#I did laugh out loud at the santa comparison

[slightlydisapproves]

“do it for armand” I say trying to convince myself to pick up memnoch again

[purplerose244]

Winners

Hi @master-of-reblog! I was your secret santa for this year, this is my present for you! Merry Christmas! 🎅🎅🎅

Thanks @kokosnuss-jaguar for organizing the event once again! 😍

It is a little fic based on an AU, basically Lloyd ends up at Kai and Nya's door when little and he grows up to be their brother (this implies him not knowing who his dad is, Wu keeps it a secret because of freaking course and Garmadon does to in order to give him a peaceful existence). I love this trio's bond so much, I was so glad to see you like them as well! 💚💙💓

Well then, enjoy!

Nya could barely take this. Seeing this little tornado of a kid lightening up at the decorations of the fair, his cheeks still red from the cold and the eyes filled with stars, she genuinely thought she was going to collapse. It was almost unsettling how quickly he changed attitude the moment they arrived, to the point she wondered if this was the first time he had ever been to this kind of place.

Who could have known, given that for what they knew Lloyd was an orphan?

“Look at the little menace showing some sort of humanity.” Kai looked irritated, but Nya could see the tenderness in his eyebrows. “So much for the theory of being the spawn of a demon.”

“Kai!”

“You can’t tell me that wouldn’t have explained it!” There he was again. Perhaps putting up crazy theories about Lloyd’s origins helped him cope with their unstable situation. “He has red eyes, he’s insanely loud when he complains, and have you seen what he did to my comic books?!”

Nya snickered – who needed school when you could make collages at home?

“You mean what we did…”

Kai gasped so loud he almost caught Lloyd’s attention – almost, there were candies over there.

“You traitor! How dare you side with the enemy brother??” He rubbed her head strongly, making her laugh again. This hothead could pretend he didn’t like Lloyd as much as he wanted, he was the one that started calling him ‘brother’ first. “I won’t let this betrayal distract me, though! With the winter fair of Ignacia coming along, there is only one place worthy of my attention!” Kai marched forward, taking Lloyd’s hand out of reflex the moment the blondie looked ready to jump on the candy booth. “And it is… right here!”

From how run-down this stand was, it really stood out in comparison with the colorful and sophisticated booths all around.

It was probably the oldest looking shooting gallery to ever exist, one Nya remembered being there… since mom and dad were there. When they came to the fair for the first time since they disappeared, she broke down in tears. It was easier this time, even if not painless.

The same old man was waiting for them, grinning from one ear to the other when he recognized the same foolish kid with spiky hair proudly walking his way.

“The Smiths! What a surprise!” Sure, what a surprise seeing the same kid on the same day of every year. “Oh, and you got another one now?” He looked at Lloyd, who immediately hid behind Nya – cute cute cute cute. “Well then, here to try your skills once more, boy?”

“You bet! And this time, that thing is coming home with me!” He pointed at the biggest teddy bear of the stand, almost as tall as Lloyd. That had been the goal for as long as either of them could remember, perhaps from when she was born. “Mrs. Grumbmiller finally gave us allowance for today, I am ready to try until I die!” Somehow it always seemed likely and unlikely with Kai.

Indeed, that mean lady had finally decided that they were real kids that needed to do real things, although it was possible she gave up out of exhaustion after the latest prank week – to say that Lloyd had been a wonderful addition was an understatement.

The old man grinned again that massive curve, providing the little red balls to hit the piles of cups. Kai took one, aiming with confidence, and threw it.

Missed by a mile.

“Ah, so close!” So, it began. Nya was young but not too much to not realize the kind of scam shooting galleries were, especially with a clearly very mischievous owner of the booth. “It brushed it! I saw it!” With that being said, the scam made sense only when the person was close to hitting the target. It was genuinely embarrassing seeing her brother basically aiming at the stand of donuts behind. “No! Come on! Alright, give me three more!” To his credit, he never accused the game or something other than his skills. To his discredit, man he was bad at this.

Nya sighed, looking around for the daily distraction while her brother made a fool of himself. He was so adamant at winning that thing, she really didn’t understand why he was so fixated. She blamed his ego and how much he wanted that boost, but at least he was too busy to check on her while she tried something cute from the stand – big brother energy was massive in those times.

Before she could even move, Lloyd pulled her skirt to get her attention. His big eyes were batting innocently, in contrast with those unsettling red orbs.

“Kai winner?”

Nya snickered.

“I don’t think so, buddy.”

“Then why Kai try?”

She wanted to poke fun on the matter, to her own amusement and to see Lloyd broke down in adorable giggles, but her eyes were still on her brother. His eyes were fixed, his smile radiant, as he almost hit someone passing by. Despite their family falling apart, he was still the same.

She smiled, half-hugging Lloyd, deciding she could watch this massacre for a bit longer.

“He’s just Kai, you’ll realize it soon enough.”

***

Déjà-vu.

It had been years since they had been together at the fair. Since then, their family had expanded quite a lot, his brother was now a ninja and his sister a samurai. Even so, when Lloyd stepped onto the fields of Ignacia for the local winter fair, he felt it extremely familiar.

Especially for the way Kai was aiming at the gallery once again.

“How about we do something else?” Nya, the ever so rational, pointed at a long line of booths with ornaments. “To change the routine, you know?”

“Nope, this is a mission.”

“Not even the blacksmith booth? We can poke fun at easy mistakes!”

“Tempting, but no. This is the year.” Kai raised his fist to the sky, as to make a statement of some sort. To think that this guy had defeated an evil warlord and was on its way to take care of a population of snake-like people… “This time, I will get the price I’ve been longing for! I’ve been trained so hard for this, I will not let destiny dictate his actions!” This had to be the effect of being a part of a team of hero. Speeches.

Lloyd didn’t necessarily mind this novelty, the other guys were fun, especially to prank. When Nya was taken by Lord Garmadon he didn’t think this was going to be the outcome once Kai came back from the rescue mission, but having more brothers was cool. It was cool.

Although, in all of this, the blonde was kind of… there.

Nya gave him a soft elbow, grinning.

“Do you think he’s gonna realize that the game is rigged this time?”

Lloyd smiled back.

“I think he should be able to hit the target now, so maybe? I wonder if he’ll give up once the jig is up.” They both new, in their hearts, it was not likely. Lloyd looked at the ground, his tiny legs almost tripping on a little stone. “Nya?” His sister hummed. “It’s been a while and I grew up a few inches since last time, you know…” She was already furrowing her eyebrows, but he ignored it and continued. “Can I also have a mech suit??” He closed his eyes and opened them in the best puppy eyes he could muster.

His sister gave him a stone-cold glare. She used to swoon all the time, but with the years she realized when he used his powers for bad or good. This time was bad, from her point of view.

“You’re not putting yourself in danger like that!”

“But Nya! There are serpentines all over the place! I need protection!”

“Then get to training! Ask sensei Wu, I’m sure he would be happy to train you!” Lloyd couldn’t hold back a shiver, Nya let out a snort. “You really don’t like him, do you? He’s really kind and wise, you know? You only have to learn from him.”

It was true and, ideally, Lloyd knew he could have trained with a master of martial arts whenever he wanted to. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to, Wu had something weird about him, he seemed a bit reserved around him. It wasn’t apparent, but the blonde was almost sure that sometimes the old master stared at him with a far look, like he was trying to understand something. Lloyd was not looking forward to whatever that was, he didn’t want to stick around the man when he found out.

Even so, the old master was being a huge help and he was training his siblings, so he wasn’t going to accuse him of anything. He simply shrugged, focusing elsewhere.

Like Kai groaning out loud. He really did improve physically, he had started the game in a jiffy.

“Come on! Why??” He stared at the balls like they were going to reveal some massive secret if he glared long enough. The old man, even older now, was chuckling almost evilly. “Well, if you think I’m giving up now, think again! I’m a powerful warrior now!” Quite curious that the ‘ninja never quit’ chant was so unequivocally him. Perhaps he was born to be a ninja.

Nya sighed, crossing her arms.

“Well, I guess this feels like home more than anything. Too bad the guys couldn’t come.” Apparently, there were fairs at their homes as well in this period, while Zane had decided to tag along with sensei Wu. “We should bring them along sometimes.”

Lloyd’s heart shivered for a moment. He shrugged again.

“I guess. But then… wouldn’t it be not our thing anymore?” He immediately went silent after that. He liked the other ninja, but it also felt like he was being left behind.

If he couldn’t fight, what was he good for?

“Oh. Right.” Nya smiled, pulling him in a little hug, like she always did. “Then maybe we keep this for ourselves, and bring the guys to the summer festival? Besides, Jay would have too much fun making fun of Kai like this.” As on cue their brother screamed again, a small ember detaching from his forehead like it was sweat. Their team joker would have totally had the time of his life, and it was too easy like that.

Lloyd let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, looking at his courageous brother, and his confident sister. They were getting stronger, braver, they were moving forward. He didn’t want them to get too great for him to get close to.

Could he become a part of their new adventure, in some way?

***

Today was personal, like it had been every single year. Yet for once, Kai didn’t feel elated by the prospect of the challenge, he felt a rush of anxiety and need.

He had to win this time. There were no other options.

“Hey, slow down! We’re right behind you!” He could hear the steps behind him, and the comparison to a year ago almost made him tear up. Instead of steady steps and lighter ones, there were two pair of confident sounds following him. “Yes, we know where you’re headed, but why not slow down for once? It’s a celebration after all!”

Nya wasn’t wrong. They had defeated the Overlord, the world was saved. Wu’s brother had been saved, disappearing right after with a mysterious glare, but they could celebrate nonetheless.

Kai wanted to, he really did. But not before doing what he had to.

“I will rest once I get what I’ve been after for years, and now that we’re Ninjago’s saviors, I have proof that nothing can stop me!” He beamed when he saw the same shooting gallery with the same run down sign and the same grinning old man. “It happens today!”

He felt a sigh behind his back, and he shivered a little. It had been a while since the Tomorrow’s Tea incident, but a part of him was not used to it. Lloyd sounded old. Too old.

“Yeah, I heard it before.” He sounded grown-up. Too grown-up.

“We both did, and I’m starting to wonder if this is not about showing off like usual.” Nya walked in front of him, giving him a look. “You’ve been obsessed with winning that teddy bear for years now, what’s with that? Is this really just to prove yourself?” Her eyes got sharper with time, she could get whatever she wanted with her skills. She grew up too, just like that.

Kai breathed, feeling the weight of that promise going up to get out. He felt stupid about it, like he finally realized that if it mattered only to him, then perhaps it didn’t matter at all.

He was a ninja, now. But he was a brother, first.

“It… it was for you, at the beginning.” He confessed at last, making Nya widen her eyes. “When we were kids. I wasn’t too sure how to deal with a baby, but you liked toys, so I wanted to give it to you. Then mom and dad… left.” He winced at the pain in his heart, but he ignored it. “You were so sad, I wanted to cheer you up in some way. Then Lloyd came around and joined the family.” His little brother blinked. “Again, kids were never my specialty, so I wanted to welcome him in some way. Things got hectic after that, you guys were always into messed and I didn’t know how to solve them.” He rubbed his neck. “I wanted to make you happy.” He blushed. So embarrassing.

He barely had the time to register his shame when Nya launched herself into a hug, followed immediately by Lloyd. Kai’s throat felt heavy. How many times did he risk losing them lately? How many more in the future? All without him achieving something this simple?

Lloyd grinned tearfully at him.

“You’re such a dummy.” Oh, this brat. Kai was so ready to retort with a comment about his hair or something. “You saved me from a volcano, what else do you wanna do for me?” He decided not to.

He was the master of fire now, yet that heat was impossible to forget.

“And you came to rescue me when Lord Garmadon took me, did you forget about that already?” Nya snickered, like seeing her being taken away hadn’t been Kai’s worst memory. Yet she was here now. They were both here. Because of him? “You’ve taken care of us, just like we took care of you. We all got each other, always, so why do you think you need to prove anything?” She was giving him the look. The one of judgement, whenever she proved to be smarter.

She usually was, so was Lloyd. His siblings were strong and smart, and he genuinely was appalled with how much meaning they gave to his life. Maybe he was overthinking this, maybe this little game truly didn’t matter, but whenever he looked at them like this the pride got him to the point of urging him to do something, anything, to make them happy.

Kai sighed at the extremely determined eyes in front of him. They were relentless, as he himself usually was, it was interesting being on the receiving end.

“I know it’s no big deal, but I still wanted to win that…”

“I’m pretty sure you can buy a cheaper version in any shop at Ninjago City.” Nya crossed her arms. She wasn’t wrong, although it was still a bit weird getting used to the big city. “Besides, should you really keep giving money to a business based on a scam?”

The master of fire blinked. Several times.

“A what?”

“Really, Kai?” Lloyd snickered, shaking his head. “That game is rigged, those cups are never gonna fall by normal means. You’re telling me you never knew this?”

Shame. Embarrassment. Humiliation.

How was he supposed to know something like this?? Sure, when he was young the old man was particularly delighted whenever he missed a shot, sure, when he got better the cups were exceptionally hard to hit, sure, there were laughs behind every mistake of his like it was all a premeditated game, sure, he had never actually got a single cup down from that forsaken shelf, sure, the old man might have had a case full of tools in the back of his booth for whatever reason given how old this whole establishment was and…

… oh. He was so happy the guys were not here.

Although Lloyd was laughing so hard he probably did it for them too.

Nya giggled as well, grabbing his arm and pulling him away, under the very humorous eyes of the old man at that same chair, wearing that same toothless grin in his direction. He must have had a blast these years, seeing that challenge failing again and again.

Kai pouted.

“He shouldn’t make fun of a fire ninja.”

“It’s a bit hard showing that off when you don’t have a fire weapon.” Lloyd shrugged. “That man is annoying, but we can’t exactly do much about it.”

That felt like a defeat, which he did not like. But when his little brother held his other arm, and the three of them found themselves just enjoying the winter fair of their beloved Ignacia, Kai managed to forget about that humiliation for just a moment. He didn’t need to prove anything, it was a hard lesson to learn. Luckily, he had people to repeat it for him until it stuck.

***

The old man missed making fun of the Smith kid.

It had been a couple of years now, in which while Ninjago City got hit by the worst possible, he managed to keep himself safe and sound in the pacific Ignacia. Perhaps that bunch of brats got the worst of the disasters, which would have been quite the hit for him – mostly regarding his profit, as the brunette one was his best stupid client. There were voices about whatever was going on out there, between snakes, ghosts and even ninja.

A bunch of stories, if you asked him. Like heroes were a thing. Ninjago was simply too strong of a land to die like that, he was sure of it. There was no other reason.

When he saw him, he thought he was mistaken. Nope, not with that hair.

“Looks like something came back, at last! I thought you got devoured by those fake snakes!” He laughed like mad, glad to be able to bring some money back to his pocket. “Ready for the challenge once again? You’re fired up yet?”

His sister groaned, the other brother as well. What did he say?

His best client grinned, grabbing a ball.

“As a matter of fact…” It took a second. The ball caught fire, it was thrown, and all three piles were destroyed in an instant. “… I am.”

The old man felt his jaw dislocating.

“Wow, you didn’t even have to come up with some sort of fire pun on your own.” The blondie raised an eyebrow, like magic did not happen right in front of his eyes. “I can’t believe we made our way here from the monastery just for you to actually do this, we told you that you don’t have to- ah.” The brunette took one of the plushies at the booth, a green one with a flowery hat, and handed it to his brother. “… thanks, Kai.” He looked a bit flushed, likely a bit embarrassed by the exchange. It would have been wholesome was not for the fire.

The sister got handed a blue teddy bear with a little jacket, she hugged it in a child-like giggle.

“Alright, these are cute, maybe Ninjago City wouldn’t make them better.”

Then the guy, Kai, took the biggest one at the stand, the one he had been eyeing since he was a kid. It had a big red bow on the neck. He grinned.

“As I said, you’re coming with me.” He placed it on his shoulders, like it was a kid. He waved at the old man. “I win this time! Told you!” He smiled victoriously. He didn’t seem as naïve now. What did he go through after all this time? “See you next year!”

They turned around, walking together towards who knew where, and the old man found himself thinking of this moment. Was this it? Was he never going to see them again?

Then the fire made sense, their attires, the stories. He realized who he had seen grown up until now.

He laughed, once again, like always with these kids.

“I’ll have a better challenge ready! Just you wait!”

[revoleotion]

december 24th

this is my gift for @cnr-golden! Merry christmas and thanks to @animes-trash for once again hosting the secret santa!

This was a lot of fun to write and honestly, I could've gone on for ages but I decided to end it there so I can still post it on Christmas. I hope you enjoy! <3

~ rev

.

To Hyde, Servamp of Greed, Christmas is no longer just Christmas anymore. It’s Licht’s birthday. And because it’s Licht’s birthday, it gives Hyde a free pass to make the day about him. 

Licht doesn’t seem to agree with him here - but then again, when does he ever? 

They’ve had arguments about it before. Both very loud verbal ones and the much more scary kind, where they would say nothing to each other for days. It might be an inherent part of their contrasting personalities, the sin and the virtue. Perhaps it is selfless of Licht to not want to celebrate his birthday, perhaps it is selfish of Hyde to insist anyway. 

It’s funny because during one of their fights, Hyde told Licht, “Isn’t it kind of selfish that you refuse a party?”

Licht only raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it kind of selfless for you to care that much?”

Point taken. 

It didn’t feel like this was an argument they were going to solve anytime soon. But it also wasn’t a deal-breaker. It’s just one day in the year after all. Just like the Christmasses before, it will end in a compromise. Licht will accept birthday wishes and gifts, all while celebrating the bigger holiday that stubbornly lingers in the air. 

They’re both stubborn. They’ve always been. Not only that, they also get even more stubborn around each other. It’s how they show their love, Hyde thinks. 

“Why did you put the angel down,” Licht asks him on the afternoon of the 24th of December. He has his legs pulled up to his chest and a blanket draped across his lap. He looks so cute that Hyde wants nothing more than to affectionately bite him, but he can just pull himself together. 

Christmas - Licht’s birthday - ended in a compromise. That’s what they are, right? A compromise in the making. They had some cookies and hot chocolate earlier, and because it’s a tradition in Licht’s family, they will have fondue later. 

“Can’t you guess?” Hyde asks. 

Licht turns to him, making eye contact for a full, frightening five seconds, before turning back to their Christmas tree. It’s a small tree in comparison, which came in handy when Hyde stole the angel placed on top when they decorated it. 

“No,” Licht answers. “I don’t think I want to guess.”

“Well it’s because…”

“Don’t.”

“You’re an angel!”

Licht turns away and lets out a very long exhale. 

“You have to admit that this was funny,” Hyde says. “At least a little bit.”

“Mh.” Licht pulls out one hand from the blanket and reaches for him. Hyde gives his fingers a little squeeze; they’re warm and soft and, according to Licht, it is an honor to even touch them. 

“Do you want me to prove it to you?” Hyde asks. 

Licht blinks at him in confusion. He still looks confused when Hyde gets up and lets go of his hand. The understanding only settles in when Hyde picks him up and starts marching towards the tree. 

“Drecksigel, what are you doing.”

“I think you know what I am doing.”

“You are going to break it.”

“It’s going to be fine.”

Licht makes a little noise that might be a chuckle, and it fills Hyde with enough enthusiasm to follow through with his plan. 

.

For the record, Licht does look very angelic and majestic for the whole one-and-a-half seconds he clings to the treetop. 

And that’s all that counts. 

.

Licht is the first one to start laughing, a sound Hyde doesn’t hear all too often and is immensely thankful for. His Eve sitting inmidst of what used to be their Christmas tree and the presents they put underneath. Hyde’s first thought is not devoted to the damage he caused, though. They do this all the time. It’s part of them, in a way. It’s how they show their love. 

All Hyde thinks is, “I won this time, Engelchen. This is your day.”

.

“Where are we going to get a tree at this hour on Christmas Eve?” Hyde quotes the Christmas movie Licht made him watch because it’s a family tradition. (Hyde did not think about the fact that this somehow means he is family to Licht. He didn’t.)

Sadly (or thankfully), no Christmas tree bursts through their window, so Hyde shrugs and turns to the door. “Wanna look for one?”

Licht frowns. Rolls his eyes. Nods. 

They don’t really look for a Christmas tree. At least Hyde is not actively looking. They celebrated in Vienna last year but this year they are staying closer to Licht’s hometown. Both of Licht’s parents are busy with concerts but Licht, in typical Licht fashion, refused to give one on Christmas Eve. He will have some around New Year’s though, and perhaps it’s selfish of Hyde but he wants to have him for himself for as long as he can. 

There’s no clear goal to their walk, except maybe the walk itself.  Licht offered him his hand about ten minutes in, and Hyde can tell that only spite is stopping him from putting it back into the pocket of his coat. 

They stop at a bench in the town square. Licht sits down, and Hyde takes advantage of his hedgehog-form to curl up in his lap. 

“Sorry for breaking the tree,” he says. “For the record, I still think it’s funny.”

“It wasn’t.” A pause. “But it doesn’t matter. Christmas is more about the spirit anyway.”

“The Christmas spirit?” Hyde asks. 

“Yes.”

“And you think I have that?”

Licht gingerly touches him with his hand. “Of course not, you’re a demon.”

“Your demon.”

Licht’s fingers start scratching his belly the way he likes it. He doesn’t say anything, but sometimes that tells Hyde more than if he forces himself to talk. 

Still, “Hey, Engelchen?”

Licht looks at him. 

Hyde clears his throat, at least as well as that works as a hedgehog. “Thank you for spending Christmas with me.”

===

And now, an artistic rendering of the whole event: (@pinkestlittlebutterfly made me a Licht plushie and I love him and will cuddle him every night and also put him up on the tree to annoy my family)

[kenneth-carson]

I WILL be putting Ken commentary on these movies because I love this so much and can't help myself but to put my grubby little headcanons all over this.

Snow Dogs: loved the dogs <3 was especially obsessed with the whole beach fever dream scene after ted went under the ice and what got like hypothermia probably, deffo had Ken good and tickled just seeing the dogs sitting in the chairs with sunglasses, but absolutely cried laughing at the michael bolton CD cover talking head. also probably spent the whole movie wondering why the old guy sounded familiar and when the credits rolled looked it up and went, THAT WAS JAMES COBURN? OF DARKROOM FAME?? and now is like, "Hercules, why don't we have a dog."

Frozen: was def a first time watch for Ken since in 2013 he was in college and not going to see animated movies like an idiot, but also he just didn't think it would be his cup of tea. really liked anna! could he relate to being an outsider/lonely inside his own house? MAYBE SO! fell for the 'let it go' sequence like a sucker. mouth agape, loved the costume transformation, obsessed obsessed. also fell for the han dupe. was rooting for him the whole time until the reveal came and then GASPED so loud, probably reached over to hold herc's arm until the scene played out and then turned to his buddy like, "WHAT WAS THAT??" and then afterward was like, let's go get ice cream pls.

Cool Runnings: loved it. classic feel good movie, also probably asked a lot of questions assuming hercules knew wtf was going on with all the olympics mumbo jumbo. LOVED, "i'm not smoking, man! i'm BREATHING!" joke and most def quotes it all the time now when he goes outside and it's cold enough to see his breath lmfao. loved the boys' color outfits in comparison to everyone else's boring ass winter wear. did he relate to junior's family drama b plot? MAYBE SO! did he get super emotional over the ending? ABSOLUTELY! then was like, not hold on that actually happened? and had hercules had to explain it all to him

The Chronicles of Narnia: i am going to say he saw this movie but never in its entirety, so getting to watch the whole thing was an absolute trip and a half. another one where he was probably confused and asking, "wait who is that?" "wait they need to do what?" "is that liam neeson?" looked at that big ass wardrobe and thought of the conjuring. thinks tilda swinton is always serving, but she esp SERVED in this movie. was confused as to why santa was giving literal children weapons to go to war. was double confused as to why literal children WENT to war and why one LED an ARMY? and on a unicorn no less. also could not fucking believe it was made in 2005?? and the CGI still looks that good? whaaaat? thought the fight scenes were CLEEEAN, the outfits were /mwah. was also gagged by the ending of the movie and then was like, "wait there's a sEQUEL?"

The Might Ducks: first one he actually saw before! instant comfort movie/series <3 allstar cast, the kids are all hilarious and went on to be recognizable in their careers for a reason!! loves the outfits, loves the training, LOOOVES the scene when they're rollerskating in the mall and yeet into the fountain. loves the trick plays, like when miss thing was just spinning around and around until everyone was just like, "uhh...?" and then she gets the puck and scores. queen. then proceeded to ask hercules if he wanted to go ask skating after the movie

On the third day of Christmas your true love gave to you, A list of non-denominational wintery feeling movies that Kerc have definitely watched. @kenneth-carson

Because when one housemate loves a cheesy romcom and one loves a horror film, and only one of you celebrates Christmas, it can be hard to find things to watch together

Snow Dogs (2002): Its got tonnes of snow! It's got dogs! It has a message about challenging yourself and finding different things that make life exciting, over-coming adversity! Perfect for this time of year.

Frozen (2013): What is often forgotten about the Sidney masterpiece is that it isn't even really a winter movie at all. Despite the excess of snow, it's not even supposed to be there! That's kinda the issue! Anyway, its a heart-warming tale about family and looking out for each other.

Cool Runnings (1993): A sports movie for Herc! Some INCREDIBLE 90s fashion choices for Ken! A tale of adversity and having to learn to deal with cold weather and surpassing everyone's expectations

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (2005): Laura, I hear you say. Laura... non-denominational, it was in your whole brief for this! Now listen. I know that its a whole Christianity metaphor. You know that it's a whole Christianity metaphor. But do Kerc see that? Do we reaaaaaally think they were bright enough to catch that? To them its just a wintery movie they forgot Father Christmas was even in because they got distracted trying to re-create the White Witch's hot chocolate because it looked so good.

The Mighty Ducks (1992): More winter sports vibes, leaning into the coming together of a rag-tag team. What could be more festive than that!

[svtskneecaps]

you mean the world to me

(gender neutral) reader x wonwoo

genre: fluff + angst; words: 7k

(i’ve found i write for wonwoo in times of academic panic and if ever there was a time of academic panic, this is it)

You didn’t see Wonwoo at all on the morning everything changed. His side of the bed was empty when you got out of the shower, and your keys were missing from the hook. Maybe that was your first clue that something was up. His set still hung there innocently, the tiny bear charm you’d gotten him on your two year anniversary swinging lightly on the breeze from the AC unit.

You shrugged and picked up the keys. This wasn’t the first time he’d grabbed the wrong set, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

(your second clue was that the door was unlocked)

You called him on your lunch break to tease him about the keys, but it went to voicemail. That in itself wasn’t odd; usually if he was in a frenzy working on some idea he’d forget to check his phone, but it was sort of odd that it didn’t even ring.

You shrugged that off too. Maybe he forgot it at the apartment, and it died. He’d never forgotten it before, but there was a first time for everything.

You finally accepted something was wrong when you stopped by the bookstore with coffee and it was closed. And dark.

He always had the front light on when he was inside.

Hours later, as you paced around the apartment trying to work out whether or not to call the police, you heard the jangle of your keys in the lock. You swung the door open before he’d even unlocked it, heart in your throat.

“There you are! I was worried, where have you been, why weren’t you answering your phone?”

Your questions died in your throat as you looked him over. He looked exhausted.

“Wonwoo,” you said, softly, “are you okay?”

He visibly forced a smile. “Yeah,” he said.

You opened the door wider, and he hesitated before he came in. He hovered in the entryway, like a stranger in his own apartment (the one you picked out together).

You sat down on the couch, and he followed you to the living room, but he sat in the guest chair instead of his usual place beside you. He didn’t speak, just looked around the room as if he’d never been in it before. Finally, you were the one to break the silence.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He looked at you, appearing to consider his words carefully (as he does, of course, he’s a songwriter).

“If you woke up in a stranger’s bed, in a life you don’t recognize, what would you do?”

You blinked. “Like those Hallmark movies?”

“Hallmark movies?”

“Yeah, it’s a huge trope in like the Christmas movies? Somebody runs into a Santa character and one way or another they make a wish and then Santa slaps them into an alternate universe where usually they’re married with several children or something, and they learn the true meaning of Christmas.” You made jazz hands.

He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t think Christmas is involved.”

“Are you saying you weren’t some rich businessman in your past life?” you teased. “I could see it, you know.”

“But if you were in that situation,” he pressed. “What would you do?”

You thought about that. “I guess I’d go with it,” you said. “Try to figure out who I am in the new life and make the most of it.”

“You wouldn’t try to go back?”

“I don’t see how I could figure it out, unless I recognized the Santa character on my initial run to all the places I used to know and talked to them about it.”

He groaned. “Please let’s not call them the Santa.”

You weren’t sure if he was joking until he smiled, and you relaxed.

“Well that’s what they are,” you defended, maybe a little too quickly, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Can they not be wish granters? Or guardian angels or something? Not all of the stories are to do with the true meaning of Christmas.”

You shrugged. “I know you’re the writer here but your storytelling experience pales in comparison to my extensive knowledge of Hallmark movie tropes.”

He leaned forward. “I’m a writer?”

You forced yourself to laugh like he was making a joke even though something in your chest went tight.

(he chose to sleep on the couch that night and even though you were upset that he wasn’t next to you in the bed, some strange part of you was glad for the distance)

You called out of work the next day to walk Wonwoo to the bookstore, citing stress at your significant other going missing for most of a day. Seungcheol was understanding, telling you not to worry, that he’d see you Monday.

Vernon was leaning against the wall by the door when you came up, messing with something on his phone.

“Hey,” he said, glancing at your partner. “I was worried; it’s not like you to be late.”

Wonwoo was quiet for an odd amount of time, long enough that you glanced over at him. He was staring at Vernon with some odd look in his eyes.

“We got a late start,” you finally answered for him. “After yesterday. . .” You coughed. “Anyway, you guys need any help setting up?”

“Probably, yeah, we just got a shipment of that new YA series the other day,” Vernon said. You step to one side, motioning Wonwoo up the steps to unlock the door. “Maybe you shelve those while I blow the dust off the front desk. She’s not used to being unused this long.”

You laughed, too loud. “It was a day.”

“I know, it was ages.”

(you didn’t comment on how Wonwoo had to try three keys from the ring before getting the door open, or how he looked at the inside of his own bookstore like it was a wondrous new place. Vernon didn’t seem to notice)

You dragged the box out to the shelves and started placing the books. Apparently Vernon had forgotten how well voices carried in the quiet space, because you could hear him speaking as if he were next to you when he said, “Hey, man, did you two fight?”

“What?”

You could imagine Vernon’s shrug, heard him fiddling with the crack in his phone case. “I don’t know, it’s just, usually you two are pretty much inseparable, but like, yesterday you totally go off the grid and now today there’s a whole sidewalk between you.” A floorboard creaked. “I know it’s probably not really my business, y’know since I just work the front desk and all, but, I thought I’d ask.”

The pause stretched out so long you found yourself frozen, breath caught in your lungs, hand hovering above the next book, waiting.

“I’m adjusting,” Wonwoo said finally. “I’m a different person than I was two days ago.”

It was an answer and a non-answer all at once and it implied more than it clarified. You picked up the book and slotted it onto its place in the shelf, above the carefully written label. You didn’t mention the conversation when you brought the box back. You made an excuse about going for coffee and bolted out the door.

(usually the bookstore felt welcoming, an extension of your significant other, but the atmosphere was stifling and foreign and you couldn’t stay)

Thankfully, Seokmin had the morning shift, and you arrived during a dead period. He was able to sit with you as you nursed your drink and fretted aloud over everything that happened.

“It’s like I blinked and he was a total stranger,” you said. “I don’t know what I did.”

“Maybe it wasn’t anything you did?” he offered. “Maybe he just changed.”

“It’s just so weird.” You cupped your hands around your drink. “I mean, I know people say that by the end of a long lasting relationship your significant other changes enough to be a bunch of different people, but it happened overnight. Like he went to sleep as a writer, and my--” you choke on boyfriend-- “significant other, and then he woke up and-- I mean aside from him still being named Wonwoo it’s like-- I don’t know who this man is anymore.”

“Maybe not,” Seokmin said agreeably.

“Wow,” you said, sipping your drink. “Stop hanging out with Jeonghan so much, you’re starting to sound like him.”

He laughed and nudged your shoulder. “What I’m saying is, maybe he feels strange and different, but that doesn’t have to matter. What matters is if you’re willing to find the pieces of him that you loved again. He can’t have changed that much underneath.”

He was right, no doubt. The awkward way Wonwoo had held himself the night before reminded you of the first time you’d ever really talked. He wasn’t so different, just undeveloped, like he’d jumped back in time. Like he’d crossed the multiverse from an existence where he’d never met you.

You could handle it. The situation was manageable. You could treat each interaction like you’d just met him for the first time. It could be easy, or it could be the hardest thing you’d ever faced, but you could handle it. Really.

(you texted Wonwoo asking if you should bring anything back for him and Vernon. his coffee order was different than the one you remembered)

You unlocked the door to the apartment that night. Wonwoo lingered in the hallway until you glanced back at him.

“You do anything at work today?” you asked.

He shook his head. “That office is a disaster. How did I ever find anything?”

You laughed, hanging up your keys. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been saying basically since we bought the place.” You almost nudged his shoulder as you passed him on your way to the kitchen, but stopped the thought before it became a motion. “Keys on the hook,” you directed, “before you forget where you set ‘em.”

It took him two tries to find the right hook, but he got it. “I had to spend most of the morning organizing everything,” he said. “There’s so much stuff in there.”

“Let the record show that I’ve been telling you this was how it was gonna end up for years.”

“That’s the most long-winded way to say ‘I told you so’ I’ve ever heard.”

“What can I say? I like the sound of my own voice.” You pulled ingredients from the cupboards. “You remember where the pans are?”

“No,” he said.

“Neat.”

Making the food was the only easy part. Sitting at the table, you were acutely aware of him, like every one of your senses was waiting for something major to happen. Nothing did, though; you ate dinner in near complete silence. It wasn’t the comfortable silence you were used to. The air between you felt charged like the static balls at a science fair. You wanted to bridge the gap.

Wonwoo wanted to take the couch again, but you refused.

“Your turn in the bed,” you said, shooing him away. “You and I both know that couch doesn’t do the back any favors, and it’s your apartment too.”

“You don’t have to, I can--”

“Mom said it’s my turn on the couch,” you said in a high pitched, nasal tone, and then snickered, halfheartedly throwing a pillow at him. It flopped on the floor halfway between you. “I’ll be fine.”

He hovered in the doorway a few moments more, but relented in the end. “Goodnight,” he said, and made to close the door.

“Goodnight,” you said, and then, “you mean the world to me.”

The door clicked shut. You scooped up the pillow again and dropped it and yourself on the couch.

(it really is back pain in all forms and you woke up with cramps in muscles you didn’t even know you had, but it was worth it. it was always worth it)

You spent the weekend dancing around him, like planets. Like stars. Like if you got too close it would end in catastrophe.

Sometimes you’d slip into a back and forth with him that felt so familiar you could almost forget that you hardly knew him anymore, until you’d reference an old memory and he’d give you a quizzical look. It would sting, except the old memories felt strange to you now too. You didn’t mind not thinking about them, if it meant he didn’t look at you like that. Like a stranger.

The stranger you were.

You returned to work Monday and Seungcheol swung by your desk.

“How’s your boyfriend?” he asked. “He feeling better?”

You ignored the part of your stomach that twisted hearing boyfriend (that was what he was, after all, or what he had been, before Thursday; it shouldn’t feel so strange).

“I think so,” you said, because he’d put his keys on the right hook without you needing to remind him and he knew where all the cooking utensils were without needing to ask you.

Seungcheol rested his arms on the top of your cubicle. “And you? How are you holding up?”

You felt like you were hanging on by a thread. “Fine, I think. Pretty well, all things considered.”

He looked at you with concealed concern, but seemed to understand. You didn’t want to talk about it at work, even if Seungcheol had been one of your closest friends in university.

“Well, give me a call if you ever want to talk about it,” he said, and then left, probably for his own desk.

You bolted the moment time ticked over for your lunch break.

You didn’t know if Wonwoo would want you swinging by. You didn’t know if he’d answer your call. You called anyway, even if your hands shook.

He picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey!” You wiped your palm on your shirt. “I’m out on lunch break; if you aren’t too busy maybe we could run get Chinese or something?”

There was a pause, and then, “Okay. Just let me make sure Vernon and Chan can handle the store.”

He met you out front, and you walked to the restaurant together.

It wasn’t too cold out, so you got the food to go and found a bench to sit at, watching people as they pass.

“You remember that game, where you pick somebody going by and try to guess what they’re doing?” you asked into the silence.

He hummed. “Maybe. Why, you want to do it now?”

You shrugged. “Might as well.”

Even though he’d seemed apprehensive, he took to the game quickly. He was the one to decide that the woman wearing heels with her paint splattered jeans was a street performer, on her way to meet up with the other members of her busking group. You countered that obviously, the man in the mask waiting impatiently to cross the street was on his way to manage a rambunctious group of idols.

“Can you imagine?” you asked, shaking your head. “Must be rough, having to keep some of those groups under control.”

Something odd tinged the edges of Wonwoo’s expression when you looked back over at him. You couldn’t tell what it was. You hadn’t been able to read his expressions for days. It should have scared you.

It didn’t.

“Must be rough,” he echoed, his voice hollow. You were caught between asking about it and pretending you hadn’t noticed when he pointed across the plaza at the fountain. “Bet that guy’s an idol.”

“Yeah?” You followed his hand to see a man standing by the fountain, staring up at the jets of water, his hands buried in the pockets of the long coat he wore.

“Yeah. He’s taking a break from the practice room to appreciate everything around him,” Wonwoo said. “He’s gonna go home to the other members of his group and they’re going to ask where he’s been and be worried.”

“What’s he going to tell them?”

Wonwoo leans back into the bench, and maybe a little bit into you.

“He’s going to tell them he was getting a new perspective,” he said. “That he’s seen life from a new angle. And. . .”

The silence stretched, but it was comfortable. His arm touched yours, resting there.

“And,” Wonwoo said, and his voice cracked, “that he missed them.”

You tore your gaze from the man at the fountain. Wonwoo stared into nothing, eyes wet.

“Are you okay?” you asked softly.

He didn’t look at you as he nodded. Maybe that was for the best. You could feel tears building in your own eyes. You didn’t even know why.

You missed them too.

The alarm on your phone went off.

“Ah,” you said. “I should get back to work.”

You stood, ignoring the chill on your arm where his had been.

“I’ll see you back at the apartment, yeah?” you said.

He looked at you, that time, standing. “Yeah,” he said.

You threw out your trash and offered him your arm gallantly. “Would you allow me to walk you back, sir?”

He laughed and tossed his own trash, taking your arm. “Sure.”

You walked him all the way back to the store, where you swept off an imaginary hat and dipped into a grossly exaggerated bow. You heard him laugh, and when you came back up he was smiling (you would do anything to see him happy).

“Alright, you’ve done your job,” he said.

You place a dramatic hand on your chest. “Are you implying that I did all that out of a sense of moral obligation?”

He snickered. “Well, when you put it that way.”

Whatever expression had made its way onto your face made him laugh, his face lighting up as he reached out for the doorway to steady himself. You broke into a smile, heart beating a little faster.

“Okay, I gotta go before I’m late.” You almost wanted to hug him goodbye, but something stopped you. You settled for a quick wave. “You mean the world to me, okay? I’ll see you after work!”

Friday, Wonwoo came in and barely hung up his keys (on the right hook) before tipping himself over the arm of the couch to flop face first into the cushions with a deep groan. You stared at his limp form from the kitchen, a tiny smile forming on your face.

“So, how was work?” you asked.

He mumbled something into the couch that might’ve been, “Peachy.” He flipped over. “Some woman decided we should be a bookstore and a coffee shop and made sure we knew it.”

You wince. “Yikes.”

“Yeah.” He ground his hands into his eyes. “I spent half my morning making sure she wasn’t taking it out on Vernon or Chan.”

“Well, if she didn’t get the kids then it’s all good.” You set down the spoon and moved into the other room, leaning on the back of the couch. “Shame Seungkwan wasn’t there, he’d have given her a real piece of his mind.”

“I would have let him. Not like I even wanted her to buy anything after she said that.” Wonwoo dropped his hands, one arm falling off the side of the couch. He gazed up at you.

“She can keep her condescending cash to herself,” you agreed, and reached out to mess with his hair.

And drew back just as quickly, your hand hardly brushing his hair before hastily retreating to grip your leg. Why did you do that? It was wrong, it was all wrong. Your face burned. You didn’t know him well enough you’d known him for years he was a stranger you’d played with his hair all the time in university, even before you’d made it official it felt wrong to do it it felt wrong to pull away--

Wonwoo sat up. “Hey, everything okay?”

“--Yeah.” You shook your head. “Just-- head rush.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” You tore yourself away from the couch, making for the counter again and ignoring the sting on your leg where you dug in your nails. You could hear him trailing you.

Wonwoo leaned on the counter as you picked up the spoon. For a moment, you thought he’d press you again.

“So,” he said, “how was work?”

Of course he wouldn’t push. He was Wonwoo.

“Fine,” you said, stirring the ramen in the bowl. “Same old story, really, except everyone was talking about the company dinner party Sunday.”

Wonwoo blinked. “You didn’t tell me there was a dinner Sunday.”

You dashed the spoon through the noodles with perhaps more vigor than strictly necessary. “I didn’t want to bother you. You know, since you haven’t been feeling well this week. It didn’t seem worth adding to your plate and it doesn’t seem like your scene.”

“It doesn’t seem like yours either.”

He was right; it wasn’t your scene. You always found yourself walking on eggshells every time, a glass of wine gripped in your hand that you never dared drink from out of fear of making a fool of yourself.

“It’s my job,” you said. Your next stir sent tiny dots of water into the air and you flinched back.

Wonwoo nudged you out of the way, taking up the spoon even as you pouted at him. “Well,” he said, “need a date?”

You blinked. “Are you volunteering?”

“Maybe,” he said. “You work for one of those fancy companies, right? They probably have all kinds of high society foods.”

“They do cover meal costs,” you admitted.

He scoffed. “And you were going to leave me eating ramen alone on my Sunday night?” He reached up and tousled your hair. “If you need moral support I’ll be there.”

Your heart swelled. “Jeon Wonwoo, you mean the world to me you godsend.”

He ducked his head, turning to the ramen again. “Hey, any guy would count himself lucky to be your plus one.” He nudged your elbow. “How about you grab a couple bowls out and we eat this on the couch? We can watch a movie or something.”

(you found your seat on the couch, your bowl nestled in your lap, and when he came to meet you he sat beside you)

Saturday you spent at the bookstore, shelving books, distracting Vernon, and waiting for Wonwoo to get off. Seungkwan stopped by with a deck of cards and in the spare moments between customers you played poker under the desk. Chan threatened to quit after you inexplicably bluffed him out of three rounds in a row. Vernon swore he wasn’t stacking the deck, you were just that good all of a sudden.

“It’s not possible for you to have gotten good at bluffing in under a week, it’s like you’re a totally different person,” Chan said, and he was joking but the sting and the familiarity of the words drained the blood from your face and you barely managed to play it off. The game continued, but without you.

Seokmin was sitting at a table in the coffeeshop flicking idly through a textbook. You ordered a drink and joined him.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Fine,” you said.

“Really? Because you only come in here alone when it isn’t.”

You huffed. “It’s nothing. I just needed an escape.” The bookstore felt more welcoming again, more like Wonwoo (Wonwoo with his arm touching yours on the bench, Wonwoo pressed against your side as you play fight over who gets to cook dinner, Wonwoo with his head on your shoulder as he sleeps through the emotional climax of Finding Dory, his breathing a steady breeze against your neck) but something in Chan’s words. . .

You’d recoiled.

“I’m not--” you gripped your cup, thinking carefully about your words. “I’m not a different person, am I?”

“As far as I know you’re the same person you’ve always been.”

You rolled your eyes. “No, I mean-- have I changed, like-- my personality, my little ticks. Any of that?”

Seokmin looked at you (he always looked like he knew more than he said; probably it came from being top of his class all through school but still. . .). “Maybe,” he said. “I’d say you’re the same you, but maybe they knew a different you.”

Your head slipped to meet the table before you could catch it. “Seokmin you know I’m not smart enough for riddles.”

“It doesn’t have to be a riddle.” He laughed. “Everybody has a picture in their mind of everybody else, and it’s never the same as what actually exists.”

“Philosophy is ruining you,” you said. “Stop hanging out with Jeonghan, he’s turning you into a paradox.”

“What I’m saying is, just because someone thinks you’re different than you were, that doesn’t mean you actually are. Maybe you’ve just been different this whole time, and now they finally noticed.”

“Maybe.”

He had a point, once you stripped away the philosophic layers. It was just the phrasing.

It’s like you’re a totally different person. In under a week.

Last week, everything had changed.

You couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, but you sipped your coffee anyway. Seokmin asked about the company dinner, and you tried to forget about it.

You went shopping with Wonwoo after he closed up the store, trying to find something business casual for the dinner.

“And nothing in the closet would work for this because?” you asked, flicking through the rack of button ups.

“Because it’s a special occasion,” he said, holding a suit jacket against his chest and then hanging it up again. “We can’t wear anything we’ve already worn.”

You snorted. “What are we, movie stars on the red carpet?”

“No,” he said. “I mean, if you wanted, maybe, but no.” He glanced up. “Anytime is an excuse to treat ourselves.”

“Can’t argue with that.” You trailed your arm across a line of ties, letting the material fall over your finger. Your motion halted over a tie. “Oh, this’ll be impressive.” You held it up for him to see.

“Nice,” he said. “The bundles of bills will surely let your boss know you’re in this for what really matters.”

You pointed at him. “Exactly what I was thinking.” You looped it around your head, fingers pinching it together. “Maybe I could wear it like one of those guys in the post apocalyptic movies, that way they know I’m willing to go all the way.”

“Now you’re talking.” He hung up the jackets and came over, taking another tie off the rack, this one a soft coral pink. “Or maybe, you put this one on. . .”

He looped it around your neck and tied it properly.

“Where’d you learn how to tie a tie?” you asked, a laugh bubbling out of you.

“I felt bad making the stylists do it for me all the time,” he said, offhandedly.

The wrongness niggled at you.

You turned to the mirror nearby, playing with the ends of the tie. “I don’t know,” you said.

“What, you don’t like the color?”

“No, pink is a great color.” You surveyed yourself. “I just think I’d want a little more color to my outfit than a tie.”

“Of course,” Wonwoo said, moving to stand behind you, his chest nearly brushing your shoulder as he studied your reflection. “You’re the business one, we want to make sure you pop.” His eyes lit up. “I know.”

He didn’t quite have it the first few times, but finally, after taking over a changing room and trying on enough outfits that the both of you had nearly filled the reject cart, you walked out of the store with your purchases on your arms.

You stopped for takeout on the way back, too tired to cook, and ate dinner in a comfortable silence, leaning against each other and the couch as the TV played the weather forecast. When he dozed off against your neck, you forced yourself up.

“Come on sleepyhead,” you said, pulling him up with you. He made a few affronted noises but didn’t argue as you stole his trash and stowed the leftovers in the fridge and all but carried him into the bedroom.

“Dramatic.” You clicked your tongue, dropping him in the bed and moving to grab your sleepwear and get changed. His hand caught your wrist.

“You don’t have to take the couch tonight,” he said, and his voice was much clearer now.

“Well I’m not about to let you take it,” you said. “It’s my turn.”

“No, I meant--” he cut himself off.

“Oh,” you said.

“If you want,” he said hurriedly. “If it doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“Um-- if you’re okay with it,” you said, and your face burns and he looks kind of like he’s in the same boat and he drops your wrist.

“Okay,” he said.

“Okay,” you said, and made for the bathroom.

He was changed when you finished in the bathroom and you climbed into bed beside him. It was strange, sharing, even though you knew you’d done it before maybe. There was an ocean of bed between you that you didn’t dare cross.

You closed your eyes. “Goodnight, Wonwoo,” you said, the words echoing off the wall you faced instead of him. Then, quieter, “You mean the world to me.”

(it’s the best rest you’ve gotten in what feels like forever; you wake up in a tangle of limbs but neither of you are in a hurry to pull away)

You idled outside the building, picking at the sleeves of the shirt you’d picked out the day before.

“Ready?” Wonwoo asked, making eye contact. You nodded, eyes slipping down to rest on the pink tie, the same pink as you’d chosen your shirt to be. He held out his arm, like a gentleman, and you took it.

The room rented for the dinner is as stuffy as you expected. You made small talk with coworkers you’d only ever seen for five minutes at the printer, and played the people watching game with Wonwoo in hushed tones whenever you got a spare moment. Seungcheol swung by a few times to check in and spill a bit of corporate gossip in a hushed voice, both with and without Joshua by his side.

“It’s a game we play,” Seungcheol explained when Wonwoo asked about it. “We make small talk together, he sends me to ‘get drinks’ and then talks me up behind my back.” Seungcheol glanced over at Joshua, where he was chatting calmly with two members of the board of directors. “He’s really good at it.”

Your social battery died about halfway through, but you forced yourself to soldier on. It probably wouldn’t look good if you left early. Hopefully no one would notice as your responses grew shorter and your smiles more strained.

Wonwoo took your hand after you laughed a little too loud at a coworker’s joke, and then turned to you when they had said their goodbyes to do another sweep around the floor. “Are you okay?” he asked softly. “Is it time to go?”

You shook your head. “I shouldn’t leave early.”

“We’ve been here more than half the time, I think we’re allowed.” He folded your hand between his, rubbing it soothingly. “We can use me as an excuse, say I got tired. Please don’t force yourself to stay; I can tell something’s wrong.”

You kind of wanted to cry, and you didn’t know if it was the stress of the evening or what. “I don’t deserve you,” you said.

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and tugged you in. “You deserve the world,” he said softly into your ear.

And then you left the party.

You stopped at the park, instead of going directly home, sitting at the fountain’s edge.

“You remember when we got takeout?” he asked.

You did. “When we first played the people watching game, right?” you asked, and stopped. That hadn’t been the first time; you’d played it all the time before hadn’t you?

“Yeah,” he said. “You dropped me off.”

“You got really into the game,” you said. “That idol guy’s backstory was impressively complex.”

He laughed, soft and fond, and yet also flat. Like there was a layer of irony you hadn’t caught.

“When you dropped me off at the bookstore, you said that-- you said ‘you mean the world to me’. And-- we’re dating, at least according to Vernon, and, this whole time you never said ‘I love you’.” He looked at you. “Why is that?”

You open your mouth, the answer of a shared back and forth you two had used since university sitting on your tongue, but it didn’t come out. You just closed your mouth.

Because it wasn’t. It wasn’t something you’d said since university. You-- hadn’t known him in university.

“I’m not sure,” you said, bewildered because it was true. Why did you say that?

“It’s just stuck with me,” he said. “Ever since that first day, when I didn’t--” he cut himself off. “It was like I’d been dropped into this world from another one,” he said. “I didn’t know anything, and-- you were a total stranger.”

Another world. Total stranger. The words vibrated against the walls of your skull. You’d thought of him like a stranger too, even though you knew him. At least you thought you did. But you didn’t know him in university, you didn’t know him at all.

“But, as time went by, and I got time to know you, I realized something,” he said, and he took your hand in both of his. “And I don’t think we’re strangers anymore.”

Strangers, you were strangers. What had you thought, that first day? How did you even know it as the first day, beyond Wonwoo’s strange actions? You weren’t thinking of it like the first day of Wonwoo. It was the first day at all. You didn’t know him.

“I guess. . .” he trailed off. “I guess what I want to say, is just that I. . .”

He wasn’t your housemate or your boyfriend or the guy you knew from the frat. He wasn’t-- he was--

Oh god.

You tore your hand from his.

Everything went deathly silent.

“Fancy meeting you here.” Seokmin’s voice rang out.

Your head jerked up.

Time had frozen around you. Wonwoo still sat by the fountain, looking in your direction with an expression of distress, his hand reaching after you. You scrambled back. He didn’t move.

“I guess this means you figured it out?” Seokmin asked.

You looked at him. “What have I done?”

“A wish was made,” he said. “I granted it.”

You blinked. A flash, staring up into the sky from the window; “I wish I could tell him what he means,” you said to the stars, “every night. I wish I could tell him, he means the world to me.”

“You’re Santa.”

Seokmin made a face. “I’m with Wonwoo, let’s not call it that.”

“And Wonwoo knew the whole time that this was wrong?” you asked. He nodded. “Why? Why not me? It was my wish.”

He smiled. “Wishes don’t always work the way you expect them to.”

You shook your head. “Send him back now.”

“Why?”

“It doesn’t matter why Seokmin, just do it!”

He blinked at you. “For the record, I’m not actually Seokmin. I’m just borrowing his appearance, to keep an eye on you.”

You dug your fingers into the dirt, like a reminder it was still there. “And Seungcheol? Vernon? Chan?”

“Projections. Every person you’ve met here is a projection.”

“At least you didn’t abduct them.” You stopped. “At least I didn’t.” You shook your head. “But it’s done now. You have to send him back. He didn’t ask to be here, he didn’t want to be here!”

“And if he doesn’t want to go back?”

“Of course he wants to go back!” you shout. “Have you not seen the way he cares for the members? You said you were keeping an eye on us, did you miss that day at the park? He misses them! And I dragged him away!” You shoot to your feet, throat beginning to close up. “You have to fix this-- I have to fix this!”

The thing which was not Seokmin looked at you. “Don’t you wonder what he was going to say to you, before everything clicked?”

You swallowed. “Whatever it was, it was built on a lie. And it’s a lie I refuse to keep living.”

Not-Seokmin shrugged. “Then turn and look him in the eyes and wish everything back,” he said.

You did.

(if you cried when you woke up in a single bed you recognized as truly your own, you were the only one to know)

Wonwoo was oddly quiet in broadcasts from that point on. You couldn’t bring yourself to talk about him anymore. Someone asked you on Twitter if you had something against him.

No, you’d responded, he just reminds me of a recent ex. Every time I see him I think about them and it’s just too painful right now. I don’t hate Wonwoo.

Two days later, the Seventeen Twitter account dmed you.

I need to talk to you.

You sent, I’m sorry.

You deactivated.

You almost gave away your concert tickets, but you’d been planning on going with a friend before everything and you wouldn’t let them down. You went despite all your misgivings. With the stage lights on full blast, there was no way he’d be able to see you in the audience. You were safe, with your seats halfway up the concert hall, half a mile from the stage.

And then Seventeen, in the middle of their set, hopped off the stage, into the audience.

You’d wondered why certain aisles had a security detail around them.

If it wasn’t the middle of a song, you’d ask the people farther down the row to switch with you but you didn’t dare move around; it had been drilled into you that doing so during a performance was disrespectful. You were the seat on the aisle, and Wonwoo was on his way up, his eyes scanning the crowd with a sharp determination even as he continued his verse flawlessly.

Would looking away be more conspicuous than staring?

Should you jump to blend with the energy of the crowd, or freeze so he didn’t look?

It didn’t matter.

He’d seen you.

He took the stairs two, three at a time, stopping on the landing beside you, turning to face the rest of the hall again as his verse finished, and then he glanced at you.

The spotlight shone on his face.

“Please don’t leave,” he mouthed, or maybe said, but the combined roar of the crowd and the blood rushing in your ears drowned it out completely.

And then he turned to complete the performance, leaving a few fans looking at you wistfully.

(several of them came up after the concert to congratulate you, to gush about how lucky you were, to speculate about what happened and laugh about it; blessedly no one was openly rude about it)

You sat on the edge of a fountain, in the plaza a block from the back door of the concert hall, fidgeting with your sleeves. You didn’t know if you were crazy. You probably were crazy, waiting for him. He’d be livid. He had to be livid. He’d never forgive you.

But whatever closure would mean for him, you’d give it to him.

Anything.

The back door of the concert hall slammed open and a figure came bolting out towards you. They skidded to a halt at the edge of the fountain, and you could see Wonwoo’s eyes over the mask.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to stay,” he said.

“I wasn’t either.”

“I’m glad you did.” He sat down on the edge of the fountain. “I really need to talk to you.”

“I’m sorry,” you blurted, before he could get upset.

He blinked. “For what?”

“For making the stupid wish and dragging you into an alternate universe, and then not even remembering doing it.” You rubbed your arm, staring at the brickwork. “I mean I was basically gaslighting you the entire time.”

“I know you didn’t mean it,” he said.

You toed the crack between two stones. “What all do you know?”

“How that world worked. How I got there. How I got back.” You saw him move, reaching out like he was going to take your hand, and then stopping himself in the middle. “I’m not upset with you.”

“You should be.” The words dropped out of your mouth. “You should hate me. You-- I basically ruined your life.”

“You didn’t ruin my life, you showed me what I was missing,” he said. “You remember when we played that people watching game? What I said about that man?”

You picked at a loose thread in your sleeve. “He. . . he was taking a break from the practice room.”

You saw him nod from the corner of your eye. “And I said he was getting a new perspective.”

“He’s seeing life from a new angle,” you said.

“It was as much my wish as it was yours,” Wonwoo said. “I felt lost. I didn’t know where to go next or what to focus on, and it wasn’t something the members could help with, but it was something you could help with. And you did.”

You felt numb. A wish was made. Not-Seokmin had given one last riddle, one you were finally understanding.

“You add a dimension to my life that I was missing,” he said. “Just, please-- please don’t leave me again.”

You looked at him, finally, sitting there on the edge of the fountain, his hair a mess from the performance.

“I didn’t want to leave,” you said. “I just-- I had to let you go.”

“You don’t have to here,” he said. “I know I don’t run a bookstore, and we didn’t meet in college, but--”

“I didn’t fall for you because you ran a bookstore,” you said. “The bookstore was window dressing. You’re you no matter what career you have.”

On impulse, you reached out. He met you in the middle and you laced your fingers through his.

“I love you,” you said.

He clasped his other hand around yours and lifted it to his lips, his eyes squeezed up in such overwhelming happiness you thought you’d cry.

“I love you too.”

[crimsonheart01]

I Promise (Angel Reyes x Female!Reader)

A/N: Shout out to one of my day ones @chaosinourbones​ for this request! Love you boo!! It’s been a hot minute since I wrote for my other tall boy. Let’s hope I do him a world of justice. Enjoy some angsty fluff with our boy! 

Prompt: 22. “How can you possibly look good with snow in your hair?”

Word Count: 2.3K words

Playlist: I’ll Be Home - Meghan Trainor [Spotify] [YouTube]

Warnings: None (surprisingly) 

"I'll find my way back home And light up every tree We will hang our stockings for you and one for me 'Cause Santa called to make sure I'm prepared He said, 'Pack your bags and tell them you'll be late'" I'll Be Home – Meghan Trainor

He checked the time on his phone once last time before reaching out for the double doors in front of him. He shook his head in disappointment at himself. He hadn't meant to lose track of time, but he had a hard time coming up with an excuse to slip away from the boys. Irritated with himself, he closed his eyes for a moment before gripping the handle tightly and propping the door open. He ducked into the gymnasium as quietly as possible. He thanked whatever gods there were that the whole room was covered in darkness, allowing him to post up against the wall unnoticed.

He gazed around, taking note of the varying ages of those in the audience. He smiled. The turnout was amazing. He knew how important this project was and how much effort she'd given to it. Seeing how many people came out brought out a feeling of pride for his community. This was what holidays were supposed to be like.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, he felt the sensation of someone watching. Turning his head, he found his Pops watching him with a keen eye. He smirked at the old man and nodded in greeting. They both turned back to the front of the gym as the lights on the stage flickered between reds and whites. He grinned at the spectacle of the moment.

The stage had been decked out in a perfect replica of a winter wonderland. No doubt to set the scene. He watched as dozens of kids lined the stage and began to sing out loud and proud. He couldn't stop the chills that covered his arms and the broad smile that grew. It wasn't every day that they got to see a production of this stature. It didn't matter that it was just the local community center's holiday concert. Seeing everyone come together to put it on was where the real magic was.

He leaned back into the wall, getting comfortable and enjoying himself. He knew he'd missed the first half of the performances, but he was happy to say that he'd been here for the second bit. It was better than not making it all, a promise he made sure he kept. His gaze roamed over the crowd, and he spotted her almost immediately.

He held back a chuckle at her outfit. She had chosen to go the authentic route with a long-sleeved Henley shirt and puffer vest. He noted the thick wool mittens she wore and the matching wool headband. There was no doubt in his mind that she was sweating, even with the air conditioning pumping through the vents. She took no shortcuts, always going that extra mile to make sure everything fit the scene.

He watched as she mimed the dance moves to the kids, keeping them in step. He let out a quiet sigh as he appreciated her. They were still relatively new in their status, but he knew she was the one. At least, he hoped so. Maybe it was the time of year that had him feeling this way, but he couldn't help but want to parade her around town. Show her off to everyone and anyone.

He'd yet to properly introduce her to the club, unsure of how it'd go. She was nearly a polar opposite of everything that they were. She was his angel. He rolled his eyes as he made the comparison. She should have his name, not him. In his opinion, she was much too good for him. He still couldn't fathom why she gave him the time of day in the first place, but he wasn't going to question it too much. He had her now, and that's what mattered the most.

The concert continued, and he watched with a strong emotion of pride the entire time for her and their community. They did it! They pulled it off. When the finale finally hit, he stood up to his full height and clapped along with everyone else, even letting out a few good-natured hollers in her honour. Once everyone was back up on stage, taking a bow, confetti and fake snow began floating all around them. The crowd roared with awe and wonder.

He found himself staring at her, melting at the smile she was sporting while she stood there. She'd outdone herself. Everyone would be talking about this night for weeks to come.

He kept himself sparse as the auditorium emptied. Finding an available seat off to the side and stretching his legs out in front of him, all while he admired her from afar. He wasn't interested in interrupting her, not while she was being congratulated by everyone, young and old. He carried around a specific reputation, and he wasn't ready to sully hers.

He ran a hand through his hair, knowing full well she'd tell him he was ridiculous. She never saw a problem with who he was. She knew he lived a very different life, that there was a lot of danger in his way, but she didn't believe that reputations determined who they were. He wanted to believe her, but there was always that voice in the back of his mind telling him otherwise, telling him that it was too good to be true and to take advantage of what he had with her before it was gone.

He was broken out of his thoughts by a hand resting on his shoulder. He glanced up to see Pops watching him and where his eyes had been glued a moment before.

"This who you've been hiding?" Felipe surmised.

Angel furrowed his brow, "No one's hiding anything."

Felipe stared at his son, his eyes telling him that he understood the situation exactly. Angel scoffed and shrugged the old man's hand off him. He shook his head and swallowed, attempting to ignore the sympathy in his father's gaze. Felipe took the hint and took a step back. Both men looked back up to the first row of seats, where she was standing and speaking animatedly with a few parents.

With a deep inhale, Felipe nodded and turned, "Give yourself the benefit of the doubt."

Angel clenched his teeth at the words of advice, annoyed at his father’s perceptiveness, but nodded his head as his father walked away. He wasn't hiding her, far from it. He was keeping her safe, at least that's what he was trying to convince himself of.

~(MMC)~

She'd spotted him as she took the stage in the encore and was overjoyed that he made it. She knew there was always a chance that he'd get caught up with the club, but she was happy to see that he found a way to make the event.

As the night wound down, she found herself expecting him to seek her out but instead, she found herself tugged from person to person while he kept his distance. She sighed internally, knowing that he was still in a questioning stage of their relationship. She'd hoped that by now, he'd understand that she wasn't afraid of him or who he was. She knew people had their own opinions, but she knew him better than them. That's what mattered to her. Him. Not everyone else and their beliefs.

She breezed through the stragglers wanting to get their thanks in, and in no time, it was just her and the lone Mayan in the gym. She stood facing the double doors, flattening her palms against each one, ensuring that they were closed. She heard the creak of the chair as he stood up and listened to his footfalls as he went. It took her a minute to realize he was walking away from her by the echo of his footsteps.

Creasing her eyebrows together, she spun around only to endeared by him further. He'd taken that moment to approach the stage and take in the full effect of the décor. She let out a small chuckle as she watched him run his hand through the mess of confetti and snow on the platform. He pulled his hand back and brushed his hands together to rid himself of the flakes.

She took stock of him as she stepped down the middle aisle, noting that he'd chosen to leave the kutte out of his outfit for the evening. It touched her in a way she wasn't expecting. She knew how much the club meant to him that it was his life. The fact that he chose to appear as something different for her production had her chest swell with emotion.

As she neared him, she reached out and toyed with the sleeve of his flannel. Her touch was light but enough to alert him to her presence.

"You made it." She smiled up at him.

He turned towards her and immediately slung his around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

"I promised, didn't I?" He quipped, but she could hear a subtle tone of frustration. 

Not wanting to dwell on anything negative, see pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before linking her around his and pulled him in the direction of the steps leading onto the stage, "Come on, take a closer look at everything."

They ascended the stairs together, and she talked him through all the details of the decorations and set up. He kept up with her, asking a few questions here and there but for the most part just admiring the whole thing. She lead him to the middle of the stage, where the spotlight was still shining. Slipping her arm out from around his, she pointed up to where the blankets that held the snow were housed.

They both looked up as she explained how they managed to get it to float instead of just dumping it down on top of everyone. She even chuckled as she noted there were still a few swirls coming down. When she turned back around to face him, she laughed. He arched an eyebrow at her, and she stepped in closer to him. She grinned at him, and he couldn't help but respond in kind.

Reaching up, she thread two fingers through his hair, "How can you possibly look good with snow in your hair?"

His eyes shot upwards even though he knew he wouldn't be able to see what she saw. Her fingers daintily plucked out a few of the fake snow pieces, and she let them crowd the palm of her hand. She held it out for him to see, and he chuckled. He lifted his hand to cover hers, twining their fingers together. She smiled down at the sight.

Using his other hand, he lightly tapped underneath her chin, signalling her to look up. She accepted the gesture and glanced up at him. His dark eyes reflected the bright lights above them and took her breath away. His thumb brushed across her chin, and she bit down on her lip as he licked his. He bowed forward slightly as if he was waiting for her to deny him before clearing the distance between them and pressing his lips to hers.

His kiss was tentative giving her a chance to react to him. She smiled against his mouth and fell into him. She caressed one hand up the center of his chest before fisting the fabric of his shirt in her hand. At her reaction, he let go of all his hesitance and dipped her back, pushing everything he was feeling into their embrace. She clutched at his upper arm with her other hand and let him hold her in his arms.

There was a strong need in his kiss. His passion seeing itself through and making itself known. She poured herself into the moment, wanting him to feel everything she was experiencing by being here with him. He made a small noise at the back of his throat, and it sent a wild thrum through, causing her to hold him tighter. She wanted him to know how much she cared for him. All of him. Everything that he came with.  

Losing himself in the moment, he pulled her back up, their heated connection lost for a moment and spun her around. The remnants of the snow swirled around their feet, and she laughed at the momentum. This was her Angel. This was the man she'd fallen in love with. As the dust settled back around them, she looped her arms around his shoulders, resting her head against his chest.

The sounds of the janitorial staff broke them out of their spell. With a sigh, she loosened her arms around his shoulders and looked towards the doors. Her arms fell away from him, but she made sure to catch one of his hands in hers. She led him off the stage and towards the front of the room.

"I only need to pass over the keys and discuss the finalities with the clean-up crew, and then we can get outta here, alright?" She glanced over her shoulder back at him.

He grinned back at her and nodded, "Sounds good querida."

He tugged her back to him before she was able to break away and kissed her soundly. She felt his smile through the kiss. She pulled back and gave him one last chaste kiss before spinning around to talk to the staff that had shown up. However, she made sure to never let go of his hand as she did so. He was hers, and she was his. Everyone was going to know. She'd make sure of that.

[jayeray-hq]

The Great Christmas Bake-Off

This is my SFW secret Santa fic for @rice-hime​! You have no idea how excited I was to see that you were who I got for the SFW secret Santa, Rice! You were one of my very first requests, and I love all your writing! I know you’ve been having a bit of a tough time lately, so I hope this makes you smile! 

Want more Osamu? Check out my Character Masterlist!

Thanks to the amazing @deathcab4daddy​ for beta-reading for me! Love you Tay! 😊💖 Timeskip/Manga Spoilers! 8.6K words

Warnings: Brief mentions of depression but drowned in Fluff

You stared out the window quietly watching the snow fall, nursing a cup of your favorite hot beverage in your hands. It was Christmas Eve day, and for the first time since you’d started dating your boyfriend, you were home alone. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Osamu was supposed to be on his way back from a business meeting in Tokyo yesterday, but inclement weather meant he hadn’t been able to travel home safely.

When you’d taken his call earlier that morning he’d told you trains were delayed, and there was no word on whether or not they’d be up and running again any time soon. It didn’t help that it had yet to stop snowing. Your poor boyfriend had sounded extremely frustrated and put out with everything when you’d talked, and you’d done your best to assure him that everything would be fine. You’d told him that you’d wait for him, and that you much preferred he get home safe rather than rush and potentially get hurt because of the weather.

             You had also made sure to tell him you didn’t blame him for not being able to make it home, that you wouldn’t be angry even if he couldn’t get home until after Christmas. It wasn’t like he could control the weather after all, and the meeting in Tokyo had been incredibly important so it wouldn’t have been possible to cancel or delay it. After all it had been about finally getting approval to open up a branch of Onigiri Miya in Tokyo, expanding his business out of the Hyogo prefecture for the first time.

             Both of you had been excited at the possibility of expanding his dream restaurant, and you firmly believed that the chance had been worth potentially missing a single Christmas with him. However, despite your beliefs it didn’t stop you from missing him, from wishing rather desperately that he was there with you and not trapped in Tokyo.

             It was probably a bit strange, but you thought it might actually be harder to not have him today than it would be to not have him on Christmas. The two of you had created your own tradition for Christmas Eve, one that you couldn’t imagine doing without him.

             It had all started back during the first year the two of you had started dating. Osamu had claimed to have the recipe for the best sugar cookies ever. You’d decided to challenge him, not really understanding just how obsessed your new boyfriend was with eating, and creating the perfect foods.

             He’d brought his recipe, one he’d spent several years perfecting, and you’d brought one you found on the internet. The two of you had made both recipes together in the kitchen on Christmas Eve Day, the one day the two of you could find that neither of you had previous obligations for.

 Originally, you’d planned to make the cookies separately, each of you making your own, on your own time, but Osamu had insisted on doing the activity together. He’d convinced you that everything had to be done with the same quality of ingredients, the same oven, and in the same space in order for things to be equal. You’d conceded, figuring your new boyfriend was even more of a food nut than you’d initially assumed and finding it rather cute. It wouldn’t be until several years down the line that he’d admitted he’d only insisted so he could spend more time with you.

 After the cookies were baked, you then frosted and decorated them with the exact same frosting and tried both for comparison. In the end, you’d been forced to concede that his were much better than the ones from the recipe you’d found, but had sworn you’d find something better by the next year. Thus, your little tradition had been born.

 This year you had all the ingredients, bought well beforehand, all the equipment, and your own beautiful kitchen that you shared with your boyfriend. The recipe you’d picked out even had thousands of five-star reviews. The problem, of course, was that you didn’t have your boyfriend. Technically speaking, you could probably do it yourself. You’d made his version of the cookies with him enough times now you could do it in your sleep, but it wouldn’t be the same.

 Thus, you’d decided to wait until he came home. Was it a little disappointing not to be able to do it on the day you’d planned? Yes of course, but it couldn’t be helped. However, you’d rather do it on a different day than do it without your boyfriend. It was just one more thing that had gone wrong this year, which hadn’t been all that great considering everything that had happened.

 It was honestly wearing, and the blow of not having him there felt far heavier than it would under normal circumstances. Usually you’d be able to shrug it off with a smile and go about your day, but with everything else it felt like the straw that broke the camel’s back. You’d done your best to put on a cheerful, optimistic façade during your phone call with your boyfriend, not wanting to stress him out more than he already was.

 However, after that call you’d spent a good majority of your morning feeling out of sorts, listless, and unmotivated to do much of anything but watch the snow fall and hope it would let up soon. You wanted your boyfriend home, not just because you wanted to make cookies with him, but because Osamu gave the best hugs, and there was nothing you wanted more than to be wrapped up in his arms for a while.

 The sound of several loud knocks at the door startled you out of trying to quietly calculate how long it might take the snow to stop and when your boyfriend might be home. You hadn’t been expecting any guests today, but the sound of a scraping key in the lock let you know exactly who was at the door before it opened. After all, there was only one person who would knock like he was trying to break the door down and who you’d given a key, even if it had been a rather reluctant concession on your boyfriend’s part.

 “Well, ain’t this cheery,” a voice that was both exactly what you wanted to hear, and absolutely not at the same time, announced as your boyfriend’s twin brother breezed into the door. You shivered slightly at the cold wind he let in with his arrival, and turned to watch in bemusement as he stomped off the snow from his boots and began stripping off his outer layers, clearly making himself at home.

 “Atsumu,” you greeted, a little puzzled at the blond twin’s sudden unannounced arrival at your home, “What are you doing here? You know Samu is still in Tokyo, right?”

 “Is that really the way ya should be greetin’ yer future brother-in-law?” he asked teasingly, a wide grin on his face, “And o’ course I knew! Who do ya think was the first person that scrubby brother of mine called after he got off the phone with ya?”

 “Your mother probably,” you countered wryly, “Considering she was probably worried about him, and both of you are too afraid of her to not check in when she wants you to.”

 “Okay, so the second person,” Atsumu conceded without argument, making you smirk slightly. It always amused you that the twins were absolutely petrified of getting on their mother’s bad side. The Miya matriarch was a sweet, kindly woman, who absolutely doted on you, but according to the twins she was actually a dragon in disguise and downright terrifying in the same way Kita Shinsuke apparently was. You’d personally never witnessed this so-called terrifying side, but you had bowed to the twins’ experience.

 “So what, ‘Samu asked you to check on me?” you asked with a frown. You’d been fairly certain you’d managed to conceal your feelings from your boyfriend, but maybe you hadn’t done as good a job as you’d thought you had.

 “Actually, he sent me here ta be yer assistant fer the day,” Atsumu told you with a slight pout on his face, “Somethin’ about subbin’ in fer him and makin’ cookies.”

 “You realize you can’t actually sub out for one another in real life, right?” you asked him with a sigh. You were torn between annoyance that your boyfriend would think it was alright to substitute his twin in his place for your tradition, and touched that he wanted you to still be able to do it despite the fact that he wasn’t there.

 “Hey! I will have ya know that yer getting’ the superior twin fer the day!” Atsumu protested giving you a cocky smirk, “I even agreed ta put myself at yer disposal and everythin’!”

 “What did he bribe you with?” you asked skeptically, well aware the twins, despite being fond of each other deep down, never actually did anything for one another without at least some token bribery.

 “I can’t just come ta bake cookies with my brother’s lovely girlfriend outta the goodness of my heart?” Atsumu demanded, clearly affronted. You raised an eyebrow at him, and waited arms folded across your chest.

 “Okay so maybe there was a promise of some of those famous sugar cookies fer myself,” he conceded, with a huff.

 “Thought so,” you acknowledged with a triumphant smile, ignoring his indignant grumbles about Osamu dating a woman as scary as Kita and their mother.

 “Does that mean ya aren’t gonna make cookies with me?” Atsumu whined unhappily, “After I came all this way in the snow and everythin’ just ta help ya out?”

 “You literally live a block and a half away,” you protested with a laugh.

 ��Doesn’t mean it wasn’t a cold, wet, and miserable block an a half,” he informed you with a pout, “C’mon please? I never get any cookies from the two of ya, ‘Samu always hogs em all!”

 You briefly considered saying no, wanting to uphold the sanctity of tradition. You’d meant what you’d said before, you couldn’t just replace one twin with the other. You loved Atsumu, but he wasn’t your boyfriend, more like a bratty little brother, ironic considering he was technically the older twin. However, even just his presence had been a fantastic distraction from how miserable you’d been before. Besides, Atsumu could be a lot of fun in his own way, and you could always make cookies with Osamu later.

 “Fine,” you conceded with a huff, “Let’s make cookies then.”

 “Alright!” He cheered his entire face lighting up with a boyish grin, the same grin your boyfriend wore whenever he got to cook something new. It was simultaneously comforting and a bit of a punch to the gut, though you chose to push aside the negative feeling and focus on the positive for now. Even if your boyfriend wasn’t here you still had a friend with you, one who was surprisingly sweet when he wanted to be, and you were grateful for it.

 Baking with Atsumu turned out to be absolutely nothing like baking with Osamu. With your boyfriend, the two of you had it down to an art, working with and around one another easily. You trusted one another in the kitchen and were very used to one another’s presence and it showed. Atsumu on the other hand, was a bit of a disaster.

 For all that the man was absolutely graceful on the volleyball court, it turned out he was a bit of a disaster in the kitchen. He did admittedly know what he was doing, he just wasn’t as careful as he should be. It meant eggshells accidentally got in the batter and had to be fished out, baking soda and baking powder got confused, the vanilla got knocked over, and flour exploded everywhere when he turned on the mixer, covering the two of you and leaving white residue everywhere.

 It took twice as long as it usually did because you spent over half your time babysitting Atsumu to ensure he didn’t screw anything up too badly. By the end of it all you, Atsumu and the kitchen were a mess, but you were smiling. The presence of your boyfriend’s twin having cheered you immensely, mostly because despite how cool they tried to act, both Miya twins were idiots, lovable idiots, but idiots nonetheless.

 You were so caught up in Atsumu’s antics that you didn’t notice you’d been joined by someone new, not until an extremely annoyed voice piped up, “Oy, ya scrub! What the hell did ya do ta my kitchen and my girl huh?”

 You whirled around surprised to see your boyfriend standing in the entryway, flecks of snow still clinging to his hair and eyelashes as he glared at his twin. Your heart jumped in your chest, a mixture of disbelief and joy swirling inside of you at the sight of him, home where he should be when you’d been afraid he wouldn’t be able to make it at all.

 “Ya told me to distract her so I distracted her,” Atsumu protested, “And yer the scrubby one ya scrub! I ain’t the one who got stuck in Tokyo after all!”

 “’Samu!” you practically barreled into your boyfriend, throwing yourself at him without even bothering to take off your dirty apron. Not that he seemed to mind at all, catching you up in his arms and cradling you to his chest without complaint, nuzzling his face into your hair.

 “Hey sweetheart,” he greeted, pressing an affectionate kiss to the side of your head, both of you ignoring the gagging sounds Atsumu was making in the background.

 “What are you doing here?” you asked a bit tearfully, “I thought you weren’t going to make it home?”

 “And miss Christmas with you, sweets? Not a chance,” he assured you, pulling back a bit so he could cradle your face in one of his large hands, swiping his thumb affectionately along your cheekbone.

 “But I thought the trains weren’t running?” you pointed out anxiously.

 “They’re not. I rented a car and drove,” he admitted with a casual shrug, as if he hadn’t admitted to making a six-hour drive in terrible conditions.

 “’Samu that’s dangerous,” you protested. Your eyes automatically roving over him to assure yourself he was there and in one piece, as your hands clutched at him a reminder that he was solid, warm, and present, “I could’ve waited for you. I would’ve waited for you.”

 “I was real careful sweetheart,” he assured you earnestly, “Drove slow and everythin’ plus the highways weren’t so bad, promise. I just really wanted ta be home with ya fer Christmas, and I didn’t want ya to be frettin’ bout me, which is why I sent ‘Tsumu over to distract ya.”

 “Well, he did that at least,” you acknowledged with a huff, casting a glance at Atsumu who looked immeasurably pleased with himself.

 “And made a right mess of the kitchen while he was at it,” Osamu noted with clear disapproval on his face, as he gazed around the disaster zone.

 “Hey, I’ll have ya know we’re equally responsible fer the mess,” Atsumu informed him promptly shifting some of the blame your way, completely unashamed at the blatant lie, “Yer girl helped me out too.”

 The completely unimpressed look your boyfriend leveled at him let you know just how much he believed his brother. Which was, of course, not a bit. Osamu knew you were fairly tidy when the two of you worked together, so he knew who was at fault for the mess. Still, you were grateful that Atsumu had come over at all. It was sweet of him in his own way, so you decided you wouldn’t let him take the fall on his own, not this time anyway.

 “Don’t worry ‘Samu, Atsumu and I will clean it up,” you assured him, pressing a quick, sweet kiss to the corner of his mouth.

 Your boyfriend let out a long-suffering sigh in response, giving you a look that told you he knew exactly what you were doing. However, he must’ve been feeling pretty indulgent because he went along with it anyway, “Alright sweetheart, let me just put my things away and I’ll help the two of ya clean up.”

 “You don’t have to,” you insisted, reluctantly releasing him so he could move away, “Atsumu and I can handle it.”

 “Yeah ‘Samu, we don’t need ya,” Atsumu taunted, slinging an arm over your shoulder and pulling a face at his twin, “So buzz off, or I won’t share any of my cookies with ya!”

 “Pretty sure it’s my kitchen and my ingredients ya used to make those cookies,” Osamu pointed out, leveling a glare at his brother, clear annoyance written all over his face.

 “And I think I’m the one who made them, bought the ingredients, and it’s my kitchen too, which I believe makes them my cookies,” you informed the twins before they could really start squabbling, “And I won’t be sharing with either of you if you don’t behave. ‘Samu go put your things away and get settled in, and Atsumu we have a kitchen to clean.”

 The twins exchanged glances over your head, one of those looks that spoke volumes and sometimes made you wonder if they could read one another’s minds. However, in the end they conceded, Osamu ambling down the hall with his bags and Atsumu joining you to clean up the mess in the kitchen, though not before Osamu pressed an affectionate kiss to your cheek.

 Between the two of you it didn’t take too long to clean the kitchen up, and get everything looking pristine. It did slow down a bit when Osamu returned from your bedroom and began ‘supervising’ meaning heckling his brother and generally being a pain as he insisted things weren’t clean enough.

 By the time you finished, all the cookies were out of the oven and completely cooled, which meant it was time for frosting. Luckily this time things went much faster as Atsumu was firmly pushed out of the kitchen by Osamu, who insisted it was only right he take over since it was his tradition with you. Atsumu whined, but had eventually been appeased by you agreeing to let him lick the spoon.

 You laid out several bowls and split up your icing, quickly deciding to do red, yellow, green, and white for your colors to make it nice and simple. Or at least it should’ve been nice and easy, if not for Atsumu’s commentary.

 “Is that supposed to be red?” Atsumu asked, casually licking frosting off as he watched his brother add food coloring to the frosting, “Cuz I’m tellin’ ya it definitely looks pink from where I’m standin’.”

 A quick glance over your boyfriend’s shoulder proved that it was a little on the pink side, but getting a true red with frosting was extremely difficult without adding enough food coloring to stain your mouth. Though the comments didn’t stop there either.

 “Is that really a Christmas green? I’m thinkin’ it looks kinda pastel, don’tcha think ‘Samu?” he pressed eyeing the other bowl, “I hope ya don’t think I’m gonna be decoratin’ my cookies with such a weak lookin’ color.”

 “Who says yer getting’ to decorate any cookies at all, huh?” Osamu demanded flatly.

 “I did, cuz I helped make ‘em,” Atsumu informed him bluntly, “And I’m gonna do a much better job than you could even dream of.”

 “Oh, ya think so do ya?” Osamu asked, his eye twitching slightly in clear annoyance.

 “I know so,” Atsumu informed him smugly.

 “Then how about a bet?” your boyfriend proposed, with a challenging stare at his brother, “Whoever decorates the best cookie wins.”

 “What do I get when I win?” Atsumu demanded, as you watched them go back and forth feeling a bit like a spectator at a tennis match.

 “The cookies o’ course,” Osamu proposed evenly, staring his brother down.

 “No way! I was supposed to get ‘em anyway fer comin’ over here to help out, and I ain’t wagerin’ ‘em fer nothin’ in return,” Atsumu protested, vehemently.

 “Fine, the cookies an I’ll make ya bento fer a week,” Osamu countered, “But in return when I win, I get the cookies an’ you have ta deal with Ritsu Baa-chan at the annual holiday party.”

 You snorted at that, trying hard not to laugh at Atsumu’s terrified expression. Ritsu Baa-chan was their grandmother’s sister, their great aunt. She was honestly a rather sweet elderly woman, but she was also a bit blind and couldn’t tell the twins apart despite having different hair colors. She also liked to pinch cheeks a lot, and tended to go on long tangents about her youth.

 “That’s unless yer chicken?” your boyfriend taunted, well aware his brother would fall for it.

 “Fine, yer on, but she ain’t allowed to judge,” he compromised, the sudden finger in your face making you flinch in surprise. Honestly, you’d thought the twins had forgotten you were there for a moment, so the unexpected acknowledgment was a bit baffling.

 “Don’t point at her. It’s rude,” ‘Samu scolded, smacking Atsumu’s hand with the back of the frosting covered spoon he’d been using to mix, making the blond yelp in surprise and indignation, “And who’s gonna judge if not her eh? Don’t tell me yer tryin’ to say somethin’s wrong with my girlfriend.”

 “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with her!” Atsumu conceded immediately, shooting you an apologetic look. For all the twins argued, he’d always been extremely courteous to you outside a bit of teasing, so you weren’t at all hurt, “But she still can’t judge, she’ll just pick ya and won’t give me a fair chance cuz yer her boyfriend!”

 “So, who’s gonna judge then?” your boyfriend asked skeptically, “Everyone we know likes me better.”

 “That ain’t true!” Atsumu pouted at him, as he absently licked the frosting off the back of his hand, earning a disgusted look from his twin, “Everyone knows I’m the superior twin!”

 You watched them squabble for a minute as you considered their little conundrum. Osamu had told you back in high school he’d been known as the ‘nice twin’ of the two of them. It was actually a little hilarious to you, as the longer you’d spent around your boyfriend, getting to know both him and Atsumu by extension, the more you realized he wasn’t actually nicer. He just hid it better.

 According to Aran, your one trustworthy source on what the twins had been like in high school, things had gotten better as the twins matured, Atsumu becoming a little less uptight, and Osamu a little more open. When you’d met Osamu in college and then Atsumu shortly after, you wouldn’t have pegged either of them as nice or better necessarily, until you’d gotten to know them. Osamu was simply a bit more laidback than his twin, sarcastic, and witty. He was a bit more conscious of the people around him, and their opinions. He was also quieter and less prone to emotional outbursts. It made him come off a bit more thoughtful and mature, though he definitely still had his moments. He was meticulous and incredibly sweet when he wanted to be.

 Atsumu on the other hand, was a ball of energy- impulsive but fun. If he loved something he loved it wholeheartedly, and if he hated something he hated it just as ardently. He definitely came off as less mature, and a bit more naïve in some ways as well, which was why you’d never been able to see him as anything more than a good friend or younger brother figure despite being head over heels for his twin.

 You wouldn’t call the two of them opposites per se, but you would say to those who knew them knew that the twins were very different. It meant that despite them sharing a lot of the same friends, most of those friends had a ‘favorite’ of the twins, one whose company they preferred even if they liked both of them. It made having someone neutral to be the judge of the outcome of the little bets they liked to make with each other a bit of an interesting conundrum.

 The only two friends you could think of off the top of your head who both twins would agree on as neutral were Aran and Kita. However, you weren’t about to let the twins pester their friends on Christmas Eve. Luckily, there was one person who was guaranteed neutral that not even the twins would argue against, and who wouldn’t mind having you call, would in fact probably enjoy it a lot.

 “Why don’t we ask your mom to judge then?” you cut in, breaking off their little tiff, “We should call her tonight anyway, to wish her happy holidays. You let her know you got home safely didn’t you ‘Samu?”

 “Course I did,” your boyfriend agreed looking a bit horrified that you’d think he wouldn’t, “I ain’t a scrub like ‘Tsumu.”

 “A guy forgets to text one time,” Atsumu whined, looking more than a bit traumatized at the mere mention of the wrath he’d apparently brought down on his head for forgetting.

 “Then we’ll have her judge,” you told them, ending the argument you knew could last hours if you didn’t intervene, “It will be nice to talk to her later anyway.”

 The twins exchanged another of their speaking looks, but in the end agreed to do things your way. In order to be fair, you split up the cookies and frosting as evenly as you could between the three of you, and set to work.

 Honestly, you probably should’ve known it would be a disaster. The twins had always been competitive, and liked to do anything they could to win, which apparently meant sabotage. It had started off innocently enough, and you were fairly sure it was an accident. Atsumu’s elbow had knocked into an open bottle of red sugar sprinkles and tipped the whole thing on to one of Osamu’s cookies.

 Your boyfriend had been outraged of course, and immediately tried to retaliate by smearing red frosting on to Atsumu’s green Christmas tree. It had only escalated from there, as sprinkles and frosting flew, Osamu’s usual concern for his kitchen flying out the window in the face of competition with his brother.

 Luckily, you’d had the foresight to put yourself outside the disaster zone, well aware there was nothing that brought out immaturity from your boyfriend quite like Atsumu. Therefore, instead of stressing, you got to watch, thoroughly entertained from the side lines. Taking a leaf from Suna’s book, you recording some of it on your phone, fully prepared to share it later.

 You couldn’t help the quiet giggles that escaped your lips as you watched their antics, giggles that devolved into side splitting laughter as Osamu, fed up with having sprinkles flicked at him by Atsumu, dipped his hand into the frosting and smeared it all over his brother’s face.

 Both twins froze at the sound, your boyfriend giving you a soft fond look, the kind he reserved just for you. He quickly abandoned his cookies to come over to where you were sitting so he could wrap his arms around you.

 “Samu you’re getting frosting all over me,” you protested with a laugh even as you hugged him in return, nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck.

 “Ya know ya love it, sweetheart,” Osamu teased affectionately, “Besides weren’t ya the one who got flour all over me earlier?”

 You hummed in agreement, sighing contentedly in his arms. You probably could’ve stayed there for a good while longer, except you were interrupted by a very pointed throat clearing.

 “I’m still here ya know,” Atsumu pointed out clearly disgruntled, “Can’t ya save yer gross coupley stuff until I don’t have to watch?”

 “Yer just jealous,” Osamu brushed him off, squeezing you affectionately and shooting his brother a look over your head, “Ya don’t have to watch ya know. Yer free to leave at any time.”

 “An’ leave ya alone to sabotage my cookies?” the blond demanded self-righteously, “What do ya think I’m an idiot or somethin’?”

 The look your boyfriend gave his brother for that question was really all the answer that was needed. You coughed, pressing your face into his neck to stifle your giggles at the extremely indignant look on Atsumu’s face.

 “I ain’t gonna sabotage yer cookies, ‘Tsumu,” Osamu informed his brother, resting his cheek on top of your head, “I don’t think they could get any uglier if I tried.”

 “An whose fault is that!” Atsumu protested, as easily riled as usual, “Besides it ain’t like yers are any better!”

 It was true both of their cookies were complete and utter disasters, a smear of frosting all blended together into an ugly brownish color with only hints of the previous green and red. Mounds of sprinkles were smeared in and thrown everywhere in a mish mash of colored sugar some on the cookies but a lot on the floor. They honestly barely looked edible, even though you were sure the taste was probably fine. They were, truthfully, some of the ugliest cookies you’d ever seen in your life.

 “Still better than yers,” Osamu countered stubbornly, “I’m still gonna win.”

 “Like hell ya are, mine are clearly superior!” Atsumu retorted.

 “We’ll leave that up to Miya-san to decide,” you cut in before they could really start bickering again, “In the meantime, why don’t we all get cleaned up.”

 You glanced pointedly at Atsumu’s face, still covered in flecks of frosting despite his attempts to wipe it clean, along with the globs on his shirt, and at Osamu’s hair, which was shedding sprinkles everywhere.

 Atsumu grimaced down at this shirt, pouting at the frosting that covered it, and promptly reached for the hem, clearly ready to strip it right off. He didn’t get very far, as Osamu promptly released you to smack at his twins hands.

 “The hell! Don’t just start strippin’ ya scrub!” your boyfriend protested.

 “Why not?” Atsumu protested genuinely baffled, “It ain’t like ya’ve never seen it before ‘Samu, we shared a room fer years.”

 “Do ya always just casually take yer shirt off in front of girls without warnin’?” Osamu asked aggrieved, “No wonder ya can’t get a girlfriend!”

 “Oy! I’ll have ya know the ladies love when I take my shirt off,” Atsumu informed him snottily.

 “Well my lady doesn’t,” Osamu informed him, gesturing to where you were sitting, watching the whole thing play out.

 “Why would she mind?” Atsumu pointed out snottily, “If she’s seen ya naked, she’s basically seen me too.”

 “Eww no,” you interjected, unable to resist, your face scrunching up in disgust, even as your boyfriend smacked his brother over the back of the head.

 “What do ya mean eww no?” Atsumu demanded clutching at his head and turning slightly watery eyes on you, glaring in offense, “We’re twins! We look the exact same!”

 “’Samu is sexy,” you explained with a shrug, unable to resist teasing him a little, “You’re just… you.”

 Atsumu squawked in indignation, clearly very offended, though your boyfriend just looked amused, winking at you from behind his brother’s back and adding, “That’s right, so keep yer damn shirt on ‘Tsumu, no one wants to see it.”

 “But it’s got brown gunk all over it,” he whined gesturing at the rather unfortunately colored frosting smeared down his front from where he’d wiped his face clean with it, “It looks like someone wiped their ass with it!”

 You choked at the realization that he was unfortunately correct, nearly falling off your chair as you were overtaken by laughter again. Really, the twins could start their own comedy show, you had the feeling they’d make a killing. It was no wonder Suna had managed to collect so much blackmail on them over the years, the two of them really made it too easy.

 “So, go home and change then stupid,” Osamu informed his brother flatly, though you could tell from the way his lips twitched that he also found it terribly amusing.

 “No way!” Atsumu griped, “If ya don’t want me shirtless in front of yer girlfriend then just let borrow a shirt ya jerk!”

 “Go get yer own,” your boyfriend countered, completely unimpressed, “No way in hell am I lendin’ ya one of mine again. I’ll never get it back.”

 “Yer so cruel ‘Samu, and here everyone still thinks yer the nice twin,” Atsumu informed his brother snottily, “Tryin’ to send me out into a storm like that!”

 Surprised you glanced at the window only to find Atsumu was right, the weather had gone from bad to worse. Enormous flakes of snow falling from the sky, coming down so hard you could barely see the blurred outline of the home across the street from yours. It looked like a genuine blizzard out there. It looked absolutely nasty, and even though he did live fairly close by you were hesitant to send Atsumu out in it.

 You glanced at your boyfriend, and he clearly saw the concern on your face because he heaved a sigh and nodded in acknowledgment.

 “Fine ‘Tsumu, but yer changin’ in the bathroom so ya don’t make a mess in our room, and ya ain’t leavin’ in it. Rinse yer shirt while yer in there and toss it in the wash,” Osamu ordered as he grabbed hold of his brother hauling him away down the hall, completely ignoring Atsumu’s protests at being manhandled.

 You smiled after them for a moment, amused. You knew without a doubt, no matter how much he griped about it, that Osamu would never have sent Atsumu home when the weather was like this. Which meant you should probably resign yourself to having a guest for the night. Not that you minded all that much.

 You’d known from the beginning that while they were separate people, the Miya twins came as a set. If you were going to be dating Osamu, Atsumu was going to be part of your life, that was a simple, inarguable fact. You were just glad you got along well with him, even if having the two of them together did end with your kitchen a complete and utter disaster area for the second time that day.

 Huffing a sigh, you finished up the last of your own cookies that you’d carefully kept out of the line of fire, covered them and hid them in one of the cupboards. You were well aware if you didn’t they were bound to get snitched by one of the twins. With your cookies safe, you surveyed the mess that was the kitchen and grabbed a cloth intent on getting things cleaned back up again while you had the chance.

 Your work was interrupted by the feel of strong arms wrapping around you from behind, pulling you upright and back into a solid chest. You immediately relaxed into the embrace tilting your head back against your boyfriend’s shoulder so you could see him.

 “Hi there,” you greeted affectionately, tossing the rag you’d been using to wipe things down on to the counter in favor of wrapping your arms over his, savoring the feeling of being held.

 “Hey sweetness,” he returned, pressing a soft kiss to your temple, “I missed ya.”

 “I missed you too,” you admitted quietly, “I’m so glad you made it home, even if you really should’ve stayed where it was safe.”

 “Like I’d let somethin’ as stupid as a snowstorm keep me away from my girl on Christmas Eve,” Osamu scoffed, “This is our day. I wasn’t gonna miss it fer anythin’ sweetheart.”

 You hummed in response, feeling immeasurably comforted by the feel of him wrapped around you, the loneliness and depression chased away completely by the afternoon’s laughter and the warm presence of your boyfriend.

 “How’d the meeting go?” you asked quietly as he rocked the two of you back and forth, the motion familiar and soothing. You’d learned early on he was completely unable to stay still for any length of time unless he was sleeping, a trait he shared with his twin.

 “It was good. The investors are all in, looks like we’re gonna get our new shop in Tokyo after all,” he told you, clear pride in his voice.

 “Our shop huh?” you asked teasingly, more than a bit touched that he said it so easily. Onigiri Miya was his dream after all, and the fact that he shared it so openly with you meant the world.

 “O’course sweetheart,” he told you, “I…!”

 Unfortunately, whatever he might’ve wanted to say after that was interrupted by the untimely arrival of his brother, who reappeared, dressed in a clean shirt, all traces of frosting removed from his person.

 “Oy! This place is still a disaster! I thought ya said ya were goin’ ta help her clean, ‘Samu?” he demanded, turning judging eyes on the kitchen.

 You sighed, partly annoyed and partly amused at the sheer audacity of the blond twin, as Osamu reluctantly untangled himself from you. The glare he sent his twin would’ve had lesser men cringing away, but Atsumu was unfortunately rather immune by this point.

 “Ya have no sense of timing at all do ya, ya scrub?” Osamu asked him rhetorically, heaving a put-upon sigh before smacking his brother over the back of the head in punishment and shoving a cloth in his hands, ordering to, “Help clean too, ya ungrateful jerk! Since half this mess is yers anyways.”

 Luckily, though they squabbled through the whole thing, they did manage to get things cleaned up, just in time for dinner. The snow was still coming down hard, so you quickly invited Atsumu to stay, though Osamu ordered him to stay out of the kitchen. He went, though you quickly sent Osamu after him, insisting that he’d had a long day of travel and didn’t need to cook tonight as you’d fully planned to cook for the two of you.

 Osamu gave you a soft look for that, one that got him thoroughly teased by Atsumu for being a sap. Your boyfriend pressed a quick, chaste kiss to your lips before joining his brother to stream the latest Black Jackals game on the tv, clearly fully intending to heckle his brother over any mistakes he made while you put together something for all three of you to eat.

 Dinner was lively and enjoyable as Osamu told the two of you more about the meeting in Tokyo. Apparently, the area they were looking to open the next restaurant was in a prime location, and construction would start after the new year once the property lease was signed. If things went well it would be open before summer, which was incredibly exciting.

 In turn, Atsumu shared some of what he’d been up to with the Jackals. He had a lot of funny stories to tell about the players you’d met briefly and heard lots of stories about from their high school days. His stories about Hinata Shouyou, Sakusa Kiyoomi, and Bokuto Koutarou in particular were always amusing, mostly because they were always teasing him in some way, never allowing him to get his way completely.

 The twins also asked you some about what you’d been up to, and you shared the things that you knew they’d find interesting, little anecdotes about your day, or small stories you knew would make them laugh. It was honestly heartwarming how both of them worked to include you in their dynamic, trying to ensure you never felt excluded, and you understood how very much it meant that they tried so hard for you.

 After dinner the three of you gathered together at the twins insistence to video call their mother. The kindly woman answered on the third ring, and immediately leveled a suspicious look at the twins.

 “What did the two of ya do now?” she asked clearly resigned to whatever antics the twins had gotten up to this point. You giggled, unable to help yourself at the identical expressions of offense on their faces.

 “Oh, hello darling!” their mother greeted you warmly, “How are ya doin’? Are these two rascals causin’ trouble fer ya?”

 “Hello Miya-san,” you returned just as warm, to the woman who’d gladly welcomed you into their family with open arms, nudging your face into the frame so you could see her better, “It’s good to see you!”

 “You too dear, and I told ya, no need for Miya-san, call me kaa-san okay? Yer my future daughter-in-law after all!” she told you jovially, making you flush slightly, pleased and a little flustered, glancing hesitantly at your boyfriend out of the corner of your eye. He didn’t look at all bothered by the insinuation, simply watching you with a fond look in his eyes.

 “Kaa-san then,” you agreed a little shyly, earning a beaming smile in return.

 “What can I do fer ya tonight darlin’?” she asked, both of you ignoring the way Atsumu was grumbling to his brother about how unfair it was that their mother loved you more than she loved them.

 “The twins are having a bit of a contest and we were hoping you’d be a neutral judge,” you told her with an amused grin.

 “Really?” she asked partly amused, partly resigned, “Again? Ya would’ve thought at their age they’d stop doin’ silly things like this, but I shoulda known. I really probably shoulda stopped ‘em the very first time they brought me the prettiest rocks they could find and asked which I liked better when they were toddlers. It was too cute at the time though, and I didn’t have the heart ta tell em to knock it off.”

 “That is cute,” you told her with a helpless little grin, giving your boyfriend, who was pointedly not looking at you, a fond look trying not to giggle at the slight pink tinge on his cheeks. He at least was doing better than Atsumu who was fire engine red and sputtering indignantly.

 “So, what did they do this time?” she prompted, looking all too amused at having managed to embarrass them both, the vicious twinkle in her eyes reminding you yet again where the two of them had gotten their mischievous side from.

 “Decorated Christmas cookies,” you told her wryly amused, “I’ve been volunteered to show them to you, so you don’t know whose is whose.”

 The two of you exchanged eye rolls at that, both completely done with how seriously the twins took their ridiculous contests. It was a little hilarious honestly while also being simultaneously endearing and annoying.

 “Let’s see it then,” she agreed, heaving a put-upon sigh.

             You did as asked, holding up the plate with the two cookies. The twins had each chosen the one they thought came out best from their lot, though that wasn’t saying much considering they all looked rather terrible. The look on her face let you know that their mother shared your thoughts on this as she deadpanned at the cookies, which were a complete and utter mess.

             “Is yer kitchen still intact?” she asked, her spot-on guess startling you into laughter as the twins both gave indignant shouts, Osamu insisting he would never destroy his own kitchen, and Atsumu indignant at being accused of destroying kitchens in general.

             “It was a bit of a mess for a while, but they cleaned it up for me,” you answered easily, completely ignoring the pout sent your way from Atsumu and the betrayal on the face of your boyfriend for outing them to their mom.

             “Well there’s that at least,” she conceded with a put-upon sigh, “Did ya save any of the cookies fer yerself darlin’.”

             You grinned at her and stood, retrieving your own nicely decorated cookies from where you’d hid them earlier to show them off to her, “I did kaa-san, these ones are for me, and for the holiday party in a couple days.”

             “Yer such a good girl,” she praised with a proud smile, “It’s no wonder yer my favorite child.”

             “Oy!” both twins protested, clearly indignant, though Osamu looked torn between indignation and pride. Still she completely ignored them with the ease of long practice.

             “I think it’s obvious who the winner is dears, hers are much better than either of yers,” their mother proclaimed, her word clearly final, making the twins sulk.

             “How did ya know somethin’ went wrong with ours anyway?” Atsumu whined, taking his own cookie from the plate and shoving it into his mouth rather mutinously.

             “I’m well aware neither of ya have much in the way of artistic skills,” their mother informed him with a put-upon sigh, “But that was bad even for the two of ya. Besides I’m yer kaa-san, it’s my job ta’ know.”

             You giggled at that, well aware that it was the truth. Osamu could make a very pretty plate of food when he wanted to, but only when he was copying someone else. He didn’t seem to have a single original bone in his body when it came to design or aesthetics even if some of the recipes he came up with were absolutely inspired. Atsumu also could pull off beautiful movements, and plays in volleyball that were enough to impress the most seasoned of professionals. However, you’d seen him attempt to color before and the man could barely keep within the lines. There was no doubt the twins were talented, but artistic they were most certainly not.

             With the cookie judgment out of the way, the rest of the conversation was nice and casual. The family was actually due to meet up in a few days, and you were looking forward to it. The Miyas had treated you like family from the very first time Osamu had brought you home, welcoming you with open arms, and you never failed to feel included and loved when they had their gatherings.

             It didn’t hurt that your boyfriend never failed to keep an arm around you the entire time. The affectionate gesture garnered only approval from his relatives, even as it reassured you of his presence at your side.

             By the time you’d finished up your conversation with the twins’ mother it was fairly late, and just as you’d expected the snow was still coming down rather heavily. Atsumu had made one, incredibly half-hearted attempt to leave, and Osamu one even less fervent attempt to push him out the door. Attempts that your fervent insistence he stay in the guest room, one that was basically his anyway, easily overrode.

             The three of you chatted for a while longer, but eventually the long day caught up with your boyfriend. Atsumu teased him a bit about going to bed early like an old man, but considering he was yawning just as badly at that point, he didn’t really have a leg to stand on. You’d ushered both of them off to bed, following Osamu into your shared bedroom. The two of you had your night time routine down pat by now, easily working around one another to get ready for bed.

             You’d just settled down on the side you’d claimed for yourself when you were gently tugged forward, your boyfriend pulling you into his arms. You went without a fuss, wrapping your arms around him and burying your face in his chest, breathing in his familiar comforting scent.

             “Thanks for today,” you told him, lifting your face so you could look him in the eye. You were more than a bit sleepy after all the activity from the day, but you really wanted to tell him this before you let yourself fall asleep, “For sending Atsumu to cheer me up, for distracting me and making me smile.”

             You were well aware that both twins had played up their antics a bit for you today. Yes, they bickered, but it had been a bit over the top even for them. It was only as you’d been talking to their mother that you realized how well they’d distracted you from the glum mood you’d been in, not just earlier that day but for a while now as things had begun to weigh on you. You’d thought you’d hidden it well, but apparently your boyfriend knew you too well for that and had gone out of his way to help cheer you up, even dragging his brother into it.

             “I’m the one who should be thankin’ you,” he pointed out gently brushing his fingers over your cheek, tucking a stray lock of hair behind your ear, “Fer puttin’ up with his whiney ass, especially since he destroyed our kitchen twice.”

             There was a tenderness in his face and voice that belayed his words as he casually brushed off your thanks, one that let you know he knew just how much it had meant to you, and that he was just pleased it had worked. He’d always said he didn’t need thanks for being there for you, for cheering you up when you were down, or holding you when you needed it, and it seemed he was determined to stand by those words.

             “He was sweet,” you protested a bit on his behalf, accepting the gentle redirection with grace and giggling a bit at the skeptical look he gave you for that assertion, “Besides it was partly your fault the kitchen got destroyed a second time.”

             “Keep talkin’ like that and I’m gonna start ta think ya prefer him over me,” he grumbled at you a slight pout on his lips, one that you were quick to press a smacking kiss to, your over dramatics making him smile.

             “You know you’re my favorite Miya twin, ‘Samu,” you told him earnestly, gently brushing his dark hair back from his forehead and meeting his eyes, hoping he could see the honesty in your own, “Always and forever.”

             “If ya say it like that sweetheart, then I guess I’ve got no choice but ta believe ya,” he told you, a faint smile tugging his lips upwards, the soft look he reserved just for you on his face, “Cause always and fer ever is just exactly what I’m after with ya.”

             “Good,” you told him, nuzzling your nose against his, and smiling into the soft kiss he pressed to your willing mouth, “that’s all I want, for this Christmas and for every Christmas to come.”

             “Ya’ve got me sweetheart,” he assured you, his voice warm and filled with promise.

             “I love you, ‘Samu,” you murmured to him tiredly, unable to help the yawn that took you over. You were utterly exhausted.

             “I love ya too sweetness,” he affirmed fervently, gently tucking you into his chest and settling the two of you comfortably into the bed, “sleep well.”

             You hummed in agreement, unaware that as you fell asleep his eyes were locked on the bedside table, quietly contemplating the future and the small precious box he’d hidden in there earlier, where it would be safe from your prying eyes. He’d thought he’d had the perfect moment earlier when you’d asked why he’d called the new Tokyo branch ‘ours’ instead of his, but then ‘Tsumu had interrupted.

             That was alright though. He had time. Time to figure out just what he wanted to say, and time to ensure you really truly understood how much you meant to him. You’d said always and forever, and he intended to hold up his end of the bargain, for this Christmas and every Christmas to come.

[whittakerjodie]

The Carriage Ride (13th Doctor X Reader)

For: The wonderful Jenny, @myghostmonument​ , as part of the secret Santa exchange for the Thirsting For Thirteen server. 

Words: 2.4k

A/N: Happy secret Santa, Jenny! I am so glad to know you and have the privilege of writing a piece for you <3 I hope that you enjoy this and the funny little alien names! 

“Wish we could’ve arrived with the first snowfall,” The Doctor said sadly. 

The two of you had decided to take a solo trip together. Yaz was feeling a bit tired and needed to see her sister for a bit. There was an opportunity for you, too, to take a small break on Earth. But the idea of spending time with the Doctor one-on-one was much more appealing than the pulls of daily life.

“I think it’s alright, still,” You said, defending your current scenario. The planet where you’d landed was still absolutely stunning. Even with a couple inches of snow covering most features, it was easy to appreciate that which you could see. The sky was a light lavender, darkest in the areas where there were clouds. Delicate flecks of snow fluttered to the ground, adding to the previously built layers.

It was beautiful, and you were happy to be there. The Doctor had explained the planet and it’s fun little backstory on the ride over, but truthfully, you’d not been paying attention. You knew it was Christmas, or at the very least a Christmas-adjacent holiday for the locals. The aesthetic certainly fit the bill, something you were sure was what persuaded the Doctor to bring you there.

“Yeah?” the Doctor asked, seeking a little extra validation. You nodded, giving it to her easily. She certainly deserved it, after the tough time you’d all had recently. “Well, good. There’s tons to do here. Hot cocoa- or, something that tastes like it at least. Sledding, carriage rides…”

“Oooh, like a horse drawn carriage?” You asked. The Doctor nodded. She stepped closer to you, linking her arm through yours as she led you towards an unknown destination.

“Not horse drawn, qauwukdeen drawn!” she said cheerfully. You scoffed.

“Say that five times fast.” When the Doctor opened her mouth, you clarified: “not actually, just a funny name. So what do they look like.”

“Like horses.” The Doctor replied bluntly. You laughed.

“So, just horses with a funny name then. Interesting.” 

Despite their format matching that of an Earth horse, the creatures still deviated in appearance. It’s mane seemed to be a collage of differently colored tentacles, all twisting and flowing with a mind of their own, without consideration for the wind. It was beautiful, like watching a rainbow solidify and dance. It’s hair was a mint green, mixing nicely with the snow it was walking through. There was only one per carriage, but the Doctor explained that the qauwukdeen were born with an immense strength. Pulling a carriage solo would be the equivalent of a feather for the creature.

It was a few minutes wait so that the qauwukdeen could eat a nice meal, but you didn’t mind. The Doctor's arm was still linked with yours, which was a welcomed, warm presence. Other couples smiled at you as they passed on their way to other festivities. Your face warmed then, too. Other couples. Implying that you and the Doctor were one.

Eventually, it was your turn to go on the carriage ride. You winced when you saw how big the step up was. Luckily, the Doctor was more than willing to help. Standing behind you, she gently set both of her hands on your waist. You jumped a little at the blazing hot, unexpected contact. The Doctor didn’t seem to notice your blip. If she did, she only used it to her advantage to successfully lift you up into the carriage.

Feeling bold and as if you should return the favor, you offered your hand to the timelord once you were in your seat. She accepted it with a wide grin, leaving her hand in yours once she was able to pull herself up. The two of you sat comfortably in the carriage, and it began to pull you off into the luscious, thick forest. It was rather dark, but the moonlight reflected on the snow to provide enough visibility. You gasped as the qauwukdeen pulled you farther and farther away from the town, giving you a tour of the incredible mountain passes that surrounded it. The landscape was beyond incredible. The Doctor was a little bit more relaxed, being accustomed to alien scenery.

Unfortunately, the relaxation didn’t last long. Almost a half an hour into the ride, you suddenly felt tense. By that point, you’d naturally gravitated towards the Doctor and were leaning your weight into her. Because of this, she could feel your tension. She pulled back, frowning. “What’s wrong?” She asked. You shrugged, looking at the scenery around you. Everything just suddenly seemed a little darker, a little colder. Interestingly enough, the qauwukdeen seemed to share your feelings. It slowed it’s pace ever so slightly. The decrease in footfall made it easier for you to pick up on the new movements. Something was coming out of the forest, towards you.

Even your high nerves paled in comparison to those of the qauwukdeen, which began to buck and cry out, fighting to get away from whatever mysterious creature was approaching. Unfortunately, it was partially attached to the carriage. While it attempted escape, it took you with it, throwing you into a sequence of movements that could only be described as chaos.

Your stomach swung in time with the carriage as you were thrown from side to side, the qauwukdeen taking off at a breakneck pace. The Doctor tried to grab onto you to stabilize both of your movements, but it was no use. The carriage, in the midst of moving so chaotically, suddenly collided with one of the many thick trees of the forest. You let out a loud yelp as you were tossed from your seat into the snow. It was a soft landing, thankfully, but the cold was jarring nonetheless.

You spat the snow out of your mouth with a disgusted groan, shifting your wait so that you were sitting upward. Unfortunately, the movement seemed to connect something in your body and you were suddenly aware of an intense pain in your foot. Hissing, you tried to bring it closer as some form of comfort to yourself. It did nothing to ease the pain.

You could hear more footsteps on snow, drawing closer, and were very happy to note that it was the Doctor coming towards you. Her face was contorted with concern, snow falling off of her as she ran to meet you on the ground.

“Alright?” She asked, brushing some of the snow off you. As the pain began to spread, you shook your head quickly. The Doctor carefully inspected your foot with a deep frown. “Not broken, thankfully, but it went through quite a bit in the crash.”

“What about you?” You asked. Then, you gasped when your eyes fell on a large mark on her face. “Amazing, actually, considering. Don’t worry about the face, just the qauwukdeen panicking a little. They’re alright, more worried about getting home on time for a visit with their son. You mind if I pick you up?”

“Pick…” You trailed off, cheeks warming hot enough to melt the snowflakes resting on them. She was only offering because of your foot, you told yourself. Shakily, you answered “Sure.”

The Doctor awkwardly eased her arms underneath your body, one supporting your back and the other your legs. As she pulled you both upward, you found yourself pressed tightly against her. She seemingly took little note of the close proximity, carrying you back over to the site of the crash. You gasped, a short cloud of breath breaking through the cold winter air. The carriage was in ruins; the qauwukdeen was staring down at the splintered wood, uninjured.

“No chance of fixing the carriage I reckon” The Doctor said. Your eyes widened; You had felt the words vibrate in her chest as they moved through the air. It was a feeling you loved and tucked away in your mind to cherish later. “We’ll have to hitch a ride back on Justine, and I can pay for the damages when we get there”

By now, the pair of you were right next to the creature, who was apparently known as “Justine?”

“Yup, that's their name! Don’t worry about not knowing it, they say they only give it out to the “cool” customers. Guess we fall under that criteria!” You chuckled lightly and reached out to pet Justine's incredible mane, shivering at the odd sensation as the tentacle-like strands ran through your fingers. Justine made an appreciative noise, and the Doctor smiled down at you.

“Are you comfortable sitting in the back? That way I can have better control. You can hang on to me if you need.”

“Yeah, that’s fine” The Doctor, already holding you up, used it to her advantage and lifted you onto Justine’s back easily. There was a slight strain on your foot still, but not enough for it to be unbearable. Still, when you winced, the Doctor paused and stared for a good long moment. You smiled a little to let her know she didn’t have to worry, and she unfroze. It was easy enough to believe that the Doctor had previous riding experience, as she easily climbed utop Justine and grasped her reins.

Your hands stayed down by your side, despite the Doctor’s offer to hang on to her. It felt a little too intimate, too close. Because you weren’t hanging on, the Doctor took things easy and Justine moved slowly back towards town. It was comfortable, and gave you enough time to appreciate the scenery even more. However, due to the speed, it was taking a lot longer to get back into town. The later into the night it got, the heavier your eyelids grew and the more effort it took to hold up your body.

After your third loud yawn, the Doctor reached back and calmly grasped your arms, leading them to rest around her waist. It drew your entire body closer to her, until your full weight relied on her strong figure. The warmth that greeted you as your head naturally tucked into the crook of her neck was unparalleled. Although the entire situation was designed to pull you into rest, it instead made you awaken further. As Justine picked up a little speed, you dedicated your time to memorizing the contour of your shape against hers.

Parting with Justine was a little bittersweet, but there was no time for goodbyes. According to the Doctor, they were 10 minutes late to go see their son. The Doctor apologized, and the qauwukdeen ran off as soon as their gear was removed. Other qauwukdeen’s followed as the carriage rides ended for the night. The Doctor paid for the damages to the carriage, despite the owners reassurances. Then, she turned back to you. For the last few minutes, you’d been sitting on one of the town's benches, waiting for business to wrap up.

“You sit tight, yeah? I’ll bring the TARDIS ‘round” You nodded happily, watching her disappear. Your body was still buzzing from the contact, every molecule asking whether there was more to come. Truthfully, you didn’t know. Certainly, things felt a little close the whole night, but there was still a giant chasm to cross. Telling anyone that you loved them was hard, but it was exponentially worse when that certain someone was an immortal time travelling alien that seemed to be operating on a different plane of existence at all times.

Just when you thought you were resolved to stay silent forever, the familiar Vwhorp, Vwhorp sounded. Blue walls began to appear around you. It was home, now. And the best feature of that home was standing just ahead of you, finishing up her work at the console. The lights of the TARDIS casted a warm glow over her head, and the cold you’d faced throughout the day was suddenly forgotten entirely. There was simply no way to keep silent. At least not entirely.

The Doctor helped you off the bench, not caring that she had stolen it from the quaint little town. “Feeling better dear?”

“Yeah, a lot better” Your blood rushed a little as the two of you casually moved past the word dear.

After telling her you were more awake then before, the Doctor had brought you to the TARDIS library for some more relaxation. Once you were settled on the couch she created a large fire, shutting out any cold that might remain. Then, she took a seat next to you. You stared at her for a moment, before your eyes drifted to her hand, which rested against her thigh.

She perked up a little, considering her hand in yours. “Doctor,” You murmured. “You know that I appreciate you, don’t you?”

Her eyes brightened, and she set her other hand on top of your conjoined ones, monopolizing the gesture. “I appreciate you too, Y/N. Where’s this coming from?”

“Doesn’t come from anywhere or- well, maybe it just comes from everywhere” You admitted. Be brave, you whispered in your head. “All of these adventures… I love it. I love-”

“I love you too” The Doctor broke through your courageous admittance. Her eyes widened a little, then a lot. “Was that not-”

Her hands began to slip away from yours, and you grasped them even tighter. “Doctor! You love me?”

You both stared at one another, neither sure of what to say. The Doctor seemed more shocked then you, like she hadn’t been planning her words like you had. Her lifetimes of skills kicked in, though, as she pulled your hand up to her mouth and kissed the back of it gently.

“I do love you,” She whispered softly, caressing the spot where she’d left a kiss with her thumb. “If that’s alright, I mean.”

“Of course it’s alright, “ You laughed breathlessly. “Doctor, I love you too.”

“Oh, Y/N,” She sighed. “You don’t know what it means for me to hear that.”

You grinned, moving forward to embrace her in full. She accepted the hug, her head nestling against your shoulder.

“You know, earlier, when you were holding on to me… I kept wondering if I’d ever get a chance to hold you like that” Her arms wrapped around you a little tighter, like she was afraid you’d slip away if she didn’t keep you secured. “Now I know what it feels like.”

She said it so relieved, like she’d been waiting centuries, eons, just to have you there in her arms. The two of you leaned your full weight into one another, burying yourselves in the knowledge that you both felt the same: warm, safe, and most importantly, loved.

[lisinfleur]

Santa’s Roots

The request:

Author’s Notes | Some historians claim that Santa Claus’ figure was inspired by Odin. What if it was true? For a certain Modern Viking, it is! Inspired by Harbard’s interaction with young Ivar in the series. I hope you’ll like it! Universe | Vikings Pairing | Ivar x Reader Info | Modern AU, made for Patron’s Holiday Event Words | 1092 ⁑ Warnings: Religious re-readings, unconfirmed comparisons, and sources.

"Why do we have to make this stupid trip?"

Of course, he was annoyed. Even more, because he was planning a trip with Y/N to spend the Christian Christmas in a tropical country enjoying the heat; and now he was forced to drag his limp pained leg through the snow of the Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi.

Yeah. Lapland.

In the fucking FREEZING FINLAND!

"It's Yule and Christmas and no matter how you look at it, Ivar, it's a family holiday and we'll spend it together."

He loved his beautiful mother, but sometimes that need she had for them to be all together all the time was suffocating. After growing older, he was starting to understand his father's constant trips and to wish Aslaug would do something like fulfilling Sigurd's emptiness and his lack of motherly attention.

But this time, not even Sigurd had escaped that torture. And for the first time, they were both grumpy and moody at the same time.

At least, Y/N had come with him. Sigurd's girl was waiting for him with her family at the beach they had planned to go to together and that trip had forced him to delay. Ubbe as well was grumpy: dating Björn's ex-wife, he saw his hopes to send Torvi's children with Björn that year going down the drain. After all, what kid would want to exchange Santa Claus' village for a trip to the boring Mediterranean with daddy's brand-new chick?

Hvitserk was the only one having fun along with Y/N and the children - the bastard was finding every source of food, candies, and delights through their ways, putting so many smiles on Y/N's face that Ivar was asking all the gods to get his brother fat at the end of that cursed trip. Or at least some good, long and intense diarrhea, so he would have something to laugh at in the middle of all that red, black, gold, and white mess.

"Sorry!" A gods damn dwarf?

Gnome?

Grinch... No. Elf! A gods damn elf stumbled on his crutch, almost taking Ivar's balance, forcing him to stop his already slow steps to straighten the damn titanium braces under the trousers with a loud grunt of anger.

Because of course, his day wasn't doomed enough. No. The pain of that cold shitty place wasn't enough. Nor the elves everywhere, nor the repetitive music, nor the children's noises, fake gift boxes, bells... Not even the irritant bells weren't enough! Someone had to fucking misplace his braces to get him left behind by his whole family...

Kinda his fault: Ivar had walked slower than them all the whole time, trying to get himself distant and leave clear he wasn't happy. Even Y/N had started walking with Hvitserk since his mood was so terrible that not even her was able to hold it this time. He couldn't blame them for avoiding his presence enough not to notice he had to stop...

But where were they after all?

They wouldn't just disappear like that in a matter of minutes.

Ivar had just lowered himself for a moment to straighten the braces... How come they had managed to disappear in the middle of that fucking colored place?

For a moment, Ivar's heart filled with a cold sensation that spread all over this spine. He searched his pockets. Of course, his cellphone hadn't a single bar of signal in that place. His blues ran around searching for his brothers, the noisy children, his mom, Y/N.

And then it was when he realized...

There was no one to be seen.

The noisy children had gone. The elves were gone... Everything was, all of a sudden, silent, except for those bells.

With his crutch, Ivar walked around some steps, trying not to get lost in whatever the fuck was happening around him. But with a few steps forward, as if everything wasn't strange enough, a thick fog started to move around his legs, covering the place, flying ghostly through the gift boxes and colored trees.

Ivar felt the urge to get the heck out of that place. With some effort, he started walking at a quicker pace not observing when the decorations around him started changing from the usual plastic balls and ribbons to colored flowers, painted pine cones, straw animals... His eyes betrayed him, but his ears weren't failing: the bells were becoming higher. And higher...

"I don't know what kind of stupid prank is this! But I don't like it! I didn't pay for this package! I want this to stop right now!" he yelled.

Just to almost lose his balance once again when a horse exhaled behind his back, forcing him to turn around in a quick movement that cost him a grunt of pain, bending Ivar's body over itself when his hand touched the knee of his right leg. The braces had made a loud sound indicating it was a forced movement and now his knee was horribly aching once again.

However, the pain was something usual for him. Unusual was to see Santa Claus not dressed in the traditional red clothes... Unusual was to watch the old man coming down from a horse... Wait. How many legs did that fucking horse have?

And how the fuck did he have a horse? Shouldn't it be reindeers?

And a sled?

"What in..." Ivar started, swallowing dry and lifting his face to see the man in front of him was smiling.

A visible and open smile in the middle of the big and voluminous white beard covering his jaw and cascading down to his belly.

"Hello, Ivar," the man said with a surprisingly cozy voice, causing Ivar's face to twist in a frown of pure surprise, full of wrinkles on his forehead that earned one of the usual laughs from the white-bearded man.

"What the heck?" Ivar said, straightening himself even with pain on his leg. "Who told you my name? And why the fuck are we alone in this place?"

The man continued calm and smiley despite Ivar's clear annoyance.

"I know many names, boy. And I know you, since you were, in fact, a boy," the man said, looking down to Ivar's legs. "They still ache a lot, I can see."

Ivar's frown gained two more wrinkles on his forehead.

"What? Where do you know me? Who are you, man?" he asked, fully annoyed by what he was sure was a ridiculous prank his mother had paid for him to fall on, in the hope he would, somehow, like that trip into the middle of the freezing nowhere.

But the man just laughed once again, touching Ivar with a gentle pat that soon became a heavy hand weighing on Ivar's shoulder, forcing his whole attention to detail he wasn't able to notice before but now was clear like crystal in front of his eyes.

That man... That strange Santa Claus...

He clearly didn't have one of his eyes.

Ivar's blues were somehow attracted into the emptiness of that missing eye. And he swore he could hear the bells stopping, and crows cawing. The fog became stronger, but Ivar couldn't stop looking at that empty hole on that man's face until something formed into the dark.

Something that made Ivar's blues large when the voice of that man sounded once again, rumbling into Ivar's chest like a clap of thunder.

"I know everyone that was and everyone that will be. I'm the one who was and remains. And after you're gone, I'll still be here, until the wolf comes to swallow me whole. But before you go, I can still grant you a gift, son. Let us say you were good this year," the old man joked.

His words filling Ivar's ears while his eyes were locked at the image into that man's empty eye-hole.

"Yggdrasil..." Ivar mumbled.

And his eyes blinked, seeing the whole man once again in front of him, smiling.

"Odin?" he asked.

Receiving nothing but a new pat on his shoulder and once again, the traditional giggle that came along the whole noisy environment around, all at once invading Ivar's ears like a wave of noise and mess once again.

"Ho ho ho... Merry Christmas!"

Standing in front of him was nothing but an actor, fully dressed like the old Santa. Nothing different from the usual along with the fake gift boxes and all the rest Ivar could see when he turned his head, confused, searching for that whole illusion he was thrown into one second ago.

Was that a delirium? Was that somehow real?

"What's wrong, Ivar?" Y/N's voice woke him up and called his attention causing Ivar to once again turn himself too quick to look at her.

Another clang from his braces. Ivar waited for the wave of pain...

But it never came.

"Are your legs ok? Are you in pain, love?" she asked, fully worried.

But Ivar looked shocked down to his legs, feeling nothing. Absolutely no pain. Like one of his best-bones' days...

The days he used to say were gifts from the gods into his life.

"I... I... I think I... I'm fine I just... For a moment..." Ivar gasped with the words.

His eyes were still searching around for that image so vivid of Odin he had seen. He was sure he had seen! It was real!

And he took his pain away for a day...

"You see? The cold is starting to freeze Ivar's brain! Can we go home or at least somewhere warm now?" Sigurd complained.

The kids coming closer to Ubbe with their hands full of candy canes from Hvitserk's bag.

Everyone was so close... They didn't have disappeared.

But Ivar was sure he was the only one who saw that man.

"Are you ok, Ivar?" Y/N asked again and Ivar finally focused his eyes on her.

"I am. I'm just... I think I just need some warm chocolate and we can stay a little longer... For the kids, I mean."

"What?" Sigurd complained immediately. "See? Frozen brains!" he said, pointing Ivar's head.

But Ivar just approached Y/N's, speaking low, almost like a secret.

"Do you believe this thing about... Santa and Odin... Being the same person and stuff?" he asked, causing Y/N to smile.

"Oh, this is why you're so bothered, isn't it? Babe, don't be like this, uh? Some historians say that our Santa is somehow inspired by Odin with his eight-legged horse, granting gifts to his followers and knowing who was acting bad or good along his way. If it makes you feel more comfortable then think about this place as Odin's village!" she joked.

Getting a small curve from Ivar's lips.

"Come, let's get you that hot chocolate, uh?" she said, enlacing his arm with her own and starting to walk at his pace towards the coffee shop Hvitserk was already entering for what? The third time?

Ivar's eyes looked back at that man dressed as Santa Claus, complimenting everyone. His steps showing him his legs weren't aching at all anymore. Whoever it was, Santa Claus, Odin... It had really granted him a gift for that day.

The Santa turned looking at him once again.

And Ivar could swear that one-eyed man winked at him before it was nothing but the actor once again.

"Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!" the man yelled.

Santa Claus' Village... Odin's place... It wasn't that bad to make that trip after all.

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[mamabearcatfanfics]

A little Christmas Elf told me there was a delay on @lavendertwilight89‘s IYBC Secret Santa gift, so I decided to write just a little something. She already has the whole fic, but I’ll be releasing it here on tumblr in two parts. Just a little something soft and sweet, partially inspired by something that happened between myself and my husband when we were only just together and still working each other out, and also by one of her chosen prompts. So, without further ado, here’s Part One of Song and Dance Man.

Or read the entire story on AO3

🎵

Inuyasha walked out of his small kitchen, carrying a large mug of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows and a plate of chocolate chip cookies on a tray. He put it down on the coffee table in front of his girlfriend, stooping to drop a kiss on the top of her head, then snorted as she tried to nudge him aside so she could see the show she was currently watching. He didn’t know which one it was – they all seemed to blend into one another, and he did his best to block out the singing. Why was there always singing?

“Another one?” he teased, blocking her view even more. “You mean you haven’t watched every single musical on Netflix already? What’s this one called?”

“Singing in the Rain”, Kagome said testily. “And it doesn’t matter how many times I watch them, they make me feel better”, she said, trying to lean sideways. “C’mon, Inuyasha, move!”

Finally relenting at the pouting face looking up at him, he moved out of the way.

“Alright little storm cloud, you win.”

Kagome huffed at him, and he chuckled at her as he walked over to his desk, and picked up his headphones, grateful that the swelling crescendo of violins would soon be drowned out by the much more soothing sounds of screaming and gunfire from his paused game. He glanced back over to the TV as he sat down in front of his monitor.

“That guy looks constipated”, he commented. “How do you even watch this tripe?”

Kagome turned to glare at him over the back of the sofa, a cushion hugged to her stomach to help keep the hot water bottle in place.

“This is not tripe, and Don isn’t constipated!” she hissed. “He’s feeling! He’s in love with Kathy, but he has to act like he’s in love with Lina on screen”.

“That doesn’t mean he needs to torture me by singing and dancing about it”, Inuyasha muttered. “How are you meant to take any of this seriously, when they suddenly just burst into song about their innermost feelings? It’s utterly ridiculous. I don’t get how you can love musicals so much.”

“Is that what you really think?” she said quietly, the tone of her voice sounding brittle in comparison to the cheerful music playing in the background.

Inuyasha lowered his headphones, ears suddenly twitching with trepidation. He wasn’t always the best at reading a room, but he could definitely feel the tension in this one.

Their relationship was only new, but already Kagome seemed like a permanent fixture in his life. She was bubbly and kind, her tiny frame usually draped in the brightest coloured clothing she could find, and she always seemed to be singing or laughing. She reminded him sometimes of a sweet little canary, his own bright eyed and inquisitive songbird, with her happy go lucky mentality and readiness to try new things. She was everything he wasn’t.

They’d only met by chance, both of them stuck waiting in the Emergency Room at the local hospital, him waiting for his friend Miroku to get patched up after coming off his bike, and her waiting to get her wrist x-rayed after an accident with a set at the theatre where she worked. They’d chatted, or rather Kagome had, and he’d watched her, somehow mesmerised by this tiny human that was unruffled by his obviously hanyou features.

When Sango had appeared to pick up her bruised and scraped boyfriend, he’d decided to stay with Kagome, not liking the idea of leaving her there to wait all alone. Eventually she’d been x-rayed, poked and prodded, with Inuyasha tagging along at her request, finally triumphantly emerging from the hospital with her wrist strapped for a sprain. By then, the idea of her travelling home alone on public transport in the dark was abhorrent to him, so he’d driven her home. Somehow, she’d managed to get his number from him, and added herself into the paltry number of contacts on his phone.

When she’d texted a few days later to invite him out for a drink to say thank you, to his own surprise he’d eagerly accepted, and before he’d known it, they were inseparable. Early morning texts and late night phone conversations progressed to in person talks and late night kisses, until one night instead of accepting his reluctant good night, she’d launched herself at him and asked him to stay and take her to bed.

He’d hardly been able to look Kagome’s flatmate Shiori in the eye the next morning at breakfast, because they hadn’t exactly been discreet with the noise levels, with Kagome delighted to discover that youkai stamina extended to the bedroom. Shiori had teasingly remarked that his second task as Kagome’s boyfriend should be to buy her flatmate some decent earplugs. Kagome had found it hilarious, him, not so much.

Kagome now had two drawers in his dresser for clothes, a makeup bag and toothbrush in his bathroom, and an extra hook on the back of his door for her jacket. She hardly ever slept at her apartment now, only going back to do washing and visit Shiori.

It still shook him that Kagome actually cared for him, showed an interest in what he did. And the sex. They were starting to ease off a little now, but for the first few weeks, they were at it like rabbits, christening every room in his apartment, nearly every flat surface, and even some of the vertical ones. The sex was fucking amazing; she was so passionate, so eager, so utterly beautiful. It was like going from starvation rations to an all you could eat buffet, and he took full advantage of their mutual eagerness to explore each other’s bodies. He didn’t think he’d ever get enough of her.

But their relationship wasn’t just built just on that. They laughed with each other, teased each other, helped each other. He hardly knew the person he was becoming since he’d met Kagome, but the change was…good.

Even though it was early in the relationship, she’d already told him she loved him. At three months, this was the longest time he’d ever been with anyone and even though he was pretty sure he loved her too, he wasn’t quite comfortable saying that to her out loud yet. She understood. At least he’d done his best to try and show her how he felt, and she seemed happy with that. Miroku and Sango loved her too, and she’d slotted into their lives like she’d always been there. He’d never felt so happy.

But right now, the look she was giving him was not a happy one. She seemed almost on the verge of tears. Kagome had warned him early on that she did get emotional just before her period and that some months were worse than others. He’d felt a little embarrassed by her candid remark, never having been in a relationship long enough for that kind of information to be shared. But so far everything had been okay.

Today hadn’t been great though. She had been out of sorts ever since she’d woken up this morning, feeling exhausted, achy and irritable, and he’d done his best to not take anything she said to heart and try and do little things to comfort her, knowing it wasn’t really her talking but her hormones. She’d smelt a little different, even though she wasn’t bleeding yet, but nothing concerning.

But right now, she was beginning to worry him – her heart rate was speeding up and her scent hinted at extreme agitation, similar to a fight or flight response. This was new. Should he remind her that she’d told him she got emotional just before her period and that she needed to calm down? Some deep seated sense of self-preservation made him realise that wasn’t a good idea.  

“Kagome”, he said uncertainly, trying to work out what the safest approach was, not wanting to upset her even more. “Are you okay?”

“What if we’ve been fooling ourselves Inuyasha.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, look at us,” she said, gesturing from Inuyasha’s faded Soundgarden t-shirt and ripped black jeans to her heart patterned leggings and hot pink t-shirt which proudly proclaimed she was Fuelled by Theatre and Coffee. “We couldn’t be more different.”

“But”, spluttered Inuyasha, his heart suddenly beating faster at the dangerous direction the conversation was taking. “Different is good! Yes, we like different things, but that shouldn’t matter!” Kagome’s bottom lip quivered.

“It might not matter tomorrow, or next week, or the week after that, but sooner or later, it would. That’s what you said last night.” Her breathing was picking up now, ragged gasps with a scent of tears.

“What?!”

“You said it’s important to find someone who shares your goals and your interests and fits into your life.”

“Kagome, I was talking about my asshole brother, and how he and Kagura aren’t on the same page about having kids! I wasn’t talking about us!”

“You just said musicals are utterly ridiculous”, she burst out, standing suddenly and letting the cushion and hot water bottle fall to the floor with a sad flop. “And just in case you’ve forgotten Inuyasha, I am a stage manager for a theatre company. Which means by default that you think I’m ridiculous.” A fat tear rolled down her cheek, quickly followed by another, and her distress was the only thing stopping him from snarling that the only thing ridiculous was this conversation. This wasn’t like her at all, and he needed to keep calm.

“Hey, hey, c’mon, I never meant that”, said Inuyasha softly as he stood, trying his best to de-escalate the situation. “I know your job is important to you, and just how much you love it.” Kagome continued on as if she hadn’t heard him, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“You’ve never once shown an interest in anything that I’ve done at work. Never come to any of the shows I’ve been involved in”, she sniffed, and Inuyasha’s heart sank, made heavy with sudden guilt.

That was true. Kagome had listened to him rant about his work as a software test analyst, had shown interest in the games he played when he relaxed, had even made a WOW character and tried going on a raid with him when it was clearly not her thing. But she’d thrown herself into it, just like everything else she did, laughing at herself when she made mistakes, just happy to spend time with him sharing something he loved. He hadn’t done anything like that for her, hadn’t even noticed. That needed to change.

Kagome began gathering her things in a haphazard fashion, stuffing them in her backpack.

“Baby, don’t”, he said, trying to reach out to hug her. “Don’t leave when you’re upset. I promise we’re going to be better – I’m going to get better. I’m still learning how to be good at this. Please?”

She dodged his outstretched arms. “Don’t baby me”, she hissed, her tone venomous. “Sometimes I wonder if you’re even trying to get to know me. Do you even care at all? Or are you just in this for the sex?”

Inuyasha looked stricken. “Kagome…” His arms dropped to his sides.

Her eyes widened at his broken expression, her hands shaking as she reached tentatively towards him, then pulled herself back.

“I... I can’t do this right now”, she sobbed, pushing herself away. “I’m going home!”

And then the door slammed, and Inuyasha was left standing in the middle of his apartment, the untouched plate of cookies, cooling hot chocolate and water bottle the only evidence that Kagome had been there.

A man danced happily on his TV in the background, splashing around in rain puddles like it was the best thing ever. He plonked himself down on his sofa and picked up the cushion that Kagome had been hugging only moments before, burying his nose in it.

“What the fuck?” he whispered into the pillow. “What the actual fuck?!”

He didn’t know how serious this was, but it felt bad. She’d only been gone for seconds and already his life felt emptier. He felt sick, like he was going to vomit. He needed to fix it and fast. Because there was no way that he was going to lose Kagome over something like this.

Part Two

[eyebrowluv]

Just a Little Eruri Drabble (T):

“This is ridiculous,” Levi complained as the male stripper placed a Santa hat on Levi’s head and wiggled his butt in Levi’s face.

The man was tall and blond and had an amazing body stuffed in a red velvet thong with white puffs of fur along the waistband. Regardless of the undeniable perfection of the ass twerking in front of his nose, Levi was more than a little agitated. Santa Baby echoed through the bar, and Levi shot Petra a glare.

She smiled brightly in response.

“I thought we were here to meet Hange’s friend, Erwin?”

“We are. He’s working right now,” Petra said with a wink.

“No,” Levi choked.

Hange had been trying to set Levi up with a different guy almost every week ever since Levi’s last relationship went south. He had managed to shut them down at every turn. But this time, there was something in the way Hange offered to introduce him to an old friend, Erwin, that had Levi hesitantly agreeing. Of course when he agreed, he hadn’t expected this.

Not that he had a problem with the fact that the man was a stripper. He just would have rather met the man before becoming intimately acquainted with the vaguely heart-shaped freckle on his left ass cheek. That wasn’t too much to ask, right?

As the blond sauntered back to the stage, Levi stood and announced, “I’m getting a drink.”

“Bring me back a rum and soda,” Petra called, paying more attention to the show than Levi’s hasty retreat.

Levi made his way through the speakeasy-style club to the polished wood bar. The bartender was dressed to the theme of the bar: crisply pressed pinstripe dress shirt, charcoal waistcoat, and fedora pulled low.

“Nice hat,” the man teased as Levi approached the bar.

“Shit,” Levi grumbled, pulling the hat off his head and placing it on the bar.

“You look like you need a drink. Manhattan?” The bartender guessed.

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“Good guess.” The bartender handed him his drink. “How about your lady friend?”

“Rum and soda.”

“Gotcha.” He smiled at Levi as he prepared the drink. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

“Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

“I will, thanks.” Levi couldn’t help but smile at the wink sent his way. He could feel his face flush at the other man’s flirting. However, he was here to meet another man, so Levi made his way back to his table, despite his desire to stay and chat up the handsome bartender.

“Just in time,” Petra said as Levi handed her her drink. “Another show is getting ready to start.”

“Great.”

“Levi, you need to relax. Usually you would be having a good time.”

“Well, you have to admit that this is a very awkward way to meet someone.” Levi gestured at the stage about the same time the blond ripped his pants off, leaving him in nothing but a black thing that barely contained...everything.

“Poor Levi,” Petra cooed, turning back to the show. Her teasing continued for two more performances, until Levi begrudgingly admitted he enjoyed them.

“You look like you could use another drink,” the bartender’s voice came from behind as he reached around Levi to sit another Manhattan down on the table.

“Oh, thank you,” Levi said, surprised and looked up and around at the man.

“Mind if I sit a moment?” The bartender asked as he rounded the table.

Before Levi could answer, the tall blond stripper approached the table and the bartender.

“I’m headed out. Nanaba is here to give a ride. Can’t keep my girl waiting,” he said to the bartender.

“Thanks again Mike. I appreciate you coming and performing tonight. Call me tomorrow. Give Nanaba a hug for me.”

“Will do, Commander. Have a good evening.” The stripper, Mike, winked at Levi and Petra and walked off.

“Erwin, it’s been awhile,” Petra said enthusiastically as she leaned across the table to hug the bartender. She snagged his fedora and announced, “I’m going to go dance.”

“You know you are never getting that hat back, right,” Levi said, trying to calm his racing heart.

“Oh well, looks better on her anyway,” Erwin said, running his fingers through his golden blond hair, trying to neaten it. He looked at Levi and smiled, and Levi finally noticed how very blue his eyes were.

“So, you’re Erwin, Hanji’s friend?”

“Yeah. Sorry about the situation. One of my bartenders called in with a sick kid, and it’s so close to the holidays, that I hated to call anyone in on their day off.”

“You’re Erwin,” Levi repeated.

“Uh, yes? Hange told you that I wanted to meet you, right?” Erwin’s easy confidence seemed to melt away with his question.

“Yeah, they did. But what Hange didn’t mention was your job and what you looked like beyond tall and blond. I have spent the entire night convinced you were that stripper.”

“Oh.” Erwin averted his gaze. “I must be quite the disappointment in comparison. I’m sorry.

“No, not disappointing at all,” Levi insisted, willing those brilliant blue eyes to turn back his way. “Relieved actually.”

“Good,” Erwin replied with a blush. “Mike’s a hard act to follow.”

“Well, you could always show me your naked ass, and let me decide.”

Erwin laughed out loud.

“Maybe on our second date,” Erwin teased. “If there will be a-“

“Let me take you to dinner. We can discuss our second date then,” Levi offered before the other man could second guess himself.

“Sure. When?”

“If you’re done for the evening, how about now?”

“What about Petra?” Erwin asked as he looked around the club.

“She left not long after she stole your hat.”

“I’m really never getting it back, am I?”

“Afraid not.”

“Oh well. It was worth it.” Erwin gave him a sly grin. “So where are we going to eat at this hour?”

“My place. Maybe I can convince you of the merits of a second date in a more intimate setting.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go.”

They stood to leave, and Levi wondered what he could do to repay Hange for setting him up with the sexiest, most charming man he had ever seen. But then Erwin turned and smiled at him, and Levi knew that Hange could wait until tomorrow. He had to convince the man in front of him he was worth more than just two dates.

[monstersandmaw]

Leyil’s Christmas (nsfw)

Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

Hello! Happy Christmas folks! I hope you’re having wonderful days, whether you’re celebrating or not, and I’d like to offer you a little thank you for being such a fabulous bunch of people.

Content: fluff, a chilly and grumpy merman, and some nsfw Wordcount: 2112

Also check out this stunning artwork by the immensely talented @ilustrariane​ of Leyil

( Part One | Part Two (nsfw) )

___

You heard the distress call way before you realised that it was snowing.  

Bolting out of your door into the late morning light, still wearing your pyjamas (because hello? It’s Christmas Day?!) and a long coat, you rushed to the lake shore to find Leyil lying out on the ice, looking like a landed carp, howling miserably at you.  

“What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s so cold,” he whined. His claws scratched and scrabbled pathetically on the thick ice as he stretched out towards you, the tiny circle of his breathing hole visible just behind him.  

“You’re lying on your belly on bare ice, of course it’s cold!” you scolded him. “What did you expect? And I thought your kind hibernated for the winter anyway? I haven’t seen you in weeks.” And you’d missed him too, and all his shy but somehow still sassy humour. He’d recovered well, and had nearly fished the little lake dry while he’d been recuperating, but things had calmed down now that he was healthy again.  

“I… I should be hibernating,” he grumbled, rolling over onto his back and whining. “I just… You were talking about Christmas and snow and you seemed so excited about it…”

Your eyes went wide and you sank your hands onto your hips, astonished. “So you waited up for weeks just to see if the hype was worth it? You’re worse than a kid waiting up for Santa.”

He fixed you with his deep green eyes and shrugged. “I suppose. What’s Santa?”

You ignored his question, a plan already forming in your mind. “Well? Was it worth getting frozen on ice like a market-day catch?”  

“Not so far…”

You rolled your eyes. “You want to come in and warm up?”

He blinked slowly, his third eyelid raking horizontally across his weed-green eyes. “You’d be ok with that?”

With a nod, you sighed. “Stay there. I’ll get the wheelbarrow.”  

He’d been in the wheelbarrow a number of times before, exploring your tiny smallholding as you’d showed him the chickens and how to plant artichokes, but the metal of the barrow would be cold against his back so you nipped inside and flung a lurid, red tartan rug over it and then hurried back to where he lay on the thick ice of the pond.  

“Tell me you’re not actually stuck to it,” you said and he shook his head.  

“’M just cold,” he slurred. His skin was pale as the snow on the ground, and his black hair stood out in stark contrast, sticking pathetically to his scalp and his shoulders. It had grown even longer since you’d rescued him that summer, and somehow it made him more attractive to you. His body had filled out a little after the months of starving homelessness he’d suffered since his shoal had been forcibly moved from the lake, but his frame was still birdlike in its delicacy.  

You’d got the hang of hoisting him up by his armpits into the wheelbarrow by now, and it was never elegant but it worked well enough. His siren’s tail was long, but he grabbed hold of the iridescent fluke and hoiked it out of the way while you wheeled him towards the house.  

“I’ll run you a warm bath if you’d like,” you said. “Now that I’ve got the boiler running reliably, I’ve got more hot water than I know what to do with.”

“Really? Hot water?” he asked, practically wiggling out of the barrow in his excitement at the concept.  

“Keep still, you overgrown eel,” you laughed and he dutifully promised to behave.  

Leaning to one side, he trailed his clawed fingers through the six inches of snow, raking four furrows in the perfect whiteness, and he sighed. “I’ve never really seen snow before,” he said dreamily. “Normally we just sleep at the bottom of the lake until the water warms up enough for us to start hunting again…”

“The novelty wears off after a few days,” you muttered. “I’m fed up with scraping it off the truck so I can drive into town. You’re going to have to haul yourself into the house,” you added as you neared the steps. “I’m not sure I’m strong enough to push the barrow up the steps.”

“That’s alright,” he smiled before slithering out of the barrow like a fresh catch into a soft bank of snow, which made him yelp, but it had to be warmer than the water and the ice back out on his frozen lake. Using his powerful torso, he dragged himself easily up the steps to your little farmstead and you shoved the front door open for him.  

He’d been inside before, and he immediately made for the sofa, curling himself up on it with a luxuriant sigh. It was only as he lay back and opened his eyes again that he spotted all the decorations. “What… What’s this?” he asked, pointing at the tree covered in baubles and glittering cut-glass decorations.

It took a while, but you explained the concept of decorating the house to celebrate the festivities, also showing him what Santa was, and he gasped when he saw the cut-glass mermaid’s tail you’d bought at the market the week before.  

“Let me see it,” he begged, holding out his long-fingered hands until you brought it over to him. He turned it over and over in his hands, grinning dangerously until he finally asked, “Why do you have this?”

You shrugged, embarrassed. “I thought you’d never come indoors in the winter, so I wanted something that would make me think of you while you were asleep in the lake…” you admitted.  

His pale cheeks flushed, the scales darkening in colour on his shoulders too, and you grinned.  

“You like it?”

“Mmm” he hummed, offering it back to you.  

Feeling brave, you leaned down and as you took it from him gently, you left a kiss on his cold cheek. His hands flashed up and grabbed you, drawing you close until you toppled down onto the sofa with him. It took a bit of adjusting, but finally you lay practically on top of the entire length of his body, and he grinned, nipping playfully at your neck. “It’s still strange to me that you have no gills,” he murmured after he’d raked his dangerously sharp teeth over your skin, following the gesture with a broad lick of his tongue. “And your skin is always so salty…”

“Hey,” you complained, but you realised it was probably true in comparison to his.  

“I like it,” he smiled. “And you’re so warm…”

After a while, however, he started to shuffle. “What’s wrong?” you asked.  

“I’m drying out…”  

His fear of drying out again was completely understandable after having spent so much time begging near the chlorinated fountain in town. “Let me run that bath for you…”

His face did something complicated before he hid it behind a smile. “Thank you,” he said.  

“I asked you here,” you said as you stood and headed towards the little bathroom next door. Your farmer’s hut was a very simple shack really, with an open plan living room and kitchen on the ground floor, and a bathroom at one end, and the staircase that led to the rafters on the second floor, where your low bed sat. And that was it.  

Lying back in the tub a while later, Leyil let out a deep groan of pure joy. “This is wonderful,” he said, humming softly. Your ears began to buzz as his music filled your mind, and you remembered then that he was no ordinary merman, but a siren.  

As if he too recalled that, he suddenly stopped, apologising.  

“It’s ok,” you said as you sat on the floor beside him while his tail flopped out at the other end of the old tub. “I know you’re not going to lure me into a stupor and eat me by now.”

He surprised you again by taking up your hand from where it rested on the edge of the bath, and pressing a soft kiss against your knuckles. “Not everyone is so generous to my kind, you know?”

“I know.” Letting your fingertips play along his glacially pale arm, up to his shoulder, you watched as he shivered and then rolled his head back against the curve of the end of the free-standing bathtub.  

“Leyil,” you breathed. “You’re so beautiful…”

His breath hitched visibly and his chest heaved once. Taking that as an encouragement, you worked your way down his white marble torso, playing lightly over the base of the fins at his hips until he whimpered and gripped the rim of the bath in a white-knuckled grasp.  

“You want me to stop?”

“Never!” he gasped, his face flushing swiftly with embarrassment, right down to his prominent collarbones.  

“Never?” you asked playfully and he groaned.  

“You know what I mean…”

You did. You watched as the slit in his tail began to swell slightly, and as you ran your fingers inside the rim of the opening, you discovered a slickness that had nothing to do with the warm water.  

“Ohhhh,” he sighed, and water sloshed over the side onto the tiles and into your lap as he bucked.  

You didn’t stop.  

In a few minutes, his slit began to pulse beneath your touch, and the tip of his pale blue cock began to emerge. Leyil was gasping and moaning, not holding back the power of his voice, and you began to touch yourself in a matching rhythm.  

“Leyil, look at me,” you hissed as he arched his spine powerfully, fins flaring, neck on show as he tipped his head back again with a loud moan.  

Leyil’s eyes rolled open dazedly and he fixed you with an unfocused look. “What?” he murmured. “Oh spirits, look at you…” he added when he took in the sight of you touching yourself. “Let me sing for you? Let me… please?”

You nodded and his cock slid all the way out, writhing idly in the warm water. It was ridged and slick beneath your fingers, and so hard that every time you slid your hand up to his arrow-head tip, he let out a panting whimper. “Sing for me then,” you murmured.  

His song was like nothing you’d ever heard. Sure, you’d caught snatches of the refrains he sung to himself out in the lake as he hunted or patrolled the edges of the body of water that was now his own, and he’d even sung gently for you that time you’d nearly drowned wading out to apologise to him for some empty words spoken in anger, but he’d never unleashed the full power of his siren’s voice, and never just for you.  

As you worked him harder, your fingers gripping him firmly, working him from base to tip, he called a wild, ululating song, part chorus of moans, part love melody, until your vision blurred and your chest felt like it was going to explode.  

“Leyil, I’m close,” you said, still with your other hand tending to your own body, even as you worked him closer and closer.  

All his fins fanned wide again as his back arched and he yelled. His cock broke through the surface of the water and you came hard at the sight of him, his song filling your head like a summer day. As your concentration was broken, so your attentions on his painfully-hard cock slowed, and he choked something in disappointment, but when you recovered, you found him watching you, his voice silent now but his eyes still speaking volumes.  

With a trembling finger, you ran your touch around the inside of his swollen, slick slit, and he jerked wildly again, more water slopping over the edge of the bath onto the tiles. You repeated the gesture, leaving his cock untouched for the time being, and as he began to tremble, shake, and almost convulse, you wondered if you could make him come from this alone.  

After the fifth time stroking his sheath, you felt it contract and pulse, and he bent forwards, his abs tensing, almost folding himself in half, and he screamed his pleasure so loudly that your ears almost hurt. He covered his chest in his release as he twitched and flailed, voice cracking with the force of his orgasm.  

When he finally slumped back into the half-empty tub, he was spent and exhausted, his eyes closed, his mouth open, and his cheeks flushed pink.  

“Happy Christmas, Leyil,” you smiled when you saw the state he was in.  

“Definitely worth it,” he slurred without opening his eyes. “Happy Christmas…”

___

Don’t forget that I’m doing 12 full length stories - a new one every day between now and 6th January - over on my Patreon, which is the equivalent of a whole year’s worth of stories in just 12 days!! The first one went up today and is a whopping 10k words long!

—

I really hope you folks enjoyed this one! Don’t forget to let me know if you did enjoy it by leaving a like and/or reblogging it!

For all early releases, character art and bios, upcoming story info, and much, much more, join me over on Patreon!

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[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

Ashamed

Summary: Could I request one where Eddie is ashamed of the scar on his chest from Pennywise and that he refuses to take his shirt off for any reason until Richie confronts him and tells him that the scar is a reminder of his bravery and he takes Eddie's shirt off and kisses it?

A/N: I hope you enjoy and I’m so sorry it took so long! I’m a bit behind on my request but I promise I’m trying to finish request every day so to everyone who has requested stuff, I promise it’s coming!  

warnings: there’s a sex joke in here, and a sex reference (not graphic at all) 

Eddie has contemplated before on hanging up a towel over the mirror any and each time he’s in the bathroom by himself. He’s never executed the plan, Richie’s too observant for that too work and would notice but straight away, leading to questions Eddie’s ashamed to answer, but whenever Richie is away on tour or a show, he’ll prop the towel from one side to the other, obscuring the view of his chest.

He’s never been very confident in his appearance, but he wasn’t hyper aware of it like he is after the Pennywise accident either. He didn’t have to be. For years Myra smothered him with her self-presumed love and adoration, picking out the clothes he wore and buying all the creams and aftershave she treasured, and Eddie followed her in those things without stopping and thinking about what he liked and how he wanted to sell himself towards other people.

Once, he was gifted a perfume bottle from one of his coworkers, a secret Santa gift, and when he sprayed it on to go to work the next day, Myra picked up on the change and gave him a piece of her mind. She reamed Eddie about not remodeling himself to be accepted by his peers, not mulling that maybe the Eddie she prepared and drilled every morning was not the real Eddie. There were threats being ushered, like Eddie cheating on Myra and switching perfumes to galvanize his mistress, and no matter how many times Eddie tried to reason with her, she was dead set on the idea.

He tossed the bottle out that same day, immensely guilty that he gave Myra grounds to question him. She was right after all, Eddie was married, and he didn’t have to make anyone happy except his wife, not even himself.

Post Derry him is happier. So fucking happy he gleams and elates every morning awakening in Richie’s arms, or the other way around, nosing behind Richie’s ear to get that one little inch closer, turning off the alarm and dosing an extra hour, work suddenly coming second for once in Eddie’s life. Richie had that effect on him, made him long to be near him twenty-four/seven,

But he also feels worse, and that can be tracked back to the long, vertical scar smacked in the middle of his chest. It’s starts in the mornings, but in a stand offish way, the insecurities bubbling on the edge of his mind loud enough that Eddie knows they’re there, but not so ample close that Eddie nitpicks and examines them, yet.

And at first it wasn’t even that bad, Eddie mostly enthralled with moving his stuff in and out of houses, and fitting as much RichieandEddie time into their shared schedule to gain back what they lost over the years, the underlying doubt and terror every time he caught a glimpse of the scar background to the best moments of his life.

It only really became a problem the first time Eddie and Richie made love to each other, and Eddie refused to take of his shirt. The pleasant, hot and vastly attractive sight of Richie’s slightly pudgy stomach and thighs, and his clean, smooth chest Eddie could run his fingers over and not bubble once incited a deep meekness and carved him hallow. Emptied by the idea that he’s horrific and undeserving of the adoration so blindingly clear in his boyfriends eyes.

Most off all, the scar is reminiscent on the clown trauma, proof that Pennywise maintains some sort of power over him, in comparisons to his friends and Richie, who moved on with their lives. It distinguishes him from the group, and not in a good way. In a way that shines a bright neon spot over Eddie’s head, accentuating his cowardness.  

The reflections displayed in the mirror exhibits his slip up, his idiocy to entertain the idea of him being strong enough to defeat Pennywise all on his own, he wants nothing to do with it. The scar tissue puckers up his skin and his disgust is so deeply rooted that he didn’t even bother to check up on it for months after Derry, to assure it didn’t fester.

So no, Eddie doesn’t conceal the glass whenever Richie is home, but what he does do is strip down everything except for his shirt when slipping in the shower, towing the shower curtain and tossing the shirt out, rumpled on the floor, via the small slit.

The wrinkles in his shirt agitate him, but are a small price to pay for preserving his sanity and spirits. In the shower he resolutely does not look down at all, his eyes trained on the ugly pattern of tiles Richie claimed came with the house when he bought it, but Eddie suspects he just really fancy’s it.

Eddie always neatly packs his new shirt on the countertop, effortlessly accessible from the lavatory so he can dry off and pull on his shirt without drawing his own attention to his chest.

Stowing away his insecurity is a weight he’s been holding over his own head, so dangerously close to imbalance and tumbling over that Eddie feels shifting his attention from it slightly will let it all crash down on him. Because Richie has a tenacious personality, and once he catches a whiff of it, he’ll cling to the smallest straws to get to the bottom of it.

The schedule Eddie’s built has never been interrupted before, Richie knowing, or at least being tricked into knowing, and understanding that the bathroom serves as Eddie’s sanctuary, a place for being alone and restocking and regrouping his overactive mind. The interference in the schedule is Eddie’s own wrongdoing, for glossing over the fact that they had a dinner party to attend to, and dragging out his time in the bathroom for way too long plus forgetting to grab a change of clothing.

He only addresses the issue at hand when the shower runs cold and he’s bordering on being late, contemplating his options with his hands resting on his hips. Richie always sings a derivative of a song before entering a room, transforming the lyrics in a way that fits in Eddie and Richie’s life, as a substitute for knocking as that’s boring according to him, but Eddie discerns tiny snores emerging from the living room, so Eddie hurriedly dries off and dons his underwear, training his eyes down casted to not look at the mirror.

He wastes a long time debating on what to wear, matching multiple t-shirts to the pants he has elected to wear, unbeknownst that the snoring in the other room has ebbed away. This is an important business meeting with Richie’s new manager, one that will lift up his spirits and encourage him to fly solo, writers free, and Eddie can’t afford to mess this up. He’s scrutinizing an oxford-button-down forest green shirt, analyzing if there’s a spot on the fabric or if it’s a trick of the light.  

Hearing the caroling a smidge too late, Eddie has no time to slip in the shirt before the door cracks open, Richie’s wild curls sticking out in every direction and his pants too low, pulled down from the movements he slanders during sleep.

‘I was about to call the ambulance and ask them to assemble a rescue mission’, he quips, feet padding the carpet of the bedroom lazily.

The weight Eddie’s been bearing up dislodges and veers menacingly to the edge, a gust away from keeling over the edge.

‘Get out’, Eddie says calmly the first time, contorting his body so his upper torse is veiled from Richie’s observation, the button-down serving as a shield of sorts. ‘Get out’, he clamors, a panic attack lurking in the shadows and prowling on his burst of utter panic.

‘Eds’, Richie says perplexed, his eyebrows contracting, his droopy eye more squinted than it is with his face slacked.

‘Get out, I don’t want to see you’, Eddie hisses, witnessing the decay of Richie’s happy face, teetering away backwards and back out in the hallway.

Eddie swallows, the door obstructing his outlook on Richie, and appareling his shirt so fast it tears around the sleeves, pretending he didn’t hear that. His instincts lure him to hide under the covers and wait for the whole thing to blow over, but his comments hurt Richie and his instincts were formed his primary years, while living with his mother, so he does the exact opposite.

‘Rich’, he groans, eyeing Richie leaning on the counter, his body jutting out, dancing on his feet and shelving the cleaned dishes.  

‘Richie stop.’ Eddie plasters himself against Richie’s back, fitting so perfectly like puzzle pieces, like a riddle so complicated that’s been solved. He hooks his chin over Richie’s shoulder, kissing the underside of his jaw.

‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled.’

‘No it’s fine, it’s my fault. I need to learn how to knock. I didn’t mean to agitate you.’

‘You didn’t agitate me. I know I say you do all the time but somehow everything you do is endearing, not irritating.’

‘Careful Eddie Spaghetti, you’ll give me a big head.’

‘I can do that tonight if you’d like?’ Eddie teased, the tight knot in his heart uncoiling at the rumbling of Richie’s laugh.

Richie rotated in his arms, front to front, hugging Eddie back in equal fierce as Eddie did too him.

‘Forgive me?’

‘That depends my good follow, however shall you atone me?’ He released Eddie with one arm, using his hand to tap his chin thoughtfully. ‘Hm, perhaps with a reason as to why?’, his British accent lacing his words.

‘Rich, I really don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Come on,’ Richie pleaded, pouting with his bottom lip. ‘How can I help if you won’t tell me what’s going on?’

Eddie sighed, his arms cave in and the weight collapses down upon him. ‘I just don’t want you to envision this’, he says, unconsciously smoothing down his shirt on the spot his wound is located.

‘Envision what? You?’

‘No’, Eddie explains miserably, ‘I mean the scar, the disfigurement.’

‘Eddie’, Richie gently chuckles, ‘I don’t give a shit about that.’

‘That’s because you haven’t seen it yet. It’s so ugly and,’ Eddie interrupted himself, unwinding from Richie to give himself some breathing space. Being near Richie is intoxicating, but he needed to think clearly.

‘And what?’ Richie pries.

‘How much of a coward I am okay? I don’t want you to look at me and realize how much better you can do.’

‘Eddie, do you honestly believe you’re a coward?’

‘Yeah.’ Shame flooding the tips of his ears, making it harder to engage the conversation, when all Eddie wanted was to leave and go the this dinner.

‘Like I told you down in the sewers, you’re braver than you think, Eds. I’m the one who aimed higher and scored the jackpot.’ Richie asseverate.

‘You keep saying that but I’m the only one idiot enough to get injured.’

‘That’s no true, I strained my leg muscle.’ Richie states, twisting his leg, reliving the memory of the shards of affliction lodging in.

‘Seriously, maybe you’re the only one that got hurt, but you survived. Who in the world can claim there’s so badass that they lived through being shish kebabbed? By a demon from outer space no less.’

‘No one I guess.’

‘No one, erase the “I guess”. Give yourself some credit.’ Richie says firmly, outstretching his arm and then thinking better of it. ‘Can I touch it?’

‘Richie,’ Eddie hesitated, eyes flitting around the room as if to plan his escape.

‘I’ll be really gentle. And if you don’t like it I’ll pull back straight away.’ The soft tone settles Eddie somewhat, and with a hesitant nod, Richie slowly inches closer. He goes so leisurely, as one would approach a feral kitten, but Eddie keeps the parallels to himself, Richie will tease him relentlessly for it.

Eddie expected Richie to slide under his shirt from the get go, but all Richie does is pet his chest on top of the shirt, mapping out the area and feeling where the scar is located.

The area is strangely sensitive, a reason why Eddie has to douche it softly as opposed to the harsh scrubbing he’s used to doing to every other part of his physics.

Only the barely-there, soft touches of Richie’s fingers pawing, tickles Eddie, realizing a breathless hum as he gets acquainted to Richie and him converging in that spot.

Eddie giggles, Richie steadily ongoing his ministrations, until the notion borders on too much, and he plummets to his knees.

He kisses top of the blemish, all the way to the underside, blowing a raspberry there as if the normal kiss wasn’t ticklish enough.

Eddie cackles, halfheartedly shoving Richie backwards, his worries fizzling out into the night. The smooches leave a trail of slobber from Richie’s mount, wilting spots on his blouse Richie’s manager will discern him in.  

‘Richie stop, you’re going to ruin it and we have to leave soon.’

‘Nah, I cancelled.’

‘You cancelled? Why?’

‘Because the love of my love, my Eddie Spaghetti, my Eds, gave off the impression he was in a pretty foul mood.’

‘Was I that obvious?’ Eddie grumbles, fingers racking lovingly trough Richie’s curls.

‘No, I just have a knack for you. Anyways I rescheduled.’

‘Oh Rich you didn’t have to do that. What is she going to think of you?’

‘I don’t care. Look, if she’s striving to be my manager she best believe that my career always come second. You’re my number one priority, no matter what.’

Eddie’s eyes turn bloodshot, blinking rapidly to contain the upcoming flow of tears. Richie presses a final kiss, then resurfaces upwards, a lopsided grin grazing his face.

���You’re not going to take it off?’ Eddie inquires fretful, not sure what he wants the answer to be.

‘No, later, when you’re more at ease. But Eds, I need you to know, I’m going to look at it, and all that will be going on in my mind is holy fuck. That scar is symbolic for how strong and daring you are, and how glad I am to have you here breathing with me. That motherfucking clown tried everything, and he still couldn’t kill you. You know why? Because you’re a stubborn little basterd, and also indestructible. And I love you so much.’

The taste of salt explodes on Richie’s tongue, surprisingly, he hadn’t got a clue he was crying in the first place.

‘Great, good job idiot. Now look at us, two blubbering idiot sniffling in a kitchen’, Eddie grumbled, but he was smiling so wide the dimples in his cheeks were distinguishable.

‘I love you too.’ 

[yandere-society]

Day 3 | Secret Santa

Synopsis: Secret Santa in your small friend group was always light and playful. But when Hoseok gets his first-ever invitation, he is fully set on making sure his gift is in your hands no matter how bad he needs to play.

The 12 Days of Black Christmas Event Masterlist

Pairing: Hoseok x Female Reader

Admin: @nomnomsik​

Warnings: Yandere themes, stalking, obsession

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

“Hoseok you’re invited!”

With trembling hands, he stared at the card in front of him, gold foiled calligraphy printed across the paper. The card was littered with christmas decorations and doodles, with your hand-writing at the bottom, next to a smiley face. 

“Me? Are you sure?” He asked dumbfoundedly, as you just laughed, readjusting the clasp of your bag that hung over your shoulder. 

“Yup! Oh, it’s a secret santa, but we’re going to flip it a bit.”

“Flip it? What do you mean?” 

“So, we aren’t picking names. It’s like, you buy a gift that almost everyone can use or would enjoy and everyone will pick a gift in the order of the number you draw. Kind of like a first come first serve basis.” 

Hoseok’s body slackened as he let out a sigh of relief. At least he won’t have to give a present to somebody he doesn’t even care about. 

“So, if everyone is satisfied with what they have, that’ll be that. If not, people can swap gifts and whatnot. I don’t have everything sorted out, but we are definitely not picking names!” You smiled only to earn a heart-shaped smile back from Hoseok. 

“Thanks for the invitation, y/n. I think I’ll be able to make it.” 

“Of course! The only rule is that you have to wear a onesie.”

“Wait-” Hoseok started, only to see you jog away in the other direction, a sly smile on your face as you turned the corner. “... I don’t own one…” 

»»————-　♡　————-««

As Hoseok sat in the middle of his living room apartment, the only mess being the papers littered all over the wooden floors, he thought of items to purchase. It was obvious that his gift was going to be in your hands at the end of the day. Sure, he didn’t want to threaten some of your friends if he didn’t have to, but if they were making his life more difficult, then so be it. 

“Ahh-” Hoseok groaned, falling onto his side as his hair sprawled out in different directions. “I need to find the perfect gift…” He mumbled to himself, reaching for his open laptop and looking through Amazon. 

As Hoseok aimlessly scrolled, his mind was elsewhere, trying to remember if there was anything you might have wanted, anything you might have hinted at. It didn't matter what the price was. If your expression could light up because of him, if you never forgot what he did for you, that was good enough. 

Enough leeway to slowly make you feel indebted to him. 

Maybe stationary? He wasn't sure whether you too found stationary cute like all the other annoying females that chattered in his ear, trying to get his attention. It reminded him of all those pointless dates trying to forget about you, only to compare how everyone lacked in comparison. 

Their laughs were fake, their personalities morphed to a projection of what they thought he liked. They wanted something from him, which he gave them at the end of the day, bed sheets wrinkled underneath him.

-------

"This will have to do." Hoseok murmured, placing his delivered package next to him and standing up from his spot on the floor, stretching his arms over his head as he took slow steps over to his hallway closet. He rummaged through, pulling out his recent purchase of Christmas wrapping paper and carrying it to the living room. 

As he set it onto the floor, Hoseok waltzed into his kitchen, picking up his kitchen knife and setting it down next to the tape. He measured out the dimensions of his box, making a clean cut with the knife. 

Hoseok, with painstakingly long movements, neatly wrapped his present up, taping each side and tying a ribbon on top. He let out a sigh of satisfaction, staring at his work and placing it into a Christmas themed bag. 

The days until the secret santa event went by quickly and Hoseok found himself outside of your cheap apartment complex, ringing the doorbell as he patiently waited. You opened the door, pink bunny ears bouncing as you greeted him with a smile. Hoseok sheepishly smiled back, his body stiff and uncomfortable in the shark onesie he had purchased, a size too small. 

"Hi! Welcome in!" You exclaimed, opening the door wide as Hoseok stepped in. He could hear Jingle Bell Rock blast from the living room and several loud voices chattering about the home. 

Hoseok shyly joined the rest of your friend group who mostly talked amongst themselves, leaving him out, not that he really minded. He set his gift underneath the small Christmas tree with all the other presents, readjusting his onesie and taking a seat on the carpeted floor. 

"Okay everyone." You called, waddling into the living room. "Is everyone ready to pick a present? You'll all have to draw numbers to determine the order though." 

You shook a cup full of popsicle sticks, each labelled from one to twenty. Hoseok didn't care what number he got. He had several plans ready just in case on how the scenario played out. As he pulled out a number, he received number eight, drawn on with a thick sharpie. 

It was too risky to just randomly guess your present, even though he did want it. His eyes carefully locked onto his gift as each number passed by, one, five, seven. If he grabbed his own present and swapped it with you, there was a chance nobody would pick him. They all ignored him tonight and he prayed that they keep that same energy.

So when it was his turn, he grabbed his own gift, setting it onto his lap as he waited for everyone else to make their move.

One by one, people carefully opened their present, describing the things inside and so on and so forth. You told everyone that if there was a gift you wanted to swap with someone you could, but you couldn't swap again nor could anyone swap with you. Hoseok stayed frozen in his spot, hoping nobody would pick him.

"Hoseok? Don't you want to swap with anyone?" You called, as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. 

"Ummm-" he started, his heartbeat growing pace. "I think I'll be alright…"

"Nobody will have hard feelings if you do, okay?"

"Then… I'll swap with you, I guess." Hoseok lifted his gift up and traded with you. He smiled, knowing that there was one last thing to do.

The rest of the night was filled with laughter, screams, and joyful memories, at least to everyone besides Hoseok. He was content with sitting off to the side and watching everyone fool around. 

"Y/n, where's the bathroom?" He asked as you pointed around the corner, then redirecting your attention back to your friends who fooled around. Hoseok disappeared into the dark hallway, walking past the bathroom door as he tested the doorknob which he guessed led to your room. It wasn't locked.

He slipped in, eyeing your desk and slowly rolling the drawers for anything he could take. Everything was filled with papers and as he shut it closed, he quickly made his way to your bed, inhaling the sweet scent of your blankets. 

Hoseok readjusted the things he touched to make sure nothing looked suspicious as he swiped a hair tie or two, shoving them into his pockets as he softly shut the door. 

As he reentered the rowdy living room, he gently tapped your shoulder. 

"I have to leave now to catch my bus." Hoseok pouted as you gave him a goodbye hug. He squeezed you tight as you followed him to the entrance of your home. 

"Did you have fun?" You asked. He nodded, picking up the present he had traded with you. 

"I did… I hope you like my present, y/n." 

"Oh! It's yours?" You smiled as you thanked him for his gift. 

"I'll enjoy my gifts too." He chuckled as you cocked you head to the side in confusion. 

Hoseok stepped outside as you watched him leave, your stomach dropping as you slowly realized Hoseok had chosen his own present from the start. 

[gothpanda]

A Little Bit of Attitude Ch.20: Dirty Little Secret

WORD COUNT: 5.1K

A/N:so sorry if the smut sucks. it was my first time 

WARNINGS: SMUT, DRUGS, (slight) abusive power, and language

TAGS: @madamsixx​

Read On Ao3 

Previous/Next

“I’m sorry?” said Sammi. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor as she stared at Sharise. Sammi’s hearing almost felt like she was going deaf, as if she got hit by a bus. Sharise pulled her ear in nervousness, looking at the ground below her.

��Please don’t get angry,” pleaded Sharise, bringing her hands up to her chest.

Sammi ran her hands through her hair, pushing it out of her face. “How-How pregnant are you? When did you sleep with Vince?!”

“I’m going on four months, it happened back in August. I promise you, I didn’t know he had a girlfriend. Every time he came down to my work, Vince and his friends made it seem like they were bachelors,”  said Sharise.

“Well you sure don’t look pregnant,” muttered Sammi, looking down at Sharise’s stomach.

“Thanks… my mom said it happens when you’re pregnant for the first time,” mumbled Sharise.

“So you didn’t know Vince was in a relationship until the party?” asked Sammi. Sharise nodded with fear, playing with her hands. Sammi only dragged a hand down her face, looking out into the distance of the neighborhood.

“Alright. You can come inside. Vince has to be home,” Sammi walked up to the door, picking out her spare key from her chain. As she pushed the door open, Sammi could hear the tv being played far into the distance of the house. The two women stepped into the house slowly, closing the door to make no noise.

“Vince! I’m home! We need to talk!” yelled Sammi, staring down at the floor and leaning on the staircase. She could see Sharise nervously play with her hair, not knowing if she should be nice to her or hate her so fast. “Vince!” shouted Sammi again.

“I’m coming babe! I’m sorry about today-,” said Vince until silenced as he saw Sharise stand in his foyer. “Sharise? Wha-Wha-What are you doing here” stuttered the blonde man. He looked over to Sammi, seeing the clear coldness in her eyes as she looked between both of them.

“Vince we need to talk about what happened back in August,” said Sharise, straightening her shoulders back.

“What are you talking about? What did we do?” asked nervously Vince, hiding his hands in his jean pockets. Sammi rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Vince.

“Vince, I know you two fucked. You might as well spell it out for Vince, Sharise,” said Sammi. In that instance, Sharise dug through her purse to pull out a yellow envelope with nothing on the front of it.

“I need you to go to the clinic on this document for a paternity test next Monday. Because as of right now I know it’s yours but I need proof,” said Sharise. Vince yanked the envelope out of Sharises hand, ripping it open to see a court order in his name.

“What the fuck Sharise? You can’t be fucking serious?” asked Vince, scrunching his eyebrows at the woman.

“Look this is a two way street and the fact you made it seem you were single makes it worse. Be a fucking man and take responsiblity,” spatted Sharise, biting the inside of her cheek. “I really am sorry Sammi,” Sharise said to Sammi right as she walked out the door to leave the couple. They were silent for a minute, Vince looking at Sammi who dared not see his face.

“Sammi I’m sorry,” uttered Vince, stepping closer to Sammi. She put her hand to stop him from coming closer, showing him her glossy eyes.

“Not even a year, and you couldn’t stop yourself from getting your dick in another woman,” said Sammi, letting out a shaky breath. “I fucking knew something was up when I met her that night. Then come to find out she was from that fucking Tropicana place,”

Vince bit his lip, throwing the envelope far away from him. “It didn’t happen! I swear I didn’t have sex with her!”

“Then why is she fucking get a court order to prove your the dad!? Huh?!”

“I don’t know but I didn’t have sex with her, please believe me, Sammi,” said Vince, grabbing Sammi’s hands. Sammi yanked herself away from Vince’s hold, stepping towards the door. “Please Sammi, I love you!”

“Shut up! And answer me this one question, who would you go to Tropicana with?” asked Sammi, biting her lip.

Vince wrinkled his nose and eyebrows together, “What? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just answer the fucking question,” ordered Sammi, tears on the brink of escaping her eyes.

“Some guys from other bands…”

“Then why the fuck should I believe you knowing you went to a bar without my brother and the other guys? Makes you pretty fucking shady if ask me,” said Sammi, pushing Vince away from her. “If you weren’t doing anything, then at least Tommy would’ve gone with you,”

“I love you. You know that,” pleaded Vince,

“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have fucked another woman!” said Sammi right as she shut the door hard in Vince’s face. Sammi stomped to her car, letting tears roll down her face without a care in the world. Once getting into her car, Sammi took a deep breath as she turned on her ignition to tear down the street.

January 17th, 1985

‘5 miss calls and 5 voice messages. New message’ “Sammi please answer. I know to give you your space I need to know everything is okay. I shouldn’t have lied about Sharise. Plea-” * delete*

January 21st, 1985

‘6 miss calls and 3 voice messages. New message’ “I think Tommy is gonna kill me one day. Athena threw her purse at my head when she came to get your stuff. I know I’m gonna be a dad but that doesn’t have to fuck-” * delete*

January 27th, 1985

“Sunny, please talk to me. I fucking miss you. Everything is going to fucking shit with the band and I need you. I need-” * delete*

January 30th, 1985

“Hey Princess it’s Nikki. I know I’ve been a bit M.I.A and kind of a shit head. I just wanted to say I’m sorry about Vince. Trust me I hate his ass too. Call if you need anything. Uh… miss you… ,”

“Hey Sam it’s Mick. Sorry about the Vince shit. Hope to see you soon even if I don’t say it out loud. Later,”

‘No other new messages’

February 2nd, 1985

Shopping bags in one hand and an ice cream cone in another, Sammi and her friends strolled down the busy mall for Emma’s version of therapy. Emma rambled away about her swimming team mates not being a team for once. Sabrina and Sammi laughed along with Emma’s complaining that was purely humorous. Sammi’s attention quickly zoned in on a gossip magazine front and center of a newsstand kiosk right by the girls. She walked right to it, groaned at the sight of a paparazzi photo of her in comparison to Vince and Sharise. Sammi then noticed other magazines with Vince’s face in smaller corners with her right next to him.

“So that’s her face? Was trying to remember what the blonde fucking looked like,” said Emma, walking right next to Sammi and yanked the magazine from the stand for a closer look. Sabrina looked over Emma’s shoulder to read the short headlines to grab readers attention.

“Motley Crue singer leaves girl next door brunette for a busty mud wrestler blonde. What is so different this time around? Read more on page 13,” read Sabrina, frowning in concentration.

“Oh bullshit, I left his ass,” hissed Sammi, throwing her ice cream in the trash before grabbing the magazine for herself.

“Hey! You got to buy those before you read them!” a 20 something year old guy shouted at the girls from his cash register.

“I’m on this stupid magazine, so shut it!” scoffed Sammi, flipping off the sales guy and walking off. Emma withheld a laugh while Sabrina apologized to the man before following Sammi to a bench by the fountain. Sammi flipped through the paper booklet, eyes going wide to see a two page spread on her and Vince. The idea of being around famous guys didn’t hit Sammi until recently. The recent growth in constant rock magazines helped Motley Crue become infamous in the celebrity world. Motley weren’t famous rock stars to Sammi, they were a group of idiots where one of them just so happened to be her brother.

“Well at least you look hot in these photos,” said Emma reading over Sammi’s shoulder.

“Yeah not hot enough to keep Vince around,” mumbled Sammi. Straightening her shoulders, Sammi held the magazine out in front to read out loud. “Singer of heavy metal band Motley Crue apparently isn’t too young to fall in love. Vince Neil was spotted out in Santa Monica with aspiring model Sharise Ruddell. While this may seem like a blossoming romance, is it too soon from his girl next door Samantha Bass? Ew I fucking hate this,” uttered Sammi, handing the magazine to Sabrina to read the rest of it.

“Who the hell told them you were in college for medicine?” asked Sabrina

“Probably rang up a few of our co-workers to get some shit on me,” mumbled Sammi, leaning her head on Emma’s shoulder.

“Well it doesn’t say that Sharise is pregnant if that’s a plus side. It’s basically a comparison of Sharise and you being complete opposites. You’re written as a sweetheart who can do no wrong,” said Sabrina stuffing the magazine in one of her shopping bags.

“Yeah because I have half a brain to not slash all of Vince’s tires. Athena gives enough death stares to him for me,” said Sammi.

“If you want we could stalk him at his favorite hang out spots to throw drinks on him!” cheerful suggested Emma, only getting a stern look from Sabrina and a small chuckle from Sammi.

“No. I think retail therapy is doing its job for right now. I haven’t cried all day so that’s something,” said Sammi, standing up from the bench with a small smile on her face.

“That’s the spirit! Hey since we’re still on the first floor, can we check out Contempo Casuals?” asked Sabrina, wide-eyed like a child asking their mom. Sammi’s face went dead, staying silent at the sound of her old job. Emma curled her lip at Sabrina, thinking of the idea. “Please I need new skirts, I feel like I wear the same ones all the time,”

“That’s because you buy the same ones all time, but that’s okay, S. We still love you,” joked Emma, grabbing Sammi by the hand to bring her to the place she hates the most. “Let’s go!”

*

“Hey Em, that top on the mannequin is totally your style,” pointed out Sabrina as the girls approached the store. Through the windows, Sammi could see Britney in the near front to organize the denim display. She scoffed at the sight of her former friend, not hearing from her for almost a year.

“Hi welcome to Contempo Casuals,” said Britney, smile disappearing at the sight of Sammi, “let me know if you need anything,”

“Yeah, where can I find that yellow top that’s on the mannequin?” asked Emma, hanging her arm around Sammi. Britney didn’t fail to eye Sammi even with Emma and Sabrina around. She studied Sammi’s appearance, seeing how she appeared to be better than the last time Britney saw her. Emma and Sabrina gave each other questioning looks, unaware of the two.

“How’s it going, Sammi?” asked Britney with a smile.

“Great, now can you just answer my friend's question?” demanded Sammi, crossing her arms against her chest, biting the inside of her cheek. “And remember you’re at work so don’t pretended to be Amanda, sweetie,”

Britney inhaled sharply “You can find the blouses on the right in the new arrivals section. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask,” said the blonde as she walked away from them and further into the store.

Sammi gently pushed Emma’s arm off her shoulders, trying to disappear in between the racks of clothes. Emma and Sabrina sandwiched Sammi between them, looking to see if Britney was around.

“Okay spill. Who was that and why did it look like she hated you?” asked Emma, gently placing a hand on her friend's shoulder .

“Long story short, I used to work here and that was one of my former best friends/roommates who sold all my shit after leaving for 5 months on tour,” whispered Sammi, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Both Emma and Sabrina’s eyes went wide, jaws almost dropping to the floor.

“When the hell did this happen?” asked Sabrina with a frown.

“A year ago. It happened right before I met you two and I buried that shit,” muttered Sammi, pouting at the memories.

“How come you never told us you worked here?” asked Emma. Sammi shrugged.

“Is this why you tiptoe around us about hanging out?” asked Sabrina. Sammi nodded with a frown. “Awe Sammi, you shouldn’t have felt like that,” said Sabrina, hugging Sammi with Emma following in her steps.

“Let’s just leave, I can get clothes at another store-”

“Samantha?” announced Britney making Sammi turn around to see the former friend. “Can we talk? Alone?” asked Britney, switching glares at Emma and Sabrina. Sammi gave questioning looks to Emma and Sabrina, getting a nod from Sabrina.

“Fine. You have 2 minutes out in the front,” ordered Sammi. Sammi led the way for Britney, staying cold to her. Emma glared Britney down to her core, making the shorter girl scared of the athlete. Sabrina only forced a smile that had an attitude as Britney walked right out the store.

“What do you want, Britney?” asked Sammi.

 “I just wanted to see how you were. You look great…” said Britney with a hesitant tone. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you…”

“Yeah it has been a while since you and Amanda sold all my shit and kicked me out of the condo that basically belonged to me,” barked Sammi.

Britney dropped her shoulders with a heavy sigh, feeling small from Sammi. “Look I’m sorry I listened to Amanda. I should’ve stopped her from selling your stuff, its just I pissed about you leaving and-,”

“Why were you mad at me in the first place? I don’t get it. For someone who kept encouraging me to be around Tommy and the guys, you definitely flipped a switch,”

“I was jealous. You were getting such a cool new life and I was stuck living in a shadow,” muttered Britney. “I mean the fact you didn’t come back begging for your old job shows something,”

“If you hate living in a shadow then don’t fucking listen to Amanda. She’s not a friend to anyone and only cares about herself. Emma and Sabrina have been better friends to me in a year than you and Amanda,” said Sammi.

“Yeah the tall tan one looks like she was about to hit me. I just wanted to apologize and that’s it. Now we can get back on track to being friends again,” said Britney with a smile.

Sammi curled her lip and raised an eyebrow, “Fuck no. Thanks for the apology but I’m not falling your bullshit,”

“What the fuck? Why not? I would’ve done it if it was the other way around,” said Britney, “We’ve known each other for years!”

“You wouldn’t have to because I’m not a jealous follower like you. This is what happens when you get on my bad side. You fucking stay there. And be a little good employee and tell my friends I’ll be out here waiting for them,” order Sammi, shooing away Britney with her hand.

Britney scoffed at Sammi turning on her heels, “Bitch!” she yelled out.

“Yeah yeah!” shouted Sammi.

*

Thin black heels of leather boots clanked down on the stone driveway of the only gothic mansion in Los Angeles. Sammi ran fingers through her loosely curled hair right as she rang the doorbell.  She swayed her weight from each foot, checking her new black manicure and twisting the rings on her left hand as she waited. Sammi straightened up once hearing the sound of the door unlock. A red lip smile grew on Sammi’s face when seeing Nikki have a surprised look on his face. He smirked at Sammi, but looked past her for anyone else to pop out from behind.

“Surprised to see me?” asked Sammi.

“Only because you came alone. Come on in, Princess. Came to give my jacket back or what?” asked Nikki, stepping aside as Sammi steadily made her way into his room. Sammi took off the jacket on her, aiming straight for the living room. She tossed on a nearby chair, revealing a lowcut halter top. Nikki's eyes trailed to her rear in the tight pants she wore, following like a lost puppy. As Sammi sat on the leather sofa, Nikki poured out two glasses of whiskey, passing her a glass once next to her. “So what brings you to my place?”

“Well you did leave a message on my answering machine. Something about you missing me?” teased softly Sammi, taking a sip of the strong liquor before placing it on the coffee table.

“That was only to cheer you up, clearly it worked if you’re here dressed for a party,” Nikki said in a flirtatious manner.

“Oh so you don’t miss your best friend? Guess I shouldn’t have come for a visit,” playfully said Sammi, getting up from her seat. She took three steps to get reeled into Nikki’s lap, a giggle erupting in her.

“Okay I missed you. Happy to hear in person, Princess?” asked Nikki, slowly sliding his hands to rest on Sammi’s butt. Sammi moved Nikki’s bangs to get a better look at his hazel eyes, seeing dark circles growing around them. Nikki grew tense under Sammi’s tough, swallowing hard in nervousness.

“Yes. Yes I am. You know I’ve never really seen your place. Your vampire cave in the middle of fancy L.A,” said Sammi, glancing around the living room alone.

“We’re adults Sammi. If you want to see my bedroom you can just say so,” said Nikki with a smirk, kissing Sammi on the neck.

“Yeah… I do wanna go to your bedroom. Maybe that’s where you keep the heroin,” said Sammi, her sultry smile turning to a scowl making Nikki tense up from. Sammi got off Nikki’s lap, standing right in front of him with her arms crossed. “Why the fuck are you doing heroin, huh? And taking it to the fucking studio!?” questioned Sammi with sternness in her voice. Nikki rubbed the sweat from his hands onto the sofa, looking away from Sammi.

“Look I’m sorry I gave your shitty boyfriend smack. I really thought it was coke!” yelled Nikki.

“I don’t care about that right now, I just want to know how the fuck you got into heroin! Was coke not enough?” asked Sammi, crouching down to get Nikki to look her in the eye. Nikki only looked above Sammi, not wanting to see her big eyes that could make him melt.

“It just fell into my lap when I was out with some people. It’s not the worst thing,” mumbled Nikki.

“It is the worst thing when it’s coming between you and your fucking job. Do you know how bad Elektra could drop your ass if they saw what happened two weeks ago?” said Sammi in hopes to snap Nikki out of it.

“We bring in money for Elektra so I doubt they’ll want to drop us,” said Nikki.

“Trust me with all the shit you four pull, you fucking lost Elektra money at some point. You can’t bullshit me, Nik, I’m just here to whip your ass into shape. Because I really don’t want all of you to fall,”

“Even with an asshole singer?” smirked Nikki. Sammi chuckled at Nikki, straightened up as she headed towards the upstairs of the house. Nikki’s sense went into instinct mode, eyes glued to Sammi while following her. Sammi glanced into open bedrooms, seeing some rooms a mess until stopping at the master bedroom doors. Nikki’s room was dark like him, red bed sheets almost like Vince but with a different feel. With only the bedside lamp on, Sammi could see an open wooden box on the nightstand. She could see a needle reflect from the yellow light with the baggies of heroin stuffed inside. “Sammi!” Nikki yelled down the hall, making Sammi close the box as she hid it behind her back. Nikki stormed into the bedroom, wide eyes looking around the place. Sammi extended her arm between them to keep a distance when Nikki marched to her.

“Sammi, I’m going to ask just this one time. Give me the box right now,” demanded Nikki, eyes bulging out with flaring nostrils. Sammi was almost scared of what Nikki could do, but didn’t want to back down.

��Nikki, you don’t need heroin okay? We can go to the drug clinic and help you out. They have stuff for-” utter Sammi, stepping away from the bedside slowly to reach the door. Nikki followed every one of Sammi’s movements, only wanting his drugs. He stepped closer to her, Sammi pressing her hand against his chest. Nikki grabbed Sammi by the wrist with force making her jump. She could feel the pressure, wincing at the feeling.

“If you don’t give me that box right now I’m going to rip it out of your hands,” hissed Nikki through his teeth. Sammi swallowed hard at the sight of Nikki, growing scared of him. “You’re a smart girl. Don’t fuck with a mans drugs,” Nikki squeezed Sammi’s wrist tighter, feeling a real sting of pain. Sammi's heart began beating out of her chest, having no thought of how to fix this. She had never been in a dilemma of a man putting their hands on her. In the cases of Vince getting mad, he’d always keep a distance from Sammi to calm down. Was Nikki always like this with girls or wasn’t because of the heroin?

“Nikki let go of my arm, you’re hurting me. Please,” begged Sammi, eyes watering up as she looked up at the man. “You don’t need this shit, Nik. We can do whatever the fuck you want if you just stop with the heroin before it gets bad,”

Nikki let go Sammi’s wrist slowly, running hands through his hair as he stepped away from the girl. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that. I really am sorry,”  Sammi stayed frozen, only following Nikki’s pacing with her eyes. “I’ll-I’ll-I’ll flush it down the toilet. Okay? There’s only a little bit left, I’ll flush it,” stuttered Nikki, rubbing his chin with anxiety.

“If I give it to you, you’re not gonna run?” asked Sammi, stepping towards the bathroom door. Nikki shook his head, reaching out to Sammi for his special box. In one safe swoop, Sammi ran to the bathroom, slamming the door shut with the lock. Nikki banged on the door hard, yelling out profanity to Sammi. Sammi ripped open all the little baggies over the toilet, feeling gross from the residue that stayed on her finger before finally flushing. She didn’t know what to do with the needles, jumping at the sound of Nikki hitting the wooden door harder. They looked dirty and used, afraid of even touching them. Sammi dumping everything from the box onto the floor, seeing the two needles crack. She stepped on the glass carefully to avoid the sharp metal points.

Sammi had a feeling Nikki would put his hands on her again once she opened the door, standing with complete balance as Sammi unlocked it. From all his body weight on the door, Nikki fell flat on his back against the cold bathroom tile, seeing his needles broken and Sammi looking down at him. He felt like shit for his outburst, catching the sadness in Sammi’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” Nikki mumbled under his breath. Sammi crouched down to Nikki, pushing away his hair from his face with a frown.

“Promise me you’re not gonna try to get it again?” begged Sammi with a whisper. Nikki lifted his upper body up, cupping Sammi’s face with his rough hand. Sammi only sank deeper into Nikki’s tough, giving him the look that affected any man. “Please?”

“I’ll try, Princess,” muttered Nikki, pressing his forehead against Sammi’s. Nikki kissed her forehead right before bringing Sammi’s lips to his. Sammi was hesitant with the kiss yet still fell right into Nikki, wanting him. Their lips danced perfectly in sync together, tongues slipping past each other to grow more in passion. Nikki’s hand trailed down Sammi’s chested, feeling her  left breast fit perfectly in his hand. He began slipping his hand under Sammi’s blouse until she pushed him and stood up over Nikki.

“Nope. Nope. I can’t,” said Sammi, walking out into the dimly lit bedroom. She flipped her hair to one side, Nikki quickly jumping up to follow Sammi. “I can’t just jump on you after my shit with Vince,”

Nikki scuffed at Sammi, gliding his hands on Sammi’s waist to pull her closer to him. “I don’t care about Vince. If you need to be under someone to get your mind off it, it’s perfectly fine,” Sammi pushed Nikki away, rolling her eyes at his words. “Oh come on, Princess you’re telling me you wouldn’t want to take your mind off him. Especially with someone who already knows you oh so well?” said Nikki, dropping feather light kisses on Sammi’s neck. Goosebumps rose on Sammi’s skin, trying her hardest to stand against Nikki.

“Can you really know what I like from only one time?” teased Sammi, tilting her head up with a coy smile. Nikki raised an eyebrow to Sammi, matching her attitude. He lifted Sammi up by her rear only to roughly toss her on his bed. Sammi yelped in enthusiasm, a smile coming on her face. Nikki ripped off Sammi’s heels, moving right above to take her smile away with his lips. Sammi buried her hand in Nikki’s hair with a light grip as their kisses turned hungry. The bassist's hands moved down on Sammi, untying knots that held her top together, slipping the fabric off.  

“Getting daring about not wearing bras anymore are we?,” joked Nikki, kissing down Sammi’s neck & chest until he reached her breasts. Sammi sighed in pleasure, shutting her eyes at the feeling of Nikki’s tongue dance on her nipple. While Nikki’s mouth stayed on Sammi, his hands went down, unzipping her pants as he slid them down with Sammi’s thong as well. Sammi pulled Nikki by his hair to bring him to her eyes, smirking at him while he scowled. In his way to gain dominance back, Nikki placed his hand right between Sammi’s legs, forcefully spreading them open. His finger teased Sammi’s clit ever so lightly, smirking at the sound of her gasps. Sammi arched her back off the bed with a moan, holding onto Nikki’s arm as he stayed playing with her slowly. He realized he didn’t like to rush with Sammi, Nikki enjoyed seeing Sammi become hungry for him, almost begging. Nikki also loved leaving lovebites in places only he knew if Sammi was fully clothed. He sank his teeth on the top of her breast as he inserted one finger into Sammi’s pussy, fingering her slowly gaining louder moans as a reward.

Sammi pulled up the hem of Nikki’s t-shirt, running her hand up Nikki’s chest. “I think you’re wearing too many clothes,” suggested Sammi, moaning as she did Nikki’s belt. Quickly Nikki stripped himself down to his boxers, Sammi having the pleasure to slip them off him. Sammi brought Nikki down to her lips as he rested right between her legs, hands feeling his toned back muscles to then squeeze his butt. Nikki chuckled under his breath, teasing Sammi’s slit with his hard dick. He smirked to hear Sammi hold back a moan as Nikki slowly inserted himself into her with complete ease from her wetness.

“Uh god,” gasped Sammi, throwing her head back against the pillow. She wrapped one leg around Nikki’s waist, beginning to take rhythm of their hips. With a tight grip, Nikki held onto Sammi’s leg, picking up his pace on her. He hid his face in the nape of Sammi’s neck, heavily breathing on her skin. “Oh Nikki,” moaned Sammi, scratching down Nikki’s back with her sharp nails. “Like it just like this, Princess?” Nikki uttered into Sammi’s ear making a shiver run down her spine. She nodded with pure ecstasy as Nikki rammed faster into, making her curl her toes from pleasure. Her moans became louder & louder, signalling she was so close to cumming as Nikki was. They were in sync the entire time, never missing a beat of their hips meeting faster and faster.

“Fuck!” gasped Sammi, feeling a relaxing numb run all over her body. A short moment later, Nikki groaned in relief while Sammi gave light kisses on his neck. He pulled out of Sammi, dropping himself right next to on the bed with a heavy chested. Sammi rested her arms above her head, breathing heavily with a dopey smile on her face. Nikki brought Sammi close to his chest, his fingers drawing figure 8’s on her bare forearm. They stayed silent for a good while, Sammi messing with the pendant of Nikki’s necklace. A necklace Sammi randomly bought him for his birthday. “I can’t believe we just did that,” mumbled Sammi on Nikki’s chest, still smiling.

Nikki chuckled, trying his best to stay relaxed right here. “You knew what you were doing coming in here dressed to kill,”

Sammi rested her chin against Nikki’s chested, playfully smirking at him. “I knew it would get your attention talk,”

“I really am sorry about grabbing you like that. I’ll make it up to you,” muttered Nikki, playing with a lock of the brunette's hair.

“Oh the sex wasn’t your way of making it up to me?” jokingly asked Sammi making Nikki smile with her. “It’s okay, just try to keep your promise and maybe you’ll be rewarded,”

“Oh?” asked Nikki, raising an eyebrow with his infamous smirk. “Is this gonna be our dirty little secret then?”

Sammi shuffles up, tenderly kissing Nikki and feeling his hand cup her cheek. She could feel the difference of kissing Vince to Nikki immediately, their personalities coming to light from under Sammi’s touch.

“Just don’t fuck it up, Nik,”

“I’ll try princess,” muttered Nikki, moving them both on their side. Nikki wrapped his arms around Sammi’s waist, spooning her as he hid his face in hair. Sammi kissed Nikki’s hand one last time before drifting off to sleep.

[ploppythespaceship]

So I watched the Artemis Fowl movie...

Usually I make a list of good things and bad things in my reviews, but in this I literally do not have one good thing to say. Artemis Fowl fails as an adaptation, and it fails as a movie. It’s almost incomprehensible how terrible this film is -- Percy Jackson looks competent by comparison. So instead of my list, I’m gonna just talk about why it sucked.

The Plot

The movie combines the plots of the first two books in the series, with a few elements from later books tossed in for good measure. In the first book, Artemis learns of the existence of fairies and takes one hostage -- Captain Holly Short -- in order to extort them. In the second book, Artemis’s father has been captured, prompting Artemis to team up with Holly to rescue him.

The problem with combining these two is that they are fundamentally different stories. The latter relies greatly on the former to be well set up. Additionally, both are rather busy stories that need time and focus to do them well. The tension of Artemis holding Holly captive works because it lasts for a significant portion of the book. The development of Artemis teaming up with Holly works because they have hated each other for over a book now. This does not happen in the film. Everything is rushed, leading to a jumbled mess that barely makes any sense.

Artemis’s father is captured by Opal Koboi (a villain from the later books who does little to nothing in this film), who demands that Artemis give her something called the Aculos (a mcguffin that the movie made up). Artemis then captures Holly, and demands the Aculos as ransom. But when the fairies have no interest in giving him this ransom, Artemis teams up with Holly. Because it turns out her father, Beechwood, stole the Aculos years ago, and Artemis’s father knew Beechwood. The fairies send in a dwarf named Mulch to break in, and he locates the Aculos in the Fowl Manor. Mulch then teams up with Artemis, and there’s a long sequence where everyone fights a troll. Once that’s done, Holly uses the Aculos to rescue Artemis’s father. The end.

If you’re thinking that this plot makes no sense, that’s because it doesn’t. Information is presented at the strangest times, making things impossible to follow. Not to mention that character allegiances are constantly shifting for no discernible reason. There is no reason for Holly to trust Artemis, or vice versa -- yet they declare themselves “forever friends” before the end of the film. I can’t even tell you why Mulch sticks around, he just does.

The movie is also terribly paced. Despite only being ninety minutes long, it feels like it drags on for an eternity. Alternating between Artemis and Holly in the opening creates a distinct lack of tension, making it impossible to stay invested in any one thing for too long. Topping the whole thing off is the movie’s framing device -- the story is narrated by Mulch, as part of an interrogation that’s never properly explained. This setup feels so unnecessary, and it’s actually jarring every time we cut back to Mulch growling his exposition at the camera.

The Characters & Actors

I cannot think of one character that has not been butchered by the writing, the acting, or both. All of them are terrible. And across the board, the acting isn’t terribly good.

Artemis Fowl

The titular character gets it the worst of everyone. In the book, he’s a criminal mastermind. He’s cold, calculating, and eerie. He behaves so much like an adult that it unsettles people. He isn’t at all interested in typical child things, instead focusing on his own lofty goals. He’s an utter genius, learning the existence of fairies all on his own and coming up with the plan to capture one himself. Though he’s sympathetic in his own way, he’s also not presented as a terribly good person. As a protagonist, he’s almost unlikable -- it’s not until later books that he learns to have friends and become a better person.

But in the movie, Artemis is about as generic a fantasy film protagonist as you can get. He’s a more or less happy child who adores his father. He likes surfing and skateboarding. He doesn’t learn about fairies on his own -- his father tells him about them. And while he’s shown to be intelligent, it’s nowhere near the genius level he should be at. He’s so watered down and uninteresting that he’s unrecognizable as the same character. Even accepting that this isn’t the book character, he’s just boring to watch. There’s nothing interesting or compelling about this random kid. Ferdia Shaw’s performance doesn’t help -- while I’ve certainly seen worse child actors, I’ve also seen far, far better.

It’s worth mentioning that some of the best moments in the books are when something rattles Artemis so badly that the walls come down and he acts like a scared little kid. These moments work because they’re rare. This movie tosses them at you left and right. I don’t know who this kid is, but it ain’t Artemis Fowl.

Holly Short

In the books, Holly is an adult woman working an adult job -- she’s a police officer. She’s also described as having medium dark skin, with the phrases “olive” and “nut brown” being used most often. So the decision to cast a fourteen year old white actress... it boggles the mind. In fairness, Lara McDonnell did a decently good job in the role. But there wasn’t much role to do a good job with. Holly is a very bland character, with all of her drive and fire from the book simply gone. There’s also a backstory tossed in about her father, Beechwood Short, which is implemented in the strangest way and only comes up when it’s strictly relevant.

Domovoi Butler

Oh, Butler. Artemis’s bodyguard slash best friend slash pseudo father figure. A tremendously important character in the books who is barely in the movie at all. His role is so cut down that it’s absurd. I guess Nonso Anonzie was doing a fine job, but he was hardly there enough for me to tell. All indication that this man is a tremendously important figure in Artemis’s life is simply gone.

Edited to add: I didn’t initially think of anything wrong with Butler being a black man for the movie, but after seeing some complaints from others... yeah I think making a character from a family that’s been servants to a rich white family for generations now into a black man is uhhhhhhhhhh. It’s questionable.

Juliet Butler

Butler’s niece, Juliet, is in the movie so little that I kept forgetting she was there. Which is a damn shame, because I actually really liked Tamara Smart from The Worst Witch already and thought she was an excellent choice for Juliet. In the book, Juliet is the only other child around, and about the only kid that Artemis will remotely consider an equal. She’s great to balance him out and keep him more grounded. In the movie? Eh. She has a handful of lines.

Mulch Diggums

As far as being accurate to the book, Mulch is probably the closest. Though the decision to make a dwarf character not actually short boggles the mind... my main complaint is that Josh Gad likes to improvise his way through scenes, and his style of comedy is pretty grating. It gets old, fast. Throw in the fact that he’s also growling all of his lines to sound different, and you have a character that’s nearly unwatchable.

Julius Root

Speaking of growling all your lines! Commander Root is played by Dame Judi Dench in this movie, changing the character’s gender. I really don’t mind that, and the characterization is largely unchanged. What I do mind is Dench’s delivery. All of her lines are growled in such a low rumble that it sounds like she’s been smoking for eighty years. It becomes impossible to take anything she says or does seriously when she’s speaking like that. Josh Gad even pokes fun at it in a scene with the two of them, saying that they sound like “hippos with a throat infection” -- the only line to get a chuckle out of me.

Artemis Fowl, Sr.

To round it off, we have Colin Farrell as Artemis’s father. And... he’s here, I guess. Farrell mostly sounds bored in all of his scenes and it’s incredibly easy to forget about him.

Angeline Fowl

But wait! A fan of the book may ask. What about Artemis’s mother? How did the movie do her? Surely they didn’t forget Artemis’s mother! And my friends, I regret to inform you that the movie did, in fact, forget Artemis’s mother. She isn’t present, nor is she even mentioned. A major part of the books, a major force to drive Artemis’s character, just... gone. Lovely.

The Production Design

The best word I can think of is uninspired. Most things are serviceable, but unimpressive, leading to the film looking very generic. I was especially disappointed with the look of the fairy underground. A combination of magic and technology has a lot of potential to look visually interesting. Instead, the fairy police just look like the E.L.F.S. from The Santa Clause. And once you’ve seen it, you’ll never unsee it. So you’re welcome.

Additionally, the action scenes tend to be poorly shot and edited. Everything is extremely fast paced with a freely floating camera -- this makes things nearly impossible to follow. Several times I said out loud “what just happened?” because I legitimately could not tell where things were in relation to each other, and who was attacking, who was being attacked, etc. Thankfully there aren’t a lot of action scenes, but the few that do exist are pretty bad.

There are also several sequences of Mulch unhinging his jaw to burrow through the ground. In the book, it’s mildly amusing, but it doesn’t at all translate to film. It’s horrifying in every sense. The CG looks rubbery and fake, and Josh Gad’s performance doesn’t at all sell it. If there were any change from the books I would actually welcome, it’s this one. There are plenty of other ways he could dig. But nope. They stuck to that one. For some reason.

In Conclusion

This is easily the worst book to film adaptation I have ever seen. Please don’t watch it unless you’re a fan of the book and want a laugh.