#I wish that jacket still at least fit me... i want the lime green jacket i only got to wear it once TT-TT

[crosshairs-dumb-pimp-gf]

In Honor of Omega never getting to go to a mall and a brief exchange with @letshareapapou I gave Omega some of my favorite childhood clothes. I think the sundress suits her.

BONUS! This New Years Eve dress I wanted to age up for Tahny, so why not both?

Bonus, Bonus:

[addercharmer]

On the following morning when Izumi arrives at school with Nezu she is asked to the principal's office. 

Nervous as to the punishment she would be receiving from running out mid class and speaking back to a teacher, she sits on the only available chair in the room. 

"Nezu-san, due to the actions of PowerPoint the staff have agreed to exempt you from any class you do not want to be a part of for general studies." The elderly principal says after waiting an uncomfortable amount of time. 

"Thank you." Izumi whispers.

"However, you will be expected to offer tutoring to any student in those times." Izumi nods, she is happy to help. 

The room is quiet for longer, and Izumi starts to fidget in her seat. 

"You may go." The principal finally dismisses her, and Izumi all but runs out of the door to get to home room. 

Izumi is panting as she quietly opens the door just enough to slide into the room, she skirts around the room and sits at her desk, only to jerk in surprise as Yamada greets her. 

"Morning!" He's all too chipper this morning, the smile that splits his lips makes Izumi wish she had sunglasses. 

"Hi guys." Izumi mumbles to the three with a lazy half wave before she buries her head in her crossed arms atop her desk. 

Thankfully the boys leave her be in the time before class, she needs a few moments to decompress. 

The door clicks open and closed, the soft but fast steps signal to Izumi that homeroom has started. It takes her a lot of effort to pick her head up and pay attention to what's happening.

"Today we will be having your first heroics lesson in costume." Nezu announces, he clicks a button  on a remote  that he pulls  from a pocket. 

The same cubbies that held the costumes in her past pop out of the wall, there is no smoke or flashing lights this time. Nezu was always much more practical than All Might had been.

Izumi had to give a small smile, hopefully everything would look like she wanted. 

Trailing behind the rest of the class Izumi tries to figure out what they are going to be doing. 

The changing room is surprisingly empty, Izumi hadn't really paid much attention to the other girls in her class, it turns out  there were only three girls in the class. 

"Uh, sorry. I know we haven't really talked yet, but I'm Nezu Izumi." She murmured as she came into the room. 

The two others looked at her curiously. 

"Tatsuma Ryūko." A slit pupiled blonde introduced herself, she had part of her hair pulled back into a ponytail, but a large fringe covered her left eye. 

"Sōsaki Shino, it's okay. We sit on the other side of the room and those boys keep you busy." The brown eyed redhead told Izumi. 

Izumi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Yamada and Shirakumo are rather interesting, Aizawa seems to like putting up a front that he hates everyone." She tells them lightly.

Opening her case Izumi feels a grin cross her face, everything looks right so far, now all she had to do was put it on. 

Stripping herself down to her underwear Izumi pulls out the black leather pants first, they are surprisingly soft and easy to pull on, she notices that the closer is an anti-rape closer, she assumed that it was something Nezu had asked for. 

Her crop top was a dark gray color, it stopped in the middle of her ribs and was tight enough that it wouldn't flip over her head when she was doing flips of her own. 

Next she pulled out all the removable pouches and started to strap them on her body, two went on her right thigh, one on her left, two were resting on her hips connected by a belt, she had shoulder gun holsters, and then bracers for her arms. 

Izumi dropped her extra ammo for her gum in the right top thigh pouch, the lower pouch was first aid equipment. Her left thigh pouch was filled with little throwing knives that must have been added by Nezu. 

Her hip pouches held smoke bombs and Flash bangs respectfully. 

Next she pulls out her lime green jacket and slips it on, it fits like a glove ending just before the pouches on her hips, and Izumi is stupidly happy with it. 

The scarf follows the jacket, attached to it is a little note that the gloves they had supplied were of dual use, they had retractable claws and would help control the scarf better at least until she was proficient with it. 

Her boots are really not what she was expecting, but she pulled them on and bucked them to her calves, standing she was pleasantly surprised at the lack of sound they made when they hit the floor and how comfortable they were. 

With a wicked grin Izumi pulls on her mask and slips her bear ears in and on, finally she looks up at the two other girls and has to stop herself from screeching. 

She hadn't known that Ryukyu and Mandalay were in her class, hopefully as the only females in class they would be able to bond. 

"Ready to blow some minds?" Izumi asked the two girls, she was feeling pretty good about her mixture of Electra and Jessica Jones. 

Izumi led the girls into gym Beta with a little extra swing to her hips, she felt better in this costume than she ever had in her jumpsuit. 

Sōsaki and Tatsuma both broke from her and made their way over to who Izumi identified as BestJeanist and FatGum. With a quick blink to break off the sight of the four chatting Izumi swung her attention to her boys. 

Shirakumo's hero costume consisted of a closed dark blue martial arts Gi, tied closed with a black belt. He wore a black undershirt, boots and gloves, a dark brown aviator jacket with white fur lining. On his head was the most ridiculous blue aviator hat with large mufflers and an opening that allowed his hair to escape. He had ona pair of goggles, and carried a sheath that held a quarterstaff. 

Izumi had to hold back her giggles at the boys costume, she hoped that it would get better over the next three years. 

Aizawa had on the exact same thing she had first seen him in, a black loose fit jumpsuit, with a utility belt, his capture scarf was white and it seemed that it was shorter than it would eventually be. 

Yamada had on a very toned down version of his future costume, he still wore a leather jacket and pants with a white shirt, he had basic headphones on his head, the oddest part of his costume was the mega phone attached to the back of his hands, Izumi assumed that they would eventually be replaced by his directional speaker. 

As Izumi took in the boys costume they were taking in hers, she couldn't read their expressions at all, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel. She pushed the insecurity away and crossed the last few steps to the three. 

"Uh, nice costumes boys." Izumi tried to sound as sincere as she could, but she was pretty sure Aizawa picked up the laughter in her voice. 

Anything else that could be said was interpreted by Nezu clapping his paws together to get their attention on him. 

"Right, today we will be doing some quirkless sparring, first I want Shirakumo and Toyomitsu." Nezu calls. "And no weapons Shirakumo." 

The two boys faced each other on a mat, the rest of the class ringed around it. 

"Begin." Nezu says sharply. 

Shirakumo crouches low as he rushes at Toyomitsu, only to pop up quickly and deliver an open handed strike to Toyomitsu's shoulder. Toyomitsu stumbled back a little and threw a haymaker that missed as Shirakumo danced backwards. 

Izumi notes as the two continue that Toyomitsu's moves are all easily predictable, and he acted more like a tank than a fighter. In the future he would be a great hero, his quirk allowed him to be a tank and also be able to strike back with one devastating blow. 

The match ended when Shirakumo grabbed Toyomitsu's outstretched arm and flipped the larger boy to the ground, he still held the arm at an awkward angle making Toyomitsu tap out. 

Izumi cheered for them both, it was a good match but there was a clear difference in skill. 

"Yamada and Sōsaki." 

The match was quick, it proved to Izumi that she was gonna have to pound it into Yamada's head that you can't rely on your quirk. 

The matches continued until only herself and Aizawa were left. The two stepped up onto the mat and faced each other. Izumi stopped for a moment. 

"Ah, let me get rid of my weapons so I don't accidentally use them." She told both Aizawa and Nezu who nodded. 

Izumi stripped off her jacket and started to take off her holsters, she pulled of the pouch on her left thigh and her gloves, she hesitated for a moment before she discarded her scarf as well. 

"Ready?" Nezu asked as he arched an eyebrow. Izumi nodded and relaxed her stance. "Begin." 

Aizawa immediately dove forward in a tackle, Izumi sidestepped and brought her foot up kicking him in the ribs. She used the counter momentum of her kick to hop backwards and away from her opponent. 

Aizawa regained his footing and gave Izumi a look that she couldn't decipher. 

Deciding it was her turn to attack Izumi kept her fists up near her chin and bouncing around she made her way towards the boy, he followed her movements with his eyes but never changed his stance. 

With a tsk of annoyance Izumi feinted a right hook but brought her left leg up and kicked Aizawa in the ribs again. He let out a quick breath at the impact before he locked her foot in a hold with his elbow. 

Izumi smiled a little and she dropped her weight backwards and onto her hands, using her free leg she kicked up, she was aiming to kick him in the peck but he shifted in a way she hadn't predicted and her heel clipped his chin. 

Aizawa dropped her left leg in surprise and Izumi went into a backwards walkover to get a little space. It was just enough for her to sweep his legs out from under him, and she used her momentum to roll on top of him, her knees by his hips, feet locked around his thighs and her left arm across his throat. 

Aizawa looked a little stunned as he tapped out. 

[murkycran]

Rainboots

Summary: "First, there was never any proof that was even me, and secondly, I have a hatchback, Virgil, obviously any hypothetical opossums in cages would be stored in the back rather than on my leather seats." 

"I was literally sitting beside you when Remus asked you to help and you said yes-" --- It's pouring when they leave the movies, Remus does his best to get them all banned from the theatre, Virgil's ride canceled on him, and only three of them are wearing rain boots.

Rating: Teen

Relationships: Gen

Characters: Morality | Patton Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sleep | Remy Sanders

Tags: Friendship, Teenagers, Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, Remus' brand of humor, Anxiety, Angst, very small angst where Virgil is having negative thoughts, But Nothing Too Bad

Words: 3410

Read on AO3!

---

As the end credits rolled and the lights of the theater brightened to allow guests to leave, the sudden lack of theatrical music revealed another sound.

"Is that rain?" Virgil asked, leaning forward in his seat to look at the others.

Remus was already out of his seat and hurriedly making his way...up? the theatre steps, rather than heading for the exit. Roman didn't appear to be paying attention at all, seemingly trying to reach down the back of his shirt for something while Logan checked his phone for missed notifications. Janus gave Virgil a dry look. "No, that's not rain at all. It totally sounded like that before the movie started."

As if punctuating his words, a rumble of thunder shook the building.

Patton hopped to his feet and dug around in his drawstring bag for a bit before emerging with a collapsible, lime-green umbrella clasped in his hand. "I hope everyone came prepared! I wouldn't want the weather to dampen the mood!"

Virgil completely missed the pun, because he, in fact, did not come prepared and was already dreading getting his clothes soaked. Janus at least remarked, "I'm not sharing my umbrella."

"Nor am I," Logan agreed, standing up as he put his phone away. "I told everyone in the group text earlier today to bring adequate rain gear, so no one is going to be able to use the excuse that they 'didn't know'."

Virgil sighed as he stood with the others and they began shimmying down the aisle towards the stairs. "Yeah, well, I kinda ducked out of the group text after Remus started threatening spoilers for the movie."

Speaking of. "HEY! Hey, guys, look!"

Virgil already felt a wave of mortification sweeping over him as not only their group but everyone else still in the theatre turned towards the projection booth at the top of the stairs. Remus was using his hands to make shadow puppets of dicks in front of the light coming from the projector.

"Oh my god," Virgil choked out, suddenly wishing the ground would swallow him up. Janus and Logan both wore unimpressed looks as Patton chuckled nervously and called back up to Remus. "Hey kiddo, maybe come back down? We don't want the movie theatre employees to ban you again."

"Patton, stop acting like we know him!" Virgil hissed. "Everyone's looking at us!"

"Normally I'd relish the attention," Roman spoke up as he finally stood, still shifting his shirt and jacket in an odd fashion, "but I have to agree with the Dark Knight on this one, padre. I'd rather we all not get banned because of my brother."

"Glad to see the everlasting, unbreakable bond of blood between brothers is still as strong as ever," Janus said.

Logan pushed his glasses up on his nose, raising an eyebrow at the tamer twin. "Roman, what are you doing?"

Roman's reply was cut off as Remus made a mad, cackling dash back down the stairs through the last of the people leaving the theatre as employees appeared from behind the projection booth door.

"We should leave quickly," Logan said. He was checking his phone again. "I'm getting flash flood warnings for our area."

Virgil groaned. "As if Remy's driving wasn't bad enough."

They all shared a wince. No one carpooled with Virgil twice after riding with Remy in the driver seat.

The remaining five - since Remus was no longer in sight - began making their way down the stairs. Roman lagged behind after every few steps, still tugging at his shirt behind his back. After reaching the bottom and glancing back to see the twin still struggling on the stairs halfway up, Patton finally asked, "Do you need help, bud?"

Roman huffed frustratedly. "Remus kept putting candy down the back of my shirt during the movie. I got the Twizzlers out, but I'm pretty sure he also dropped some Reese's Pieces down my collar. I think they're stuck to my back from sitting between me and the seat cushion."

"Oh, so that's what he was doing," Janus said. "I was wondering why he was moving around so much."

"Aw, what a waste of candy," Patton pouted.

"Dude, just go in the bathroom and take your shirt off to check," Virgil said.

"Yes, please do that," Janus agreed, eyeing Roman warily all of a sudden. "If you're going to be riding in my car there will be no melted candy left behind in the seats."

Roman sighed but finally stopped pulling at his shirt and jacket to follow them the rest of the way out. As they neared the bathrooms, Logan asked, "Why didn't you just stop him from doing it?"

The twin scoffed. "Uh, have you met my brother? It's Remus, you can't tell him to do anything, and it would've been exactly what he wanted: me making a scene in a dark theater. Besides, I got some revenge by shoving SourPatch Kids down his shirt, too." The last bit was said with a bit of pride.

Janus groaned dramatically as Roman left them outside the bathrooms. "Great, two people littering candy in my car." He sighed as he made his way to the benches against the wall opposite of the bathrooms and sat down, pulling his yellow, faux snake skin-patterned backpack into his lap and opening it.

Patton took a seat beside Janus and Virgil sat on Patton's other side, slouching down with his hands shoved in his pockets. Virgil said, "I know for a fact that you helped Remus smuggle possums into the guys gym at school two months ago using your car to back up to the back entrance. Yet you're worried about a few pieces of candy?"

Janus rolled his eyes as he pulled off his left shoe. "First, there was never any proof that was even me, and secondly, I have a hatchback, Virgil, obviously any hypothetical opossums in cages would be stored in the back rather than on my leather seats."

"I was literally sitting beside you when Remus asked you to help and you said yes-" Virgil started to argue, but Patton cut him off quickly, desperate to avoid the argument that was sure to start. "Janus, you brought rainboots, too?"

The teen in question had pulled two shiny yellow rainboots out of his backpack and already had one on. "Of course I did. My regular shoes are too nice to get wet. Plus, these keep water from getting on the cuff of my pants."

Logan was looking at the garishly yellow backpack somewhat dubiously. "How did you even fit those in there? You snuck in all the drinks in that bag."

"Please, I'm a very efficient packer. Carrying five bottles of soda in just because you all are too cheap to buy from the concession here was child's play, even with my boots."

"I wore my boots, too!" Patton excitedly stuck his feet out, proudly showing off his cat-patterned rainboots. "Why didn't you wear yours in? They're so cute!"

"What if it hadn't rained?" Janus asked as he packed away the shoes he'd originally been wearing, now sporting his yellow rainboots. "I would've looked like a fool."

Logan said, "There was a ninety percent chance of rain."

"Still didn't want to risk it."

"Risk what?" Roman interrupted, finally leaving the bathroom.

Virgil stood up, looking at his phone. "Janus ruining his hypothetical reputation."

The hoodie-clad teen missed the impressive glare Janus shot his way. "Excuse you-"

"Guys, where's Remus?" Roman once again interrupted (to the relief of Patton and Logan).

"I think he's outside," Logan said, pulling out his collapsible, navy blue umbrella. "He's probably waiting on us."

He was right. Sort of. Outside the rain was pouring down hard enough that a mist was being swept under the overhang of the theatre by the wind. The parking lot was visibly flooded with only a few cars left in sight. They found Remus using a sharpie to draw on one of the encased movie posters placed outside the building. "You guys are slower than corpses. I've already drawn on Shia LaBeouf's movie poster over there and remade it into a masterpiece. Want to see?"

Everyone was thankfully saved from answering by Virgil's strangled noise of frustration. "Guys, I have a problem."

As Patton held a hand out for the sharpie (which Remus turned over with only a slight pout), he asked, "What's wrong, kiddo?"

"Remy just said he can't pick me up. He thinks the tread on his tires wouldn't stand up against this much rain and he's worried we'd hydroplane."

Well, what Remy actually said was this:

Sleepy bastard: hey V, sorry but I can't pick u up tonite. it's raining 2 hard *sad face emoji*

Virgil: seriously? how am I supposed to get home?

Sleepy bastard: gee, idk, ask ur friends? call an uber? hey, I'll even pay for it bc this is kinda my fault

Virgil: what

Sleepy bastard: I keep forgetting 2 go get new tires and I'm afraid the tread wouldn't get any good traction with it raining this bad. can you imagine getting out in this like that, with MY driving? *horrified face emoji* one of ur friends is some rich kid, right? i bet he can afford tires, probably the BEST tires *several dollar sign emojis*

Virgil: oh my god

Virgil: youre my cousin and youre literally leaving me out in the cold

Sleepy bastard: gee, babe, it's almost like that driver's test u refuse 2 take might actually be worth taking now, huh?

Sleepy bastard: ok srry that was a low blow. but rlly i think u should try 2 get a ride with ur friend. not kidding about my tires being shit. college is sucking my bank account dry and i don't want 2 add a car repair bill, or worse, a hospital bill

Virgil: ...fine

Sleepy bastard: cool cool, I'll leave the lights on for u. lmk if u decide to spend the night at a friends house instead

Virgil almost would've laughed at that if he wasn't currently wondering how he was going to get home, because spending the night at one of his friends' houses, unexpected and uninvited? Yeah, right, like he'd do that. He needed at least two days' notice in order to psych himself up into talking to anyone else's parents, let alone inviting himself to their house unexpectedly.

Thankfully, he didn't have any reservations about asking his friends for a ride. "I need a ride. Can I go with one of you guys?"

The rest of the group shared a glance. Janus spoke up. "Well, technically I was driving everyone home... Roman and Remus were dropped off and Logan rode with me here from school since we had a debate team meeting after school. Patton had a GSA club meeting after school so he rode with me, too. My car only holds five people."

Virgil felt the first stirrings of panic winding up in his chest - he's such an inconvenience, if only he could make himself take the stupid driving test without freezing up - only for the fear to die as Remus suddenly scoffed. "Of course you can fit more than five people in that fancy car of yours, Dee, you're just not trying hard enough."

"Remus, you're not riding on the roof of the car again. We saw what happened last time," Logan said in a somewhat exasperated tone.

Patton paled. "Again?"

Roman waved off the cat-loving teen, unfazed. "Trust me, you didn't miss much. They were going so fast I didn't even get a good video out of it."

Patton made a choking noise, looking increasingly more worried. "Guys-"

Remus giggled, slapping a hand down on Patton's shoulder. "Don't worry, Dad, I was so pumped full of adrenaline I didn't even feel anything when I landed."

"You're going to give him a stroke," Virgil muttered, eyeing the increasingly paler Patton warily.

"The point is..." Remus cut in, "if the back cargo space is good enough for my opossum friends, then it's good enough for me. Problem solved."

"Hypothetical opossum friends," Janus hurriedly corrected. "But sure, we can try it."

"Cool, great, quick question though-" Roman said, staring out at the flooding parking lot. "Why the hell did you park so far away?"

All eyes turned to squint out through the virtual monsoon that was coming down. At the farthest end of the darkened lot sat golden Chevy Bolt, illuminated by the weak beam of a parking lot light pole.

"So people wouldn't park near me and risk scratching my car, obviously," Janus said, completely unbothered by the fact that his car was at least a good fifty yards away. "Unlike some people, I brought an umbrella and appropriate footwear. I can just pull back around and pick you all up so you don't drip in my car."

Completely disregarding his words, Remus suddenly shouted, "First loser to the car gets shotgun!", before taking off headlong into the pouring rain. Not to be outdone by his brother, Roman cursed before running after him, yelling, "NOT FAIR!"

The remaining four watched with varying reactions of dismay, amusement, and confusion.

"...Wouldn't the loser be the last one to the car? And I thought Remus was going to ride in the back...?" Logan asked.

Janus hummed. "He is. I'm pretty sure he just wanted to get wet."

Virgil once again regretted his life choices, looking down at his worn-out converses and tattered jeans. "This is gonna suck so bad. I'm going to be soaked the second I step out there."

"I don't know," Patton said with a smile, still watching Remus and Roman chase each other in the rain. "It looks kinda fun to me."

"Oh, please," Janus started, shooting a wide-eyed look at Patton, "don't tell me you're actually thinking about-"

The glasses-wearing teen shot Janus a bright smile. "Pleeeeease?"

The blonde teen stared hard at Patton, trying to resist. After a few moments, Janus finally crumbled with a put-out sigh and roll of his mismatched eyes. "Fine, go for it. Seems like everyone is out to ruin my car's interior tonight, you might as well join in."

With a gasp of delight, Patton leaped forward and put his arms around the shorter teen, exclaiming, "Thanks, Janus!"

Looking a bit like an indignant cat that didn't want to be held, Janus awkwardly patted his back. "Sure. Whatever."

Virgil was snickering to himself at the look on Janus' face, only to be startled out of it by Patton shoving his collapsible umbrella into his hands. "Here, Virge, you can have my umbrella since I won't be using it now!"

Then the cat-loving teen was laughing as he dashed out into the rain, ignoring Logan's call of, "Be careful!"

The last three friends watched as the others gleefully ran about the parking lot. Roman reached the car before his brother, but Remus just jumped on his twins' back and held on, making Roman shriek indignantly and stagger as he tried to adjust to the new weight. Patton was finding the deepest puddles of the parking lot and jumping in each one with giant splashes, his laughter echoing across the parking lot even in the rain.

Janus sighed once again and pulled out his umbrella. "Well, I suppose it was about time I had my car detailed anyways."

As Logan opened his own navy umbrella, he said, "I suggest we walk at a slower pace than the others to the car. Not only could we slip if we ran, but running in the rain causes you to get even wetter than if you walk because more droplets are hitting you as you increase speed."

Virgil hummed, taking note for the next time he had to go between classes when it was raining and opened the bright green umbrella Patton had lent to him. It popped open to reveal two eyes and a mouth resembling a frog's face on the green fabric. Cute, he thought to himself (but didn't dare say out loud; he had an aesthetic to maintain). Mumbling, he shot a "thanksforlettingmeridewithyou" in Janus' direction.

The blonde teen's mismatched eyes lit up and he grinned. "What was that, Virgil? I don't think I heard you. Speak up a little bit."

The hoodie-clad teen huffed. "You heard me, I'm not saying it again."

"Hm, rude."

All three of them stepped out into the downpour and began making their way through the flooded areas of the parking lot. Virgil's shoes were soaked in virtually seconds, but at least his hair and eyeshadow was dry. Patton had nearly made it to the car at this point as Remus chased Roman around the vehicle, going in circles while shouting at each other.

Janus twirled the keys in his hand but made no move to unlock the doors until he was standing at the driver's side door. Patton moved to get in the door behind the driver's seat. He was soaked to the bone and grinning as Virgil came to stand next to him and shared the umbrella with him (even though it wouldn't do much good at that point). Roman, thinking Janus was about to unlock the door, stopped running to stand and wait at the passenger seat door. "HA! I call shotgun."

Stopping turned out to be a mistake. Remus, still thoroughly engrossed in the chase, tackled his brother right into the wet asphalt with a triumphant cry. Logan deftly stepped in to take Roman's former spot and it was only then that Janus unlocked the car.

Everyone sans Roman and Remus quickly piled into the luxury hatchback that no high schooler had any right to be driving. As Janus cranked up the heat to full blast, a soaking wet Roman swung open the door to the backseat and dove into the last open spot behind Logan, grumbling. "Seriously, Remus, why? You just succeeded in getting us both completely wet. This jacket is probably ruined now, thanks to you."

Remus, who was already crawling into the cargo space behind the back seats via the back hatch, blew a raspberry. "Just get it dry-cleaned, you baby. Besides, some of us like getting wet, if you know what I mean." The comment was collectively ignored.

"I can already tell there's going to be scuff marks from the pavement," Roman said as he examined the fabric. "I hope those Sour Patch Kids I put down your shirt melted to your clothes when you got us both wet."

"Oh, I already ate those."

There were more than a few disgusted faces in the car at that particular statement. Roman looked horrified. "That's so disgusting- How are we even related?"

A question everyone had heard numerous times...

"The car isn't moving till everyone is wearing their seatbelt," Janus stated, sternly eyeing the backseat passengers in the rearview mirror. He and Logan were both already buckled.

Virgil scooted over a bit for Patton, who had taken the middle seat between Virgil and Roman, to reach his buckle. "But Remus doesn't have a seatbelt."

"Remus doesn't count," Janus said.

"Yeah, emo," Remus leaned forward to poke Virgil in the neck. "God herself couldn't kill me."

Virgil gave a full-body shudder at the poke - Remus' fingers were freezing - and leaned forward to get away from the offending hand. "I swear to god, Rem, if you keep that up-"

Patton paused in trying to wipe away at the water obscuring his glasses and turned in his seat, squinting. "Now kiddos, play nice-"

Roman snorted. "I don't think my brother even knows how to 'play nice'."

Remus jabbed freezing fingers into Roman's unprotected neck in gleeful retaliation.

Tuning out the less mature back seat passengers and setting the windshield wipers at full blast, Janus shifted into drive and began to slowly pull out of the nearly empty parking lot. Logan studied him out of the corner of his eye for a few moments before saying, "I would think you'd be more upset at the amount of water we tracked into your car, Remus and Roman especially."

Janus shot Logan a mischievous grin as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Oh, I'm sure I'll find a way to collect on this favor with each of you at a later date."

"Of course you would," Logan sighed, already dreading the implications.

The blonde teen simply snickered, finally pulling out onto the road to begin the ordeal of dropping everyone off at their respective homes.

[awkwardnessandbaseball]

CS Countdown to Christmas

We’re getting there, kids. Here’s 12/19′s prompt, posting promptly at just before 8AM on Christmas Eve.

Dec 19: Lost Christmas Spirit

AO3

“I’m not saying I hate Christmas. I’m just saying it doesn’t really…feel like Christmas this year,” Emma Swan was telling her best friend.

“Well, it doesn’t ever feel the same as an adult as it did when you were a kid,” Mary Margaret replied. “But that’s because as a kid, Christmas is magical by default. As an adult, you have to make the magic happen.”

“I can’t believe you’re talking to me about Christmas magic while I’m hanging sparkly silver garland in your classroom. This is too much.” Emma stuck another staple through the garland, securing it to the border of the bulletin board.

“If I’d known you were going to complain the whole time, I would have turned down your offer to help,” Mary Margaret stuck out her tongue.

“I complain every year, and you still invite me back,” Emma stuck her tongue out right back.

Mary Margaret Blanchard had been Emma Swan’s first friend when she’d moved to Storybrooke. Emma had been looking for a change of pace, and a place to settle down, and Mary Margaret had been looking for a friend. She’d offered to let Emma crash in her spare room until she found a place of her own, and they’d been practically inseparable ever since, even after Emma moved into her own apartment a few blocks away.

“We’re still going out tonight, right? Tradition?” Mary Margaret bit her lip, as though Emma could deny her anything when she’d been the one to take Emma in all those years ago.

“Of course. Drinks to celebrate another year of spending Christmas alone.” Emma winced at her own words – when had she become such a Scrooge?

“Alone together,” Mary Margaret corrected her.

The tradition had started on Emma’s first Christmas in Storybrooke. She’d only moved out of Mary Margaret’s apartment midway through November, and they were both already missing the companionship, despite needing their own space. Mary Margaret was decorating her classroom for the holidays, and asked Emma to come help. Eager to spend time with her friend, Emma agreed, only to regret it the moment she walked in to find boxes upon boxes of red and green, silver and gold, bows and ribbons and garland and stars. It seemed like it would never end, but when it finally did, Mary Margaret offered to buy the first round of drinks as a thank you.

As Mary Margaret began teaching older grades, her decoration collection thinned out, and they’d formed some sort of a system, so it took less than half the time now than it had five years ago. Still, Mary Margaret always bought the first round after Emma helped her decorate.

It was Emma’s first and only Christmas tradition, and she would never dream of changing it.

Several hours later, after only stapling her jacket to the bulletin board once and a mere three paper cuts – a record low – they found two seats at the Jolly Roger. They chose a table over the bar-top, hoping to mostly keep to themselves.

Their normal haunt, the Rabbit Hole, had been taken over by Robert Gold’s law office, holding their Christmas party. So they’d had to relocate. Mary Margaret was miffed, as she felt like this threw off their tradition, but Emma was determined to make the best of it.

“Two shots of tequila, please!” She called to any bartender who would listen.

A blonde man with broad shoulders turned around from where he was stocking one of the beer fridges. He had an easy, kind smile, and Emma hoped he was as nice as he looked – she preferred a bartender to be friendly than to slam down her drink and walk away with her money.

The bartender walked over to her and leaned in close.

“Is one of those for Mary Margaret Blanchard? I um…I saw you walk in together.”

Emma gave him a closer look. His eyes looked genuine, he was clean shaven and well dressed: a button down and well-fitting jeans. No wedding ring, nor a tan line from one.

“Yep, she’s my best friend,” she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, letting him know that ‘best friend’ was also code for ‘we protect each other’.

“These are on the house.” There was the easy smile again, and he handed over two shots, and a small tray with a salt shaker and two limes. “Merry early Christmas.”

“Um…thanks.”

“Would you…tell her I said hello? She probably doesn’t remember me, but my name is David. We met a few weeks ago at the pharmacy.”

Hmm. Mary Margaret hadn’t mentioned meeting a good-looking bartender with pretty eyes at the pharmacy, but if he was paying for their shots, Emma wasn’t going to argue.

She got back to the table, delivering the goods, and took her seat across from her friend, who clearly had not looked towards the bar yet.

“David says hello. These are from him.”

At the name David, Mary Margaret’s eyes went wide and her pale face turned bright red.

“David? Where is he?” She still didn’t turn around.

“He’s behind the bar. I guess he’s a bartender. He saw us walk in together and when I ordered these, he said they were on the house. Seemed into you,” Emma still hadn’t taken her seat, finding it easier to stare down her friend and force answers out of her if she were standing just a bit taller.

“He’s really cute, right?”

“Oh my God.”

“I was like, three dollars short at the pharmacy last week, and he was behind me in line and he paid what I owed. It was really sweet. That’s all that happened. No number exchange or anything. But he’s…really good looking. I keep hoping I’ll run into him, but I know nothing about him, so I didn’t know where to look.”

“Looks like a change in tradition wasn’t such a bad thing, was it?” Emma finally sat.

“Is he looking over here?”

“We are not doing that. We are not those friends who go to the bar to talk about men. That’s not the tradition.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Mary Margaret straightened up in her chair. “Time for shots.”

Three rounds later, Emma walked back to the bar, just a bit more swagger in her step than before.

“My friend wants your number, can you please go talk to her?” She said to David’s back. He turned around, slightly less confident and maybe a little nervous. “She won’t stop talking about you and I’m tired of hearing about it so please just go give her your number so we can all move on with our lives.”

David didn’t hesitate, but practically ran out from behind the bar and approached the table, motioning towards the seat Emma had previously occupied. Emma watched Mary Margaret hesitate, but then nod.

“I need another shot,” she mumbled to no one in particular.

“More tequila, or are we switching it up?”

She looked towards the voice and found a dark-haired man she’d seen serving drinks at the opposite end of the bar earlier in the evening.

“Tequila. My friend just got all Hallmark Movie Christmas Romance on me.”

“Not a romantic then? Or just not into Christmas?” He asked as he poured the tequila into two shot glasses.

“Both. I don’t know when I started to hate Christmas so much,” she admitted. “I tried to tell Mary Margaret that I don’t, but maybe I do. Maybe I’m just a scrooge.” She downed her shot of tequila, reaching for the second.

“Uh, one of those was for me, but very well,” he chuckled, one eyebrow raised.

“Shit, sorry. I just thought…I didn’t know you were allowed to drink on the job.”

“Well, I own the bar, I make the rules.”

“You own this place?”

“Well, co-own, with your friend’s new boyfriend over there,” he gestured vaguely towards the table where Mary Margaret and David were now sitting next to each other instead of across from one another. That explained why he was able to just walk out from behind the bar in the middle of a shift at least.

“I’ve never been here before,” Emma admitted as he poured another pair of shots, keeping one in his hand this time.

“Well, I hope you’ll come back,” he winked as they brought their shot glasses together for luck.

David returned to the bar a moment later, and the mysterious co-owner was pulled away before she could ask his name.

Three days later, Emma and Mary Margaret sat across from each other at a booth at Granny’s Diner, the latter recounting her date with David Nolan from the night before.

“It just…felt really right, you know? We just clicked. He’s so kind – you know he volunteers at the animal shelter? And when I said I wish someone could come in and teach the kids about different animals, you know to go along with my bird theme in the spring, he said he’d be happy to do it. And then he hesitated, like he was nervous, and he added, ‘if you want me there, of course.’ It was just so sweet and we’re going out again on Friday and I know it’s really sudden but I like him.”

Mary Margaret sucked in a deep breath, looking surprised by how quickly she’d spoken.

“So, you’re happy?” Emma eyed her friend over her mug of hot chocolate.

“Yes.”

“That’s all that matters.”

Mary Margaret grinned, but it slowly morphed into a nervous smile.

“I wanted to ask you something, but I don’t want you to get mad at me.”

Oh no. Emma knew this couldn’t be anything good – anything that made Mary Margaret nervous to ask usually involved big favors or half-formed plans. Emma nodded at her to continue.

“David was hoping we could double date.”

Emma nearly spat out her drink.

“Double date with who? Me and my dog, Max and our plot to steal Christmas from Whoville?” Despite Mary Margaret’s best efforts, Emma was still not feeling the Christmas spirit this year.

“Well, we saw you talking to Killian, and David said he hasn’t stopped talking about you since that night.”

“Who’s Killian?”

“David’s business partner at the Jolly Roger!” Mary Margaret tilted her head. “I saw you talking to him that night…did you not get his name?”

Emma blushed a bit and shook her head.

“Okay, so we talked. Now you want me to go out with him? And you and your fabulous Prince Charming? I dunno, M’s.”

“Please, Emma? Consider it your Christmas gift to me.”

“I already bought you a Christmas present.”

“Return it and do this instead.” Mary Margaret hesitated a moment. “No wait, don’t return it. But do this, too. Please? David and Killian are really close, and it would mean a lot to him if Killian were happy, just like it would mean a lot to me if you were happy.”

“Fine. One date.” Emma rolled her eyes.

“Yay! We’re going to Aesop’s Tables at 8 on Friday!”

Emma sighed, defeated.

Aesop’s Tables was decorated in nearly as much garland and ribbon as Mary Margaret’s former classroom. In fact, Emma was fairly certain she recognized some of the decorations from that first year she’d helped hang everything.

The Christmas tree in the corner and the fairy lights around the bar did nothing to help her feel Christmas-y. If anything, it all only made her just a bit sadder that she’d somehow become such a Scrooge.

What did cheer her up was seeing a charming, good-looking man waiting for her next to David Nolan. She stopped walking to take him in. Killian had looked good behind the bar of the Jolly Roger – all black clothing somehow making the blue of his eyes look brighter, a towel tucked into his back pocket and a bottle opener hanging from his hip. Emma liked a hard-working man, and if this Killian person could run a bar by actually working the bar instead of just sitting in an office all day, that was something she could get behind.

Today, though, he looked like a man who’d put effort into his outfit. A blue button down, leather jacket, and extremely well-fitting jeans adorned what looked like a fit physique. He wasn’t broad like David, but he looked strong all the same.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Mary Margaret misread Emma’s pause as apprehension, and gently grabbed Emma’s arm to drag her the rest of the way to the table.

“Ladies, lovely to see you again,” if Emma didn’t know any better, she’d think Killian was nervous. He was worrying his lip, and his confident smirk from the other night was nowhere to be found.

“You, too. Surprised you’re letting yourselves be seen at another bar. Isn’t that like, bad for business?” Emma teased.

“Can’t very well host a date at the place we own – we’d be interrupted every thirty seconds by some mishap or another,” Killian raised an eyebrow, daring Emma to challenge him.

“Hmm. Seems like maybe you just know where the best bar in town is,” Emma bit her lip, hoping the tone in her voice was enough to tell him she was joking and not insulting him. He barked out a loud laugh and she knew she’d hit her mark.

“You’re trouble, aren’t you?”

“So I’ve been told.”

Mary Margaret and David were watching their interaction like a tennis match, identical grins on their faces.

“So, Emma,” Killian began, “shall we go grab the first round, since David and Mary Margaret were so kind as to invite us out this evening?”

For a moment, Emma wondered how Killian had learned her name. But then she remembered Mary Margaret mentioning that he ‘hadn’t stopped talking about her’. She’d assumed it was an exaggeration, but he must have at least asked about her if nothing else. David must have told him her name.

“Sure, let’s go.”

They stood at the bar, patiently waiting for a bartender to look their way. It was a Friday and the restaurant was full, forcing them practically on top of each other, his left arm against her right. Suddenly, a wave of movement from her other side caused her to fall completely against him.

“Hey! Watch it over there,” Killian yelled to no one in particular, taking the opportunity to move his left arm around her waist to steady her. “You alright, love?”

“Yeah. Thanks for um…catching me. Or whatever.”

“Of course.”

Emma looked up at him, and there were colors across his face from the lights around the bar, and for the first time in ages, she found herself thinking about Christmas magic.

By the end of the night, Emma was sufficiently charmed by Killian Jones, co-owner of the Jolly Roger. They’d spent over an hour standing at the bar, Mary Margaret and David seemingly forgotten. She laughed at his cheesy pickup lines and he listened intently when she told him about the past she’d run away from, the past that had landed her in Storybrooke.

She found herself giving him her phone number before she could think better of it.

“Still feeling all anti-Christmas?” He asked her as the four of them waited for the bus to take them back to Main Street, to all of their respective homes.

“I’m not anti-Christmas,” Emma nearly shouted. “I’m just not…pro-Christmas, either.”

Killian hummed in response as the bus pulled up. They sat in companionable silence until each of them exited the bus, one by one, and they headed in their separate directions.

Monday was Christmas Eve. There was no snow, and Emma was avoiding the radio at all costs, so there was no Christmas music. She grabbed a blanket and her mug of hot chocolate, and prepared herself for a cozy Monday of anything but Christmas movies. She flipped through the channels to no avail, grumbling as she switched over to Netflix, hoping she’d have a better selection there.

She was about to start re-watching one of her old favorites, when there was a knock on the door. She peeked through the peephole, but saw nothing, so she opened the door slowly. On the ground, on top of her welcome mat – a black rectangle with the words ‘wipe your feet’ inscribed in white lettering – was a gift. It was small, and carefully wrapped, with an oversized gold bow on the top.

Emma glanced up and down the hallway, but saw nothing, so she grabbed the gift quickly and retreated back into her apartment.

There was no card, so she carefully peeled back the layers of gift wrap, revealing a plain white box. She removed the lid and found a beautiful, old compass inside. She opened it, but it appeared to be broken. The needle pointed back towards her front door, but she knew that was east. She tried to turn, but the needle didn’t move at all within the compass, always pointing ahead of her, no matter which direction she faced.

Huh.

There was no note inside, either, but she had a feeling that only a man with a bar named after a pirate ship would leave a compass as a gift.

“Your compass is broken,” she said as she entered the Jolly Roger. The sign said they were closed, but Killian had mentioned having to go in to decorate for the employee holiday party, to be held the day after Christmas.

“And we’re closed,” Killian grinned at her. “Didn’t seem to stop you from coming in. Why should a broken compass stop you?”

“I’m just…confused,” Emma admitted.

Killian carefully finished pinning up the photo he was attaching to the wall – some bartender dressed as a pirate for Halloween – and stepped towards her.

“What would you need a compass for?” He asked her seriously.

“If I were lost, I guess.”

“And are you lost?”

Emma thought about it. She’d felt lost when she’d arrived in Storybrooke, all those years ago, until she’d met Mary Margaret. She’d felt as though she’d lost her Christmas spirit, until she’d looked at Killian’s face under the Christmas lights at the bar, reigniting just the tiniest bit of hope. And even then, she’d felt a bit lost until she’d found a gift from a stranger outside her front door.

“I suppose I’m not anymore. So then why a compass at all?”

Killian scratched behind his ear.

“I used that compass when I chose to come to Storybrooke. I bought it from some pawn shop a few towns over and I let it tell me where to go. It wasn’t until after I’d arrived that I realized it was broken, and I’d been the one choosing my path the whole time.”

“Sounds like you put a lot of thought into a gift for a girl you just met.”

“It’s Christmas. Seemed like maybe you needed someone to think of you, and I was more than happy to be the one to do it.”

Emma smiled at him, a bit surprised by the tight feeling in her chest.

“Do you need any help decorating?” she found herself asking.

Killian looked surprised for a moment, but finally nodded.

“I’m hanging pictures of the different events we’ve had throughout the year, just sort of a look back at 2017 if you will. You can help me choose, if you’d like.”

They sat on the floor, surrounded by photographs of people Emma didn’t know, but whose stories Killian gladly shared.

“That’s Ariel. She’s our waitress on busy nights. Sweet as pie, but tough as nails. Best worker I’ve hired to date.”

“I bet I’d like her.”

“You should meet her. At the party. You should come. If you want to.” Killian looked nervous, as though he wasn’t sure if he was asking too much of her, too soon. As though he hadn’t left her an incredibly meaningful gift for Christmas only two days after their first date.

“Okay,” Emma found herself saying.

And neither one of them would be able to recount it properly later, but somehow one of them leaned in and then the other met them halfway, and they were kissing on the floor of Killian’s bar, surrounded by photographs of people in costumes and people laughing and people dancing. And David walked through the door and found them there, and they weren’t even a little bit embarrassed.

And Emma Swan hadn’t been so happy about Christmas in a very long time.