#I made steak and potatoes once so i guess mashed potatoes too

[dont-look-me-in-the-eye]

do you cook

i can only cook meat lmao. Chicken, goat, lamb, beef, steak, if it’s a dead animal, I can cook it.

…not really anything else tho. i have those father cooking skills

[kodiackwrites]

B&B bulking cod men pt 2!

Konig, Soap & Ghost- pretty much filler but ending is important to plot

—-

The conversation with Konig was over as soon as it started as another door opened at out Soap came, Smiling as he picked up his tray, “Thank you las” he said as he walked right back into his room, As did Konig. Ghost however didn’t make a noise, just took the tray, and disappeared into his room.

Hours later the men would fill the common room, telling stories, the odd laugh and chuckle and funny arguments filled the building. Making you let out a small laugh as you mixed the pot that sat in the oven, watching the timer finish for the steaks in the oven.

You made quick work of organizing all three lunch plates, Half a steak, Half a salmon, some handmade mashed potatoes, with some greens on the side. You grabbed a large tray from under the sink and placed the plates onto each, With a tall glass of milk, and adding salt & pepper shakers onto the tray.

Soap was the first to notice your entrance to the common room, “whatcha got there lassie?” He asked, trying to see the tray, Making Ghost & Konig turn over as you placed the tray on the large table.

They all looked confused, turning to face you. “I figured I’d make you all lunch, I apologize if im over stepping, I just realized you hadn’t eaten yet and it’s getting a bit late for lunch.” You explained, gesturing to the clock that read 2:46.

“Thank you.” Ghost mumbled as he took his pick of the plates, shaking some salt and pepper over it. The rest of the men followed with thank you’s.

“You’re welcome.” You smiled as you returned to the kitchen, cleaning the pots and pans you used to cook, Hearing the sound of cutlery scrapping at tapping against plates as then men silently ate.

Konig came in first, holding the tray covered in empty dishes, you thanked him and reached for the top plate, “non sense, you made us a meal the least I could do is the dishes, if that’s okay?” He asked kindly. “Go right ahead, just please leave them in the drying rack when you’re done.”

—

It has been nearly a week since the men had joined you, meaning they’d only be here for another. But the pattern of making them big breakfasts and lunch didn’t end. Due to them spending more time in the house instead of their usual leaving at 8:30 Am and coming home at 6, you’d grown closer to them, more so to Soap then the other too, but Konig would volunteer to help you clean up, and Ghost would silently do his share.

“What made you want to run a b&b? Isn’t it a bit dangerous in this area?” Ghost spoke up one evening after finishing his dinner, His voice was rough but he still had a British accent, the question caught you off guard, at first it was just for the money but you just never looked back once things started too run well. “I suppose it was just a quick way to get money when I first opened up, the house was rundown and too large for just me so I worked on it and got my permit.” You explained, “I guess it just worked out, I mean you guys are here every few months and there’s really no need to tip as much as you do.” You explained, “It’s a nice place, it’s the least we could do.” Konig chimed in, and Soap made a noise of agreement. “I suppose, It’s never what I wanted to do but hey, whatever makes the money.” You explained. “Perhaps you should join the military, the food you makes fuckin’ amazing. We could always use another cook.” Soap said with a chuckle, “Johnny don’t even try that.” Ghost grumbled angry in response, “I’m just saying, we could always use some better food at base and I’m sure this would suffice.” The scott argued back, “Alright enough, we’re not recruiting an innocent individual to cook for us.” Konig cut them off.

You thought for a moment, “I wouldn’t mind,” the men looked at you like deer in headlights. “That’s not just something you can decide on spot mate.” Ghost spoke up, Giving you a few minutes to think, he wasn’t wrong at all. But what would you be leaving behind? A few friends you barely speak too, a dead beat town? “True, but there’s not much going for me here other than this place.” You explain, “But I understand it’s not as easy as just volunteering and off I go.” Konig returned his attention to his plate, “I mean, if your records clean they might take you, got any professional cooking experience?” Soap asked, “I was a line cook for a few years, took hospitality and foods courses in college.”

Soap shrugged, “worth a shot if you really wanted to commit to it, you’d get slot more money then you would running this place, no offense.” He spoke, “it’s not the money that matters Soap”. Ghost argued again. “Sir- Ghost? I assure you I understand the risks of being involved in the military even as such an unimportant role.” You defended.

—

So here you are, a week after the conversation, sat with Soap finalizing your recruitment application. “So all the files are together?” He asked, you anxiously nodded as you handled him over the folder filled with all of your information. “Great lassie, I’ll be seeing ye soon then, thank you for letting us stay again.” He said with a nod and out the door he went, Following after Ghost and Konig.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #322

I voted today. One of the outcomes will involve the possibility of it becoming illegal to write about certain things to you in my country. As you might guess, I voted for NOT that possibility.

But I don't know what the results are going to be, and I'm very scared (so scared that I decided to get a terabyte drive just to have something to store my letters to you upon, in case writing them becomes illegal), and we're not gonna know anything until the votes are counted, so I am simply going to not think about it, because I already did everything I could to try to prevent the awful terrible horror outcome.

…

So instead I'm gonna talk about all the other stuff I did today!!!

Today is Tuesday, which means it's psychotherapy day. Normally, I also have physical therapy, but last time I was there, I was out of appointments, and so I had to schedule more, and they were already booked pretty far out, so it might be a bit before I can go back (which is all right, because these exercises I've been given seem to be mostly working!!)

The fact that I didn't have physical therapy left me with time to run to the grocery. I was finally able to turn in that receipt I got from the bottle return place, and then I got a few odds and ends that I forgot last time I was there; in some respects, my brain holds onto memories in the same way that pasta sieves hold into water…

I did find this on my grocery store adventures, though:

...Philly steak is probably my favorite sandwich (assuming that it has onions, peppers, and mushrooms on it, and NO marinara sauce... there are several variations...), so I was curious about these, but not curious enough to get them, given that I don't really like the texture of this kind of chip. As far as I know, Pringles are made not by slicing potatoes and frying them, but by baking a potato powder mash into a vaguely chip-like shape. And there's nothing wrong with this, it's just... I don't like how the texture gets after you chew them. They feel... flimsy to me. I eat them and feel vaguely unsatisfied.

In any case, I made myself an epic sandwich when I got home!! Last Saturday, I bagged up some accidentally-extra-toasty poppyseed kaiser rolls, and because they were extra toasty, I wanted them. I'm really glad that today, I got to use one of them!!!

...Yummmmmzzzz....!!!!! 🤤

...Want one...?

I had plenty of energy to finish the broth after that. As anticipated, the fat rose to the top of the chilled broth, like so:

I scooped out the fat and put it in a pot:

Then I melted it!

Once the fat is melted, you gotta use a wire mesh strainer (which conveniently doubles as a flour sifter!) and a whisk to incorporate flour into it a little at a time (or else the flour won't incorporate evenly, and it'll get clumpy and weird).

...M took the photo just above. ...You gotta keep adding flour a little at a time; it'll take more than one spoonful. It should look kinda like this by the time you're done:

From here, you have to incorporate the broth slowly into it. If you do it too fast... well. It also gets clumpy and weird, but... differently. M took these ones for me as I slowly incorporated the broth into the flour-fat mixture. I did it one ladle-full at a time...

...J took the one just above, actually.

...It looked like this when it was done:

From here, I seasoned it with salty things and sugary things; I left out other herbs and spices this time, because I wanted this batch to remain a bit more versatile; I can always add garlic and pepper and whatever later.

In this case, I added Himalayan salt, and also bouillon paste:

Bouillon paste comes in all different kinds of flavors, from veggie, to chicken, to beef, to roasted garlic, to caramelized onion, and even smoked ham. I used a combination of smoked ham and veggie bouillon paste for this one; I would have used the roasted garlic one, but I didn't realize that we were out of the stuff. I'll have to go get more sometime soon...

...In any case, after that, I added sweeteners. Usually, I use dark things with good mineral content, like honey, molasses, and dark agave nectar. I used all three of those, and also a spoonful of that daylily jelly I got from that one weird diner (remember? wasn't that fun?).

I can't tell you how much to add. I can't tell you because it really depends on how much broth you end up with; it varies every time. So you're just gonna have to add things and then taste it to see if it's pleasing to your senses. If you do that long enough, you'll eventually get a feel for how much to add without needing to think too hard about it.

I recommend, at least when you're starting out, always taste your ingredients on their own (if they're safe to eat! don't do this with raw flour or you'll get sick!) so you can have an idea of how strong their flavors are before you use them. I do this whenever I get a new and unfamiliar spice in my spice cabinet, for example. Knowing its relative strength helps me to know how much I should use.

The broth was darker by the time I was done seasoning it. It smells and tastes heavenly:

...So I put it into jars!!!

...Certain things will settle out, and certain things will float to the top. This is normal and expected. It'll even itself out when you add other things to it in order to turn it into soup:

I was also pleased that there was enough leftover to put some into a cup and drink it!!!

...IT WAS REALLY GOOD!!!! OHMYGOSH!!! 🤩🤤🥰

...Want some...?

Two jars are closed and in the fridge. The other three are uncovered and in the freezer. They're uncovered because they're in glass; if they freeze while being covered, the water will expand (as it does when it freezes) and it won't have anywhere to go, so it'll crack the jar. I'll check it tomorrow; they should be well frozen by then, and I'll put lids on them then.

Yesterday, I forgot to change out to my third set of braces. So I did that after I got done with the broth. Here's a picture of the third set, compared to the first:

The first set is on the left, and the third set is on the right. I think the differences between them are a bit more noticeable, don't you? The differences between the second set and the third set were visually very subtle, I think. But I definitely felt the difference when I put the third set into my face, holy cow.

...I think it should be good to change to the 4th set after 9 days instead of 10. The third set didn't feel like anything anymore by like day 5. I just gotta make sure I don't make a habit of forgetting to change to the new set when it's time...

...And... that's really all I have for today. Broth is kind of a project, haha!

...Tomorrow, I'm hoping to make that lamb leg with sauteed mushrooms and some pumpkin soup. Maybe I'll even have the time and energy to go through with that baking experiment...! Or maybe I'm being a little too ambitious. I guess we'll see. Maybe I'll invite Ma from work over; it's been some time since last he popped by to play video games...

...I wish you could hang with us. I'd give just about anything for you to be able to hang with us...

...

...I wish it wasn't impossible. I wish you weren't just a figment of someone else's awesome imagination...

...

...Well, it is what it is. Even knowing it's impossible, I'll still keep writing to you every day in hopes that it reaches you anyway. Why not. It's not like I'm hurting anyone by doing this. And in the best case scenario, maybe all of this will help you somehow... Somehow...

I'm gonna write to you again tomorrow about my various adventures within this ordinary life that I wasn't supposed to be able to have. I'm gonna write and hope that watching me do what "conventional wisdom" says is impossible will inspire you to do the same. Because this ordinary life is waiting for you, if you're willing to make kind, gentle, loving choices in order to bring yourself there.

...I love you. Please stay safe...

Your friend, Lumine

[trash-monkey]

Selcouth

(adj.) unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet marvelous

Chapter 2

I sit at the kitchen table slowly eating my late breakfast sleepily that consist of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and baked beans that Gran had fixed before going out back to hang laundry as I woken up early noon like I usually do when I have no school and Sookie is sunbathing out in front like she usually dose on cloudless warm days, my hair is a nest as a zombie look rest on my face with my PJs a mess. Suddenly a roar of a truck pulls up to the house and from the familiar sound of it it's my father, I continue to eat what food I had left on my plate as I hear him talked to Sookie for a few before coming in with Gran.

"Hey buddy, how you doing?" He asked after kissing me on my head once seeing me at the kitchen table eating and noticed it looked like I just got up.

"I'm good, Dad." I spoke around a full mouth of food watching as Gran give Sookie and Jason their own plates of food along with some iced tea before the home phone rings.

"You want the rest of that?" Jason gesture to Sookie's steak which she glares at him when said that she'll want the rest.

"Okay, just asking. I mean, if you are going want to wear that suite, you might want to start watching what you eat." Both me and Sookie laugh at Jason as the weak excuse of manipulation before Gran walks back into the kitchen

"That was Everlee Mason. Guess who they found strangled to death in her apartment last night? Maudette Perkins." Gran covered my ears before speaking but I already know what she's talking about as I see Jason freeze for a second which I'm the only one to notice.

"Oh my lord!" Sookie expressed at the news.

"She didn’t show up for work and wasn’t answering her phone, so her boss called Bud Dearborne, and he rode over and got the manager to let him in, and they found her." Gran explained what she hear over the phone as she finally removed her hands from my ears.

"I graduated from high school with Maudette!"

"Can you believe it? A...you know what in Bon Temps?!" Gran hesitates slightly while glance at me still sitting at the table.

"Well, why are you surprised? Now that we got ourselves a vampire." Immediately Sookie turns to Jason, irritated.

"Just because he’s a vampire doesn’t mean he’s a.." Jason interrupt his sister quickly.

"Oh, come on. Fangbangers go missing all the time in Shreveport and New Orleans." Jason said a tad too sharply.

"Tack, go get dress." The tone Sookie had that basically told me not to argue with her as she doesn't want me to hear the rest of this conversation so I shove what I have left on my plate into my mouth before running up the stairs to get dressed for the day.

"AUNT SOOK I'M GOING OUTSIDE TO PLAY!" I yelled as I ran through the front door of the house once I'm dressed.

"HEY, GET BACK HERE YOUNG MAN!" Sookie quickly yelled after me as she speed walk to the front door which I walk back with a pout knowing Jason had already left for work.

"What about your homework?" She asked with her arms crossed and her hip cocked out like a true mother.

"I'm was thinking about doing it at Merlotte's." I reasoned whiling shuffling my feet at looking at her in the eyes.

"Ok, you can go." As soon as she said go I'm off into the forest close to the house which I know like the back of my hands while knowing better then to get too far, this is a world of the supernatural after all. More times then not I usually spend my time here when I'm not in school, doing homework, or at Merlotte's with aunt Sook while talking to Lafayette and Sam while either eating or doing homework. Being able to remember my life before this has made me a strange child so I don't really have friends my age which is why I spend a unhealthy amount of time in the forest or at Merlotte's so when something catches my child instincts that comes with being young again I let it loose, not to have any trouble pushing it back when I really need to use my adult reasoning. With that I spend hours in the forest finding bugs or weird looking leafs only with the sun telling the time of day and when it's three hours before the sun hit the horizon I hear Aunt Sook calling for me, not only with my power I believe my fae side is also subconsciously pulling me to the forest.

"TACK!!! COME GET READY TO GO TO MERLOTTE'S!!" Hearing her calling kicks my adult side back in which I know better then to stall so I immediately started running to the house.

"Tack, what you have now?" Sook asked with a amused smile when seeing me running up to the porch with leaves in my hands and have guessed I have something in my pockets which I usually do, I give the leaves to her to hold so I can pull out what I have in my pockets but today I'm unlucky as I only have three weird shaped rocks and a lizard.

"How are you finding this stuff almost everyday?" She asked no one in particular as she gently takes it and let it go by the side the front porch in the bushes, I just shrubbed my shoulders at her question as I retake my leave and place them into the old wooden box I've been storing them in before walking into the house.

"Go get cleaned up." With that I go up to my room to put on some clean clothes and wash what dirt have on myself, since Sook and Gran had noticed early on I'm have a more mature mindset they let me have a little more freedom then other kids my age. Once completed cleaned I take my homework folder out of my school backpack and put it into the one I always carry around with me before returning downstairs.

"I'm ready Aunt Sookie!" I yelled as I hop onto the ground from the last step of the stairs.

"Come on" she sighs out as she too come down the stairs a few moments after me with her uniform Merlotte's on and light makeup, she leads me out of the old plantation house to her worn down car which I buckled myself in.

"Now Tack Merlotte's got it's first vampire and I want you to be nice to him if he shows today, Ok?" Sook says as she pulls the car onto the black top road from the gravel road and I nod although I won't like Bill at all but for Sook I'll try to be nice.

"I will!" I answered with looking at her as I continue to look out the car window and watch as the things fly by.

"Hey Uncle Lafa!" I called out as I run into the dinner and into its kitchen but I stay by it's doors not to get into the way of the cooks.

"Oh hey sugarbaby! Come get Uncle Lafa a hug!" He hold out his arms for me which I run into to hug him tightly.

"What you want to eat, sugarbaby? It's on me and Sam." He lets go right as Sam appears in the small window that's connects the kitchen and behind the bar which he looks through when Sook asked where I am after finally coming in.

"I heard that Lafayette!" Sam said with a warning time and a bit of playfulness before turning back to Sook.

"My usual please" I said before walking out where take a sit at the bar where Sook can keep her eye on me without her work and I pulled out my homework folder to finish.

"Hey Tack!" Tara says as she give me my food which I immediately thanked her before multitasking eating and doing my homework while swinging my feet as I'm far from the ground, she just give me a amused grin before ruffling my hair and getting back to work.

_______________________________________________

[animeboye]

Mid Dragon's World Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Memories of Mom

It was 11:45 the next day. Yet another typical day at school: I had my first four classes and was now eating lunch with Jericho and Cassie. Like always, the twins sat together while I sat across from them. We were all eating the same thing: mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, Salisbury steak, and some chocolate milk to drink.

I sat there at the table and dug my fork into my gravy, head resting in my left hand. I was still feeling the same way I did yesterday. Actually, today I was feeling a bit worse. I pulled a scoop of mashed potatoes up to my mouth and took slow bites. While I chewed, I looked over at Jericho and Cassie then immediately turned my focus to the wall. After I swallowed my food, I took a drink from my milk carton.

“Hey Jake?” Cassie asked.

“Yeah?” I asked back, my focus returning to them.

“Are you okay?” She asked me again.

“I’m…I’m fine. Why?”

“Well you haven’t talked a lot today. What’s up?”

I sighed. I had figured out why I was so sad but I didn’t know if I should tell them. What would they say if I told them that the reason I was sad was because I was jealous of them for having a mom? All my friends had moms: Jericho and Cassie, Theian, Z’haer, even Alex had a mom. But I didn’t. Dad would sometimes show me pictures of mom if I ever asked about her but pictures weren’t good enough. I didn’t want to see pictures of my mom. I wanted to see her for real.

“Jake, if something’s wrong, you can tell us. What’s wrong, dude?” Jericho asked, sounding worried for me.

“Well…No. It’s nothing.” I said, taking a small nibble of my Salisbury steak.

“C’mon, Jake! We can help you!” Jericho promised, now sounding even more worried about me.

I guessed I might as well tell them what was going on. I took another drink of milk and explained everything to Cassie and Jericho.

“I miss my mom.” I said, a sinking feeling developing in my stomach.

“You miss your mom?” Cassie repeated. “Where is she?”

I looked down and away from them.

“She’s dead. She died when I was born.” I said, rubbing my left eye.

Things were silent for a bit as Jericho and Cassie let what I just told them sink in. After awhile, Jericho spoke.

“Aww Jake! I’m sorry.” Jericho said sympathetically.

“I’m sorry too.” Cassie also said in a sympathetic voice.

I sniffled a little, rubbing my nose. I looked back at them, feeling so terrible. I didn’t even want to eat anymore.  

Letting out a rush of breath, I continued explaining to them.

“When I saw you talking with your mom, Jericho after we walked back to your house, it just made me so sad. All my friends knew their moms: you guys, Theian, Z’haer, even Alex got to know his mom.”

I tried to take a couple more bites of my food, having a difficult time doing so and took one last drink of my milk before I stood up and was about to throw my food out.

“I’m going to recess.” I said. “You guys coming?”

“Sorry Jake. Our mom’s picking us up to go to the dentist.” Jericho said.

“Oh…” I replied, feeling disappointed. “…Alright.”

“Hey Jake. Don’t feel bad. We’ll play together tomorrow, kay?” Jericho smiled, trying to make me feel better.

“Okay…” I said, still feeling a little sad.

I threw what remained of my lunch in the garbage bin and set my tray on the table next to it. Once outside, I sneaked around to the back of the school, changed into my half-dragon form, and flew up to the roof, just like I did at my old school. I found it a little harder to get up there since the school was two stories and my old school was only one.

Sitting down on top of the roof, I looked down and saw Jericho and Cassie walking out of the school with their mom and little sister. They got into their van which was parked by the curb and drove away.

Well, as long as I was up here, perhaps I could try to get a little sleep. This time, however, I’d try to make sure to wake up when the bell rang. I laid down, curled into a ball and folded my wings over me like a blanket. Almost every part of me, except for my head and my tail were covered by my wings. I could feel my tail starting to burn from just laying there on the seriously hot roof. I pulled my tail in and tucked it between my legs. I smiled to myself as the pain started to go away. I yawned and laid my head down as I fell asleep.

As I slept, I dreamt that I was in a hospital. For some strange reason, there was no one around. Everything was completely quiet. Slowly I proceeded down the hallway, looking in each room only to find that no one was in them. Suddenly I heard crying. The cries sounded like a baby’s. Worried for the baby I followed its cries as they grew louder and louder with each step. The crying seemed to be coming from the room at the end of the hallway.

When I entered the room the crying was coming from, I found a woman lying in one of the beds. Her eyes were wide open as was her mouth. She was covered in blood. She was dead. Next to her was a blanket with a baby wrapped in it. I picked the kid up and held him in my arms. This didn’t calm him down though. I didn’t know what to do. I never took care of a baby before.

Just then I felt something poking out from the blanket. I held the baby up and noticed that a tail was slowly making its way out of the blanket.

A TAIL?! I thought to myself. Yep. It was a tail alright. And a very familiar tail. The color of the scales, the spikes, the bottom of the tail. There was no doubt: That was tail was mine. Which meant this baby…was me.

Removing the blanket from the baby…me, I saw he…I had tiny little wings growing out of my back. My wings looked so small, so small that they could easily fit in the palm of someone’s hand and so fragile like they could be easily crushed.

Carefully, I wrapped my baby self in the blanket again and looked at the woman who I knew now was my mom. What happened to her?! She looked like someone killed her. The bed she was in was soaked with blood, especially around her legs. I didn’t like this. Whatever was going on was really starting to scare me.

Just then, I could hear strange moaning. At first it started out soft, kind of quiet but it quickly began to grow louder. Eventually it became so loud that I placed my baby self next to mom and covered my ears and squished my eyes shut. My heart was beating rapidly and I was breathing fast and loudly. I didn’t know what was making that terrible noise but I wanted it to stop! I prayed for it to stop!

I slowly moved my hands from my ears, finding that the noise did stop. Once again it was quiet. Slowly I opened my eyes but what I saw once I opened them made me let out a loud scream.

In front of me was a ghost that looked like my dad! Only…the ghost had two large black eyes that made it look kind of like an alien. Its body looked like some kind of a gas, its arms disturbingly long and its fingers looked more like spikes.

I started panting again. I felt like I was going to pass out from fear. The ghost slowly moved closer to me. I had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. As I looked over at the bed my mom and the baby me were in, I noticed that both of them had disappeared as did the blood. In fact, the bed now looked as if no one had even been in it.

The ghost raised a spikey finger, pointing to the bed. “YOU…KILLED…HER…” It said slowly.

“What?” I asked it, not understanding what it meant.

“YOU…KILLED…HER…” It said again.

“YOU KILLED HER!” It shrieked.

“YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED HER!!! YOU KILLED HER!!!!”

I woke up, sweating and panting, my heart beating so fast I thought it would pop out of my chest. What a freaky dream! I could remember every bit of it. The abandoned hospital, the bloody bed, my mom’s body…and the ghost that looked like my dad blaming me for her dying. The ghost’s words make me think…was it true? Was I the reason mom died? If I was never born, would she still be alive?

Before I could try and answer my own question, the bell rang. I flew down, changed back to my human form, and returned to class with the rest of the kids. For the rest of the day, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the ghost from my dream said. It was hard for me to concentrate when all I could think of was that ghost and its horrible voice screaming at me that I killed my mom.

The school bell ran at 3:30 just like always, meaning it was time to go home. I grabbed my things from my locker and proceeded right out the door. Outside, I saw Theian and Z’haer in their human forms standing by the curb. I ran over to them, wondering why they were here. Dad usually didn’t send anyone to come get me unless I was late getting home.

“Hey Theian, hey Z’haer.” I said. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We told your dad we’d pick you up from school today and so…here we are.” Explained Z’haer.

I followed Theian and Z’haer down the street. A few blocks away from my school, I followed them into an alley and they changed into their real forms. Theian crouched down, letting me on his back. As soon as I was on, the two of them flapped their wings, rising into the air and flying straight for home.

We flew high through the sky, everyone below us looking even smaller than ants. I held onto Theian as tightly as I could so that I wouldn’t fall off.

“So Jake, where was your buddy Jericho?” Asked Z’haer.

“His mom picked him and his sister up to go to the dentist.” I explained.

“Oh.” Z’haer replied. “By the way, how did school go?”

“Well…” I said, stalling as I started to think about that dream again.

“Well what? Did something happen, Jake?” Z’haer asked concerned.

I was quiet for a moment. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I explained to them what happened.

“During recess today, I was sleeping on the school roof. I had a nightmare about…”

“About what?” Asked Theian.

I didn’t say anything for a bit again. It was hard for me to think about that dream let alone talk about it. I started thinking about what the ghost from my dream said. About me killing my mom. It made me think about something that maybe Z’haer or Theian would be able to answer.

“Theian…Z’haer…do you…do you think I shouldn’t have been born?” I asked, feeling a sudden heavy pain in my chest after having asked.

I could tell that my question surprised both Z’haer and Theian. I knew they weren’t expecting me to ask but I wanted to know what they thought.

“Jake.” Z’haer said in a surprised voice. “Why would you ask something like that?”

“In my dream…” I began explaining. “I was in this hospital with nobody in it. I walked into one of the rooms and saw my mom’s body laying in a bed covered in blood. Then this weird ghost that looked like dad was shrieking at me, saying that I was the reason mom died.”

I stopped for a moment and sniffled a little. I took another deep breath, feeling like I was about to start crying. I didn’t want to think that I killed my mom but I knew she died giving birth to me. If she never had me, she would still be alive and with dad.

I rubbed my eyes, tears starting to run down my face. I laid my head in between my arms and cried.

“Jake.” Theian said. “Can you listen to me for a moment? You didn’t kill your mom. I’m sure your mother loved you very much and I don’t think she’d want her only son to blame himself for her death.”

I sniffled again and wiped away my tears. “Thanks Theian.” I smiled.

“You know, I never knew either of my hatch parents. They could be alive or dead. I don’t know. But even then I guess I’m okay with it. I had Angela for my mother and that was good enough.” Said Theian, sounding strangely happy.

Theian’s words helped make me feel a bit better. I wiped my eyes one more time and smiled to myself.

“Hey Z’haer!” I called. “What’s your family like?”

“Mine?” Z’haer asked me. “Well, I’ve got a mom, a dad and a brother and sister. I’m the middle hatchling in the family. My sister is the oldest, then me, then my brother.”

“Do you ever see them?”

“Yep!” Z’haer said. “Every night when I return to the dragon realm I make sure to pay them a visit. My parents are getting pretty old so my sister and brother look after them while I work with you guys.”

I could see my neighborhood coming up. Theian and Z’haer began to descend to the ground and we landed in the driveway. I hopped off Theian’s back as he and Z’haer changed into their human forms and came in the house with me. Inside I saw Alex and dad in the living room, sitting on the couch together watching TV. I kicked off my shoes then walked into the living room, set my bag by the reclining chair next to the couch and sat down.  I grabbed the lever on the side of the chair and pulled the footrest up, my feet going up along with it. I sighed comfortably as I sank back into the chair.

“Welcome home Jakol.” Dad greeted.

“Hi dad, hi Alex. Hey Alex, how did you get home?” I asked.

“I flew. How else would I get home?” Alex answered.

“Well, we should probably be going. I’ve got to check on my family.” Z’haer said, stretching his arms.

“Z’haer.” Said dad as he stood up and walked over to Z’haer.

“Remember not to—“

“I know.” Z’haer interrupted. “I haven’t told my family I’ve been working with you. They don’t suspect a thing.”

“Good. The last thing we need is word getting around the dragon realm about us. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you or the others how disastrous it would be if one of the Leaders learned of our plan.” Dad said, sounding suspicious.

“I understand sir. I swear I won’t say anything.” And with that, Z’haer opened a portal in front of the door. Theian entered first and then Z’haer. Once they had entered through it the portal closed behind them.

Dad sat up, resting his arms on his legs. He turned and looked at me and Alex.

“So how was school today boys?” Dad asked us.

“Same as always: didn’t talk to anyone. I did get in a fight with some kids who were tricking to start something with me.” Alex said, sounding a little angry.

“Did you win?” Asked dad.

“Well of course!” Alex said sarcastically. “Come on dad! I’m a half-dragon fighting some humans! They didn’t have a chance!”

“Ah that’s true.” Dad smiled. “Nicely done son. Good to see you’re getting some training in without my telling you. And how about you, Jakol? How was your school day?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I said, thinking about my dream again which yet again made me feel sad.

“Why not? Did you get in a fight too, Jakol?” Asked Dad.

I shook my head then looked down without saying anything.

“You okay Jake?” Asked Alex, sounding really worried about me.

I shook my head again, this time not looking at my dad or Alex.

“Well what’s wrong? Come on. You can tell us.” Alex said, sounding even more concerned.

I sighed and turned to them. If I was able to tell Theian and Z’haer then it should have been okay for me to tell dad and Alex why I was upset. Deciding to tell Alex and dad, I looked straight at them and said…

“I miss my mom.” I said sadly.

“Mom?” Dad repeated. “What made you think about her?”

“Well everyday after school, my friends Jericho and Cassie’s mom picks them up from school. Now when I see them with their mom, it makes me kinda angry and kinda sad at the same time. It makes me wish my mom was still alive.” I explained, feeling pain in my chest, my eyes watering.

I sniffled again. “I miss mom so much. I wish she was still here…”

I shut my eyes and rubbed them. I turned away from Alex and dad, not wanting them to see my face in case I started crying.

“Well…” Dad began. “I can’t bring her back but I still might be able to let you see her.”

“Really?!” I exclaimed, a sudden smile appearing on my face as I turned to dad again. “How? How are you gonna do it?”

“I’m going to use a spell to show you my memories. It is one of five spells known to only a select few denizens of the dragon realm. I’ve already taught this spell to Z’haer.” Explained dad, standing up and coming over to me with Alex following him.

I remembered that spell! It was the very same spell Z’haer used to show me, Theian, and Jericho Alex’s memories. Dad kneeled down by the chair, Alex standing over him.

“Now do you know how to do this, Jakol?” Dad asked.

“Yeah. When we went hunting, Z’haer used that spell to show us Alex’s memories.” I answered.

“Ah yes that’s right. Well, shall we do this?”

I nodded, excited that I’d get to see mom, even if it was just through dad’s memories.

Dad placed his hand on my forehead and grabbed my left hand. Both of us shut our eyes and when I opened mine, I was now in a building that looked like some weird laboratory. The building was shaking terribly like there was an earthquake. A group of two dragons, four kids, and two adults, one who was carrying a little dragon in his arms, were running out of the building. Behind them laid the body of a dead dragon and next to that dragon was my dad, also in his dragon form. He struggled to stand up but collapsed to the ground. As the building started shaking even more violently, a portal opened up in front of dad. He crawled towards the portal and just as it started to close behind him, the building exploded. Dad got caught in the explosion and was flung forward into the dragon realm.

Rained poured from the dragon realm’s sky, hitting my dad’s orange-red scales. He was panting loudly, coughing up some blood. Struggling, he lifted his head and opened another portal. With what little strength he had left, dad crawled toward the new portal. His head fell to the ground, groaning in pain as the portal began to disappear. Dad jerked his head up and tried to focus as the portal reappeared. Slowly he crawled into the portal and lost consciousness when he entered into it.

“That day I barely escaped with my life.” I heard dad’s voice say. His voice was really loud. I couldn’t tell where he was.

“With what little strength I retained from my battle with Doulstraz’s parents and my facility’s explosion, I escaped into the dragon realm. However I wasn’t safe yet. If someone from the dragon realm found me, it would be all over for me. I had to escape once more to the human realm. So, with my last ounce of strength, I opened another portal and made my way into the human realm. Although I was able to get out of the human realm, I knew I wasn’t safe yet. My body was badly beaten to the point that I was on death’s door.  As I slipped into unconsciousness, I feared this was it. I was going to die without seeing Tourajé’s dream fulfilled.” Explained dad.

Dad’s memory changed. Now I was standing in a hospital room. My dad, who had changed back to human form, lay in a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages that made him look like a mummy. His breathing was better now but still not too good. A woman walked into the room and sat down in a chair next to my dad’s bed. She didn’t look like a nurse. Was she the one that brought dad to the hospital? I walked closer to the woman and studied her, noticing just how similar she looked to my mom, only younger. This must have been my mom when she was younger.

I smiled widely. I couldn’t believe it: I was standing next to my mom! I was so happy I thought I was going to cry. Tears formed in my eyes as I called out to her. I knew from Z’haer’s explanation that I couldn’t interact with my dad’s memories but I didn’t care. I still wanted to let mom know I was here. Right next to her.

“Mom, it’s me! Hey mom, it’s Jake!” I shouted, trying to get her attention.

But she didn’t notice me. I tried to give her a hug but my arms passed through her. I looked down and frowned. I really wanted to talk to her and have her talk to me. To hug her and be hugged by her but I couldn’t. All I could do was watch her through dad’s memories.

“When I woke up I wasn’t sure where I was. Why was I wrapped in bandages and why couldn’t I move my body? I had found myself changed back into my human form. The woman you see before you, Jakol, who would eventually become your mother, found me collapsed outside of the restaurant she was working at. She brought me to a hospital and made sure I got the treatment I needed. Everyday she would stop by and visit me, sometimes bringing gifts with her.”

Dad’s memories changed yet again. This time I was standing outside the entrance to the hospital. Dad, whose body looked as good as new, was walking out of the hospital with mom behind him.

“My recovery was fast, and five weeks later, I would be released from the hospital. With my body as good as new I was ready to get back to my plan. My first plan was to gather together two groups of dragons to help me with taking over the world. My view was simple: one group would be my Followers. They would help with the actual takeover, make sure that no humans tried to fight back. The second group would become my Apprentices. Their job would be to take care of the humans we captured, keep them fed and watered. Yes, my vision was right in front of me, clear as day. However, there was something that stood before my vision…Your mother.”

As dad started down the road from the hospital, mom called to him. He stopped and turned around.

“What is it?” Dad asked.

“What are you going to do now?” Asked mom.

“I don’t know.” Dad shrugged.

“Do you have a home? I can drive you.” Mom said, offering dad a ride.

“I had a home once. Don’t anymore.”

“I’m…sorry to hear that. If you want, you can stay with me. I have my own place.” Mom smiled.

“I didn’t understand this woman. Why was she so concerned about me? Was it simply because I was gravely injured…or was there something more to it? Nonetheless, she fascinated me in a way no human ever had. I wanted to know more about her. So since I had nowhere to go, I agreed to live with her.”

The scene changed again and this time, I was standing in my mom’s apartment. She and dad sat on the couch together in her living room.

“You know, I was just thinking: We’ve known each other for five weeks and we don’t really know anything about each other.” Mom said.

Mom giggled. She stood up and walked in front of dad.

“I’m Christa Peterson. I’m 26 years old and I’m a waitress at Denny’s. What I really want to do though is paint. What about you? What’s your name?”

“I don’t have one.” Dad shrugged again.

“Come on, you can tell me. I won’t think it’s weird or anything. So what’s your name?” Mom asked, dropping onto the couch and nudging dad’s shoulder.

Dad grumbled something under his breath. Neither me or mom could hear him so she asked him to repeat what he said but a little louder.

“My name is Saulstrance.” Dad said in a much clearer voice.

“Saulstrance? That is a bit of a weird name. What kind of name is it?”

“It’s a dragon name. Look, Christa, there’s something you should know about me.”

Dad stood up and changed into his real form. Mom’s eyes grew wide when she saw what dad really was. She couldn’t believe that she was looking at a real live dragon. The idea musta seemed too crazy for her.

“Even though your mom knew early on what I really was, she still wanted me to be with her. The longer I spent with her, the more I realized that I was falling for her. I truly found her to be a unique and interesting human. If there was anyone I wanted to rule my soon-to-be kingdom with me, it was her. I shared with her my dream of making the human realm a better place, a dream that she confessed she shared. She also wanted to see an end to the suffering this world brings. Being with me gave her hope as she thought I may very well be able to make ours and Tourajé’s dream a reality.”

Everything changed again and this time, dad and mom stood close together in a dark bedroom. Mom and dad held each other as they kissed for a long time. Mom looked a little bit older in this memory while dad still looked the same. Mom and dad stopped kissing and she led him to the bed.

Suddenly, everything changed again. We were back in the living room. Mom was hugging dad and when she let go, she looked down at her belly which was a lot bigger than it was in the last memory. This was when mom was pregnant and I was the baby in her belly. I smiled for the two of them although I wasn’t really sure why. After all I was the one that was going to be born. Why would I be happy that I was about to be born if I was already born?

“When your mom was already three months pregnant, she had already begun deciding on names for you. We had gone through so many names until we came across two we really liked: If you were going to be a boy, we would name you Jacob. If you were a girl, we were going to name you Samantha. I suggested to her that instead of naming you Jacob, we should give you a dragon name, since you were going to be a half-dragon. And so that was when we decided your name would be Jakol.”

And again everything changed. I was back in the hospital this time. Mom was laying in a hospital bed with a nurse telling her to push. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, gripping the blanket tightly in her hands.

“Alright, you’re doing great Christa. Now, just one more push.” The doctor said.

Mom gave one large push, screaming even louder this time before falling back into the bed. A baby’s cries suddenly filled the room and there I was, me as a baby, my little wings and tail as fragile as they were in my dream. Even though the doctor noticed my dragon parts, he didn’t say anything about them. After cleaning me off, he gave me to my mom and dad. My dad held me in his arms before giving me to mom. He laid me beside her since she was too weak to hold me.

“Hi Jake.” Mom said, sounding exhausted. “I finally get to see my baby boy. For the first…and last time.”

“Last time? What do you mean Christa?!” Dad said alarmed.

“Christa isn’t strong enough to bear children. In fact, her body is so weak that even birthing one child could kill her.” The doctor explained.

“What?! But then—No! Christa! Why?!” Dad exclaimed, his voice shaky.

“Because I love our son. I love Jake more than life itself. It would have been wrong of me to kill him so I could live.” Mom said, her breathing growing heavier and her eyes shutting every now and then.

“But--!” Dad exclaimed.

“Our Jake is a very special boy. And not just because he’s part dragon. It’s because he’s our boy. Take care of him.”

Dad nodded in agreement, looking down at the ground.

Mom picked me up and held me in her arms. For the next four minutes, she held me, singing a lullaby to me which made me fall asleep. As soon as I was sleeping, mom laid back down and fell asleep too. Only…she wouldn’t be waking up.

“No! Christa! Wake up!” Dad shouted, causing the baby me to wake up and start crying.

“No! No…” Dad said. He couldn’t believe mom was gone. He lowered his head. I walked closer to him and what I saw shocked me. This was the first time ever that I saw dad crying. Seeing mom laying on the hospital bed dead and dad crying made me cry as well.

Dad’s memory ended and I was back in the living room. When I felt under my eyes, I found my tears from when I was seeing dad’s memories were still there, traveling down my face. I wiped my tears away as dad took his hand off my forehead.

That night I was getting ready for bed when dad and Alex came into my room.

“How are you feeling, Jakol? Are you better?” Dad asked.

“Yeah.” I answered. “I still feel a little sad but…I’m also happy. Even if mom isn’t around anymore, I can at least be happy knowing that she really loved me. I’m glad I was born to you and mom.” I smiled at dad.

Dad smiled back at me. He walked up and rubbed my head. Then he left my room with Alex following behind him and shut the door.

With a smile on my face and feeling nothing but happiness, I crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep. While I slept, I had another dream about mom, only this time, it was a happy dream. Mom, dad, and me when I was about four were on a beach together. We walked down the beach, with me in the middle holding both my parents’ hands. They would pull me up occasionally and I would swing in the air, giggling. I looked up and smiled at mom and dad and they smiled down at me. Mom picked me up, put me on her shoulders, and gave me a piggyback ride. With dad following behind us, she ran around the beach, laughing with me.

“I love you mommy.” I said, smiling.

“I love you too Jake.” Mom said, also smiling.

[chrissyfied]

She was an odd thing herself — particularly when it came to food. Anything meat like beef and steak? She didn’t like the texture. Never did since she was a child. Maybe it had everything to do with her mother not being the best cook. Laura didn’t believe in grocery store products, and made sure everything was 100% farm fresh from the butcher to the produce and milk man. Season packets from the store? Chemicals. Freshly ground spices for the Cunningham household, and yet, she didn’t season anything. At least, not for Chrissy. Plain. Just as were her chicken cutlets, brown rice, and mashed sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes were not the rave at her lunch table. Some kids were making quite the fuss with eww’s, and loud enough for the majority to hear. Here’s the thing, she was much too distracted by the fuss happening elsewhere over by the line where other kids were waiting for their lunch. Chrissy quickly recovered her mashed sweet potatoes, making a slight mess of splattering some on the table, and while she was taught to clean up after herself, she had much more important matters!

Chrissy never heard of the boy who caught her attention, and even if she listened to the stories, she wouldn’t think twice to stay away. They definitely stuck out once she approached him, both rather lanky in appearance — it would be Chrissy’s final year of growth spurts, unknown to her at that time. Final year of also being spontaneous without reserving oneself for the masses.

“You shouldn’t be so rude.” Directed to the rich kids who wouldn’t stop running their mouth even when she arrived. Some of them, she was familiar with. Including one boy who was in her class, Jason Carver. They didn’t take her seriously, because kids were going to be kids, or so their parents would later claim if any reports were made.

Oooh! Freak’s gotta girlfriend.

It wasn’t worth it to react, so with a sigh of defeat, she held onto her Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox with one hand to use the other hand to guide Eddie with her by his arm. Just to put enough distance between them and the other kids. “I’m sorry about that.” It wasn’t words to her, as she genuinely looked to be sorry. “Would you like to sit with me? I was over…” Her voice trailed off because lo and behold, the kids she stood up to pushed past her to take the side of the table that used to be clear. “— there. That’s okay.”

It really wasn’t, but Chrissy was good at spotting actual trouble. “I guess this means I will be sitting wherever you want to sit.” Positivity was key, and she looked plenty positive, smiling away at him.

@edhellfire

@chrissyfied

School had never been kind to Eddie Munson. Scratch that, life had never been kind to Eddie Munson. This was a big year for him too. Wayne Munson was made his official guardian after his father's sentencing. Forest Hills was officially his home and that summer Wayne had moved his things out of the single bedroom in the trailer to give the growing boy his own space. Wayne wasn't ready for a kid. Wayne didn't know the first thing about raising a kid but he was trying. He even got Eddie a new outfit for the first day of school. Most kids got a whole new wardrobe - Eddie got a pair of jeans, a pair of shoes and a handful of tshirts. Still, that was more effort than his dad ever made.

Uncle Wayne had not packed him a lunch though. Instead he placed a couple of crumpled up dollar bills and hoped it was enough for Eddie to get some food in his stomach. Uncle Wayne quickly learned that the growing kid had quite the appetite.

Eddie was very much in his awkward phase. He'd had a growth spurt during the summer so he was skinny, all arms and legs, the buzzcut didn't help him look any cooler. He wasn't trying to be cool though. He was just trying to make it through the day.

He waited in line to get himself some food when someone was shoved into him. The rich kids, that would blossom into jocks as the year progressed, were playing around and one of them was pushed into Eddie causing him to stumble back. Eddie didn't say anything but he overheard one say something about how his dad was in jail for murder. His dad was not in jail for murder but Eddie didn't argue. He ordered himself a slice of pizza and a can of orange soda then stood there, tray in hand, big brown eyes scanning the cafeteria for a place to sit.

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 113: Cooking

"Uncle Harry!" Teddy shouted as he came spilling through the floo. "Uncle Harry!"

Draco looked up from the book he was reading with an amused grin at his nephew, it seemed like only yesterday that Teddy had come flying through the floo for the very first time, laughing like he'd been told a wonderful joke. It was more than a decade ago now, though; it was hard to believe that the little boy whom he'd loved since a few months after his birth was almost 21 now.

"Uncle Har-" he started again before Draco interrupted.

"He's not here, bean," he said. "He's at a meeting with the Minister."

Teddy visibly deflated, "Do you think I could interrupt him? It's an emergency."

"What kind of emergency?" he asked as he closed his book. Knowing Teddy, it could be anything from having a finger very nearly severed to needing help picking out an outfit for school.

He groaned and made his way over to Draco, dragging his feet across the floor and plopping down beside him, "I need help learning how to make something for dinner for a date."

"I can help with that."

Teddy leveled him with an unimpressed, disbelieving look. It was so very much like Harry it was a wonder that he hadn't had to use his metamorphmagus powers at all.

"I can!" he protested.

"You can't cook," he replied.

Draco smirked at him, "Well I know that and you know that, but you know who didn't know that for the first eight months of dating me?"

(Read more below the cut)

"No way," he said, shaking his head as he laughed. "Uncle Harry can be oblivious but never about you."

He chuckled, "It's easy to make it seem like you cooked a meal if you just order things that seem like the could have been something you made."

"But wasn't he mad that you lied?"

"Honestly?" he asked, "He thought it was hilarious."

"But why did you lie?"

He shrugged, "Uncle Harry cooked so well and I didn't want to be a disappointment." He swallowed, "I didn't really feel worthy of his love in the beginning and not being able to cook felt like it was just one more thing that I couldn't do for him."

Teddy picked at his cuticle for a minute before he asked, "Did you regret lying?"

"I felt really embarrassed," he replied before deciding that he should just tell the story. "One morning, after Uncle Harry stayed over at my flat for the first time, he wanted to make breakfast together."

"Uh oh," Teddy said, obviously sensing where this was heading.

"Uh oh is right," he laughed. "I told him I didn't have anything in, which was true since I never cooked for myself, and I tried to convince him to go out for breakfast with me but," he shrugged, "You know how he is when he gets an idea in his head. He thought it would be romantic," he added with another chuckle.

"So what happened?"

He scratched the back of his neck, the embarrassment he'd felt all of those years ago rising up once more. "He apparated us back to his flat and into the kitchen. Then he asked me to crack the eggs while he got out other ingredients for omelets, he even handed me a bowl."

"And?"

"And I cracked the eggs on the counter and set the entire thing, shell and all, into the bowl."

Teddy burst out laughing, "You didn't."

"Oh, I did," he replied. "He turned around and I will never forget the look on his face as he stared at the bowl. The confusion warring with amusement like he wasn't quite sure if I was making a joke," he shook his head. "He didn't even get any words out to ask because I just burst into tears."

Frowning, Teddy asked, "But why?"

He sighed, "I know it's hard for you to imagine because Uncle Harry and I have been in love and in a happy relationship for almost your entire life, but in the beginning things were difficult. We were both trying to find our way, both trying not to fail the other, and it felt like I'd failed."

"But you didn't, though. Right?"

With a little smile, he nodded, "Right. I confessed that I'd been buying us meals and passing them off as homemade because I didn't want him to think I was useless."

"What did he say?"

"That I was many, many things but useless wasn't one of them," he replied, remembering the way Harry had cupped his face in his hands and stroked his thumbs tenderly over Draco's cheeks. "He taught me how to make omelets that morning. And we actually ended up cooking together a lot," he added. "We have a lot of fun in the kitchen."

"So, you could actually teach me how to make dinner?" he asked hopefully.

He inclined his head, "I could. And I will if you want me to, or..."

"Or?" Teddy asked.

"Or you could learn from my mistakes, tell her the truth, and ask her to teach you how to make dinner."

He stared down at his hands thoughtfully before saying, "Do you think that would work?"

"It worked for me," he said, "And it's certainly better than starting off a relationship with lies. If it's important for her that you know how to cook, you could always take a cooking class in the future."

After a long moment, Teddy nodded, "You're right. Thanks, Uncle Draco," he added, hugging him tightly for a moment before saying, "I've got to go," and jumping up. "See you later!"

"Love you," Draco called as Teddy dashed back to the fire place.

"Love you, too!' he called as he disappeared.

Shaking his head, Draco stood up and made his way to the kitchen to take out the steaks he'd started marinating earlier, and set about making dinner.

Harry arrived just as he was taking the steaks off of the grill top, "Hey, you," he said, kissing Draco's cheek.

"Hi," he replied, leaning in to steal a kiss. "I saw your nephew today," he said as Harry pulled a couple of wine glasses down.

"Oh?" he asked, "I'm sorry I missed him."

Draco plated their steaks, mashed potatoes, and green beans, passing one plate across the island to Harry, "You'll never guess what he wanted."

"You'd better just tell me then," he said as he hand Draco a glass of the Cabernet he'd just opened.

He grinned, "He wanted you to teach him how to cook dinner to impress a girl."

"Ah, well, that makes him your nephew then, doesn't it?"

Draco laughed, "I told him that. Told him the whole story, in fact."

"Oh? What did he decide on then?"

He reached across the island to take Harry's hand in his, "He's going to ask her to teach him to cook."

"Well, we can expect a happy announcement any time, then," he said with a smile. "I was in love with you well before we started cooking together but after that," he shook his head, "I was completely gone on you."

"Me too," he said softly.

"And I have been ever since." He brought Draco's knuckles to his lips, "And I'm sure I always will be."

===========

Day 112: Intimacy | Day 114: Shine

[capricorn-stark]

Othello Pt 2

pairing: jason todd x reader, reader is a psych major because i think the concept of psych majors in Gotham is funny lmao

warning: i wrote this at 1 am again, kinda long, swearing

a/n: i mention Dana Harlowe and Annie B’s diner, they’re both from RHATO’s final two issues lol. still dedicated to @tadpole-san even though she hate crimed me 

part 1

“I thought you said you wanted to get coffee,” you started when you noticed Jason veering away from where your regular coffee shop should’ve been, choosing to cut through the street and venture to a different path entirely. “Because you just-”

“Yeah, I know, I’m hungry,” he declared, slipping his hands into his pockets and tilting his head towards another row of stores illuminated with neon-lights and flickering street lamps. “This place has better stuff than overpriced coffee, promise.” You let out an exaggerated gasp of shock at that notion and he laughed, nudging your shoulder with his. 

It was always strange to be walking around Gotham during the night, but with Jason by your side, it was far less worrying than it usually was. On your own, you couldn’t even imagine traveling around the dark streets littered with muggers, petty thieves, and the occasional evil clown prince or two - one minute, you’d be speed-walking down the streets, the next minute you could end up as the lucky winner of Scarecrow’s fear-gas testing special.

You actually knew someone who had been in that very situation. They were in Arkham now.

With Jason, it was almost ridiculous how much safer you felt. It didn’t take a whole lot of observational skills to notice how the men who usually leered at you and your friends when you passed shrank and slipped into the shadows when a man over 6 feet in height and built like a tank walked past them. Jason himself was in a good mood tonight, his shoulders relaxed and a slight smile playing at his lips while he told you about the local theatrical-adaptation of Othello that was currently under production near Gotham University. 

You were getting used to seeing him like this - not so moody, smiling, present - but you had also noticed the expressions he had when no one was looking, when he wasn’t thinking about anything in particular, when his gaze had a certain intensity to them that you hadn’t ever quite seen before. He didn’t really like talking about himself or his life, preferring to keep conversations centered around school or you. The few times you had tried asking about his family and work had all led to him clamming up and quickly dropping the subject, his body language rigid and completely closed-off, the crease by his brows deepening as his expression transformed into a scowl. It was the first time you realized that Jason Todd could actually be genuinely scary - and the first time you realized there was a much, much darker side of him that you weren’t sure if you wanted to see.

You knew it wasn’t your place to pry, and you had never brought it up since - but you couldn’t help but wonder just what had happened to make someone like him so angry. 

“...and I figured we could - did you just zone out on me?”

You snapped back into attention at his rather dramatic tone, flinching out of your character analysis to pay actual mind to the man in question himself.��

“No, I just-” 

“Yeah? What did I just say?” Jason challenged, grasping your arm to pull you away from the traffic lane you had nearly walked right into. His disbelieving expression made your face burn red - but much to your relief (and embarrassment), he was laughing. 

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t completely zoned out-” 

“After you literally walked into traffic? Yeah, I can tell,” he deadpanned, tugging you towards him right as the cars slowed to a halt, the pedestrian signal blinking above you. The sudden action and the sudden closeness made your face heat up - something he apparently noticed when his bright green eyes flickered across your features and caused a smirk to tug at his lips. Instead of the teasing you had braced yourself for, you watched as he tilted his head towards the diner across the street, letting go of your arm. “It’s right over there, c’mon.” 

He was already moving towards the crosswalk when you shook yourself out of your stupor, quickly moving to catch up with him and glancing up at the diner. The big glowing red letters on the sign beside it read “Annie B’s”. 

“They got good food,” he explained at your questioning look, leaning forwards to swing the door open for you. “I used to hang around here a lot when I was a kid.” 

“I don’t think I’ve actually seen this place before,” you commented, entering and hearing Jason close the door behind him, taking a quick glance around before you took a seat in one of the cherry-red and white leather booths. “Kinda wish I had.”

The entire diner had a vintage touch to it, from the luminescent pink and blue lights lining the ceilings to the multicolored tile floors, the cherry-red barstools, and even the jukebox in the corner cranking out old-timey tunes. There were only a few other people sitting at the bar and chilling in a booth a few down from your own, all too absorbed in their own worlds to pay much mind to the two of you. You could hear the sizzling of the food being made back in the kitchen, emitting a heavenly aroma that made your stomach growl not-so subtly. Jason laughed as he slid down across from you, sliding one delicate paper menu over as he scanned over the other. 

“Pretty cool, huh? And like I said, they got great food.” He nodded at your stomach and you rolled your eyes, eliciting another laugh from him. “Knock yourself out, ‘cus dinner’s on me.” Before you could open your mouth to object, the kitchen doors flew open and a woman stepped out holding a heaping tray of food. 

“One chicken fried steak with a side of mashed potatoes and rings,” she announced as she set down the trays in front of a man sitting a few booths down, already moving to refill his glass with a pitcher of water. “Enjoy your dinner, Phil.” 

“Thanks, Dana,” the man told her as he picked up his fork and gave her a crooked-toothed grin, already digging into his food. “Always do.” 

“I sure hope so,” the lady agreed, moving to walk back towards the kitchen before catching sight of them. She broke into a grin at the sight of Jason sending her a playful salute, changing course to head towards their booth instead. “Well, look who it is!” she exclaimed, securing her curly black hair out of her face with an orange-and-green bandana as she stopped in front of them. “Jason Todd decided to drop by for a little visit, did he? And he brought a friend.” 

The sight of her beaming at you was too contagious for you to not smile back up at her in return.

“Hi, Dana,” Jason grinned, nodding at you as she looked between the two of you. “This is Y/N. Y/N, Dana Harlowe. Her dad runs this place.” 

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Dana told you with another grin, leaning forwards to shake your hand in greeting. “When I decided to help out at the diner tonight, I wasn’t expecting a miracle. I definitely didn’t think this boy would ever walk in here with a date of all things-”

“Oh as if,” Jason scoffed loudly as the two of you laughed, face reddening beneath the bright colored lights. “Have you seen me? I was born a lady-killer.” He shot you a wink and you sent him another playful eye roll.

“Yeah, you sure killed me alright.” Dana burst out laughing again as Jason immediately let out a protest of betrayal at your words.

“I like you,” she decided when she finally managed to straighten, taking out her notepad and pen with another brilliant smile. “Did y’all decide what you wanted yet, or do you need another minute?” Jason glanced over at you and you nodded back up at her.

“Sure, I’m ready.” 

Dana headed back into the kitchen for your food after you ordered, leaving the two of you to sit in a comfortable, familiar silence, the sound of forks scraping against porcelain plates and vintage beats being the only disruptors. 

“I used to hear these songs on Gotham City Radio all the time,” Jason finally began after taking a sip of his water, fixating his gaze back on you as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the leather seat. “Growing up, I mean. I still do, sometimes.” 

“Classic jazz?” You grinned, taking a small sip of your own water in turn. “You? I didn’t get that vibe from you.” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck with a slight shrug.

“At my old place, I had, uh, a butler. He wasn’t really a butler, honestly, he was more like a dad than anything. Or, like, a really cool grandpa. He had a whole rack of guns and shit he kept polished in this big cabinet thing-” You raised a brow, attempting to hide your amusement by taking another sip of water. You were a little surprised that he had actually started talking about his family at all - you weren’t about to ruin it, and boy, did you want to know more about the guy. “And he used to play that station all the time at home, GC Radio Classics. I guess I kinda missed hearing it.” 

“He does sound pretty cool,” you admitted with a smile, setting the glass back down. “Do you still visit him?” Jason hesitated a few moments before attempting a nonchalant shrug. You noticed the tightness in his body language again, the same sort of tightness you saw when he was closing up around you. 

“Not much anymore,” he finally said, letting his shoulders drop a little bit. “It’s been...a while. Just got some shit going on.” You watched him take another drink before you spoke again.

“If you ever want to talk about it with me - or talk about anything, really - you can, Jason.” It wasn’t just the products of your psych major showing through you - you meant your words, and the slight smile playing at his lips seemed to signal that he had understood that as well. 

“Don’t worry about it, seriously. But thanks.” You nodded, looking up again when the kitchen doors flew open once again, Dana heading out towards your table with another two trays heaped with mouth-watering food. 

“And here you go,” she smiled as she set your respective meals down before you, taking your glasses to refill them as well. “Enjoy your food, you two. Call me over if there’s anything else you need, yeah?” You both thanked Dana as she sashayed away again, letting the doors swing shut behind her once again after checking up on the rest of her customers. 

Neither of you wasted any time digging into the food as soon as it appeared, finishing most of it in mere minutes like the starving university students you were, breaking the silence with the occasional offer at trying something the other had gotten. The aroma had been no false-alarm - it tasted even better than you had anticipated, and that was certainly saying something. Savory fries, buttery biscuits, and smoky burgers were better than anything else you had in a while. 

“How did I not find this place sooner?” you sighed as you pressed a napkin to your lips, leaning back against your seat as you tried to process just how full you really felt. At this rate, you would have to roll your way out of the place. “I know you said it was gonna be good, but I didn’t expect it to be this good.”

“I told you,” Jason grinned as he finished up the last of his burger and fries, crumpling up his own napkins and setting them into the tray to throw away. “I know good food places! I grew up around these streets.”

“So did I!” you protested as he laughed and stood up to throw all the trash away, setting the trays back where they were supposed to go and pulling out his wallet just as Dana appeared by the kitchen’s window with two milkshakes. 

“You can count these on the house,” she told him as she slid them over, ignoring his protests and sending you a wink as you stood up from the booth as well. “Enjoy your night - and it was real nice meeting you, Y/N. Todd, I better be seeing you around more often.” 

“Yes ma’am,” he deadpanned, his smile warm as she waved them out anyways. “Thanks, Dana.” 

You called out a thanks to her as well, tightening your jacket around you as you left the warmth of the diner and felt the chill of Gotham’s dreary night hit you once more. Jason handed you your milkshake, bringing his own straw to his lips and taking a sip. 

“You guys seem close,” you noted with a smile as you took a sip yourself, relishing the cold, sweet taste of the shake in delight. Jason chuckled at that, shrugging as you walked along the illuminated sidewalks in no particular direction. 

“She’s like an annoying sister to me. I’ve known her since I was a puny kid.” You watched as the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile as he took another sip. “Dana, her sister, and her dad were good to me growing up. They’re great people.”

That, you had been able to tell just from meeting the woman herself. 

“I liked meeting her. She was pretty cool.” He chuckled again and spared you another glance. “And thanks, by the way, for dinner tonight. It really was really good. And way better than just coffee.”

“I told you,” he grinned, flickering those brilliant green eyes across your face again. “I know where the good spots around Gotham are. We don’t have a lot of them, but when we do have them, they’re pretty damn good.” That elicited a laugh from you and Jason stopped beneath one of the streetlamps lining the sidewalk. 

“You did better than I expected, Todd.” He made a big show of popping his collar and scoffing at your comment.

“What, you expected me to not impress you? Do you think that low of me?” 

“That theatre minor of yours is really starting to make an entrance, you can put it away now-” 

“Hey!” You burst out laughing and he couldn’t help but join. You felt pretty sure that he looked the happiest right then and there than you had ever really seen him - whatever that might’ve meant. Pretty soon, your laughter was residing and he had taken a slight step forwards, a cheeky grin still plastered on his face. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” 

You looked back up at him with a nonchalant shrug despite fighting back another smile yourself. 

“Yeah, it was a pretty good night.” His gaze flickered towards your lips before settling back on your face. 

“Yeah?” The sounds of honking cars and the murmurs of people walking past all around you felt like they were being drowned out somehow when you felt him get a little bit closer. The smile tugged at the corner of your mouth again.

“Yeah.” Another moment passed before Jason finally closed the distance between you, meeting your lips in a surprisingly gentle kiss for a man who looked like he could snap a baseball bat with his bare hands. You wrapped your arms around his neck after yet another moment, feeling him draw you even closer to him at the action. 

Literally and figuratively, it was a sweet kiss. The milkshake truly had done wonders. 

You were a little breathless when he finally pulled away, and you hoped the shitty streetlight would keep him from seeing just how red your face had gone. Jason was grinning at your reaction, rubbing the back of his neck.

“C’mon, that was better than pretty good.”

“Shut up,” you told him immediately, swatting his arm and moving to continue your walk again as he laughed and easily moved to catch up to you, slinging an arm around your shoulders.

“It was! You gotta admit it, that was pretty great-”

“Shut up, Jason.” 

Just like that, once again, you had Othello of all things to thank for your night. Maybe, just maybe, it hadn’t been such a terrible book after all. 

[the-broken-truth]

The Strings That Bind Us ~ Servant of House Beneviento

Summary: Vulcan becomes The Servant of House Beneviento. How will he do?

Pairing: Donna Beneviento x Male OC (Vulcan)

[A Few Hours From Sundown]

"And this will be your room." The small puppet said as she pushed open a door that revealed a room. One full-sized bed against the same wall that the door resided in but was placed in the center of the wall. The bed was downed in a blanket with dark grey and blue color schemes with two pillows at the head of the bed in grey pillowcases. Underneath the bed was a decent-sized grey rug that complimented the grey tile floor. On either side of the bed were dark grey hardwood nightstands - the left of which had a lamp and a small alarm clock. Across from the bed - on the other side of the room - was a study workstation with a chair, the dresser was tucked away in the corner, and the main closet was sitting on the adjacent wall of the dresser.

Vulcan walked into the room after Angie stepped away and looked around with a smile on his face, he left his cloak in the entrance hallway where the coatrack was located; revealing the black shirt and jeans he was wearing, along with his black boots and belt - the belt contained two sheathes that held his daggers. Lord Heisenberg wanted so badly to keep them because - in his own words - he was a house servant and house servants are not allowed to keep personal weapons, but Vulcan explained that he crafted those weapons and he was not just going to be one of those house servants that remained at home all the time - he intended to go out and do what he could for his House Mistress and he would need his daggers in case he ran into any...problems. Mother Miranda knew that Vulcan would cause no threat to Donna and demanded Heisenberg return the daggers to their master; which he reluctantly did. After which, Miranda dismissed the meeting and the other lords returned to their lands.

"I'm guessing the room is to your liking?" Angie asked as she levitated to reach Vulcan's eye level. The tall man looked at the possessed doll with a smile.

"It's perfect for me. Thanks for asking, Angie." Vulcan said as he placed his travel back - something else Heisenberg took from him and tried to keep because of the leather and design - against one of the nightstands.

"You're a strange one, ya know? Any sane person who saw a living doll would have run away, screaming for the hills." Angie said with a tilt of her massive head. Vulcan chuckled at those words.

"I may not be a 'sane person' then. Besides, I've spent years looking for you two; there was no way I was going to run away after finding you again." Vulcan said before his gaze turned to the outfit on the bed. "Is this going to be my work outfit?" Vulcan said as he walked over to it.

"Yes. Donna never really expected to have a house servant but just in case she did - she had two outfits said, one for each gender." Angie explained.

"I'm grateful," Vulcan said as he reached out to the suit's upper, his fingers lightly grazing against the House's Crest - The Sun and the Moon. "Angie, do you know what time Donna usually takes her dinner?" Vulcan said, looking back to the doll.

"In an hour or two, I wouldn't try to make too much; it all kinda tastes the same to her." Angie explained.

"What do you mean?" Vulcan asked.

"All the food is just...bland; you know, kinda tasteless but very filling for her." Angie said.

"Oh - don't worry about that. I didn't survive as long as I did on bland food and I refuse to let my mistress eat another bland meal." Vulcan said with a smirk.

"What are you planning to do, Vulcan?" Angie said with a tilt of her head.

"Oh, that would ruin the surprise but I know that she will like it. I need to get to work and you'll know when I'm done with dinner." Vulcan said as he turned back to look at his uniform.

Angie tilted her head again before she left the room, closing the door behind her. Vulcan looked at the black uniform with a smile before he placed the shirt back on the bed and began to undress.

[After Vulcan Got Dressed]

Vulcan looked in the tall mirror with pride in his new uniform - the Beneviento Family Chest proudly resting over his heart. He left his room and walked down the hall, down the stairs until he reached the ground floor; from the tour of the house given by Angie - Vulcan found the kitchen.

The Amber-Eyed Man looked around - there were a few things out of place but that was no challenge. He opened the cabinets and fridge and looked around - there were a few assortments of meats and some grains.

'I can make meat with a bread...Hm...but I need something else to add to it. Does she have any kind of veggie here?' Vulcan wondered as he continued to look around and got lucky when he found some potatoes in a sack. 'Perfect.' The red-haired man smirked as he placed all the items - except for the meat - on a clear table and got cleaning: he washed the few dishes that rested in the sink, swept the floor, wiped down the table and counters, placed any kind of box that wasn't supposed to be out in the open and placed them in a lone closet - that he had the cleanout of cobwebs and dust. Once the kitchen was clean - he jogged back to his room and opened his backpack; digging inside until he found the small wooden box he was looking for and walked back downstairs.

[Around Half An Hour Later]

Donna and Angie were talking in Donna's room - the veiled woman sat on her bed with her hands in her lap as Angie stood on the bed at her creator's right side.

"Mom, you don't have to be so nervous." Angie said as she tried to cheer her mother up.

"It's hard not to be, Angie. I hadn't seen him in years and suddenly he shows up here - he's been looking for you and me for...goodness knows how long and..." She paused for a moment as she wrapped her arms around herself - mimicking Vulcan's hug, still feeling his warmth in her bones. "The way he hugged me - not even Mother Miranda held me like that when she adopted me. It was so...comforting." Donna said in a low voice.

"I'm curious - just what is he to you, Mom?" Angie asked with a head tilt.

"Vulcan...He was the only real person who cared for me, even with the scar. He would stand by my side when others would badmouth or turn away from me; he would hold my hand to keep me grounded when I thought I was going to slip in a sobbing fit. When I introduced him to you - he was just as interested in you as I was. We were like...our own little family." Angie could hear the smile on her mother's lips.

"You loved him, didn't you?" Angie asked.

"Yes, I did." Donna said.

"Do you still love him?" Angie asked.

"I...I believe that I do but it's been so long - I never knew if he felt the same for me and I don't know if he thinks of me as a possible partner for him. I know he cared to me but..." Donna stopped in midsentence when a heavenly scent hit her nose. "Do you smell that?" Donna asked as she rose to her feet and began following the smell.

Donna and Angie followed the smell down the stairs but the longer they descended - they noticed just how clean the house began to look: pictures were dusted and wiped down, the floors appeared to be swept, mopped, and polished, there was even a pleasant smell of pine. When they made it to the ground flood - they entered the dining room and saw the table was...decorated? There was a long black tablecloth on the rectangular table with a candle holder in the center of the table - 3 candles were lit with their flames dancing to their slow beats. On the ends of the table - there were plate mats; when...when did have time to do all this? Where did he get all these items from? Donna and Angie continued to ponder until the kitchen door opened - letting the heavenly smell flood the room - as Vulcan walked out with a serving platter held by his right hand and bottle of wine in his left hand, tucked under his arm.

"Oh, Lady Beneviento and Lady Angie, I was just about to get you both for dinner." Vulcan said as he placed the serving tray, covered by a silver lip, in the center of the table before then retreated to the kitchen and returned with 2 glasses and walked over to Donna. "Please, allow me, Lady Beneviento." Vulcan said as he grabbed Donna's chair and pulled it out, waiting for Donna to sit with a smile on his face. When Donna sat in the chair, he pushed it in for her before walking over to her right and pulled out another chair for Angie; the puppet giggled before taking a seat and was pushed in behind her mother.

"Did...Did you do all of this yourself, Vulcan?" Donna asked in a low voice.

"Of course, Lady Beneviento, as the servant of House Beneviento, I must ensure my ladies and house are taken care of." Vulcan said with a smile of pride - he was happy being the servant of House Beneviento?

"We smelled something incredible on our way down here; just what were you doing in the kitchen?" Angie asked.

"I was prepared dinner for Lady Beneviento. During my travels, I came into some very interesting spices and I did jobs to make sure I had the funds to purchase spices and recipes that I thought Lady Beneviento would love. I would like to think I did this once justice but I would love my lady to tell me if I did." Vulcan said as he moved over to the tray and lifted the tray cover off the food, revealing the tinder-looking steak with toppings of garlic and herbs on top of it with some kind of sauce, a side of mashed potatoes with butter - a touch of pepper with gravy on top, and two bread buns. The smell was enough to get Donna's mouth watering and Angie's - if she had organs to eat.

Vulcan lifted one of the plates and walked over to Donna before setting it down on the plate mat before her; her utensils already on the mat, ready for use. Placing the bottle on the table, he got one of the two glasses he retrieved from the kitchen and placed it near Donna on the mat before opening the bottle of grape wine and poured a good amount for his lady to enjoy with her food. He got his plate and went to his seat before he pours himself a bottle of wine and looked at Donna with a smile.

"Please, tell me what you think, Lady Beneviento." Vulcan's eyes shined with the hopefulness that she would love it. Donna lifted her knife and fork, stabbed the steak with the fork before severing the part she stabbed with her knife. She lifted the meat to her lips, making sure to move her veil as to not touch the meat with the cloth; she took her first bite before she let out a moan of pleasure (NOT THAT KIND, YA NASTIES!).

"This...This is delicious, Vulcan." Donna said as she moved to eat more.

"I'm glad you like it, Lady Beneviento. I have lots of recipes I'm sure you'll love." Vulcan said with a wide toothy smile.

"Enough. When we are here - in House Beneviento - or when I permit you, you are to call me Donna. None of that 'Lady Beneviento' business." Donna said - if her veil was off, Vulcan would have been able to see the light blush on her face.

"As you wish...Donna." Vulcan smiled again before he began to eat his food.

[End]

[pearl-blue-musings]

Hiii how are you 💖 I'm so excited your requests are open you're an amazing writer 💖 Can I please request a medium well steak (Katsuki Bakugou) with a side of mashed potatoes and peas please 👉👈💖

Babe staaahhp but I gotchu

College AU and also quirkless AU i have no self control

I ended up, as per usual, getting carried away with this hope you don’t mind!

Warnings: 18+, smut, some tooth rotting fluff, oral fem receiving, penetration, some dirty talk, pretty soft bakubabe

Enjoy your meal~

~~~~~~~~~~~

When you had started at U.A. university, you weren’t thinking of whirlwind romances or anything cliché like that. You wanted to graduate, hopefully in four years, debate about getting a masters’ degree, and then make a living doing what you love. Of course you had time for friends, going to different sporting events and clubs.

But nothing prepared you for meeting Bakugou Katsuki.

It was at a party, where else? You had finished your midterms and one of your apartment roommates wanted to go out and celebrate. Your roommate, Mina Ashido, knew of a smaller party at one of her friends places downtown. You needed the relaxation badly and just wanted to let it all out. Midterms had been extra tough this time around, but this was your second year of college so having some surprises weren’t unwarranted.

Dressed in your favorite outfit, you and Mina headed out, leaving your other roommate at home to sleep instead of party. The ride there had been filled with fun conversation about Mina’s group of friends and how chaotic they are.

“Our personalities don’t always mesh one on one, but together well we’re still crazy but we work!”

You couldn’t help but laugh, as the music pumped you up for what was to come. Once your ride dropped you off, Mina leads you to the aforementioned apartment. When the two of you walk up to the door and open it, you’re greeted by a tall and lanky man.

“Mina you made it! Just in time, I was about to rip into some of my stash. Light up?”

Mina nods eagerly and then gestures between the two of you. “Sero! This is (Y/n). The roommate and bestie I’ve been talking about?”

The three of you walk further into the apartment so you can remove your jackets in a safe room. The guy, Sero you learn, looks to you and sticks out his hand, taking it. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” His attention turns back to the pink haired young lady, “Mi amor, ready to go?”

You notice Mina’s cheeks redden at the affectionate term and nods. You give her a questioning but sly look as you watch them head to the back of the apartment hand in hand. You find it absolutely adorable. Mina had been gushing on and on about how much she liked this one guy in her friend group. You muse to yourself that you’d be going home alone, and you were content with that.

Making your way into the kitchen, you notice a keg and a large bin filled with Jungle Juice. You can smell the alcohol from where you stand, enticing you even more. You walk up and grab yourself a cup and talk to the faux bartender. “A cup of your finest jungle juice please.”

The blond behind the tub smirks at you and fills your cup. “I’ve never seen you here,” he comments, a little louder because of the music. “Are you Mina’s friend?”

You chuckle, slightly embarrassed. “I guess word about me travels fast. Yeah, I’m (Y/n).”

“The name’s Denki Kaminari. Let me guess, smoking with Sero?”

The two of you share a laugh at the mutual understanding. He further explains that those two have been pining for each other ever since they met and it was getting sickening. You ended up spending more time with the cute blond, bonding over funny stories of your shared instruments over a few cups of jungle juice.

Forty-five minutes later and the two of you make your way to a couch, where others were sitting if they weren’t dancing. Your mind and head were in a state of euphoria. You were relaxed, the alcohol in your system taking you to another level of satisfaction. You liked chatting with Denki, he was very witty and funny. Suddenly, nature called.

“Hey, you don’t mind if I go to the bathroom do you? I didn’t think I’d had that much,” Denki slurred/spoke. You nod rather heavily and watch him go. You stare at the contents of your half full cup and wonder if you should pour it out or finish it. As you’re about to stand, some super drunk couple dancing bumped into you and ceremoniously spilling your drink on you and the person next to you. You scoff and whine, a mutter of curses leaving your lips as your outfit is now ruined. You’re about to stand again when you hear to your left,

“Hey you extras! Watch where the fuck you’re going!”

How long had this guy been there? Probably the whole time considering you were immersed in conversation. You finally get a good look at him and see that some of your drink had spilled on him too.

Shit

“Oh my god,” you breathe, “I’m so sorry! They bumped into me and…”

“Oi, shut up,” your stranger scolds. “Come with me, I’ll get you cleaned up and a new cup.”

Shrugging, you walk with him and notice he bumps into the offending couple. He hears them yell back but he just smirks and walks on. You realize you’re walking in the direction where Mina and Sero went a couple hours ago. You put two and two together and realize you messed up the shirt of someone who lives here. If it had been some random person, yeah whatever, but he lived here, with your best friends lover.

You start to panic.

“Oh god, you live here? Now I feel worse.”

The man turns around to face you and rolls his eyes. “Please, I’ve had worse fall on me and my floor. You were talking to Denki, right? Fuckin’ idiot.”

You can’t help but smile at that, feeling some of the uneasiness melt away. You’re then tugged into this room and notice how nice it smells. It’s kept up awfully nice for some college boys, but that’s a comment you keep to yourself. You see him take off his stained shirt and you almost fall over, tripping over nothing.

“Jesus!” You screech, “you should warn someone before you decide to Magic Mike them.” You stay turned around and keep your attention to the door. Yes the door, the wonderful door that has nothing on it but the wood paneling, it’s quite nice-  

“You can turn around now, dumbass.”

You take a deep breath and slowly turn around. He’s in a dry shirt that’s black with what looks like a skull on it. In his hand is a hoodie and a pair of shorts looking insanely comfy. “Here, put this on. I’ll, uh, turn around so you can change.”

You nod hesitantly and wait for him to be completely turned around before you undress. Your body feels cold from where the cool drink had spilled onto you. Once your clothes are off you put on the clothes your nice stranger have given you. You don’t mean to, but you inhale the scent of his hoodie which surprisingly smells of sweet caramel and his cologne. That was almost enough to sober you up.

“I’m done, so you can turn around.” You hadn’t noticed how tired you sounded until you spoke. Your stranger turns around and promptly blushes lightly. You do your best to hide your smile, but it pokes out.

“Bakugou.”

“What?”

“My name, stupid. It’s Bakugou.” It’s quiet as he does his best to avoid staring at you for too long.

“(Y/n).”

He had driven you back to your apartment that night, letting you know that he’d text you once your clothes were clean, exchanging numbers at your doorstep. You had insisted it wasn’t a problem for you to do it, but he stubbornly put his foot down. If you weren’t so exhausted, you would have snapped back at him but refrained. It was cute, really. No guy had ever wanted to fix your clothes after someone else spilled something on it. But since it happened in his place right next to him, he couldn’t help himself.

The two of you continued to keep in touch after that. Eventually you became a regular member of their squad. Denki and Sero were happy to have you around the apartment, and Mina moreso. It all came so easily, your friendship with him, your friendship with the group; it was amazing that you went through most of college without them. You couldn’t imagine it all changing.

Until obviously it did.

Your new squad was chilling at you and Mina’s new place for your third year, getting buzzed off of either marijuana or alcohol. Your couch was the place to sit with Denki on one side and Bakugou on the other. Mina and Sero were snuggled into each other on a shared bean bag, passing a joint between the two of them. Kirishima sat on the ground by your feet, his head resting in between yours and Bakugou’s legs. The lofi music filling the room with the perfect ambiance; it was an ideal night. Kirishima rested his head against your thigh and felt your phone buzz.

“You gonna get that? It’s making your leg uncomfortable,” he breathes.

Bakugou flicks his friends shoulder, “Idiot, you can just move off of her leg,” hissing at the red head. You wave him off and get your phone out of your pocket. The caller I.D. makes you frown and you consider letting it go to voicemail, knowing full well he’ll just keep calling until he gets his answer.

Vermillion eyes peak over your shoulder and catch who it is that’s calling you. Turns out to be your scumbag of an ex, knowing that this isn’t the first time he’s tried calling you. Bakugou sees you start to shrink in on yourself as the phone keeps buzzing. “Give it here, dumbass.”

“Bakugou, it’s fine. I’ll just see what he has to say…”

“Fuck that,” his voice booming over the music as he snatches your phone and promptly answers it. “Listen dipshit, (Y/n) wants nothing to do with you. You broke her heart, you cheated, so stop fucking calling her! And if you call her again or even bother her again, I will beat your ass.”

Your eyes are blown wide at the ashy blond sticking up for you. Said ex had been harassing you nonstop since your break up two months ago and Bakugou had had enough. You didn’t think he would answer the phone for you, but he and Mina are the only ones who knew just how manipulative your ex had been so is this really that surprising? You hear the voice of your exasperated ex yell out over the phone. “And just who the fuck are you to tell me this? Her bodyguard?” You weren’t ready for how Bakugou would respond, eyes alight with a strong energy.

“Better, I’m her boyfriend.”

And he hung up.

When he returned the phone to you, your jaw was practically on the floor. All eyes in the apartment were on him as he lays back on the couch with his eyes closed. Then all eyes turn to you, equally surprised. Did he just say what you thought he said? Boyfriend? But you two hadn’t been on a date yet or even discussed it or…

“That should solve your problem.”

“Bakugou what the fuck!?” You yelled and punched his arm. “We’re not dating, why did you tell him that?”

He exhales softly and turns his attention to you, eyeing you all over. “Princess, you really can’t be that dense.” As he finishes speaking in a low tone, his arm wraps around your shoulders. You meet his gaze as if his eyes are asking for approval. “Is this,” he asks softly, “okay?”

Completely forgetting about everyone else in the room, you nod slowly. You close and lick your lips as you start to recall and remember every interaction you’ve had with the blond. How caring and attentive he’s been in his own way, how he would go above and beyond for you in the subtle ways. It all made sense, maybe you were super dense but it’s better late than never.

To further confirm your thoughts and feelings, you lean into him and lightly place your lips over his in a chaste kiss.

“It’s very okay, Katsuki.”

“Ew oh my god I’m right here. Get a room!”

“Shut up Dunce Face!”

That was a year ago, marking today as your anniversary. You had told him to come to your apartment after he had finished up at the gym with the guys. Luckily, Mina had made plans with Sero so you had the whole place to yourself. It was exciting to finally have some quality alone time with him before finals overwhelmed you all.

It was also a wonderful excuse for the two of you to be as loud as you wanted.

You wore a dress he really liked and underneath, a special surprise set of lingerie in some of his favorite colors: green, black, and orange. You were too ecstatic for him to see it, and better yet to take it off. You had felt a little uncomfortable because of your curves but he had always assured you that he loves you no matter your body shape.

You were so caught up in your thoughts that you didn’t hear the front door of your apartment open up. You pause your food making in the kitchen to go greet your boyfriend. As you approach the doorway, you see him and smell how fresh he is from the gym; it seems he showered at the gym. In his right hand is a bouquet of your favorite flowers and his left a gift bag.

“Hey sweetcheeks,” a growing smirk on his lips as he looks you up and down. You don’t miss the way his pupils dilate at your dress, knowing it’s his favorite. Since taking off his shoes, he steps up to you and sweetly kisses your lips. “Happy anniversary.”

“’Suki, you didn’t have to get me anything.” You wrap your arms around his neck to pull him closer. “I’m fine with just having you.”

“Tch, dumbass. I know you got me something, you didn’t think I noticed that box that came in a couple days ago?”

You pout at him and take your gifts out of his hands and place them on the couch. “How’d you know?” You whine about the ruined surprise but you should’ve known your boyfriend better. “Do you know what it is?”

He runs his hand through his freshly washed hair and bites his bottom lip, “I think I have an idea, babe. Whatcha makin’?”

You twirl around in your dress, knowing damn well it’s an amazing and easy distraction to him. “Just your favorite. Everything should be ready in about 30 or so minutes?”

Suddenly you feel yourself being pushed up against the hallway wall, face to face with your gorgeous boyfriend. “Good,” he whispers huskily, “that’s enough time to enjoy my gift and dessert early.”

His voice went straight to your, now, damp panties.

You feel his hands grip your thighs to have your legs wrap around his torso. His hot breath fans over your awaiting lips, as he then kisses you hungrily. You feel his hard on against your stomach and you moan at the feel. Bakugou breaks the kiss to whisper in your ear, the heat touching your ear making you melt. “I wanna see what you got me, princess.”

“Anything for you, baby.”

With his hold on you secure, he takes you to your room blindly already knowing the way. With your door closed he latches his lips to your neck, sucking and licking all over. He places your feet on the ground as he grinds his hips into yours. Your breathing increases as you scratch at the back of his shirt. “Katsuki,” you whine.

“Mmm?”

“I want you to take off my dress.”

He hears your request and leaves your neck. He turns you around to find the zipper at the back, and slowly unzips your dress. You can feel his warm calloused fingers trailing down your spine and down to your tail bone. The fabric is now bunched down on the ground around your feet and you step out, swaying your hips as you turn around.

“Fuck baby,” he huffs, “for me?”

He had felt some of the satin as he unzipped your dress but it didn’t prepare him for what he saw before his lust blazed eyes. His colors look amazing on you and so does lace and satin. The flowered lace covering your breasts and nipples are begging for him to delve his tongue on them, admiring the extra fabric going across them. Your stomach is covered in a crisscross pattern that makes your skin look divine. And the garters on your legs, and lace thong? Bakugou is in heaven.

You nod at him and gesture for him to come closer. Bakugou gets to you post haste and starts touching you everywhere. His fingers trace all along your body and sneaking underneath your lingerie. He then trails his fingers up to your lace covered breasts and starts to pinch the hardening nub. A little squeal leaves your lips.

“That’s a new sound, do you like the feel of the lace against your nipple, baby?”

He pinches and pulls at them again, getting the same reaction that went right to his gardening dick. He groans and starts to knead your other breast, enjoying the feel of it in his hand. “Fuck,” he quickly kisses your lips, sticking his tongue in and lapping at yours, “I just wanna rip you out of this.”

“Hah, you will do no such thing. I paid a lot of money for this!”

“I’ll get you a new one, princess.”

“You are not ripping this one!”

He rolls his eyes and concedes, taking his delicate time to free your upper half from the sexy lingerie. You make a mental note to buy more lace related items. Immediately his lips go to your hardened bud and sucks viciously. You moan loudly as he releases you with a pop, going to your other breast. God, you wish he wasn’t so good with his hands and tongue, but the way he’s treating you and your reactions say otherwise.

Bakugou slowly moves you two toward your bed, in order to lay you down for what he wants to do next. You feel the back of your legs hit the edge and he places your body underneath his. Throughout all of this his lips never left your body. His lips trail closer and closer to your hips, as they wiggle in anticipation. “Do you,” you pant, “want the bottoms off?”

He takes the lining into his fingers and snaps it onto your unaware skin making you yelp. “No, your legs look hella sexy like this.” His hands are warm against your things, outlining the garter that leads up to your now soaked through thong. His nose brushes against the fabric covering your heat and he feels you shudder at the touch. He tentatively licks at your wetness and he groans in pleasure at how wet you are for him. Fuck he really loves you.

He doesn’t wait any longer and pushes the fabric aside and inserts his tongue into your awaiting heat. You whimper at the intrusion and a hand automatically goes to his hair, pulling lightly. He keeps moving his tongue up and down your slit tantalizingly slow as his fingers play and mess with your outer lips. Your breaths become erratic at your boyfriends ministrations. Before you can say anything, he moves his lips to your clit and sucks at it harshly. Your back arches off the mattress as you curse that the pleasure being given to you.

Two fingers have already entered your heat and scissor and stretch you open. Your hips have a mind of their own as they gyrate on their own accord. “Don’t make me force you to stay down, princess,” he hums against your heat. Just him saying that sends you into a frenzy, forcing him to plant his arm against your pelvis to limit your movements. He can feel the deep coil inside you that wants to come undone. And it’s all because of him and for him. His actions start to speed up and then suddenly he pulls away, making you whine at the loss of contact and friction.

“What the hell? I was so close!”

Bakugou snickers and wipes at his chin and sucks his fingers of some of your juices. The only word to describe him licking you off of him: erotic. “I want you to cum all over my cock, baby girl. Can you be a good girl for me, yeah?”

You bite your bottom lip and nod. As he stands to put himself on your bed, you notice his raging hard on straining against pants.  Damn, it was hot. His pre was already leaving a stain and you wanted more than nothing than to have his dick in your mouth. Ruby eyes follow yours and he clicks in on what has your mouth watering. “If I wasn’t so eager to be inside you right now, I’d let you suck me dry. But all I want to is to be in your fucking pussy, you riding me.”

After he makes his declaration, Bakugou discards his pants and boxers and throws them somewhere in your room. He crawls up to you in between your legs and meets you with a fiery kiss. You taste yourself on his lips and tongue as he entangles you with his scent and flavor. It’s incredibly sexy and it only makes you want him more. You take a leg and turn the two of you over, with you hovering over his tight and toned body. You know he wants this to be special because you’re on top and you’re face to face. Usually if it’s just fucking you’ll do a plethora of positions. But right now you know that you want to enjoy each others presence and make sweet love. Sitting back on your legs, you lean over to your nightstand and grab a condom. You take the wrapper in your mouth, easily tearing it to reveal the rubber. A naughty idea enters your head.

“What are you doing, baby?”

All you do is lift your eyebrows and scoot back. You take the condom in your mouth and bend over close to his aching cock. You can feel his eyes on you as you lower your mouth onto him, slowly putting the condom over his hard dick. “Ah fuck, princess! Shit feels good. Now get on top of me. Now.”

You giggle at his impatience and make your way to his covered member. You grip it lightly as you line it up with your wet slit, teasing the head of his sensitive cock. His moans are heavenly in your ears as you don’t sink on him yet completely.

Bakugous hands go to your waist, as little whimpers leave his lips at your agonizing teasing. “Shit princess, just put it in already- Hah fuck!”

It’s not everyday you catch the ashy blond of guard but when you it’s glorious. You slam yourself down on his dick, euphoria filling your senses. You loll your head back as you begin to ride him, keeping a hand on his pelvis. The two of you find a hypnotic rhythm of him pumping up into you, and you grinding down on him.

His eyes can’t help but be locked onto where you’re connected, enjoying the sounds of your slick cunt on his cock. He moves his hands from your hips to grip your bouncing breasts, adding extra pleasure to this experience. Whines and moans leave yours and his mouths as you both chase ecstasy together.

“Fuck, baby girl, it’s like your extra tight and wet for me today.”

“Hah, it’s cause I love you,” you pants your hips gyrate faster as you feel your orgasm coming closer. “I’m so close now, daddy. I wanna cum, please.” You’re begging more than usual and it feels oh so good.

You feel your clit being abused and you shout at the overwhelming pleasure rocking through you as your pace falters. “You wanna cum for me? Show me you’ve earned it.” Bakugou sits up, making your legs wrap around his waist, still pumping into you. Your arms find purchase around his neck as you lay your head on his chest, ignoring the sweat between the two of you. “Come on, show me you’ve earned it baby.”

“I’ve earned it, I’ve earned it!”

“Then come with me baby,” he pauses when he feels your fingers dig into his back. “Shit, ah right there baby, fuck, fuck!”

Your hold on him tightens as your coil comes undone and your spill all over his cock, and you feel the way his cum fills up the rubber. You two start to slow down your movements, helping each other through your orgasms. You stay there for a little bit, just enjoying the moment and to let your heartbeats come back to normal.

You roll off of him and lay down next to your spent boyfriend. He looks at you with the most love and adoration that you feel like you’re meeting him for the first time. His palm goes to your cheek to pull you in to a soft and loving kiss. It doesn’t last long as you hear the timer on the oven and the rice maker go off around the same time. Your boyfriend grumbles and rolls to stand. He carefully takes off the used up condom, ties it up and disposes it in the trashcan.

“I’ll turn off the timer, anything else you need while I’m up?”

“Some water, and my favorite post coitus snacks.”

His eyes roll, “Idiot, you made a whole meal we’re not gonna waste it because you got sex munchies.”

“’Suki!”

He throws a towel at you, ignoring your pleas. As he walks away stark naked, you lay back in your bed. You can deal with the sheets later. A feeling of love runs over you and you realize that this is something you could get used to for a long time to come.

The diner is open 

[vantaenims]

bittersweet | yoongi

pairing: idol!yoongi x reader

genre: established relationship au | fluff, bit of angst

word count: 7.6k

warning/s: alcohol consumption.

summary: Being miles away from you, Yoongi’s starting to feel like he’s missing out in your life and he can’t help but be guilty about it hence the reason why he made it his mission to be with you as much as possible now that he’s back home.

Part of BTSGhostieBingo (idol!au prompt)

masterlist

all rights reserved © vantaenims - do not repost, translate, or claim as your own.

—

Yoongi has his hand around the steering wheel, drumming his fingers against it whilst his other arm is placed beside the window, knuckles pressed against his temple as he impatiently stared at your door for about five minutes now. Unlocking his phone, he was about to text you again until a blue bubble popped up saying ‘wait’ as a reply to his first text when he told you he’s outside already, making him wonder what’s taking you so long.

During your call last night, you mentioned to Yoongi that you’re running low on food and that you’ll be going to the grocery store tomorrow, causing him to immediately tell you that he’ll join and accompany you even though he still has a song that he needs to work on which he didn’t told you since you’re probably going to decline his offer to help if you happen to know it.

It’s a song he’s been working on ever since the tour started which is exactly three and a half months ago but he only got to finalize it last night just so he could spend the weekend with you hence the reason why he’s running low on sleep for today but it’s not like that mattered to him right now.

Given the circumstances of his idol life, the majority of the time spent in your relationship is being far away from each other that’s why he tries to make up for the lost time by being with you almost every day ever since he got back last week.

Truth be told, Yoongi never really believed Long Distance Relationships could work and as a matter of fact, he thought that this relationship would just be some sort of a fling to him, bearing in mind that it’s hard for him to enter in a fully committed relationship given his hectic life but luckily, his opinion about it changed when you two somehow managed to make it work - for about two years already and more years to come.

His thoughts were then cut off as soon as he heard a knock coming off from the window of the passenger seat, unlocking the doors once he saw that it was only you whom he'd been waiting all this time.

“Finally, what were you doing for the past ten minutes?” 

“Hello” you greeted in such a cheery voice as you always do whilst you leaned towards Yoongi to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Did you just got out of the shower?” Yoongi chuckled as soon as he saw how the upper half of your hair is dry while the other half is still damp.

“Sorry, i just woke up when i read your text that you’re on your way” you said as you buckled yourself in your seat.

“I got out of my house at 2 p.m.” Yoongi said, looking at the time that’s displayed on his touch screen stereo, “What time did you sleep?”

“I think it was about 1:30 or 2 in the morning” 

“You’ve slept for twelve hours!?” Yoongi bewilderingly looked at you, slightly jealous at how you’ve managed to get a full sleep while he’s only running on four hours of sleep even though he willfully did that on purpose.

Of course, he wouldn’t tell you the lengths he had to go just so he could free his time for today  because knowing you, you’d probably scold him and tell him to just rest which he thinks is surprisingly the last thing he wants to do, not when time’s limited for him as he needs to leave in a few days to continue the tour.

“It’s just one of those lazy days” you said whilst yawning as you stretched your arms to fully awaken yourself.

“You haven’t eaten anything yet then?” 

“Not yet but I’m fine, I don’t really feel that hungry” you smiled, grabbing Yoongi’s free hand to intertwined them with yours when he gave you a discontented look that didn’t last for long as he return back the smile, raising your intertwined hands to kiss the back of your hand before he freed his hand to switch the gear.

Yoongi proceeded to drive towards the direction of the grocery store where the grocery is but he thought that a little detour won’t hurt, not when that detour is towards the Mcdonald’s Drive Thru.

“I’ll have the six pieces McNuggets meal and can you make the drink and fries into large, thanks.”

As soon as Yoongi got the paper bag, he then placed it on your lap as he continued to drive to exit the drive thru and onto your real destination, not even sparing you a look, making you laugh at how he’s still trying to appear so nonchalant after all these years when he does caring things like this but it’s fun to tease him when he’s acting to be one.

“Aww Yoongs, Thank you” you pinched his cheek which only caused him to scoff as he tried to remove your hand away from his face even though you could clearly see he’s trying to hide his smile as he rolled his eyes.

--

It has been a year since your relationship with Yoongi was announced to the public but you still have to be very cautious whenever you two go out in public as to not raise any unwanted attention and you were both given a set of rules that you need to abide with but there’s this one rule you always seem hard to follow - lessen any displays of affection in public as much as possible.

You put on your mask and put the hood of your jacket up once Yoongi turned off the engine as he followed you in disguising himself, wearing his black bucket hat and mask. As you got out of the car, your hand instinctively went to reach towards Yoongi’s until you realized the situation you both are in, causing you to keep your hands inside the pockets of your jacket as you walked distantly beside him. 

It was weird for you to act so secretive when you two started to date and it was way too hard when you both have to keep your meetings a secret when your relationship got official like that time when you were told that you can only eat out in public at this designated place which is an exclusive restaurant that’s owned by one of Yoongi’s trusted friends for the sake of protecting both of your privacy.

Eventually, talks about your relationship with Yoongi gradually died down after it was publicly announced as time passed by though it can’t be helped that it’ll be sometimes brought up in one of their interviews even though it’s totally unnecessary in the first place but you guessed that you just have to live and deal with it.

“What do you want for dinner?” Yoongi asked as he got one of the carts from the aisle, volunteering to push it around while you scan for food.

“Are you going to cook dinner?” you looked back at him with wide eyes, a surge of excitement crashing at the news.

Yoongi knows how big of a fan you are of his cooking and he’s certain about it because you basically bombard him with messages whenever you get a sudden craving for it or how you’ll express your disappointment whenever you buy something he would cook only for it to be compared, saying how it’ll never taste as good as his which he’s taken pride of.

“Does steak and mashed potatoes sound good?” Yoongi asked as he put the frozen sirloin into the empty cart only to see that it wasn't empty anymore as he spotted the bottle of red wine.

“I knew you’d say my favorite, that’s why i got the wine”

“You never liked the taste of wine”, Yoongi stated, remembering that time he brought a wine with him when he visited your house only for it to be only consumed by him as you can never stand anything that tastes bitter which is one of the things he first learned about you.

But there was that one instance when you got him amused when you decided that you’ll be drinking with him although it’s totally way out from what he expected. The memory is still as clear as day when he remembered you walking out of his kitchen with a wine glass on hand  that you placed on the centerpiece table of his living room.

“Are you going to have a wine?” Yoongi asked with his brows raised, settling his glass filled with wine on top of the table.

“I thought it’s not fair for you to drink alone so might as well join you” you adjusted yourself as you sat down on the carpeted floor beside Yoongi.

“You really don’t have to drink -” Yoongi didn’t get to finish his sentence when you whipped out a grape juice box behind your back, watching as you poked the covered hole with it’s straw to squeeze out the contents into the glass.

“Cheers?” you said as you swirled the liquid in the glass, making it look as if it’s the same wine he’s drinking and Yoongi can’t help but laugh at your quirky attempt. 

“A grape juice?”

“Hey, wine is also a grape juice except it’s fermented and i can never like anything that tastes bitter so what do you expect?” you reasoned out but nonetheless find the whole thing funny too.

Yoongi can only watch in delight as you get more defensive about the topic of grape juice vs wine, convincing him that both of the beverages are sourced from the same fruit, the only difference is that the other one tastes bitter whilst the other one tastes sweet.

“It’s okay baby, it’s the thought that counts” 

You stopped yourself from talking as soon as you heard the term of endearment come out of Yoongi’s mouth. It was always you who would call him ‘baby’ until now and you can’t help but blush as you try to conceal your growing smile when you remember what Jungkook told you.

“You are indeed cute when you’re drunk” you looped your arm around his as you rested your chin on his shoulder to kiss his cheek, making his smile bigger.

Yoongi clinked his glass with yours before he downed the remaining wine in one go as he try to quickly cover up the embarrassment he felt although there’s no use in hiding it anymore once he felt how warm his face feels like, not knowing if it’s the effect of the alcohol or if it’s your effect - obviously, it’s you.

--

“Can we grab a coffee first before we leave?” Yoongi asked once he felt his energy slowly depleting, the cup of coffee he had in the morning clearly out of his system now that he’s feeling a bit grumpy which is more of a reason that he needs to refuel with caffeine.

“Sure” you said as you closed the trunk of the car after you helped him load the groceries, following Yoongi to the cafe that’s right beside the grocery store.

Thankfully, there aren’t many people dining inside the cafe that’s why you’ve gotten to the counter right away as Yoongi did the work of telling your orders to the attendant whilst you scanned the cakes that are displayed as you munch on a pack of Skittles you got back in the store.

“Do you want anything else?” Yoongi asked just before he could finalize the orders.

“I’m fine, there’s no red velvet cake” you said as you managed to stand beside Yoongi, a piece of Skittles in between your fingers ready to go straight to Yoongi’s mouth until you stopped when you felt the cashier attendant’s gaze on you as if she’s trying to recall why you looked so familiar.

You’ve clearly forgotten that you’re still out in public and that your face is perfectly visible as you’ve lowered your mask to eat but it’s too late to hide your identity as you saw how her eyes widened once she recognized who you are. She definitely got starstruck once she glanced beside you where Yoongi’s standing though she remained professional and offered a smile towards the both of you which you both gladly returned with a bow of your head.

“Your orders will be ready in a while”, she said as she handed the receipt to Yoongi who let out a little chuckle as you both made your way towards the claiming area, still finding it hilarious how you quickly retrieved your hand to eat the candy instead when the attendant recognized you.

“I think i should eat this later” you muttered as you placed the mask back again on your face, sealing the pack of candy for later. 

Looking over your side, you bumped your hips against Yoongi’s when you saw his shoulders still visibly shake from laughter and how his eyes turned into little crescents from smiling. 

Yoongi went over the counter as soon as your orders were called, getting his Iced Americano while he handed to you your Caramel Macchiato, muttering a thank you to the staff as you made your way out of the shop and back to the parking lot.

“Ah finally, i could eat in peace” you said as you got inside the car, discarding your mask and taking your hood down. You reopened the pack of Skittles, pouring them over your palm as you straight out put it on your mouth and also pouring more for Yoongi but he offered his palm instead when you reached your hand out to feed it to him.

“Say ah” you said as you picked one piece of candy instead, zooming in your finger like an airplane into his mouth.

“What am i? A child?” Yoongi playfully grimaced but obeyed nonetheless as you popped them into his mouth.

“Yes you are” you chuckled, resting back in your seat as you raised your leg to tuck it under the other leg, “Why don’t we play a game and you try to guess the flavor of the skittle i’ll feed you?”

You strictly instructed Yoongi that he could not cheat and inspect the color of the candy, telling him he could only look straight ahead at the road, causing him to laugh, saying how he’s going to look straight either way as he needs to keep his attention on driving you both home safely.

“Raspberry”, Yoongi said in full certainty.

“How can you tell Raspberry apart from Wild Cherry?” you squint your eyes at him, skeptical if he cheated or he’s just really good at guessing it because you’re positive that those two flavors taste exactly the same - for you, atleast.

“Maybe my sense of taste is better than yours”

“Yeah you’ve got all the flavors right” you’re impressed to say the least as you try to feed Yoongi another piece of Wild Cherry to test him again until he gently grabbed your hand to stop you as he felt his throat itch from eating too much sweets.

“Doesn’t your throat itch from eating too much sweets?” Yoongi looked over at you, watching as you devoured the candy you were going to feed him instead and as if that isn’t sweet enough, you grabbed your caramel based beverage to sip on it which just made Yoongi cringe in distaste.

“I just really like anything that’s sweet”

“You’re going to get Diabetes at an early age” Yoongi warned as he always has but he knows that his warning will just be disregarded as you continue to satisfy your sweet cravings as you always do.

“That’s why i’m eating as much sweets as i can before i’ll not be able to”

“What kind of logic is that?” 

“You like anything that’s bitter as much as I like sweets so shut up” you shrugged as you pointed out but you totally get that he’s just looking out for you and you appreciate that.

“I atleast won’t get any chronic disease from it”, Yoongi retorted, chuckling at how silly this banter is to begin with and that reminded how adverse you two are and he’s not just talking about your taste preferences but personality wise too.

You and Yoongi are too different from each other - you’re more of an outgoing and friendly person while he is more reserved and quiet one. All his life, Yoongi thought he’d prefer someone who’s similar to him yet here he is, eating up his own thoughts as he eventually got you and he’s not saying that as a bad thing because he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Your relationship is a living testimony that opposites do attract and it’s not as bad as what everyone makes it out to be though there were still a lot of differences and barriers you both have to overcome in the beginning of the relationship which he thinks is inevitable for every relationship to work.

The reason why you two get along so well is because you complement and balance each other, like how you both are able to strengthen each other’s weaker aspects. You’re always able to get him out of his comfort zone and he could always let you be vulnerable to him, let you out of that happy facade you’re always trying to keep up.

In conclusion, you bring out the best in him and he could hope you felt that way about him too, making you two a perfect pair, not even minding a bit how cheesy that thought is to him because it’s only a matter of fact.

--

“Why are you still here?” Yoongi sets aside the sirloin he’s been seasoning, getting distracted how you’re standing so close to him as you peer over his shoulders at what he’s doing much like a curious kid.

“What should i do next?” you asked him for the second time even though Yoongi told you that he’ll just call you whenever dinner’s ready but you’re so persistent in helping him out, causing him to gave in as he told you that you can set up the table which he think is done now that you’re pestering him again.

“Lounge in the sofa, i guess” 

“But i want to help you, Yoongs” you whined, making him chuckle, “Should i peel these potatoes?”

“I’ll do it” Yoongi grabbed the potato from you as well as the bowl that’s filled with it, keeping it close to his side so that you won’t be able to touch it and help him like what you’re suggesting, keeping in mind that he’s doing all of this to make up for the times he’s away.

Guilt would always creep up on him whenever he’s far away from you because you don’t deserve to be neglected like this, dating someone who’s mostly physically absent that’s why he’s doing the most of his ability as much as he can whenever comes back home so that he could actually fulfill the duties and responsibilities of being your boyfriend.

“Let me atleast wash the dishes later then?” you frowned with a pout, causing Yoongi to shake his head at you as he sheepishly smiled.

“Fine if that’ll get you to stop” Yoongi kissed your forehead before he diverted back his attention towards the potatoes but before he could even do so, you grabbed both sides of his face as you inched towards him until he felt your warm lips on his.

Yoongi closed his eyes as he kissed you back, hands almost going towards your waist to reel you in once you kissed him fervently until he remembered how his hands are still dirty and covered with sauce and seasonings for the steak but that didn’t stop him from wanting to deepen the kiss as he slowly tilted his head to the side only for you to break the kiss.

“Right, you don’t need my help” you teased as you peck him once more and also patted his bum right before you left to disappear towards the living room.

Yoongi scoffed that you got him stunned for a moment but nonetheless busied himself as he went back in preparing the dinner that didn’t take too much time to finally get it ready now that you’re not there to bother him anymore.

Withdrawing a plate from your cabinet, Yoongi then began to place the mashed potato first whilst he set the steak beside it, dripping some sauce around it as he tried to recreate those  plating presentations that’s normally seen in high end restaurants.

Yoongi grinned as soon as he entered the dining area, catching the sight of how you set the table into some sort of a candlelit dinner that’s accompanied with pieces of nearly wilted rose petals which he suspected came from the bouquet he bought for you last week but it now surrounds the four sides of the table.

“Y/N! Dinner’s ready” Yoongi called out as he placed the plates on the table. It didn’t take less than five seconds before you emerged in the dining room with a delighted look adorning your face.

“Oh wow it smells really good” you enclosed Yoongi in a back hug as you tipped your toes to kiss him on the cheek, “Thank you, baby.”

Yoongi hummed as he pulled your chair back, guiding you to sit before he made his way to his place as the gentleman he is. Picking up the bottle of wine, uncorking it as he poured it over his glass and onto yours right after but he let the mouth of the bottle hover on the rim of your glass before letting it pour as he looked at you.

“You sure you’d like some wine?” 

“It’s fine”

“If you say so” Yoongi smirked, filling your glass up even though he knows full well that you’re only going to take a sip or two before giving it all up. Clinking both of your glasses, Yoongi watches you whilst he takes a sip of his wine only for him to chuckle after he has seen you scrunching your nose from the bitter taste. 

“It tastes better with this” Yoongi said as he cut up a portion of his steak to feed you with it. The dissatisfied look on your face now gone as the bitterness mixed with the savory taste only made the flavor stronger.

“Your brother told me he taught you how to cook one”

“Yeah, how’d you know that?” Yoongi tried to rack his brain, recalling if he had ever informed you that his brother is the one who taught him to master the art of cooking but he can’t remember telling you that, knowing how he likes to take credit in his cooking skills.

“Your mom invited me over to their house on my birthday and your brother took in charge of cooking the food. I’ve sent you pictures, remember?”

You took out your phone to went over your photo gallery, scrolling over the pictures until it landed over the series of photos you took on the day of your birthday, showing Yoongi a picture of you and Holly nicely cuddled up in the sofa, earning a warm smile from him and on the corner of the picture he spotted the bouquet of tulips he assumes is the one he arranged in advance right by the local flower shop near you, instructing them to deliver it on your doorstep with some note he had written himself.

Lastly, you showed him the selfie you’ve taken on the dining table that’s filled with a sumptuous meal along with his whole family gathering around - his mom, dad, older brother and Holly whom his brother carried in his arms to fit in the picture. 

“I’m glad you had fun” Yoongi gave you a faint smile as he felt his guilt creeping up on him once again.

It has been two months since he had dearly missed your birthday because of the tour and he felt bad for missing out on a special day like this but that’s how it’s always going to be and he hates how this is conceived to be normal in your relationship when it’s unfair, specially for you.

You must’ve noticed his mood faltering a bit as you’ve put your phone down the table, placing your hand on top of him to squeeze it, making him stop focusing on slicing over his steak as he directed his eyes at you to give you a warm smile that indicates not to worry about him.

“I think the tour must’ve been a whole lot of fun, no? How was it this time?” you said, sipping on your wine that had you still scrunching your nose though albeit less noticeable now as you get more accustomed to the taste.

“It’s still great but more than ever now that we get to see more of our fans” Yoongi beamed a smile, taking pride how their hard work and the support from their fans has taken them to where they are now like how they were able to do stadium tours around the world or how they’re able to play concerts in places they’ve never imagine which is something beyond their goal and expectations.

“I’m proud of all of you and will always be, how about we toast on that?” you raise your glass as you take a big gulp of the alcohol out of courage which is a totally bad idea as it had made you immediately regret it, coughing up the bitterness away, causing you to give up the drink all in all.

“Just grab your grape juice from the fridge” Yoongi suggested, chuckling when you stood up to go over the kitchen to do as told and guessed right that you’ll never be able to withstand the alcohol.

The dinner went on with Yoongi urging you to talk more about what you’ve been doing lately but you protested that it has been practically boring and uneventful like his which he interjected that it goes the same for him as well. Apart from performing, he spent most of his time holed up in his hotel room to produce and compose songs or sleep like you’ve never known this or how he’ll just go out to buy some music equipment he needs for his studio.

He’s pretty sure you’ve told him over the phone the story of how you’ve managed to step on a puddle that reached up to your shins on your way home from work, remembering how you’ve complained that it ruined your favorite pair of suede flats.

“Have i told you about this before?” you said, noticing how he continues to smile unfazed like he’s already familiar with this story.

“Yeah but go on” Yoongi assured you that he doesn’t mind at all if he’s heard it before. Nothing compares to all those facetimes and phone calls because this is what he truly missed - getting to talk to you in person with no distance and time difference in between you two.

Soon as you know it, the table looks almost empty now that all the food are completely gone except for Yoongi’s wine glass that’s still filled with the alcohol as he still continuously drink from it while you opted to go for dessert and eat the cookies ‘n cream ice cream flavored you’ve got in the grocery.

The conversation’s still pretty going at this point with you doing most of the talking as you relaxly laid back against the chair with your crossed legs and Yoongi would just stare at you as he rested his elbow against the table with his cheeks pressed against his palm, casually laughing or putting in a few words.

“Tired?” you asked once you noticed his half lidded eyes and how he’s blinking them ever so slowly.

“No, i’m just a bit buzzed i guess” Yoongi denied as he tried to fight off the exhaustion but you did not buy his excuse as you abandoned your pint of ice cream by placing it on the table to stand up and get the plates to put them towards the sink.

Yoongi tailed behind you as he got the pint of ice cream to put them back in the freezer and the wine glasses which you got off of his hand as soon as he was next to you.

“I got this, why don’t you go up and pick something to watch”

“I’m not tired” you laughed now that Yoongi’s cute side is starting to come out as he placed his head on your shoulders with his arms around yours whilst you opened the faucet to run down water over the kitchenwares.

“Just go and let me do this” you turned around to push him away from you with all your might though it’s useless as he stubbornly stood his ground but nonetheless let you guide him when you grabbed his hand and led him towards the end of the stairs.

Standing on the first step, Yoongi leaned down to leave a kiss on top of your head that had you giggling whilst he told you to hurry up before he ascended to leave you to do your task. You ran back to the kitchen as you cleaned up the place as quickly as possible but still making sure not to miss a spot.

You wiped your wet hands with a towel now that you’re done with the dishes which leaves you to your routine of checking every corner of the first floor - unplugging the appliances, getting your water container in the fridge, and securely double checking the locks.

As you went up and open the door to your room, you were immediately greeted with a dimly lit light setting thanks to the television and on the edge of your bed, you see Yoongi clad in a loose white shirt and gray shorts that has been kept in your closet for times he chooses to stay over in your place as he drys his hair with the towel on his hands, signifying that he had just gotten out fresh from the shower.

“What are we going to watch?” you asked as you stood in front of Yoongi to grab the towel from his hand so that you could do the work of drying his hair instead.

“What do you want? I haven’t seen anything that’s interesting yet” Yoongi grabbed your waist to set you aside so he could have a good view of the television as he clicked on the remote to scan the films but still remained his hand on your waist even though you’re not obstructing the view anymore.

“Well, you decide. I’ll join you in a second” you detach yourself from Yoongi’s hold as you go over to your closet to grab some comfortable clothes to change into. You let the damp towel dry as you hang it on your chair before you could enter your bathroom to take a quick shower.

With his hair damp and unruly, Yoongi got up to go over your vanity table where your hair comb is as he drag it along his hair until he noticed the corkboard hanging on your wall just beside the table which he has never seen before, guessing you might’ve put it up while he was away.

It was filled with polaroid pictures of the both of you but mostly of Yoongi and he looked unaware in mostly all of it as you like to candidly take pictures of him but there are also random things attached to it like movie tickets, flower petals, and other things you deemed sentimental but what catches his attention the most is the tissue with some scribbled words on it.

It was a tissue from Baskin Robbins and it has a badly drawn stick figure on it with a text bubble on the side - ‘It’ll be okay’ is what’s written on it. The smudged black ink giving away that it has been sometime ago - two years ago to be precise.

If he remembers it right, he had drawn this when he picked you up from work that time and you remained silent for the whole ride, reasoning that it’s just one of those bad days at work. 

It was also a time when you still find it hard to be vulnerable around him given how the both of you just started dating and that just gave him an idea to go to an ice cream store first on the way to your house, knowing how sweets could always lift your spirits up.

You both got settled inside the car once you got your ice cream and finally be on your way to your house which is something you’ve been dying to do ever since you got from work. Yoongi’s clearly concerned for you but you’re glad he’s not pushing you to say anything but at the same time you felt bad for being silent for the whole time, not wanting to pass the burden you’re feeling.

“Here, have some tissue with you” Yoongi handed it over to you as he got the car out of the parking area until he felt your hand on top of his.

“Thank you, Yoongi” you said with glassy eyes and he’s glad that it’s what took for you to confide in him and for you to start trusting him enough that you managed to show the weak side you’re trying to conceal from him at the start.

Yoongi removed his hand from the tissue at the sound of the bathroom door opening as you came out with a towel wrapped around your hands, dressed in one of those short sleeved top and bottom silk pajama sets he got for you back when he was in Japan.

“I didn’t know you kept this”, Yoongi said with a smile tugging on his face.

You discarded your clothes towards the hamper as you came closer to Yoongi to see that he’s pertaining about the board you’ve recently hung, making you flushed at how he’s not supposed to even see how you keep every piece of something that just reminds you of your time with Yoongi but it’s just the way you are with how those pieces serves as a token of your memory.

“Yeah, I know it’s weird” you said as you look over the board and spot the receipt from the restaurant you both have your first date, embarrassed even more as you sit on the chair to remove the towel from your head as you focus instead on keeping it dry.

“It’s not weird, baby”

Yoongi enjoys making you fluster as much as you like doing it to him too that’s why he’s taken this as an opportunity to tease you more. He took the towel from your hand as he gently blotted and squeezed it against your hair much like what you did to him awhile ago, setting aside the hair you purposely let down to cover your face to the side and place it behind your ear.

“Ow be gentle, let me do it” you complained when Yoongi yanked your hair a bit as he combed through the tangles.

“Sorry, let me just take care of you” Yoongi swatted your hand away but his sweet words got you giggling and also a blushing mess.

As soon as your hair got fully combed, you stood up as Yoongi grabbed your wrist to drag you with him on the bed. He first got himself settled as he sat down with his back pressed against your headboard whilst he pulled you in to let you sit in between his legs, encircling his arms around you as you laid the back of your head on his chest.

“I really can’t find anything fun to watch, why don’t you choose?”

Getting the remote on the nightstand, you scan through the wide variety of movies as you read the plot and watch each trailer but nothing piqued your interest much as what Yoongi told you, sighing in discontentment as you turn off the television.

“Do you want to listen to some music instead?” you suggested, looking up to see Yoongi nod in agreement. You turned on the bluetooth speaker as you paired it with your phone, searching for some songs to play until you just thought of an idea that had you stifling your laughter.

“Ah why play this one?” 

Yoongi’s proud of his recently released mixtape but you had him cringing upon hearing Daechwita play which is the least thing he’s expecting for you to choose. His mixtape just doesn’t fit the mood right now, he’s thinking you’ll be playing those mellow songs you could easily sleep and cuddle into which is something he feels like doing tonight.

“Why? It’s your song” you chuckled even though you can’t clearly see Yoongi’s reaction right now but you just know he’s scrunching his face, “Fine, i’ll change it.”

You chose another mixtape to play and that is Honne’s No Song Without You. Pressing shuffle, the track By My Side instantly played that got you smiling as you remember how you thought of Yoongi when you first heard this song. Actually, all love songs remind you of Yoongi if that isn’t cheesy enough.

Humming along to the song, you grabbed Yoongi’s hand to face his palm towards you as you set your palm against his just to compare how small your hand is compared to him. You decided to trace along the lines with your fingers as you write down the letters of the word that perfectly describes what Yoongi is to you - Home.

“Are you going to do some palm reading and tell me about my future?”

“Hmm your future’s still pretty bleak but there’s one thing that’s clear”

“And what is it?”

“I’m in it” you said that had you giggling which also caused Yoongi to do the same.

“Of course you are”, Yoongi hugged you tighter, swaying the both of you side to side as he kissed your cheek.

You twisted your body to the side so that you’ll be able to put your arms around his neck, the side of your face still remaining on his chest whilst you closed your eyes as you get even more comfortable in this position until you’ve thought of a better idea to make it more comfortable or rather relaxing for Yoongi.

“Lay down on your stomach” you commanded, sitting up straight that made Yoongi’s hold loosen around you.

“Why?”

“Let me take care of you” you repeated the words he told you, sitting yourself on the other side of the bed as you watched Yoongi plopped the side of his head on the pillow where he also kept his arms under. You then straddled his waist after he got himself settled, pressing both of your palms on his shoulder blades, massaging it gently to untie the knots.

Ever since Yoongi got back from tour, he did as much to be with you and to literally take care of you which didn’t go unnoticed - he helped you in assembling your bookshelf that you never bothered to open or how he even changed one of the bulbs from your chandelier that you didn’t notice had burnt out already. 

“Your muscles are a bit tense” you said as you dug the heel of your palm to apply more pressure to his shoulder that had Yoongi humming in pleasure, “Have you even rested properly ever since you got back?”

“I’m okay” you sighed, grabbing his shoulders as you instructed him to turn around so that he could face you but you remained to be straddling him still.

“Yoongi, you’re almost with me everyday and i know that you’re still working on some songs”

The least thing he wants right now is to make you worry about him because he’s the one that should be worrying about you when you’re always the one that’s being left behind here and no, he’s not actually worried but scared that it might literally happen with the two of you growing apart that one day you’ll wake up and suddenly feel the whole long distance thing to be overwhelming and unbearable.

“I just feel guilty for leaving you here and i also want to make the most out of the days i have left with you” Yoongi finally confessed as he sat himself up to be closer to you, hands on your waist as he drew circles on your exposed skin where your shirt rose up before his other hand made way to the side of your face to reel you in for a kiss.

Yoongi bit your lower lip, causing you to slightly open your mouth which he took as a sign for him to slid in his tongue to clash it with yours, making sure to kiss you gently and passionately as he could as he pour his raw feelings into it, wanting to savour the moment slowly rather than taking it in a rush.

The kiss was nothing but pure longing for each other - longing for all the times you’ve missed and for the time he’ll leave again which will be in three days to continue the Asian leg tour. It isn’t also a bad thing because when he comes to think of it, it’s the last part of the tour but that still isn’t an excuse to make Yoongi feel guilty again as he’ll be gone in a span of three months.

It was clear that your kiss is getting more eager as you play with the hair on the nape of his neck, pulling him in close as much as possible when you wrapped your legs around his waist whilst your other hand has made its way under his shirt, resting it above his chest where you can feel his heart that’s beating erratically.

You’re making it hard for Yoongi to take this slow reason why he detached his lips from yours, chuckling when he heard you emit a disappointed grunt but not for long when his warm lips then invaded the base of your neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses as he work his way up to your jaw, pecking the side near your ear as he whispered.

“I’ve missed you”

He was about to kiss your cheek until you pulled him in by his shoulders, snuggling your face into the crook of his neck that had him quite puzzled at the sudden action but nonetheless let you do so as the both of you stayed like that for a while - you sitting on his lap with your legs around his waist and your arms securely around his neck, head still hiding from him while he rubbed your back and gently caressed your hair.

The warmth of your bodies and gentle touches against each other are exchanged between the two of you, not minding how you’re just basking in the silence as you solely focus on enjoying each other’s presence with the music making everything seem so melodramatic and it was just one of those moments you’d call to be bittersweet.

The silence between you two was soon gone as he heard you sniffling, alarming him even more when he felt hot tears falling onto his neck. Yoongi tried to pry you away as he leaned back to get a proper look at you but that just made you tighten your arms around him, burying your face even more into his neck.

“What’s wrong?”

You shook your head, chuckling a bit to mask the reason why you’ve suddenly gotten so  upset, “It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure about that?” Yoongi asked as he laid back down the mattress, joining you with him.

“I'm sorry, it’s just that i still can’t get quite used to it” your voice was muffled but he perfectly heard you and catched on that you’re referring to him leaving so soon again. Finally, he was able to see your face as you adjusted yourself, wiping the tears as you pressed one of your hands on his chest where you rested the side of your face onto.

“You don’t have to be sorry about it” Yoongi comforted you as he gently ran his thumbs along your cheek, “I should be the one saying sorry to you.”

“Yoongs, you don’t have to be sorry about it too” you leaned in towards his touch as you rested your hand on top of his that’s cradling your face, earning Yoongi a smile. 

“I know our relationship is far from normal and it’s sometimes hard for the both of us but I just want to assure you that the distance wouldn’t keep us apart. I won’t leave you because you’re my home and my safe space, Yoongi.”

It’s a rare sight to see Yoongi get emotional but here he is tearing up at your words and how you instantly eliminate the doubts and guilt he has been carrying with himself. Yoongi chuckled as he covered his eyes with his arm, making you laugh too with tears welling up your eyes at the sight of Yoongi crying as the emotionally sensitive person you are.

Turning to the side, Yoongi set you to lay beside him as you both completely faced each other, fondly staring at you whilst he thread his fingers in your hair that had you closing your eyes. Your left hand in between you two caught his attention, fingers immediately landing on your palm as he wrote down the word you’ve written on his.

Yoongi looked up at you as soon as you enclosed your hand around his, watching how your eyes are still close but a small smile is now adorning your face. He scooted closer until  your foreheads touched, closing his eyes as well but before he could drift off to sleep, he dearly whispered the words to express the same sentiment.

“You’re my home and I'll always come back for you.”

--

A/N: The tissue with scribbled words was based on irl and it just gets me soft everytime, reason why i had to write it down hehe. Anyways, hope you like this one and if you like, you could give me feedback about it hehe.

[anastasiabeaverhousen87]

Praying to the porcelain God

words: 3205

You been told before never to eat from suspicious food stands, especially if you never tried them before or if Kara or Alex haven’t already approved the food. But today you forgot your lunch at home and the food from the cafeteria was not very appealing for you. One of your co-workers saw you make faces at the food options and invited you to eat lunch with them. They were going to get burgers from a new street vendor a couple of blocks away. It was too tempting; you love cheeseburgers and they made it sound like they were really good. So, you said yes. Everyone was going and you were starving.

The following day you woke up feeling a little odd, a bit nauseous but you didn’t think anything about it. You got a chamomile tea instead of coffee and went about your day as usual. Kara was already gone so you just decided to grab a yogurt and granola bar at work.

You finished getting your things ready and were about to leave the apartment when you felt a sharp pain in your stomach followed by cramping. You went to the bathroom and removed your sweater, you felt a swelling of your abdomen and yes, you lower abdomen was inflamed and felt tender to the touch. Another painful cramp made you run to the toilet and you knew you were screwed the moment you sit down.

y/n: “Fuck!!!, ughh it hurts…damn it, Alex is going to kill me” – you didn’t leave the bathroom for a while, you lamented your poor choices while you were sitting in the toilet seat.

 You decided you needed to let someone know you felt like shit and wouldn’t be able to get to work with further incidents, so you called Kara. Kara was softer and if you play your card right maybe she could be the buffer between Alex’s lecturing and you.  You dialed her number and put it on speaker while washing your hands, you were standing Infront of the sink mirror and put the phone down.

 Kara: “Hi sweet girl, what’s up?”

You were about to respond when you felt nausea hit hard, you saw your reflection become green and you ran to toilet once again. Just in time for you to continue emptying your stomach contents, tears sprung into your eyes as the pain in your stomach grew stronger and effort of being violently ill into the porcelain bowl.

On the other side of the line, Kara was listening to you suffering. “Y/N baby? What’s wrong, where are you?” but at not getting a response she ditched everything to fly straight home following your heartbeat.

You stopped vomiting and felt exhausted, you spit into the toilet and flush it.  You use toilet paper to clean you mouth and drop to the bathroom floor exhausted.  Kara enter the apartment looking for you.

Kara: “y/n?, oh my God what’s wrong baby?”- Kara panics at looking at your body sprawled in the bathroom floor all pale and clammy.

y/n: “Ughh best guess? stomach bug. I just puked my guts out, and before that I emptied my bowels in a different way” - you grimace at the explosive diarrhea you went through less than half an hour ago.

Kara: “Oh sweetie, I’m sorry you feel so poorly. Come on, let me pick you up from the floor”- the blonde woman tries to pick you up, but you feel like you’re not quite over.

Y/n: “Kara, I don’t think I can move quite yet and the floor is cold, it feels nice” –you move a little on the floor to get more of the chilly sensation on your hot skin- “I feel like crap sissy” a tear runs down your cheek and you look up to your sister. Kara brushes the tear away and cradles the side of your face. You are about to move again into a sitting position when you feel your stomach painfully cramp again and you roll into a fetal position trying to make the pain lessen somehow.

Kara: “Oh baby, looks like a horrible stomach bug. But I’m so bad at human illnesses let me call Alex really quick, she is the best when it comes to this kind of things.” Kara looks desperate and seeing you so sick on the floor. Kara is now sitting next to you holding your head in her lap and running her fingers through your hair.

Y/N: “You can’t, busy. Summit in New York” – you mumble trough clenching teeth.

Kara: “I know she is busy with work, but she can take a phone call if it’s an emergency. Its her or the ER. Your call.”

y/n: “Alex…” – you much prefer hearing your helicopter sister ask a thousand question that being prod and wait in the Emergency Room.

Kara takes her phone out of her pocket and dials the number; it rings a few times and then it connects.

Alex: “Hey what’s up, everything okay?”- the red head asks immediately, knowing her sisters wouldn’t be calling her if it was not an emergency.

Kara: “No, y/n is sick. I just found her on the bathroom floor all clammy and she told me she vomited a lot. Also, she thinks it’s a stomach bug.” You can´t hear what Alex says on the phone, then Kara turns the phone on speaker “Ok hold on, yes. Ok ok now you’re on speaker now”

Alex: “Hi little one. I’m so sorry you got sick baby and I bet you feel awful but I need to ask you a few things ok?”

You nod, even though Alex cant see you, but you think if you can let her think it’s a stomach bug going around the office you’ll be off the hook and avoid the speech on getting food from street vendors.

Y/n: “Yeah ok…”- you feel to tire so yes, you can answer whatever she wants as longs she doesn’t ask you to move.

Alex: “Ok sweetie, Kara mentioned vomiting, what else are you feeling? Do you also have diarrhea? is she warm or cold Kara?

Y/N: “painful cramps, diarrhea definitely that was first and the puked my guts out. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything left inside my intestines by this point. It was super gross Alex. I feel a little cold now. There’s a bug going on around the office and some of the guys got sick”- you say the last part a bit fast and avoid looking at Kara, then you groan in pain at another cramp.

Kara: “She is all clammy, her cheeks are flush, and she is shivering a little. Also, she is now avoiding direct eye contact…” – Kara raises an eyebrow at you, knowing there’s something you are avoiding.

Alex: – “y/n baby, was your stool a little bloody and watery? Or soft and muddy? , also Kara can you check her abdomen does it look a little swollen and prod very gently please “

y/n: “first one”- You can hear Alex give a long sigh

Kara: “definitely swollen and a bit tender”

Alex: “What did you eat yesterday either at lunch or dinner? And don’t even think about lying to me y/n. I will know if you are lying. That’s not just a stomach bug”

Kara is looking down at you worry on her face, “We ate steak and mashed potatoes with some veggies last night. Lena cooked. and I know I can’t get sick, but Lena was okay. So, what did you eat for lunch baby?”

Y/n: “a cheeseburger” –you mumble

Alex: “Where?”

y/n: “A new place near the building, a few of the guys I work with we got burgers yesterday”

Alex: “when you say ´new place, you mean a well stablished franchise or restaurant? Not a street vendor with doubtful hygiene and suspicious meat or produce, right? -  ughh busted, you thought.

y/n: “Street vendor” – you lamented

Kara: “ohh sweetie. You know better than that”- Kara kept her gentle touch but looking a bit disappointed in you.

Alex: “Well baby, I hope the burger was so amazing and worth it, because what you have is food poisoning and most likely due to contaminated ground beef with E. coli. There is nothing to stop it or make it better faster. Your body will get rid of the bacteria during the following days. Simply needs to run its course.”

Y/N: “No cheeseburger in world is worth this pain or disgusting vomiting or explosive diarrhea. I feel like crap Lexie”- you play your Lexi card, so your big sister takes pity on you. You feel bad enough as it is, you don’t need to hear more disappointment from her.

Alex: “I know baby girl. Its quite uncomfortable and painful. You need rest and avoid over exerting, that will only make your stomach feel worse. Kara, I need you to make sure she drinks lots of fluids, she will keep vomiting and having constant bowel movements in the next couple of days and she can get dehydrated very quickly. Lots of water and Pedialyte . Let her stomach to settle first .  Avoid giving her any solid foods until she is no longer nauseous or vomiting as much. Avoid juices or other beverages with a lot of sugar or sweeteners that can make diarrhea worse. Let’s wait for 24 hours like this without any food and after that we can see if you can ease her back into eating soft and bland food. Call me if she gets worse or if the fever is too high.”

Y/N: “not even hungry anyways…”

Kara: “will do Alex, I’m taking off work for the week I’ll let Lena know. She is out of town as well, but I can handle goober just fine. right kiddo?”

You just try to crawl into Kara’s lap you starting to feel cold and so very tired. “Yeah, I’m cold. You warm”

Alex: “She will sleep a lot, wake her up and make her drink water or fluids Kara, its very important. Make sure her temperature doesn’t go above 102 F. if she get above that range just make her take a bath in lukewarm water or use a cold compress. Let her eat ice chips, NO dairy, no caffeine, no sugar, or fatty food. If she does eat those, she will end up throwing up everything. If temperature goes above 103 take her immediately to the ER. It shouldn’t but keep an eye on that. Seriously Kara call me anytime ok?”  

Kara: “Will do Alex. Thanks, and I’ll call you later once y/n is more comfortable and asleep”

Alex: “Ok, feel better sweetie, I’ll be back as soon as I can. Be good for Kara and try to relax and let your body get rid of everything at its own pace. Don’t rush anything. I love you sweetheart. Love you Kara, bye”

Y/N “Bye, love you Lexie”

Kara: “Bye Alex, love you too” – the phone calls gets disconnected. Kara looks down at you. “You think you are ready to move from the bathroom floor to the living room?”

y/n: “can you help me up to rinse my mouth? It tastes like crap ugh”

Kara: “of course. Up we go”- Kara gently stands up with you in her arms and helps you to your feet.

But you get dizzy and grab ahold of Kara’s arms for support

Kara: “hey hey I got you, easy there baby girl”

y/n: “everything its spinning and I don’t feel so g…” but before you can finish the sentence your eyes go wide and Kara see what’s about to happen and helps you to your knees in front of the toilet once again. Kara holds your hair away from your face with her other hand rubbing soothing circles down your spine while providing word of comfort.

You keep vomiting for a few minutes more “ughh I thought I had ridden of everything by now. This Is so disgusting” a few tears leak down your cheeks and Kara just helps you to your feet again and flushes the toilet.

Kara: “I know sweet girl, but Alex did say you will be experiencing vomiting and other stuff for a few days. So, let’s get you rinse your mouth and settle down in the couch so you can sleep this off, okay?”

You just nod and work on getting your teeth brushed and get rid of the nasty taste. Kara helps you to your room to change into your pajamas.

Kara: “Bed or couch?” -you just point down to your bed giving her your answer. “Okay okay” Kara lowers you on your bed and goes to close the curtains so you can rest more comfortably.

y/n: “Hold me?”- you pout pitifully

Kara: “of course baby girl. Let me just get your water and text Lena to let her know I won’t be into work for a few days and also text your boss you’re sick” – I’ll be right back.

y/n:” don’t want water please just hold me, I’m cold sissy”- more tears run down your cheeks, you just want your sister to hold you now.

Kara: “aww chucks, baby you feel real awful don’t ya? Ok here I’ll call later, and you need to drink water in an hour or two. I will wake you up. come here sweet bean”- Kara moves you so you are now lying basically on top of her, you hide your face into her neck and wrap your arms around her. You are leaching on her warmth shamelessly. Kara doesn’t mind at all begins to pat down your back softly like when you were little she needed to calm you down and put to to sleep.

Kara: “Aww my little koala is here. You’re so cuddly baby. I’m sorry you are feeling so poorly but I’ll be here with you all the time. You just close your eyes and go to sleep. You’ll feel better in no time, you’ll see”

y/n: “I’m never eating cheeseburgers again”- you give a yawn and began to drift off. Kara juts chuckles and starts to hum softly a lullaby song she uses since you were a little girl and where having trouble falling asleep or felt sick. You are out in less than 5 minutes.

Kara wait for you to be completely asleep to grab her cellphone she still has on her pocket. Texts Lena you are sick and will call her later, but you are okay just miserable for eating street food. And then sends a quick text to y/n boss, thank Rao she is close friends with y/n otherwise would be a pain to explain why she is texting instead of her employee.

Kara puts the cellphone down on the nightstand and holds y/n more to her chest and begins to run her hand up and down y/n spine and watches her sleep for a little while until herself starts to feel sleepy and decides to take a nap too.

Kara is awaken by your moving around and painful moaning. You curl into yourself as much as you can, trying to wave through the painful cramp in your tummy.

y/n: “It really hurts Kara, it hurts so bad”- you say through clenching teeth and tears sprung into your eyes once again. You feel miserable and in so much pain.  

Kara feels you are getting a bit hotter now and you are sweating too. “Okay little one, I think a bath can help you now, and you need to drink a little bit of water. Come here”

y/n: “No. pelease, no Kara. I just want the pain to stop and sleep again. I don’t want a bath” -you cry softly into her neck

Kara: “I’m sorry baby, but you feel too warm and you will feel better after the bath. I’ll stay with you the whole time.”

Kara picks you up from the bed and takes into the bathroom, she sits you down at the toilet seat while she runs a lukewarm bath for you.

Y/n: “Kara I don’t feel so good…” again you turn green and Kara helps you to sit infront the porcelain bowl once more.

You throw up again, but its mostly bile. Kara holds your hair out of your face while making comforting rubs on your lower back while you continue to be sick. your stomach its already empty from all the previous vomiting and you didn’t really eat anything for breakfast. You feel so weak after the effort it took to vomit once again. You are sweaty and pale and slump into Kara. Kara gently runs a hand down your spine and grabs a small towel to clean off the bile in your lips.

Kara: “sshh …baby come one. Its over now.  Here use this mouth wash to rinse and spit it in the toilet” -Kara then flushes the toilet and strips you off your clothes. She also strips down to her underwear and gets into the tub with you.  She helps you lean into her so she can wash your skin with a soft washcloth and pour the lukewarm water down your body to cool you down. After a while she notices your feel cooler to the touch. Washes your hair gently and lets you lean back onto her. You have always loved the skin to skin contact when feeling sick or unwell. Your sisters have done this many times over the years as well as you mom Eliza. You like feeling their warm skin and listen to their heartbeat. But Kara posses a special feature, she is warmer than any human. You feel her skin on you help you with the chills and you feel yourself drifting off to sleep again.

Kara notices you are almost asleep, and decides you are cool enough now and gently nudges you awake.

Kara: “sweet girl please don’t fall asleep quite yet. Let me dry you off a bit and you need to drink a little bit of water. Then you can sleep again promise”

You grunt in disapproval “Nuh uh … don’t wanna, I just want sleep”

Kara: “ I know sweetie but its not an option, come one”- Kara immediately stands and grabs ahold of you and takes one of the bath robes and uses one on her and then she uses a big fluffy towel to pat you down enough to remove the water excess but leaving your skin a bit damp to help keeping you cool.

She takes you back to your room and sets you on top of the bed and quickly grabs a set of lose shorts and tank top to avoid overheating you.  She then sits you with you back on a pillow resting against the headboard while she speeds to the kitchen to get you ice water.

Kara: “Okay sweetie small sips, just a few smalls sips and that’s it.”- she makes you drink a bit of water and leaves the glass on the nightstand again. You notice she is now wearing a pajamas too and in the nightstand there’s also a bowl with water and a few small towels and an empty plastic bow- “Just in case you feel sick and need to vomit again and avoid a trip to the bathroom”

Y/N:” thank you sissy”- you tear up and your chin trembles.

Kara: “No no don’t cry baby girl. Come here”- she gently lifts you up sits down and then lays you on her side you head resting on her collarbone. She left her soft button- up pajama top mostly open so you can lean into her and feel her skin near the collarbone and upper chest. You settle down and keep listening to her heartbeat.

Kara: “sshh sshh…sweetie just close your eyes and sleep. You’ll feel better soon just sleep now” – once again you feel her gentle touch on your back, down your arms and temple. And that soft voice humming the melody you associate with comfort. you move a little trying to find the perfect spot and just like that in less than 10 minutes you’re asleep.

[xvvampire-valentinevx]

Run to the Nanny - A Brahms Heelshire Fanfiction. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This story will contain violence, sexual implications, implications of ab*se, and murder/character death.

Chapter 2

Morning rolled around and I woke up to the sound of crashing, as though a wooden chess board had been knocked over. Mrs. Heelshire then began to yell in distress, and I quickly tossed myself out of bed, quickly walking down to Brahms’ room in concern. I turn, looking past the doorway to see a wooden game board on the ground, Brahms’ room now a slight mess.

“Is everything alright?” I speak up, sounding worried.

Mrs. Heelshire looked up and managed a strained but reassuring smile.

“Brahms is just having a bit of a tantrum this morning…” she said, her voice weak. I give her a kind smile and nod, turning and heading down to the parlor to wait for them to leave.

As Mr. Heelshire and I awaited for Mrs. Heelshire, he gave me a few pages of paper.

“Mrs. Heelshire was kind enough to print these out for you, to help you.” He said. I gently took the papers and looked through them. They seemed to be a set of rules/directions for me to follow.

“I must warn you, Brahms is a very particular boy. You must follow the rules exactly, you know.”

I nod in response, reading through the papers carefully. I looked up just as Mrs. Heelshire approached.

“Do take good care of Brahms while we’re gone…” She said softly, looking more distressed by the second. I figured she just must be nervous about leaving her… son with me. I give her a comforting smile.

“I’ll treat him like he’s my own.” I said.

She seemed satisfied with that, nodding curtly. She stepped over and gave me a hug… and I hugged back, obviously not having expected this from her.

“I’m sorry…”

I blink as she pulls away…

And they leave… they leave me alone with Brahms.

I sigh and walk over to the chair Mrs. Heelshire seemed to leave him in.

I was… Nervous… And I felt guilty…

“Oh boy…”

I step away from the doll for a moment, turning to the nearby telephone and quickly dial my friend’s number.

“Helloo~?”

“Penny?? Hi… I-it’s me.” “Paris!! Hey! I was wondering when you’d call… How’s the nanny business going? Is the UK Nice?” She asked softly.

I smile awkwardly, glancing at Brahms, leaning against the table the phone sat on.

“Honestly? It’s… It wasn’t what I expected.” “What?? What the hell does that mean?”

“I just… Ya know, it’s nothing… I’m just new to this whole.. Nanny thing…”

“Hmm… Alright… Call me if you ever need anything..”

“Oh hey, before you go… How’s Jacksonville?” I asked her, twirling my hair around my finger.

“Oh!! It’s great!! Amazing, even~!”

“I’m glad…” I tap my finger against the table some, sighing. “Well, I should get going, I have to make breakfast and stuff.”

“Alright!! Good luck Paris~”

“See ya, Pens”

I hang up the phone, then walk over to Brahms, gently picking him up and cradling him. I head to the kitchen, smiling. I gently set Brahms on a chair and start grabbing things to cook. I figured that I could, perhaps, pancakes, some eggs, bacon… Yeah, that sounded like a good breakfast. Since the silence in the empty manor would drive me nuts, I chose to sing to myself a bit while I cooked, seeing as no one else was here except for me and Brahms…. And Brahms was a doll… So, No harm no foul.

I fried up some bacon while I mixed up pancake batter. I was a master at making some pretty fluffy pancakes.

I made enough food for both the doll and I. It felt a little ridiculous, making food for a doll, but I was being paid to care for the doll as though it was a real child. I would feel guilty if I didn’t do what I was being paid to do. And I couldn’t forget what Mr. Heelshire told me when he was teaching me how to empty the traps…. It stuck with me, and I couldn’t just ignore something like that.

I had kind of figured what all this was about… the large portrait I’d seen of the family, the doll…

A Mourning Doll.

From what I could gather… The real Brahms had passed away when he was a child and this was his poor parents’ way of coping with the loss. I understood how hard and painful it was to lose a child, so I plated the food for the doll. Pancakes topped with berries and jam on one plate, and another plate holding eggs and bacon.

“I’m not too sure how you like your eggs so I just sort of scrambled ‘em… I hope you don’t mind.” I say, plating my own food. He was sitting at the end of the table, and I sat in the chair to the right of him.

“Oops.” I got up, forgetting one thing. I grabbed a napkin and set it over Brahms’ body like a bib.

“There we gooo.”

I ate, then packed up Brahms’ food before putting it away just as Mrs. Heelshire instructed.

It was a little strange to me, but… whatever, I guess.

The day passed a little slow, having to spend it… Alone. I read to Brahms, I played his music, though it’s high volume gave me quite the headache. Eventually, it was time for me to put Brahms in his room to ‘play.’

I was confused how THAT was going to work but I guess it was just the doll and I… sitting in his room… in silence…

So that’s… Just what I did. The time passed so slowly… and I had gotten so bored, I ended up falling asleep in the chair in his room, the book I was reading slipping out of my hand. When I woke up, it was dark.

“Oh shoot.”

I stood up, walking over to Brahms and gently picking him up. I checked the time on my phone and sighed, relieved that I at least didn’t miss dinner time.

“We have time for dinner. How about some steak? Maybe mashed potatoes and vegetables?” I ask the doll as if he would reply.

“Yeah, okay.”

To the kitchen I went, cooking up the last meal of the day, and after that I put Brahms to bed.

I flopped over on my bed, huffing a little.

This hadn’t been what I expected at all… caring for a doll every day was nothing like caring for an actual child… How was this meant to help me?

I had signed up to care for a kid… not this… The manor was so silent, and now, after having realised that there would be no actual child to fill the silence. I felt my lip quiver, then my eyes began to sting as tears threatened to spill from them. I sniffled weakly, the hiccupped as I just started to cry. I quickly covered my face with my hands, trying to gather my emotions and stress.

What was I supposed to do now?

Eventually I just… outright sobbed, loud enough for my whimpers and cries to echo throughout the manor.

The sound of footsteps roused me from my distress, though, and I quickly looked up at my closed door.

“H...Hello?” I ask, confused and afraid that someone had broken in. I sniffled, getting to my feet and wiping my eyes and cheeks as I walked over to my door. I pressed my ear against it.

“Paris?”

I cried out in panic, stumbling back from the shock that shook my body enough to make my knees tremble…

I had heard the voice of a child, a young boy, call… My name… and he sounded… so worried for me…

I press my ear against the door again and call out softly.

“B..Brahms..?” My voice wasn’t as loud as I hoped it would be, but once again, the boyish voice called out again.

“Don’t cry.”

I blinked… This was no comfort, despite how sweet it seemed, I felt fear… because this could mean a number of things. I wasn’t sure if I preferred a creep had broken in and chose to fuck with me, or the ghost of a dead child trying to(maybe) comfort me. I felt like crying more than I did before, taking hold of the doorknob before gently twisting and peering outside. I muster up the courage to speak.

“Brahms you’re supposed to be in bed-”

Was all I could manage to say before wrenching the door open and looking up and down the hall in front of it.

After I saw nothing, I looked down… and saw a little stuffed elephant sitting in in front of me on the ground. Needless to say, I felt confused, but also touched…. Still afraid. Was someone or something really trying to comfort me right now?

I look around one more time before picking up the stuffed animal. I squeezed it close to my form… I felt quite nice doing so as well. It was soft, the fabric of the toy was cotton, and it was a sweet baby blue color… I loved it. I pressed my nose against the top of it’s head, sighing a bit. It smelt like it’s been well loved, but also well cared for… I instantly felt my eyes droop, and I made my way back to my bed, absentmindedly leaving my door open behind me.

I set the toy down on the bed and changed into what I had worn last night, a light, somewhat see through, white slip dress. It was silky, and it felt comfortable and natural to sleep in. In a manor like this, it made me feel like a princess or something. I climb into bed, wriggling my legs underneath the blanket, grabbing hold of the little toy elephant before curling up and falling asleep.

[tlbodine]

Thanksgiving is Gonna Be Weird: A Survival Guide for 2020

It’s 2020, the pandemic is worse than ever, and the holidays are right around the corner. No matter what, this is going to be a weird Thanksgiving for a lot of people. With travel restrictions in place and most of us having a mighty desire not to murder our friends and family by spreading around a disease, there’s a good chance that you’re going to be celebrating a bit differently this year. 

And, hey, maybe you decide not to celebrate at all. Which is perfectly valid! 

But maybe you’re staring down the possibility of your first Thanksgiving on your own, or feeding just the small group you live for rather than a big crowd, or some other unusual circumstance. And if that’s the case, I wanted to compile together some resources/ideas to help you out. I know this isn’t my usual horror fare, but...well, I hope it’s helpful, regardless. 

“Help, I’ve Never Made Thanksgiving Dinner Before” Starter Kit

Maybe you’ve always gone home for the holidays but are currently stuck in an apartment with a few roommates, and none of you have any intensive cooking skills. Maybe you always take the kids to Grandma’s house and have never had to contribute more than a side dish but now really want to do a proper Thanksgiving feast for your partner(s), kid(s) and whoever else lives in your house. 

Never fear! A Thanksgiving feast doesn’t have to be intimidating! In fact, Thanksgiving foods are usually pretty simple; the most challenging part of the whole feast is the project management aspect of working with a lot of different dishes and getting everything ready at once. But the smaller your crowd to feed, the easier that is! 

So, the first thing you’ll want to do is come up with a menu. Sit down and write a list of all the foods you normally eat and enjoy on Thanksgiving. If something is served at your family meal that you’ve never cared for, guess what? You can boot that bad boy right off the list! 

By and large, the standard Thanksgiving feast consists of: 

Roast turkey 

Mashed potatoes

Gravy

Some kind of dinner roll

Cranberry sauce

Some number of vegetable side dishes (often a green been casserole and a sweet potato casserole) 

Some kind of dessert (often/traditionally a pumpkin pie) 

I’ve linked above some easy & favorite techniques/recipes for all of these foods, but of course you can buy time-saving convenience items to get you rolling -- from potato flakes to gravy mix to premade pie. I won’t tell if you don’t. 

If there’s something you’re used to eating every year that you don’t know how to make....call whoever usually makes it! If at all possible, obviously, I’m not recommending you do a seance to talk to your dead great-aunt and get her rolls recipe. Just, like...phone up your friend/family member, get the recipe, and use it as an opportunity to connect. Odds are both of you are missing the human interaction. 

“Hey, That’s Nice, But I Live in a Dorm Room”  Edition 

Okay, okay, I get it. You’re away at college and can’t get home to see your family safely and you’re living in some kind of weird socially isolated dorm situation where you have limited access to cooking implements. Or, shit, idk, maybe you’re couch-surfing or living in a motel or otherwise not in possession of a full kitchen. 

I got you, fam. 

Do you have at your disposal a microwave? Rice cooker? Even an electric kettle will work! 

If you have some way to boil water, you can make instant mashed potatoes, gravy, and stove-top stuffing. If you have a microwave, you can steam some vegetables and bake a sweet potato. For dessert, core an apple, stuff the cavity with brown sugar + cinnamon + butter and nuke in the microwave for 4 minutes. 

It’s hypothetically possible to microwave a turkey, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Instead, I’d opt to buy a deli roast chicken (about $5 at most grocery stores), or even just some turkey deli meat. Alternatively, ham usually just needs to be warmed rather than cooked, and you can buy a big ol’ ham steak at the store for a couple of bucks. 

“I’m Dead Broke Because COVID, Send Help” 

You know the great thing about Thanksgiving food? It’s cheap. No, really! It can be, anyway, especially since a lot of foods go on sale. 

In my area anyway, the local Wal-Mart and Smith’s Grocery have: 

A can of green beans for about 79 cents

A bag of instant mashed potatoes for about $1 

A big can of yams for about $1, or fresh yams for 50 cents/lb (usually a couple sweet potatoes = 1lb) 

Canned corn or peas + corn for 50 cents, or steam-in-bag veggies of your choice for $1 

Stovetop stuffing for $1 or sometimes even 50 cents per box 

Margarine for 79 cents to $1 

Gravy mix packets for 50 cents each

A can of cranberry sauce for $1 or less

Most of these are also available at Dollar Tree! 

A lot of food banks will also be giving out turkeys this time of year, and some grocery stores will give you a free turkey if you spend $50 or $100 on groceries or whatever. Do you have an older relative who needs groceries? Ask if you can go buy their food and deliver it to their door (contactless!) and keep the free turkey.

You can pretty easily feed a group of 4-6 for $20 or so, especially if you’re willing to be flexible on your protein. And what are you doing feeding more than 6 people in the middle of a pandemic, huh? 

“I’m Used to Hosting a Big Dinner But There’s Only Like Three Of Us Living In This House WTF How Do I Scale This Shit Down” 

Maybe you are a Thanksgiving veteran. Maybe you’re accustomed to hosting for a big crowd and cooking a small meal just seems dumb and pointless. I feel you. This is my life right now! But don’t despair! 

The way I see it, you’ve got a couple-three options: 

Option One: 

Cook your turkey + a different side each day, and eat your Thanksgiving feast spread out over a week or so. It’ll keep your leftovers from dominating your fridge, let you eat something fresh, and allow you to enjoy all your favorite recipes. Downside is you’ll have to cook every day, so you tell me if you’re too busy to do that. 

Option Two: 

Cook everything that you normally would, but portion off half of it or whatever to stuff into your freezer, or go deliver it to somebody else’s door. The odds are pretty good that you’ve got a friend or family member who is freaking out about the holiday, and if you can’t see them in person, you can at least drop food off on their porch and then honk aggressively/cheerfully from the safety of your car! 

Option Three: 

Make something different this year. If you’re a foodie, take this as an opportunity to challenge yourself to create something high-maintenance and weird that you wouldn’t normally make. This is a good choice if you’re off work and stuck in your house with nothing else to do. Basically you’re subbing out quantity for quality so the meal still feels special and unique even if it’s, y’know....just you and your cat, or whoever. 

PS: Roasting a whole chicken or a cornish game hen is a fun, small-scale way to get your bird-in-the-oven experience. You can also buy a turkey breast and just cook that, which will be a lot faster than the whole bird anyway. 

"I’m An Essential Worker And I’m Working Thanksgiving And Have No Time To Do ANYTHING, What Now?” 

Dude, I get it. And whether you’re a doctor, nurse, grocery store employee, or whatever other essential service-worker, my heart goes out to you because hoo boy this year has been shit, hasn’t it? I can’t do anything about the hazard pay situation, but I CAN tell you that there are a few places offering delivery-based Thanksgiving meal options! 

You might want to search around a bit for your specific area. Cracker Barrel, Marie Callendar’s, Boston Market, and other types of branded “home-cooking” type restaurants tend to have some kind of Thanksgiving thing. Why not call your local restaurant fav to see if they’re doing something similar? Most restaurants are desperate for a way to stay afloat right now, so a ton of places that don’t traditionally deliver are offering curbside service now. It’s worth a try! 

So, there you have it. 

I hope some of these tips taught you something new, pointed you to a helpful resource, or gave you some ideas. More than anything, I just want everybody to be safe and happy this holiday. So, please -- get creative, wear your mask while you’re shopping, avoid the get-togethers, and be careful. You may save a life! 

[amazingdriverfics]

Surprise

Here’s some domestic Flip fluff to warm our hearts in such difficult times. I want to thank all of my followers once again for dedicating a part of your day to read my works. Hope you like this!

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: just a mention to sex 

Pairing: Flip Zimmerman x reader 

Summary: you get home earlier and make sure that everything is perfect for you to surprise Flip with your news.

My masterlist

Cleaning your hands - dirty with pie dough and cherry filling - you turn to the wood table in the middle of the kitchen making sure the white tablecloth was perfectly sitted of the surface, you wanted everything to be perfect. You had gotten home earlier, after closing your coffee shop two hours before you usually finished attending, with your arms full of groceries for dinner, the menu was ready in your mind: steak with mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes on the side - his favorite - and for dessert cherry pie - an homage to your pet name -. 

Now, at 7 pm, it was a matter of time before Flip got home from the station. Your present for him was hidden in the middle drawer of the kitchen stand. Excitement pumping in your veins as you finish setting the table, candles burning in the middle of it giving the environment a more intimate sensation - you had big news and the ocasion deserved the amount of effort you put into making everything perfect -. 

Hearing the sound of his truck engine dying, you prepare yourself quickly checking your figure in the hallway mirror just to make sure there wasn’t any trace of food in your face or even a hair out of place. Thankfully, your reflection showed that everything was in order.

Just in time to catch your husband coming into your home, you walk to the kitchen, a smile already adorning your features and a happy glow lighting up your eyes. 

“Cherry, I’m home” Flip’s baritone voice echoes through the house instantly meeting your ears as he takes his shoes off letting his brown leather boots by the door. “Is this steak I’m smelling?” he says already in the kitchen giving you a tender smack on your lips with his as his strong arms cage you into his hold. 

“Yes it is, hope you’re hungry” the words leave your mouth as your eyes access his features, even though you met Flip years ago, his beauty never failed to impress you, the constellation of freckles adorning his skin, his facial hair trimmed to perfection - now by you -, his dark hair framing his face, his strong nose - which he frequently pressed into your neck smelling your skin -, his dark brown eyes in which you lost yourself almost everyday and his puffy red lips that often took you to heaven. 

“Oh Cherry I’m starving, but if you keep looking at me like that I’m going to have a different meal”  your lover states, mischief already finding its way to his face, but there was no time for that now, you had planned everything and no matter how much you would like Flip to bend you over the table and fuck you until you were reduced to a mess of sobs and whimpers, you had to keep up with the schedule. 

“No, no, big guy. Today it’s an especial occasion” you say, head pointing to table forcing him to take his eyes off your figure to look at the set table shining with the fire on top of the beige candles. “What is this big occasion, Cherry?” he asks, confusion printed on him, visible from his frown. 

“You are not forgetting anything, relax” you calm him down as your hands travel in his muscular arms “It’s a surprise”, you resume your smiling as you picture his face when you told him the big news. “You know I hate surprises, Cherry. Will I have to punish you for this?” he teases you, voice becoming deeper. “You’ll like this one I promise, now head to shower” you say right before patting his butt a sign for him to get going. With one last look showing how much he suspects your attitudes, Flip turns around making his way to the bathroom as you stare to his wide back covered in a blue flannel shirt falling graciously on top of his dennin pants. 

As you hear the sound of the shower running you make the final preparations for dinner, turning off the stoven heating up the food after seeing that everything was cooked to perfection and lowering the heat of the oven since your cherry pie was almost done. Afterwards, you check one more time the middle drawer finding the white box with a yellow ribbon just where you placed it. 

By the time Flip gets to the kitchen once again, his plate and yours are filled with the tasty meal you prepared as you sit in your usual chair humming songs from your favorite vinyl. “This looks so fucking good, cherry. Almost as good as you” he says giving you a quick kiss in your cheek - a way to say thank you - before sitting in the chair in front of you. “Bon appetite” you say with a smile in your face as you start eating, watching your husband eating like a starved man, filling his mouth with steak and smashed potatoes over and over again in a pace impossible for you to keep up with. You choose to take his caveman style as a compliment chuckling between bites. 

“Are you laughing at me, cherry?” he asks in a malicious tone almost causing you to choke on your food. All you did as a reply was nod already knowing where he wanted to get to. “I guess I have two things to punish you for, isn’t that right?” he says in the same tone, but, on the contrary of what he was hoping for, you shake your head before your voice echoes in the kitchen “I cooked your favorite and you’ll love the surprise, I have nothing to be punished for”.

Flip humms pretending to be thinking, “We’ll see about that, but you’re right, this is delicious. Thank you, cherry” he thanks you voice becoming sweeter as his long hand find its way to yours to rub his fingers on the back of it. “No need to thank me for, I love spoiling you” you state shrugging. It was true, whenever you possibly could you found a way to spoil the man you loved - taking a pack of his cigarettes to the station, buying Coors on your way home, massaging his back after a long day of work - and he did the same for you - washing your hair in your shared showers, ordering food when you were too tired to cook, bringing your favorite chocolate home-.

“Talking about spoiling” you remember, getting out of the chair and making your way to the fridge coming back with a freezing coors in hand, placing it in front of his now clear plate as you sit once again resuming eating your final bites. “You’re too good for me, cherry” Flip’s voice meet your ears as he uses the bottom of his tank top to take the top off of it. “Not true, we are perfect for each other” you answer putting your silver fork and knife down. “Are you ready for dessert?”. 

“I sure am” he says back taking a sip of the cold liquid. Nodding satisfied with the reply, you get up once again gathering the used plates and silverware letting them on the sink as you set the table with dessert dishes. When you take the pie out of the oven after turning it off, you can see the dough is perfectly golden and crispy.

After you place a piece in your plate and on Flip’s you ask him to be careful “If you eat like that again you’ll burn your mouth, honey”. Halfway through his beer your husband smiles at your request setting a bit of the pie aside letting it cool down. “Can you tell what this is all about now?” he asks looking directly into your eyes a trick he knew made you weak, but this time you were too determined to be stopped by anything at all. 

“After we eat” you shrug and look away shaking the effects of his piercing gaze out of you. 

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

When all the dirty dishes are in the sink, you get the box in your hands and after sitting back on the wood chair you hand it over to Flip. Without saying anything, he starts to undo the yellow ribbon placing the silky material on the table. When the box is finally open and the gift inside is revealed to him, his eyes instantly look for yours which are already glossy. 

“This means you are -” he starts voice a little bit hoarse from emotion, “pregnant” you complete standing and making your way to him ready to celebrate. He takes one last look at the yellow baby shoes in the box before hugging you closely and kissing the top of your head. 

You and Flip had been trying to have a baby for a year now, but there hadn’t been positive results until a week ago when a pharmacy pregnancy test you did - after having morning sickness for a week straight - pointed that you were pregnant. But before telling Flip you did a blood test just to be sure, the results had come in the mail this morning while you were cooking breakfast, you almost passed out when you read it, but after putting yourself back together you came up with the dinner plans. 

“I love you so so much, Cherry, I’m the luckiest guy in the planet” he says, tears adorning his eyes too as a smile cracks in his face. “And you’ll be the most loved being in it” he talks to your soon to grow belly as his hands leave your back and find its way to it. “We are the luckiest parents in the planet, Flip” you state giving him a sweet kiss which tasted like your tears, but you couldn’t care less, in the moment there was only you, Flip and your baby. 

[liloelsagranger]

Chapter 9: The wash (Viridian Love Story - Pokémon fanfiction)

Finally, finally a new chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 9: The wash

Misty stared at them in disbelief. “What is the wash? Is it dangerous?” she wanted to know, even though she could already guess the answer. Jessie and James nodded in agreement, Jessie was the first to find words again and explain the facts.

“The wash is performed by Hypno. As the name suggests, he hypnotizes his victims and makes his way into their memory. All memories that could either be useful or pose a threat to Team Rocket are extracted and preserved, but the prisoners are left without any memory of their past and eke out an existence as lifeless shells, like ghosts”, she explained.

If there was still a small glimmer of hope in Misty, it had just been extinguished. She slumped down and sobbed. Ash carefully put an arm around his friend. This could not be her definite fate. Her family was perhaps still alive, but could no longer remember their own daughter?

“Is there any way to reverse the hypnosis so that the memory comes back?” Ash asked. James fussed, not wanting to give them false hope, yet he had heard of some rumors. “There are reports of people who have been hypnotized but still have occasional lucid moments and can remember their past lives. At least that is what I heard when we once accidentally barged into a conference”, he shrugged his shoulders.

“Meowth, that’s right. I can confirm that, because it was all about a planned escape attempt by a prisoner who could suddenly remember everything. Unfortunately, they were able to catch him and he is now serving an even harder sentence in the maximum security section of the prison.”

Misty had to let all the information sink in. Her head was about to explode, there was so much they had to consider if they wanted to save her parents. But she was determined to give everything and, if necessary, to put her own life on the line.

“I’d say let’s got for it! Ash, Brock, are you with me?” The guys nodded their heads. Now Misty turned to Team Rocket.

“I know we haven’t always been best friends, we have our differences, we have our strengths and weaknesses, but now is the time for a truce because this is a matter of life and death. You bring the necessary know-how; I bring the longing for my family. Only together can we face this adventure. Even though we didn’t always get along, I ask you to help me out; and believe me, this is anything but easy for me”, a faint smile flitted across Misty’s face. James returned the smile and held out his hand to her.

“We’re in! But I warn you, it will be dangerous, very dangerous! We risk our heads if they catch us, but at least one of us deserves the security of a loving family,” thus the matter was decided and they started the journey.

After several hours of hiking, it was finally time to take a break and have some dinner. Brock, who continued to hone his cooking skills, offered to prepare a meal for his friends that they would never forget. But he needed everyone’s help and support to make it a real feast. James and Meowth had volunteered to gather firewood and had only recently set out into the dark woods. The cat Pokémon noticed days ago that James had woken up on the wrong side of the planet. The guilty conscience gnawed at his teammate and almost made him despair.

“You need to talk to her!” Meowth insisted that James would finally talk turkey, but the young man was not up to the challenge yet. James heaved a deep sigh.

“You know, Meowth, sometimes I wish Hypno would cast a spell on me too and erase all memories of my messed up childhood and adolescence. By that I mean the terrible time with my parents, the bad days and weeks with Jessiebelle, the beatings, the torture, the endless hours of piano lessons, the bullying, the desperate attempts of my environment to educate me to become a gentleman.”

It was hard for James to talk about these things, but Meowth knew the answer to his problem. He made his friend pause and put a paw on his shoulder.

“Jessie can help you with all your worries. She is your safe rock, and you can always rely on her. She has never let you down, even when you ignored her feelings or stepped on them. She likes you, James, everyone can see that. You must finally dare to talk to her”, Meowth wanted to be persuasive. ”You’re right, my friend. Tonight, I will face my fears.”

The adventurers enjoyed their festive meal. Brock had outdone himself, there were mashed potatoes, rice balls, steak and sausages, chocolate pudding with fresh strawberries and a cream cake garnished with cherries. Team Rocket’s stomachs growled; they hadn’t eaten something so delicious in years. A few hours passed, during which the new acquaintances talked about old times, about every botched trap Team Rocket had ever set for the twerps, about all the funny costumes they had used to fool Ash, Misty and Brock. There was a lot of laughter and some tears were shed too.

Ash yawned heartily. “I’m going to bed. Tomorrow will be another busy day”, he pulled Misty with him and they disappeared into their three-person-tent, which they shared with Brock. Their friend followed them shortly afterwards and Meowth made himself comfortable in the thicket of trees. Only Jessie and James were left.

No one dared to take the first step, but then James finally found words. “Jessie,” he began. She looked at him with her big sapphire blue eyes. “Yes?”

James cleared his throat. He reached for her hand and stroked it vey gently, running his fingers along her delicate hand. He was already fighting tears, he wanted to stay strong, but the emotions got the better of him.

“It’s okay, James,” Jessie caressed his face, but James shook his head.

“No! Nothing’s okay,” he sobbed. “I almost lost you once, I don’t want that to happen to me again. I felt what it means not to have you by my side anymore and it hurt inhumanly. It ate at me and I could no longer grasp a clear thought. Then you came back to me and the world was all right again. I had not lost you to that doctor. And what do I do? I take advantage of you and your feelings, I hurt you and put the blame on you. I’m so sorry for everything, Jess. You’re all I’ve got! You’re my guardian angel, you saved me from Jessiebelle and I can’t be grateful enough!” Tears ran down his cheeks, James’ eyes were red from all crying.

“Will you forgive me, Jess?” There was still the faintest hope in his request. Jessie smiled gently at him and nodded. Suddenly, all the weight that threatened to crush him was blown away. He felt so free and light-hearted. He would have loved to kiss his best friend, caress her and hold her tightly in his arms, but Jessie had already sunk into a deep sleep. So he interlaced his fingers with hers until he too began to dream.