#He even got a head start on the freezing the dumplings to take home bit.

[lavender-linens]

I had a friend over tonight for dinner. We've been planning this for about a month I think. We decided that we would have to get together and make pelmeni, because she is Russian and craves pelmeni. We, of course, decided to bring along the boyfriends. Because why not? Worst that can happen is we need to make them sit on special chairs at the end of the kitchen so that they don't get underfoot. My kitchen is so narrow it is functionally a hallway, and 2 people is pushing the capacity quite a lot.

So my friend arrives. I am, of course, very excited to see her. And we start making things. We start making the filling first. 30 cracks of black pepper and some salt to the meat (half pork, half beef, idk, a poundish each?). I add some allspice for fun. I think my allspice is too old to actually taste like anything. We only stop to think after mixing the meat and seasonings that we need to add the onion.

So I just assign onion-chopping and cooking to the Boyfriend, who is excellent at chopping onions and carefully browning them because he hates big chucks of onion, especially if it's raw. I ask my friend what her mom's recipe for the filling is, and she says "that's it, it's basically just meat and onion." We aren't sure about cooking the onion, we do it anyways. I let her boyfriend inspect my kimchi while Onion Caramelization takes place.

I ask my friend what her mom's dough recipe is. My friend is not going anywhere near making the dough tonight, since she doesn't want to mess it up. No matter, I'm the dough grand master. I am given "my mom says 1 egg and ice water. Oh, and put salt in the water." So I just make dough until I think I have enough. I do not, but we do not know this at the time. The dough is kneaded, we let it rest, and onward to rolling and filling.

We bought a plastic tablecloth to go over the dining room table, and now it's show time! Filling the pelmeni! I, of course, am not too bad at this. Yes, I have only done this once before in my life, but I am the dough master. Russian friend's boyfriend is surprisingly good at the dumpling filling part. This makes sense, he makes dumplings with his Korean grandmother occasionally. We ran out of dough, so I put him to work making new dough. And I get him to knead it for me, mwahahaha!

Sometime before we decide that we need a second batch of dough, we eat the pelmeni. A quick flurry of activity to clean and clear my coffee table into a dining table cause the real table has pelmeni bits on it. I steal the couch cushions and put them on the floor. Bam. Comfy seating. We get to eating. The pelmeni are delicious, especially with the small bit of butter each plate was topped with. There is a variety of seasonings and a simple soy sauce-vinegar dipping sauce. There is sour cream and dried dill. The pelmeni are delicious of course, no raw onion to be found.

I remembered the kimchi, and I get some out for my friend's boyfriend. It's amazing with the pelmeni, although my poor Russian friend has no spice tolerance and almost dies. My Boyfriend dislikes the smell and finds it very unpleasant. That doesn't matter, we're adding it to the next batch of dumplings anyways. I can't wait to try them. Oh and we made jam and fruit dumplings, that was nice.

We had a nice silver needle afterwards (lovely thick mouthfeel and violet candy notes) and plotted tea shop raids and Russian Friend's abduction after a ballroom dance competition.

[voiceless-terror]

Perchance to Dream

@aspecarchivesweek Day Three: Drinks

Characters: Jonathan Sims/Martin Blackwood, Tim Stoker, Sasha James

Jon comes out to Martin. Twice.

(Ft. Kiss-Averse Jonathan Sims and Hamlet References)

__________

“Ugh, no thank you.”

Martin pauses. Sasha and Tim titter behind their hands.

And Jon, well. He’s got a look of vehement disgust written across his features, not unlike when he’s laying into what he claims is a fabricated statement. Martin can feel his face turning red at the words.

Getting Jon to come out for drinks had been the hard part. It’s one month into his tenure as Head Archivist, and everyone’s starting to feel the scope of the task ahead of them. Tim thought a ‘monthiversary’ drink was in order, and the only way to get Jon to come out was to threaten him with some sort of ill begotten information, the likes of which Martin couldn’t hear behind the closed door. Ten minutes later, Jon emerged, looking grumpier than usual (and very dashing) with a scarf around his neck. And now he sat next to him in the cozy pub booth, Martin trying very hard to remain stock-still because Jon’s leaning into his side. Perhaps he’s cold? Either way, Martin isn’t going to discourage it. 

But then he’d had a few drinks and they all loosened up; even Jon’s laugh came easier. And Martin- well, Martin’s opening up a bit more than usual, chattering about his time in the library and bolstered by the smiles he receives in turn. Tim changed track to the personal, regaling them with his latest outdoor adventure while Sasha and Jon gave witty, sarcastic commentary. But then Tim directed the conversation towards him, and they seemed relatively interested in his poetry. He even felt comfortable enough to rattle out a few lines from his phone in a desperate hope to impress, and he stupidly chose one that referenced ‘lips like a rosebud’ and Jon reacts like he’s read a particularly saucy bit of a smut novel aloud. How embarrassing. 

“Whew,” Tim whistles lowly, folding his arms behind his neck with an exaggerated wince. “Harsh, boss.”

“No, that’s not it,” Jon says, shaking his head and putting a hand on Martin’s arm. Putting a hand on Martin’s arm. Putting a hand- “Martin, your poetry is fine, if a bit derivative.” Jon thinks his poetry is fine and he’s got his small, fine-boned hand on Martin’s arm and god, he’s got a poem about that too, somewhere in his phone-

Tim guffaws, slamming a hand on the table and startling Sasha. “What a compliment!”

“It’s just…kissing. Lips. Ugh.” Jon smashes his fork rather violently into a dumpling, sending bits of food flying across the table, one of which hit Tim directly above his eye. “I eat with my mouth.”

“Wise observation.”

“Very astute of you.”

Martin would join in on the banter but Jon’s hand is still on his arm and his warm weight is pressing into his side. Honestly, what’s Jon playing at? He could rip the poetry to shreds in front of him but as long as that hand remains on his arm he’d just sit there, not saying a word. Hell, he’d probably even agree.

“So the bossman doesn’t like kisses,” Tim says, taking an obnoxiously loud sip of whatever fruity beverage he’d decided on. “Is that why you ripped down all of my mistletoe back in research?”

Jon. Mistletoe. Hand still on arm.

“I don’t like any of it,” Jon says, removing his hand from Martin’s arm to make a decisive gesture across the table which nearly sent his drink flying. He instantly misses the pressure but the warmth is still there, burning through his sleeve. Jon looks incredibly drunk, now that Martin’s got a better angle to view his flushed cheeks and bright eyes and lips- “All that touching. I don’t understand why everyone’s so hung up on it. No thank you, not for me.”

A brief flash of understanding lights Sasha’s eyes but Martin’s not in a place to decipher it. He’s not sure if it’s the drink or the Jon-of-it-all that’s impeding him. He’s never seen him so relaxed, so animated about something that’s not work. He can’t even focus on the words coming out of Jon’s mouth at the moment.

But Sasha leans forward- once she’s got an idea in her head, she won’t let go until she’s seen it through. Martin recognizes that look. “You’re asexual, then?”

“Mm,” Jon mumbles, his head tilting back dangerously as he puts on an affected, exaggerated voice. “Man delights not me, no, nor woman neither.”

And then Martin’s gone, suddenly struck by a vision of teenage Jon, silhouetted on a stage by a dramatic spotlight, reciting Shakespeare like a born thespian- look, Martin despises theater, but even he’s not immune to Hamlet. In a dream world he’d be Ophelia, no, not Ophelia, idiot- maybe he’s a stage hand, or no, he helps Jon with his quick changes, that’s a job, right? So caught up is he in this pseudo-high school fantasy that the words being said don’t actually dawn on him until a full minute later, when Tim’s laughter reaches a crescendo.

“Boss, did you seriously just come out via Shakespeare?”

Jon’s not even denying it, giving a lazy, good-natured smile in response. Fuck. Here he is, having some stupid fantasy over his boss who is very much right next to him and very much not interested. God, is he taking advantage? He jumps to the side, trying desperately to put a few more inches of space between them for Jon’s comfort when that small hand comes back to his arm, the sudden and strong grip stopping him in his tracks. 

“No!” Jon’s voice is low, those dark eyes so intense. Martin can feel his face go scarlet from his gaze alone. “This is nice. I like it.”

Tim and Sasha share an evil little smile and Martin’s out of commission, the night’s revelations and Jon’s insistent snuggling having taken their toll. He couldn’t tell you what happened after that, how many drinks were shared or how he got home. All he remembers is the feel of Jon’s hand on his arm, his insistent closeness, and the sound of his laugh whenever Tim teased him.

The next day Jon comes in late, looking about as bad as the rest of them felt. From the way he interacts with them, it’s likely that he doesn’t even remember last night, what he did or what he said. Martin tries not to let it sting, and goes back to work, knowing there’s a side of Jon that he’ll likely never see again.

__________

“Martin, we have to...talk, if that’s alright.” 

Martin pauses, a lump building in his throat. “Okay.”

He settles in on Daisy’s lumpy couch, trying not to let his apprehension show. It’s been a week since Jon got him out of the Lonely and they’re still adjusting, but Martin likes to think they’re settling into a nice routine. There’s such a natural ease to their domesticity; they had their differences, sure, but he’s never seen the man so soft and unguarded, puttering around the cottage, making sure everything’s nice and comfortable for the two of them. And of course, there’s the bed situation. Only one, like in all the cliché fanfiction Martin had taken to reading back when he lived in the Archives and his biggest problem was worms. Maybe Jon doesn’t want to share anymore? He’s been strangely distant the past day, keeping space between them and hovering about in a nervous manner. He goes back through their interactions, trying to think of what he could’ve done wrong.

Jon sits down next to him, his face showing his own apprehension. “I know we’ve been getting...close, this past week. But if we’re going to ah, have an, er- well, you know, relationship- there’s some things you need to know.” Relationship. Jon thinks they're in a relationship. Martin didn’t want to put a label to it, too afraid it would shatter the fragile trust they built. But to be in a relationship with Jon, well, that’s something he’s always dreamed of, right?

So he relaxes minutely, tries not to show the utter joy he feels at the words. “Alright. What’s up?”

Jon takes a steadying breath, looking so oddly grave that Martin immediately wants to take him into his arms. “I don’t...well, I’m asexual. So I’m not really interested…” he makes a vague gesture down towards Martin’s crotch and then freezes, clearly embarrassed by the crudeness of the action. “I’m not interested in all of...that. Or kissing, for that matter. It’s just a personal boundary for me, if that’s alright.”

Oh. Martin blinks, taking in Jon’s serious countenance and hopeful eyes and while he wants to match it, he can’t control the laughter that bubbles out of his throat. “Oh-oh Jon-”

Jon immediately blanches, his brow furrowing in confusion and probably hurt. “W-What? What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry! Fuck-it’s, it’s not that, that’s fine, it’s just-” Martin tries desperately to keep his laughter under control and fails. Christ, he can’t breathe. “Man delights not me, no, nor woman neither!” 

“Why are you quoting Shakespeare?” Jon’s looking at him like he’s lost his mind. Perhaps he has.

“Because you did, you daft thing!” Martin’s shoulders shake with the effort of containing himself, and he wipes a tear from his eye. He immediately puts a hand on Jon’s arm, a mirror’s reflection of that night at the bar and yet it’s still his hand that burns. “Jon, it’s fine. I already know. You told us over drinks my first month in the Archives.”

Jon’s face takes on that peculiar look of confusion and concentration that Martin loves, as if he’s searching his mind or maybe even the Eye for information. “I-oh. Oh!” He puts his head in his hands with a groan, ignoring Martin’s comforting pats to the back. “How embarrassing.”

“It was adorable.”

“No it wasn’t,” Jon whines into his hands even as he leans into Martin’s touch.

“It was,” Martin assures him, drawing him close to his side and letting him lean his head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I laughed- you were just so serious, I couldn’t help it-”

“Yes, well,” Jon sighed, settling into his arms, the beginnings of a smile on his face. “It’s fine. As long you’re alright with…”

“More than alright.” It’s Jon, of course it’s alright. Being here with him, in their little shabby oasis- well, it’s more than enough. They sit there in silence for some time, Martin enjoying the closeness of the man he’d fought so hard to protect finally in his arms. He’s starting to think they just might be alright. He smiles to himself, perching his chin on top of Jon’s head.

“To be or not to be-”

“Shut up, Martin.”

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28741983

[rolandtowen]

Dumbass Romantics, the first part of a series exploring the ways in which Sokka and Zuko falling in love after the War. 

Sokka and Zuko seem to keep “accidentally” flirting with each other with romantic gestures from their respective cultures. It takes a while for everyone else (and them!!) to catch on. Set a few months after the end of the war, featuring chronic pain and cultural flirting.

Read it under the cut!

The Fire Lord hated the cold. He supposed he should have commissioned a fur cloak before visiting Katara and Sokka, but where could his tailors find fur on such short notice? He couldn’t bring himself to slaughter dozens of squirrel-toads just for one coat. He had settled on a cloak woven with extra koala-sheep wool, but stepping out of his ship’s warmth now and into the crisp air of the Southern Water Tribe, Zuko knew he should have heeded Sokka’s advice to him to dress warm.

The cold was a bitch. But thankfully, he didn’t have to dwell on it long.

“Zuko!” Came Katara’s voice from somewhere below him. Zuko hurried down the rampart and came to meet his old friend. He went to bow formally, but she laughed and pulled him in for a hug. “Maybe save the bowing for when we have dinner with the old folks tonight.”

Zuko raised his eyebrow.

“Oh! It’s nothing big – just my Dad, Bato, Kanna, and Pakku. I do hope you’ve worked up an appetite for stewed sea prunes, that’s all my Dad can make without blowing the kitchen up – unless you’re allergic to sea prunes, of course, but I guess you wouldn’t know yet seeing as you’ve never tried them—”

“Katara,” Sokka’s voice startled Zuko a little bit, coming from his left side. Zuko shifted his head so he could hear him better. “You’re rambling again. Let the man breathe!” Zuko let out a low chuckle and turned to fully face Sokka.

“It’s good to see you too, Sokka.”

“And you, jerkbender! Spirits, aren’t you cold? I told you bring layers!”

The trio started to walk towards Katara and Sokka’s village. Zuko pondered what he should say: admit weakness and say he was, in fact, cold; or be miserable for the rest of his visit in silence?

“I’m okay, it’s just that the Fire Nation hasn’t ever had a need to make warm clothing. My tailors wouldn’t even know where to start on finding fur for a cloak.”

“Well then,” Sokka said, “it’s lucky for you that we have polar leopards!” And with that, Sokka unclipped the fur-lined cloak he was wearing and draped it over Zuko’s shoulders, fastening the metal clips with practiced ease. Zuko was shocked.

“Sokka, I can’t take your cloak!” He protested, stopping in his tracks.

“Relax, jerkbender, there’s more where that came from. When are you going to learn to dress up for your visits, dork?”

Katara chimed in. “The last time Zuko was here, his body temperature was elevated by his righteous search for the Avatar. I’m sure peace and love have probably cooled your hot head off quite a bit, huh?”

Zuko only hummed, looking down at the cloak that had been thrust upon him. It really was, quite warm. And quite intricate as well! He ran his fingers over the moon phases embroidered at the seams, a striking white against the deep blue of the cloak.

“Enjoying my handiwork?” Katara asked.

“Yeah, I am.” Zuko answered in a daze.

He wasn’t sure if he should tell them what it meant in Fire Nation culture, to place your own cloak on another’s shoulders, to literally and figuratively place another under your protection. Really, Zuko couldn’t remember the last time he had been given anything as a gift. Charity was not a concept Ozai was familiar with. Sokka couldn’t have possible known that what he just did was like the Fire Nation equivalent of a betrothal necklace. Still, it did leave Zuko touched that Sokka would so willingly give over such a valuable garment. He decided to leave the matter alone and revel in the warmth of the cloak.

“Sooooooooo, do you wanna go fishing together?”

Zuko sighed. He was a little bored. When they got back to the village, Katara had immediately ditched them to go help Kanna and Hakoda prep for the night’s family dinner. Leaving him and Sokka to do…. whatever until dinner time rolled around.

“Uh, I don’t really know how to fish—”

“That’s alright! I can teach you. Just grab your cloak!” Sokka leapt up and swept out the door. “You are coming, right?” Sokka called from afar.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” Zuko hollered back. He fiddled with the clasp on Sokka’s – er, his cloak—and stepped back into the cold.

Sokka was at the edge of the village, spears in hand. “You ever been on a kayak before?”

Zuko chuckled. “No, the ships I’ve been tend to carry more than one person, I don’t suppose you’ve got one of those?”

Sokka punched him in the shoulder. “We can’t use one of the warrior’s boats, we’ll scare the fish!” Oh. That made sense. “Now I get it, you really don’t know anything about fishing, do you? What have you got to say for yourself?”

“Two things: one, prince; two, fire nation. We much prefer Komodo sausage to seal jerky.”

“Well, your hotness, let me show you how it’s done.” Sokka hopped into one kayak, patting the one next him. “I assume you at least know how to use a paddle?”

Zuko laughed. “I may have been an adrift refugee once or twice. I think I can handle a paddle.”

“Good,” Sokka smiled at him as he climbed into the one-seater kayak. Zuko took a few moments to adjust to the shift in his center of gravity, then nodded at Sokka.

“Let’s catch some fish.”

It turns out, Zuko is not a natural at spear-fishing. He watched closely the first few times Sokka threw his spear, bringing up fish each time. “Go on, try it,” Sokka encouraged him. Zuko looked into the depths and tried to aim for the blurry shadows he took to be fish. His spear came up empty. “That’s okay! It took me a few fishing trips before I really go the hang of it.” Sokka analyzed his form. “Make sure you extend your arm a bit before your release the spear, then you can change your angle more easily.”

Zuko nodded, mirroring the way Sokka was holding his spear. They waited in silence, kayaks knocking gently into each other on the waves. A fresh school of fish appeared underneath them, and they released their spears at the same time. This time, even Zuko had caught a fish! Only one, compared to Sokka’s two, but it was his first fish! Sokka smiled widely at him. “I knew you could do it.”

“I guess I should call you Sifu Sokka now, my fishbending master.” Zuko quipped.

Sokka blushed and he hoped the gathering snow hid it from Zuko. “I think we should probably get back; you don’t want to miss Dad’s stewed sea prunes.

“Definitely not.” Zuko replied. “What, what does one do with a fish once they’ve caught it?”

“It depends – I think it being your first fish, we should celebrate it! What do you say to making some boiled fish dumplings?”

“I think that if you’re teaching me, it’ll be wonderful.”

If it was even humanly possible, Sokka blushed harder.

When they docked their kayaks, Zuko noticed that Sokka was favoring one of his arms over the other. Normally, it wouldn’t be strange to see a person favoring a side, but Zuko knew Sokka was ambidextrous. He didn’t say anything, so Zuko kept his observations to himself. Kanna met them outside her home, and positively beamed when Sokka told her that Zuko had caught his first fish.

“Well, better a late bloomer than never, eh?” Zuko laughed but still bowed his head in deference.

“It is very nice to finally meet you, Lady Kanna. Sokka has told me much about you in your letters.”

“Oh, he has, has he?” Kanna gave a mean side-eye to Sokka, who was suddenly very interested in the icy ground. “He’s told me about you as well. You have my gratitude – I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if you hadn’t gone to the Boiling Rock.”

“It was my pleasure, Lady Kanna.”

“Just Kanna, just Kanna, my dear. Well, come in! I see Sokka has leant you a cloak, but you still must be freezing! In, in!” Kanna shooed them inside. “I will take special care of your first fish, Zuko. Anything you had in mind?”

“Uh, dumplings?”

“Excellent choice, dear. Fish dumplings coming right up!” She disappeared into the kitchen of the home.

Sokka sat down on floor, covered by blue fabrics and pelts. Zuko noticed how gingerly he set himself down, now obviously favoring his right side. Sokka’s lips were drawn tightly as he rubbed circles into his left shin. Zuko could have almost swore he heard Sokka whimper. Almost.

“Sokka,” Zuko knelt down next to his friend. “Talk to me.”

“Mmph,” Sokka scowled.

“Words, Sokka.”

“It’s mostly my leg—you know how I broke it on the day of the Comet?”

Zuko grimaced. He did remember. Even in his lightening-induced fever, Zuko remembered. He heard his physicians set Sokka’s leg and pop his shoulder back in place. He wanted to forget those sounds of Sokka in pain, but he couldn’t.

“Well,” Sokka continued. “Ever since then, it still… it still hurts. Katara’s tried everything, but I’m probably stuck with it forever. My leg hurts the worst, but my shoulder’s the most inconvenient. I’m old enough to start putting braids in my wolf tail, but I just—can’t. I can’t lift my arm above shoulder-level. And I know I’m wallowing to the guy who literally got half his face burned off but—”

“But nothing, Sokka. You’re allowed to be in pain. Here, you know what, pull up your pant leg—”

“Geez, buy a guy dinner first will you?”

Zuko blushed but Sokka did as he was told, exposing his left shin and ankle. Zuko focused a little bit of heat into the palms of his hands. He placed one on Sokka’s ankle, scanning his face for any pain. When Sokka relaxed into the touch, Zuko placed his other hand on Sokka’s shin, applying the slightest bit of pressure.

“You know, with those hands you could almost be a healer like Katara.”

Zuko snorted. “And you need to learn to let people help you.” After a few minutes, he pulled his hands away, fearing that if he kept them there too long he’d burn his friend. “If you want, I can help you braid your hair. I won’t even tell Katara.”

Sokka smiled shyly at him. He guessed Zuko didn’t know the importance of braiding another’s hair in water tribe culture—reserved for family members and, well, lovers. But Zuko was kneeling in front of him, in a water tribe cloak, offering to help him with a warrior tradition. After everything they’d been through, Zuko was family—and maybe, he could be open to being something more?

“Okay,” Sokka nodded. He pulled two beads from his pocket, both striking shades of blue, one carved by Kanna and one by Katara. “You know how my Dad wears his beads? It’s the same idea.”

“I caught my first fish today, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I can’t do now.” Zuko settled himself closer to Sokka’s face. “I’m going to let your hair down now, is that okay?” Sokka nodded again.

Zuko took out the hair tie and separated two sections of hair thick enough to support the beads. For lack of another set of hands, he resorted to holding the sections in his mouth while he carded the rest of Sokka’s back into place and tied it into the wolf’s tail again. Sokka was suddenly very aware of how close Zuko was to him—more specifically how he never wanted him to leave. He loved the warmth that radiated from him, but furthermore, he couldn’t remember the last time someone helped him with his hair. He hadn’t asked anyone since he got back from the war, and while they were on the run… he was focused on more important things than his hair. Sokka risked a look at Zuko’s face: he was rewarded with Zuko’s adorable concentration face. Wait, adorable? Where had that come from?

“How do you know how to braid, anyway? I didn’t see a whole lot of braids in the Fire Nation.”

“My mother used to let me braid her hair when I was feeling anxious or overwhelmed. You know, it’s calming, repetitive, doesn’t involve fire—perfect for mess of emotional issues like me.”

“Hey, you’re not a mess.”

Zuko laughed darkly.

“Well, not anymore than the rest of us. We all already had our own issues and then a war happened on top of that. You were just lecturing me on letting people help me. You don’t have to be alone in this.”

Zuko’s fingers trembled as he finished the second braid. “I know. I’m still getting used to having people I can actually trust.”

Kanna suddenly called from the kitchen. “Are you two done lounging around or are you going to help an old woman with this fish?”

They looked at each other and laughed. They did kind of forget about everyone except each other.

“Hey, Zuko,” Sokka started as Zuko stood up and held out a hand for him.

“Yeah?”

“You can braid my hair anytime you want.”

Zuko resisted simultaneous urges to bow and to hug Sokka. He smiled instead.

“I’d like that.”

Bonus:

Kanna had heard everything of course. But she couldn’t bear to interrupt them sooner. Tui and La, if those two didn’t end up together she’d have a riot. In the few months since Sokka had been home with her, he hadn’t opened up to anyone about his pain. And he certainly hadn’t asked anyone for help with his braids.

Spirits, those two were good for each other. Dumbasses in love.

[xjoonchildx]

dinner & dessert | jhs x reader

summary: once you and hoseok decided to get physical, things went from 0 to 100. that might be a problem now that he’s asked you to meet his parents.

pairing: hoseok x reader word count: 1.8K

rating: 18+

genre: the actual definition of PWP. please don’t judge me.

warnings:  excessive horniness, complete disregard for childhood momentos & t-shirt abuse

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

Surely there were things that you used to do -- before all you did was Hoseok.  

You just can’t seem to remember any of them anymore.

You’re pretty sure there had been dinners and movies and parties and hikes -- back in the beginning, back when you’d both agreed to hold off on getting physical.  Back when you’d both agreed you didn’t want to ruin things by moving too fast.

But then six weeks in, Hoseok came over carrying homemade dumplings and wearing that irresistible smile and smelling like some incredible cologne and that was that.

And that wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that you can’t seem to turn it off.

At this point, he’s fucked you against every flat surface in his apartment, your apartment, and a few places in between.

Your last attempt at a movie date ended with him mouthing your tits through your thin tank top while you rode him in the backseat of his car.  You’d had to cut a hike short after you stroked him too thoroughly during your picnic lunch and he came all over his pants. 

Your doctor could only laugh when you asked her to change your birth control to something military-grade.

So it’s been weeks and weeks and weeks and you know the high is supposed to wear off at some point but it just… hasn’t.

Now all Hoseok has to do is give you that look -- and your body goes into auto-pilot.  That look sparks an embarrassing, Pavlovian panty-wetting response you can’t seem to stop.  

And it’s the same look he’s giving you right now.  

Which is a problem.

It’s a problem because Hoseok’s mother has just finished serving an authentic and delicious dinner of Bulgogi and other Korean specialities.  It’s a problem because tonight you’re meeting Hoseok’s parents for the first time and you’re in their home, at their dinner table.  

And it’s a problem because despite knowing you’d like very much to impress his parents, Hoseok seems determined to ruin your reputation.  And your panties.

So you give him your own look.  

The one that says, i swear to god don’t even think about it but he ignores it, turns away from you to beam up at his mother with picture-perfect adoration.

“Mom, you kill it every time,” he says charmingly and she smiles wide, waving her hand as if to wave off his praise, like it’s too much.  “Best cook on the planet.”

“Oh, honey -- you’re so sweet,” she laughs and you want to say, oh honey, no he’s not.  Does this delightful woman have any idea she’s raised an actual sex addict?

Probably not.

Hoseok pins you with the look again as his mother begins to clear the dishes and you clear your throat and look down at your hands.

“How did you like it?” his father asks.

“Oh, very much,” you say honestly, looking back up to offer him a weak smile.  “Best Korean food I’ve ever had.”

He grins and leans back, satisfied with your review. 

“Dad, can we hold off on dessert for a few minutes?” Hoseok asks casually.  “I’d like to give her a tour of the house.”

Your eyes dart back to Hoseok, wide with panic and warning because is he fucking serious right now and the barely concealed smirk he sends back says you’re absolutely goddamned right i am.

“Yeah, of course. We’ll be here when you’re ready,” Hoseok’s father says, standing to join his wife in the kitchen.

Hoseok directs his answer back to his father, but his sly smile is directed right at you.

“Perfect.”

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

“You should have worn a skirt,” Hoseok reprimands, the second the lock to his bedroom clicks into place.

“I purposely didn’t wear a skirt, dammit,” you fire back as he uses his body to push you onto his bed, forcing you to drop down. “We are not fucking in your childhood bedroom with your parents downstairs.”

“We don’t have a lot of time,” he murmurs, hands working the button of your jeans as he ignores your protest.  “You’re going to have to make this quick.”

“Hoseok,” you hiss.  “You cannot fuck me right now.  Cannot.”

He looks up at you for a moment, cocks his head to the side as if working out a problem in his head.  Behind him you can make out posters of athletes on the walls, a bookcase next to the bed stacked with tennis trophies. 

“Uh, yeah,” Hoseok says nonchalantly.  “I totally can. Slide those off. The clock is ticking.”

This is disastrous, you think, as you work your jeans off your legs. Mortifying, you muse, as you take your panties down just a moment afterwards.  One of your worst ideas, you concede, as you lie back and watch Hoseok drop his boxers to reveal his skilled cock already at half-mast.  

But apparently none of that is stopping you.

“I got you off in seven minutes at that Christmas party,” Hoseok says, dropping to his knees.  “I can beat that.”

“Oh my god,” you groan, flinching when he dives into your heat face-first.  “You’ve been timing me?”  

He flicks his tongue across your clit and you have to suppress a squeak. 

“No silly,” he teases. “I’ve been timing me. For planning purposes,” he says, going to work in earnest.  His tongue and teeth lap and tease at you and you grip one hand into the comforter of his bed to give an outlet to your nervous energy.

“You’re already dripping,” he whispers and you don’t have to see his face to visualize the smirk he’s wearing.  “So I think we’re going to be just fine.”

He slips two fingers into you, pumps them in and out slowly and your eyes fall shut as you forget everything but the feeling of his hands and mouth on you.  

But then the sound of dishes clattering downstairs echoes up the hallway and you freeze for a moment, remembering where you are and exactly what you’re doing.

“Hoseok,” you moan, “You have got to hurry.  If your parents catch us like this…” you trail off, not even wanting to voice the uncomfortable scenario out loud.

“They won’t,” he swears, giving you another long lick for good measure.  “I promise.”

Once he’s certain he’s got your body humming -- teetering on the edge -- he joins you on the bed.  He fits his slim hips between yours and wastes no time lining up his cock and pushing inside your swollen walls. You sigh at the thick slide of him, the feeling of friction you’re certain you’ll never tire of.  He groans from deep inside his chest when he bottoms out inside of you.

“God,” he moans, “I could live here.  Right between these soft thighs.”

“You practically already do,” you scold, sucking in a shaky breath when he strokes into you hard. He laughs and sets a steady rhythm, satisfied with the way you writhe in response to his vigorous thrusts.  His mouth sucks gently at your neck while he strokes and you whimper.

“I could come right now,” he warns, one hand slipping in between your bodies. One of his fingers finds your aching clit and he applies pressure as he continues to fuck into you. “But I’m holding off. I’m always holding off when I get to be inside you.”

God, he knows just how to talk, you think, mind blanking with pleasure.  You’re so close and all you need is just a bit more of this friction.  You grind up into the pressure of his fingers and cock and whine as you feel your orgasm start to build at the apex of your thighs.  Your fingers dig into the lean muscles of his ass, feeling them flex as he moves inside you.

“Fuck me harder,” you whisper, needing that push over the edge.  Hoseok groans at your words, increasing his pace and force and you hear his bed creak in response.  He doesn’t seem to care, too lost to chasing his end and yours to entertain such thoughts.

“Oh shit,” you gasp, feeling your orgasm kick off as he snaps his hips against you.  “Oh god, Hoseok, I’m -- “

He covers your mouth with his, drowns out your desperate ramblings as he starts pounding into you with earnest. You can feel his bed moving as he ruts against you mindlessly.  Your orgasm washes over you, causing your hips to stutter and Hoseok swallows your moans as his own orgasm hits, causing him to buck even harder.  

The sound of tennis trophies falling on the floor catches you both off guard.

“Oh fuck,” he groans, and you’re not sure if that fuck is directed at the wet warmth he’s just deposited between your thighs or the noisy as fuck trophies that just came crashing to the ground.  You don’t have time to really ponder that question because a second later a voice sounds from downstairs.

“Hoseok? You guys okay?”

He startles off of you, throwing a drawer open and reaching for a t-shirt that he probably hasn’t worn in 10 years.  

“Yeah, we’re good,” he calls down, cleaning himself off with it and scrambling to do the same to you.   He practically jumps back into his jeans while you throw your clothes back on. 

He’s played it cool this entire time but fear-of-your-mom-walking-in-on-you-boning-your-girlfriend has a way of wiping the smug right off your face.  Doesn’t matter if you’re damned near 30 years old.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” you whisper venomously, buttoning up your jeans.  

He winks. 

“Put this in your purse,” he says, handing you the t-shirt.

You make a face.

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

Sex doesn’t really have a smell, does it?

A question you never thought you’d be pondering at the dinner table with your boyfriend’s parents but these are strange, horny times, and you’re praying like hell sex doesn’t have a smell.  Because if it does, well.

Well.

If it does have a smell, Hoseok’s absolute doll of a mother certainly isn’t letting on.  

She’s just put out a plate of the most beautiful songpyeon you’ve ever seen. Hoseok’s father beams at the presentation, looking to you as if to ask isn’t my wife a world-class cook? And you hope the look you give back is convincing and not at all guilty. 

Hoseok, for his part, looks completely relaxed and not ruffled in the slightest.  

You shoot him a glare over that plate of beautiful dessert dumplings and the smile he sends back makes his dimples pop and you decide you’ll have to forgive him just this once, you suppose.

“Mom,” Hoseok says sweetly, looking past the plate of desserts and back to the kitchen.  “These look amazing, but -- “ 

You raise an eyebrow, praying whatever words walk out of his mouth next won’t embarrass the shit out of you.  

“ -- Can I just have a second helping of Bulgogi for dessert?  I’m hungry again, for some reason.”

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

[harveywritings92]

Fatgum x OC: The Adventures of Manly Sherlock & Wattson.

Summary: It all started when Kirishima finds a positive pregnancy test The Fatgum's agency bathroom, it's been a very slow week so him and his bro Denki are on the case the to find out whose pregnant.

=============================================

"Okay, I've compiled a list of suspects for us to interrogate, mostly girls we know and what guys they're intimate with."

"Why are Vi-shock and Fatgum crossed out?"

"Because my dear Denki, this *shows test in a zip-lock bag* is one of those clear-blue tests! I'm sure you've seen those commercials, they're supposed tell how far along in the lady is, It's says four weeks... That was during that charity auction for the children's hospital."

" Oh right, it can't be Santiago-san she was in Canada for her friend's wedding."

Kirishima nodded as they looked down at the list of suspects and who to question... first up!

Izuku and Casey:

(Casey got a summer job a secretary for while Fatgum's regular secretary was on vacation.)

Oh lord have mercy on these to poor nerds the second Denki flashed that pregnancy test in their faces and started grilling them on their private affairs, Casey managed to sputter out a meek "I'm not pregnant.." before going ghost white and fainting, while a red faced Izuku who caught her managing to stutter out that they can't be pregnant! they haven't even slept together... yet, the farthest they've gone is making-out! Kirishima was surprised to hear this little tidbit "What? but you were tellin' Me and Uraraka that the two of you sleep together all th-" Then penny dropped at the redhead caught on awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "Oh! you meant sleeping as in actual sleep, not..." Izuku shot him a look that screamed please leave and saw his eyes flash he was getting mad. " Ok Well, we'll just be going now!" he and Denki ran leaving the flustered couple to cool down.

{Izuku and Casey}

Shoto and Saika

Long story short Shoto was on patrol during the event and Saika was home sick, so it couldn't have be them, they always used protection then the Bi-haired teen shot the mystery solving duo a look that could both boil and flash freeze the sea in a second. which scared off Denki and Kirishima.

Shoto and Saika

Katsuki and Kaya:

(Kaya is also interning with Fatgum)

"OH HELL NO! YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT I'D DO IT WITH MY GIRL WITHOUT WRAPPING IT?" the Ash blond raged while his girlfriend calmly sat next to him waiting for him to get it out of his system. "We always use protection and I have an BC implant." Kaya chimed while her boyfriend snarled at them. "AND EVEN IF I HAD KNOCKED HER UP, DO YOU TWO DUMDASSES HONESTLY THINK I'D BE ALIVE TALKING TO YOU RIGHT NOW?!?" his voice cracked a bit; Kaya sweat dropped as a frigid tidal-wave fear settled in causing the teens to shiver... Bakugou had a point, if he had gotten Kaya pregnant, All-might would've killed him and Dabi would see to it that no one will ever find his body...which would be nothing but a pile of dust blowing in the wind!

(Dabi's reformed in this, and is living with his aunt and uncle as he wants nothing to do with Enji.)

With that Denki and Kirishima sulked away defeated as Katsuki was grumbling to Kaya about what just and how those two idiots are gonna be screwed, Kaya hummed in agreement "All they gotta do is ask the wrong person and BAM! they're missing some teeth!" the honey blonde huffed as a frazzled Violet walked passed them on the street not paying attention to what the teens were talking about. 

Katsuki and Kaya

Dabi and Nanami:

{Nanami briefly rented her services out to Fatgum while Tamaki was sick, she and Dabi went to the auction in place of Ame and Toshinori.)

Not gonna touch that one with a sixty foot pole Kaminari and Kirishima would like to live to see tomorrow thank-you... Plus they concluded that if Nanami were truly pregnant? they highly doubt Dabi would let her go off on her own doing dangerous mercenary work, essentially putting herself and their baby in danger.

He'd sooner bow his head to Endeavor before that’ll happen!

Dabi and Nanami

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

After patrol

Denki and Eijirou had pretty much forgotten about the pregnancy test as patrol had picked expectantly, the teens collapsed on the couch exhausted while Fatgum was typing out their schedules for the next patrol, while enjoying a couple bags of chips as the yellow haired teen yawned reached into his pocket he felt the zip-lock bag with the pregnancy test just chilling there and then like that he remembered their investigation this afternoon.

 "Whoa Wait, I forgot! Who the hell is pregnant bro??" He asked Kirishima who had also forgot about their little quest, the redhead sat right up and pulled out their list, as Fatgum froze mid type and looked at the teens aghast at what he had just heard. "Whadda talkin' bout now?!" he asked brows furrowed in concern that one of them was going tell the BMI hero; that Kaminari or Kirishima got a girl pregnant, A bunch of what ifs started filing through the blond's head and was freaking out!

Denki not reading the mood spoke up "Kirishima found a pregnancy test in the bathroom downstairs and we checked with all the girls who attended the auction four weeks ago, It wasn't any of them." Taishiro relaxed seeing that there wasn't going be some "Sidekick teen pregnancy scandal!" headlined in the news anytime soon... but then there was a knock at the door and Violet walks in with this nervous aura around her.

Tai broke into a big grin. "Darlin' Wha a surprise!" the red haired woman fidgeted with her shirt as she warily eyed Kirishima and Kaminari then looked back at her fiancé she bit her lip before taking a deep shaky breath. "h-Hey. Can we talk, maybe in private?" Violet murmured looking like she about to burst into tears, as her tall lover looked at her worried "Why? what's...." 

A tense silence a fills the office as Taishiro's heart sped up as he recalled what Denki had said... *Four weeks...four weeks ago, Violet came back from her trip early and surprised him! they slipped away from the auction for a quickie...Taishiro couldn't remember if he wore a condom or not, he was so happy to see his dumpling again! * His face was stuck on stun, as their sidekicks stared at the couple jaws dropped.

Only for Taishiro to snapped out of it when saw how scared Violet was which confused him. D-did she think he doesn't want it??? Why would she think that? they've talked about having kids befo-...he then remembered the two teens gawking and the tall blond realized this wasn't the right environment to discuss this! "Ah... boys you got the day off tomorrow!" he announced ordering them out of the room before getting on the intercom and telling everyone to pack up, they were closing down early for the night! 

Taishiro made sure everyone was gone before sitting down and talking to Violet for the first hour or so, it felt surreal at first! it was most when had she suspected she was pregnant and if the test was accurate or not? "I'm not really sure, I just started craving watermelon and cream cheese...things started connecting from there." She wasn't really sure how reliable that test was, but she had set a doctor's appointment for tomorrow, the blond noticed she was still nervous about this whole thing, hell! He was nervous about this whole thing!

*A dad...* he chuckled as blush and wide smile adorned  his features *'m' gonna be a dad!* he felt warm and fuzzy as he put his palm on Violet's soft tummy there's a little jellybean in there... "S-so you're mad at me?" Taishiro's bubble was deflated for a second as his yellows eyes met met with his fiancée's nervous gaze. "course not! Why I be mad? yer giving me a gift 've only thought would be happen in my dreams." he said kissing Violet's hair, her forehead, her cheek, saving her tummy for last, causing her breakdown in into happy tears as she'd been freaking out all day, so much so that she was mentally preparing herself for rejection, being a pro-hero is serious business and a lot of people would rather choose their careers and fame over having a family and both Taishiro and Violet had seen from the sidelines what that does to people.

Taishiro assured Violet that this was what he wanted and nothing was going change that, he was going to be there for every step of the way! there were a lot of congratulations throw around when news got around about the pregnancy. Taishiro was very doting and protective of Violet at her belly got bigger, he even hired Dabi of all people to be her bodyguard when he was unavailable, the ex-villain turned freelancer made sure no one messed with her while she was out and about, if he did see someone looking at her funny; once they realized who he was they'd back off unless they wanted to be a pile ash.

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

Cut to 9 months later in the dead of winter after a heavy snowstorm; there's a photo of Dabi circulating, consisting of him posing in front of a sleeping Violet whose being held by Fatgum, while she's holding a baby, swaddled in said ex-villain's jacket while an ambulance arrives in the background with the caption: [It's a girl!] which is published in the news papers. ["Ex-Villain delivers Pro-hero's baby in freak snowstorm!"]

[missinsanityscat]

Gone beyond hell

Yuki-Onna!Yukie × Male!Reader

They said it was going to be fun, they also said it would be super easy to tow a woman. You groan and order a drink. Your friends had attacked you in your apartment 2 hours ago, where you pursued your thoughts in self-pity. The reason? Your girlfriend had left you and your two friends Bokuto and Kuroo wanted to cheer you up. Now you are sitting in your thickest winter jacket at the counter of this Ice Cube Bar. Although there was a pleasant atmosphere here, the cold annoyed you. "Have you been left alone?" Asked a bored voice next to you. You turn your head towards the voice and recognize the woman Bokuto warmly welcomed when you arrived. "You could say so. Yukie? ”The woman smiled lazily and nodded. "Yes. You were (Y / N)? “You nod and reach for the glass that is placed in front of you. "You work here?" You asked slightly stupidly, but the woman nods. "More specifically, it belongs to my parents. I take care on the weekends that nothing bad happens. "" Cool. "You say, scratch your chin which is strewn with stubble. Yuki yawns warmly and pointed up. "I'm hungry do you want to come up with me?"

No idea what rode you there, but what you agree with. Yukie quickly explained to her colleague that she would eat something with you and that you would come back. "Follow me (Y / N)." You followed her, strutting her out of the room and taking a flight of stairs. Only now did you notice how lightly Yuki was dressed. "Aren't you celebrating in it?" Yuki looked at himself and shook his head. "I like it that way most." Then she unlocked the door and let you enter. No sooner had you stepped through the door than you started to shiver easily. It was cold, colder than in the bar. You can feel hands on your back that are slowly coming down. "So ~" the young woman started behind you, taking off your jacket. "You won't need this."

She threw the jacket to the floor and the rustling of fabric that also went to the floor. You quickly turn and blush slightly when the smaller woman was standing naked in front of you. You take a look over them walking. Yuki is truly a beautiful woman, she is quite your type. "Do you like what you see?" She asked, slightly bored, her eyes on your crotch. "I thought you were hungry?" "Am I" Yuki hair grew longer and her skin turned white. "But I prefer men." You wanted to move, but you couldn't. You look down to your legs in confusion. You are horrified to find that you were frozen. "What the .." you started, interrupting yourself when Yuki tampered with your pants. "What?" Yuki looks up at you and licks her lips lazily. "First I will have some fun and then I will freeze you and eat it gradually." You swallow the dumpling down your throat. "Do you really want to eat me?" Your voice trembles slightly, you don't feel as masculine as you should be. Yuki looked briefly at you before pulling down your pants and boxers. "Well, if you prove yourself capable, I could let you live."

Slowly you feel your limbs again and Yuki took your hand in hers. Her hand was so cold that you would like to warm it, but you were horrified that you could be eaten. "Did you joke with the food?" "I never joke about the food, (Y / N)." She opened the door to the room and pushed yourself into the room. "You willn't miss out, sweetie ... I even think you will get your money's worth." Her hand was on your chest and she smiled lazily at you, her other hand slowly moves to your hip. You two are still looking at each other. You swallow while her hand slowly moves down. The snow woman's smile widened, but your breath went a little faster and your little friend stirred a little. "That was easy." She said and got on her knees. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She gently nudged your limb with her warm tongue, which makes you shiver. Her tongue came out hot from the sheer cold in the room. With wide eyes she looked up at you as she carefully kissed your glans and licked your length along. You groan as a warm, damp warmth envelops you. "Shit." You gasp, swallowing wanted to grasp your hair, but you were too afraid that she could bite your best piece.

Yuki sucked hard on your glans, gently massaging your ball. She stopped briefly and looked up at you. "You can hold my head." She saw you briefly, you do not waste a second to reach into her fine shiny hair. You gently moved your hip, stroking her cheek. "It feels so good." You moan as you put your head back. You could feel a slight grin pushing her into her mouth faster. You felt incredibly good, the fear that overran you evaporated in lust. Completely immersed in ecstasy, you only felt the tremor in your legs very slightly, which announces that you are about to spray. "I'm close to it." You gasp, becoming more gentle and slow with the movements. Yuki sucked and played your cock with her warm wet tongue. "You can come into my mouth." The snow woman allowed you and sucked harder, gripped your buttocks. However, you grasp her head hard, move your hips quickly, and come moaning into her mouth. You sigh in relief, stroking Yuki hair, the woman on her knees licked you clean before she went up to the trash can and spat into it. "Interesting taste." She said as she went to bed. The brunette woman sat on it with her legs spread wide and looked at you. "Now shows if it's not worth eating, sweetheart."

Incubus!Bokuto x Female!Reader

Bokuto sighed as he wandered through the night. He lowered his head, feeling weak and hungry. He looked at the house he was passing. The young demon felt a woman who slept peacefully. He quickly wanted to continue walking, but his stomach started to growl. "You have to do it. If you don't consume life energy, you can die.” He heard Akaashi's voice in his head. The huge demon looked at the window where the woman's room was. She was young, probably in her mid-20s, for what he could sense. Bokuto bit his lip and swore. "Fuck it. I'll take as much as I need. ”He closed his eyes briefly and teleported into the woman's room. He swallowed when he saw her in front of him.

You breathed calmly, your sleep shirt had slipped up and your body was half-covered with the blanket. A delightful sight, Bokuto licked his lips. He felt his shorts tighten. He heard you gasp slightly, watching your hand slowly move to your panties. "Oh ... this is going to be easier than expected.", Bokuto mumbles, closing his eyes to concentrate to come to your dream.

In dream

You sigh as another person sat down next to you. "Hey.", said the man next to you, his voice like bass and you are sorry to see him. Big golden eyes looked honestly at you and his smile showed a row of shining teeth. "New here?", he asked you innocently and you shyly nodded. "Me too, my name is Bokuto and yours is?" "(Y / N). I'm happy." You shake hands. "Oiii Saeko, a beer for the man next to me. " You called after the bar owner. "Thank you for the beer (Y/N)." "Oh no problem, originally I wanted to do a girls night out with my best friend but she canceled." Bokuto accepted the beer. "My boss made me go out." You turn your head to him and looked him in the eye in surprise. "Crass color. They aren't contact lenses, are they?" “That is my real eye color… ”He let a look sweep over you. "... Nice hair." He said shortly and scratched his chin. Yes, he was always good at flirting, after all, he had learned from Master. You twitched the corner of your mouth and shook your head. "Thank you ... requires a lot of care ... Don't worry, I can't flirt either. ” You grin broadly and take another sip of your mug. "Cool ... what do you do for a living?" Bokuto asked you as he sipped his beer.

"I plan to take over the world with diabetes." You were completely serious and looked at him like that. "Then I have to find a way to stop you." Both of you narrowed your eyes until you giggled. "I'm a confectioner." You said and took the last sip of your beer. "What are you doing?" "I'm studying sports." You nodded remarkably, ordered another beer. "I thought women like athletes." Bokuto said insultingly, but you shrugged and looked at him from the side. "You're trying to hit on me?" You chuckled, resting your head on your hand.

"I should probably go. Saeko! The bill.” “It's late… I can take you home.” You look at him suspiciously. "If you pay." Bokuto shrugged and took your bill. He looked at the paper, raised an eyebrow in surprise. "When did you eat?" "My plate was taken away before you spoke to me." You slid off the chair, but you swayed a little and grabbed his arm. "Uff ... I should have eaten more." Bokuto smiled lightly and paid the bill. "I'll take you home." "I live only 2 blocks away." You mumbled, embarrassed. "That's good, then you'll be home faster." You nodded sheepishly and staggered out of the bar with Bokuto in tow. You shivered and pulled your hoodie closer to your body. "Do you want my coat?" The gray-haired man had noticed your shiver and took off his coat, but you shook your head. "I'll pass, Bokuto." You look at the sky and grabbed his arm. "Thank you for taking me home." You said quietly. You were sad and Bokuto could see in your glassy eyes and continued walking silently to the apartment building. You stopped at your door, Bokuto took your face in his hand. He leaned down to you and cocked his head. "Don't be sad." "Thank you ... I ..." You couldn't finish your sentence because the athlete pressed his rough lips against yours. He kissed you, hoping that your pain would go away, that you would feel better. You didn't seem to be averse to him, otherwise, you would have loosened the kiss immediately, so he pressed against your delicate body. He felt your hands on his back as you pulled him closer. "Do you want to come up with me?" You asked him hoarsely when you released the kiss because you ran out of air. Bokuto, who still had his hand on your cheek, nodded slightly. "With pleasure."

Bokuto swallowed slightly when he watched you go. You wiggle your butt slightly. "We're here." You say shyly, let him through first. He ran unerringly into your ...

Dream end

You startled when someone laid down on you. Completely surprisingly, you gasped and looked up. Golden eyes stared at you. Bokuto looked around uncertainly. He couldn't, he didn't have enough strength to stay in your dream. The young demon jumped up from your bed and wanted to go. "Bokuto?" You asked confused so that he stopped. You look at him in the dark, see a shadow on his head. "You are not a person are you?" You ask as quietly as possible, groping for your night light. It was getting lighter in the room, now you could see each other better. He had small horns on the corners of his forehead, a tail, and wings. You tilted your head and he turned away, showing you his wings. "Yes", it came from him after a while. You sit up and knock your bed free. "What kind of a being are you? You are still an Oni or Tengu." "Incubus.", he said as he approached, sat on the bed and looked ashamed. "Oh ... so ... did you want to?" "Yes ... I don't like doing it, but I need the energy to survive." You look down at yourself and blush. "I want to help you." Bokuto looked up at you and considered it for a moment. "OK! I'm not taking so much ... just a little.” He leaned over to you, carefully took your face in his hand and kissed you carefully. His lips felt better than in your dream. He nibbled lightly on your lower lip, hastily thrust his tongue between your lips. He poked your tongue as a slight provocative invitation to play with him. You gasped slightly as he sucked your tongue and his hands wandered over your body. You separated from each other and he looked deep into your eyes. "You can still say no." He said wandering over your damp panties. His doing had an effect on your body, you nodded very carefully. He lowered his head to your shoulder, ran a finger over your wet center, elicited more beautiful tones from your pretty mouth. He rubbed your clit and smiled at you as you clawed his shoulder and your pussy stretched out towards him. "We need to be very needy." "Very much." You moan into his t-shirt as his finger strokes your G-spot. "I feel that you will soon be ready to ... Shall I fuck you or hand my skills over to you?" He growled softly and looked wildly in your eyes. The white in his eyes had darkened, the gold stood out more than before, his horns grew larger and more imposing. "Yo..u are s.. so beau..tiful" you gasped and came softly in his hand. Bokuto looked at his hand and looked at the liquid in his hand. He tapped it with his tongue and licked it up. He felt better than before and looked at you. You laid sweaty on your pillow and looked embarrassed to the side. You got in your panties and the demon looked at you. "Thanks." He said and got up. "If you are hungry again ... you are welcomed to come over ..." you smile and see how he changed the look. "Thank you (y / m) and now sleep ... We will see each other again."

[miracleboiz]

Making a Home Ch.6

Kita Shinsuke had experienced a lot in life. He had been raised with his grandmother, a loving foster parent and for some time he followed in her foot steps before finding his own path. He thought his foster care license had expired before getting a call at three am with two small boys thrust into his arms. Miya Osamu and Atsumu, from broken homes but still fighting. Thirty days before his license expires. Thirty days to make a choice, keep the boys or let them be separated into different homes. Thirty days to fall in love with them.

Words: 4k

Relationships: Gen

Warnings: Mention of past child abuse, non-graphic abuse

Not from Kita, but it is mentioned. I will post any warnings before any panic attacks or vague descriptions of abuse.

Read below or on AO3

It took a second for Shinsuke to remember what he was supposed to be doing, watching earth brown eyes trace his face. He blinked as Osamu squirmed though and quickly put him on the ground, laying a hand on his shoulder. He gently rubbed his thumb in a circle as Osamu looked back up at him with confusion.

“Osamu, this is Aran-kun. He’s an old friend like Akagi. Aran. This is Osamu and his brother Atsumu, I’m fostering them for a bit.” Shinsuke explained, watching the taller man’s question flit across his face before he looked down at Osamu.

“It’s nice to meet you. Can I call you Osamu?” Aran asked, giving a polite bow.

Osamu giggled, falling back against Shinsuke as he tried to bow and laugh at the same time. Shinsuke lifted his hand as something grabbed the back of his shirt and lowered it down onto the messy hair of Atsumu’s peering head.

“ ‘Course! How else would you be able to tell us apart?” Osamu laughed, tilting his head up to flash a blinding grin at Shinsuke. “I like him! He’s funny.”

“You can call me Atsumu… What was your name again?” Atsumu asked as his free hand darted forward to grab his brother's shirt for a moment. Shinsuke stroked his hair, trying to soothe any anxiety starting to build.

“It’s Ojiro Aran. But you can call me Aran.” He smiled softly at him, waving his fingers at Osamu who laughed obviously delighted at getting attention.

“We should get the groceries inside, Atsumu, Osamu, could you open the door?” Shinsuke asked, wiggling the keys on his finger. Atsumu jumped at being called and then nodded, quickly grabbing the keys and dashing for the door.

Osamu leapt after him, already calling for him to slow down. They crashed together at the door, squabbling over the key and Shinsuke left them to the small scuffle, turning to look at Aran.

He had his own bag tucked into the curve of his elbow, a flash of white of the local butcher’s design. His head was shaved like it had been ever since high school, though he seemed to finally be growing out the beard he’d been threatening to do for the past three years. Shinsuke couldn’t help but notice he was dressed nicely, a lot nicer than they usually did for something as casual as meeting up once a year. A brown peacoat kept out the chill of the December air, peeking under it was a pale turtleneck and finished with black slacks.

After the fashion atrocities that the twins had put him through, Shinsuke thought he was owed a few heartbeats of taking in Aran looking good. He only got to see him once or twice a year as it was, it wasn’t like high school when-

“You’re drooling, baby cakes.” Akagi purred in his ear almost silently and Shinsuke could feel the heat on his cheeks as he turned to glare after his best friend. “Just sayin!”

“Is he harassing you again?” Aran laughed, deep and loud and Shinsuke suddenly felt seventeen again. Confused and elated at his own emotions and desperately trying to find a nearby hole to bury them in and never acknowledge again.

He took a breath, turning to face the door and take his first step. This wasn’t highschool and Shinsuke wasn’t looking for a partner, he had a plan for his life, he was going to stick to it, he wasn’t going to get distracted by anything, he was…

His eyes met the two little ones carefully putting their shoes away and turning to hold their arms out to him.

“Groceries,” Osamu chirped.

“Please and Thank you.” Atsumu finished, both of them making grab hands at Shinsuke.

Shinsuke froze, a momentary feeling of adoration and affection flooding through him before he shoved it into the hole beside the one marked ‘Aran’. They weren’t his boys, and they wouldn’t be. Ever.

He held out his own arms, letting them snag the lighter bags before moving to take off his own shoes. He jumped as his right arm suddenly got a lot lighter, looking over to see Aran slipping the bags off with the smallest hint of a smile on his lips as he moved past Shinsuke and into the kitchen. Shinsuke watched him leave, lips curving up of their own accord.

“Drooling.” Akagi coughed, not even bothering to hide his laugh when Shinsuke purposely ignored him and made his way into the kitchen.

“I brought the meat like I do every year, are you going to make the dumplings again?” Aran asked, carefully folding the brown bag around the meat before sliding it into the fridge and laying Shinsuke’s things on the counter. Osamu and Atsumu were already fishing through for their things, happily rushing back to their own room with their bags of clothes rustling.

“I am. Osamu will be helping me as well… Michinari.” Shinsuke called, watching Akagi freeze at the sound of his first name and slowly lifting Kitty up to hide himself from Shinsuke’s ice cold gaze. “Please return Kitty to the boys and help them put their clothes away. Pants in the drawers and shirts in the closet unless they’re the slacks then hang those up too.”

“Yes Mother Dearest.” Akagi chirped and flinched when he met Shinsuke’s stony look. “Father Dearest? Guardian Dearest? I’m running out of pronouns here- I’m going, I’m going!”

Shinsuke waited until he disappeared down the hall before he let the stern line of his shoulders drop. He shook his head fondly, after nearly twelve years he still couldn’t understand Akagi’s mind. It seemed to be a wonderful place, but Shinsuke prefered his own simplistic method of saving all of his imagination for his business.

“He’s still the same as ever, wild and free.” Aran laughed softly, turning to the grocery bags and starting to pull out the different items. Shinsuke nodded, moving to lay the bag of coloring books and toys against the entertainment system to be dealt with later.

“He’s happy and thriving. What more could I want for him?” Shinsuke asked as he took his place next to Aran again. He ignored his own skin feeling warmer as Aran leaned in closer to snag some of the seasonings.

“... You do sound like his father,” Aran said, looking rather apologetic as Shinsuke blinked at him open-mouthed, “sorry, it’s just… good to see that you haven’t grown apart.”

“... I suppose we have grown closer over the years...I see him much more than the others from our year. After all, anytime he’s in town he visits.” Shinsuke said, not really thinking of the implications until he saw the guilt written clear as day on Aran’s face.

He looked down, quickly grabbing the paper bags and moving away from the awkward situation. Ever since Aran had gone pro, Shinsuke had seen him less and less as the years went on until it was only once a year for the past three. He’d been busy, Shinsuke knew that, but he still thought a phone call wouldn’t have been out of place. Then again, perhaps they hadn’t been as close of friends as Shinsuke thought and it wasn’t like Shinsuke had called either.

“Ah… Well… Perhaps that will change this year.” Aran finally said after the minutes started to stretch between them, watching Shinsuke tuck the bags into the recycling bin. “I… retired, two months ago…”

Shinsuke lowered the flour he pulled out, and turned to watch him.

The volleyball player was moving the salt and pepper shakers around, trying not to look at Shinsuke as his face started to darken with a blush. He sighed, pushing the shakers back against the wall and bending down to grab the pot from the cabinet. His eyes flashed over, looking brilliantly golden in the direct light of the kitchen as they met Shinsuke’s, then looked away again.

“Did something happen?” Shinsuke said this time, as the silence seemed to drown him.

“Shoulder injury, enough to pull me from the rest of last season. Went in for surgery and we thought it was fine, then it got worse and I’m still not recovering like they’d hoped. When the muscle healed it… twisted kinda, and now it’s pressing against my nerves so my hand randomly goes completely numb, not any good for a spiker. I’m due for a second surgery next month.” He laughed, but it wasn’t warm, it was self-mocking and harsh. “I’m already twenty eight, I only had maybe another two or three years as it was. So I figured my contract was up, why would I agree to play for another four years or so only to be benched the entire time. They don’t pay well enough for that.”

He glanced up as Shinsuke shifted, subconsciously reaching out to him. Shinsuke froze as he realized where his hand was moving and made to pull it back, but Aran reached out instead. For a moment, a heart beat that Shinsuke hated to admit lasted a lifetime, Aran’s warm hand enclosed on his own.

“Don’t look so sad. I’m a coach now, at the middle school down the road a bit. I like working with kids and this way I won’t be saying goodbye to volleyball at all, I’ll just be shifting my work a bit. Besides, it means a more set schedule for… a more set life.” Aran said softly and Shinsuke could have sworn he was missing a very important hint but at that moment there was a thunder of feet and Shinsuke pulled his hand back.

Osamu rounded the corner, hair still a brilliant mess, and gasped when he saw Shinsuke. He dove forward, grabbing onto his leg and hiding behind it as Atsumu swung into the room.

“Shinsuke-san! ‘Samu said I was stupid!” Atsumu howled when he saw where his brother was taking shelter.

“No I didn’t! I said your nickname was stupid, stupid.” Osamu chirped back, sticking out his tongue. Shinsuke sighed, tapping Osamu’s shoulder.

“Do not call your brother stupid, there’s no reason to be rude to him even if you don’t like his ideas. Just tell him that you don’t like them and if it bothers you that much then come tell me. Atsumu, no chasing your brother through the house, the floors are slippery.” Shinsuke admonished both of them, gently pressing his index finger between Osamu’s eyebrows like his grandmother used to do to him.

Just like when Shinsuke had been younger, Osamu wasn’t capable of making faces at someone and being confused at the finger at the same time. Silver eyes blinked up at Shinsuke as his tongue slowly pulled itself back in his mouth and then he looked away.

“Mocking is also rude.” Shinsuke said softly, pulling his hand away to adjust the butterfly hair pin instead.

“Everything’s rude then.” Osamu grumbled unhappily, and all three of them jumped as Aran laughed. Osamu giggled after a moment, though Shinsuke felt the way his small fingers tightened their grip on his pants.

“What is this nickname you’re talking about anyways?” Shinsuke said, drawing their attention back to himself. The last thing he wanted to worry about was Atsumu accidentally giving his brother a nickname using a curse word and using it at school.

“He called me ‘Samu!” Osamu said, pointing at his brother who groaned.

“ You called me ‘Tsumu! It’s the same nickname!” Atsumu insisted, huffing and stomping his foot on the ground.

“No it’s not! Yours is stup- bad! Your nickname is bad.” Osamu said, already sticking his tongue out again and this time Shinsuke had to suppress his own laugh. He could hear Aran’s muffled laughter behind him and suddenly wished that he wasn’t a single parent with two wild children.

Wait.

He wasn't a single parent.

These kids were already…

He sighed and shook his head down at Osamu, poking his forehead again and this time Osamu didn’t pull his tongue back in. He simply stared up at Shinsuke with his tongue sticking out part way. It was unnecessarily adorable.

“Osamu, you both just took the first syllable of each other's names away. Why are you needing nicknames anyways?” Shinsuke asked.

“No reason.” The boys said together but first they seemed to look over at… Aran?

Shinsuke looked at both of them, eyeing the shifting from foot to foot. Osamu’s tongue was still poking out like he forgot it, so Shinsuke focused his stony glare on Atsumu instead. It hardly took any time before he broke.

“Aran-kun has a cool foreign name and we wanted one too, so ‘Samu called me ‘Tsumu and I called him ‘Samu and then he said it was stupid and ran to hide behind you like a baby!” Atsumu confessed, sticking his own tongue out as Osamu gasped and dashed around to stick his tongue out at him from Shinsuke’s other side. Aran was still trying to cover up his laughter, not even flinching when Shinsuke turned to give him a blank look.

“Alright you two, enough with the name calling. Didn’t you want to play with the… playable station?” Shinsuke reminded them, and Atsumu immediately perked up.

“Oh yeah! Can we Kita-san? Pretty please?” He gasped, clapping his hands together and fluttering his eyes dramatically at Shinsuke. Shinsuke sighed at the familiar look, wondering when Akagi had the chance to corrupt his kid.

“Of course, you know how to turn it on I presume?”

“Yep! C’mon Osamu.” Atsumu called, waving his brother over but Osamu didn’t move an inch. Instead he tugged gently on Shinsuke’s shirt and looked up at him.

“Are we going to… cook now?” He asked quietly, turning around to eye Aran for a moment as if he was going to steal Osamu’s chance to cook.

“In about two minutes when I get the rest of the ingredients down. You’ll need a stool to see the counter and help me roll the dough, so go grab it from the pantry and I’ll get what I need here okay?” Shinsuke said softly, dropping his hand down to gently scratch at the back of Osamu’s head and immediately he brightened with a loud giggle.

“Yes sir, Shinsuke-san!” He chirped, letting go of Shinsuke to run towards the pantry door.

“I forgot to ask, what happened to his hair?” Aran’s voice was suddenly a lot closer and Shinsuke forced away a shudder, purposefully ignoring how sweet his voice sounded.

“Akagi, speaking of which, Atsumu where is your Oji-san?”

“He had to take a call… Somethin’ ‘bout… Pictures of flowers.” Atsumu said, hopping closer and looking decidedly dejected. Shinsuke nodded, assuming one of Akagi’s photography clients knew he was back in town.

“What’s wrong Atsumu?” Shinsuke said when Atsumu’s expression didn’t change even as Osamu waddled his way back into the kitchen with the stool held against his chest.

“I…” Atsumu swallowed, watching his brother make his way to Shinsuke’s side. “I don’t wanna play alone…”

Shinsuke hesitated, there wasn’t much that needed to be made as they would cook the food bit by bit in the pot and he’d promised Osamu he could help. With Atsumu there, there would be little for both of them to do. However he didn’t want to dismiss Atsumu’s feelings of loneliness, after all, he’d only had his brother for years now it was instinct for him to have someone with him.

“Can I play with you?” Aran’s voice came again from Shinsuke’s left as he stepped up beside him. “I suck at all video games, but maybe you could teach me a thing or two?”

Atsumu perked up for a moment, bouncing on his toes before he hesitated and looked to Shinsuke. When Shinsuke nodded he dashed forward to grab Aran’s shirt and tugged him into the living room.

Shinsuke watched Atsumu, waiting until the TV lit up before turning back to his new helper. Osamu was nearly vibrating on the stove beyond excited to be able to cook.

“Okay, first of all we have to wash our hands, c’mon.” Shinsuke said softly, turning on the water. He watched Osamu roll up his sleeves carefully and hold out his hand patiently for the soap.

He could hear Atsumu’s voice drifting from the living room, excitedly chatting with Aran while the controller buttons clicked. Akagi’s voice was a rumble down the hall, nearly as quiet as Aran’s hums of acknowledgement.

Shinsuke grabbed the soap bottle and poured some onto Osamu’s hands, not bothering to push away the feeling of home.

Atsumu hadn’t been sure about his newest guardian at first. He was scary looking and talked a little bit like a robot. Even with his cool two toned hair, his eyes had been like ice and Atsumu had been quietly waiting for the truth to reveal itself that Shinsuke hated him like everyone else.

Instead, he’d been greeted with a soft voice even after making a mess and offered food instead of being denied it as a punishment. Shinsuke hadn’t yelled at them once, not even when Osamu had started crying and freaking out in his own shop. Atsumu had been convinced his brother was going to be slapped and was still trying to process the idea that Shinsuke hadn’t been mad. He’d helped them even, helped Osamu calm down and insisted they were okay.

Atsumu knew it was only the first day and he shouldn’t get attached. A lot of foster parents were great for the first week when the social workers would come by almost daily, then when they stopped dropping by the reality was revealed. Yet…

Shinsuke had taken them shopping, he’d even bought the really expensive toy Atsumu picked out just to see if he would get it. He bought them brand new clothes instead of taking them to a thrift store or insisting they could wear their old ones until they wore out. He even laughed with them and ruffled their hair like… like they were actually his kids…

Atsumu shook his head, huffing to himself as he turned back to his game. Shinsuke was a foster parent, that meant Shinsuke was going to leave like everyone else. Even if he was nice, he was just another person who would pass them off as soon as he could.

Atsumu grunted to himself, pressing a hand against his chest as something seemed to ache. He didn’t want to be passed off. It wasn’t fair that everyone else got parents and he… he got no one. All he had was Osamu and everyone wanted to take him away.

Osamu was a ‘sweet boy’ who everyone loved and Atsumu was the ‘evil brat’ everyone wanted to leave outside. Atsumu knew he should have let the adopters take Osamu, he wouldn’t be stuck waiting for this home to end and prepare for the next one over and over again. He’d have a house and parents and friends but Atsumu couldn’t bring himself to let go of his brother.

Atsumu wanted a home with his brother, that was his best friend. Besides, Osamu never stood up for himself against anyone who wasn’t Atsumu, if Atsumu wasn’t there then who would protect him?

“You okay Atsumu?” Akagi’s voice said from beside him and Atsumu jumped before he recognized it. He looked up at the taller man, taking note of the genuine worry that seemed to cross his face.

“Yeah, why?” Atsumu said innocently, weakness was always exploited and he couldn’t risk upsetting them when Osamu seemed to have finally relaxed around someone.

“You just look a little sad is all,” Akagi explained, giving him a smile as guilt started to creep into Atsumu’s heart. Akagi was nice, he was really excited to be their Oji-san, but Atsumu knew better than to think he would stick around when Shinsuke got rid of them.

“I’m just hungry, lunch was forever ago.” Atsumu explained, drawling the words. Aran shifted next to him and Atsumu realized he was watching too.

He wasn’t sure how to explain it but… He didn’t like Aran. Well. He did and he didn’t. Aran seemed nice, and he hadn’t told Atsumut to shut up when he was explaining the game, and he was soft spoken. However, Shinsuke had gotten really quiet when he arrived.

Shinsuke had been laughing, something Atsumu had realized was quite the rarity from Akagi’s comments. Then Aran had appeared and Shinsuke was… softer. He looked away more instead of staring his ice-cold gaze into his heart, and his voice didn’t rise to it’s normal tone. He touched Osamu more when he got close to Aran, petting his hair and patting his shoulders, as if Osamu was going to disappear.

Something had to be wrong with Aran… Or maybe they had married before and weren’t anymore. Atsumu had lived with a woman for a few weeks a while back who had broken up with her husband when they arrived. She ignored them for the most part, but whenever he came around she suddenly started touching them more and wouldn’t speak up unless spoken too.

Atsumu shifted restlessly for a moment, listening to the sounds of his new pants on the couch, before turning to look for his brother. Osamu was crouched over the counter, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he carefully curled the dough into a ball. Flour coated his hands and shirt but Shinsuke wasn’t upset, instead he seemed amused as he wiped some off of Atsumu’s twin’s nose.

Atsumu turned back around, leaning into the couch and tucking the fox stuffed animal from earlier into his side. He watched his character craft a pickaxe and sighed as he relaxed slowly, for once not worried about being caged onto a couch by two people.

Osamu was happy. They were safe for now. That was all that mattered. No point in thinking about the past.

[folerdetdufoler]

ugh okay so back to blogging, yeah? i fell asleep around one, and woke up a little after five for the sunrise. a quick glance outside only gave me clouds so i went back to sleep. eventually i woke up and had breakfast, enjoyed some tea and a lighter (though still cloudy) view, and took a shower. i hadn’t planned anything for my mornings, which was a relief as i definitely needed the recovery time, so i didn’t have to leave until i messages with nadège to meet up at eleven. i strolled down to the opera house, where they were all headed because jenn and haidee were taking the tour, and took an embarrassing amount of time to climb to the roof. i mean, the lord was testing me.

luckily i arrived before nadège and could sit down in the shade and let my heart/lungs/legs/everything recover. when she got there we waited a bit more for jasmine and silvia to join, chatting up some seagulls while we did. they were maaaad friendly, y’all. super chill, camera-ready. those were birds who knew how to play the game, knew that if they were patient and still, they’d be handsomely rewarded for their photos. anyway, we gathered and walked some more, not really with any direction and quite fine with that. it’s been so long now that i can’t remember what we talked about, but you can bet your ass i mentioned “dicks” at least five times within the hour. eventually we went back toward the opera house to scoop haidee and jenn, and continued on toward sørenga. the sun had come out and we could just sit and chill.

at first i was surprised that it was quite empty but then i remembered that it was a weekday. and also the water is still fucking freezing. i dipped my feet in an attempt to soak them back to life but didn’t last very long. nadège captured the moment anyway, kerry-style, because that was the first time i had put my feet in the harbor! i’ve visited the pool many times but i think they’ve all been in the winter, which is weird. next time i’ll have to actually take a swim.

jenn, nadège, and haidee left for lunch. i stayed a bit longer at the pool with jasmine and silvia because i had had a late breakfast and i was still high from it. we talked some more (and now i’m remembering what we talked about, and i’m still rolling my eyes) and i got a little sunburn on my nose because that bitch decided to make an appearance. then we went to do some shopping for things silvia needed.

it was fun tagging along with them, listening to the kinds of conversations you have when you live in norway. most of the time i’m with people from outside of the country, but now i was just with some “locals,” and they were talking about their daily lives versus topics only related to a visit. i mean, they were doing this on wednesday too, but i guess it was just noticeable now, the subtle difference in conversations that i listened in on depending on who i was hanging out with. in general i avoid directing a conversation, since i never feel like i have the authority to do so, so i like to be aware of what i’m participating in even when it’s very passive. and thaaat was just a long way of saying “i like to listen.”

i dragged them into a convenience shop for a drink, because after all of that walking i now needed some quick sugar. jasmine introduced me to solo, which i don’t think i’ve ever experienced before, not even some kind of american version. i also bought a copy of aftenposten there, which is the newspaper i’m modeling the journalism fic on. had to do some research!

i don’t know what else we did, maybe just more walking and talking. eventually we parted at central station. i popped back to the hotel to prepare for another evening at the festival and then promptly left without the most important thing: my reusable cups! i went back, my feet already screaming at me. and perhaps it was all for naught, as i wasn’t exactly clear on the whole cup policy (like i could’ve bought another set and then returned them at the end of the festival) but whatever. i got to the park and found the girls.

i had a mild interest in seeing mitski, and we’d arrived just in time for her set, but was honestly torn between sitting down and getting close enough to see her. i sat. then i moved over to the main stage and sat there. i knew i had to stand for sigrid so i was saving myself for that. and then i stood, and danced, and sang. i’ve seen her a couple of times now (though oh my gosh not as much as haidee!) and it was so fun seeing how different she was for a norwegian crowd. same energy, of course, but a familiarity that seemed to relax her and make her more nervous at the same time. it was cute. and, like always, her set felt too short. the good stuff always ends too soon.

the crowd flowed over to vindfruen for erykah badu, and she started her set late, though i suppose if you’re erykah badu you simply start your set whenever the fuck you want. she’s just living her life, saying the shit she wants to say, and like any other artist, i don’t have any control over that.

moving on! dumplings. i bought dinner at the festival, because we had a bit of a wait before the last show. the first day i had been too overwhelmed by the choices and the norwegian to figure out what i wanted to eat, but this time the area was a little less busy and i knew i actually needed food before another couple of hours in the crowd. so i gravitated to the dumplings, and they were good! then we went back to the stage for tame impala.

at some point i was standing close enough to someone else with even’s backpack, and i took a creeper shot of it. over the past few days i’d gotten an urge to buy his backpack (just like i have his coat) but after talking with jasmine i understood it wouldn’t be right. those items were given to the volunteers who worked the festival each year, and they could wear them with pride, knowing that they contributed to a wonderful event and supported an important message. to buy one would be disingenuous. so i settled for brushing up against someone else’s bag every so often and thinking of even. i have my bracelet, just like jonas, so that should be enough.

(though HEY, jonas and even we’re both at øyafestivalen in 2015 so wheeeeere is the fic where isak chases even across the festival grounds for four days? and maybe they connect over a certain delillos song on saturday night? hmmmm.)

anyway, i don’t think i’ve ever purposefully listened to tame impala before. a couple of songs felt vaguely familiar, like maybe i’d heard them on the radio, or a soundtrack to something else. a commercial? but in general i had no clue what was going on. the crowd was tight again, and this time nadège was suffering next to a more boisterous dancer, but i think that was the vibe. people weren’t really watching the stage since it was just lights and lasers and smoke, but they were feeling the music and smoking and letting their bodies just do what they wanted. most of my photos are like...angled to the sky, which leads me to believe that i was standing behind a tall person and didn’t have a clear shot of the stage very often. which was fine, since i didn’t know what i was looking at anyway, but it just made me think how much i’d prefer that listening experience like, alone...in my bedroom...with no one touching me.

i do remember this one guy yelling, “i love you, kevin!” after every song and that was sweet. he was there for a good time. kevin kept commenting on the number of bras that were tossed onto the stage too, so i guess a lot of people were there for a good time. it was cute hearing him say that in his australian accent, too. bra. i know typing it means nothing, but his light drawl compared to the norwegian “bra” was interesting.

mmmmmmmm then we went home? every night ended the same way, the mass exodus out the main gate, the gathering halfway down the hill, a quick recap of the show and plans for the next day, and then separating. i always got a burst of energy from that walk home, which would keep me awake for another hour no matter how physically tired i was (maybe because i was alone at that point and knew i had to be on high alert for my own safety). but the photo of tame impala’s stage is the last one in my camera roll before friday’s sunrise so i think that’s it. i’ll probably get around to posting that recap in like, november? stay tuned.

[divinion1990]

Things We Do Not Speak Of

Well, @mdelpin, it’s been a long time coming but I’ve finally got the beginnings of this. I’ve really been running away with this so it’ll be a few more chapters too! FF.net | A03

Summary: Following the Alverez war, Natsu needs to talk to Gray. There is too much left unspoken, events that they haven’t been able to talk through, but he can’t even step through his front door without seeing his friendly stalker outside…

DAY ONE

The sky was grey and overcast. A light breeze whispered in the wind. And the town of Magnolia was still once more.

It had been almost three weeks since the battle of Alverez. Tirelessly, the wizards of Fairy Tail worked on the repairs to the war-torn land, initially focussing on their guildhall before diverting their resources towards helping the rest of the town. A great debt was owed to the citizens of Magnolia. Yet again they had been pulled into a war that had nothing to do with them, and yet again they had stood by their side, holding not an ounce of blame towards their resident guild. It was only fair for Fairy Tail to send their greatest workers far and wide across the city, helping wherever they went.

It was getting late. Most of Natsu’s friends had disappeared their separate ways, filled with a need to either soothe aching muscles in baths or calm their minds with a strong drink. The dragon slayer, on the other hand, was still walking. After an exhausting day making the final repairs inside the guildhall - which he had, admittedly, almost singlehandedly demolished in the first place – he began to take in the work the rest of his fellow mages had achieved. He had to admit that Magnolia was starting to look beautiful again, both inside and out. The people smiled more, they saw the Fairy Tail symbol and greeted the wizards as old friends. The days were long, the work was hard, but at the end of it, it was worth it to see the things that had once been broken were beginning to mend.

He absently watched as the busy streets of bustling stalls turned to long winding roads of plain houses. The damage here seemed a distant memory in these old stone houses. Even before the war, Natsu had never had much reason to venture this direction, but still he knew the route like the back of his hand. All the way to a seemingly uninteresting townhouse.

"Hello, Natsu-san."

"Hey, Juvia. I should have known you'd be around," he greeted the water witch with a kind and wide smile as always.

Natsu was so used to the combined harmony with his target, he'd almost missed that there was a second scent all along. Juvia Lockser sat opposite the house he had been staring into, as she obviously had been for quite some time. The whole setup seemed strange, but nothing unexpected from the rain woman. She had a flask on one side, filled with some cool liquid gaining condensation, a couple of bags by her feet, and a box of food on her lap. A heavenly scent filled the air from the perfectly steamed dumplings; obviously she had taken some time to improve her previously questionable cooking. Just as he was about to remark on her preparation, the young woman dragged another of the bags forward, pulling out a circular tub which matched the one that she had on her own lap. "Would you like something to eat?" she asked, lifting it up to the dragon slayer.

He couldn't refuse, even if he wanted to. Not while the smell of her meal was in the air, warm dumplings that were somehow still steaming fresh. He could feel his mouth watering just looking at it, eagerly taking the box into his hands. "Thanks!" he said, surprised but taking a seat beside her. "This, uh, isn't gonna have Gray's face on it or anything, is it?" he asked, opening the box cautiously.

Juvia's own face turned bright red, but she shook her head quickly. "Juvia could never let Natsu eat Gray-sama!"

It wouldn't have stopped him, but it would have made him feel slightly more awkward to take the meal. He took a pair of chopsticks from her, snapping them open and eagerly picking up the first piece. The rush of salt and spices mixed with the soft bounce of texture, and it really did taste just as amazing as it smelt. "Oh my god, this is so good! Did you make this for Gray?" he asked with a full mouth.

"Mhmm. Juvia would love to go inside and give some to Gray!" she announced without so much of a heartbeat of hesitation. But then, she sighed. Her chopsticks lowered in her hand and her gaze dropped. "But Gray-sama doesn't want to see Juvia today."

Natsu frowned to himself. That didn't exactly sound very nice. "He said that?"

"No, but he didn't invite Juvia inside," she said, as if no other explanation were needed. "Maybe you'll have more luck. Would you like a drink?”

Natsu took one look at what appeared to be a freezing cold drink in Juvia’s hand, no doubt made for very different taste buds to his own. He scrunched up his nose. “No thanks. So, you’re not going in, just because he didn’t invite you inside? Did you knock?”

“Well, Gray-sama knows that Juvia is outside. When Gray-sama wants to see his Juvia, then he will come out and invite her into his home. If he sees that Natsu-san is here too, he might invite is both inside. Although… Juvia is surprised you even know where Gray-sama's house is."

"What do you mean by that?" Natsu asked, leaning back and waiting. That almost sounded accusing.

"Natsu has never been here before."

"That's not true!"

"Yes, it is. Juvia has never seen you here."

"That doesn't mean I haven't been here!" Yes, it did. He knew it did, just as he knew it was true. Once, he may have known this familiar route from muscle memory and childhood games, but now it was scent alone that brought him to this doorstop.

Juvia hummed to herself in thought. She, unlike the vast majority of Fairy Tail, didn't seem willing to argue with Natsu. "So, if you don't mind Juvia asking… what are you doing here now?"

That was an excellent question. "No reason." Juvia's eyebrows raised, and Natsu's frown deepened. Even he knew that that wasn’t a valid explanation. He shrugged his shoulders instead, the first excuses he could think of flying out of his mouth; "I didn't see him at the guild today, that's all."

"Juvia didn’t think that many people were still at the guild… Gray-sama was repairing Kardia Cathedral today," Juvia offered helpfully.

"Ah, that makes sense," Natsu said to himself. It hadn't been too badly damaged compared to the other buildings and livelihoods, but Gray had a connection to the religious building. And the guildhall was so close to completion, having an entire guild crawling over it usually did more harm than good.

"Is that the only reason?" Juvia pressed.

She was persistent, he would give her that. "What about you? If you know you're not going to go inside, what are you doing here?" he asked instead, turning the question back onto the rain woman.

"Juvia doesn't have to go inside to know she is with her Gray-sama," she said, sounding almost proud. Her eyes glittered as she stared up at the window, the one that Natsu could only assume would be Gray's bedroom and most likely where he was in now. "If Juvia stays here, then Gray-sama will know that Juvia is here for him, whenever he wants her! Juvia will always be there for Gray-sama."

There was something almost kind of sweet about that, even if it was in their own special way. "Well, then, maybe that's why I'm here too," Natsu said thoughtfully.

"Natsu is in love with Gray-sama too?!" Juvia's eyes widened, a glare resembling that of a wild animal. Her body posture had completely changed now. Every muscle had tensed, the empty container was held close to her chest as she eyed the last of Natsu's food, wondering if she would learn to regret lending both her meal and perfect position to the ‘love rival'.

"What?! No!!" he quickly spat out. She had gone from adorable to terrifying in the blink of an eye, and any response but that would have left him boiled alive. "I meant the other stuff! You know, being there and- stuff."

Juvia was not so easily convinced. "Juvia doesn't understand…" she said stiffly,

Neither did Natsu, but he wasn't going to admit as much. "It's nothing. I was just going to, you know, talk about missions – yeah, that's right. A new mission. When the guild is back."

"Oh…" Juvia said slowly, still giving Natsu a slightly wary look but at least deciding that calmed the worst of her fears. "So, if it is not to confess your love… why haven't you gone inside yet?"

"I was eating! And being nice to you!" he insisted. But the question still caught himself off-guard. Because in a way, Juvia was right; he should have gone straight in. Talking to Juvia wasn't an excuse, it had been a distraction, one that had long since lost its potency now they had been sitting together for a few minutes.

He sat upright, ready to go. But didn’t stand up.

"Is something wrong?"

"No!" Natsu shook his head quickly. Nothing was wrong. It was fine. He needed to go in there and-

"You've never done this before, have you?" Juvia asked quietly.

He hadn't expected her to say anything, especially not that. How was it that he felt so completely lost even as her eyes seemed clearer than ever? "Never done what?"

"Being a friend," Juvia said with a soft smile, before quickly holding up her hands before Natsu could begin to shout at her. "Juvia knows that Natsu-san has always been great at motivating and cheering people on and making so many friends. Maybe even better than Gray-sama-"

"Definitely better than Gray-sama…" Natsu mumbled under his breath.

"-And from all that Juvia has seen, Natsu-san has always been there to fight alongside his friends. But you are also very good at fighting people that you love. It’s who you are. Fairy Tail loves Natsu-san… but… have you ever told anyone that you love them?"

"I already said I don't-!!"

"As your best friend, Natsu."

"…Oh."

He bit back in a sullen, angry silence at that statement. Because the implication was just completely untrue. He was an amazing friend. He had always been an amazing friend. He was the one who stood by the people he loved when there seemed like no hope. He would scream and shout until they got back onto their feet and kept fighting. How was that not telling someone that they loved them?

Besides, Gray didn't have to hear something like that. He got punched often enough to know that he was loved.

"I think that Gray-sama would love to hear that you care about him. As a friend."

If the last three words weren't said in such a terrifying, warning tone, her sentiment might have been the one of the nicest things that Natsu had ever heard. It was just a shame that he didn't believe it. "Yeah, he's not gonna care about that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck beneath his scarf. His muscles ached for rest, while his mind begged for escape. He looked up at the sky, watching the horizon turning a deep crimson. It was starting to get late, and his mind was failing to connect his words to his feelings anymore. “I bet he'd want to hear it from you, though."

"You really think so?!" Juvia gasped, his eyes suddenly lit up like Christmas.

"Sure, of course. He adores you," he said.

Suddenly, everything in his body was just done with the rest of the day. Like a light switch turning off. The sky suddenly seemed to be vanishing into darkness, the muscles in his body all unanimously screamed for rest. He didn’t understand why every cell in his body had suddenly turned against him, when all he’d been doing was having a pleasant conversation with the smitten woman. The two simply couldn’t have been connected.

He stood sharply, passing Juvia's food container back to her. "Thanks for the meal, Juvia. I'll see you at the guild tomorrow. Or the Cathedral?"

Juvia looked up and nodded, a bright and wide smile plastered on her face. "We'll see you tomorrow, Natsu-san!"

[sippin-on-red-wine]

Fluff Blurb

Can’t sleep so why the hell not. I have no idea how to write “fluff” but here’s what just came out of my head.

*

Ed had been feeling ‘off’ for maybe about a week now. He had never missed a performance due to illness, and he wasn’t about to start now. Luckily, you were traveling with him at the time and could keep an eye on him. Not that Stu or the other crew guys wouldn’t, but it was very Ed-like to not complain about not feeling well, or turn down a pint with the boys after a show when what he really needed was rest.

So he pushed through the promos, the meet & greets, the interviews, the travel. With you by his side. You fetched him glasses of orange juice and put honey & lemon in his tea. You were his scapegoat to go back to the hotel and rest during any downtime. The show was a live, televised holiday event and he did not want to miss it or give a second-rate performance.

Ed being Ed, knocked it the hell out of the park. His newest single was out and already adored by millions – but hearing it played with a nearly 100 piece symphony orchestra – it wowed even you, someone who had heard the song too many times to remember.

You were so proud of him, and the two of you made love later that evening after the performance. It was sweet, and slow, and gentle – just what you’d both needed.

The next day of traveling home was particularly brutal, and Ed’s sickness seemed to really kick in now that his subconscious knew that he had a month long break for the holidays.

You had returned to your flat, Ed insisting on carrying nearly all of your luggage as per usual. A coughing fit hit him as he rolled the suitcases in the front door, and you had sent him away to change into something comfortable and find some cough medicine.

You set the bags off to the side, you wouldn’t need anything from them right away. Ed came back out to the living room dressed in plaid fleece pajama pants and a hoodie, his arms wrapped around himself.

“Are you cold, bub?” You asked, the shiver on his skin almost visible from across the room.

He nodded, the thick frame of his eyeglasses standing out more than usual against his creamy complexion, all dotted with faint freckles.

He settled down on the sofa and you scurried over to cover him up with a couple of the throw blankets you kept out here in the old wooden trunk-chest.

You propped the couch accent pillows up under his head and tucked the blankets all around him. He seemed slightly more at ease, though it was alarming to see him this way – no longer the cackling child with his head thrown back in laughter, or the thoughtful boyfriend who tried to do everything for you when you were together – because he carried so much guilt for being away so much. He looked small, wrapped up there on the sofa.

“That better, babe?” You asked, rubbing his back.

“A little bit, thank you sweetheart…” his voice was all full of rasp (not the good kind).

You wracked your brain, trying to think of something you could do to make him feel better. He was already on DayQuil and cough medicine… he just needed a little rest and some TLC for his body to recuperate.

“Teddy, I’m going to run down over to J.D.’s and pick up a pint of soup for you, okay?” His ocean blue eyes peeked up at you, looking grateful.

“No, love, it’s freezing out–”

“Hush,” you said, brushing your thumb over his pale pink lips. “I’ll be right back.”

And so you had donned your parka, hat, scarf and mittens, and made your way back out to the sparkly snowstorm. Thankfully it was a short walk.

Short, yes – but the wind was whipping snow and ice around and your eyes burned and the tip of your nose was red from the cold, you were sure of it. But you had retrieved two pints of scratch-made chicken dumpling soup, plus a bag of biscuits to go with. A quick run-in to the corner store got you a bottle of 7-Up, the same drink your Grandma had always given you when you were little and had the flu. You would forever associate it with feeling better, and you hoped Ed would catch those placebo feelings as well.

You walk into the apartment, kicking your boots off on the tray by the door and locking it behind you. You set down your quest’s prizes on the kitchen counter and glance over at the sofa, where Ed is huddled up under blankets galore, asleep.

You shake out of your cold weather gear and shuck your jeans, leaving them in a pile on the kitchen floor. You’d been wearing one of Ed’s long sleeve thermal shirts all day and it would be fine to sleep in.

You sat on the edge of the couch, gently tracing the outline of his bicep through the layers of blankets. You hadn’t wanted to wake him, but you thought getting a little something in his stomach would be for the best.

He awoke with a start, jumping out of his skin a bit, just for a second, til he got a grasp on his surroundings. “Sorry, Teddy, I didn’t mean to startle you…. I’ve got soup, do you want some now?”

He pushed back the covers, freeing his arm, reaching out to touch your pink, wind-chilled nose.

“C’mere,” he whispered, not even intentionally - his voice was gone. “Stay with me.”

He turned onto his side, facing away, toward the back of the sofa. It was luckily an extra-deep couch, or else this may not have worked. But you sidled up on the cushion behind him, letting him be the little spoon, which he loved.

You wrapped an arm around his chest and he tucked it below his, holding it close to his heart.

“G’night Teddy,” you spoke quietly.

“Babe? Thanks for taking care 'f me. Don’t deserve you…”

[misharuu]

All You Had To Do Was Ask ; Part Two/Four

part one.

Fandom: Naruto Shippuden  (you only need basic knowledge of the fandom to enjoy this story; only the subplot mentions the canon!)

Pairing: Jiraiya x Naruto 

Warning/Tags: NSFW ; yaoi, sickfic, emeto, depression, mental breakdown, mental illness, self harm/suicide attempt (in future chapters)

Summary: After spending the night trying to nurse Naruto back to health Jiraiya realizes he can no longer deny his feelings for him, and his feelings are reciprocated. They act on it, and afterwards Jiraiya feels guilty and tries to brush it off like it was no big deal, not realizing that he’d be the straw to finally break the camels back.

Word Count: 6,067

A/N: in the chapter Jiraiya and Naruto do a bit of experimentation, but Jiraiya gets a bit too drunk and worries that Naruto will regret his decisions. he tries to brush off what happens and sends Naruto spiraling off the deep end. will Jiraiya be able to glue the pieces back together? Or has he broken Naruto for good?as always feedback is always loved c:in the chapter Jiraiya and Naruto do a bit of experimentation, but Jiraiya gets a bit too drunk and worries that Naruto will regret his decisions. he tries to brush off what happens and sends Naruto spiraling off the deep end. will Jiraiya be able to glue the pieces back together? Or has he broken Naruto for good?

as always feedback is always loved c:

AO3. FF.

PART TWO: CONFUSION

Jiraiya blinked his eyes open, his eyelids heavy with sleep. He yawned and stretched out his arms, reaching out to his side to see if Naruto was awake but he found the spot empty. He sighed as he pulled the blankets off his legs, giving himself a moment to wake up before getting himself to his feet. He yawned as he stumbled to the bathroom, tapping a gentle courtesy knock before opening the door. Jiraiya sighed as he walked into the small room, standing in front of the mirror. He reached for his toothbrush before turning on the sink, glancing sideways at Naruto.

"You okay?" Jiraiya asked nonchalantly, squeezing some toothpaste onto his brush, wetting it under the stream of water.

"Just peachy," Naruto hissed from his spot on the floor, curled up in front of the toilet. He sniffled and then flushed the toilet, leaning his head against the wall as he allowed his eyes to close. He was utterly exhausted. He'd spent most of the night violently shivering from his fever and every time he was finally about to fall asleep he'd have to throw up again. At first he used the trash can that Jiraiya left on the floor for him but every time he’d get sick Jiraiya would wake up and feel compelled to help him, making Naruto feel guilty for disturbing his sensei’s sleep. So then he decided to use the bathroom, but then Jiraiya wound up following him into the bathroom as well, holding him, rubbing his back, forcing him to drink water, coddling him. At that point Naruto started to get annoyed, he just wanted Jiraiya to sleep. The next time he noticed Jiraiya falling asleep he silently slipped away, bringing the spare blanket with him, and holed up in the bathroom for the rest of the night. His plan worked and Jiraiya was able to get the sleep he needed while Naruto was left in peace.

“How long have you been sitting here?” Jiraiya asked once he was done brushing his teeth, a disapproving look in his eyes.

“A few hours. I got tired of you coddling me,” Naruto sniffed, wrapping his blanket around his shoulders as he slipped passed Jiraiya, padding over to his mattress. He flopped into his pillow, wincing at the pain in his ribs as he attempted to get comfortable.

Jiraiya smirked, “yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, you know you love it.” He followed Naruto back into their room, slipping on his shoes. “I’m going to go grab some food and restock some of our supplies, you want any breakfast?”

Naruto groaned, pulling the blanket over his head. “Please don’t talk about food,” his voice muffled, “and eat it before you get back. I don’t even want to smell it.”

“Anything for you,” Jiraiya teased as he left the room, letting the door click behind him.

He brushed a hand through his hair as he made his way through the hallways of the onsen. There was a small town with a market right outside of the springs that Jiraiya was hoping to restock at. It was a pleasant walk and he spent most of it people watching. He always found it amusing watching the townspeople going about their lives, unburdened by the stresses of the Akatsuki. Every now and then Jiraiya felt jealous of them, of their ability to find such happiness surrounded by their families and friends, but then he’d remember that he had a higher purpose. Or maybe more so that he had an important mission; training Naruto. He had been perfectly content before blending into the background, working on his books as his land was preparing for war, but that had changed. He quickly came to the realization that he had to do whatever he could to prepare the next generation and help them achieve a peace that he was never able to feel throughout his life, and Naruto was the key. Jiraiya knew it as soon as he met the boy all those years ago; Naruto was the answer. He just needed to help him find his way, and right now that meant taking care of him as best as he could while he struggled through some shit. Normally a situation like this would piss him off. He was never the type to be all touchy feely and caring, nursing someone back to health when they were sick. But for some reason this was different. Last night when he was taking care of Naruto and the boy admitted to all the issues he was having mentally dealing with The Nine Tailed Fox something clicked into place. Jiraiya couldn't quite explain what, but he could feel a difference inside of himself. A soft spot for Naruto, and an insatiable urge to protect him. Looking into Naruto's eyes as he begged him to stay... Jiraiya's heart filled with admiration.  

Jiraiya was pulled out of his thoughts as he came up to the market, line after line of quaint wooden stalls dotted the street, their brightly colored banners blowing in the wind. The smell of roasting chicken and dumplings floated on the air as children played on the road. Jiraiya took a few moments to take in the scenery before sighing deeply, heading into the market. It took him a few moments to find the dumpling stand and as soon as he found it he realized just how hungry he was; he was so caught up with Naruto the previous day he'd never had dinner. His stomach grumbled uncomfortably as he looked over the small menu. He placed his order and paid the man at the register, inhaling his dumplings so quickly he was surprised he didn't choke on them.

"Ahhh, those were amazing!" Jiraiya sighed contently from his seat on a bench, leaning back as he basked in the sun. He rested for a few moments as he enjoyed the beautiful weather before moving on to the next shop on his list, a small medicine shop. He walked through the door and bowed his head slightly to the girl behind the counter. She was probably around her mid twenties, a pretty face, shoulder length honey blonde hair with choppy bangs, thin physique, and a super short skirt. Jiraiya smirked as he sauntered up to the counter.

“Hey, beautiful. What’s a pretty thing like you doing working at a shop like this?” he purred, leaning his elbows on the cherry wood as he gave her a sly smile. The girl blushed and giggled, crossing her arms over her chest in a coy display that just so happened to press her breasts together. Jiraiya couldn’t help but take a glance.

”Oh you know, healing is my passion. Do you need any of my healing?” the girl flirted back, batting her eyelashes. Bingo!

”Now that you mention it...” Jiraiya started flirtatiously, reaching out to caress the girls arm. Just as he was about to touch her skin, looking into her big sea blue eyes, a thought zapped into his skull. She looked just like Naruto. The thought made him freeze for a second before he slowly pulled his hand back. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I don’t, but I do need some recommendations. Got anything for a bad stomach virus? And any healing cream, especially anything for broken bones?” he asked, suddenly serious.

The girl seemed taken aback for a moment at the sudden change of conversation but she quickly regained her composure, smiling brightly. “Got a sick kid at home?” she asked compassionately before turning to grab some items from the shelf behind her.

”Something like that,” Jiraiya murmured, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.

The girl threw the medicine in a bag and placed it in the counter for Jiraiya. “Luckily for you I have my own homemade healing cream, great for broken bones, sprains, strains, bruises... just about everything! I also threw in some ginger tea which should help with an upset stomach, along with a bottle of medicine that has great hydrating qualities,” she took the money from Jiraiya before slipping a piece of paper into his hand. “And that’s my number,” she winked before Jiraiya took the bag off the counter.

Jiraiya flashed her a quick smile, “thank you.” As he left the store he absentmindedly shoved the piece of paper in the bag, heading back to the onsen to check on Naruto. He had been gone a bit longer than planned and he was starting to get nervous. Along the way he made a quick stop and purchased some plain chicken broth that he hoped Naruto would be able to stomach along with some of the boys favorite snacks and treats before hurrying back down the road.

——————— 

   Jiraiya used his key and closed the door quietly, hoping Naruto was able to catch up on some sleep while he was gone. He tip toed into the room, turning a corner into the main room. He frowned as he saw Naruto kneeling on his futon, slumped over the garbage can as he got sick. Jiraiya sighed, placing the bag on the counter before heading over to Naruto.

"Y-yeah," Naruto was able to stammer before vomiting up a stream of water and bile. Jiraiya reached over and rubbed Naruto’s back as he gagged and retched miserably. Finally Naruto sniffled and spit into the can, wiping his face on his sleeve. He laid back down and pulled the blanket tight against his body as he broke out in a cold sweat. 

‘Poor kid can’t catch a break,’ Jiraiya thought as he reached out to feel Naruto’s forehead, checking for a fever. “You’re burning up,” Jiraiya winced as he felt the heat rolling off of him in waves. Naruto leaned into Jiraiya’s hand, seeking comfort. “Hold on, I got some stuff for you,” Jiraiya said, getting up off the floor and walking into the small kitchenette where he placed the bag. He hastily took the whole bag back into the room with him, shuffling through it quickly and removing the teabags and soup. He handed the bag to Naruto and headed back to the kitchen, grabbing a teakettle from the cabinet. He quickly filled it with water and placed it on the stove, lighting the flame. He took a small pot and placed it on another burner, filling it with the soup so it could reheat. Naruto weakly shuffled through the bag and removed the medicine, placing the bag on the ground next to his bed.

”Huh?” Naruto said to himself as he noticed a piece of paper stuck to the bottle. A phone number? Naruto narrowed his eyes as he stared at the paper, the curly handwriting ended with a heart.

“Oh, the girl at the shop said that stuff will help, you should take some now,” Jiraiya called from the kitchen as the kettle started hissing. He poured the hot water into a cup over the teabag and carried it to Naruto’s bed. He saw Naruto sitting up, staring at something in his lap. “What’s up?” he asked as he placed the cup down, recognizing the paper in the boy’s hand.

As Naruto examined the paper he felt an odd emotion creeping up inside. Was he jealous? No, he didn’t really care that Jiraiya had picked up some girl, that wasn’t necessarily a rare occurrence. So what was this feeling? His eyes widened as he realized he was angry at the girl for flirting with Jiraiya; he wasn’t jealous of Jiraiya... he was jealous of the girl. “O-oh, nothing,” Naruto quickly shoved the paper back into bag. He reached for the cup and picked it up in his hands, relishing it's warmth.

”Don’t worry, Naruto, I’m not planning on calling her,” Jiraiya stated.

Naruto blushed, “why would I care either way?” he grumbled as he held the tea up to his mouth, taking a small sip. The tea warmed him up from the inside out, settling his uneasy stomach. He let out a shaky breath as he reached for the medicine Jiraiya had gotten him, unscrewing the lid and taking a sip. He scrunched up his nose at the awful, acidic taste, taking a sip of his tea to try to get rid of the aftertaste. Naruto sat the cup down and then pulled up the covers, a light shiver rolling down his spine.

“I know you’re not gonna want it but I brought you some soup, it’s heating up now. You need to try to eat something,” Jiraiya said as he went back into the kitchen, waiting for the soup to boil. As soon as it was hot he poured it into a bowl, grabbing a spoon and heading back into their room. He handed it to Naruto and then sat on the couch as Naruto slowly worked on his soup. He couldn’t get through more than half of it before he set it down and curled back up in bed.

"Feel any better?" Jiraiya asked gently. Naruto gave him an unconvincing nod as he squeezed his eyes tight, willing his stomach to let him sleep. Jiraiya yawned and stretched as he laid down on his own mattress over the covers, "a nap sounds great right about now," he sighed lazily, folding his arms underneath his head. He laid there for a little while just staring at the ceiling, allowing his mind to wander. He glanced at Naruto to check if he was sleeping and frowned as he watched him shiver and shake.

Naruto's teeth quietly chattered as he hugged his arms to his chest, trying to warm himself up. He could tell by the sweat pooling on his pillow that he had a fever, but he was just so damn cold. He pulled his knees to his chest, miserably groaning as he gave up trying to find warmth. Suddenly he felt something being spread across his body and he looked up, watching as Jiraiya spread his own blanket over Naruto's trembling frame. Jiraiya knelt next to Naruto's futon before lifting the covers and sliding in next to him, his strong hands reaching out to the younger man before pulling him close, nestling Naruto's head under his chin.

"I'll keep you warm," Jiraiya mumbled sleepily.

Naruto balled his hands into fists, his eyes burning as he fought away tears. 'Why is he being like this? Why does he care?' Naruto thought to himself bitterly, 'how can he go from disappearing for weeks on end to taking care of me like this? I don't deserve it, I'm only wasting his time.' He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as a pain spread through his stomach, subconsciously pulling his knees tight to his chest. He stifled a gag and swallowed hard, willing his stomach to settle.

"You okay?" Jiraiya asked gently.

"I-I think I'm gonna be sick," Naruto groaned, trying to breathe slowly through his mouth. Suddenly he felt Jiraiya's hand snaking it's way over his waist and to his abdomen, slowly and gently rubbing his stomach in circles. The feeling was so foreign that at first Naruto just sat there with his eyes wide, holding his breath. He'd never had anyone do this for him. He'd seen mothers do this for their sick children, but he had never been able to experience it for himself. He had to admit, it helped more than he thought it would. He couldn't help but sigh with relief as his stomach finally started to settle, sinking deeper into his pillow. He bit his lip as his heart flip flopped in his chest, anxiety mounting. What's happening? Why is Jiraiya doing this? He was always so strict. Normally if he was sick Jiraiya would just leave him on his own for a few days, give him some privacy, maybe bring some food to make sure he's alive. But this... this feeling... it was too much. It overwhelmed him, crashing over him in waves. He wanted to run, but the other half of him wanted to stay, begging for this sort of connection. There was something else there, too. Something deeper, harder to identify. He didn't want to identify it, but it was screaming in his head, begging to be heard. Naruto tried to concentrate on it, trying to drag it out of the shadows.

Jiraiya smiled to himself as he felt Naruto relaxing again. He felt the boy's soft hair rubbing against his cheek, warm and vanilla scented. Jiraiya breathed in deep, allowing his eyes to close as he rubbed Naruto's stomach, happy that he could do something to help. As Naruto heard Jiraiya's breath in his ear, strong hands on his body, something stirred inside him. Something warm, something primal. And suddenly as Jiraiya's hands traveled near Naruto's hips the side of his hand rubbed against the tip of Naruto's hard cock, eliciting a sharp gasp from him as his nerve endings went crazy, way too sensitive due to his fever. They both froze instantly. Naruto's eyes snapped open, holding his breath, his hands shaking and sweaty. 'Oh shit, what the fuck just happened,' Naruto thought to himself, afraid to move, afraid to speak. Jiraiya's hand was still pressed against his lower abdomen and he could feel his hand quivering. Naruto didn't know what to do, his head was spinning, temples exploding with pain from his spike in blood pressure, causing his hands to go flying to the sides of his head, trying to squeeze the pain away. Naruto winced, tears springing to his eyes, he couldn't take it, he had to run, he had to get the fuck out and -

"I've gotcha," Jiraiya whispered into his ear, slowly dragging his hand up Naruto's body, caressing his neck, and finally stopping at his cheek. He wiped away his tears and then pressed two fingers to Naruto's temple, gently applying pressure and massaging the pain away. Naruto let out a shaky sigh as the pain in his head receded, his heart still hammering in his chest.

"Better?" Jiraiya asked quietly, letting his fingers linger on Naruto's cheek. Naruto just nodded, unable to speak, shaking with anxiety. Jiraiya's hand traveled back down Naruto's body, taking his time, stopping at his stomach and hesitating for a moment before going back to his task, rubbing Naruto's stomach. Naruto's hand clenched his pillow, Jiraiya's touch sending shock waves through his body, eliciting a barely audible moan. Jiraiya's fingers paused right above the waistline of Naruto's sweatpants. "Do you want me to stop?" the older man purred and Naruto could only shake his head, his cheeks flushed. Jiraiya nodded, nestling his face in the crook of Naruto's neck. Naruto could hear Jiraiya's panted breaths, feel the warmth of his breath on his skin. Jiraiya's hand traveled over Naruto's upper thigh, rubbing and teasing, before slipping his fingertips between his inner thighs. Naruto could feel the heat growing in his groin, his body tingling, breath coming in short spurts. He parted his legs slightly as Jiraiya gripped his inner thigh, his hand traveling upwards, just barely grazing Naruto's hard cock. Jiraiya picked his hand up, purposely not touching Naruto's dick as he rested his hand above Naruto's waistband. He slipped a finger below the elastic, tracing the line so slowly, so agonizingly slow, and Naruto moaned quietly, begging for friction. That set Jiraiya off; he grinded his hips against Naruto's ass, taking advantage of their spooning position. The feeling of Jiraiya's erection against his ass made him gasp, hands tightly clutching his pillow. He'd never been with another man before and had only so much as got to second base with a girl. These new feelings were sending him into a frenzy; unfamiliar territory that made his head spin. Jiraiya was experienced, he knew just how to push Naruto's buttons in all the right ways.

"Take them off," Jiraiya whispered into Naruto's ear, the feeling of his breath on his fever hot skin made him shiver with anticipation. Naruto took his pants off so quickly that he almost ripped them, making Jiraiya chuckle. "Careful, you're sick, you need to go easy," Jiraiya's voice was so tender, so genuine. Jiraiya's strong hand took its time exploring Naruto's body, fingertips lingering over his neck, dancing over his collarbone, then caressing his nipple. Naruto gasped as Jiraiya gently squeezed the nub while allowing his lips to graze Naruto's ear. Naruto whined desperately, his cock aching for release. Jiraiya's hand continued it's journey, stopping again on his inner thigh. He gave Naruto's thigh a squeeze before finally skirting his fingertips over Naruto's erection. Naruto moaned and bucked his hips forward, searching for friction. Jiraiya slowly took Naruto's length into his hand over his boxers but didn't move, teasing the younger man further. Naruto had enough; he quickly turned over to face Jiraiya, propping his leg up on Jiraiya's thigh. As soon as he was on his side he closed the distance between them, mashing their lips together. Naruto kissed the older man deeply, panting against his lips as he grinded his hips against Jiraiya's erection, barely getting any traction due to the layers of clothing.

"Off," Naruto growled, his pupils blown, cheeks flushed. Jiraiya complied but left his boxers on; he wanted this to be about Naruto, not him. Naruto moaned as he was finally able to rub his length against Jiraiya's, sloppily jumping back into the kiss, nipping Jiraiya's bottom lip. Jiraiya gasped at the sharp pain, gently trailing his tongue against Naruto's bottom lip. Naruto's lips parted, giving Jiraiya access. Jiraiya took in Naruto's taste, his hand reaching between their hips. “Ah - !” Naruto gasped as Jiraiya’s hand rubbed against his cock, his cheeks flushed a bright crimson, feeling so vulnerable beneath Jiraiya’s grasp. His hips stuttered as Jiraiya stroked his length through the thin fabric. Naruto was frozen in place, his head lolling against the pillow, lips slightly parted as he panted along with Jiraiya’s strokes. Suddenly Jiraiya was moving, laying Naruto down on his back and slipping his boxers off. He paused for a moment on his knees at the end of the mattress, taking in the view. Naruto’s huge cock was throbbing, leaking precome. His whiskered cheeks were red, pink lips parted and slick with saliva, pupils blown. His hair was messy and his eyes were glassed over, seeping with desire. ‘He’s perfect,’ Jiraiya thought to himself, absolutely enamored with the blond.

”P-please -,“ Naruto whined, wriggling his ass on the mattress. Jiraiya smirked, laying next to the younger man as he sucked him back in for a kiss. Jiraiya took hold of Naruto’s erection, stroking the shaft before focusing on the head, his thumb grazing over the slit. Naruto whined again, wanting more. Jiraiya grabbed Naruto’s face before tracing his lips with his fingers, allowing his pointer finger to dip into his mouth. Naruto allowed his finger in, twirling his tongue around it, moaning as he felt heat coiling in his stomach. He sloppily sucked on Jiraiya’s finger as he jerked him off, edging closer and closer to his release. Just as he was about to cum Jiraiya let go of his cock, causing it to make a lewd slapping sound as he dropped it. Naruto gasped as his orgasm was denied and Jiraiya quickly took his finger out of Naruto’s mouth, a string of saliva following behind it. Jiraiya reached down and squeezed Naruto’s ass cheek, causing the boy to rut into his upper thigh. He swirled his spit slick finger around Naruto’s opening slowly.

”A-ah, please!” Naruto’s voice quivered, gripping Jiraiya’s side. Jiraiya had a sly grin on his face as he teased Naruto’s opening, neglecting his aching cock. He slowly inserted the tip of his finger as Naruto rocked back on it, forcing in his full digit. “Eager, aren’t you?” Jiraiya purred into Naruto’s ear, kissing and nipping his neck as he fingered his hole. Jiraiya could feel how high Naruto’s fever was by the heat of his entrance and he began to grow concerned and guilty. He started to consider stopping when Naruto gripped onto Jiraiya’s shirt. “Mmh -,” Naruto stuttered his hips as Jiraiya fingered his opening, forcing a quicker pace. After a moment Naruto couldn’t take it anymore, he needed more. “P-please, fuck me,” he begged lewdly, coming apart on Jiraiya’s fingers. Jiraiya frowned at the boy, “not now, not yet. This is about you,” he stated, pressing his lips against Naruto’s. Naruto wrapped his leg over Jiraiya’s hip as he added a second finger, letting out a moan himself as Naruto dry humped him desperately, their cocks rubbing against each other.

Naruto’s head fell forward into the crook of Jiraiya’s neck as he felt the pressure building in his groin, his erection throbbing painfully as it begged for release. Just then Jiraiya’s fingers grazed Naruto’s prostate for the first time, causing him to yell out with pleasure. Jiraiya used his other hand to jerk off Naruto, leaving the boy a sloppy, cursing mess. “F-fuck, d-don’t stop,” Naruto stammered as he rocked back and forth between Jiraiya’s fingers and his grasp around his cock, thrusting wildly into his hand as the pressure built and built. “A-Ah, g-gonna cum,” Naruto moaned, his head rolling back as stripes of cum coated both of their stomachs. Naruto thrust into Jiraiya’s hand a few more times before collapsing upon the mattress, completely spent. He panted as he stared at Jiraiya, confused, anxious, and absolutely satisfied. He had no idea what to say, but thankfully Jiraiya didn’t expect anything, he just stood up and headed to the bathroom, grabbing some tissues to clean them up. He wiped the cum off Naruto’s chest before cleaning up his dick and backside, helping the younger man get dressed. Naruto’s legs were weak and shaky and he felt useless. He fell back onto the pillow, almost immediately falling into a deep sleep.

——————— 

   When Naruto awoke Jiraiya was gone, a piercing silence taking his place. At first Naruto was convinced that their encounter was a dream, but he could tell by Jiraiya’s scent on his pillow and the slight ache in his legs that it was real. He laid still for a while contemplating what this meant for them. Part of him was afraid, uncomfortable and ashamed, while the other half was elated. A twinge in his stomach reminded him of his sickness and he reached up for his medicine, taking a long pull of the bottle before scrunching up his nose from the taste. He pushed himself up on shaky legs and headed for the kitchen, filling a glass with cool water. He took a few small sips before laying back down. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to relax when he heard the door slam open. He jumped as he sat up quickly, startled and shocked.

Jiraiya stumbled into the room reeking like sake and smoke. Naruto’s nose wrinkled as the smell assaulted his nostrils. “Oh! Hey, Naruto! You’re finally awake,” Jiraiya drunkly staggered to the couch, plopping onto the cushions with a sigh.

Naruto hesitated for a moment as he narrowed his eyes at his teacher. “Yeah, I guess... how long was I out?” he asked, surprised by how weak his voice sounded.

”At least a few hours now, I figured I’d clear out so I wouldn’t disturb you,” Jiraiya commented, speaking much louder than he intended. Naruto winced as the noise caused a throbbing pain to form in his temples just as he was starting to think that he was getting better. He laid back down with his back facing Jiraiya, unsure how he was supposed to feel about what happened earlier. He wanted to talk about it, but he was also afraid of what the answer would be.

”So about earlier...” Naruto started, happy that he couldn’t see Jiraiya’s face from his position on the floor. He felt his cheeks flush as he relived the experience in his head, how amazing Jiraiya’s fingers felt inside of him.

”Oh, that,” Jiraiya said flatly, slurring. He was completely wasted, seeing double. He suddenly started laughing which annoyed Naruto; he was hoping to have a serious conversation and instantly regretted bringing it up with Jiraiya when he was so drunk. He should have known that this wasn’t going to go smoothly, something about Jiraiya was off, but he remained hopeful. Jiraiya was so tender and loving to him, the way Naruto felt when he was held in his arms made him lightheaded and warm inside, a feeling that was hard to come by. The last few weeks Naruto could feel himself slipping into a dark depression, thinking about killing himself frequently, the sake singing him to sleep every night while Jiraiya was gone. The Nine Tailed Fox was tormenting him daily, but the last few days with Jiraiya the Fox was completely silent, giving Naruto hope that he’d be able to overcome.

”That was a mistake, Naruto. We can’t do that again. I had a moment of weakness... you understand, right?” Jiraiya had a stupid grin on his face. Naruto slowly sat up, facing Jiraiya. His chest burned with rage. He wanted to yell at him, throw shit, punch something - but he was too weak. He opened his mouth to respond but Jiraiya interrupted him. “You know me, I love the ladies! I just felt bad for you... it was a one time thing. Besides, I just met up with that girl from the shop at a bar earlier and I think I’m going over her place tonight,” Jiraiya giggled.

Naruto’s mouth snapped shut, everything that he was about to say just slipped from his mind. He felt bad for him? He kissed his lips and jerked him off and touched him so tenderly because he felt bad? Naruto cleared his throat as he felt tears welling up in his eyes, trying to fight them away. ‘I should have known... he was just using me, just like everyone else. I’m worthless, just a toy to him. He got what he needed and now he’s done with me,’ Naruto thought to himself, hands clenching in his lap. He rose to his unsteady feet and took a few steps forward, ready to rip into Jiraiya, when he heard a snickering in his head. ‘I told you, boy. He’ll never want you like you want him. He made you want him, grooming you and nursing you back to health, so he could throw you away like trash, giving you what you deserve,’ the Fox’s ominous voice boomed in his head. Naruto covered his ears with his hands, sinking to his knees, squeezing his eyes shut as his tears threatened to spill. He tried to block out the voice but failed since it was inside of him. ‘Shut up... just SHUT UP! You don’t know anything!’ he yelled at the Fox internally, hands still clamped over his ears. The Fox laughed at him, ‘stop trying. No one cares about you. Give in to me and I’ll take care of all of these people for you. They’ll never hurt you again.’

”SHUT UP!” Naruto yelled out loud, tears spilling over his cheeks. Suddenly he felt a hand on his back. He whipped his head to the side and saw Jiraiya standing over him with a concerned look on his face. He quickly shut his eyes again, not wanting to face him when he was in this condition.

“Naruto... what’s going on?” he asked, wavering on his feet. Naruto sobbed, confused and scared, his heart thrumming in his chest. He could still hear the Fox laughing in his ears as his vision started to go red and dark around the edges, everything spinning and shimmering. Naruto shook his head hard, trying to take control back. He felt Jiraiya’s hands on his face, in his hair, on his forehead, trying to pry his hands off his ears.

“Just STOP! JUST FUCKING STOP! GET AWAY FROM ME!” Naruto yelled, trying to shake Jiraiya’s hands off of him. Jiraiya looked terrified, instantly sobering up at Naruto’s sudden breakdown. He thought he was telling Naruto what he wanted to hear. He now realized that he did the exact opposite, causing Naruto more pain than he’d already been in. After he left the room earlier a deep guilt set in and he started to convince himself that he’d taken advantage of Naruto while he was weak. He got drunk to take the edge off, and in his state he thought his best course of action would be to just laugh it off, act casual. He was sorely mistaken and he felt awful. His heart sunk in his chest as he tried to stop Naruto’s thrashing, attempting to get a grip on his shoulders.

”Naruto... Naruto, stop! I’m sorry, I was wrong! I just thought that’s what you wanted me to say! Please!” Jiraiya begged, tears stinging his eyes. But Naruto didn’t hear or see him, all he could focus on was the Fox’s cackling laughter in his ears as he taunted him. Naruto coughed and sobbed, desperate for the Fox to stop. All of a sudden he was silent and Jiraiya thought he was finally getting through to him. “Naruto...?” he whispered, sniffling.

”I’m gonna be sick,” Naruto choked out as his hand flew to his mouth, struggling to get out of Jiraiya’s grasp so he could get to the bathroom or a garbage can but he didn’t have enough time. Jiraiya rushed to grab the can as Naruto vomited through his fingers, trying to bend forward so he wouldn’t get sick on himself but he failed, the rush of liquid splattering in his lap.

”Oh shit, oh fuck, I’m so sorry, Naruto, shit, fuck -,” a string of curses erupted from Jiraiya as he shoved the garbage can into Naruto’s hands in time for round two. Naruto retched up another dribble of bile, his body too weak and exhausted to fight, allowing wave after wave of vomit to splash into the can. “Fuck, Naruto, I’m so sorry - god damn it,” Jiraiya couldn’t do anything but watch as Naruto puked, jumping up to grab him some water and a wash cloth to clean him up. When Jiraiya came back Naruto was trying to strip out of his pants but the feeling of the warm vomit soaking into the fabric made his stomach flip. He heaved onto the floor between his hands and Jiraiya winced at the sound of it hitting the hardwood. “God damn it, Naruto, just stop, calm down, I’m here, it’s okay,” Jiraiya was panicking and was astonished at the amount of curses he was spitting out, darkly thinking that he must have broken a personal record. He helped Naruto pull off his pants, grabbing the wet washcloth. Naruto sobbed and shook, grabbing on to Jiraiya’s shoulder to help hold him steady. Jiraiya wrapped him up in his arms, repeatedly apologizing. He carefully wiped his face with the washcloth, his heart absolutely demolished, millions of broken pieces. Jiraiya cleaned him up and got a new pair of pants for him, struggling to pull them up on his own as Naruto was no help, laying in a heap.

”God, Naruto, what’s going on?!” Jiraiya asked harshly, taking the boy in his arms again. He felt so small in his arms, so weak, so broken. Every time Naruto tried to answer he wound up choking on his tears, hiccuping and coughing, until Jiraiya hushed him, having to resort to rocking him back and forth in an attempt to calm him. Jiraiya was terrified, he’d never seen Naruto like this, and he knew he was at fault, at least partially. He knew the Fox was tormenting him, he should have known that brushing off their encounter wasn’t the right thing to do, but at the moment he thought Naruto’s issues went much deeper than that. He didn’t know what to do other than repeatedly apologize and curse himself.

Once Naruto started to calm down Jiraiya placed him back in bed and started to clean up the mess while his heart ached. He felt tears stinging his eyes and he didn’t even try to fight them. He fucked up. Bad. He had hurt Naruto and he hoped and prayed that it wasn’t enough to ruin what they had. He prayed it wasn’t enough to break him for good.

part three.

[starwritesfanfics]

Miracle Mistake part 2

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Warning: Small bit of angst and some fluff?

Tags: @captainswriting​ @caitsymichelle13​ @animeepeeps @384-chubby-dumpling​ @smollittlebean

  You haven’t been getting out of the house as much anymore because of how big you’ve gotten bigger. Ned and Michelle have been helping you, along with Aunt May, with getting you what you need and soothing you when you break down into tears. Every mood swing, every craving, every little movement your children make, only serves as a reminder about how Peter isn’t here to help you. Michelle makes the midnight or three in the morning craving runs, Ned talks to you and reads the baby books with you, and Aunt may sooths you and tells you what to expect. It still isn’t the same, as much as they tried to help you.   They refuse to let you visit Peter’s gravesite since you were 6 and a half months along, which pissed you off since you wanted to “tell” him everything that happened during the pregnancy, so you took to writing letters. You wrote letters catching you up to the current day of your pregnancy, the feelings of each day that still swirled inside of you.   Looking up from your book, you smile at the sight of your seven-month-old twins playing on a mat together. Michael is smaller than his brother, though the doctors had assured you that was normal as the human female body couldn’t form two children the exact weight and height at the same time, so you aren’t too worried. Ben is already showing that he’s gentle with his smaller brother, even though Mike wants to start playing rough with their toys. You can’t help but giggle at them.   Your phone rings and you check for caller ID, which makes your heart drop. Why is he calling you? You had only talked to him once, on the worst day of your life, how did he get your cellphone number?   “Hello?” you work hard to keep your voice from shaking.   “Hey, yeah, is this Miss Y/n L/n?” The deep voice on the other side is only all too familiar to you.   You swallow hard. “Yes, and this is Tony Stark that I’m speaking to?”   “It is indeed. I need to ask you to come to the Tower.”   You frown slightly, looking at your babies. “Um, when? I’m kinda…busy at the moment.”   “Soon. Tomorrow at most, okay? I have something here that I believe is yours.”   “Okay, thank you.” He hangs up. “I think…”   Moving to sit with your babies on the floor, you decide to call Ned later to see if he could watch the twins. Right now, all you want to do is spend time with your babies before you might have your heart crushed by Tony Stark again.                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Everyone watches you as you walk through the halls of the new Avengers Tower, looking around for any sign of Tony or any of the current Avengers. No one had given you any instructions of where to go or who to ask for, so you are stuck wandering the possibly endless maze of halls of the giant building. It honestly was just a pain being on your own here.   You’re seriously thinking about calling Tony’s number until you catch a glimpse of him in one of the room’s windows. You sigh in relief and hurry into the room, only to freeze just past the doorway.   In the room are four people; Tony Stark, Vision, Black Widow, and a man with his back to you, but you knew the type of suit he’s wearing. It’s not the same as the one you’re used to, so you know Tony must have made another one for him, but you know him.   “Is this some kind of sick joke?” you look over to Stark with anger in your eyes. How could he ask you to come here for this?   The man with his back to you turns to face you and you roll your lips to keep yourself quiet. You can’t make yourself look into the white eyes of his mask. You can’t even bring yourself to talk to him, to see if it’s really him under there.   “Y/n, I can explain why you’re here. When I told you that Peter was dead, there was a reason. He went on a delicate mission-“   Your phone ringing startles everyone, including you since you were close to telling Tony to shut up, you didn’t want to hear a word of the bull he was trying to tell you. You freak out a little inside when you see the caller is Ned. Answering quickly, you try not to seem too panicked.   “Hey, yeah, I’m here. What’s wrong? N-ned, slow down, I-…no, no, I can hear him, what…Ned, tell me what happened to Michael! …ugh, I’ll be home soon.”   You hang up with an angry look and rush out of the room, running down the halls and out to your car to drive home as quickly as you can while still obeying traffic laws. You pull up to your house sooner than you thought you would and run inside, stumbling inside after tripping on the first step.   “Ned?!”   He peeks out from your living room. “I’m in here!”   You sigh, walking quickly into the room to see Michael whimpering with a band-aid on his little knee. “Ned, what happened to him?” You ask as you crouch by your baby.   “He and Benny were rough housing and got a little cocky and tried to stand up with the couch and ended up barely scraping his knee.”   You give him a look. “So, why did you call me sounding so panicked?”   He looks sheepish as he tries to shrug it off. “Um, well…I didn’t know how to calm him down, but he stopped crying after about five minutes or maybe less.”   You sigh, but gather Michael into your arms gently as Ben crawls over to both of you. “Thank you for watching them, Ned.”

  “What were you out doing?”   You sigh softly. “Nothing really important. I’ll see you later, okay?”   He nods, waving goodbye as you pick up both twins and walk upstairs to lay them in bed, which are two cribs on either side of the baby room that you decorated with light blue wall paint to keep it bright, Peter’s old mask on one of the shelves, then other little superhero things you found for the boys to look at before they fall asleep. You gently kiss both their heads before turning off the light and heading to your room to read a little before you go to bed yourself. Just as you get comfortable in bed and flip to your saved page, you hear a window open and close in your house.   Getting up quietly, you grab the bat by your bed which Michelle had gotten you, even though both you and Peter had never been big on sports at all. Now you’re glad you have it. Padding softly down the hall, you peer into every room, freezing in place as you look into your twins’ room. There’s a person standing just barely in reach of the moonlight that’s shining into the room. Taking a deep, quiet breath, you walk up behind the person to stop again. Ben is standing up in his crib, holding the person’s hand (more like finger honestly) in his tiny hands, gurgling at them. The person pulls away to pick up the mask off the shelf and look over it carefully.   You steady yourself, raising the bat above your head to bring it down to knock the intruder out. Just as you are about to fully bring it down on the person’s head, they flip around and grab the bat, sliding it out of your hands and behind them. You’re shocked that they can move that fast that they already have your hands pinned the hallway wall, just outside the twins’ room.   “What the fu-let me go!” Realization finally hits you as you start to struggle.   “Shh, one of them’s still sleeping,” Spider-Man whispers, his voice muffled, but you know the voice so well.   You stare right at him, still not believing it’s him. After so many months, over a year, of thinking he’s dead, he’s standing right in front of you.   “Stark was trying to tell you I was on a delicate mission. I could’ve died any time on it and it was easier to not let you have false hope if I didn’t make it back. And if you had tried to call me during the mission, it would’ve put us all in danger. It was my idea,” his voice cracks slightly. “I saw you at the grave they put up and…I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you like that.”   He lets go of your hands so you reach up and pull up his mask slowly. “Peter…”   You smile as you pull the mask off, seeing his fair fluffy from the mask messing it up. God, how much you missed him and how he’d look at you with such earnest and hope in his eyes.   “Are you staying now?” You ask quietly, not wanting to talk too loud in case it’s just a dream.   He smiles at you, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to your lips. “I have you again and I’m not letting you go again.”   You smile into the kiss, cupping his cheeks gently as you still hold his new mask.   “One question, though.”   You look at him curiously.   “What are those kids’ names and are they mine?”   You laugh softly. This is gonna be fun to explain the whole night.

[jimlingss]

Rent-a-Boyfriend™ Drabble

Read the original: Rent-a-Boyfriend™ Read more at Service Series

Words: 1.7k Genre: Fluff. Lots of it.  I know this fic is a favourite amongst all of you and though I don’t have any ideas for an entire sequel, I hope this will suffice. 

You’re scared for your life.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic but you can’t call yourself over the top when Taehyung’s your boyfriend.

And recently you learnt how much he loves to celebrate holidays.

For New Years, he popped confetti the moment you walked through the door and you found your entire living room covered in balloons. When the clock struck twelve, he attacked and devoured you in kisses, claiming you his as you laughed - that was the best part. The worst part was that your entire ceiling was still covered in vibrant balloons and for the next few weeks, you live in utter fear. They would spontaneously pop one at a time; sometimes when you woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and it’s pitch black outside. Sometimes a balloon would pop in the middle of your sleep and it never stopped scaring you shitless.

For Christmas, Taehyung set up three Christmas trees - one in the living room, in the bedroom and in the bathroom (you still don’t know why). When you came home, you found your apartment windows completely covered in icicles. You couldn’t even look outside and you found that he had turned down the thermostat to freezing temperatures. When you found the boy, he was in the kitchen with a humongous, boxy grin plastered on his face, caught in the act with a snow cone machine in his hand. He tried filling the floor with fake snow for you.

During the Winter solstice, Taehyung surprised you with five sweaters and two new blankets, wine and the television was playing a twenty four hour video of a crackling fireplace. He pushed your heating machine in front of the table and made you sit in front of it. But you couldn’t really complain when he was cuddling you the entire night.

Even for International Women’s Day, you came home from work to find more wine on the table, a new stock of pads next to a pitcher of red tomato juice and dozens upon dozens of cupcakes - which he confessed to almost burning down your place on the treacherous journey to make them. As if it wasn’t enough, he showed you a video that he had put together himself - a damn video of all your friends thanking you for being such an amazing woman. It was beyond embarrassing and you wondered how he forced them into participating.

And now...it’s your birthday. Great.

“Taehyung?!” You shout into your apartment, finding it oddly quiet and dark. Your back is pressed against the wall as you slowly tread in, carefully inspecting any corner he could jump out of to surprise you with confetti. “Babe?! Are you there?”

Socks tread softly on the floor and he slides into the living room with a grin. “You’re home?”

“Yeah…” You strip from your outerwear, eyeing him warily. “....are you okay?”

“Yup!” He stands tall, the same grin that you love glued on his lips. “How was work?”

“Good.” You answer back, still alert of the entire situation and how unsettling and...calm everything is. You’ll admit that you’re a bit disappointed. Though his extravagant celebrating ways is a bit too exhausting for you, you still appreciated every little thing that he put effort into.

But you’re still too suspicious to take a breath of relief.

“Happy birthday, Y/N!” He smiles. “My little dumpling’s all grown up.”

You scrunch up your face, quickly leaving a kiss on his lips. “Don’t call me that.” He pouts, following you as you walk into the kitchen. “What’s this?”

There’s a white box on the counter, a sheer window that allows you to peek at the- “It’s a cake!” He hugs you from behind, arms wrapping around your shoulder and locking you into place. “Do you like it?”

“Yes.” You look up at him with a frown. “You didn’t make me any yourself?”

“Nope.” He pops the ‘p’ with his lips. “I got it from that bakery you like.”

“Oh.” You’re a bit surprised. You really expected the kitchen to be filled with confectionery baked goods, from cupcakes to muffins, all spelling your name in icing. You even expected him to stick candles in everything and make you blow them out until you would faint. It’s odd. Too strange.

“Is there something wrong?” You ask him, turning around as his hands clasp around your waist.

Taehyung purses his lips for a second, pausing before shaking his head. “Nope. But I do have a surprise for you!”

Your eyebrow lifts at him in wariness. “A surprise?”

“Nothing bad. You’ll really like it.”

“Did you get a job?”

“No silly. Why would I do that?” He grins at you, kissing you quickly and stealing away your chance to scoff at him. “Hold on. I’ll be back. Stay here.”

You obey, sitting down on a stool as you watch Taehyung disappear into your bedroom. It takes a long minute as you stare at the wall, tapping your foot impatiently and then there’s a crash.

“Are you okay?!” You shout at him in alarm, standing up and walking down the hallway.

“EVERYTHING IS FINE.” He screams back, a louder ruckus following and making you wince. “JUST STAY OUT THERE.”

“Okay, okay.” You back away from the closed door, beginning to nervously pace around the kitchen. What was going on?

“I’m back.” He returns a few seconds later with a wrapped up box. It looks fairly neatly done, candy cane wrapping from Christmas and a yellow bow planted on top of it. “It’s your present.”

“Hey...you got better.” You muse at his wrapping skills, a lot less horrendous than when you two were wrapping gifts for friends. He had gotten tape stuck to every object in your house, accidentally spilling glitter all over your floor and you had only calmed down when he tied you up with the ribbon and- okay..that’s enough of that memory.

You clear your throat, snapping out of your daze before you start blushing and you begin to unravel his present. He watches in anticipation, eyes flickering from the gift to your face. Within a few movements, you’ve uncovered the box to reveal your favourite wine. “Aw. Thanks, Tae.” You stand on your toes, plopping another fleeting kiss on his lips and he smiles.

“Am I the best boyfriend ever?”

“You are.” You smile, already moving to take out the wine glasses. “Ready to eat some cake and drink som-”

Meow.

The sound makes you freeze and you dart your head over to the bedroom. Taehyung’s eyes grow as wide as saucers, almost comically and his mouth drops open. You frown, looking back at your boyfriend who starts to fake innocence. “What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Taehyung.”

“I swear it’s nothing.”

You put down the bottle on the counter, crossing your arms while giving him an unimpressed expression. It’s as if you’re scolding a kindergartener and it takes one long glare before he breaks. “Fine. Fine. I just..it’s just-...I decided…”

Before he can find the right words, a chubby brown cat comes strolling into the kitchen. It’s head is held up high like it owns the place, tail flickering like its prestigious nobility. As it notices your stare, it hisses at you before jumping up onto the couch of the living room. “What. is. that?”

Taehyung sheepishly grins, a stiff bubble of laughter coming from his throat. “It’s a cat.”

“Is that the stray we saw the other day at the park?!” You’re gaping at him and he pouts at you, moving to pick up the animal. The chubby thing relaxes in his hands as he cradles it like a baby.

“Don’t call Y/N-ie a stray.”

“Oh my god. YOU NAMED IT?! AND AFTER ME?!”

“Well…” He smiles, nuzzling the cat to his cheek and it purrs with closed eyes. “I love you so much that I decided to name it after you. Isn’t she precious?”

“No. She is not.” You sigh out, an oncoming headache pounding at your temples. “Taehyung. We can’t keep this cat.”

“Why not? It can be the third member to our house!” He pouts at you, batting his eyelashes and giving you the cutest puppy dog eyes ever. You’re already feeling weak in your knees. Goddammit. This kid knows exactly what he’s doing.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about her after we saw her at the park….I chased her down and then I brought her to the vet. She’s perfectly healthy and she has all her shots too! I already bought all the things she needs!”

“Oh my god…” You slap a hand to your forehead. “Taehyung!”

“Don’t be mad.”

“I’m trying not to.”

“It’s your birthday gift.” He sets down the cat, moving to hug you again and you sigh in his warm arms. “Sorry I didn’t ask you first.” He murmurs in your ear and by the way you sigh once more, the both of you know that you’re defeated.

You bask in his warmth, returning his hug and after a long silence of the peace returning, he mischievously whispers in your ear, letting his hot breath graze against your skin in the way he knows you like it. “Are you jealous that I brought home another female? Are you afraid I won’t pay attention to you anymore?” He smirks when you shudder, even though his words are completely ridiculous. You curse your body for having such a reaction that’s already become instinctive.

“Shut up.”

Taehyung wastes no time in lifting you up in his arms as you yelp. He laughs playfully, making his way to the bedroom but then he quickly turns on his heels. “Don’t wait for us, Y/N-ie.” He addresses the brown cat the lazily settles on the carpet. “Me and this Y/N might take awhile.”

His laugh is contagious and you find yourself grinning at him. As he settles you on the mattress and climbs on top of you, you stop his attacking lips from devouring you in kisses. “You know we’re not going to actually name her Y/N-ie, right?”

He doesn’t answer you, moving your hand pressing against his mouth. “Right, Taehyung?….”

“Taehyung! Are you even listening?”

Your boyfriend ignores you again, smiling as he kisses your nose. He doesn’t give you any chance at all for the rest of the night to complain and really...you can’t even find it in you to complain.

[milkshake-fairy]

Birthday Cake

Author: Milkshake-fairy

(AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11324301/chapters/26089194 )

Rating: Explicit

Summary: He want that cake cake cake cake~

(Happy Birthday Sasuke!) 

“Instead of just running at the tree over and over again, try to actually clear your minds and focus. Think through what you’re doing and understand where your chakra is.” Sasuke crosses his arms and and observes his three genin students trying to walk all the way up various trees, attempting to focus their chakras at the bottom of their feet. It was a common exercise in chakra control, one that he himself had done so many years ago with team 7 and Kakashi. 

“Sensei! I think I’ve got it! Lo—.” 

Sasuke watches Shin, the only boy in his three member class, lose control of his chakra and start falling down head first from the top of a particularly high branch. Before he can move to catch the young boy, there’s a flash of movement and suddenly his boyfriend is standing at the base of the tree, a startled Shin in his arms. 

“Don’t worry I sucked at this at first too,” Naruto chuckles, setting the boy down before looking over at Sasuke and grinning. “Your sensei sucked as well! Didn’t you, Sasuke?” 

“What are you doing here?” The rest of his students had already stopped training, following behind Sasuke as he walked over to Naruto.

“I’m free the rest of the day so I thought I’d spend it with the birthday boy.” Naruto smiles and steps forward to stand beside him, slinging an arm around his shoulder. 

“Introduce us!” Naruto gestures towards the kids, who are all staring at the blond, eyes wide with wonder. There weren’t many people in Konoha, especially among the younger shinobi, that didn’t admire Naruto Uzumaki, the rising legend and the future Hokage. 

Sasuke sighs. “These are my students, Shin, Momo, and Chiharu.” He brings his hand up to rest it on Naruto’s waist. “And this is Naruto Uzumaki. I’m sure you don’t need me to introduce him.”

“I’m Sasuke sensei’s boyfriend!” Naruto beams and smushes his cheek to Sasuke’s for a moment. All three children’s eyes grow wider, ears red. They all knew the relationship between their sensei and the future Hokage, but actually watching the two together, arguably two of the most powerful ninjas in history being so intimate, was still surprising. Not to mention, Uchiha sensei wasn’t usually a particularly affectionate man. 

“Shut up, usuratonkachi. I have to teach class until the evening so go home and rest.”

“Or I could be your co-sensei today. Is that alright?” He turns to the children, who all nod enthusiastically. 

“Yeah!” Naruto claps his hands together. “Team Uzumaki-Uchiha lets go!” He cheers, shooting out his fist. 

Sasuke sighs as his students excitedly raise their own fists to meet with Naruto’s before raising his hand to join the teams’. It would be lie to say he wasn’t happy to have the blond beside him.

“It’s team Uchiha-Uzumaki, dobe.” 

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

“Good job, Chiharu-chan!” Naruto ruffles the young girl’s hair after the she jumps down from the tree, having walked up all the way to the top branch without faltering. “You’re definitely the Sakura-chan of this team.” 

Sasuke watches Momo and Shin struggle to keep continuous control of their chakras, only reaching the half way point of their assigned trees before loosing focus and jumping back down. 

“Keep trying. It looks easy, but it takes a lot of practice to gain proper control of your chakra.”

“I’m not giving up, Uchiha sensei! I’ll definitely get it this time.” Shin runs towards the tree again. 

“Idiot,” Momo murmurs, watching the boy reach no higher than he had with his previous attempt before she turns to Sasuke. “Sensei, Chiharu already learned how to control her chakra. I’ve been practicing all day. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong.”

“There are numerous factors that go into each individual’s personal chakra control which is based on your own unique type of chakra. Thus each person must invest a subjective amount of time and effort to reach a certain level of success. Rather than doing anything wrong, you need to work even harder to reach her level. Like I said before, this is all about practice and patience. Go and try again.”  

A pair of arms wrap around his stomach as Sasuke watches Momo walk toward her tree, and he leans back into the familiar body. 

“You’re harsh, Uchiha sensei.” Naruto sets his chin on Sasuke’s shoulder. Turning his head, Sasuke presses his lips quickly against his boyfriend’s temple before pulling away. 

“That was barely a scolding. Do you remember how hard you and I had to practice to control our own chakras?”

Before Naruto can reply Shin topples down from the tree, barely getting his footing before falling on his back. “Dammit,” Shin mutters, thoroughly exhausted. Naruto walks up beside him.

“Never give up, Shin-kun. Your sensei and I spent hours and hours on end trying to get this down.” He walks easily up the tree and down one of the branches, hanging upside down to face Sasuke. Leaning forward, Naruto pecks Sasuke’s lips and smiles. “Right, Uchiha sensei?”  

Sasuke can hear Chiharu giggling behind him, but the memories of their early days as team 7 are flashing through his mind, a more simple and innocent time. It was the beginning of forever for the two of them. He presses his lips to Naruto’s again. “Yeah.”

“Wow,” Shin mumbles from the ground, “I wish I had a girlfriend.”

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

The sun is dipping low in the horizon, a gentle breeze flowing through the hilltop where everyone had gathered to have a picnic in celebration of Sasuke’s birthday. A number of chunin and jounin ninjas, as well as some of their genin students were scattered around the grassy field on blankets, eating from bento boxes. 

Sasuke is lying down, his head on Naruto’s lap, eyes closed, shaded under a large cherry blossom tree. Kakashi, Iruka, Sakura, and Gaara sit around them, listening to whatever story Naruto is telling animatedly, arms moving in dramatic gestures.

Team Uchiha-Uzumaki watches from their blanket as Sasuke takes one of Naruto’s hand and places it on his head. Continuing whatever conversation he’s having with the others, Naruto’s fingers start to tread through Sasuke’s hair, his other hand moving to drop fallen cherry blossoms into the dark locks. 

“They’re so lovey-dovey,” Chiharu sighs. “I’ve never seen Uchiha sensei like this before. It’s so sweet.”

“I just want Naruto onii-san to keep coming to help us train,” Shin replies, stuffing two dumplings into his mouth. “You think they’re gonna get married though?”

“Can you not eat like a pig, Shin?” Momo snaps. “And it’s almost a definite that they’re getting married.”

Chiharu squeals. “Oh that’s so lovely. I hope it happens soon.” She turns toward the cherry blossom tree again. “And sensei just look so happy.” 

“I wonder if sensei even realizes how he acts around onii-san,” Shin muses, looking at the couple. 

Momo looks back at their sensei, who is now sitting up, shaking his head and flicking the cherry blossoms in his hair at his boyfriend before bringing Naruto’s hand up and kissing his knuckles. 

“Maybe he doesn’t, but I personally don’t think he cares.”  She watches as the smile on Uchiha sensei’s face grows wider as Naruto waves his hand around trying to explain something. “Not at all.”  

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

Sasuke waves goodbye to Kakashi and Iruka before heading toward his apartment, hoping Naruto would be there. The blond had raced off right after the picnic, saying that he had forgotten that he needed to meet with Tsunade today. 

Opening the front door, Sasuke spots Naruto’s shoes in the doorway and walks into the living room.

“Naruto?” 

Suddenly the tune of “Happy Birthday to You” starts playing from his bedroom, startling Sasuke. He hesitates before following the sound and freezes when he reaches the entrance of the room.

The lights are turned off, a few candles dimly illuminating the room. Lounging on the bed, propped against a few pillows is Naruto, almost completely naked. Swirls of whipped cream are covering both his nipples and his crotch, a strawberry and flakes of dark chocolate decorate each swirl. Tied around his neck is a bright red lace bow. Across his stomach, written in caramel, are the words “Happy Birthday, Sasuke”, and on top of that, in the middle of his chest, drawn in chocolate syrup, cream, and red icing is the Uchiha fan. 

Sasuke wills himself to breath properly, heat crawling across his skin, throat dry, heart quickly picking up its pace.

“Holy shit, Naruto...”

“Uh, I know you don’t really like sweets but—well—you can’t not eat at least a little bit of cake on your birthday.” He’s giving Sasuke a hooded look, trying to be as sensual as possible, but his ear are red, cheeks dusted a deep pink. 

Sasuke takes a few seconds to reign in the carnal instinct to pounce and devour his “birthday cake”. Naruto had obviously invested time and effort in creating it so Sasuke should be courteous and relish it. He tugs off his Jounin vest and shirt black shirt before climbing onto the bed. 

Leaning down, he kisses the inside of Naruto’s thigh before biting into the top of the ripe strawberry set into the whipped cream at Naruto’s crotch, holding it with his teeth before moving up. He runs the tip of the berry lightly along Naruto’s jaw before pushing it against the blond’s lips, slipping it in when his lips part. Running his tongue across he strawberry, Naruto bites off half of the fruit, lips brushing against Sasuke’s. He sucks on the piece, drinking the juice as he gazes at Sasuke, who’s eating the other half of the strawberry. Leaning in, Sasuke licks at Naruto’s lips and into his mouth, sucking on Naruto’s tongue, taking and swallowing the piece of strawberry from his mouth, the taste of the sweet red fruit and even sweeter Naruto filling his senses. 

He pulls away and kisses Naruto’s red lips. “You are a fucking tease.”

Naruto smiles against his lips. “I think I’m getting better and better each year. Just think about how sexy your 50th birthday’s gonna be.”

“You plan on keeping me around that long?”

“Hmm yeah. I guess I’ll have to officially tie you down at some point though.” Slipping his arms around Sasuke’s neck, Naruto peppers kisses up his jawline. “Make an honest man out of you,” he whispers into Sasuke’s ear. 

Realizing the meaning behind his boyfriend’s words, Sasuke’s heart thunders, goosebumps blooming across his skin, but Naruto pulls him into another deep kiss before he can think further. “Aren’t you gonna eat the rest?” Naruto moans into his mouth. 

Breaking the kiss, Sasuke runs the tip of his nose down the blond’s neck, nuzzling the red bow, pressing his lips to Naruto’s collar bone before pulling up to admire the Uchiha fan on his chest. 

“I like this,” he mumbles, licking at the cream and chocolate, sucking at the skin. “It’s like you’re mine.”

“Aren’t I always yours?” 

Sasuke moves to one of Naruto’s nipples, taking the large berry there fully into his mouth, lines of red juice dripping down the fair skin on his chin, as he eats the strawberry. Pulling Sasuke down by his hair, Naruto licks the juice from Sasuke’s chin, running his tongue up to the other’s mouth, licking at his lips. Sasuke denies him a deeper kiss, pulling away and going back to Naruto’s chest, lapping up the whipped cream until he exposes the dark pink nipple, which he sucks on until Naruto is whimpering, fisting Sasuke’s hair. 

Taking the strawberry from the other side of Naruto’s chest, Sasuke bites into it while he uses two fingers to scoop up whipped cream from the nipple and slides the digits into the blond’s mouth. Sasuke watches his boyfriend suck on his fingers, humming as he licks away the cream, half-lidded gaze locked with Sasuke’s. He swirls his tongue all around and in between the digits, moaning, taking them deeper into his mouth, almost to the knuckles, and Sasuke can feel the heat rushing to his groin. He takes out his fingers and pushes the remaining half of the strawberry in his other hand into Naruto’s mouth before running his palm from Naruto’s nipple down the side of his abdomen, smearing the cream across his skin.  

Leaning down, Sasuke runs the flat of his tongue from Naruto’s hip all the way up to his nipple, savoring the sweet taste of whipped cream, mixed with the slight saltiness of Naruto’s sweat. He laps at the nipple before nibbling around it, making the other squirm below him. Trailing kisses down to the center of Naruto’s chest, Sasuke bites where the Uchiha fan had been drawn before continuing down to his stomach. He sucks the sticky caramel off Naruto’s skin, biting softly at the flesh, leaving a few hickeys on his way down. 

As he reaches Naruto’s crotch, Sasuke sticks out his tongue to lick at the cream covering the area. He eats away the confectionary, leaning in further to take the cream into his mouth, smearing it all over his lips and around his mouth. When he sees his boyfriend’s cock, hard and thick with arousal, he runs his tongue over it, hearing Naruto’s breath catch, before pulling up and locking his eyes with the blond’s. He runs his tongue over his own lips as lewdly as he can, cleaning away the whipped cream as Naruto watches, eyes dark with desire. 

“So sweet.” Sasuke smirks down at his boyfriends, who is now gently bucking his hips in need. “Oh? Do you have something sweeter to offer?” 

“Sasuke...” 

Sasuke brings up Naruto’s knee and kisses it. “Hmm?” 

“I—I do.”

Kissing down his thighs, Sasuke takes Naruto’s length into his mouth, licking at the tip, tasting the pre-cum. He sucks on it for a while before taking it all the way into his mouth, down to the base of the shaft, holding open Naruto’s thighs, hearing the blond gasping out his name as he bucks into Sasuke’s mouth. As his boyfriend’s hips start moving faster, Sasuke moves away, smirking as Naruto whines. 

Pulling off his pants and underwear, Sasuke slides Naruto closer, leaning over him. He holds their cocks together, rolling his hips as he rubs both their members against each other, pre-cum slicking his hand. He can hear his own moans mix with Naruto’s as his hand picks up its pace. Bracing his elbow by Naruto’s head, Sasuke sucks on his boyfriend’s lower lip before sliding his tongue into his mouth for a kiss, grinding down on Naruto as the blond bucks up into him. Naruto’s fingers grip tightly onto his shoulder, sucking hard on Sasuke’s tongue as the blond reaches his climax. Sasuke follows, moaning into Naruto’s mouth before pulling away and biting down on his shoulder as he rides out his orgasm.

After a while, Sasuke kisses Naruto’s chest and sits back up, trying to catch his breath. His boyfriend looks debauched, body covered in cream, chocolate, caramel, sweat, and semen, hair damp and messy, lips wet and swollen, pupils dilated, and cheeks flushed. Sasuke takes in the image, catalogues it in his mind for the nights he has to spend without Naruto, when either of them are off on a mission. 

Reaching out, he touches the red bow on Naruto’s neck. “Does this mean you’re my present?”

Naruto smiles sheepishly. “Yeah. I know it’s really lame bu—”

“It’s not,” Sasuke cuts him off and pulls the bow off carefully from Naruto’s neck before lifting his boyfriend’s left hand. He takes the lace and ties it again into a bow round Naruto’s ring finger.

“I’ll keep it forever.” 

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

:D Happy B-Day Sasuke. 

[kishuajr]

nobody owns time - lee jihoon

Pairing: Lee Jihoon/Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 3.1k

Synopsis: Jihoon doesn’t like how friendly you and your new co-worker act. 

Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 

― i’m back! and i wanted to add another part continuing from “hardhearted” PLEASE read pt 1. it’ll make a bit more sense haha :) i hope you like this anyways & i encourage for you to request!! im running out of ideas keke. 

i just reread this realized Chan might be mistaken for Lee Chan aka Dino... I’m so sorry for the misunderstand lol i was actually visualizing Chan from A.C.E.. but its ok! 

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since you took Jihoon’s offer on staying in the extra room in his apartment. You both never really saw each other despite the fact you both lived together. He was too busy working on god knows what at some studio and you were too busy looking for a job. You couldn’t help but feel terrible for mooching off of him which led you to want to move out as soon as possible.

Luckily enough, you had found yourself a part time job the other day at a nearby wholesale cooperation. It had good pay and maybe if you worked overtime once in awhile, you would be able to move out of Jihoon’s place by the end of next month.

You spent the day mopping floors, transporting boxes across the store, and restocking the shelves. You looked kind of ridiculous; your small self carrying around stacks of large empty boxes and pushing carts of packaged toilet paper and water. It was also very tiring.

So, when one of your coworkers saw you struggling he couldn’t help but let out a small laugh before walking over to you.

“I almost didn’t see you behind there,” he mused, peering at you behind the stack of boxes you were holding, “You need help?” 

He carefully took a few of the boxes from your hands, your fingers brushing and awkward smiles exchanged.

“Just this way,” You called out, leading him down a few aisles and into the front where the cashier stands where. You motioned him to place them down under the conveyor belts so the scanners can use them to pack purchases.

You set down the boxes and sighed in exhaustion, dusting yourself off before finally taking a look at the kind worker.

He had black hair that swooped over his eyes and a friendly, warm smile. He was also tall compared to you, but not as tall as Soonyoung or Mingyu- that’s for sure.

A weak smile played on your lips, “Thank you...Lee Chan?” You say as your eyes sedulously scanned his name tag

Chan nodded, his wide grin showing off his pearly whites, “And you’re (L/N) (Y/N). I’ve heard talk about you in the break room.”

“Really?” Your eyebrows furrowed, “What kind of talk?”

“Don’t worry, all good talk,” He said, his face flushed a light red and you couldn’t tell if it was from exhaustion or from embarrassment, “About how you’re cute and stuff- you know?”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes playfully, “Boys really have way too much time on their hands,” you joke, nudging his shoulder, “When do you get off?” 

“The supervisor left a bit ago, so we can leave now.”

“Okay!” You clapped and the both of you began to walk in the direction to the front entrance.

“You must be hungry after carrying those boxes around,” Chan hummed, pushing his hands inside his pockets. It was freezing cold the second you both stepped outside.

“Yeah, I had to skip lunch because I had to work overtime, “ You sighed.

He frowned, but it quickly bloomed into a Cheshire cat like smile, “Hey, do you want to eat at this noodle place that not to far from here? I’ll treat you for getting a new job.”

“Really!” You grinned, “Dumplings too?”

“Two plates! I just got paid this afternoon,” He beamed.

Your grin suddenly faltered as you looked out in the night sky. The sun had already set so it was about 7 o’clock. You knitted your brows, a small ‘tsk’ falling off your tongue, “I would, but I might miss the bus home.”

Chan pouted, grabbing your arm, “Please-e-e,” He said, whining out the last syllable, “Just an hour of your time-”

“Nobody owns time,” A voice scoffed causing you and Chan to look up; well, you looked slightly upwards and Chan looked down.

“Jihoon? What are you doing here?”

The sound of the door slamming shut caused Jihoon to jolt awake. He was at the studio, working on Seventeen’s title song and he must of fallen asleep.

His eyes frantically jumped around the room, finally meeting with an oh-too-familiar 10:10 shaped eyes that belonged to the one and only Kwon Soonyoung.

“Sorry! I didn’t know the door shuts itself,” He sibilated, walking carefully towards the sleepy producer.

Jihoon groaned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, “What are you doing here? I’m working-”

Soonyoung laughed, wiping the drool off the shorter boy’s bottom lip, “More like dreaming about (Y/N).”

Jihoon rolled his eyes, pushing the younger boy away, “Shut up. How did you know I was here?”

Soonyoung sat on the beanbag chair that was in the corner of the studio. His legs kicked up onto Jihoon’s desk, smacking away on a piece of gum as he shrugged, “Your apartment was empty. Where else would you go?”

“Empty? What do you mean empty-”

The younger boy whinged, burying his head into the palms of his hands, “What’s with all these questions?”

A kick flew to Soonyoung’s ankle causing him to cry out in pain, “Ow, ow, ow!” He whined, rubbing his ankle vigorously.

“Don’t put your feet on my desk,” Jihoon grumbled, sending the other boy a dirty look.

“Gosh, okay! What did you ask again?” Soonyoung huffed, sitting up properly in the beanbag.

“Where’s (Y/N)?”

“She got a part time job! Didn’t you know?”

Jihoon furrowed his eyebrows, “Part time job? What do you mean part-”

The younger boys sharp glared caused the older boy to sheepishly smile and backtrack, “So...Where is she working?”

And thats how Jihoon ended in front of the Wholesales at around nine o’clock at night. It was windy and dark and he couldn’t help wonder why on earth is her boss making her work so late at night. Who knows what could happen while she makes her way home?

She didn’t even have a car.

Jihoon sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

How was this girl even getting places? Bus? Subway? 

“Please don’t tell me she’s been walking home,” he grumbled to himself.

He suddenly felt bad. He had been sort of distant towards (Y/N) since he was so busy. He never really was home because he spent most nights working at the studio but he did come home around dawn to wash up and change. 

Jihoon remembered the first morning, there were two cups of coffee and two plates of breakfast at the dining table.

And as much as he wanted to sit down, Jihoon had no time for breakfast. 

So, the next day, she was there with one cup of coffee, one plate of breakfast, one thermos of coffee and one packed breakfast.

Jihoon swore right then that he was in love with her.

Jihoon cringed, smacking his own head, Love? What the hell was he talking about? 

He also cursed at himself for standing outside in the freezing cold with no jacket. Why was he here again? 

The sound of laughter and footsteps nearing the front entrance caused him to look up.

He smiled, Oh right, (Y/N).

There you were, a sweet and bright smile on your lips. The smile Jihoon missed seeing.

Except you weren’t smiling at him. Instead, you were smiling at some guy- your co-worker(?) and you seemed excited for some reason.

Jihoon’s ears perked up as he made his way closer to the two of you.

“Dumplings too?” You exclaimed.

“Two plates! I just got paid this afternoon,” The taller boy boasted.

And suddenly Jihoon felt his blood boil despite the freezing cold weather. 

A date? She wouldn’t.

A sigh flew past your lips, “I would, but I might miss the bus home,” you said in a disappointed tone.

The bus, Jihoon mused, pursing his lips, I knew it.

Please-e-e! Let me just have thirty minutes of your time-”

Jihoon rolled his eyes, “Nobody owns time,” he ridiculed.

The two of them turned to look at Jihoon who suddenly felt subconscious of his height. He couldn’t help but realize how tall the other guy was. Jihoon could feel his ears turn pink but he didn’t dare to back down.

“Jihoon? What are you doing here?” You questioned, your head slightly tilting to the right.

“What do you mean? I’m here to see you,” He tsked, stepping closer to the two.

You couldn’t help but blush, feeling flustered as you turned to look at your co-worker, “I-uh...”

“I’m Chan! Nice to meet you.” He bowed, in hopes for this sudden tension to disappear.

But that only caused Jihoon to cringe at the sight of the taller boy bowing so low. He rose his hand, signalling Chan to knock it off, “You’re going to end up breaking your back-”

“Jihoon!” You hissed, feeling embarrassed from his aloof behavior.

You sheepishly turned to face Chan, rubbing the back of your neck as you winced, “I’m sorry, but since my friend showed up, let’s go eat next time, yeah?”

“Oh! Well, he can join us!”

You grinned, clapping your hands in an excited manner. You turned towards Jihoon, in hopes that he’d quit acting so stiff

And he pursed his lips, clicking his tongue as he stammered, “I-um. I’m allergic to noodles.”

You felt your jaw drop slightly as you stared at him in stupefy. 

What on earth is he talking about?

Thankfully for your starving self, Chan was not going to back down. “You can eat something else! They have really good meat dishes too-”’

“Wow... really? That’s amazing,” Jihoon said with a hint of sarcasm that only you caught, “I’m actually allergic to a lot so...” 

Jihoon trailed off into silence, blinking as you waved your hands at him, “What are you doing!” you mouthed.

“Who the hell is he?” he mouthed back, nodding over to Chan.

You squinted your eyes, “Go home!”

“Let’s get out of here! Please!” 

You harshly glared at your roommate, motioning for him to leave. 

Jihoon’s shoulders slumped in defeat and he turned around, starting to walk towards his car but then quickly spinning back around on the balls of his feet, clapping his hands together, “Please-please-please-please-”

Your eyes widened, and you couldn’t help but let the shock contort your features, “Jihoon, I swear to g-”

“Please-please-please-please-please-”

He was so dead.

Quickly clearing your throat, a pitiful smile formed on your lips as you turned to face Chan who stood completely oblivious to what was going on between you and the older male.

“Um, I should probably go. My friend’s kind of... sick.” 

Chan pursed his lips, understandably nodding, “Ah- I’ll head out first then. See you tomorrow.”

“We can eat noodles then!” You said in an apologetic tone.

He bobbed his head eagerly before waving goodbye to you and stifling a nod towards Jihoon who was sending daggers to the taller boy.

“Let’s go,” He mumbled, and walked away towards his car and you swore you never been so dumbfounded in your entire life.

The car ride home was silent and remained that way until the apartment door shut behind you both.

“Allergic to noodles,” You mocked with a dry laugh, “Didn’t we just have black bean paste noodles last night?”

Jihoon sighed, unresponsive as he sat down on the loveseat. You repeated his actions, taking his hand in yours; something that felt natural now. 

Despite rarely seeing him, when you did, you couldn’t help but hold his hand whilst talking and catching up with him; yearning for skinship.

“Who was that guy? Is he a full-time employee?” Jihoon asked, a hint of annoyance dripping in his tone.

You furrowed your eyebrows, “Mm, I don’t know. I just met him, but he’s really nice.”

He nodded, his eyes not meeting yours but instead, staring at the spot behind you.

“Mhm, okay,”Jihoon said, pressing his lips together, still not meeting your gaze.

“Jihoon, is there something wrong?”

“No.”

“Liar,” you mused.

His sullen pout and odd attitude gave it away. You knew something was up the second you saw Jihoon at your work. How’d he even know where you were?

You shook your head; it didn’t matter right now.

“(Y/N),” Jihoon murmured causing you to look back up at the brunette.

He paused longer than expected and you sat waiting on the edge of your seat, having no clue what he was about to say.

But then he winces, shaking his head whilst rubbing the back of his neck, as if he was trying to figure out what to say.

And suddenly you noticed how red he was getting, the sight of this was too familiar to you. Flashbacks of the night on the staircase replay in your head when he first confessed his feeling.

Is he confessing something?

“I’m sorry that I’ve been so busy lately but just know I’m never busy to spend time with you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve been busy too, you know?” You forced a smile, squeezing his hand, “I’ve been working.”

“Stop talking to that Chan-kid,” Jihoon pursed his lips, “He bothers me.”

You sat there with a pokerface, your brain’s gears slowly churning; trying to connect why on earth would Jihoon have a problem with Chan. He barely met the guy. How can he judge someone so quickly the moment he saw him standing with-

“Are you... jealous?”

Jihoon’s previous sulky countenance immediately transformed into a shocked, maybe even offended expression causing you to stiff a laugh. 

“I wasn’t jealous! I was.. bothered,” He uttered.

Your serious exterior finally cracked and a goofy smile appeared past your lips, “I never thought you were one to get jealous,” You chuckled.

Jihoon scrunched up his nose, his ears burning red and his hand that was attached to yours had started to turn clammy.

“I can’t help it!” He suddenly blurted out, “He was grabbing your arm and you both seemed so cheerful- and the fact that you both almost went out to eat!”

Jihoon shook his head, frustrated, “I just don’t like the idea of you out eating noodles with another guy so late at night.”

You frowned as confusion washed over you, “I don't understand how you’re jealous over that when me cuddling with Soonyoung never seemed to bother you.”

“Y-you what?” Jihoon stammered, disbelief written all over his face.

You bit you laugh in attempt to hide your smile, “I’m joking,” you huffed, nudging his shoulder.

But Jihoon didn’t crack a smile. His head dropped down, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Hey..” you murmur, “Don’t you remember?”

Jihoon’s breath hitched in the back of his throat as he lifted his head. Feeling his heartbeat pounded in his ears, his eyes met yours.

“I like you,” you say, looking down at your intertwined fingers, “And I understand why you’re jealous, but you don’t have to be. I also understand that you can’t control the way you feel. I’m not telling you to. Just know that I trust you, and you can trust me too.”

Jihoon’s felt the pace of his heart slow down as every word slipped passed your lips. A small and thankful smile flashed on his face as he leaned into you, feeling as if all the stress and tension in his shoulders had vanished.

You wrapped your arms around him, taking in every second of the feeling of his body pressed into yours and inhaling the smell of his shampoo.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” he mumbled into your shoulder.

Your eyes widened as Jihoon pulled back slightly; his sweet, chocolate brown orbs melting into yours, “I was planning on asking you in a better way this weekend, but I’m impatient now.”

You giggled, tilting your head to the right as you nodded eagerly causing a warm smile to form on Jihoon’s face.

You watched as his orbs drifted downwards to your lips and your heart fluttered inside your chest when you realized what he was about to do.

His eyes flickered back to yours, as if he was asking “Is this okay?”

But instead of showing him a sign of approval, your eyes flutter shut as you leaned in, brushing your lips against his. 

Kissing was sort of new to you and Jihoon. You both had only shared a few pecks so you didn’t expect it when Jihoon didn’t waste time kissing back. 

It messy at first, clumsy even. Both of you were unsure but, once your timing had synced, it was slow, soft, and comforting in ways that words could never be. His lips were balmy and minty, and each kiss left your lips tingling and wanting more.

Your hand rested below his ear, your thumb caressing his cheek as both of your breaths mingled.  

Jihoon’s hand drifted to your hip, settling there as he pulled you closer until you were practically straddling his lap. You could feel Jihoon’s fingers playing with the tips of your hair before running up and down your spine, sending shivers down your back.

And as much as you wanted for this moment to never end, you both pulled away, breathless. 

Jihoon stared at you in awe; your swollen lips and red face caused Jihoon’s heartbeat to quicken. His lips turned upwards into a smug smile, feeling pleased at the fact that he was the one who made you this way; breathless and eyes filled with endearment. 

And after a moment of silence, just gazing into each others eyes, you cleared your throat causing Jihoon to blink.

“Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?” you murmured, raking your fingers through the short hair at his neck.

Jihoon rose his eyebrow in surprise, “I think you need to be more clear with what you mean.”

Your eyes widened, smacking his arm playfully, “T-that’s not what I meant!” you stuttered.

He chuckled, tucking a piece of your hair behind your ear as he threw a playful wink, “Sure it wasn’t.”

“Jihoon!��

-

not edited, but... it’s one am so i think it’s ok hehe :)

you can request here xx

[heidijeann]

First Stop: Singapore

TLl;DR people...this blog isn’t for you. Instead, check out our photo highlights here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bJHF8QvwteX8NSuU7

Day one in Singapore - has been hot and exhausting, but also beautiful and fragrant (especially in the Hawker Centers!). We landed around 8 am, after a pretty uneventful 17 hour 20 minute flight from SFO to SIN. And don’t you always wish for uneventful travels? It’s really is the perfect adjective but also the best when traveling for so long. Our isle was quiet, with a small, friendly, and quiet woman who was nice every time we asked to get up to use the restroom. We mostly slept, but also watched a bit of TV, putting on Crazy Rich Asians to refresh our memory of the movie and prep for Singapore. We joked throughout our whole stay if we would see or meet anyone like Astrid, or where she would be hanging out. (We didn’t find her.) Then, breakfast was served and taken away, the cabin was being prepared for landing, and we were sitting on the tarmac in Asia! We made it - we were finally here in Asia and all the stress of wrapping up work, saying goodbye to our friends and family, and packing up our whole lives - selling our things, storing our things, moving out and cleaning our apartment...all the stress disappeared and we were finally here, starting out our dream. 134 days to go!

We made our way through customs and baggage claim and found the MRT (Municipal Rapid Transit), getting a 2 day tourist pass that will allow us to explore this small city in a less humid and sticky (and maybe also faster) way. We walked about 15 thousand steps - from our hotel to a couple food centers - the first and second didn’t really catch our eyes so we kept walking. We stumbled into some kind of outdoor shopping center, a lot of stalls with random things for sale - from wallets to fruits to cleansers and beyond. From there, we found a food stall with some yummy looking noodles that we purchased for S$1 (Singapore dollar) which is $.74=1 Singapore dollar. They were delicious, nutritious, and left us hungrier. We circled the joint and ended up getting a small bowl of laksa that was good, but a little spicy for my taste. After the laksa we thought we would head out and continue exploring, so started to make our way back to the hotel in hopes of being able to check in (and shower!). Luckily, by the time we got back, our hotel room was ready and we were able to freshen up before heading to Chinatown’s Maxwell Hawker Center.

The Bencoolen MRT station is about 35 steps outside our hotel, which makes transportation super easy, especially for any destination off the Downtown MRT line, which Chinatown qualifies for. We jumped on and headed towards the Hawker goodness. Emerging from the station, we were greeted with a festive street adorned with lanterns, shopping stalls, and tons of people. We perused the scene as we slowly made our way to the Maxwell Hawker Center to try the world famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. While crossing the street (read: jaywalking), we met a local who asked where we were from/where we were going, and started to chat as we were headed in the same direction. We asked him about Tian Tian and he said he while he loves it, he never goes because the line is always very long and takes about an hour. Hearing this news, hungry, hot and tired Heidi and Brett decided the wait wouldn’t be worth it, so asked what stalls he would recommend. He offered to take us to the eatery, so we followed. When we turned the corner, by some crazy stroke of magic, we found ourselves in front of a line-less Tian Tian and were able to place our order and get our food literally within one minute. It was an incredible streak of luck, and the hype is really worth it - the rice is so flavorful Brett dubbed it the best rice he has ever had. By the time we left the Hawker, the line was forming outside and around the building.

After eating we decided to continue exploring the city by foot, and made our way to the infamous Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Beautiful, iconic, and huge, we felt like we were in Vegas with the millions of restaurants, shops, escalators and signs. We made our way up to the 57th story and took in the views from the top. We checked out the ArtScience Museum and agreed to come back first thing in the morning to avoid the crowd. Then, we found our way back to the MRT station and headed to Little India. Only a couple stations away, we got out and started walking. Where Chinatown was lively with people everywhere selling and buying goods in outdoor stalls, Little India’s vibe was much calmer: streets lined with shops where people could pop in and upstairs if anything caught their fancy. Very few people were shopping in the markets, and there weren’t many people on the street. We came across a S$6 eyebrow threading station, so popped in for a quick touch up, but with not much else going on, we decided to make our way back to the hotel by foot. By this time in the afternoon the sun was no longer directly shining down on us - clouds had rolled in and provided a bit of cover to help make the walking a bit more tolerable. It was about a 30 minute walk, on which we found a vending machine that serves freshly squeezed orange juice for S$2 - something we couldn’t pass up. We watched the oranges get sliced and squeezed directly into a cup, and, once full, were able to remove the cup and drink cold, tart, freshly squeezed juice that absolutely hit the spot. A few doors down, we stumbled across a small dim sum house whose smells captivated our noses, forcing us to indulge in just a few dumplings.

From there, it was a quick walk back to the hotel. We were hot, sweaty, and tired, so thought taking a dip in the pool may give us a new wind. We changed into our suits and headed to the pool - only to find the water so cold that we actually opted for the hot tub. Crazy, I know, but after getting to the hotel room with the freezing artificial air blowing on our bodies, we were actually cold and happy for the hot tub. Plus, we had walked about 15,000 steps after being on a 17.5 hour flight, and the heat was not only healthy for our muscles, but a great excuse to stretch. At this point we had every intention to go out and grab dinner - but by the time we got back to our room and showered, we agreed we were pooped and thought a good night's’ rest would make the world of difference tomorrow. So, we got into bed, turned on the tv, and flipped around to see what Singapore News and TV was all about. Although we were OK staying in for the night, we were hellbent on not going to bed too early - we were aiming to stay up until 8 and it was only about 6 at this point. Starting to get hungry, I googled the closest, easiest, most affordable option, and wound up going downstairs to Baja Fresh and getting a burrito for us to split. I am not ashamed or embarrassed at all, although would have preferred any Mexican joint back home (obviously). We shared it in bed, until we were full, then brushed our teeth, hit the lights, and did some light research on the computer before PTFO.

Day two started earlier for Brett than it did for me. We woke up around 3:00 AM and forced ourselves to try to sleep a bit longer. I was able to (s/o to my favorite app, Calm, which helps me fall asleep and mediate and I cannot say enough great things about. If you want a free trial, LMK), but Brett was not as fortunate as me. So, he rested and I slept until about 6:20 AM, when there was no way I was going to be able to sleep for another second, so we got up and started our morning. And what’s a better to start your morning than going to the pool?! We couldn’t think of one, either, so that’s what we did. It wasn’t that hot yet, so we dipped in the pool and spent the majority of our 20-ish minutes out there in the hot tub. Then, we returned to our room, showered, and headed out to try a traditional Singaporean breakfast: Toast Box. We got Set 1: Kaya Toast with eggs and coffee. The coffee was excellent, and Brett liked the toast and eggs. I am not one for under cooked wet eggs, and I think Asia is all about those, so I have to be honest when I say I didn’t even try the egg. I did try the toast - it was perfectly toasted - some kind of sweet jam with butter and coconut. Interesting - good even, just a bit sweet for my liking. From there we thought we would head to the Merlion Statue to try to get a good picture before too many tourists showed up, but we got lost on the MRT (took the wrong line, rather) and decided to just head to the ArtScience Museum since we were much closer. After signing up for the Sands Reward Membership, we headed to the museum to buy our tickets at the amazing discount of BOGO. I highly recommend taking the 10 minutes to show your passport and get the rewards card - you get 3% cash back at all shops and restaurants in the hotel, plus great benefits and savings and the museums etc. While I signed up, Brett found me an apple, which I ate en route to the museum. We got our tickets and headed into the first exhibit: Future World.

The exhibit was interactive - featuring artworks that combine art and science to bring us inside natural worlds comprised of entirely digital technology. We grew flowers that we could project onto the walls, we planned where to put bridges and transit centers in cities, and would see how our choices affected the digital city; we went down slides, and played with huge balls of lights that made sounds. My favorite of the 6 rooms was the Space room - which used lights, mirrors and music to transport you to what felt like outer space: placing you in the stars of our galaxy. We took some cool pictures here, but mostly just enjoyed the changing light show that corresponded with the sounds coming from every corner of the room. We then headed to the Minimalism exhibit, which was basically a bunch of abstract art that didn’t start any joy for either of us. We stayed long enough to figure out a bomb Dim Sum restaurant to head to, and left the museum in search of lunch.

It was a fast MRT ride - about 2 stops and 2 blocks to the restaurant Swee Choon. It looked closed when we got there - big panels down over the windows - but we quickly learned this was to block the heat and found our way inside. We were careful to make sure our eyes weren’t bigger than our stomachs when ordering, and scarfed down the authentic and delicious food almost as quickly as it arrived. While eating, we looked up directions to Selfie Coffee - this little coffee shop on Hijab Street that prints your selfie on your coffee (or beer, or whatever you order). It was a 15 minute walk past Arab street, so we decided to brave the heat and take a stroll. When we got too hot, we would pop into a shop with AC and pretend to be shopping while really we were just cooling off and looking at all the things for sale. Then, we’d move on. Hijab street was super cute - maybe my favorite neighborhood of Singapore that we saw. Super hipster, with murals and vibrant colors along the walls and plants everywhere. There were tons of shops, cafes, and restaurants, among them Selfie Coffee. We went inside to find a line and that they only accept cash, so decided to pass on the $8 coffee. Instead, we wandered next door to a cute elephant shop, and found ourselves in a conversation with a funny local who was telling us all about where to go, what to eat, and tips to save money. He was so excited for us to be traveling and wouldn’t let us buy anything.

From there, we headed home via the MRT to nap. It was 90 degrees with 80% humidity, and we knew we wanted to return to the Museum to check out the last exhibit before the Gardens by the Bay’s light show. Before snoozing, we decided a final dip in the pool would be lovely and were able to brave the cold water in the hot heat… it felt great! Then, we took a solid hour nap, and headed to the Merlion Statue and to explore the downtown area. It was a 15 minute MRT ride and a 10 minute walk along the waterfront, with beautiful views of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

So, we grabbed an iced coffee from Starbucks and started strolling. We ended up walking to the tourist-infested statue, then around the water past a pop up amusement park and into the Shoppes, and onto the ArtScience Museum. We went back through the Future World exhibit and then checked out the last exhibit - All Possible Paths: Richard Feynman’s Curious Life. It was interesting, I kept thinking how much my mom would love it. After that we headed to the food court for a quick chicken rice and then off to the gardens for the Spectra Light Show. A free, twice-a-night light and music show that was absolutely incredible.

Once the show concluded we, along with hundreds of others, we moved like a herd of cows slowly to the MRT to head to Lau Pa Sat, also known as Telok Ayer Market, which is also casually referred to as “Satay Street”. It’s a historic building located within the Downtown Core area of Singapore, and by day it has some shops, but by night it becomes an outdoor eating oasis. We grabbed a beer and some satay from “The Best 7&8” stall - chicken, beef, and shrimp - and took in the noises, smells and sights while we waited and ate. This all seems innocent, but we quickly learned an important lesson here: don’t order before confirming prices. Our food was paid for and delivered no problem, but the beer was another story. The waitress came to drop off the beer, asking for S$5.5. As I got the money out to pay, Brett refused it - saying there is no way he would pay that much for such a small cup of beer. The waitress didn’t like this, and started arguing with him and ended up pseudo-cursing him, saying something about his mother and future wife and kids. Sitting there, I could only be a little concerned and wonder if the S$5.5 could really be the savior of our future, but, before i could wonder for too long the lady gave up and left us alone. Leaving us with the lesson of asking prices before ordering to avoid confrontations and curses.

Finishing our food, we decided to just head home, as tomorrow would be a long day, and decided to head home and turn in. We hopped on the MRT and noticed for the first time we would be passing Orchard Street, so decided to stay out just a bit longer to check out this famous epicentre of shopping in Singapore. While it was definitely decadent, malls on malls with stores and boutiques and eateries of all kinds...it was also just a lot of shopping. We enjoyed the walk but didn’t really shop too hard, as we are on a budget and things will get a lot cheaper once we get to Thailand. We ended up walking back to the hotel - only about 20 minutes or so - and didn’t really get into anything special: we packed our stuff, set an alarm, and jotted down our spending for the day before hitting the lights and the hay.

6:30 came early, and we must have been excited or jet lagged, because we were up and out of the hotel by 7:04 and en route to the airport. It was an easy MRT ride, and before long we were checked into our flights, baggage dropped off at the counter, and our biggest worries were which Priority Pass Lounge we would check out first. We had 2.5 hours until boarding and we wanted to spend them well. So, we did just that! We ended up preferring the second of the two lounges - a Japanese Restaurant that offered free breakfast - Brett got the traditional Japanese breakfast, consisting of a huge slab of salmon, rice, soup, octopus, and undercooked eggs. I went for the American breakfast and deeply regretted it. I doubt I’ll get used to uncooked eggs and I have a hunch that they love not cooking eggs in Singapore, or maybe even the greater SEA region. After finishing our breakfasts, we had one thing left to do - get some birthday bubbles. We stopped by the duty free shop and got a beautiful bottle of Veuve to pop in Thailand, then went through customs and boarded our flight! Stay tuned for what unfolds next...

Some other interesting callouts about Singapore we forgot to weave into the above:

You can immediately tell how clean the city is. It’s pristine. Well done, Singapore.

The MRT, as mentioned, is the #1 way to get around. The government taxes people who drive a TON of money, which keeps most people out of cars on the street, and encourages them to use the metro or other public transport. Therefore, the government can easily use all MRT stations as a platform to influence and inform their people. We were impressed to see so many videos, ads, posters, etc about what to do in an emergency, how to get help, etc. This can be excellent in informing people on what to do (IE - huge campaign awareness about molestation at the moment, so high visibility and encouragement for women to speak up and seek help if necessary) but also they take every opportunity to remind people of punishments associated with breaking laws, which we thought was a bit gruesome. Definitely an element of fear in the culture, which keeps the city clean and sketch people at minimum. 

Crimes are heavily enforced, and punishments are kinda crazy. Building off the example I shared about their molestation campaign, we did a bit more research as the signs say “You will be fined and caned.” in bold red letters. That’s right, you read it - CANED. So we dug in a little more to learn that only men can be charged with molestation, and, SINGAPORE CANES PEOPLE! How cruel and unusual. If you’re interested in learning more, check out more info on this law - it sure blew our minds.

Singapore is an expensive city, so not the best for two backpackers hoping to stretch our dollars to travel the world for a year. However, it is also a city of amazing food, which is very hard for this little foodie to pass up. Don’t get me wrong - there are definitely ways to easily spend a ton of money on food, but there are amazing options for delicious and cheap eats, if you are willing embrace the street food! (Fun fact: did you know that Singapore is the only place where a street food vendor - yes, someone who sells a dish for S$5 - ⁣has earned a Michelin Star!?) Anyway, the place to eat while minding your wallet are the “hawker centers” - well-known, government monitored for food safety, and are packed with delicious, local and cheap cuisine. The price competition is fierce, so you can eat really well for not much.⁣ Unfortunately, these hawker center may not last too much longer as we know them today. We learned from locals that most of the younger generation has no interest in cooking or learning the art of food. Instead, they want to a different life (office jobs, tech, etc), which parents are supportive of. However, this means these stands, where one recipe has been perfected over decades, may cease to exist.

Holy humidity, this place is HOT HOT HOT!!

For those of you curious, we spent $422 USD including everything (ie - food, transport, hotel, even the Veuve - which was duty free but still $61 USD) while in Singapore! This is obviously above our daily average goal, but when booking the hotel I thought I was using a $200 hotels.com voucher which ended up not working, so we have $200 savings towards hotels elsewhere in our trip. Excluding the hotel and the champagne, we would have spent $145. (We also didn’t need to buy the full passes to the museum - the Future World exhibit would have quenched our thirst and gave us back S$20! But, oh well! If you are interested in more detailed budget info, let me know!