind. It sounded like footsteps. Very slow and dragging footsteps, accompanied by panting.

Despite his better judgement, Luka decided to put his bike aside and follow the noise before it died out in the distance. Of course, it could pretty much be a deadly trap – that was another thing you learned with time: you have to be careful with your surroundings, for even little butterflies held an unbelievable amount of danger in Paris –, but it could also be someone in need of help. Maybe he wasn’t a superhero right now, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t pay assistance if he could.

His own steps echoed along with the wind, and the boy hurried through the streets he barely knew how to navigate, his tuned ear guiding his way. Then he saw it: a short figure walked down an alleyway a few meters away. It stumbled about in a weak manner, each breath it took sounding extremely agonizing. It groaned in pain, and Luka quickened his pace as he heard a loud thud. He only stopped in his tracks once he looked at the path the stranger had walked on– it looked like sheet music written in red. Bloody footprints stained the floor; bloody hand marks stained the walls; there were splotches of blood here and there, and it all went on and on in what seemed to be an endless trail leading to wherever that person had come from. It looked like a horror movie scene.

A chill made its way up Luka’s back, and he was starting to doubt his ability to help out.

There in the alleyway, the person lied on the floor, bleeding out and quivering. The torn dark jacket went up and down slowly under the painful, deep breathing. Their pink jeans and once-white flowery shirt were stained red everywhere. Their dark hair was hanging loosely from two messy pigtails, and bluebell eyes struggled to stay open.

It hit him.

This wasn’t just a random horror movie Juleka put on to try and scare him. This was a nightmare. A true nightmare. It had to be a nightmare…

The floor seemed to have disappeared under Luka’s feet, yet somehow he managed to trip his way over to her. There was such a major tug in his heart he actually felt like someone had pulled it out of his chest and stepped on it. Had he noticed he stopped breathing, he’d be gasping desperately for air. How does one keep level-headed again? Is it possible for a human mouth to go this dry?

However Luka imagined his “normal day” would go, it surely never included a bleeding-to-death Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

‘Marinette!’ he called. His hands were shaking, yet he touched her shoulder with most delicacy ‘Marinette, do you hear me?’

She responded with a low groan. Or maybe it was actually a mumble and Luka’s usual mumble translator was just broken under the panic that filled his mind. In anyway, he turned her around so she’d face up.

‘Can you understand me? Are you awake?’ He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. His hands immediately went to her sides to try and stop the bleeding; he soon found that she had already tried to take care of that. Despite it being soaked with blood, Luka recognized the beautifully patterned cotton scarf Juleka had on earlier that day. She did say she was going to give it back to Marinette at school.

Oh God, was Juleka ok?

‘Hey, Marinette! Talk to me!’ he called again, undoing the weak knot on her improvised bandages and tying it again more firmly. He could feel the deep, wide wound under it, and was quite sure skin and muscle were not the only things that were damaged.

‘Chat… Noir…’ Marinette murmured closing her eyes.

‘Hey! Marinette, look at me! Right, that’s right- keep your eyes open… What happened?’

While he waited for an answer, Luka reached for his phone to call for help. He could barely hide his horror and annoyance upon seeing that there was no signal at all – the absolute perks of destructive akumas doing their thing, he thought with sarcasm.

The building anxiety he felt did Luka no good when he got up and felt his legs falter under his weight. He left the alleyway, looked around down the dust-filled streets. There was no one in sight, and half the windows of every house were shut tight; the other half was wide open to completely empty places. Luka wouldn’t discard the possibility of the akuma having wiped out the area of its residents.

The blue-haired boy went back to the girl in pigtails. He unconsciously reached for a guitar he didn’t have on him in an attempt to calm himself. In the brief seconds of silence that followed, Marinette blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the blurry in her vision.

‘Luka…?’

‘Yeah,’ said Luka, relieved she was conscious enough to recognize people ‘Yeah, it’s me. Don’t worry, we’ll get you some help…’

He wasn’t so sure, and he could hear it in his own voice. Mixed thoughts of fear and coldness swirled in his mind like ink on water. All Luka had were his bicycle – his guitar was in its basket, although he wouldn’t remember that – and his phone with no signal while a devastating akuma battle went on not far from them. He couldn’t call for help, but he couldn’t just leave Marinette there, either; he couldn’t possibly balance her on his bicycle in the state she was and, despite considering himself strong enough to carry the girl, he would be too slow to take her anywhere before it was too late.

Meditation never prepared him for this! Oh God, what should he do?!

‘W-we’re going to get you help, we’ll- I will-‘

‘Luka,’ Marinette cried hoarsely, and the boy was startled at her firm tone ‘The akuma...’

She held his wrist – cold. Her fingers were horribly cold – and pulled it closer. Luka soon understood she was asking him to take whatever she had secured in her firmly closed hand. He held his palm open, and she dropped something on it.

Her earrings.

… Of course.

‘Don’t let them take it,’ Marinette said without taking her eyes off the jewels. Her breathing increased again, raspy against her throat. ‘Whatever you do, don’t let the akuma have it! Keep it safe, they can’t- you can’t let them-!’

‘I won’t,’ Luka reassured her, pointedly putting the pieces of jewellery inside the inner pocket of his jacket. ‘They’re safe with me, ok?’

‘Don’t let them even know you have it!’ she added as if his statement only worsened her worry ‘I-I don’t want them to hurt you!’

‘Marinette…’

‘They’ll be coming for the earrings, and then it’ll be the end! The end of everything!’ She winced at that ‘All because I couldn’t protect- I’m- they’ll finish me off and all I’ve ever done was-‘

‘Marinette,’ Luka intervened in a firm yet soothing tone. To keep that tone when he actually felt like yelling had to be a talent. ‘I promise I’ll keep your earrings safe. They are safe. You are safe.’

‘Am I…?’ Marinette’s voice went suddenly so quiet and yet so anxious, Luka felt another tug in his heart.

The more he looked at her, the more painful it felt. She was pale – not like paper or chalk, but rather in a very ghost-like manner, especially in contrast with the strong red tinge of blood streaming down her lips. There were bruises everywhere on her visible skin and a particularly bad-looking black mark under her right eye; there was a trail of dry blood going down her neck from her dilacerated ears – those earrings certainly weren’t taken off the way they should. Her eyes had lost their usual brightness; they looked tired, afraid… but there was still something in there that could only ever be found in Marinette’s eyes.

Really, was she safe?

Luka noticed that the designer girl still had his wrist in her increasingly weak grip.

He held her hand.

‘You are’ He put on the softest, most tranquilizing smile he could manage. ‘You’re safe and nobody will hurt you… see?’ He squeezed her hand gently ‘I’m here.’

Marinette watched him for a moment and opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, maybe force a smile or fake a soft giggle. She gave his hand a trembling squeeze in return.

‘I failed,’ she stated weakly.

‘No, you didn’t…’

‘I did. And I don’t want them to die because of that. I don’t want Chat to die because of that, I don’t want you to die because of that…’

Marinette’s eyes filled with tears. Luka was at a loss for words. He wished he could play her something to make her happy. But he couldn’t.

‘Luka…’ she choked ‘I don’t want to die…’

Marinette placed her free hand on her injured torso, seemingly ignorant of the pain that shot through her entire body; or perhaps too aware of it.

‘I don’t want to die! I don’t want to-!’

Keeping a soothing smile – a smile he was so used to keeping – seemed like a nearly impossible task. Maybe because he couldn’t bear seeing her distressed, maybe because he knew why she was saying that, despite how untrue he wanted it to be.

Luka lifted the girl up as delicately as he could and shifted so she would be laying on his lap, cradled in his arms, head against his chest and her hand on his.

‘I know. It’s alright, Marinette,’ he murmured ‘I’m here. I’m here with you. It's alright…’

Marinette didn’t sob. She didn’t have enough strength in her to do so. There was just the harsh breathing and the slow stream of tears. Something inside Luka completely shattered, and he felt tears well in his own eyes.

When was it that he last cried? Truly cried? He had a very faint memory of a day in the park, when he had fallen from a tree and broken his arm. He and Juleka were only kids back then, yet he remembered the tears only went on for a short while before he was smiling again; because, to Luka, his pain meant way less than seeing his sister panic for him. He knew Marinette was just the same.

‘I don’t want to go.’

‘You’re here right now, aren’t you? And I’m here with you. We’re both here, you see?’

She was simply the sweetest melody Luka had ever heard. She was the kind of person who would put others before herself and put herself in others’ place, even if it meant lowering her own volume.

She fumbled with her words and actions in a way that made for a very confusing set of notes, but she never meant anyone any harm.

She would try to do everything and a little more in order make the most of herself every day, which often sent her mental state for a worrisome crescendo. But she never backed down.

She was brave, but not fearless. And she was smart. And just. And funny. And kind. And sincere. She surely was a little miracle of her own, and there was so much she could still do…

The truth is that Marinette was powerful. She was strong. But she was not invincible.

Luka felt helpless. Hopeless. Death wasn’t something he was afraid of, neither were loneliness or silence. But his melody was fading away and the silence she left was the deadliest he’s ever heard.

And there was nothing he could do.

‘I love you,’ he whispered.

It was a simple thing, and one he was so sure of, he almost felt selfish for letting her know now. It sounded like something he’d played for her before, albeit not with those exact same lyrics; those simple three words that didn’t really mean much more than what he had already said.

Luka was bad with words. So he played. And with so many options to take, “I love you” was the song he decided to go with.

He didn’t really expect Marinette to make it a duet:

‘I love you, too.’

He locked his gaze in her bluebell eyes. She looked at him with sincerity, even if between the tears that were still lingering from her lashes.

He wanted to be happy. He really did. Because in normal circumstances, he would be so, so happy. But then again, it would have been so much better had she never said anything, if it meant he could see her well. Ups and downs and well. Away from him, if she wanted, but well.

If there was ever a moment Luka wished to use a Second Chance, that moment was right now. But if he had the chance to be magic once again, could he have stopped it all before things got out of hand? If she allowed him to have a miraculous again, could he have been of use? Ladybug was the true heroine, not him. He was just a guy in a nightmare.

He should be wiser than that, shouldn’t he? He should be better than that, shouldn’t he? He should have helped her out, shouldn’t he?

‘Luka?’

It was her whisper that brought him back. She still looked at him, her eyes going in and out of focus. There was still something in there that he could only ever find in Marinette’s eyes, and Luka was afraid he was going to be the last one to see it. It didn’t feel fair.

He breathed deeply and gave her a gentle smile. He was a professional at that, even if his smile was a bit quivering, a bit sad. It didn’t matter. With his free hand, he brushed her bangs out of the way and placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

‘You did really well, Marinette,’ he said.

Luka didn’t dare look at the girl anymore. He only held her and pressed her head against his chest, a soft hand on her hair. He could feel her smile for a second as her breathing quieted out and her grip on his hand became weaker, limp. As her melody came to a close.

It didn’t even get to be a full minute.

And Luka was left in the silence.

[vendetta-if]

1K Followers Celebration Q&A, Part 1 🎉

Hey guys! First of all, I'm sorry for not being too active on Tumblr lately. I've been pretty busy spending my break setting up various stuff for "Vendetta" as listed on my checklist and answering all these QnA questions.

Without further ado, here are all the questions and answers for the 1K Followers Celebration Q&A! This is Part 1 (I gotta split them into parts because it'll be too long if I kept them all in one post)

『Viktor, in your opinion, which ending would you want your child to choose? Vigilante, hero, heir?? Also, if you've seen both of the funerals, how did it make you feel?』

Viktor: "I—I honestly don't know. I just want my child to be safe and among those three choices... I would want them to be the heir, I guess. It'll be easier for Luka, my father, and Ash to protect them. Being a vigilante or a hero is too dangerous. They'd have to fight dangerous people and criminals, most of which are powered as well, and they may attract the attention of the wrong people.

As for the funerals... They're... horrible. I want to be there so badly, to say a final goodbye to my family and close friends, console them, make final amends with my father, and tell all of them to just let it go rather than keep hurting by holding on. But most of all, I want to hold my child one last time. To see them so clearly hurt... and I can't do anything about it... It just hurt. I'm glad Luka comforted them and is taking care of them."

『For Yvette: Do you actually love your child?』

Yvette: "O—Of course, I do! What kind of question is that? I care for them, okay? Even if I hadn't met them in years..." Yvette fidgets in her seat. "Next question, please."

『Rin, would you have any interest in MC if they weren't part of the Morozov family?』

Rin is silent for a moment.

Rin: “If they were not a part of the Morozov Family, then there was little to no chance of us ever meeting each other anyway. So, that’s a moot point.” Their voice is stiffer than usual.

『For Viktor and Yvette: given the chance, what’s one thing you would say to your child right now if you had the chance?』

Viktor: "I love you so much, my little sunshine. Please, don't be sad or angry anymore. I don't want you to avenge me or find me justice. I want you to enjoy your life to the fullest, find someone to love and maybe start a family with, and spend time with all the people in your life. And remember, to always take care of yourself and I'll always be proud of you, no matter what."

Viktor is silent for a second before shaking his head lightly. "I'm sorry, I know you said one thing... But, I just have so many things to say to them..."

Yvette: "I'm so sorry, baby. Please, give me another chance and I'll prove how much I meant that and how much I want to be in your life. After all, it's better late than never, right?"

『For Yvette: How was Viktor's personality? And why did you fall for him?』

Yvette sighs dreamily, a light blush spreading on her cheeks.

Yvette: "Where to start? He was a true gentleman and always tried to protect me in fights... Even to the point of taking hits that were meant for me... He was also really charming and also funny at times. Can get really teasing and flirtatious, but was really loyal once he was committed in a relationship with me. Just between you and me, I think he was a true hopeless romantic!"

『Ash & Rin if they could change their power to anything of their choosing, what would it be and why? Thank you <3』

Rin: “Hmm… I love my precognition and it really helps me so far. I wouldn’t want to change it to anything else.”

Ash: “C’mon, you party pooper, just imagine for a second!”

Rin: “How about you start first, then?”

Ash: “Gladly! I think MC’s umbrakinesis is pretty cool and flexible. Shadows are everywhere in almost every moment of the day. Also, it can be really intimidating and destructive as well. I would love to have a power like that.”

Rin: “Fine... If I have to… I think telepathy would be pretty useful. To be able to hear what the other person is thinking and planning, or even to influence them subtly... Although, the constant chatter of other people’s thoughts would be annoying…”

[50calmadeuce]

Ch. 32: Thanksgiving

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Top Gun: Maverick world, trademarked by Paramount Pictures Corporation. I do not claim ownership of the characters and the world that I am borrowing.

The story and situation I am creating are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to official story canon. This work is for entertainment only and is not a part of the storyline.

I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story, but I do hope it gives you happy thoughts.

These stories are my own, so please do not take them and use them for yourself without my permission. If you see them somewhere else, please let me know. :)

You had picked up Sheila and the rest of the family Wednesday afternoon. It was late at night, and everyone was in bed, but your morning sickness was really bad, so you went into the kitchen to make some peppermint tea and snack on some saltine crackers.

You had just turned the flame on for the stove when you heard footsteps. You turned and saw Sheila as she sat at the kitchen island.

"I didn't mean to startle you. I couldn't sleep."

"Would you like some tea? I have some chamomile tea?" You offer.

"That sounds wonderful."

You take two coffee mugs out along with the tea and set them on the island.

Sheila looks at the tea boxes. "Peppermint tea. The last time I drank this, I was..." She looks at you. "Pregnant." She finishes her sentence, and her face starts to light up. "Y/N. Are you...?"

You nod your head up and down.

"Oh my god!" She whispered excitedly. She got up and walked around the counter to give you a hug. She let go and looked at you. "What did Jake say?"

"I haven't told him yet. He's got enough going on. I didn't want to worry him, and I really only got to talk to him briefly. I figured I'd wait until Christmas and tell him then."

"That's a wonderful idea!"

"My staff and work are the only ones who know and now you."

Sheila hugged you again. "I am so happy!" She placed her hands on your upper arms. "Jake is going to be ecstatic!"

The tea kettle started to whistle.

"I've got it. You have a seat," Sheila ordered as she walked over to the stove. You grabbed the saltines and went and sat down.

Sheila was humming happily.

You woke up the next morning and headed to the kitchen where you found Sheila and Montgomery making breakfast and Christian happily sitting in his highchair eating.

"Y/N! Good morning!" Sheila cheerfully said. "Basil and I were just discussing dinner."

You raised an eyebrow and looked at Montgomery. "Basil?"

He smiled and shrugged. Very rarely did he let people call him by his first name.

"Are you hungry, Doctor?" Montgomery asks.

"Yes, please."

"I'll get you some French toast and fruit. Have a seat."

You sit down in the chair at the kitchen island.

"You want some tea, dear?" Sheila asked.

"Yes, please."

As Sheila started the kettle, Jessie, Erica, Lindsay, and Lukas walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," Jessie said tiredly.

"Do we know when Jake will be calling?" Erica inquires.

You shake your head. "No."

"What's the plan for dinner?" Jessie asks.

"Six o'clock. So, you'll have to entertain yourselves until then." Sheila reponds.

"There's a hill not so far from the house. I was going to take you guys sledding and then come back for hot cocoa and s'mores," you interject.

Sheila quickly looks at you with concern in her eyes.

"That should keep the kids busy and wear them out," you quickly answer to make her feel better.

You arrived back to the house around three-thirty in the afternoon. Sheila and Montgomery were still busily cooking in the kitchen and also playing a game of cribbage. You smile. It was nice to see Montgomery happy and Christian loved having the kids to play with.

"There's hot cocoa on the bar in the basement. I also started a fire in the fireplace," Montgomery said. "Figured you could watch a movie."

"Yeah! Can we mom?" Lukas asks Jessie.

Jessie looks at you and Lukas follows suit.

"Of course, you can! My home is your home. I'll be there in a minute. Just going to get some water."

Lindsey, Lukas, and Christian along with Jessie and Erica headed to the basement. As soon as they were out of earshot, Sheila looked at you.

"How are you doing?"

"Good. I just need a glass of water."

"Coming right up." Sheila heads to the cupboard.

You hear your phone ring for a facetime, and you take it out of your pocket. It was Jake so you answer it.

"Hey, babe!" You say excitedly as you grin from ear to ear.

"Hey, darlin! Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Is that Jake?" Sheila excitedly asks.

"It is! Let me go get the iPad out of the office." Still looking at your phone, you hurry to your office. "I didn't think you were going to call."

"I told you I would."

You grabbed the iPad off the charger in your office and switch the call to it.

"You are so beautiful," Jake says admiringly.

You could feel yourself blush. "You're not too bad looking yourself."

"So, you're in the office?

"Yes. It's off of our bedroom. You can also access it from the hallway, but I keep that locked. Let me show you." You turn the iPad so it pans the office.

"Y/N. That's beautiful!"

"Wait until you see the rest of the house." You give him a small tour as you head back to the kitchen. When you get there, you hand the iPad to Sheila. "Here's your mom. I'll talk to you later."

"Jake! How are you, son?" Sheila asks and then continues to tell him about the plane ride, weather, and cooking with Basil.

They talked for about 15 minutes until Jake had to remind her about his sisters, niece, nephew and Christian.

"Ok. Love you, son. Here's Y/N." She hands the iPad back to you.

You continue to give him a small tour of the house as you walk down to the basement.

"You look happy, Y/N," Jake points out.

"I am. I've never had a family before."

"I haven't seen you this happy since we went out for a ride in the field," he teases.

You feel your cheeks turn red as you reach the bottom of the basement stairs.

"Is that Uncle Jake?" Lukas asks.

"It is!" You hand Lukas the iPad.

After about thirty minutes later, the iPad was returned back to you, and you see Jake's handsome face again.

"Well, I've got to go, darlin."

"I know."

"I know we're doing some intense training, so if you don't hear from me, I'll call on Christmas."

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." You hang up.

Erica walked over to you. "You, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for asking."

"Was he excited?"

"Excited about what?"

She crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow and looked at you.

"I haven't told him yet. My staff, work and your mom know. She figured it out the other night." You look at her quizzically. "How'd you figure it out?"

"You sure as hell weren't drinking tea and water when you visited my mom's house."

You laugh. "True, but don't say anything. It's going to be a surprise for Christmas. Hopefully we'll know the sex by then."

"Jake is going to be ecstatic! He was happier than a pig in mud when he found out I was pregnant." She paused. "I'm glad he met you, Y/N."

You smile. "Thanks."

[princesscrownprince]

[Everything Lukas explained to Ruki was to be expected. He listened quietly as the Vibora reaffirmed his royal status, rambling on about the hierarchy of clans and so on. Just imagining a mere insult as treason made Ruki a bit uneasy given how many times he had verbally jabbed Lukas, but in the end he was glad that the Vibora didn’t consider insults too grave of an offense. He had mixed feelings about his sarcastic remarks going over Lukas’s head though. Seeing others visibly hurt by his sharp tongue brought the vampire much joy, after all. But in Lukas’s case he was seemingly immune to it. Oh well. It was better than being charged with treason.]

I see. That definitely explains why you lightly poked my chest and even my arm earlier… I understand you had no intention of hurting me, but it still takes some getting used to. [He sighed, not like he wanted to get used to it or anything.]

Ah, I didn’t mean to insinuate twins should be as similar as they look. I was just so surprised by the animosity in his voice. Not once have you raised your voice at me, even though that’s what I did to you in the library.

[The Vibora’s next question sent a chill through him once more.]

It’s nothing to marvel at compared to the accommodations you’re used to, I’m sure. But I suppose we can leave now. This way.

[Ruki reluctantly showed Lukas the exit and soon the two of them departed the school. They made their way to the Mukami estate on foot since Ruki and his brothers weren’t like a certain other vampire family who traveled in their familiars’ vehicle all the time. Thankfully for those of Makai such a task was not tiresome at all.]

Well, here we are. Don’t make yourself at home.

[With those not so welcoming words, Ruki allowed both himself and Lukas inside the manor. Was he making a huge mistake? Probably. Was there anything he could do about it? Not really.]

Lukas chuckled at the point that he has never raised his voice at Ruki.

"Well, it's not something worth getting too worked up on. I've only yelled once or twice, and it's mainly towards Shin. You can probably guess why. " He sweat dropped.

Lukas followed Ruki towards his humble abode, an excited aura emitted from him. This was his first time visiting a friend's house and the first time he's having a sleepover with anyone. He has seen movies where the characters would have sleepovers and he has been interested in it ever since. The characters all seem to be having fun, and Lukas wanted to try and experience that.

The moment they arrived at the manor, Lukas was ecstatic! Although, thankfully, Ruki's words had snapped him out of his excitement and impulse to just barge in and marvel at the place.

"I'll try." Lukas responded as he followed Ruki inside.

And in that exact moment, a voice spoke up behind them.

"Lou, I'm here. "

Lukas sported a large grin as he whipped his head back to see his twin brother standing with a large bag in hand. That must be their luggage.

"Kei! You're here!" Lukas exclaimed in joy, jogging over to greet his brother with a hug.

The latter had given a bright smile to his twin, which was large contrast to his usual scowling face.

"Yeah! I am! You seem pretty excited, Lou. That's good..." Kai glanced away for a moment before looking back at Lukas with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry I yelled at the phone earlier... I didn't mean to curse at you. "

Lukas chuckled at his brother's behavior and petted the other's head. "No worries! Apology accepted. Now, let me introduce you to my friend!" He pulled his brother into the manor to meet Ruki.

"This is Ruki Mukami, a new friend I've made. He may come off pretty coldly, but he's an interesting guy." Lukas introduced happily.

Meanwhile, Kai wasn't too... Enthusiastic about it. He took one look at Ruki before clicking his tongue and looking away.

"What an eyesore." He muttered, but it didn't go unnoticed by Lukas.

"Kei! "

"Oh, sorry. Did I say 'eyesore'? I meant to say, you're handsome, Mr. Mukami." Kai reluctantly said.

Congratulations, Ruki! You have unlocked the "Chaos Twins" badge!

[lovysmtalks]

uwu

Alexa, play uwu by chevy

It was well known for people to act differently around people that they like.

Some people aren't even recognizable when their crush walks past them.

But.

Marinette was well known shy and bubbly.

So when she was having a crush on anyone, dosen't matter girl or boy.

You won't exactly know.

And this is how it started...

✎؂

"C'mon girl, you gotta tell your feelings to Lila! I'm sure she'll accept them, I mean come on! You'll be couple goals." Complained Alya as she tried to help her friend.

"I-I don't know Alya...I'm not sure if she's into- you know what I mean..." stutters Mari as her face started to get pink.

"You never know until you try babe!" Alya pulls her into a hug.

Marinette, shocked by the hug, could feel herself start tearing up as she hugged her bestfriend close and tight.

✎؂

"Hey girl! I have something for you." Says Alya as she runs to the girl's locker as the school day ended.

"Yes?" Says Lila surprised by the excitement.

Alya gives Lila a letter with a heart on it.

"I've gotta go, mom said I need to babysit! Byeeee" says Alya as she runs with her boyfriend.

Lila smiles at the girl.

She opens the letter and reads it.

'Hey...wanna meet me at the backyard of the school? I mean it's fine if you say no! -^^'

Lila looked around to see if anyone could have send her the letter.

'Ok. Let's do this.'

✎؂

Marinette was shaking.

While she kept her eyes into the ground trying to keep herself from having a panic attack.

"HEY! Marinette, you wanted to meet me here?" Says a voice that makes Mari jump.

Mari's cheeks go a little red when she sees who was there.

"Y-yea."

"So, what's up?" Says Lila as she smiles at the girl.

"I uhm-I really- uh..." Marinette opens her mouth but the words don't came as they should.

Lila sees her starting to panic and speeds infront of her.

"Hey, hey no need to panic. Breath. And then spit." She puts her hands on the short girl's shoulders for support.

Mari sighs deeply.

"Ireallyreallylikeyouilikedyouforawhileandidontwannamakeitweirdyouaredeallykindandohmygodyouresocoolandwholesomeimsososososososososorryishouldnthadcalledyouhereijustdestroyedourfriendship"

Marinette said in Eminem rap god speed.

Lila opened her mouth in the shape of an 'O' and blinks in confusion trying to comprehend what the short girl just said.

"Come again, just shorter and slower, my brain is too slow for this." She chuckles awkwardly.

Marinette looks at the her hands.

"I-I really, really, really like you, n-no I mean- I l-love you..." Marinette sniffed.

Lila stares in shook of what the girl just said.

Marinette begins to worry and feeling bad for confessing.

Her hands start shake.

"I-I am s-sorry, I s-shouldn't have said a-anything." Marinette sniffed and begins to walk backwards.

Lila wakes up from her shook and runs towards Marinette.

She grabs her hand and pulls her back.

"I'm sorry it was my fault, you got me in shook that's all. Look I'm very proud of you." Lila pats Mari's hair.

Mari stares at her in confusion as some tears fall down her cheek.

"W-why are y-you proud exactly?" Mari asked.

Lila smiles.

"I know how hard is it for you to confess something so big, hell is hard sometimes for you even to talk but I'm really glad you did, it's a start." She looks down at her.

"Look I'm not exactly feeling what you feel. IT'S NOT YOU, I'm not exactly the one with crushes and 'feeling in love'" Lila says mockingly.

Marinette then realized.

"You are aromatic." She says.

Lila winks at her.

"OH GOD, IM SO SORRY IF I MADE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE!" Mari looks at the ground in shame.

Lila moves her head in confusion.

"No, no babes, you didn't." She laughed.

Marinette looks at Lila and wipe her tears.

She walks up to Lila and hugs her tightly

"Thank you." The short girl whispers.

Lila hugs the girl back feeling like a proud mother.

✎؂

Meeting Damian was a mistake from the start.

They meet at a Gala where Marinette was invited and she couldn't refuse, her heart wouldn't have let her do refuse.

She was sitting alone, her social anxiety stoping her from talking with even a person.

'What the heck am I doing here? Those people are rich and professional. What in the name of god I was th-'

"Hi." A young looking man sit next to her.

Marinette blinks rapidly and turns to the guy.

"H-hi." She turns her head away quickly, not trying to look mean.

After some awkward silence moments the guy started to speak again.

"So...why are you sitting alone while everyone is having fun?" He turns to her.

Marinette opens her eyes and looks at the ground.

"I-I don't want to make people awkward...I-I'm very bad at talking to people in general."

She stutters quietly.

The boy narrowed his eyebrows and then chuckled.

Marinette didn't know if he was mocking her or just straight up annoying her.

"W-what's so funny?" She tries but fails to stutter.

The man smirks and then looks at her, making her more confused.

"Ahem. Nothing special, I just normal think beautiful people are supposed to be confident and aching to show their beauty, but I guess I was wrong"

Marinette's brains shuts down.

Her cheeks go BLOODY RED.

The guy sees her expression and laughs. LAUGHS. DUCKING LAUGHS.

He stops laughing.

"The name's Damian." He holds his hand for a handshake.

"M-Maria, I-I mean M-Marinette" she shyly shakes his hand.

"So Maria-nette?" He dad jokes.

Marinette chuckles.

"So would this beautiful girl give me her number?" He asks.

"W-why, we don't even know each other." She says.

"Well, I would like to know you, Marinette." He pet's her head gently.

"O-ok."

✎؂

They started talking for days, days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months.

She knew from the start she shouldn't catch feelings for a friend but she couldn't control it.

One day Mari and her friends we're hanging out at the bakery

Mari was showing them the ukulele that her grangran gived her some weeks ago, on her birthday.

"Why don't you try and sing something for us? I've seen you write song with Luka and Kagami before, show us some of you work."

Alix said.

"Agreed" Lila and Adrien said at the same time.

Marinette turned to her friends, about to disagree.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaseeee!" Said Rose.

"O-okay." Mari says as she picked up the ukulele.

sigh

I'm startin' to feel some sort of way

You give me goosebumps every day

And when you look at me and smile I wanna say

"I think you're okay"

×

I guess I'll stop here and not hint at all

That you're one I've fallen for

But if you ever think of me as anything more

I'll be here at your....call

'Is this for Damian?' A girl asked.

'IT IS, LOOK HOW SHE BLUSHED AWWW' a guy shouted.

The live stops some minutes later when the LadyBlogger realizes she was live.

Damian stared shocked at his phone as Jon showed him a video leak of Marinette singing.

He was frozen.

'Mari...likes me?'  That's all he could think of.

"Man, I feel bad for her. Imagine how bad she's feeling."

Damian opened his phone and got straight up to the message.

"She doesn't answer me." He says.

"Bruh, obviously she won't, she feels bad. You didn't get the memo? She's shy and has social anxiety. It's not gonna be easy." Jon explains the obvious.

After minutes of silence, Jon's phone rings.

"That's me, gotta go, dad's gonna beat my ass if I don't show up to dinner" Jon looks at his phone.

"I should go too. Talk to you later." Says Damian, not really paying attention to anything that was happening.

✎؂

As he walked infront of the bakery, he could see Marinette helping her parents to close the bakery, meaning that the parents were going on vacation.

He rushed to enter.

"Hello? Is this still opened?" He asked even the obvious answer is that they were closed.

"No sweet sir, we are cl-" as Marinette's gaze meet his she closed he mouth in shock.

"What exactly 'cl' mean, blossom?" he jokes while smiling.

"Damian, what are you doing here?" She asks avoiding his eye contact.

He chuckles. FUXINGDICKEAD

"That's not a nice way to greet your future boyfriend darling" (smooth bastard)

Marinette.exe stopped working

Marinette just passed out.

The parents walked in

Sabine looks at her daughter.

Tom looks at Damian.

WAR STARTS AFTER OUR SPONSOR, RAID SHADOW LEGENDS!

(I couldn't careless about editing this lmao)

[croatian-nt]

Badelj podcast

For @lovren-la-vida-luka who wanted to see why everyone likes Badelj 

Host: *asks first question about the club and the second is immediately "how is Pjaca?"

Badelj: Pjaca is well. He is getting back into shape after that injury. I am sorry he isn't with the nt right now

Host: every kid that plays football dreams of playing in the nt. Tell me, at what point in your life did you realize "oh, I am someone who can play in Dinamo and in the nt" and was the support from people around you important in that?

Badelj: well, I don't think I ever thought that. Don't get me wrong-I didn't doubt myself. But when you watch TV and you see people playing for big clubs or for the nt...you don't know how that works. What's going on in their heads. I think people around me believed that I could do it more than i did, to be quite honest

Host: do know anyone who you expected to make a great career in football but didn't, for whatever reason?

Badelj: from my generation? I thought Tomecak would go out of the country and make a big career there. There was also Lovren. You see, the rest of us went step by step in our career but Loki skipped steps, climbing higher. I think he made international career first from all of us. But yes, I expected Tomecak to do so as well

Badelj: *explaining how while he was in Lokomotiva they were second in second league *

Badelj: I think the club that was first was called...Mladost Suhopolje? I think? Is that possible?

Domo: *yelling something from the background *

Host: Vida says that's not possible

Domo: it doesn't exist anymore!

Badelj: but it didn't exist. I am talking about something 12 years ago

Other host from the background: there was a club called Mladost from Suhopolje

Badelj: so I wasn't wrong

Saša(a doctor, second podcast guest): *quietly* damn

Badelj: you want me to be wrong don't you? You are just waiting for it

Sasa: maybe

Host: Could you name what other 4 players except for you transfered first from Dinamo to Lokomotva?

Badelj: Oh, I can, but you see, you are wrong, First transfer from Dinamo to Lokomotiva happened 4 years before ours, and it included 10 players. But, second transfer you think of was ours. *proceeds to number the other 4 guys*

Host: you came to Dinamo as a replacement for Luka Modric, but you played a bit with him before that, right?

Badelj: yes, in 2008, for about 5 months before he transferred

Host: could you have guessed back then that he would be such a well known player?

Badelj: I personally don't think you can tell those things. He always had that something. That quality, that kind of special talent you don't forget. But for a player to win all the awards that he did you need your cards to fit just right. And lots of media exposure. The fact that he won all that, that's incredible

Host: could you tell us some things you remember from your time in Dinamo?

Badelj: in Dinamo? Well the problem is that I remember everything from my time in Dinamo. But to sum it up, the first and the last game. The first, in which we played against Rijeka and I scored a goal. I'll never forget that. I remember thinking I was on top of the world back then. And the last, against Maribor, where in first half I gave autogol and the fans booed me as I exited the pitch, and second half, where I scored a winning goal for us. I think that last game sums up my time in Dinamo very well. Ups and downs

Host: okay, first card break. Please take your cards

Sasa: *reaches out and turns one card *

Badelj: you turned them! Why did you already turn them?

Sasa: I only turned one

Badelj: we are supposed to wait until he tells us to turn them and read

Sasa: well, I did have a habit of cheating on my exams

Badelj: Well, I for one am glad for cards break. I was starting to think my friend Vida will fall asleep

*Domo yelling something from the background *

Sasa: quiet. I don't want to choose hard questions

Host: okay, okay. Miki, read it for doctor

Badelj: oh I am reading it to him? *smiles * see? You fucked up

Badelj: extra time or penalties?

Sasa: *pause * penalities?

Badelj: in football, you know?

Sasa: of course I-

*everyone laughs, Vida's laugh is literally echoing *

Badelj: okay, okay. I am just saying, because questions are mean. It could have been a metaphor. So in football. Extra time or penalties

Sasa: penalties

Sasa: popcorn or chips?

Badelj: chip

Sasa: of course, that was easy. I would have answered the same

Badelj: I am sure you would. Besides, I saw the question beforehand when you turned it on the table

Sasa: okay, I definitely already know your answer to this but anyway-

Badelj: no, wait. Don't read the question, tell me what I'd answer and I'll guess what the question is

Sasa: Beer

Badelj: Wine or beer?

Sasa: ...yes

Badelj: I know your answer to this one too

Sasa: tell me the answer then, I'll guess the question

Badelj: cat

Sasa: cat or a dog?

Badelj: yes

Sasa: hmmm. A dog

Host: I think Milan won this round guys

Sasa: wait-

Domo: *laughs again *

Sasa: why did he win? When I am a dog?

Badelj: I didn't ask if you'd rather be a dog or a cat. I meant what would you rather have

Domo: *laughs harder *

Sasa: yes. A DOG

Badelj: oh. A dog? But if I ask what kind-

Sasa: a small one

Badelj: ah. So you want a cat. Next!

Badelj: prosciutto or kulen?

Sasa: joooj

Host: careful, careful what you say

Sasa: Vida is here but- prosciutto

Vida: Then I won't send anything to your house!

Badelj: at least you know who not to send it to. Send it to me

Sasa: except if it's from black pig

Vida: yeah, yeah, now. It's over now. No more deliveries to your address

Host: so, I want to hear a bit about towns you lived in. Firenze specifically, as one of centers of culture

Badelj: well it isn't only cultural but also gastronomic center and general hedonistic city and region. You can really enjoy yourself there. People are also interesting...I am afraid Domo is falling asleep

Host: I am sure he finds that interesting as well

Badelj: well, I don't know. I tried to get him to visit me while I was there but he never did. As a manager I failed

Host: speaking of travelling, Iva told me she almost didn't manage to contact you for WC in Brazil

Badelj: well that isn't my fault. Whenever she can locate me or not is her issue. I was...located. The fact is I was in an plane while we played our first game in Brazil. I am sorry Iva, I know this isn't a very good advertisement for you-seriously she is amazing and she usually plans everything ahead and I think without her at least one person would get lost on a airport before every game. But the fact is, that time I didn't play the first game because I was in an airplane

Host: so tell me, did you ever get an offer from Milan? And if you did how close you were to signing. And the most importantly if you have signed, would you have "Milan" or "Badelj" on your jersey?

Badelj: definitely Badelj

Host: is there more pressure to do an operation on a professional football player than let's say, your neighbor?

Sasa: of course. I mean, their whole career depends on that. If I operate my neighbor and it isn't as good as it can be he can just stop playing football in his free time. If I tell Badelj he can't play football anymore-

Badelj: don't drag me into this mess. I don't want to imagine that

Host: it seems only charmers come from Gajnice. I mean, football wise(charmer isn't exactly the right word but...I can't think of a better one to fit)

Badelj: yes. We bully the strong ones out of football. They can do athletics

Host: the most memorable part about you for me actually isn't your career, but the speech you held at your teammate, Astori's funeral. How did you manage to do that? To hold yourself together and make such a speech?

Badelj: well I. You have to understand, outside of Croatia, he was my best friend. We were captain and vice captain so it began as a duty to keep the team together at first. And during that time...when he died, there was lots of new, young player in Florentina and they looked up to us for guidence. So...so it made sense for me to hold that speech. One thing that made it easier that I had period of 3 days before the speech after he died. Three days of crying and suffering but at least you get some of that grief out. I wasn't empty of it when I held the speech but I wasn't overflowing either

Host: alright, next card break

Sasa: who has the best free kick?

Badelj: oh man, there are quite a few. Brozo, Orša and Bruno is good as well. If Srna was here I'd say him. Or if Raketa was here. Perisic is also good. He can shoot with both legs too. Not in the same time though

Badelj: who eats the most?

Sasa: well-

Badelj: and not on your table. Our table. But how would he know, he doesn't eat with us

Domo: why not from his table? It says who in the team as a whole!

Badelj: but that isn't fun! How about who in the history of the team?

Sasa: hmmmm. Let me think. Who would it-

*voices overlapping, Domo laughing *

Badelj: you are really mean. Really mean

Domo: I didn't say anything

Badelj: but you thought of it. Few times

Sasa: who takes the most to get ready? I even know that one

Badelj: Peri always comes in last. But I don't think he takes that long to get ready. But he does come in last

Badelj: best sense of humor?

Sasa: oh there are a lot of players with a good sense of humor. Hmm

Badelj: it doesn't have to be a player

Sasa: it doesn't?

Host: well it's more fun if it is, but it's okay if it isn't

Sasa: hm Someone off the camera: Miki!

Badelj: I am not funny. He likes to talk to me but I am not funny

Sasa: well you can be funny. Sometimes. But Vida I guess. He really cheered me up this morning

Badelj: what did he tell you?

Sasa: oh he was pestering me

Badelj: and you love when people pester you?

*everyone burst out laughing *

Sasa: no! That's not-it was just funny!

Host: so, there has been a question in our podcasts, who would you choose as a partner in Potjera and 90% of our guests said Miki Badelj. What kind of cheating did you use to get that kind of reputation?

Badelj: I have no idea. You'll have to ask them that

Host: if you weren't in football, what fields would you be interested in?

Badelj: I'd still be in sport. Even if I didn't end up as a football player I'd do something with sport. That always interested me, even as a subject itself

Host: would you be a sport doctor like Sasa?

Badelj: god no

Sasa: no huh?

Badelj: I really don't think I am the type for that

Sasa: favorite subject?

Badelj: Geography

Sasa: same! I guess we really are friends for a reason. Favorite movie?

Badelj: it was brave heart for a long while but not anymore-

Sasa: it was my favorite too!

Badelj: you know you don't have to answer this question right? I also liked Interstellar for awhile but I watched it too many times

Sasa: Interstellar is too long for me

Badelj: and Brave Heart wasn't??

Sasa: favorite female or male singer?(we have different words for each)

Badelj: female singer

*all laugh *

Badelj: Alright, alright. Nina Badric

Sasa: as a singer or...?

 Host: so tell me, who doesn't complain a lot about...well, everything?

Sasa: well, Luka, Vida, Miki...older players generally complain less than younger ones. *Looks up, sees Livi *And Livi of course! But none of goalies complain, really

Host: a lot of players from bronze generation became coaches. 14 of them, actually. If we say hypothetically 14 of silver generation will do the same, who do you think would become a coach? You can switch on saying names

Sasa: Miki

Badelj: hah. Sasa

Sasa: you can't choose me!

Badelj: fine, fine. Carli then. He already is but it still counts, right?

Sasa: I think Lovren would want to be a coach

Badelj: hmmmm *looking at Vida * would you want to be a coach? Vida!

Sasa: Luka would probably want to be one

Host: that's five

Badelj: hmmm. Piva

Host: okay, we won't go to 14 since it would probably be hard to get to that number. Next card break

Sasa: who would you choose as a co-driver in rallying?

Badelj: Vida. Yes, yes, Vida

Domo: you sure about that?

Badelj: it's because Vida has that sort of personality that in last seconds, when that kind of character is important, he makes a step forward. Because you can't stay in place. Either you make a step forward or a step back. And he'd take a step forward

Badelj: who would you choose to score a penalty if your life depended on him scoring?

Sasa: uff

Badelj: remember, your life depends on it!

Sasa: Kramaric

*uhhhing and ahhhing from the background *

Vida, barely audible: not bad

Sasa: as a partner for tennis?

Badelj: oh god. I have no idea how anyone plays

Sasa: *streching *

Badelj: is that you volonteering or...?

Sasa: no!

*Domo laughs *

Sasa: besides, you have to choose a player, not me

Badelj: hmmm. Brozo. He can run a lot. A lot more than me. *laughs * so it wouldn't be so bad

Badelj: to choose a movie for you?

Sasa: hmmm, not you, you'd choose something too serious. I'd choose Vida, he'd pick something funny

Domo: *says something

Sasa: you don't watch them either? Miki do you watch them?

Badelj: I do, but I wouldn't know what to recommend

Domo: Livi!

Sasa: Livi is young still. He didn't watch a lot of movies

Livi says something it sort of sounds like: Oh com'on!

Sasa: I don't know who I'd pick, really

Badelj: can he say I don't know?

Host: yeah, I guess so

 Sasa: but I said you first!

Badelj: no, you said I'd pick something too serious. You said Domo would pick something funny first

Domo: But I don't watch movies!

Sasa: fine, then Livi, if I must

Badelj: if I must do you hear that Livi? How do you feel about that?

Host: he looks truly honored

 Badelj: who would you choose to help you cheat on a test?

Sasa: you

Badelj: and I'd be already cheating by reading someone else'd answer so that's a good idea *laughs *

Sasa: who would you choose as a partner in a fight?

Badelj: Vida

Host: As a doctor would you explain to us how during WC in 2018 there wasn't a single game where one of the players couldn't play because of an injury? What is the secret?

Sasa: well, motivation mostly. Everyone wanted to play. Even if someone had some issue-and we had them, they would push through it and play anyway. I'll be honest. There were some players I thought wouldn't be able to get through the game but not only did they manage it but they manage to play until the end of the WC

Badelj: yeah, Šime

Sasa: yes, it was Šime. I didn't want to use the names but it was him. I didn't expect him to play after the game against Russia but he did and he played the England and the France one. I-I really don't know how to explain what he did

Host: so when we made pairs that will come to the studio I'll admit I was really looking forward to interviewing the two of you-

Badelj: now you are just talking shit. You say that to everyone

Sasa: Vida did he say the same thing to everyone?

Badelj: you should have written it on the cards "I looked forward to talking the two of you the most"

Host: -and you fulfilled my expectations despite the fact that Miki obviousy isn't funny-

Badelj: I am not! But I recommend bad, too serious movies. Serious and boring ones

Sasa: I only said serious ones!

Host, turning to the camera: Thank you for watching our newest podcast! Watch us tomorrow as well!

[i-am-ironic]

Daminette arranged mariage au part 7

**************************

Damian arrived right on time as usual, to pick Marinette up for dinner. In the car they went over the plan one last time.

"So the plan right now is just to tell your brothers that we are dating until the papers go through confirming you are Xander's father, right?" Marinette said watching the city fly by.

"It shouldn't take long." Damien replied, "Rich families tend to get things done faster then anyone else. Everything should be in order before the end of dinner."

"But what about when they start asking questions?"

"We avoid the questions until the paperwork goes through, then we can tell them the whole story." He Paused thinking back. "When I got back I didn't talk about what happened. I didn't tell anyone so they should be interested enough in the story to leave their questions till the end."

"This might not go well dames," Marinette started Fidgeting with her bracelet, "what if they don't like me? Or they think I'm helping your mother? Or what if-"

"No, mari." He said, his voice bringing her away from her anxious thoughts, "it will be fine. i promise. they will love you and once we explain, everything will be fine. We are here are you ready?"

She nodded and stepped out of the car. The manor was even more extravagant then she had imagined. She was going to need to come back to sckech just the doorway not to mention the rest of the house. Thinking about the architecture helped to calm her nerves.

"Here we go" she said stepping up to the door. It opened before dhe even had the chance to knock. Behind the door was an elderly man in a suite.

"Hello Ms my name is Alfred, I am the Wayne's butler and your name is?"

"Just call me marinette.”

“I must insist it wouldn't be proper to call you anything but your last name.” Alfred said.

“Just marinette for now but you will probably know my last name by the end of the night.” he looked at her curiously, why didn’t she want him to know her name yet?

“Very well ms marinette,” he said before turning to damian, “master damian your family is waiting for you in The sitting room.”

the two of them walked into the room and marinette was expecting a lot of things, but not this. damian just looked so done with his family. 

“Ahem.”he said drawing attention to himself.  “Marinette these are my brothers Dick is the one hanging from the chandelier” she waved at the familiar man. “Tim is the one drinking straight from the pot of coffee and Jason is the one throwing knifes at Dick. Oh and cass is the only normal one sitting on the couch.”

“Hey!” the boys all yelled in unison.

“Its a pleasure to see you again marinette.” bruse said before the boys could start arguing “I presume that our other guest will be here after dinner?”

“That is correct Mr Wayne.”

“Its Bruce as I have told you.”

marinette rooled her eyes smiling. She wasn't going to call him Bruce

“Hold on what other guest?” Jason said confused.

“Dinner is served.” alfrid said from the doorway as he lead the group out of the room.

“Damian wait!” Dick said reaching out for his little brother. Damian turned glancing at marinette who nodded.

“What do you want Grayson?” he siad eager to get back to marinette. 

“I don't think you should be seeing marinette you know how dangerous our 'job' is and-”

“She can take care of herself” he cut his brother off turning to follow were the rest of the group had gone. 

Dick grabbed Damian’s arm makeing him stay this was importent.“I'm sure she can but she has a 2 year old son who can't take care of himself and I don't think-”

“Richard.” that got his attention damian never called anyone by their first name.

“Yes?”

“Xander is my son.” that took a moment to Process before-

“WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE IS YOUR SON!”

without answering Damian walked out of the room. Dick folowed him into the dining room, where evryone looked at the two.

“Dick whats wrong? we heard yelling and you look like you saw a ghost.” Cass said conserned. 

“Its nothing,” Damian replied sharing a meningful look with marinette. “I'm sure Grayson is fine. so marinette do I need to take any of my brothers to the garden”

evryone looked shocked at the implicashons but marinette just giggled.

“No they have all been wonderful. besids you know i can handle your brothers.”she smiled. 

“Listen, marinette, if damian kidnapped you blink twice.” jason said in a sereous tone.

she gigaled again, “He didn't kidnap me besides we both know I can beat damian in a fight.”

“take that back! i have beaten you plenty of times before.” this made the boys and cass very intrested, if damian was defending himself he must have actualy tried to beat her, and falled.

“Dames I beat you 68% of the time.” interesting. 

“so you admit i have beaten you before!” he said triumfently.

“Yeah when I let you win.” damians mouth fell open in legitament showk. he looked over at his father, who nodded, before making a statment that would change this family forever.

“Marinette Anne dupan-chang al Ghul Wayne you take that back right this minute!”

the reactions were very mixed. Dick was shocked. not only did his baby brother have a child but it apered that he was marred. Jason didnt know what to think. he had begun to coneckt the dots, marinette had foud the father of her chiled, she then showed up with his brother and she had the same last name as him. $#*! Tim alerdy knew about all this from his reserch and cass decided to wait for an explanation.

“No.” marinette said scrunching up her noes playfully. "I refuse to take it back."

there was silence for a moment before Bruce spoke.

“Maybe we should continue this discussion in the sitting room”

“So would you like to explain why marinette has the same last name as you?” cass said once they reached the other room. 

“Not really but-”

“dames be nice, we knew we were going to explain when we came here tonight. I'll text luka.” 

.”Who's Luka?” Tim said, he hadn't read anythig about a ‘Luka’.

“Its a long story so let's start from the beginning,” marinette started.

“Three and a half years ago I was walking back to my family's house after hanging out at a friend's house. Before I got home I saw a man who needed help, so I went over to help. him i cant remember what he was doing but when I got there I felt a prick in the back of my neck. I pulled the dart out before I hit the ground. The next thing I knew I was in a room laying on a coute. the door was locked and I could hear yelling from someone else in the building. I could tell it was a man but I couldn't make out what he was saying. it wasn't in french I later found out he was speaking Arabic. After the yelling stopped i heard the door unlock and got ready to run but when the door opened a woman was standing there with two big men behind her. She walked in and because of the two men I couldn't run. She started speaking to me in french she said 'my name it Talia. I need you to put on this ceremonial dress.' To which I replied as any sane person would that I wasn't going to put on the dress and they needed to take me back home. She asked 'did you hear that man yelling a moment ago?' 'Yes?' I said though I wasn't sure what that had to do with anything. 'if you don't put it on and do what I say I will kill him.' So I put on the dress. They tied my hands behind my back and blindfolded me before leading me out of the cell I was in. When they took the blindfold off I was kneeling at an alter. Talia began speaking in french so I could understand. She was saying things about the strongest bond known to man, and a queen for the future king. I didn't understand what she meant until I turned to see a boy my age bound and kneeling next to me. Thats when it hit me we were getting married. She made us drink something from a chalice before we were ushered into a different room. We were both untied and left alone. the door locked behind us. The only thing in the room was a bed. The boy introduced himself as damian and said that he wasn't sure why his mother made us get married but that he was going to get some answers. He looked pretty cute when he said that.”

Damian blushed at her compliment.  

“Anyway Talia's explanation was that damian was 16 and for the league that meant he was a man and had to get married. And I had the great honor to be the one he married. I, was pissed. She said that as such a powerful magic user i was worthy to marry the future king of the league of assassins. I was even more pissed. She had the audacity to say that getting married, AT 16, to someone you had never met was a good thing. That little-”

“Alright mari I'll take over.” Damian said resting a hand on her sholder. “Anyway she said that after a year of mari training with the league we could go back to our normal lifes until we turned 18, at which point if we didn't at least move in together they would kill one of us. best mom ever. After that we were left alone to talk. Every day we trained and talked and worked hard. Once a month they would move us to a different compound and give us a huge array of blood tests. We became good friends. it was us against everyone else. Since we were already married we decided to give this whole romantic thing a try. But after six months I was sent to meeting with Talia she said I was going home and knocked me out sending me back to you. I searched and searched but I couldn't find any sign of marinette. so I had to asume Talia killed her. I couldn't think about France without thinking about her so I blocked all news from France. I didn't say anything to anyone for a month. And evrey year for one day I couldn’t speak, the anniversary of the last day I saw her alive.”

“I wasn't dead incase you were wondering.” marinette said picking up where damian left off,” I was sent to the med bay. No one would tell me what was happening or were damian was until Talia came in and said damian had fulfilled his usefulness. she exsplaned The only reason i was there was because damian had spent to much time with his father and had gone soft. The league needed a new heir to the throne. They picked me to be the mother of that heir. I was stuck there for months. I knew they weren't going to let me go. After the baby was born they were going to kill me. One day something big happened, I don't know what but it was big enough no one was watching me. I escaped. I hiched rides to France and snuck across borders. When I finally got back i saw a doctor as soon as I could. I didn't know if the baby was ok. He was born when I was 17.” she turned to the door where a young man stood holdng a toddler who scrambled down and ran over to his parints. “Everyone I would like you to meet Xander Thomas dupan-chang al Ghul Wayne.”

“Damian you have a son.” cass said wide eyed.

“I'm aware” damian said handing the boy his phone with a game already opened up. 

“Xander is my nephew??????” Dick said staring at the boy like he had grown a secend head.

“Yes.” marinette said simply.” It took a year to defeat Paris' villain. After that I moved here to find damian and tell him about Xander.”

“Dang. So you know about Robin then?”

“Yep”

“Why didn't you say anything??? I've known you for over a year and you said nothing????” the betrayed jason said.

“I didn't want to explain anything until I could tell damian. i thought He should be the first to know about his son.”

“We have a break in at gatham museum.” alfered said over the intorcom

“We are not done with this conversation.” Bruce said. 

“Suite up!” called Tim.

“Marinette do you want to come?”

she smiled at her husband “I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

************

I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've ever written yay me. Pro tip if you see a centipede in your house DON'T TUCH IT it can and will sting you and it will hurt, my little brother just got stung by one. Anyway im glad so many of you like this story thanks for all the love! If you want to be tagged please let me know you can ether message me or reply to this. And if anyone can explain how to link things the pretty way with just "here" underlined that would be great. if you asked to be tagged and you weren't then ask again and ill put you on the list.

@thestressmademedoit

@abrx2002

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[guigz1-coldwar]

'Resist': New chapter for "Redemption in a Spirit in a Cold War" is out!

"Resist"

"I need to resist...I need to resist..."

Chapter Summary: Yirina is trying to struggle at her best against what's Bellamy & Sarah are doing to her in that cell, the need for resistance has never been higher for her since Verdansk...

Link of the Picrew here!

To read it on AO3, click here!

Words : +3100

Taglist : @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Only you...this is the only song that I could hear right now as I was trying to struggle with the links they put around my legs & wrists but they were strong, the same as what happened in Verdansk. My left eye was hurting me at my highest point, feeling the injection they did to it and that was the biggest pain that I could feel, this was the only thing right now along with the ropes tying me up on that chair in the dark, in the middle of the room, that song in my ears and impossible to cry for help...that grey tape over my mouth...

That song was keeping me awake, avoiding me to close my eyes and try to no think about that situation and it was surely something that Sarah, Beck, Bellamy & Lukas wanted to do with me: making me suffer more & more until I broke down at their demands and for that, they got no better way...but to reenact what the CIA did to me...what Stitch did to me in Verdansk and they were doing it...either to finish what Stitch couldn't do...or just as a mean of torture...for their fun until I crack...but I need to stop it...

But nothing was going to help me here, no one was coming and Zasha...I don't know what's happening to them at the moment but...I'm fearing the worst and each time I was thinking of it, it was stressful, adding this to the pain I'm having. The only thing that could give me a hint of the time passing was...when the light was going on and the same people were coming inside the cell, repeating the same procedure with me: holding my head still...before Sarah came with her needle to inject it inside my left eye, adding more pain than before to that eye before going away and leaving me alone with that song in my ears...

The more time was passing, the more my body was willing to give up, my hands almost not responding when I was trying to move them, the ropes blocking them to do that and forcing them to stay with their palms on the armrests. Then, as I was giving my best to not give up control and stay up even if I wanted to sleep, the light goes on again, making me scared on the inside...it was going to be...the fifth injection that was going to make at me...five hours...and I will add one soon...as the door got open...

"Fuck..." I was surprised to see with what my left eye could see with the other one, Lukas himself accompanied by Beck and I was able to hear them despite the song in my ears, going lower than before. "What are they doing with her?" He demanded, entering inside the cell with his friend wearing a big black leather jacket.

"Scheisse...Nicht was Gutes, Lukas [Shit...not something good, Lukas,]" Beck replied in german, his eyes looking over me and sounding a bit worried. "Was genau machen Bellamy & Sarah mit ihr? [What exactly are Bellamy & Sarah doing with her?]" He added.

"Glaubst du, sie leidet darunter? [Do you think she's suffering from it?]" Lukas asked, joining into speaking german to Beck as I was trying to keep my eyes open at them.

"What do you think? Of course," Beck told him, his hands moving around my head to remove the earsets of my right wrist. "Just look at her, Lukas, she's hurt," He admitted before I could start to feel the rope around my left wrist going off, my eyes going wide as Beck was untying me.

"Ingo, what are you doing?" Lukas questioned him in a surprised and not-so-happy voice. "You're doing this after what she did to us? To Stone?"

"Lukas!" Beck said in a harsh tone, stopping as he turn his head to look at Lukas. "Maybe she did this but...she isn't deserving it at all," He confessed, a look on his face meaning it. "Imagine that it was you on that chair, would you like it?" He asked him, me trying to understand what's going between the two. "I'm maybe hating her for what she did but I've got a heart,"

"Ingo, she...she killed Stone," Lukas insisted, his right hand pointing at me

"I know but I can't let her suffer that, not after what I learned," Beck implied as for me, I was trying to keep a normal breath, feeling my heart beating a bit faster than usual. "Forgiveness, Lukas, forgiveness," He muttered, Lukas, looking down at his feet before he sniffs and then, moving at me to get the rope of my right wrist away. "Thank you, Lukas,"

"I'm not doing this for her but for you, Ingo," Lukas admitted in a raised voice, moving to untie my legs along with Beck before the latter finally decided to get the grey tape off my lips, my mouth finally feeling free...

"Thanks...thanks..." I chuckled, my voice sounding very low and very thirsty and even if my hands were free, there was like no strength in them to move...including my legs...

"Come on, help me to get her off that chair," Beck ordered, wrapping his arms around my left armpit before Lukas joined him, wrapping his own arms around me, the two getting me up from the chair and moving me behind. "There, should be better than this chair," Beck suggested as I could feel my back against the wall before the two put me down on the ground, finding myself back at the same spot before I was put on that chair.

"Ingo, we shouldn't do this," Lukas said after the two let go of me, my head looking down with my hands over my chest, just seeing from my view their feet. "If Bellamy & Sarah are seeing us..."

"No, I don't give a fuck about what they're saying," Beck cut him in straight in his words. "We're not monsters and if they saw us, I'll take the responsibility," He declared in a clear voice before I could see him kneel in front of me. "They didn't even tell her that she was here, preferring to make her suffer for their own good," He added, seemingly talking to someone but my mind was too much confused to know who it was.

"I thought that they told her," Lukas sounded confused at what Beck as a hand came into my vision, getting under my chin to get my head up, my eyes drifting to see Beck in front of me.

"See what they did? She's looking bad," Beck commented, checking me before he turns his head around back at Lukas. "Give me some water, she's thirsty," He demanded, Lukas immediately complying and getting outside the cell quickly, leaving me with Beck.

"Thank...thank you..." I whispered, keeping a lower voice.

"No need, just doing what's better," He told me in a normal voice, his hand staying below my chin to keep my head up. "I should hate you like Lukas but no,"

"Why...why not...hate me?" I demanded, trying to find my words and also to form a sentence without taking a breath.

"Forgiveness," He replied in a low voice before I could briefly see Lukas coming back inside the cell with a bottle in his hands.

"Here," Lukas handed over the bottle to Beck, staying up as Beck take it in his left hand.

"Here, drink some," He moved the bottle towards me, my lips slowly opening as Beck made me drink the water from the bottle at a slow pace, Lukas looking at me with crossed arms. "Should be good," Beck said, removing the bottleneck from my lips.

"Thanks..." I muttered, trying to form a smile with my lips at them but then, I could see Beck's eyes focused on my left eye.

"Oh, Scheisse," He cursed, his right hand moving near my eyes for a better look. "It's not looking great...almost infected," He commented before he look down at his black leather jacket. "Scheisse, it needs to be properly healed," He then removed his hands off me to get his jacket off him.

"What's...happening?" I asked him as he was taking things from his jacket.

"Your eye isn't looking great to see," He responded, gathering the few sorts of bandages that he was having around his vest.

"And I thought that you were wearing a dickey," Lukas scoffed like that, looking at Beck on the ground.

"Lukas, no time to laugh, help me or get out!" Beck ordered in a harsh tone in his voice before Lukas let out a sigh from his mouth, proceeding to kneel down along with Beck next to me. "Good, hold her head, I will apply some bandages and maybe they will stop injecting her with that thing," He suggested, Lukas, complying with his order to get my head still while Beck was wrapping a part of my

head with his bandages, covering a part of my face and dividing my vision...

"What the fuck are you two doing?" I then heard a loud voice inside the cell that frightened me as Beck & Lukas suddenly stop in their moves to look in the direction of the door, seeing Bellamy with Sarah...holding a handcuffed Zasha, still in their uniform and with stitches on their face, tape covering their mouth. "Who told you that you could be here?" He demanded.

"We wanted to see how she was, that was it," Beck replied in a normal voice, standing up aside to let me see Bellamy entering with Sarah.

"That's none of your business," Sarah commented, keeping Zasha in front of her as she got inside too. "That's mine & Bellamy's business to do the necessary with her," She added.

"Maybe but..."

"There's not but, Lukas," Sarah cut Lukas straight in his words with a bad tone before she decides to throw on the ground Zasha who lands at least one meter from me at my right. "From now on, Krypto will be staying with her and her...she will stay on that chair," She told them, not even looking at how Zasha was when they landed.

"Sorry but I'm protesting to this," Beck decided to make a stand, me trying to move towards Zasha to see if they were okay...completely avoiding to listen to the others...

"Zed..." I muttered, handing over my hand to them in a slow move, their eyes looking at me with a shock.

"MMhmm...mmhmm..." They tried to say through the tape as they managed to slide towards me on the ground, allowing me to get their mouth to my reach and trying to get it off, them moving their head on the side to get it off...

"Hey, what do you think you're..." Bellamy's voice suddenly spoke up in our direction as he was going to come to us until he was stopped...by Beck who put his hand above his chest to stop him.

"Not anymore, Bellamy," Beck told him in a clear voice, keeping his hand on him. "Hurting them for fun, I'm not tolerating it here," He continued as I could see from my right eye, Bellamy's face in anger.

"Who do you think you are, Beck?" Bellamy demanded, his voice according to his face as Zasha & I were staying silent at seeing Beck like this...taking our defenses... "Should I..."

"Yeah, yeah, we know, you're the boss's son, we can't put a hand on you but not here," Beck interrupted him, his voice meaning it as the others were also silent at this. "So, you're leaving the two alone until we can transfer them away in two days after your mission,"

"Sorry, but who are you?" Sarah decides to step in, crossing her arms and looking at Beck. "You're under our orders so cut it out and leave Bellamy alone," She ordered to Beck, exchanging glares with him but Beck was insisting on it and...

"Shit," I then muttered in a low voice as my head was starting to hurt me slower but becoming more strong as the seconds were passing, feeling my left eye in those bandages stinging by a lot, struggling to close down with my right one.

"Yi-...Yirina?" Zasha whispered, sounding worried as I could move my left hand on the side of my head.

"I....resist...resist..." I talked to myself, my eyes rolling the room and seeing everyone's eyes looking at me before suddenly, under the pressure of that headache & my eyes hurting, I fell myself falling on the ground on my right side, my eyes shutting down completely as I could hear only muffled voices close to me...

I need to resist...I need to resist...

---------------------------------

Zasha Smirnov & Yirina Portnova apartment

Kennington, London

At the same time

Portnova was tired and for the first time since she got herself installed in London, she was feeling so lonely without having Zasha with her and she wanted to know where they are now but she couldn't afford to work all night in a building that wasn't even secured to talk freely and she came back to the apartment to get some sleep...but she came back alone because Park insisted to stay at work and Portnova couldn't bring her into the reason that she needed rest, finding Yirina & Zasha was her priority now even if she has to forbid herself to sleep.

As she was sitting on the couch, taking a sip of her coffee, Zasha's favorite one, she's been wondering why she wasn't turning on the TV, maybe because she wasn't in the mood for it and maybe because that she needs to stay at home a little before going back at Century House to work with Park but she wasn't alone, the little Beans stayed next to her on the couch, surely wondering where was Zasha but the only thing that Portnova could do was to pet her with a little smile, saying that they will come back soon.

Then, knocks at the door went to break the silence that was inside the apartment, Portnova putting down her cup of coffee to reach the door and open it, revealing Park whose eyes were looking very tired as if she never sleep...

"Park," Portnova offered a recomforting smile at Park who couldn't even reciprocate it now.

"Portnova," Park whispered as the former let her enter the apartment. "Hi, Beans," She waved at the cat that got up on the backrest of the couch.

"You're looking tired, you should get to rest," Portnova suggested as she was locking the front door behind Park.

"I know but no," Park refused, shaking her head before she decides to head out to the kitchen without saying anything else to Portnova who was looking bad at seeing her friend like this, following her to the kitchen.

"Any news?" Portnova demanded as Park was taking out a white cup from a dresser above the sink.

"Nothing concrete," Park replied, focused on her things as she moves to the coffee machine, not giving a look at Portnova who was staying in the path between the kitchen and the living room. "The SAS are making their own search parties, the MI5 is moving on the case and me...I'm freaking out," She added, starting the coffee machine after getting the cup under it, the sound of it breaking the conversation for a few moments before it was done. "I'm freaking out," She repeated in a lower voice, taking the cup in her right hand and leaning against the counter.

"I'm sorry, Park," Portnova apologized even if she wasn't at fault, no one was at fault here.

"No, I'm the one to be sorry," Park exclaimed, taking a sip of her coffee as she was looking in front of her, blank stare. "It's my fault if it happened,"

"No, it's not, Park,"

"It's not about this," Park corrected, turning her head around at Portnova who was a bit confused. "It's not about that mission but...about what I did," She added, knowing well inside of her that she was hating herself about the subject. "It's my fault if Yirina got brainwashed, I'm the one that suggests to Adler to use MK-Ultra on her," She declared after taking a deep breath and removing her eyes from Portnova, fearing her reaction even if she knew about it.

The silence was the only thing that Portnova could do to respond to Park's remark, she was a bit troubled to hear that again, wondering why on earth that type of thing could exist but learning that her friend Yirina fell in love with the person that participated to brainwash her, it should have made her angry...but it wasn't because Park is different, she couldn't bring herself to be angry against a person that is very kind to her...no, she wasn't going to do that in her life...

"Every day, I'm still hating myself bit by bit to say that I did this to her, you understand?" Park broke up the little silence between the two, her eyes looking at the coffee inside her cup. "If only I could change things, I will do it," She affirmed, drinking in one move the remains of the coffee inside before putting the cup down behind her. "I hate myself, Portnova,"

"But I don't hate you, Park," Portnova told her, biting a part of her lips. "I can't be angry at you, I can't," She admitted, removing herself from the door frame to take a step inside the kitchen. "I've got to admit that...I never saw Yirina this happy in her life before," She commented, giving a little smile to Park that could do it but by a little.

"Really?" Park demanded and Portnova offers her a nod to this.

"You gave her something that she never got for real...someone that really cares about her," Portnova confirmed, sounding very positive.

"And Freya?" Park asked about that, a feeling of disturb crossing her body to say that name.

"She was dangerous and still is, she was very...assertive towards Yirina at some time and me & Zasha...were the one that was allowing her to feel better," Portnova affirmed, giving Park a few details about a part of Yirina's life to her. "You're giving her protection...and love, she needs that," She snorted, a smile forming on her face again. "If I didn't meet her, I wouldn't have met my Zasha,"

"You're right," Park whispered, the smile forming on her face thanks to Portnova before he went away, the thoughts of finding Yirina & Zasha coming back. "Bloody hell...and now, they're not here," She looked around the kitchen, thinking that Yirina could come in here but no. "I think I'm done here, I'm going back at Century House,"

"You need to rest, let me go to your place, Park," Portnova proposed but Park shakes her head as she walks to get out of the kitchen, already fitted to go back outside.

"No, I need to be working on it, I need to find them for us," Park confirmed as she was arriving near the front door, starting to unlock it as Portnova left the keys in the lock. "You're coming?" She proposed to Portnova, looking at her.

"Let me get my jacket in my room," She responded, raising her finger up before she turns around to move inside the apartment, letting Park alone near the door for the moment...

But instead of waiting, Park decided to get back inside the bedroom that she was using with Yirina, having thought about something that she wanted to see...something that could help...Yirina's personal diary was on her nightstand and even if she was knowing everything about Yirina's recovered memories, she wanted to see them again...and again, so she decides to take it with her, putting it inside her jacket before getting out and joining Portnova that was going out of her room, prepared to leave with her black leather jacket and her red scarf...

She needed some comfort and that diary could really help her...

[ladyinmoon]

Thank you to @vivilakitty for letting me write out this prompt! I hope you all enjoy!

"Come on girl! This is a once in a lifetime chance!"

"But I-"

"Don't be such a chicken! It's just Adrien after all."

"I just-"

"Stop making so many excuses!" Alya rolled her eyes.

"You know how rare it is that Adrien's dad let's him hang out with us." Alix shoved her towards the boat.

"But-" Marinette protested. She started to breathe irregularly, but no one seemed to notice.

"No more buts Marinette." Mylene said firmly, pulling Marinette by the arm.

"I can't-"

"Yes you can. Now get on there." With a final shove, the girls managed to push a shaking Marinette onto the boat.

"Hey guys, look who's here!" Alya announced, a huge grin on her face, completely oblivious to the fact that the girl next to her was trembling in fear.

"Hey Marinette!" Adrien waved cheerfully to her. Marinette forced a smile on her face, hoping that it'd come off as tired and not rude.

"Hey Marinette. You don't look well, do you need any help?" Lila smiled viciously at Marinette.

"N-No I-I'm fine." Marinette turned to Alya.

"I'm not feeling great Alya, I really need to go." She held onto Alya tightly, her palms beginning to sweat.

"Nonsense! Just get over your nervousness and go talk to Adrien." Alya waved her off, and left Marinette to go talk to Lila.

What must have been mere minutes felt like years as Marinette wobbled her way to the rooms below.

"One more step..." Marinette breathed hard, muttering to herself as she inched closer.

"Hey Marinette, you need any help?" Marinette jumped upon hearing the voice behind her. Shakily, she turned and saw Luka standing there, a concerned look on his face.

"I-I..." Marinette forced a weak smile on her face. "Y-yea I'm fine." Marinette's knees suddenly buckled.

"Hey hey look at me. Take a deep breath in." Luka carried Marinette and ushered her into a chair. He grabbed his guitar and started to play a calming tune.

Marinette shakily breathed in. "That's good. Now breathe out." Marinette breathed out.

"You're doing great Mari. Breathe in, breathe out." Luka smiled at her.

Minutes later, Marinette stopped shaking and was relatively calm.

"Good job Marinette. You keep doing that, I'll get you a glass of water ok?" Marinette nodded her head. Luka carefully got up and left the room.

Marinette continued to do the breathing exercises that Luka instructed her to do, and focused on Tiki patting her purse.

Minutes passed and Luka still hadn't returned. Marinette was getting worried. "Tiki, should I check on him?" Marinette whispered.

"I think you should give him a few more minutes." Tiki stroked Marinette's hair in an attempt to calm her down.

It had been almost 10 minutes, but no one had entered the room.

"That's it. I'm going to look for Luka." Marinette shakily pushed herself up.

Just as Marinette stepped foot on the deck, the girl was dragged towards the make-shift stage.

"Girl where were you?" Alya huffed.

"Lila told us you were getting a drink but we couldn't find you anywhere." Rose pouted.

"Guys I-"

"Whatever at least we found you. Adrien is gonna perform with kitty section soon." Marinette could feel the fear rising in her as she took in her surroundings.

"And you are going to talk to him right now." Alya said firmly, dragging Marinette.

"Hey guys!" Adrien waved at the girls and they smiled at him while pushing Marinette towards him.

"Hi Marinette!" Adrien beamed, completely oblivious to Marinette's state.

"H-hi Adrien..." Marinette choked out. Adrien smiled politely as Marinette trembled.

"Oh my gosh Marinette there you are!" Marinette screamed internally as Lila approached her.

"Hey girl what's up?" Alya said excitedly.

"Oh not much, I was just on the phone with jagged stone. He said he's sorry that he can't come watch kitty sections performance cause something came up." Lila let out a small sigh and looked at the girls feigning worry.

"I hope you don't hate me for this." The girls immediately rushed to comfort Lila, assuring her that it wasn't her fault.

"Thanks guys, that makes me feel better." Lila smiled. "Do you mind if I borrow Marinette here? There's something I'm dying to talk to her about."

Alya grinned at Lila. "Of course Lila!" Lila smiled, a glint of malice in her eyes.

"Perfect! I owe you all one." Lila dragged a half protesting Marinette you to the edge of the boat.

It took all of Marinette's willpower to not puke right there and then, so she struggled to form her sentences. "W-what do you want Lila."

Lila smiled. "As much as I enjoy seeing you acting so pathetic, I can't pass up on this chance."

"What are you-" Before Marinette could finish her sentence, she was falling into the water.

The water was everywhere. Marinette could feel the panic rising ten times faster. The water felt heavy and she couldn't move. She felt herself sinking and felt so helpless. It felt like eons before she heard anything from the boat.

"Oh no! Marinette fell!"

"I'm sure she's fine, she's just overreacting."

"Bullshit!"

"Luka?"

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Luka!"

"Hey! How dare you shove Lila!"

There was a loud splash, and a tall figure swam towards a thrashing Marinette.

"Shhh its ok Marinette." Marinette hiccupped and shook as a pair of strong arms grabbed her and helped her up.

"Come on girl, let's get you changed." Anarka helped Marinette up as everyone stared worriedly.

"Juleka, go help mom." Luka said, anger radiating from him. Juleka nodded and rushed off to assist their mother.

"Thank you Luka for saving Marinette. I was honestly so worried when she-"

"Shut up." Luka growled.

"E-excuse me?" Lila stuttered.

"I saw what you did." Luka finally looked up and glared at Lila, sending chills down her spine.

"Luka just leave it." Adrien whispered, nudging Luka.

Luka laughed, startling everyone. "Just leave it? This girl just pushed Marinette into the water. And it the only reason she's alive right now is because I went after her." Luka was pissed off, but it didn't seem to bother them.

"But Marinette can swim." Alya argued. "She would have been fine without us."

"Couldn't you see her? Maybe she can swim, but fear blinds people. She couldn't even stay afloat, yet all of you held me back from even checking on her."

"What do you mean fear? It's not like Marinette is scared of water." Mylene asked.

"Yea! I would know. I've been friends with her since we were five after all! Kim boasted.

"You are all idiots." Upon hearing that, everyone protested angrily.

"Did it not occur to all of you that syren just attacked Paris not too long ago?" Most of them went silent, but a few of them were too stubborn to understand.

"So what? It's not like-" Alya tried to argue but was immediately cut off.

"And did it not occur to you that Marinette could have been one of the many who drowned?" Luka hissed. Everyone froze as they realised their mistakes.

"I can't believe you call yourself Marinette's friends. She has been scared this whole time, yet none of you even bothered to ask her how she was doing." Luka glared at Alya, who refused to back down.

"It's not like we would have noticed-"

"Oh really?" Luka said coolly. "It's not like Marinette has been shaking, struggling to breathe or said that she's scared the whole time right?" He said sarcastically.

"It's because she has a crush on Adrien!" Alya smiled triumphantly, thinking she won the argument.

"You really are blind. She's been like this because she's scared of the water. She doesn't even like Adrien anymore. But you wouldn't know, would you?" Luka said.

"And you." Luka turned to Lila. "You are never to step foot on my family's boat ever again. If I see you pull a stunt like this ever again," Luka's voice dropped dangerously low. "I'll make sure you'll wish you had never been born." Lila nodded in fear and scuttled off the boat.

Luka turned away from the gaping teenagers and went to check on Marinette. He found her huddled on his bed, wearing a set of his dry clothes.

"Hey Marinette. You doing better?" Marinette nodded and hugged her knees.

"Do you want anything warm to drink?" Marinette nodded her head.

"Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?" Luka asked.

"Can I have got chocolate?" Marinette whispered. Luka smiled at her.

"Of course. I'll go get some for you." Luka walked into the kitchen, where he found his mother and sister sitting down, drinking coffee and tea.

"How is she?" Anarka asked quietly.

"Not great. I'm making hot chocolate for her right now. Could you guys get everyone off the boat? I don't think she'd like to talk to them right now." Luka pulled out a packet of instant hot chocolate and began to make a cup for Marinette.

"Sure thing boy." Anarka got up from her chair and made her way up.

"You really like her don't you?" Juleka stared into her cup.

Luka chuckled. "I'm not sure if like is the word I'd use. Maybe love?"

"I've never seen you so angry before." Juleka looked up from her cup and stared intensely at Luka. He merely shrugged and tapped his fingers on the counter impatiently.

"Love makes people go crazy."

"I think the phrase is 'Love makes people do crazy things'."

"Sure sis."

Once the hot chocolate was done, Luka gingerly carried the cup into his room.

"Hey Marinette. You feeling better?" Luka carefully passed the warm mug to Marinette who gratefully accepted.

"Yea I'm starting to warm up slowly. But what about you?" Marinette furrowed her eyebrows and averted her eyes from Luka.

Luka raised an eyebrow and looked down, only to realise his white shirt was soaked and very see through.

"I'm fine. I didn't even realise how cold I've been feeling." Luka smiled as Marinette frowned.

"Luka!" He laughed as she started to scold him.

"Alright alright. I'll go change. Be back in a second." He grabbed a set of new clothes and head to the bathroom to change. In less than a minute, he was back in a fresh set of clothes.

"Hey Luka?" Marinette stared at her cup, slightly blushing.

"Yea?"

"Thank you." Luka smiled.

"Anytime Marinette."

[succ-season-4-when]

I think this episode (E8) is the darkest the show can get. I don't think I can ever watch it again.

1) Just the funniest thing they did with Kendall. My line of thought still stands that if anyone dies at the end of the season, this is the best show I've ever watched.

I'll probably buy most of their merch and become terminally obsessed with this show.

2) Shiv deciding to freeze an embryo right after Caroline said that she made the right decision by not having kids...

3) Shiv's "dirty talk". I was cringing into another dimension.

4) I can't believe they showed a main character's dick pic on the show. For some reason I never thought this show would cross that line.

5) E9's promo not showing Ken is probably a very bad sign given where this episode ended. But again we can sort of tell that Tom's probably going to jail, so...

6) Would they be able to go through the merger with Gojo? I don't doubt Lukas didn't want to sell his company, but letting WR's executives handle his company?? Somehow I don't see that happening. I don't think Lukas knew for sure Logan would've said yes to the merger, and the way he talked to Roman was a bit alarming--judging by his disrespect to Logan in E9's promo, he's probably looking to buy WR (if he wants to be involved in a deal at all).

7) Shiv determined to fight the battle in the long run, which is somewhat motivated by Caroline...the 2nd funniest thing this episode, she's got her board seat & didn't even show to the meeting, and Sandi was expecting her (can the fic writers hurry up?).

8) They are really ramping up the misogyny this season (also the incest jokes, etc.), and it's--probably only funny to me? Like I perused audience opinions for a long while (during hiatus & now during airtime), so seeing this play out very realistically in a completely uncomfortable light is such a laugh.

9) Greg's conversation with Shiv & Tom, etc.: with the entire first half, the tone was still very jovial and merry; the scenes at night were plain depressing, and then the ending shots were just...I probably felt like Shiv, mildly entertained by a disaster playing out in front of me & somehow feeling nothing at all.

10) So Ken did want an out. My guess was that he wouldn't take it, but it does seem like he a) thought Logan wanted him gone, b) thought if he lost then there's no point to this all (aka still pretty fucking suicidal).

I thought if he wanted the money so he'll take it gladly, but he looked like he just thought there's no other choice (which is also true, since it's what I thought as well). It turned out Logan didn't want him out (to the surprise of him & me), so he's just left with his suicidal feelings and a broken heart (?).

He should have enough cash on hand to do something with his life, but I don't know what he can do with his shares & board seat in the company unless he wants somebody (i.e. Lukas) to try to pull another hostile takeover on the company.

We didn't see that shot of him walking around the pool of water & falling into it or something from the S3 trailer, so either it's cut or he's gonna do that the next episode (Lmao, can you imagine if he died off-screen? God this show is hysterical).

11) If the dick pic thing's what Logan "saves" Gerri from, then there's a big problem with the phrasing used for hints to avoid spoilers.

12) Ken becoming disillusioned with capitalism (?)...like, he's right, but for the wrong reasons...so, typical him.

13) The writers really wanted the audience to learn just who Shiv is, huh. The dedication deserves a few Emmys at least.

[princesscrownprince]

Tableware clanked against each other as the sound of silence emanated throughout the entire dining room. Nothing but the delight of consumption could be heard. That was until Ruki voiced his thoughts.

Kai perked up at the mention of his name. He halted his actions, eyebrows furrowing at Ruki's praise. What the Hell was this guy on right now? Did he get too intoxicated from Lou's blood? Is he sick?

"Uhh..." Kai could only voice out. Meanwhile, his brother smiled rather cheekily behind a fork, silently snickering at Kai's bewildered reaction to Ruki's praise.

And the Vampire himself wasn't done yet.

While sweat trickled down his face, his leg did a nervous bounce. Kai's eyes remained locked onto Ruki's form, confusion and surprise swirling around in those red eyes of his. Seriously, what's gotten into Ruki? Kai was sure he and the Vampire were not in good terms at all. The younger twin even expressed his urge to kill the other if it weren't for his old brother's joy. So what in the world is Ruki doing praising his cooking and expressing his gratitude? The younger snake nearly felt self-conscious from Ruki's words. It was almost as if he didn't believe he deserve to hear such a thing. But he also couldn't deny the blossoming warmth he felt that someone outside his family appreciated his work. Of course, Kai would never admit this to Ruki.

Flinching at another barrage of compliments and advice, Kai could only let out stutters of noises. He fidgeted on his seat, amusing his older brother with his embarrassment.

Although Kai's pride prevented himself to show his interest and appreciation, the younger snake couldn't help but take mental notes of every word Ruki spouted. They were great advice; directions those cooking tutorials never gave him earlier. He almost felt as though he betrayed himself after mentally thanking his enemy for cooking advice, but the latter knew more than him and he was the closest person Kai could possibly learn some.

The Vibora pursed his lips.

Well... it wouldn't hurt putting aside some of his pride to seek for cooking advice from the other. He just hoped he wouldn't be humiliated if he asked. Kai clenched his fists at the thought. He would surely scratch Ruki's face if the latter even thinks about humiliating him. He would be just like the rest, and Kai would never allow someone like that around Lukas. Call this whole cooking lesson Kai instigated in his mind as a way to see if this Vampire is good enough for his older brother.

Hold on.

Why does this sound as if Kai was about to give the shovel talk to Ruki?

It's not like his older brother and that eyesore are dating.

...

Dating.

A sharp snap suddenly resonated throughout the room, and a fallen head of a fork could be found on Kai's plate. The snake giving off a dark aura as he imagined the two people on the same table as him whimsically dating and running towards the sunset.

It was sickening.

Utterly, and revoltingly sicken—

"Kei... You broke your fork."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Kai was brought back to reality by his brother's voice. He slowly looked down at the snapped and deformed fork he held in hand. It took Kai a moment to progress everything, glancing back and forth from Ruki and the fork, before his panic settled in.

"Uhh..! This is...! Um... I—" Kai stumbled over his words as he let go of the fork as if it poisoned his hand from a mere touch, "I-I'll replace it...! So um... Uhh..." he nervously, and almost fearfully, glanced at Ruki before setting his shaky eyes down on his lap. Lips pursed, slightly trembling, as thoughts began invading his mind. Kai had forgotten he was not at the Kingdom.

He's gonna get mad...! He's gonna yell at me! I didn't mean to ruin breakfast again! Stupid, stupid, stupid...!

A hand landed on his shoulder, eliminating all thoughts as his brother spoke.

"What Kei wanted to say, " Lukas exclaimed with a smile, " is that he's thankful for your advice and would try to follow them the next time he tries cooking, and that he apologizes for ruining your tableware. Since we're going out after this, we can buy a replacement to make up for it. " he gave a firm yet comforting squeeze on Kai's shoulder, causing the younger to look at his older brother, only to be met with a warm smile. Suddenly, his worries and nervousness slowly dissipated.

"Isn't that right? Kei."

"Ah... mhm... you're right. " Kai found his voice, nodding slightly in agreement. He decided to stay silent for a while again.

"Here. You can use mine." Lukas offered his fork after stirring it into his water and drying it with a napkin. "I'm done already. Thank you for breakfast today, Kei. You did great. I'm sure you'll only continue to improve as you keep practicing. " He ruffled the younger's hair, who shyly returned back to eating.

"Now then!" Lukas clapped his hands, pulling away from his brother to focus his attention onto Ruki's previous question, "To answer your question, you're right! We didn't just came here to gallivant around or to have fun, we were given a mission by Sir Karlheinz himself. " he propped his elbows onto the table, lacing his fingers together to settled his chin upon it. " We were given a task to monitor and send daily reports to him about the Adam & Eve project. Initially, it was only me but I requested that I bring Kei along as well, hence we're both here in the human realm as Sir Karlheinz's eyes, however; at some point, he ended our mission when he mentioned that four rather special men would do our task for him instead. " He gave Ruki a knowing smile, " I wonder who those four rather special men are..."

Lukas took a deep breath and leaned back, "After our mission ended, Kei and I decided to stay for a while, as means to get some fresh air, you know? Home is quite suffocating. A vacation sounded like a good idea, but father wasn't too keen about it and thus, occasionally, we'd encounter some troublesome guards trying to take us back home. Although, they only ended up being a good snack to feed on. " He chuckled, " Sometimes, I'd send back a decapitated head with a nice letter attached, but I doubt it ever reached his majesty's"—he said rather mockingly—" ears. Caesar would never allow father to receive such a wretched gift, after all. That loyal buffoon. " he said with distaste.

Caesar Denzel. That Royal regent was an uncompromising one. So stiff and strict. Lukas swore he has never seen that man smile at all. He wore a permanent frown, and never once tolerated any sort of play. He was also the man behind several punishments Kai had to endure, no matter how many times Lukas ordered the man to give Kai's punishments to him instead. The regent wouldn't budge, and it was exactly that, that made Lukas hold some form of detestation towards the black snake. Caesar listened to no one but his King.

As Lukas spoke about their former mission here on the human realm, Kai scoffed and clicked his tongue at the mention of Caesar. He loathed that man with a burning passion. He wouldn't leave Kai alone.

Although the younger craved attention as a kid, Caesar's attention was something he didn't want at all. And Kai wondered if Caesar was the reason why he hated people's attention now, despite seeking it so badly.

Ruki's voice then called out to them once more. The twins blinked their focus towards him, and took in the kind and grateful words the Vampire spilled to them. It was the first time time they've ever heard Ruki's voice take a soft turn, more so, they didn't expect to see a side of this from Ruki. It filled Lukas' chest with warmth, and Kai with flustered embarrassment.

Bearing a genuine smile on his face, Lukas hopped out of his seat and grabbed his brother's arm, ignoring the younger's protests as he dragged him over to Ruki's seat. Without a warning, Lukas draped his arms around the Vampire with a joyful chuckle, urging his brother to do so as well. However, Kai's pride prevented him from doing so, and thus, he settled for a quick pat on the shoulder before turning away to hide his embarassment. Lukas, on the other hand, continued hugging the other, going as far to rub their cheeks together.

"Awe! Ruki~!" Lukas cooed, "We enjoyed our stay here as well! You're a wonderful host! And It was fun getting to know you better! I'm glad we could inspire you! Thank you for teaching us some things, I look forward to learning more from Ruki! We should definitely have sleepovers more often! " he suddenly pecked the other's cheek with a joyous closed eyed smile.

"I'm glad we became best friends!"

Ignore Kai glowering at the back at the intimate affection Lukas displayed.

Shivering from his cold touch, Lukas held back a small whine. The Vampire's fingers caressed and massaged his body with such gentleness and care, that it almost made Lukas lean against its so called warmth for more. Such tender affection... Lukas only yearned for his touch once again.

"Bad influence?" Lukas repeated, wrapping his arms around Ruki's body, " How so? I haven't done anything that would elicit a bad effect on others... Did I? " he pondered, pursing his lips when the other bit down harder than before.

Not that it hurt the snake at all ( he has gotten used to much harsher pain than this ), it would just be rather shameful to reveal he quite liked the sensation the Vampire had brought down upon him. Especially when they're friends, and this entire situation itself was already a lot more intimate than what normal friends would do. It is quite a questionable circumstance, but neither of them seemed to be too bothered about it. After all, this only occured because Ruki, in Lukas' opinion, was simply thirsty for some blood, and Lukas just so happened to be the nearest source. What kind of a friend would he be if he declined his friend's hunger? A terrible one, Lukas believed.

As the Vampire pulled away and agreed to his proposition, Lukas excitedly smiled. He was just about to ask for his turn when Kai came barging in. He mentally pouted in disappointment that he was interrupted, but thanked his brother nonetheless, for he believed if this went on, certain things may occur that Lukas would undoubtedly regret. More so, he wouldn't be able to look at Ruki in the eye anymore. And thus, he thanked his brother.

Silently watching Ruki get up and leave, Lukas couldn't help but avert his eyes from the male when nearly got a front seat view of the Vampire's lower region. A flustered blush crept up his cheeks. He then let out a breath he never knew he held in when the other finally left the bathroom, leaving him and Kai alone.

The latter, having heard of their voices earlier, quickly rushed to Lukas' side and gripped his brother's shoulders firmly in panic and worry.

"Did he do anything to you?! Why were you both in that position?! Why in the world would you bathe with him?! Did he violate—"

" Kei~ You're being noisy~" Lukas cut his brother off with a short chuckle, " He simply got thirsty, and I simply offered. Besides~ I get to drink his blood in return! A quid pro quo! " he gave a closed eyed smile and tilt of his head, " Anyway, no more questions. It's getting cold right now, so be a dear and help me finish bathing, okay? Thank you, Kei~ I love you~."

" Hah?! O-Okay. Give me a moment!"

Quietly and patiently sitting on the bathtub with a carefree smile, Lukas hummed a simple tune as Kai rushed out of the bathroom to gather his brother's necessities. He came running back, and swiftly started bathing his brother properly, as Ruki failed to do so earlier. Their little bathing session only turned into a blood sucking conclave instead, in which Lukas' bite mark slowly began to heal.

As he bathed him, Kai grumbled and cursed out the Vampire's indolent attitude for neglecting his brother's hygiene. He should have at least finished bathing him before he left, but then again, Kai doesn't think he could bear the sight of Ruki's hands all over his brother's body. Such limbs don't deserve to touch his brother's pale and inked skin. Especially not with those dirty fangs of his! Just the mere thought of it and the visual image of the action, threw fuel into Kai's anger, yet he kept his actions gentle for he was handling his brother's body. He wouldn't dare be too rough with him, or elicit a sound of pain. Not now, not ever again.

Soon enough, he dried and dressed Lukas is a black dress, paired with high heeled boots as he planned to take a bath few minutes after their breakfast. He would've joined his brother's bath, but he could never allow himself to submerge his body into the eyesore's bathwater, even if Lukas was in there. There was no way in Hell, Kai would ever commit himself to do such a thing. He rather get shit talked about his cooking skills than dirty himself with Ruki's bathwater.

Moving on, the twins arrived at the dining room. There, the table was set; beautifully arranged and neatly prepared. Napkin upon a plate; a knife, teaspoon, and a spoon on the right; a fork on the left; and lastly, a water glass and a wine glass settled on the upper right. It was an informal table setting, but they were simply having breakfast with a simply served meal.

Speaking of their meal, Kai's dish was surprisingly edible enough to consume. The eggs were sunny side ups with a runny yolk; some were salty, some were not, and some were just right. It was as if you had to play Russian roulette with the eggs. The bacon, however, were cooked rather well. A little burnt and crispy, but good enough to ingest. The rice was made with a rice cooker, so Kai had no room to mess it up. For drinks, they simply had water, and another glass of dark red liquid. However, it was only served to the twins, as Kai was unsure if Ruki would like the way he and Lukas devour blood. Albeit they would to take it from their prey fresh and warm, center bought blood was just as good as the former. They don't particularly have a specific taste for blood like Vampires, for they mainly prey on the meat itself. And thus, a glass of center bought blood was not served to Ruki. Although, the Vampire seemed to had his fill in ichor already. That memory only ticked Kai off even more.

"Breakfast is served or whatever. Just eat and don't say shit. I tried, alright? " Kai huffed as he pulled a chair for Lukas before settling on the seat next to him.

"Thank you for the food, Kei!" Lukas chirped with an excited smile. He was overjoyed to see Kai picking up a new hobby. Finally, his younger brother would be able to do something productive instead of lounging around listening to music and sleeping. Not that Lukas had any problems with it, he just hoped that his brother would find some color and fun in his life.

Avoiding the eggs, as it was cooked mainly for Ruki, the twins dove straight towards the bacon, relishing in the taste with a delighted hum. Although it wasn't comparable to Ruki's cooking skills, Lukas enjoyed the dish nonetheless. His cute younger brother went through the trouble making them a meal, after all. It's only right that he appreciate it with a smile.

"These taste good, Kei! You did wonderful for your first time!"

" H-Huh? Oh.. um... " Kai shyly bit into his food as he averted his gaze from his jolly brother, "Thank you... I guess..." he tried to stop a smile from forming, but it was clear on his face that he was incredibly happy from his brother's praise. You could almost see ears and a tail popping out of his form and wagging in glee. This sudden personality switch was certainly something.

“It certainly smells more delightful than the other attempts. You did well, Kai.” Now that they were all gathered at the dining table, Ruki praised the younger twin’s cooking efforts with a sincere smile. Although, breakfast still seemed like a sorry joke in comparison to Lukas’s sweet blood. He didn’t want to instigate needless quarrel, so the Vampire decided not to speak any further on the snake’s flavor for now. Especially not in front of Kai who seemed to fume at the very idea of his fangs desecrating his older brother’s flesh.

As they ate breakfast, Ruki couldn’t help but occasionally glance up at Lukas from his plate of eggs and bacon. The Vibora’s lack of disgust or contempt with everything that unfolded during the sleepover, especially all the bloodsucking, had puzzled him beyond belief. Anyone, human or not, would despise having fangs pierce through their skin without any say, but not Lukas. Instead, he simply wished to exchange their life essence.

To prevent himself from getting lost in those thoughts, Ruki focused on the meal before him.

The first sunny-side-up egg, luckily enough, had been just right. Not too salty, yet still flourishing with flavor. It impressed the inner chef in Ruki.

“Mm, not bad. Not bad at all. Kai, I’m grateful you decided to cook breakfast for us. With enough practice I’m sure you’ll turn out to be a fine cook,” he assured the younger twin. Surely Lukas seemed to agree as well as he gave an appreciative smile. “Eating with you both is surprisingly pleasant.”

Unfortunately, the same praises could not be said for the next egg. Overly saturated with salt, so much so that it was as if he took a gulp of the Atlantic Ocean itself. Suppressing a grimace, Ruki chewed the food quickly to prevent the salty taste from lingering any longer than it should’ve. In contrast, the next bite had seemingly no flavor or seasoning at all. Truly an arbitrary selection of eggs, ranging from bland to loaded with salt, but it still brought a slight smirk to Ruki’s face. A cackle nearly slipped out at how some of it tasted delicious while other eggs had much room for improvement.

“It’s evident you tried your best with this. Next time you cook eggs though, you’ll need a lesson on proper seasoning. It helps to add salt in small increments and then taste it as you go until the final product suits your liking,” he advised. “Not just the amount too. It’s also important to consider when you season the eggs. Did you salt them before, during, or after? If you pre-salt them, some or all of the salt dissolves in the water that is in the eggs and is dispersed over the surface while they cook.”

Now he began going on a whole tangent.

“When you salt your eggs after cooking, crystals of salt remain on the egg and, when these crystals come into contact with your tongue, they produce a brighter salty taste. Basically, the way your tongue registers saltiness depends on concentration, not just amount. If you ask me, I prefer to add it afterwards. Of course, this can apply to certain meats as well, not just eggs.” He paused for a bit before continuing. “Still though, it’s a great meal for someone who, in theory, shouldn’t know anything about preparing human food.”

After eating most of the eggs, Ruki moved onto the bacon. It tasted more promising and consistent than the former. He could only internally criticize Kai’s tendency to leave food on high heat given how it tasted slightly burnt, but nevertheless, it satisfied his hunger. Or at least, what little hunger a Vampire could have if not for blood.

The twins seemed content with breakfast; Kai in particular glowed with each compliment he received from Lukas, much to Ruki’s amusement. It was almost like he wasn’t the same brother who kicked down the bathroom door. Almost.

However, the whole time his gaze mostly focused on Lukas in between chewing and drinking the water that paled in comparison to the latter’s delectable blood. A faint blush threatened to appear again just from remembering how flustered and adorable the older twin looked in the bathtub, having his blood sucked and his body caressed.

Lukas truly influenced Ruki in ways he didn’t want to admit, hence his earlier words in the bathtub. Now he sought unwarranted physical contact with the other much like their first few interactions. Oh, how the tables have turned. Who would’ve guessed a tap on the chest could escalate to bathing together?

Intimacy aside, it dawned on him that their sleepover was soon approaching its end. Endless questions and thoughts flooded the Vampire’s mind, albeit they still had the rest of the morning and afternoon together.

“Say, Lukas. Kai. What exactly brings you two here in the human realm? I know you’re not on good terms with your parents by any means, but wouldn’t the Vibora royal guard pursue you sooner or later? Surely you both didn’t come here out of mere curiosity or to fulfill your vacation needs.”

Suddenly he remembered all those horrible stories Lukas shared about his life in the kingdom. It made sense why anyone in such a position would want to escape, but he could tell there was more to it than seeking a getaway from such cruel punishment. Kai also clearly suffered negligence at the hands of Zweig and Helene, being written off as ‘insignificant’ to the point where the twins weren’t even permitted to spend time together in their early lives.

With that in mind, bickering over impromptu bathing sessions or enjoying a nice homemade breakfast together undoubtedly offered a beacon of light amidst the darkness that was the Alischer bloodline.

And slowly Ruki found himself wanting to show them more of his favorite pastimes if it meant providing them a safe haven.

“Look. I’ll only say this once, so don’t make me repeat myself. Having you spend the night here was oddly… enjoyable. Ever since you both slithered into my life, I’ve learned a lot about the Vibora clan and what they specialize in. Furthermore, I can see now that the bond you two share is special. Not just because you are twins, but because you genuinely care for one another despite your hardships. It inspires me to stay in my own brothers’ good graces and be the eldest brother they deserve.”

For once, he looked at the twins with a softened expression.

“I’m grateful to you both.”

[nobodiesheartlessshitblog45]

Cryptic Hunting With Robert: Part 2

Luka: HELP!!!! ( running through the dark woods) SOMEONE, HELP ME!!! ROBERT!!! ROBERT---- (Is face to face the a pare of blood red eyes) ...?! (A black claw like hand reaches for him)

A voice: Wake up! WAKE UP!!!

Luka: (sits up, and feels a pare of arms around)

Robert: It's okay, Luka. I got you. I got you...

Luka: ... (burys his face into Robert's shoulder, and starts to cry)

Robert: (holds him tighter, rubbing the back of his head)

They sat there for a long time, hugging each.

Robert: C'mon, I made dinner.

Luka: D-Dinner? How long was I sleeping.

Robert: Pretty all day. C'mon, you need to eat.

Luka: (slowly gets up, but Robert walks over and take hand pulls his arm over shoulder and puts his hand around Luka weast) Robert, I can walk on my own.

Robert: I'm taking any chance.

Luka: (chuckles) You know can carry my down down stairs if you wanna. I wouldn't mind.

Robert: Heh, not on life, sleeping beauty. (walks him into the kitchen and beautiful home cook pasta on the dinnering room table)

Luka: Wow. Smells amazing.

Robert : (put out a chair, and sits Luka down and fixs him a plate of pasta) Here. Make sure you eat this all.

Luka: Thank you. (Picks uphis fork and starts eatting) Holy shit~!! Robert this wonderful. I didn't know you cook so well.

Robert: (smiles) My pappy taught me. What you think I lived off whiskey and junk food.

Luka: (nods) Pretty much. And pineapple pizza.

Robert: Well, Luka, I'll have you know, I'm a fuckin hell of a cook. I cook for Mary and Damien all the time. And sometimes cook for the dads and their families sometime.

Luka: (smiles) Maybe culinary school was more of your calling then film school.

Robert: Hehehe. Yeah, maybe.

Luka: (yawns) I go for a coffee.

Robert: No. Drink water. Caffeine only will make you more anxious. Now eat up.

Luka: Yes, mom. (starts eating)

(After they eating, Luka stands to pick up the dishes)

Robert: Luka. (stands up) Go relax. I got this.

Luka: No, I'm good. Plus you cook, I do the dishes.

Robert: (grabs his shoulder) No. I do the dishes. You need to rest up. (pushes him out the kitchen and closes the door)

Luka: You sure?

Robert: (kisses his forehead, smiles sweetly) Damn sure. Now please relax.

Luka: walks into the living room Thinking) I feel bad for making him worry about me. (sits down on the couch) What the hell attacked me last night? It was not a bear, or coyote. ... Could have been the Dover Ghost... Some kind of monster!? (place his hands over his head) N-No. Don't be ridiculous. They don't exist. They don't. Ghost and monsters are not real. They are not real. It... ... It was just my imagination! That's it. Monsters aren't real.

The door bell rings.

Luka: (stands up, and walks over the door, and opens it) Hello?

Joseph: ... ... (pulls Luka into a hug) Thank god... You're okay.

Luka: H-Hey. Let go. (pulls Joseph away, and looks around) What are you doing here!?

Joseph: I-I heard you got hurt while hunting with Robert, Luka I-I wanted to see if you okay!?

Luka: I-I'm fine. Okay? Everything is fine. (tries to close the door, but Joseph barges in) S-Seriously!? You need to live now. Robert's going to be piss.

Joseph: I know I'm the last person you want to see right. But I wanted to see if you were alright. (notices Luka left hand banded up) Oh, my god. (grabs him) What happened out there!? Does your hand hurt!?

Luka: I-It's fine. Joseph, I... I appreciate your concern. But Robert's in the next room and---

Robert: (walks out) Babe, who's at the--... ... (rans over to Joseph and pins him to the all)

Joseph: GAAGH!? (looks him)

Robert: (glares at him) GIVE ME A REASON WHY I SHOULD'T BEAT YOUR SORRY ASS???

Luka: R-ROBERT!? ROBERT, STOP!!! JUST FUCKING!!! (pulls Robert off Joseph) Just... Stop.

Robert: (looks at him)

Joseph: (rubbing his neck)

Luka: Joseph. Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. Here.

Joseph: ... ... ... ... (walks out the door, slamming it behind him)

Robert: (walks over the door and luck the door, breathing heavily) Why... did you let him!?

Luka: Why try to choke him!? Robert, has gone into you!? You could've hurt Joseph!!

Robert: AFTER WHAT HE DID!? You still somehow care about him!?

Luka: I don't like him, but I don't want see him get hurt! Jesus Christ, I know you hate Joseph, but what did was Way too far, Robert. I cannot believe you!

Robert: ... ... ... (tries to reach, but Luka ends walking up stairs slamming the bedroom) ... ... F-FUCK!!! (punches the wall)