#ANYWAYS TODAY IN MINOR FIC COMPLAINTS LMAO

[songofstrawhats]

Whenever fics specifically mention Nami or Sanji buying citrus at port I'm just like.....

That's why they have the tangerine trees???? Tangerines are very much citrus!! They will keep you from getting scurvy!! Like I appreciate the realism but the tangerine trees are very much right there!!!

[kemakoshume]

「𝕠𝕓𝕖𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕤」 (bokuto x f!reader)᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘᠃ a/n; i wrote this to procrastinate from writing my other chaptered fics :'D i get overwhelmed with how much i wanna add to ch fics so i needed a crack fic break. enjoy! xox // network tag(s): @anime-central <3 @hanayanetwork <3 @hqintheclub warnings; actually more suggestive than nsfw i guess but minors DNI anyway. crack, frats/sororities, mentions of sex but no like big sex scene (imma be honest with y'all... i rly didn't feel like writing one just for the sake of having it in here lmao sry), choking... gone wrong (but no one dies). time skip spoilers (names of new members and teams and stuff) — sakuatsu & kagehina are in this [3.4k words] ~

There were originally three rules in the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house:

Uphold the fraternity standards & bylaws* and hold your brothers accountable to these standards.

Honor the assigned quiet hours, chore wheels, & don’t enter people’s private spaces without asking. In summary: keep your shit clean and don’t be a dick.

A. School — stay at least part-time in your credit hours, keep up with whatever PhysEd major you’re taking, and keep your GPA above a 3.0; if you need any help studying please for the love of god speak up. B. Sports — Stay active in a team partnered with the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (obviously MSBY—if you made it this year—go Jackals), or an accredited team in your sport of choice.

*Except for the bylaws about drinking. Fuck that noise. We’re all adults & we’re getting smashed.

Then, due to some extraneous circumstances, the executives had to add two more:

*** Per our landlord (yes she included the bold and all caps): ��KEEP THE FUCKING TO A MINIMUM.” Apparently, our lovely Sigma Chi neighbors can hear us & we’re disrupting their quiet hours, so make it hard for us to know that you’re doing it if you’re doing it. Also, not a house rule just a moral reminder: consent is key gentlemen.

Please refrain from breaking the beds and/or bed frames (or shower doors, Atsumu). They’re expensive.

*Partners are still allowed, just be quieter if you can help it.

You and your boyfriend have some issues navigating the new additions.

Bokuto has been a member of Sigma Phi for about a year now. He’s been your boyfriend for about six months. Six long months that proceeded three months of “courting,” as your sorority house mom and your sorority president, Alisa, had put it—all of which culminated in lots and lots of raucous, euphoric, occasionally ethically questionable, noise-complaint inducing sex.

It was officially time for you, amongst some others, to pay the piper for that.

“Alright guys, thank you all for coming down. I asked both you and your partners here today to go over some changes to the house rules; since some of them also involve you ladies, and gentlemen—hello Kageyama, congrats on your team’s win last Friday—it seems right to have you all here for this at once. Plus, you’re normally here anyway so why not.” Meian walks to the side of the couch, changing the slide on the projector screen illuminating the blank white wall of the living room to the ‘Da Rules’ section.

“So, as you can see, we have two new rules on top of the old ones. Read them yourself—let me know if there are any questions after you do.”

You looked up at the screen, scanning your eyes over the words on the slide carefully to make sure you understood exactly what the fraternity president was saying via the changes. Bokuto sat next to you, his fingers slotted into yours. All of the other members of his fraternity, both single and non, gathered around you scrambled and laid across the living room furniture. Those that weren’t single had their partners cozied up to their sides as well, looking much like you and your own boyfriend did.

A few faces around you furrowed, including yours and Bokuto’s, as everyone finished reading the slide in full.

“Wait… so we can’t have sex here anymore?” Atsumu speaks up, cuddled underneath Sakusa’s arm. “I thought that was only a stupid rule for the sorority houses, just like that sexist “no booze for them but it’s okay for us” bullshit. When did this happen?”

His question is followed by a wave of voices all filling the space asking similar questions. With the better part of forty-odd people in the room, it’s almost deafening for a moment. “Oh my god, shut up,” Meian says, his temperate voice loud even without needing to yell. He began rubbing roughly at his temples. “Did none of you read the asterisk for the sex part? It literally says right here that ‘Partners are still allowed, just be quieter if you can help it.’ Okay?” the leader says, looking around the room for objections. All he sees is the dejected look of newly minted adults back.

You look up at Bokuto, batting your lashes softly in very visible disappointment. It wasn’t like you needed to be loud, you just couldn’t help it. He fucked you too good to not make noise; sure, there were ways to mitigate it, but having the option to be vocal for him all but taken away from you, solely because your other sorority sisters—give or take a few—were fucking lame, was not it.

“I’ll go over there and give my dear sisters a fat kiss with my knuckles,” you speak up, gritting your teeth. “Think that would solve their issues?”

The few girls in the room that you know from your own greek life nod, mischief painted on their faces just like it was on yours.

Meian sighs, “Look, we have to be respectful of our neighbors. Some of which house quite a few of you lovely ladies sitting here right now, so if you have an issue with the noise complaints, plural, then take it up with your Sigma Chi sisters, sans violence, and your house mom. Have fun with that argument when she makes you take it up with your executive board. I’d love to see how hard you push back on this if it comes to that.”

Atsumu groaned, throwing his head back against the couch with his hands rubbing at his eyes, rocking back into an upright position with his elbows on his knees.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” he says, talking more so out loud and to the rest of you than at the president. “We pay almost two-grand a year, each, to be in this frat and live in this house, not even including the day-to-day money stuff—and you’re telling me I can’t fuck my boyfriend as loud as I want behind my own closed doors? Please.”

“Ha,” Inunaki scoffs, chuckling to himself, “nice to finally get confirmation that Ku is the receiver there. Never would’ve guessed. You both sound like you’re taking it with how loud you are Tsumu.”

The twin scowls at the libero, his fingers twitching to flick the upperclassman in the center of his forehead. He relents, knowing that the older man could beat his ass if he tried. His years of training by fighting his brother would amount to nothing.

Bokuto clears his throat, sitting up straighter in his seat to address the chapter president. “So, not to be a dick about it but, uh, Atsumu has a point. We do pay to be here. We all follow the chapter rules, and besides, it’s not our fault the Chi girls—well, the other Sigma Chi girls, can’t hang. We don’t bitch about it when they have trivia night over there and scream shit about physics and mammals or whatever all night. Why do they get to tell us what to do in the privacy of our bedrooms?”

You nod along, jutting out your chin indignantly. You had plenty of love for your sorority and your sisters, but you were stifled enough within the insanely strict, explicitly sexist, utterly infuriating greek life bylaws that only seemed to affect the sororities, but not the fraternities somehow (even though they—other frats, not your boyfriend’s—were the ones that tended to be the cause of national news level scandals). Making the trek across the lawn to shack up in Bokuto’s bedroom was a whole different sea of freedom and opportunity that you just weren’t afforded as a sorer.

Paying money to be parented by a greek life system that didn’t understand that women could handle themselves with freedom, and to now have your freedoms oppressed even further in a house your boyfriend paid to keep running… man, fuck that. You joined greek life for the parties, the networking opportunities, and the community. You didn’t join for this shit.

Meian sighs, turning off the projector and flipping on the lights. He comes around the couch to sit on the arm, looking at all of you scattered around the large room. “Well, that’s the issue. The doors are closed, but the windows aren’t. Also, the walls are shit, the pipes carry noise outside, and all of you sound like you’re auditioning for America’s Next Top Pornstar during the weekends, and during the week in between practices—hello, again, Kageyama.”

The man shakes his head, sinking into his seat where Hinata is wrapped around him like a koala, grumbling something under his breath.

“Look, point-blank, keep the noise to a minimum, at least during the week. This isn’t just coming from me, we had a whole exec board meeting over this, and the landlord can and will kick us out of here if there are too many noise complaints filed on us with the city. Do you wanna go back to living in dorm rooms? Because I don’t. So, suck it up,” he says, a sense of finality in his tone. “You’re all dismissed.”

With that, the president leaves—stalking his way out of the backdoor and down the stone-step pathway out to the small man-made lake behind the fraternity house.

You all look around at each other in the room, small groans and whines coming from almost everyone in the space; well, those with dedicated partners at least.

“Well, sucks to be you guys,” Adriah said, lifting himself off of the floor. “Looks like there is more than one benefit to fucking older women that have their shit together already. See ya!”

He left as well, along with most of all the other single members of the frat. The rest of you loitered around the living room, talking and bitching about things amongst yourselves.

“I wonder if this whole thing will be on a recycle strike system like the other behavior-based rules,” Bokuto said, pulling you into his lap as you moved to sit on the floor. “Like… you can fuck up three times before getting your shit fucked but the strikes refresh every ninety days or whatever.”

A few of the boys hummed, some moving around the room picking up little trash things off the floor, while a few others handed beers around to those who wanted one.

“It might be,” Hinata said, his hair squashed by the weight of Kageyama’s chin resting on the crown of his head. “But, Meian probably won’t clarify until one of us breaks the rule so we can’t try to abuse the strikes beforehand. Fuck, he’s an evil genius.”

Inunaki chuckles, making his way across the room to go out the back exit door. “I don’t see why you’re all already trying to skirt around this one rule so hard. The board didn’t make this decision lightly; we know you’re all adults and deserve to have fun, but you did sign on and agree to rule changes, and at the end of the day this wasn’t really up to any of the admin. Just experiment with fuckin’ ball gags and embrace the wondrous world of asphyxiation or something if you really can’t keep it down—just, be careful! Be safe, don’t die.” The treasurer opened the door, only getting halfway out before he turned around again. “Just saying, you don’t have to alert the whole neighborhood that you’re fucking to prove to each other that it’s good! I promise.”

With that, he leaves, and you slump against Bokuto’s chest. Twiddling your thumbs together as you let your throats roam; pondering the older man’s words as you sit in their wake.

Choking. You’d never done that. What better time to try it?

“Hey Bo,” you whisper, turning in your boyfriend’s lap to whisper in his ear, “I think Shion might be on to something. Wanna go to your room for a little bit before dinner? Try some things out? Maybe… Youtube some stuff, watch some visual examples?”

His eyes darken to a medallion gold, looking down at you. He slides his hand along your jaw, gripping your face lightly to pull you into a mildly heated kiss. Through the slight daze of being kissed breathlessly by your partner, you do manage to note the sound of other kisses being shared in the room.

Looks like you’re all on the same page.

Bokuto breaks the kiss, his hand already underneath your shirt, caressing the smooth skin of your soft tummy. “Hey guys, we’re gonna—” he said, stopping in his verbal tracks as he looked over to see nearly every couple left in the room making their way off to separate corners of the house—some even opting to go outside. The quickly approaching darkness of early-winter nightfall and the glorious lack of summer bugs made it easy to have some fun outdoors as well.

Looks like you all were really on the same page.

Bokuto stood the two of you up, grabbing your hand to lead you up the side staircase to his upper floor bedroom. The only two left in the room after you’d gone were Atsumu and Sakusa, holding each other in their arms as they kissed and cuddled around the kitchen.

You pretended not to see Atsumu dipping down to balance on his heels in front of his boyfriend as you ascended the stairs.

So, Youtube does in fact not have all the answers. Porn, even less so.

A little protip in case you needed confirmation on this: having your boyfriend—your boyfriend with no pro-dom experience—choke you to keep you quiet during sex… not a great idea. Even with both written and visual examples under your belt on how to do the thing, experimenting with heavier dominant aspects of sex is always best taught slowly, and by a professional.

You did not do things slowly or watch anything that came from a professional.

You can hear your boyfriend panicking, running next door into Hinata’s room with insane urgency. Though, despite how his panic may have made things seem, you were actually fine. You felt the slightest soreness blooming around your neck— where his hands had just been—and from his yelling pre-bolting out of the room you could tell your lips had the slightest tinge of blue developing on them, but you were actually breathing completely fine; the oxygen just needed a moment to fully flood back into your brain and up through to the surface of your skin.

Five more minutes of that and then maybe things would be a different story. Though Bokuto, understandably, thought he had accidentally murdered you, despite seeing your eyes open and responsive.

“Help! She… I think she’s hurt, and—fuck, less important detail but I’m gonna go to fucking jail!”

You chuckle as you hear him running door to door, asking for someone, anyone of his roommates to come help, and to call the emergency services line. You feel the subspace—the little elevation of epinephrine, endorphins, and enkephalins in your brain—beginning to alleviate itself a bit as you manage to sit up in bed, draping a blanket across your body to cover up, sipping at the water he had sitting on his bedside table when he launches himself back into his bedroom, tears running down his incredibly handsome, perfectly himbo-ish, face.

“Baby!” he yells, dropping to his knees and wrapping his arms around your waist. His head is laid against your boobs, sobbing uncontrollably into your chest.

“Honey,” you say back, giggling as he continues with his tears. “Why are you crying?”

He sobs harder at your question, squeezing you just a bit tighter. Before he can answer, a few of his roommates come barreling into the room with an emergency worker in tow as they practically push the man into the bedroom. You can hear the sounds of basically everyone in the house running around trying to be of some assistance in the background.

“Hi,” the paramedic says, his voice soft and sweet, “My name’s Kenjiro. I’m just gonna take a look at you really quickly if that’s okay. Please remove the grown man from your front side and take off your bracelet for me please.”

Bokuto very reluctantly moves out of the way, sitting at the end of the bed by your feet as the healthcare professional starts to measure your vitals.

“So, can you tell me what happened in your own words,” he asks you, his eyes noticeably looking above your head to the slight indents forming in the wall from the (now cracked) headboard smacking against it—despite the little blocks you’d put in place to keep it from doing that.

You run through the tale of the evening, your cheeks and chest blooming with heat as you notice the small group of boys still standing outside of the room—some just standing ideally around while some are on the phone, and a few speak to the other paramedic that had come by as backup.

“I’m fine, honestly!” you say, your voice lower than normal from the strain you’d allowed your boyfriend to put on it. “We just tried something new and it didn’t exactly go as planned.”

“Something, meaning asphyxiation?” the paramedic asks, his face looking subtly smug. He places a blood pressure cuff on your arm, starting up the device as he puts a little clamp on the tip of your finger.

“Yes, that. I got a little… out of it, and didn’t tell him to stop when I got dizzy and I guess I was still making noise so he didn’t notice, and… yeah. Totally consensual, if that’s what you’re worried about. We’re just stupid and got a little carried away.”

The man chuckles, looking over at your boyfriend who’s three shades paler than he normally would be and looking like the human personification of anxiety.

“Well, that’s good. I don’t see anything that would allude to any unsavory actions. Nothing’s broken, you’re able to speak to me just fine, and your levels are back up. So, I think that’s all from me. Just be more careful next time. Maybe shelve the kinky stuff until you’ve researched it more.”

You slump against the pillows nestled behind your back in Bokuto’s bed as the healthcare team leaves, leaving only you and Bokuto—and all of his frat brothers—in the home.

“So, she’s fine?” Hinata quips, shirtless with messy hair that presumably meant you’d interrupted their fun. Atsumu comes up the stairs leading to your room two at a time, Sakusa close behind as he asks much of the same.

Bokuto explains for you that things are fine, and you both apologize for making everyone worry.

“Well, good. Meian and Inunaki both do know about this now though, so just FYI… I’d expect a little meeting about this later.”

You both nod, sighing and sinking into the sheets together again as the men all scatter back to their own little corners of the house, leaving you two to the silence of his room.

“Maybe we should stick to the ball gag idea next time,” you say, mischief clear in your eyes as you cuddle your boyfriend.

He chuckles, pulling you onto his chest to kiss every part of your face. “Not a chance in hell on that one.”

So, fast forward two days, and a lot of security camera footage review, later—the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house has three more new rules.

6. From now on, you break it, you buy it. No more sponsor money will be allocated towards sex-related property damage.

7. The rooms will be soundproofed on Saturday. Obviously having sex quietly & not causing bodily injury is too hard for you for some reason, so we’re making it easier on you. Once the soundproofing is done, no more sex outside of your soundproofed rooms; not in the bathrooms, not in the backyard, not in the kitchen… you gross little heathens. Also, a reminder: close your windows and the blinds before you do it. The elders that walk the campus for exercise can see you & they have complained.

8. No more almost murder in the frat house. My heart can’t take this.

And all any of you could say in return was, "yeah, we deserved this.”

yaaay that was that. a little mental break from working on my chaptered fics bc they're all becoming their own little beasts. i crossposted this on ao3 — bookmark it if you'd like to have it in case something ever happens to this blog (god forbid). tyty for reading xox

[missblanchette]

Look, Papa, No Hands [1/1]

Series: Joker Game

Characters: Hatano, Amari, Emma, Tazaki; Some minor Amari/Tazaki, but it’s not a huge focus

Rating: PG (for Hatano’s language lol)

Summary: What better revenge is there than to teach another man's child how to ride a bike? (or: Hatano teaches Emma how to ride a bike. Amari is not happy.)

Words: 2517

Notes: Part of my Modern AU (btw this is @dollofdeath‘s new writing blog, hello~); Inspired by this tweet; Misleading title is misleading bc there’s no actual bike riding lmao but anyways, this is just a dumb thing I wrote for fun haha some things to note (which will make sense in a few lol), I hc Hatano as a gamer, Nintendo Switches are hard to find and expensive since there’s not so much produced:’) and ah, if you’ve read my previous modern AUs, you’ll have noticed that AmaTaza aren’t established yet but in this fic, they are -- I’m just jumping around in the timeline a bit hehe

You can read this on AO3! Thank you guys for reading and I hope you enjoy~! (ˊᗜˋ)

Hatano wouldn't usually call himself as "a dick." Sure, there are times where he's an asshole, but it's because the other person deserves it. Like whenever Jitsui's sadism becomes too overwhelming or Miyoshi's ego gets to his head or the fact that Kaminaga exists in general. He's not a dick for no reason -- it's just to put others in their place.

And today he feels like being a dick.

He clearly remembers how Amari did him wrong last week -- not that Amari's aware of the severity of the situation. After spending the entire afternoon in Akihabara trying to find a freaking Nintendo Switch (which he did, all at the cost of a whooping 45,500 yen and his will to live), Hatano ran into Amari who'd invited him to dinner and who was he to deny free food? But being the dumbass that he was, he'd forgotten the Switch at Amari's place and didn't notice until well after he got home..

"Oh, that...?" Amari said, the moment Hatano called and asked him about it. With just those two, simple words, Hatano knew it wasn't gonna end well. "I didn't realize it was yours and let Emma play with it."

So far, so good. Hatano even felt a little proud that Emma had taken an interest in gaming. But Amari just had to continue speaking.

"Then, uh, Frate ate it --" Oh shit. "-- and it broke."

Right there and then, Hatano's soul left his body. He'd been saving up for weeks to buy a Switch, even refusing Jitsui's offer to split the cost because he wanted to buy everything with his own money. That was 45,500 yen down the drain. Not to mention that dipshit Odagiri's probably gonna show off his Switch next time they hang out. Fuckin'. God dammit.

"I'm really sorry!" Amari said but Hatano had already grown numb. "I'll pay you back!"

Oh, he'll pay all right.

Amari's a nice guy, don't get him wrong; he's always been there for him and has helped him through tough times. In fact, if he's drunk enough, he may even admit to seeing him as an older brother. But that doesn't change the fact that he can be an airhead and Hatano is petty as hell.

So when Amari asks him to watch Emma, he doesn't hesitate. It takes some convincing to Jitsui to let her stay on such short notice, but Jitsui's happy to comply once he lets him on in the plan. After Emma's dropped off, Hatano waits fifteen minutes to make sure Amari's gone. Then, he turns to her.

"Hey, Emma."

"Yes, Uncle Hatano?"

"Ya wanna learn how to ride a bike?"

The sparkle in her big, blue eyes is all the answer he needs.

After what happened last week, Amari's had some hesitations leaving Emma with Hatano for the day. He thought for sure Hatano would just shoot him down, but surprisingly, Hatano accepts without any complaints. Though, Amari's not really in a position to question it since he's pressed for time. Not that he doubts Hatano (though, Jitsui's another story), but he's glad to see Emma all in one piece when he comes to pick her up. Hatano even sends them off with a smile, a sight he doesn't see too often.

"Papa, Papa! Guess what?" Emma asks as they take the elevator down. She bounces excitedly in his arms and despite how tired he feels, Amari can't help but share her enthusiasm.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Guess!"

"Hm, okay. You went to the aquarium and saw the dolphins today."

"Nope~ Guess again."

"No? Then did Uncle Jitsui let you help with his manga?"

"Nuh-uh. One more try."

"Okay then... you and Uncle Hatano made flour bombs!"

"No~" Emma giggles. "It's none of that!"

"Well, don't leave me hanging," Amari teases.

"Uncle Hatano taught me how to ride a bike!"

Amari chokes, nearly dropping Emma in the process.

"Are you okay, Papa?"

"J-Just fine, darling." It takes all his strength not to cry right there and then. "I-Is that so? How did it go?"

Emma wastes no time explaining the bike riding lesson and chatters on about how fun it was and how fast she went and how cool it was to finally be on a big girl bike, but it all goes into one ear and out the other as they make their way back to the car.

For some time now, Emma's been wanting to ride a bike, claiming that she's gotten too old for her tricycle. It's taken a while, but Amari finally ordered the perfect bike for her -- a bright pink one with those colorful tassels on the handles and a cute, little basket in the front. There's even a bell on it, because she says she likes the way they sound.

It was supposed to be a surprise when it comes in later in the week, but... he figures it doesn't mean much now.

Tazaki reserves his mornings for his birdies-and-me time and no one -- not even those closest to him -- is allowed to interrupt it. So when his phone rings, he's already going through possible forms of punishment to whoever's calling. Not even a hint of mercy crosses his mind when he sees "Amari 🐳💞" on the screen.

He answers, ready to reprimand Amari for disturbing him, but a shrill cry cuts him short.

"Uncle Tazakiii!!"

"Emma, dove," he says as calmly as possible. As he hears her hiccuping on the other end, he decides that maybe he'll make one exception. "What's wrong?"

"Papa, h-he won't get up...!"

Grip tightening on his phone, Tazaki's heart drops and his blood runs cold.

"Did something happen?"

"I-I don't know..." She sniffles. "I t-tried waking him up but he won't get outta bed."

By the time she's finished speaking, Tazaki's already put on his shoes and grabbed his keys.

"Don't worry, dove, I'll be right there," he says and wasting not a second, he scrambles out of his apartment. It's times like these that he wishes he had a car, but he's able to make it to Amari's place quickly nonetheless.

As soon as he gets there, Emma clings onto him for dear life. He takes a moment to help her calm down and reassures her that no, Papa isn't dead and yes, Papa will be all right (probably, he thinks, but he doesn't want to start freaking out either). Once she's settled down with Frate to keep her busy, Tazaki steels himself and enters Amari's room.

He finds a giant lump lying on the bed that he can only assume is Amari, but it's still and silent and Tazaki has to remember to take a breath in and a breath out and a breath in and a breath out and -- screw it, he can't possibly concentrate on his breathing exercises right now. With Emma out in the living room, he's allowed to freak out as much as he wants.

"A-Amari!" He rushes to his side and practically throws the covers off, and there's Amari laying face down without any hints of life. Kneeling down next to him, Tazaki takes one of his hands in his and starts shaking him. "Are you okay?"

The seconds tick by with no response from Amari and oh God, Tazaki thinks, how's he going to break this to Emma? She's already lost her birth parents, now she's lost another one and wait, being Amari's boyfriend means the responsibility of taking care of her goes to him. But he's not ready to raise a child by himself and oh no, his boyfriend's dead, how's he supposed to deal with this? He's never had a dead boyfriend before --

"Tazaki...?" Ever so slowly, Amari tilts his head towards him.

"Oh thank God," Tazaki says, cradling Amari's face in his hands. Taking a closer look at him, Amari's eyes are tired and dull and it's so strange seeing him without his usual cheer. "Emma said you wouldn't get out of bed so I thought something bad happened like you were paralyzed or you slipped into a coma or -- o-or --" Tazaki pauses to collect his thoughts. "I just... what happened?"

"Sorry for worrying you," Amari says, giving him a weak smile. "It's just that Hatano..."

He trails off, voice cracking. Tazaki leans in.

"W-What about Hatano?" Oh God, did something happen to Hatano that he's not aware of? He's a reckless guy, so it's not unlikely that he'd get himself into some sort of accident or get involved with the wrong people or --

"He... taught Emma how to ride a bike."

"Oh my God! I can't believe -- wait." Tazaki blinks once. Twice. Three times. Then it really sinks in. "What."

In his head, Tazaki replays the words over again and stares at Amari's sorry state. He opens his mouth to speak, but finds that he can't properly express himself with words. So instead he lets go of Amari, grabs the pillow from underneath his head, and smacks him.

"Ow! Why --"

"That's it?" He hits him again. "Emma was so worried about you and it was all because Hatano taught her how to ride a bike?" And once more for good measure. "What's wrong with you!?"

All the while, Amari sits up, arms raised in a vain attempt to defend himself from Tazaki's onslaught.

"You don't understand!"

"Oh." Tazaki raises an eyebrow. "Really?"

"A child only learns how to ride a bike once; it's an important bonding moment between a father and his child." Amari sniffles. "Hatano took that away from me."

Tazaki grips the pillow, having half the mind to hit him again. Maybe it's because he's not a father himself, but he finds Amari's reaction a little, well, ridiculous. Then again, he's used to ridiculous when it comes to Amari. Regardless, it must mean a lot to him if he's acting like this and that's enough for Tazaki to stop and consider the situation.

"That doesn't mean you can just mope around." He sits down next to him and lightly, hits him with the pillow.  "I know it hurts, but Emma still has a lot of firsts to go through and you'll be there for it."

Amari doesn't respond immediately, but he leans onto Tazaki's side.

"You have a point..."

"And you'll get the opportunity again, won't you?" He coughs, realizing the implication and quickly adds, "Theoretically. Hypothetically. Possibly. You might have more kids."

"But it won't be the same." Amari pouts. "Emma is Emma and those children are those children. It's a different experience."

"Is it really?"

"Of course!" Amari says. "Because each child is unique, so each experience won't be the same. And the chance I had with Emma --" Sniffling, he rubs his eyes. "-- was stolen, and I'll never get it back!"

As Amari plops his head on his lap, Tazaki sighs and runs his hands through Amari's hair. He's definitely gonna have to call Hatano about this.

Tazaki says he's gonna treat Hatano for the day but what Hatano gets instead is a one-on-one with Amari, courtesy of Tazaki himself.

"Emma and I are going out," Tazaki tells them. "You two aren't allowed to leave until you work things out. And don't either of you dare think about leaving because I will know," he says, looking directly at Hatano and Hatano doesn't quite get how Tazaki's able to rework Amari's lock so quickly so that it only opens from the outside, but it's whatever he supposes.  

"We'll be back by evening. You have until then to make up."

And with that, Hatano and Amari are left alone, seated across one another at the table.

Both of them refuse to look at each other -- or more like, Hatano refuses to look at Amari and Amari awkwardly tries to make eye contact -- but Hatano tries not to let the atmosphere get to him, and kicks back in his seat with his hands resting behind his head.

"So," Amari says, breaking the silence.

"So," Hatano repeats.

A beat.

"You taught Emma how to ride a bike."

"I sure as hell did." Hatano smirks as Amari winces. "The kid's a natural."

"I'm sure she is," Amari says. Hatano hears the cracks in his voice. "She's very quick to catch on."

"Unlike a certain someone," Hatano mumbles.

"Look at me, Hatano" The seriousness in Amari's voice catches him off guard and he does just so. He's not used to that disappointed look Amari gives him nor that serious tone he's using -- it's almost like when his own dad's yelling at him, but Hatano reminds himself Amari's not the same guy as his father. "Can you tell me why you did that?"

His words aren't harsh or demanding, but soft and coaxing and it's enough to make Hatano shift in his seat. Okay, maybe he's starting to feel a little bad.

"Because you ruined something of mine."

He could practically hear the ticking of the clock as he waits for Amari to reply. Amari's brows furrow and he tilts his head in that way he does when he's thinking about something.

"Is it about that game thing --"

"Switch."

"-- Switch thing?"

Hatano chews the inside of his cheek.

"Yeah."

"I said I'd pay you back."

"It's not enough!" Hatano slams his hands on the table. "I spent weeks saving up for that, y'know? It took me a while to find one in store too. And I didn't even get to open the box."

Amari holds his gaze for a moment before taking his hands in his. Despite how annoyed he is, Hatano lets him.

"I'm really sorry," he says, not breaking eye contact. "I didn't consider your feelings and I hurt you. I'll do anything to make up for it, I promise."

He heaves a sigh.

"But, you know," Amari continues. "You hurt me too. You also ruined something for me."

Here, Hatano looks away.

"You only have one chance to teach your child how to ride a bike." Amari swallows hard. "And now my chance with Emma is gone."

With that said, silence falls over and Hatano isn't quite sure if the quiet is any better. Hesitantly, he takes a peek at Amari and God, there's that kicked puppy look on his face. How the hell is he supposed to stay mad at that? Sighing, Hatano removes his hands from Amari's and crosses his arms.

"I guess," he starts, "it was a little bit harsh."

"A little bit?"

"Shut up while I'm apologizing."

Amari makes a zipping motion across his lips.

"Maybe I overreacted, but it was really unfair to you." He inhales deeply. "I'm sorry. Like really sorry and..." His mind is a tizzy, trying to think of some way to make up for what he's done. "You can teach my kids to ride a bike."

Slowly, Amari nods.

"All right. That's fair," he says, but then his nose crinkles. "Wait. I thought you didn’t want kids."

A pause.

"You can teach Yoru."

Another pause.

"Okay."

Later that week, Emma hit the town in her swanky, pink bicycle with Yoru at her side. They became internet sensations.