#I really need to finish the Clock Keeper picture I started

[ayahachitwister]

Rereading Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun has been great for me lately, so thought I'd share a picture I did of my favorite ship

I can't wait for season 2 of the anime and for everyone to see the Picture Perfect arc~

[mari-lair]

What do you think of Aoi and Akane in the Hanako-kun of magic au from last year? Do you have maybe any headcanons on how they could work with Aoi being a witch and Akane not knowing? (The contrary to canon, Aoi is the one with the secret identity) They are also both their class representatives contrary to canon where only Akane is and I think that's a nice addition. Aoi seems really shy with people in this au too and really don't want anyone to fall in love with her or interact at all with her

I read the translation again and Nene even implied that Akane is Aoi's crush and I think it's so cute

I ADORE MAGIC AU AOIKANE, this au is for them in my heart! Thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about it Anon :D

Aoi is indeed shown to be very shy in this AU, so it surprised me how forward she was at the end of the event, not nearly as arrogant and distant as canon Aoi.

Akane and Aoi don't seem to be neighbors here, they don’t have the energy of friends that know each other since forever, so I believe she signed up to be a class representative to try to get closer to Akane. She is too shy to talk to him in class and call people's attention, and she is too busy to get this role for no reason, that with balancing her student life and her witch life, the only reason I can see her sacrificing her free time working in school is to help Akane and try to get closer to him while he is alone.

And the one that pushed her to try to get closer in the first place must have been Nene, Aoi's childhood friend! I don’t know when exactly their witch training started, but they are pretty close, so Nene must have taken the spot of first friend and unconsciously influenced Aoi to get a more silly and positive view of romance.

Aoi doesn't feel popular in this AU which must help her see love in a less distorted way than canon, I personally think she is less arrogant (she isn't praised every time she so much as walk like canon AOI) and more open about her feelings, despite having a lack of confidence in herself, hiding both because she doesn’t know how to start a conversation, and because she doesn’t want to risk people learning her real identity.

Is also interesting that she wears glasses, but only as a student. It wouldn’t make sense for it to be a disguise, Nene doesn’t have glasses after all, so I'm being self indulgent and using the headcanon that she has slight myopia and needs glasses to read the blackboard.

Aoi still isn’t comfortable with the idea of being loved, caught off guard when Mei fell in love with her for the night, and preferring to use a full body suit over having a boy crush on her until Halloween ends (though it could also be because she realizes nene likes Amane and she is a loyal friend).

Either Akane is an exception, or she will also freak out when he starts to show interest back. I believe her crush is the main reason she is so averted to love in his au, since she is a very sweet girl, she probably doesn’t want people that have no chance to date her getting attached, she doesn’t like rejecting people or being loved when she doesn’t reciprocate.

Akane is just as hard-working and studious as canon but he feels less stressed (probably cause he doesn’t have to deal with either the Clock Keepers or Teru's demands here), and cockier. Just look at him!

It makes his little blush and awed look on the final event art of Aoi holding the back of his vest all the more adorable, he got a crush too.

Aoi and Akane would have an “Everyone knows they like each other but they aren’t dating” relationship for a while, cause Akane seems very popular in this au, so he never was the one confessing before. He also doesn't want to misread her and make their time as class representatives awkward.

However, knowing Akane, the boy would confess the very day he notices interest from Aoi. I can picture them finishing up their class rep work, Aoi giggling at some anecdote Akane tells, and eye contact lasting way too long despite Aoi usually not meeting anyone's eye for more than three seconds. So Akane tests compliments on her that tiptoe on flirting but could be taken as friendly, happy by how happy it makes her, and surprised she even compliments him back after a bit, albeit a very short and shy comment.

This gives him the courage to confess. He is awkward, having no experience with this, and not very loud, since they aren’t that close and anyone can tell Aoi is shy, but it is impossible to take his words as anything other than a confession. Aoi panic when her shocked silence makes Akane hold her hand and repeat his confession.

She ends up running away and squeaking she'll think about it.

Aoi talks to Nene about the situation in misery, her friend is the only one that knows about Aoi's crush after all, and Nene begs Sakura to give her a courage potion. Sakura is amused, but she feels sympathetic enough to give Aoi a drop of courage. The next day Aoi corners Akane and accepts his love in the middle of class, much to everyone’s surprise. He is flustered but accepts it, finding her burst of courage cute.

When they start dating Akane easily accepts her excuse that she has a part-time job with Nene, he even praises her for being hard-working (which makes Aoi feel a bit guilty).

Overall they are a sweet couple, but there is the occasional confusion caused by her double life: On the days her spells go wrong and she gains physical changes as a consequence, such as snake eyes or cat features, Aoi panic and wear random scarfs, hats, and sunglasses, acting more on edge and not wanting Akane to touch her. It makes Akane worried that he did something wrong, and he tries to understand what, so he doesn't do it again, but Aoi's reassurance that this is not about him just makes him confused and worried for other reasons. Aoi is usually happy when she gets back from her 'job' though, so he doesn't insist.

At school, Akane takes more of her load of work, noticing how her 'job' makes her very tired.

Akane gets involved in the magic world at times, and Aoi always freaks out about it. She gives him magic amulets for protection, and Akane finds her gifts weird but they are clearly important to her, so he proudly wears them, growing fond of them with time.

He is smart enough to understand she is hiding something from him, but he trusts her to tell him eventually, Aoi may not be a very open and talkative girl but she is very sweet.

[lubdubsworld]

City Lights . ( Namjoon x OC)

Pairing : OC x Kim Namjoon.

Genre : Angst. Romance.

Rating 18 + 

Word Count : 2900

Warnings :  Mature Themes , Explicit Sexual Content . Slow burn. Like slower than a snail.

Summary :

Widowed and destitute, Son Yang Mi leaves the comfort of her small , secluded  fishing village and travels to the intimidating city of Seoul with her young son. She has a plan, one that involves finding a job, getting her son into a good school and building a life for herself.

Now, three years later she has a job , working as a live in house keeper for the Kim family, specifically for the son,  Kim Namjoon, a famous rapper and producer. 

Its a job that puts a roof over her head and she’ll do anything to keep it. 

But fate has other plans.

Chapter 1 ~

Akogare (ah-koh-ga-reh)Often translated directly as a sort of frustrated “yearning”, “desire”, or “longing” .

Seoul in summer was a sight to behold. I blinked back against the bright sunlight, staring out into the stunning skyline of the city as the sun rose over it , and although it was just a little past seven in the morning, the air was warm and invigorating. The mid July sun shone down with no mercy, and there was no trace of the rain that had lashed city just the previous night.

It had been three whole years but the relief that came from breathing fresh air, untainted by the damp musk of fishing trowels and sweaty men, was still unrivalled.

I shook off the feather duster in my hand, moving to carefully clean the wicker woven chairs on the artificial lawn in the balcony. Dusting the entire condo down was a mind numbing exercise in patience, so i tried to get it out of the way, early in the morning when my son was still asleep.

At six years old, Junsu was a bright , happy child. Summer vacation meant days sleeping in and evenings spent frolicking with the other kids in the building and he was content with being alone in our small shared room, reading or playing with his toys while I went about the day’s work.

I glanced at the clock, grimacing.

It was almost eight . And although Mr. Kim wasn’t due back home for another twelve hours, I felt a little jittery and nervous.

Kim Namjoon , renowned rapper, producer, writer , poet and what not. The apartment was his but he was usually on tour, traveling all over the world to promote his book and to perform in sold out stadiums. For an A list celebrity, he was surprisingly humble.

For the past three years, him and his model fiancée  Lee Mina had spent a total of maybe seven months in the condo. They were a sweet couple, or so I’d always thought , a bit formal with each other but clearly in love . Mr. Kim was a kind, soft spoken young man and I’d never heard him raise his voice unless he was in the company of his very dear friends.

Just a little over a week ago , both of them  had left Korea for the States , the tabloids screaming about a luxurious destination wedding in the Caribbean and I had been asked to take a few weeks off . The newly weds wouldn’t be back for quite a while and they would let me know when I had to come back to the condo.

I’d been toying with the idea of visiting my in laws in Gwangyog, maybe even dropping by to see some old friends there but yesterday , Mr. Kim’s mother had given me a call letting me know her son was coming home. 

[ 

The conversation went something like this :

Yang Mi, I hope you haven’t left yet?

No, Ma'am, I haven’t.

Joon-ah is going to be back tomorrow.

Oh, is Ms Lee arriving as well?

No, Just him He’s going to be alone.

Yes, Ma'am.

Please don’t mention anything about Mina or the wedding.

No ma'am of course not.

I’ll drop by later . Cook him something warm and filling. And make sure the house is cleaned well.

Yes, Ma’ am.

]

And that was that.

~~~~~~

It took the better part of the day to finish cleaning and setting up the house . I washed the window slats, changed the sheets, arranged the books that had been left scattered all over his bedroom. The walk-in closet was littered with a bunch of his clothes and I made sure his gym bag was stocked with fresh towels, spare clothes and his favorite head and wrist bands. 

For someone so careful and calculated, he was really quite a messy man. 

i did his laundry, making sure he had ample clothes at least for another two weeks, creasing the handkerchiefs and carefully removing lint from his jackets. 

I also carefully sorted out the feminine clothing from the laundry and from the cupboard, folding them neatly and placing them in the lowest shelf of the closet, where he wouldn’t find them. It wasn’t hard, hiding traces of his fiancee from the condo, because it had never really been her home. other than a few spare pieces of underwear and a couple of t shirts and skirts, there weren’t many articles of clothing belonging to Ms. Lee. 

But I still got rid of the bobby pins and hair ties, the spare lip gloss and mascara.

Junsu spent the entire day in our room, reading and drawing, only venturing out every few hours to grab a snack. I left him with his drawing tab ( a gift from Mr. Kim for his 5th birthday )  and his favorite book, asking the security guard at the end of the hallway to keep an eye on the door, while i went out to buy groceries.

Lots of meat, no sea food, healthy snacks and high protein fiber bars. I stocked up on sauces and bought a fresh batch of eggs, oranges and grapes . Mrs. Kim had sent a large amount of kimchi a few weeks ago and that was still in the pantry.

i stopped for a second, staring around at the almost deserted store. Most of the other housekeepers shopped at the bigger, more exclusive store on the other side of the residential complex. But Mr. Kim had a very selective palette, which meant that I had to be very particular about the brands i bought.

When i came back home at around six, Junsu was on the floor in the living space and i felt my heart jump in panic.

“Baby!! I’ve told you not to come out here when I’m not home!” I protested bleakly and he pouted.

“I need to show you my gift for Mr. Kim!!” He said softly. I smiled moving to put away the groceries and glancing at the clock. It was a little past six. I had to call Yungyu.

“Did you draw him something ? “ I asked curiously, checking to see if the beer shelf was stocked. probably should have done that before going out for the groceries, I thought regretfully.

“Yeah! Look!!” Junsu held his tab out and my heart dropped.

For a six year old, Junsu drew very well. And there was really no mistaking the very obvious wedding scene on the screen.

Oh, Good God.

“ That looks amazing honey.” I said gently. “ But, I heard that Ms Lee isn’t coming over this time..”

Junsu frowned.

“Why?”

“Well, I’m not sure. But remember how we spoke about saying the right things? When something upsets someone, we do not bring it up.” I reminded him gently. My son hesitated but nodded.

“Okay. I’m sorry. “ He said softly.

“No baby, its not your fault. It’s just that we want Mr. Kim to be happy right? We don’t wanna upset him...”

He smiled at that.

“When he’s happy, his dimples come out.” He said with a giggle. I laughed.

“yes they do... So let’s try and get those dimples out as often as we can alright? Why don’t you show him that picture you drew of yeontan the other day? He’ll really like that....”

“Okay...but i need to go color it!” Junsu yelled, already running back into our room. I watched him go before reaching for the phone and dialing, Yungyu, the chauffeur.

“Are you on the way here? ” i said briskly.

“Just starting from home...” Yungyu muttered, “ I’m supposed to be on vacation now! Why is he coming back so soon?” 

“Just hurry up !! We can’t keep him waiting!!” I said sharply, before hanging up. 

I made a quick check of all the rooms, filling up water bottles for his gym routine in the morning and stashing them in the fridge before moving to get dinner started. 

i set the water on boil for the stew, before moving to peel cucumbers for the salad. I chopped the cucumber , along with some fresh cherry tomatoes . I watched the water boil, thinly slicing an onion and adding it to the bowl as well. The dressing was pretty simple,  soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and sesame oil . I sprinkled some sesame seeds on the bowl, used the salad tongs to give the whole thing a nice toss and set it aside. 

I braised the chicken first , peeling and chopping potatoes and carrots to add to the stew . In a few minutes, the rich smell of lightly spiced chicken and garlic and perilla  leaves began filling the kitchen and I turned on the rice cooker as well. 

The door bell rang at six forty and i opened the door to reveal Yungyu. 

I grabbed the keys to the Palisade, handing them over to him.

“Did you hear?” He whispered urgently.

I frowned.

“What?”

“They say Mr. Kim called off the wedding!” He whispered, wide eyed. 

I glared at him.

“Who told you that?” i demanded...

“Seojoon from the gate said-”

“Why don’t you ask Seojoon from the gate to mind his own damn business?” I snapped. 

Yungyu looked suitably chastised. i felt a little bad. Yungyu was still young and curiosity was hardly a sin. 

“His flight lands at eight exactly. Hurry okay?” I said with a smile, ruffling his hair.

He brightened, peering over my shoulder into the house.

“Where’s the little one?” He asked curiously.

“ Painting something for Mr. Kim... Go ahead, hurry up.” I shooed him away, locking the door behind him. I fixed a plate of food for Junsu and sent him to eat, before moving to check on the stew. +

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` 

By the time eight thirty rolled around I had the table set and ready. I washed my face quickly in the small bath attached to our room , making sure I was dressed well. Junsu wasn’t allowed in the main house unless Mr. Kim specifically asked for him and my son usually stayed in. 

Junsu and I stayed in a bedroom , not large by any means but big enough for a queen sized bed, a table and chair for Junsu and small dresser where I kept a comb and a tube of night cream. I stared at my face, licking my lips as I smoothed my hair out. 

I glanced at the bed. 

Junsu was asleep , having dozed off while coloring his picture and I carefully extracted the tab from under his fingers, moving him around to lay on the soft pillows. I tucked him in gently, brushing the hair off his face. 

“In peace , I will lie down to sleep, for You alone will let me rest in safety.” I whispered gently against his forehead, kissing the soft skin. I felt my lips wobble , a debilitating wave of affection flooding me as the sweet scent of my baby, filled my senses.

 I would die for you, I thought fiercely, kissing him again. 

The sound of the front door opening made me jump. 

Swearing, i smoothed the fabric of my skirt, running to the kitchen. 

“Thank you for picking me up Yungyu, I’m sorry you had to cut short on your vacation.” Mr. Kim’s deep voice filled the hallway and I quickly grabbed a glass, filling it with water and placing it on the dinner tray.

“Not a problem, Sir. “ Yungyu’s cheerful voice responded.

“How are you going home?” Mr. Kim asked. 

“I’ll take the bus.”

A pause and then, 

“Here’s some cash. Get a cab.” 

I could hear the relief in Yungyu’s voice as he let out a , “ Thank you sir.” 

I fixed his plate carefully, the bowl of rice, the bowl of chicken stew, and the salad neatly arranged next to the napkin and the chopsticks. I heard him move across the condo, the sound of his suitcases as he wrestled them towards his bedroom and I frowned. Yungyu should’ve have brought those in for him. 

I finished reheating all of the food and carefully carried the dinner tray to the bedroom. 

Mr. Kim’s bedroom was right at the end of the hallway and the door was open. The full length mirror on the opposite wall showed him sitting on the small couch in his room, legs spread and elbows resting on his knees as he ran his fingers through his hair. 

I raised my hand, ready to knock on the wood. 

“Fuck!” He shouted, kicking out at the coffee table with enough force to send the furniture skidding half way across the room. 

I froze in the hallways stunned. 

“You’re such a fucking fool , Namjoon !!” He muttered angrily and I swallowed, turning on my heel and quickly walking back to the kitchen. 

Maybe I ought to wait till he asked for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He didn’t ask for dinner. 

I stayed sitting on the floor of the kitchen, waiting and lightly dozing as I heard him talk to his parents on the phone. I heard him open the liquor cabinet in his room, the sound of ice sloshing against glass, the sound of whiskey being poured carefully and i sighed. 

I had to get to bed. It was already a little past eleven. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometime in the night, I woke up sweating.... 

Wondering what woke me up, I blinked groggily, glancing at Junsu. He was still sound asleep. 

Sighing, I climbed out of the bed, carefully making my way to Mr. Kim’s room, peering in carefully. 

He was asleep on the sofa.

I stared at the way his long legs stretched over the armrest, his lean hips twisted to accommodate his broad shoulders on the couch and I winced. He was definitely going to regret that in the morning. 

I stared at the half empty bottle of whiskey on the table and sighed, moving to take off his shoes carefully. He didn’t stir. 

I grabbed a pillow from the bed, carefully lifting his head and slipping it under. I placed a comforter over his shoulders, pulling it down to cover his legs. 

Force of habit almost made me brush his hair off his forehead but I stopped myself. 

The clock on the wall read three fifty am. God, I was going to feel terrible tomorrow. I carefully tip toed out, shutting the door behind me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I picked the comforter from the floor, carefully folding it and placing it on the bed, before grabbing the empty bottle of whiskey and glass . i could hear the shower running. The curtains were still drawn in and I tugged on the strings to get them to open. Sunlight spilled in through the floor length windows. The bed wasn’t slept in, so I opened the closet to grab a couple of towels, laying them on the bed for him. 

The bathroom door opened and i quickly straightened, wanting to race out of the room but it was too late. Thankfully he was dressed,  a pair of loose sweats and a loose t shirt . He was running a towel through his hair and his face brightened at the sight of me. 

“Yang Mi! You’re here....” He said cheerfully. 

“Good morning sir.” I said softly, offering him a small smile. 

He smiled brightly, hair damp and dimples deep. The white t shirt he had on was almost fully soaked through and he shook his head, sending stray water droplets all over the place, a few landing on my cheeks. 

“I didn’t see you last night...” He said casually, moving to drop the wet towel in the hamper, grabbing one of the fresh ones I’d laid on the bed. 

“I thought you would like your privacy sir, you looked exhausted.” 

He smiled.

“ Thank you for the blanket and the pillow by the way. And the shoes.” 

I bowed quickly.

“I’ll get your breakfast done, sir.” I bowed again before quickly getting out. 

I moved to the kitchen grabbing the oranges I’d got the previous day . Mr. Kim wasn’t fond of traditional korean dishes in the morning. He preferred freshly squeezed juice and toast, sometimes with an omelet perhaps. 

I fixed his breakfast quickly, setting it all in the tray . He was still moving around in the bedroom and I heard him drag his worktable to the windows, which meant he was going to stay in the bedroom. 

Pouring his coffee into a cup, I carefully picked up the breakfast tray , moving to his room slowly. 

I used my foot to knock on the door.

After a pause of a few seconds, 

“Come in Yang Mi!”

I carefully moved to the small table in front of the couch, placing the tray right in front of him. The scent of his body wash, green apple and strawberries, hit me hard. 

“Where’s Junsu?” He asked casually.

“Still asleep sir. It’s Summer so school’s out.” I smiled, grabbing his phone from the table to make space for his tray. 

The phone buzzed just as I was about to place it back down and I blinked.

 Mina calling.......

 I swallowed, not sure what to do, placing the phone down quickly.

“Uh..you have ...” I waved vaguely at the device before bowing again and moving back. 

“close the door on your way out, Yang Mi...” He said gently and I quickly obeyed. 

I moved to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee for myself. I stayed leaning over the counter and even through the locked door, I could hear him . 

“Just don’t call me Mina...i don’t want to talk about this!!!” 

I swallowed, glancing out of the window again. It was a bright, clear morning. 

A second later, the door to his bedroom slammed open and he stormed out. I watched him from my spot in the kitchen, his fists clenched as he rushed out to the front door.

The door shut behind him and I exhaled. 

Once I as done with my coffee, I moved to his room to clear the breakfast tray. His phone was still on the table.

It began ringing again just as I left the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mrs. Kim.” i said respectfully, bowing . She gave me a short smile.

“Where’s Namjoon? I’ve been calling him for the past hour.” She pushed past me into the house and I bit my lips.

“He went out about an hour ago. He left his phone behind.” I explained.

She stopped, sighing. 

“Fine, I’ll wait for him. “ She moved to sit on the couch, glancing around the room. 

“Should I get you something ma'am?” I asked softly and she smiled.

“Get me a glass of lemonade, Yangmi.” She said brusquely and i nodded, running to the kitchen. 

“Did Mina come over?” She called out as I got the lemons out of the cooler.

“No ma'am.” i replied.

“Did she call?” 

  I remembered the phone ringing, how upset it had made Namjoon, how he had stormed out.

“I don’t know ma'am!” I said softly. 

She nodded.

“Okay. You can leave.” She said quietly. i bowed and went back into the kitchen. 

I peered out of the window as I fixed her a glass , and my eyes fell on a familiar figure, coming back in through the front gate. Even from this distance there was no mistaking the long legs and messy blonde hair. 

I bit my lips, mind racing.

 Mrs Kim and her son had a volatile relationship, to say the least. 

And something told me that Mr. Kim was probably not in the right frame of mind to argue with his mother, now. The man was upset but apparently, neither his mother nor his ex fiancée understood that. instead of giving him space they were hounding him. 

I hesitated for a second  before making a quick decision. 

I grabbed the tray with her lemonade and moved to her quickly.

“Thank you.” She said sharply. “ Turn on the Air Conditioner for me, will you?” 

I fumbled with the remote, grabbing his phone from the table , turning it on before moving to the front door and rushing out. 

I almost ran into him as he came out of the elevator , and i jerked back stumbling a bit to stop myself from crashing into his chest. He let out a , ‘ Whoa, “  his hands reaching out to grip my elbows. 

“Careful. What’s wrong?” He asked gently and I swallowed.

“Your mother’s here.” I said quickly, “ Sir.” 

“Oh, fuck.” He groaned. I swallowed.

“You can leave.” I blurted out. “It’s Tuesday. She has her charity work meeting at ten. Its almost nine. She won’t stay long....” 

His eyes met mine, lips parting in surprise. 

“I really can’t meet her now.” He said apologetically.

I nodded.

“Of course, I understand , sir. Just be back in an hour , she’ll be go-”

The elevator buzzed , the doors nearly closing over my shoulders and I flinched. He swore and stuck his arm out to keep it open. 

I stared at him before holding his phone out.

“Here you go sir. “ 

He chuckled taking it from me and shaking his head.

“i feel like a kid, sneaking away from my mom.” His eyes reached mine, twinkling, “ Who would’ve thought the quiet, timid Yang Mi would be my partner in crime. “ 

I didn’t reply, just smiled. 

And then he hesitated. “ Is Junsu awake?”

I blinked.

“Uh...yes sir,...he’s playing in the park downstairs with the other kids.”

“Great... Would you mind if i take him out for ice cream?”

I stared at him. 

“Oh..uh...of course not. Sure.. I mean.. he’ll love that... Sir. Thank you.. You don’t have to -”

“Consider it thank you for helping me with my mother.” He smiled again and i found myself staring at his dimples again. i swallowed. 

“in that case, he loves butter scotch.” I smiled. 

The dimples appeared and i bit my lips. 

“Thank you Yang Mi.” He said slowly. 

“Yes, Sir.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note : Finally a hyungline fic !!! ugh... I’ve been wanting to write a Namjoon fic for ages and I really hope you guys will like this one :’( Feedback is much appreciated. 

[shiplikeme]

My contribution to the OsaMei storm that hit Twitter last night. My ass had NO umbrella I was stuck in the rain so let’s bring some of that to Tumblr yuheard

I originally only sent it in discord but I like it here too since it’s so lowkey

———————————

Rigged

Osamu x Meian

(Despite the picture it’s rated T lol)

So

What about

Atsumu secretly knows that his captain has a little thing for his twin (Meian thinks he isn’t obvious about it but he totally is).

Anyway....

Since Meian is a cruel captain kinda, he makes MSBY do strange and unusual punishments if the teams let’s ‘x’ amount of points away

They just lost a game by an egregious amount, and everyone—even Shoyo— is complaining about the “punishment” Shu is making them do for losing tonight.

“QUIET!” Shu shouted. “I want you all to set to yourselves and spike once /without jumping/. If the team can’t get at least 3 hits past my block, then you will all owe me 10 laps around the stadium before we leave tonight. Now line up.”

“WHAT!!!!!” The entire team was pissed off, tired, but not surprised. Cursing under their breath, and kind of wanting to punch their captain .

“—What was that Tsumu? You think I’m a lazy piece of-what now?” He cupped his ear to the team.

Atsumu gave his best fake smile, squinting through the pain. “Oh I said yer the best captain ever, Mei-kun!”

“Thought that’s what you said.” Meian smiled back knowingly and just as phonily. “Now get in line. All of you. One chance each.”

Sakusa and Tsumu study their teammates as they continue to fail one by one. This challenge was impossible without jumping and Meian knew that.

They had to get 3 over and when the line only had a few players left, Atsumu got desperate. He ran over to his phone on the bench quickly and typed something out.

“MIYA! Get back here and take your turn like everybody else or I’ll make you & your boyfriend do extra laps.” Meian growled after he successfully blocked Bokuto’s shot. Hinata is the only one to get a point so far—so they needed two more to beat Shu. He was so close to finishing now.

“What? Me?!” Sakusa yelled before yanking his bf back in line.

“Ya got it, Captain!” Tsum cheered. “Ow, Omi yer hurtin’ me!”

“Then don’t get me in shit!”

“I won’t!” The blonde hissed back. “M’ figuring outta way that we can win this challenge!”

“Really...?” Sakusa asked, apprehensive of his bf’s plans but even more desperate to not do those laps. It was about to be his turn now, they still needed two points to win, and Atsumu ended the line behind him.

Tsum nodded as the line moved up, standing close behind his boyfriend so he could whisper to him undetected. It was almost his turn. “Yup. Any second now.... just wait fer my count, okay Omi...? And hit it as hard as ya can.”

“Whatever....” answered Sakusa, bending his knees to prepare for the flightless spike and his boyfriends go ahead.

“1.....” Atsumus eyes flicker up to the giant basketball score keeper that has a clock on it.

“2........” he says, glancing at the gym doors.

The clock switches.

“Three—“ Atsumu says, giving his boyfriend a light push on the back at the exact same moment the doors to the gym bursted open. Inside comes running a shirtless Osamu Miya, looking for a fire of sorts.

Everyone glanced over at the restaurant owner, but only one face went red in gay panic when Samu ran in. Sakusa’s ball dropped right behind the distracted Meian.

Yes!!! 🎊

Meian heard the teams applause and tried his best to give his attention to the last hitter but for some reason his eyes can’t seem to stop drifting over to the intruder that he has developed a major crush on this past season. His eyes scan a muscular bare chest that he dreams about licking until...

BAM.

Tsumu’s final spike hits the MSBY capt square in the ballsack.

Meian can faintly hear the loud cheering of his team—along with Tsumu’s apology to Osamu that there is, in fact, no fire that they need to use his shirt to put out’—because he fell to the ground on impact.

Shu laid there in pain as the ecstatic team lifted Atsumu up and piled into the changeroom, glad that they didn’t need to do Meian’s rigged punishment for once.

It wasn’t so bad, however, for Shu—because Osamu ran over to inspect the damage and ask if Meian was alright, shirt still fisted in his hand and all.

“I will be if you let me take you out.” Meian flirted, deciding to stop secretly lusting over his teammate’s brother and start doing something about it after all.

[yourkeeperoftherunners]

6/2: Working From Home (Hyena Hybrid!Seokjin)

Rating: G

Characters: Hyena Hybrid!Seokjin x Reader (any gender)

Notes: Day 2 of my birthday surprise series. This is part of the Misunderstood Hybrid headcanons I wrote for BTS a while back. Please note that working from home can refer to anyone who does this and it does not specifically reference the current events. I got the idea to write short blurbs after seeing some comical pictures and moments in video conference calls of pets “helping” their owners work. All content is fictional. Please do not repost anywhere!

                                                   ————–

“Good morning Jagi!”

You emerged from your bedroom to see Seokjin standing by the kitchen table, an apron hanging from his neck. The table was set with two plates of breakfast foods and two mugs by each place setting.

The hyena hybrid’s bright smile faded to a concerned pout when he saw you were dressed in a plain t-shirt and sweatpants. While he knew these weren’t the clothes you slept in last night, part of him worried that you weren’t feeling well.

“Jagi, is everything all right? Are you sick?” he asked, raising a hand to touch your forehead. “If you’re feeling sick, you should lie down and I’ll take care of you!”

You shook your head and slowly removed his hand from your forehead. “No, no, I’m fine,” you reassured him. “I’m not sick – I’m dressed casually because today I’m working from home. There’s no need for me to wear my normal work attire when I’m here.”

Jin relaxed at the news that you were fine and quickly pulled out your chair, gesturing for you to sit down. He waited until you were comfortable before he took his seat across from you and put his napkin in his lap.

“I’m sorry for worrying, but normally I don’t see you in lounge clothes unless we’re going to bed or you’re feeling sick,” he apologized. “But you didn’t tell me you were working from home today!”

You tried to recall if you shared the news with him, but couldn’t recall if the topic ever came up last week. Seokjin watched as you struggled to remember and he reached across the table to touch your hand.

“Don’t worry Jagi, it’s fine,” he said. “So, what are you doing today? Hopefully not too much.”

You placed your phone on the table and unlocked it to take a closer look at the schedule your boss sent you. You used your finger to scroll through the daily schedule and noted you had two video conference call meetings and some logs you needed to complete and send out on the animals at the reserve, Seokjin’s included.

“Two video conference call meetings and then a lot of digital paperwork,” you shared. “You can do whatever you want, I just ask that you try to keep the noise down during the meetings.”

                                                  ————–

Once you finished breakfast, Seokjin insisted he would handle the clean-up, despite your protests. He calmly guided you to your home office and instructed you to work hard, but not too hard.

“Besides, the sooner you’re done, the sooner we can spend the rest of the day together!” he reasoned with a charming smile. He watched as you closed yourself in the office and rolled up his sleeves.

He cleared the table and rinsed the dishes, before sticking them in the dishwasher. He washed his hands and dried them on a towel. As he removed his apron, he scanned the kitchen table to make sure he hadn’t missed anything in the clean-up.

His eyes drifted to the clock and he noted that it was still early. While you had finished breakfast moments ago, he knew he wanted to start thinking about a plan for lunch, so it was ready to go. He walked over to the fridge and opened it, surveying the shelves with a hum.

He spotted some greens you bought on Saturday and the salmon you bought yesterday for Monday’s dinner, but never got around to cooking. He dug through the drawers and found a lemon, smiling as a light bulb went off in his head.

                                                  ————–

“How is he doing?” the reserve manager asked you.

“Seokjin? He’s doing fine,” you replied. “Diet has been healthy, he’s been in good shape, and he’s not gotten sick. Temperament has been positive and he’s not regressed to old habits.”

The manager nodded, his face enlarging on the computer screen. One of the other reserve keepers took notes on Seokjin’s progress and said it seemed consistent with past reports.

“Sir, I think we’ve proven he is not a threat in the care of a human,” your colleague noted. “I think our past notes on his behavior may have had to do with too much repetition and little freedom.”

You were about to chime in when you heard Seokjin knock on the door and enter with a tray.

“Lunch time! I made you a healthy salmon salad with a bit of lemon!” he announced with a big smile. He placed the tray in front of you, then realized you were on one of those video calls. “Oh! Is that Manager-nim? Hello, can you see me?”

He leaned down so his head was in the camera shot and waved brightly. The reserve manager couldn’t help but smile back as he greeted Seokjin.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well and you’re keeping Y/N healthy too,” the manager noted.

“Wow, now I want a salmon salad,” your colleague sighed as she eyed the salad through her screen.

Seokjin noticed your colleague’s screen enlarge on yours after she spoke and his eyes widened. He waved at her and turned to look at you in wonder.

“Her picture got bigger! Why did that happen?”

“Whenever someone talks on the call, their video image gets bigger on our screens to show they’re talking right now,” you explained. “Actually, I was telling them that you’ve made great progress Jin and you’re a joy to have.”

Jin tried to look modest and he took this moment to wrap you in a big sideways hug. “It’s only because of you!” He looked at the screen again and wiggled his fingers at the reserve manager and your colleague. “I won’t disturb your meeting anymore, I just wanted to give Y/N some lunch.”

He straightened up and bid everyone goodbye, before exiting the office and closing the door quietly behind him.

“We’ve not had him interact with a lot of human technology, have we?” you colleague mused as she flipped through her notes.

“No, he doesn’t do a lot of stuff with tech,” you confirmed. “He knows how a TV works and he has a very basic understanding of how the internet and a computer works. But I’ve not exposed him to all of the functions yet.”

Your reserve manager looked thoughtful and tapped his pen to his lips.

“Perhaps...we should examine this? Working from home has shown to increase productivity and it would be interesting to see how he handles human communication methods beyond what we’ve used at the reserve,” he proposed.

“REALLY?!”

You whipped your head around and scolded Seokjin through the door for eavesdropping.

“I have good hearing! I was not eavesdropping!” he yelled back. 

[imaginesforyourfandom]

A Catch - Emily Sonnett Imagine

Reader's POV: 

I hugged the Barcelona girl’s goodbye and walked out of the stadium after my last training session with them. I put my suitcase and carry-on in the trunk of Lieke's car. I was about to get in her car when Vicky ran out of the stadium yelling for us to wait. She came over to me and handed me a gift bag. I looked inside and saw new pair of keeper's gloves. This pair had black sharpie all over them and I realized that they had been signed by all the girls. "I almost forgot then, but Stefanie yelled at me to run out." She said. I laughed and hugged her again. 

"Thank you, this is really thoughtful." I told her. I opened the passenger side door. I got in the car and buckled my seatbelt. Lieke began driving me to the airport so I can fly back to Portland because I was on loan. Being on loan in Europe was fun and exciting but going back home to my friends, and Emily especially, was going to be great. I missed her so much and the time difference made talking difficult. 

I looked inside the gift bag again and saw there was also a really nice goodbye card. I read the card and started to cry. Everything the girls said was really sweet and I'm gonna miss them. 

We reached the airport. Lieke and I got out of her car. She helped me get my bags from the trunk. "I really hope this isn't goodbye forever." She said. Lieke became my best friend really fast and I didn't want to leave her especially.

"Me too, but hey next time you're in America call me. I will fly to any corner of the country at the drop of a hat for you." I told her and hugged her. Our goodbye us definitely bittersweet, but I keep telling myself that once I get on that plane the love of my life will be on the other side. "And tell the girls thank you for me again. They were so nice and got me these gloves." 

"I will." I pulled her into one last hug and walked into the airport. My phone vibrated and I looked to see Emily was calling. It was currently 1 PM here so it had to be super early there. 

"(Y/N), love hi are you at the airport yet?" She asked groggily. She has either not slept or woke up super early to call. 

"Sonny baby what time is it there?" I asked concerned. 

"4 AM, are you at the airport?" 

"Yes, Sonny I'm at the airport and about to check my bags, please go to sleep baby." I pleaded with her. 

"I can't wait to see you, and hug you, and kiss you." 

"That's really sweet baby but please go back to sleep." 

"Okay love I'll see you at 6." She said. I nodded. After realizing that she can't see me I told her okay and hung up. I checked in my bag in and continued towards customs with my carry-on. 

I went through customs, thankfully I was able to go through easily. I walked through the airport passed giftshops and food places. I had some time before I had to board so got a massage and then something to eat. 

I sat near my gate and ate my food as I waited to get on the plane. I finished and they called my boarding class. I was sitting in business class because Qatar was sponsoring my flight. 

I put my carry-on in the overhead compartment and sat down. I texted Emily and told her my plane was about to take off. She didn't text back because it was still really early and she was still asleep. I took a picture out the window and posted it to Instagram with the caption goodbye Barcelona, hope to see you again soon. I reset my phone's clock back to Portland time and waited for the plane to go. 

Once we were in the air I didn't know what to do. It was an almost 14-hour flight and I was already so bored. I decided to watch a movie. Since we were in the clear to use our phones and other devices, I decided to scroll through Instagram and Twitter.  

I scrolled to the end of my feed and very quickly I learned its difficult to stay entertained on a 14-hour flight when your friends aren't there.  I decided to just try and go to sleep. For that I could probably need alcohol. I called for a flight attendant. 

"Hi, what can I help you with?" She asked me smiling. 

"Can I have alcohol?" I asked directly. 

"Of course, ma'am, what kind?" She asked overly polite. It was a bit creepy, but it's also her job. 

"Bourbon." I requested. She nodded and left before returning with a tiny bottle of bourbon whiskey. "Thank you." 

"It was my pleasure." She said before going to help another passenger. 

I drank all the whiskey and waited for that small bit of alcohol to take effect as I listened to music. I eventually did fall asleep.

I woke up shortly before we landed. When we did land I took my carry-on out of the overhead and got off the plane. I went through customs and baggage claim. After all the annoying airplane stuff I went to the pickup gate and waited for Emily. 

I saw her and Lindsey from across the room. Emily ran over to me and I knew I'd have to catch her. I dropped my bags and caught her in my arms. Emily kissed me and I kissed her back. Since Emily looked like she had no desire to leave my arms Lindsey came over and picked my bags up off the floor. 

"I knew you were a catch." I said to Emily. She laughed at my awful joke as we walked to the car. 

"Yeah, well you're a keeper." Emily said back to me. I laughed at her joke and Lindsey groaned. 

"And you're both disgusting." She said and walked ahead of us.  

Emily and I looked at each other and chuckled. She kissed me one more time. I smiled into the kiss. "I missed you." 

[prettywordsyouleft]

The Sex Contract - Chapter 16

Genre: friends to lovers au / friends with benefits / mature content / romance / angst

Characters: Shim Changmin x Kaia Ashton (OC)

A/N: Due to the overwhelming request I have followed your encouragement to bring back one of my older stories. This was back in a time where OCs were everything and writing one chapter in each main’s point of view was the trend. I hope that even though I have edited this drastically, that you can appreciate this story comes from my older style of writing. I definitely still read this often and find it enjoyable so I hope you will too.

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 - FINAL

Chapter 16 – Kaia’s POV.

“Kai, its morning time, wake up!”

Kaia rolled over in the bed and her eyes washed over Changmin. She had been awake for a much longer period than the Korean, though he was too tired to realise the expression on her face. She had to look away after a while, not because she was afraid of what he’d see, but because she didn’t want another flare-up of what she had been internalising all night long.

It was stupid really, Kaia hadn’t realised where it had changed and become complicated between her and Changmin. But it was different now and the nausea within her stomach started to attack with full force.

“Changmin, I don’t really feel up to your schedule today,” Kaia admitted. And it was the truth too.

He gazed down at her with concern, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Are you unwell?”

“Still a bit from yesterday. Don’t worry though I guess I’m not cut out for the lifestyle of a celebrity. I was thinking since I haven’t had much time to see Tokyo and you’re too busy that I might just go for a little wander today.”

“That would be a really neat idea,” he enthused, nodding his head. “I’m super busy all day long. Ever since the papers this morning were released I’ve pretty much got a jam-packed schedule. I wish I could come with you and enjoy the nice weather!”

She nodded. “I already submitted my article on Korea Star last night around the time of your date. There were photos up by that time too. It seemed like a good night.”

“If I had more time to tell you about it right now Kai, I would. But I have to get out of here early. Anyway, I’ll leave my credit card on the table, use it to buy something nice!”

“I don’t need it,” Kaia called out fruitlessly and listened to the front door shut shortly after. Pulling her knees up under her chin with a sigh, Kaia stared at the blanket until her eyes became unfocused.

Why was she starting to feel something for her best friend?

Around ten, Kaia finally pulled herself out of bed, padding into the kitchen for a glass of orange juice. As Changmin mentioned, she found his credit card sitting there with a small note beside it telling her there was no limit on how much she could spend and to have a great day. She picked it up and screwed the note into a little ball, half contemplating maxing the entire card just to get back at him. Kaia knew he hadn’t meant it, but after last night’s sex she felt like it was just a way to pay for her services. She had to push back the bile rising in her stomach at the mere thought.

Ignoring the card, and finishing off the juice, Kaia headed back into her room and got dressed, picking up her bag and the spare card-key before locking the house up. It was another nice autumn day in Tokyo, the weather just the right temperature to enjoy. She pulled out my map book and found where she was on it, looking for the closest interesting place to visit she had scribbled down on a list in bed. Finally, deciding on taking a train to Hibiya Park, Kaia headed in the direction of the closest underground station.

It was a highly confusing platform and even though she was used to Korean ones, because she lacked knowledge of the language, Kaia struggled to follow what English was around her. Eventually, she found a ticket seller and asked as best as she could, the man showing her where to board and what number she needed. She followed the directions and hopped off at the stop she had counted out along the way, stepping into a group of businessmen before heading up onto the street.

“Okay, now it’s to the right from this station,” Kaia said to herself in English, hurrying along the street towards the park she was excited for. The pictures she had seen earlier on her laptop were something she wanted to explore in person, and hoped to get some nice photos to send to her nature-loving Mother.

She stopped walking when she realised she had passed the same noodle shop before. Glancing around her, Kaia tried to find herself again on the map, but not knowing where she was made it that much harder. She looked for a person she could communicate with but after attempting to get the attention of a couple of busy pedestrians, she knew that she was in the wrong place to be asking for advice. Business people had very little time to waste on foreigners.

Kaia wandered forward and then grinned, spotting Hangul across the street. After nearly killing herself trying to dart between the traffic, she entered the Korean store, bowing at the keeper. He simply waved her off before she could even speak, and even though she used her second language over her native one, he wouldn’t have a bar of her. Frustrated, she stomped her foot in anger.

Glancing around again, she noticed a Korean girl sitting on a bench and hoped for better luck. “Excuse me, would you be able to point me in the direction of Hibiya Park?”

“Uh no,” she replied coolly and held up her phone. “And couldn’t you see I was busy?”

“Wow, the youth these days have no respect for their elders,” Kaia muttered under her breath before sighing heavily. “Why can’t anyone in this area stop and help a person out?!”

“Perhaps, if you asked the right people you’d get somewhere,” a voice answered, and she snapped her eyes to follow it, somewhat surprised that the English accent didn’t match his appearance. Kaia stared at the man curiously as he approached her. He smiled and shared a dimple. “Where are you trying to head?”

“You’re surprising,” She blurted out and colour invaded her cheeks, as his laughter reached Kaia’s ears.

“Not every day you expect an Asian to be British?”

She nodded weakly. “And how timely you are. I even speak Korean fluently and wasn’t getting anywhere.”

“How surprising,” he bit back in his native tongue, and she rolled her eyes at the Korean man, trying to decipher why he looked relatively familiar. “I’m Jay.”

“Kaia.”

“Well since I’m able to speak both English and Korean well, shall I help you?”

“I’m trying to find Hibiya Park. Do you know where it is?”

He nodded brightly. “Not here.”

“What?! The train steward told me to get off at the fourth stop and I did!”

“You’re easily frustrated,” he observed and pointed in the opposite direction. “You must have missed a stop because this would have possibly been your third stop from your original destination.”

“Great, just my luck in trying to take myself around a place I don’t speak the language of.”

Jay grinned. “Good thing I speak Japanese too.”

“You’re a man of many talents it seems,” Kaia said, grinning back and he nodded.

“Come on, I’ll show you to the park. Perhaps you’ll learn more about me on the way too.”

By the time they reached Hibiya Park, Kaia had forgotten all about her previous frustration with the day so far. Jay was refreshing to be around, his laughter infecting her with a good mood. She learnt he had lived in London for ten years before moving back to Korea to study and get a career. They had a lot in common, especially as they discussed their favourite English things they missed whilst living in Korea. Kaia had expected Jay to say farewell at the entrance but he had accompanied her for the entire afternoon. She was thrilled to have made such a good friend already, Jay making her feel completely at ease, despite only knowing him for half a day.

“So you know about me,” he asked as he balanced on the edge of a fountain that wasn’t working. He pointed down at her and grinned. “What about you. Why is Miss Kaia Ashton in a country she cannot speak the language of?”

“Because of my friend. He has a career that involves a lot of jet-setting,” she carefully worded and smiled. “He asked me to come along and work with his team. I’m a writer you see, and so it was VIP access really.”

“You have me really curious, what kind of job does your friend do?”

“He’s a singer,” Kaia answered and his face filled with several emotions. “And as you can imagine his schedule doesn’t have a lot of time for sight-seeing.”

“So you decided to come out alone?” Kaia nodded. “And how would you document your fun time out? Unless you planned to do heaps of selfies of course?”

“Pretty much was the plan.”

Jay jumped off his ledge and grabbed the camera out of her hand, quickly taking a shot. Kaia yelped and tried to grab it back, the man laughing as he snapped some more. He then turned the camera on himself and took some of himself. She rolled her eyes at his mischievous expression but stepped closer to him, Jay instantly getting as close he could and holding the camera up. They took a few random shots before laughing it off and finding a new spot to take photos at. Although she knew it was a common experience in Korea to take a bunch of photos with friends, apart from Sungra, this was her first time enjoying it.

“Should we get some lunch now?” Jay asked and Kaia nodded before looking at her watch.

“Dinner you mean, it’s almost four o clock.”

“But dinner leads to the night ending early,” he proclaimed and she raised an eyebrow at him. “Let’s eat dinner later, perhaps with my friends?”

“If you think they’ll enjoy my company?”

Jay grinned. “Course they will. We all share a lot in common with the experiences you’ve already had being in Korea so far.”

“Now I’m intrigued,” she told him, and he nodded enthusiastically.

“Good, that’s how I want you to be Kaia.”

Time slipped by quickly in Jay’s company and Kaia was already sitting in a trendy sushi shop waiting for his friends to turn up for dinner. The afternoon had finished effortlessly and rolled into the evening full of arcades and more laughter. It was the best fun she’d had in ages.

“They’re here,” Jay mentioned and Kaia looked in the direction he was pointing, as four Korean men approached. Each of them felt familiar and she wondered why.

Slapping her forehead lightly in realisation, Kaia shunted Jay beside her. He laughed and beckoned them over. After the introductions were done, she poked Jay in his arm and he let out another laugh.

“I was wondering if you’d recognise another singer if you crossed one.”

“Well it’s not every day I expect to be rescued by one in a random setting, Jaewon,” I said, emphasising on his full name. He seemed to find it humorous and Kaia had to admit she did too.

Meeting CODE V in Japan was definitely something she wanted to remember.

_________________

Part 17

All rights reserved © prettywordsyouleft

[TVXQ Masterlist] | [Main Masterlist] | [Request Guidelines]

**Please note: The new character introduce in this part shows just how old this fiction is because CODE-V haven’t been very relevant since Jaewon’s scandal and his removal from the group. Naturally, this was written before that and I don’t have the energy to rewrite a new character in. 

[chronicbatfictioner]

Theater of the Soul - Chapter 25

"Ready?"

"Let it roll, Demetrius."

"Come and get me, Lysander."

Tim watched from the rafters as Dick and Jason bantered easily, both already in costume. Tonight will be Jason's 'farewell' from A Midsummer Night's Dream. For good. He would be Demetrius, and get his self-proclaimed "lifelong dream of fighting Dickiebird." Stephanie will continue to be Puck. The house was filled to the brims, tickets flying out the ticketmasters as soon as the show was announced a few weeks ago. Tonight will be Jason's final appearance in Midsummer, and his premiere return to the Wayne House's roster.

All on his 17th birthday.

And Tim will record them all in photographs, including the pre-curtain call bickering.

"Hey little bird, come down here for a sec." Jason suddenly called him. Tim obliged and swung himself down, landing right in front of Jason. "How about a good luck kiss?" Jason asked, wrapping his arms around Tim.

"You know that cavorting me could get you arrested, right?" Tim joked, only hesitating for a fraction of a second before pressing himself closer to Jason. It took the family all but three dates in two weeks to catch on. And Tim could still see Bruce's tender smile and Dick's unabashed squeal when he and Jason confirmed that they were going out. Oh, that, and a plethora of condoms that magically appeared in his bedroom drawers - and he suspected in Jason's too. Because... well, Tim still wasn't sure if it was Dick or Stephanie; or the conspiracy between the two who would always feign innocence whenever they were confronted.

Jason rolled his eyes. "You're two years younger, Timothy. Not twenty." he scowled.

"Okay then," Tim stood on tiptoe, pressing a kiss onto Jason's lips. Savoring the warmth, the slight taste of chocolate and mint, and Jason-ness. Until somebody coughed behind him.

"Get a room, children." Stephanie scowled. "Now come give me my good luck kiss, mascot!" she demanded, tugging Tim's shirt.

"Mascot?!?" Tim squawked indignantly. But he kissed Stephanie, anyway, way more chaste than his kiss for Jason.

"Oh, I agree. Stay small, Timbit." Harper chimed in and stole a kiss on Tim.

"Why do I get to be a mascot??" Tim whined. "Also, Harper, you're not getting on stage. Why are you kissing me??"

"Because we love you, squirt." Dick declared, adding, "The one true Robin Goodfellow of the House of Wayne." before settling on bear-hugging Tim.

"Good luck, guys." Tim finally managed, after the entire cast went past him. Except Jason. "Good luck," Tim told Jason, as the latter stood in front of him looking whimsical. "I'm definitely not gonna tell you to break anything." Tim grinned. Jason might still need a crutch when walking on stage; but the costume department worked around the clock to create a costume that would provide a crutch for Jason's legs, yet not looked out of place in the period costume.

"Mascot..." Jason mused, sidling closer to Tim again and placed his hands on either side of Tim's waist. "You're my mascot, birdie."

Tim pouted at him jokingly. "Fine," he said, standing on his tiptoe to hook his chin on Jason's shoulder as Jason swayed them both slightly.

"Wanna make it permanent?"

"In five to six years, maybe. Ask me again." Tim grinned, feeling the pitter-patter of his heart.

A flash suddenly sparked from their left, and Tim looked around just in time to see Barbara grinning impishly. "For posterity's sake." she said, waving her cellphone. "Alfred will want this framed."

Tim laughed, tightening his arms around Jason. There will be more photos and memories, he was sure. The bird photo, the little red robin that started to fix everything, has been framed in a human-sized frame in front of Jason's bed over the fireplace. "Just to remind me that I'm home," Jason had said. "maybe one day I'll replace that thing with like, a tiger or whatever's deemed masculine or a superhero or something. Right now, I just want it there."

Tim believed him. After all, it was the bird who had brought Jason home.

At the night's end, when Bruce called everyone on stage for an encore, somebody dragged Tim along. "Come on, Tim! Get on there!"

It took Tim a few seconds to realize that it was Cullen, who unceremoniously tossed him into Jason's arm just as Bruce called, "...and this family, the family of the Wayne and Kane House, thankd you all for coming and welcoming our family to entertain you. We could never make it without you!" he turned, glaring at Tim at the last word.

Tim hid his blushing face on Jason's chest, and felt the rumble of laughter. "he's right," Jason remarked. "Take a bow, Timmers!" he pushed Tim forward a little, in time for Bruce to remark, '...to introduce to you, the true Robin Goodfellow of our House: Tim Drake!'

Tim glared at the lights and silhouettes of people behind it for several long seconds until somebody grabbed his shoulder. "Bow!" Jason's voice insisted.

So Tim took a few bows, amidst the applause.

"Tim might not be right there on the stage, but he keeps the memories of our house alive and archived." Bruce explained. "...and starting tomorrow, we shall present to you some of the archives, with commentaries from those who were there--"

Oh, right. Tonight might be Jason's last night in 'Midsummer Night's'. But tomorrow, Tim's gallery would open, right there at the Wayne House's lobby, to display the photographs he had taken through the years. It was Jason's idea, and Bruce supported it thoroughly; and then promoted it to the point where there was no way Tim could get away from it.

And Tim knew, it was for him. So that he shall be known as Tim the photographer. Not Tim the poor not-actor child of actor-and-actress Jack and Janet Drake. Not Tim the replacement Puck. Just as Tim, the photographer. Memory-keeper.

Tim looked at Jason, still a little flabbergasted long after they all got off the stage. "Whaddya say we make more memories, birdie?" Jason said, handing him a bag.

Tim laughed. "This is your birthday! I'm supposed to be the one giving you a gift!"

"Consider that thing a belated birthday gift. I'm still gonna be paying for it through the next few gigs." Jason grinned. "Go on, open it!"

Tim grinned, reached into the bag and pulled out a yellow-pad-paper wrapped box. He rolled his eyes. "Really," he deadpanned.

"Stuff it. I can't find anyone who'll get me pretty papers to wrap it who won't tattle on me to you." Jason scowled. "Just tear through it!"

"I will, oh my gosh, patience!" Tim retorted, and decided to do just asked, tear through it - after failing to find the ending of the sellotape. He gasped once it was opened. "Oh my god! Jason!"

"Yeah, hi. I don't know if it's good or not. I just asked the guy at the store for the best there is and he gave me this. It's not the most expensive, but like, he said-- he said it's the best and all that... especially for motion and/or high activity and--" Jason spluttered.

"Jason. shut up! This is awesome!" Tim tore through the box of the high-end camera he had been saving up to buy. And then remembered something. "You owed somebody for this."

"Sure, Bruce. I'm paying it with my salary." Jason shrugged.

"Jason, you don't have to--"

"Oh no, I don't have to," Jason cut him off. "I just want to. That's one thing that'll worth my weight in gold in your hands." He paused suddenly, expression turned solemn. "It was your photo that brought my memory back. The gallery might be a mere colorful and fun pictures to see for everyone else. For me, it's... the literal thing that's worth all the gold in the world, right? I mean," he shrugged. "Yeah. Anyway. Everything started with your camera, right? I'd like it to end with your camera and retain your love of it. Hopefully, of me, too."

Tim smiled shyly. "That's really cheesy," he commented. "but profound."

"I'm made of profundity."

Tim snorted and laughed. "Cheesy McCheese with extra cheese on profundity. You're alright," he said.

"Yeah, you too, birdie." Jason ruffled his hair. "Now let's go to the mess hall. Alfred's gonna kill us if I'm late. I'm the birthday boy, after all!" Even after Jason refused a birthday party, Alfred still insisted on throwing a post-show celebration dinner for all of them. Emphasis on 'them' instead of Jason, and thus prevented Jason from bailing out entirely.

"Thank you," Tim said, a little belatedly as they walked side by side to the dining hall - the 'mess' hall.

"Timmy, just let me know whatever you need to keep you happy, yeah?"

"Diamond blings?"

"Anything that doesn't require the blood of innocent. Besides, aren't you a little too young for diamonds?"

Tim laughed. "Anything?"

"Yep, you've done so much for the lot of us. Let us - me, especially - help you stay happy."

Tim paused at the door of the dining hall, letting Jason walked in first and basked in the 'happy birthday' greetings. Everyone was there. There were new people - imports from the Kane House when they merged with Wayne House; including Kate Kane herself who was sitting next to Barbara. The two redheads - Kate with her bob-cut and Barbara with her long flowing locks - looked almost like sisters. Even Barbara's father, James Gordon, was there.

Otherwise, most were the people Tim has gotten to know for quite some time. In other occasions, the family would sit everywhere they want. Tonight, they were grouped at the head of the table, with two empty chairs for Jason and Tim placed side-by-side. All have started eating, but given Alfred's propensity for - at least - six-course meals, they weren't going to be finished soon.

Jason took a seat nearer to the head of the table, next to Bruce; and Tim took the next one. Dick and Barbara across them, next to each other.

Tim didn't want to cringe, but he must have - because Jason elbowed him lightly just when Bruce started tinkling his spoon against his wine glass. "Everyone, may I have your attention please!" he called out and stood up.

Jason groaned unabashedly. "I thought the speech part is over..."

"I'm a dramatic person. Bear with me." Bruce quipped. "Pardon me for interrupting your feast. But I thought it would be proper to make it official. Let this feast be the mark of the new Wayne and Kane House of Family Theater. May it bring happiness to those who came across it; and deter anyone thinking to cross it." There were choruses of 'amen', 'hear ye!' and the equivalent thereof. "Enjoy the meal!" Bruce closed and sat back down amidst the applause. "As for you two, young men..." he glared at Tim and Jason alternately.

"Ruh-roh..."

"We in trouble, Scoob..." Tim squeaked jokingly.

"No you're not in trouble. Not now, at least - or not that I know of..." Bruce turned toward Alfred with one eyebrow cocked in question. Alfred's small smirk assured him. "Just... if either of you find any mischiefs that might be a long con, let me know, yeah? I might hire somebody to make a play out of it."

"Whaaa...??" Jason squawked. "Seriously??"

"Yes," Bruce assured him. "I have started the process - just an outline for now. It would be great if you can help me with some of the details. Not to capitalize on your misery, but..."

"Oh no, I'm not offended. My entire life in the past few years could be enough to be a PSA warning for anyone looking for all that glitters in Hollywood. I'm just... who'd be interested in that kind of cliché?"

"Sane people," Kate Kane replied with a small smirk. "And you're right, it could be a PSA. But it will be a start. I shall lead the script-writing department, and I would love some help, if neither of you all mind." she addressed the last comment to include Barbara and Dick.

"I'll do the proofreading part. When it comes to imagination, you might want to rely on these two--" Barbara pointed to Jason and Dick. "fact checks, him or me." she added, pointing to Tim. "Schematic or pattern check, him."

"Cool! So we get to tell the adventure - our adventure, with a lot of artistic liberty. Can we make the villain look like, really creepy? 'It' clown kind of creepy?" Jason wanted to know.

"We can do whatever we want," Bruce agreed. "You can be in drag if you want - because I can always rely on Barbara to assess the rating later."

Tim looked at Jason, the latter looking excited at the prospect and started suggesting medieval and/or early 18th century Americas as the background, and started bickering with Dick about the lack of youtube in either era which would "poke a hole on the plot so big your ego could drive through it,"

Tim looked up just in time to catch a soft smile on Alfred's commonly-stoic face. The old man caught his eyes, and smiled at him. Tim smiled back.

Tonight might be the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream; but for the Wayne and Kane House, tonight shall be the first step to the future.

[tonydadisbestdad]

Secret Identity Blown

Peter ParkerxReader

Not Dad!Tony but father figure to Peter Tony

Word Count: 2811

Request: peter x reader fic where he's dating her and swings by her balcony one day for a patch up (she knows). But someone followed him so when he takes off his mask, they take pictures. It would be great to see the schools reaction and Angry!Tony.

A/N: I am so sorry this took so long. I started it and tried to finish before vacation but it didn’t happen. I refuse to write when around my boyfriend so I lose time there too. Anyways, here it is, hope it’s okay! Let me know what you think!

It was your typical friday night. You hung out with some friends, had some fun, then went home. You hung out with them on friday’s so that no one would bother you on saturday. Saturday’s were your days with Peter. That was your deal. He did what he had to when he had to, but saturday was the day he made sure he kept time for you, so long as he could.

The other times you got to see him were at school and when he would sneak into your room after a rough night patrolling the city.

Like right now.

You jerked awake, hearing the familiar sound of your window sliding open. You threw on the lamp on your nightstand and looked to your window. You knew it was him, but it never stopped you from being weary about someone else sneaking into your apartment. It still freaked you out that he was wearing a mask.

Peter lifted a shaky hand up to his head and pulled the mask off.

You took him in. His eye was bruised and he had a gash in his side. “What happened?” You asked, getting out of your bed. You pulled the first aid kit you’d acquired from your bedside table. It was heavily stocked with any and everything you might need.

The first time Peter showed up like this was how you found out. He felt horrible about it. But you were a lot closer than Ned was and you weren’t Aunt May. He needed the help and he knew he could count on you.

You ushered him into your desk chair just under your window.

“I’m sorry,” He muttered.

You could tell he was out of it, but instead of saying anything else you pressed the spider emblem on his chest and helped him out of the suit.

He hissed in pain as you pulled it away from his side. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it was still open and bleeding. Nothing that wouldn’t clear up in a few days, but it still had to be taken care of.

You pulled an icepack out of the kit first. After snapping the middle and making sure it got cold you held it out to him to put on his eye. He obliged as you gathered other things from the kit. “I’m sorry,” You whispered, as he groaned in pain when you started to clean the wound.

Peter grit his teeth, cleaning always hurt more than getting the actual wound.

You did the best you could. He could probably use a hospital, but you weren’t allowed to go to that extreme unless he was unconscious and you felt he was going to die if he didn’t go. So, you cleaned up your mess, grabbed Peter the spare pair of pj bottoms he’d stored in your bottom dresser drawer, and you took your glass of water next to your lamp and gave them to him.

He drank all the water and stood. The rest of the suit fell to his feet, he’d talk to Mr. Stark about it tomorrow. He kissed your cheek and let out a tired thanks before getting into your bed, not even bothering to put the pants on.

You sighed. You’d have to wake him in a few hours to make sure he was okay, but for now, you knew it was okay to climb in bed with him and get some rest.

You woke to the song Iron Man by Black Sabbath playing. It took a few sleepy moments to recognize it, then it took a few more to realize that it’s muffled sound was coming from somewhere in your room. You shifted to get up but Peter stuck his face deeper into your neck.

The song stopped and a few seconds later started again.

You groaned and wiggled your way out of his grasp. You scrambled over to where the sound was coming from, his suit, and found his phone. You didn’t even have to look at the id to know who it was.

“H-hi Mr. Stark,” you answered.

“Where’s Peter?” He demanded.

“He’s asleep, he had a rough night, what’s up?” You asked, then looked to the clock in your room. You hadn’t realized it was already past noon.

“He’s about to have an even rougher day.” Tony told you. He sounded mad, really mad. “I need you to do a few things for me. First, wake him. Then I need you two to throw some hoodies on and get your butts out the door and downstairs to Happy so he can bring you guys here because I need to talk to Peter and I don’t want you to be there alone with what’s going on, got it?”

You frowned and went back over to your bed. “What do you mean with what’s going on?” You shook Peter’s shoulder but he didn’t wake.

“Peter wasn’t being careful last night, that’s what’s going on.” Tony snapped. “Look, just get down to Happy. I’ll see you when you get here.”

The call disconnected. Your eyes went wide as you looked to your window. You were usually both so careful. You realized now that you hadn’t pulled your curtains shut before he pulled his mask off. You snapped out of your daze and stepped towards your window, you stayed to the side and cast a glance outside. There were news vans and cameras and too many people.

You rushed back over to Peter and really shook him awake.

He groaned and pulled your pillow from it’s spot to hit you with. “What?” He whined.

“We have a big problem, a very big problem.” You said, rushing over to your dresser. You pulled a spare outfit Peter had there out for him and you tossed it onto the bed as you found clothes for yourself.

Peter sat up and sleepily scratched at his head. “What are you talking about?”

“Peter, someone must have followed you here last night.” You told him, pulling your clothes on. “Now, get up, we gotta go meet Happy downstairs and get outta here. Mr. Stark sounded so mad on the phone.”

Peter’s eyes widened as you spoke. He stared at you in disbelief as you looked through your closet for two large hoodies you had in the back.

When you returned you threw one at him before going into the bathroom to brush your teeth, no way could you go see Mr. Stark and have morning breath, you refused.

When you came back Peter was still where you left him.

“Peter, I know this is a lot, but we need to go,” You told him, hoping it would help.

He snapped out of his daze. “Oh my God,” he muttered before getting up. He winced, his side still really hurt, but he’d worry about it later. He got ready as fast as he could, before grabbing his suit off the floor and throwing into your backpack.

You were both silent as you went downstairs to find Happy. He was waiting in the lobby.

“Okay,” he started. “I’m not going to lecture you, just stay close, keep the hoods up and heads down and do not answer any questions. Got it?”

Peter didn’t answer, he just pulled his hood up and started for the door.

“Yes sir,” You said, as you pulled your own hood up.

The two of you followed Peter to the exit. Happy went out first.

It was a whirlwind. There were people everywhere, they all knew. You took hold of Peter’s arm. Luckily Mr. Stark and Happy had other service guys keeping the people back so you could make it to the car. But that didn’t stop the cameras, or the people yelling questions.

Happy ushered you both into the car and after a decent drive, you were arriving at the compound.

You stole nervous glances at Peter every few minutes. He wouldn’t even look your way. You couldn’t imagine what must be going through his mind right now.

Happy parked the car and you followed him through the compound to find Tony. You’d only heard about the place from Peter and boy was it better than you’d imagined. Happy held the door open for you and Peter and you stepped into an office.

Tony was pacing behind his desk, arguing with someone on the phone. He ended the call as soon as he realized the two of you had arrived. He looked back and forth between the two of you. He didn’t even know where to begin.

Peter didn’t know what to say either. He just wanted to rewind and make sure this never happened.

“How could you be so irresponsible?” Tony finally asked.

“I know,” Peter muttered, but Tony kept going.

“Do you know how many calls I’ve gotten today about this?” He asked, throwing his hands up, unable to control his feelings. “I know I’m not the reason you wear the mask, but dammit Peter, it’s for your protection! Now the whole world knows who you are! Did you think that just because you took your mask off inside, it meant that you were safe?! That no one would be able to figure it out?!”

You almost spoke up to stop him, but you knew it wasn’t your place. You were here because Peter was at your place when it happened, which meant that the world knew exactly who you were to Peter. You weren’t safe anymore either. You had no room to talk either, you could have stopped this from happening too.

Peter couldn’t even look at Tony. He kept a hard look on the floor. He couldn’t exactly understand why Mr. Stark was mad. It’s not like it effected him any. He had no secret identity to worry about. He wasn’t his keeper either, he was part of the team just like anyone else. “I’ll deal with it,” he finally muttered. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he would figure something out, he’d keep his friends and family safe.

You looked at Peter in surprise, just as Tony did.

“Oh really?” Tony asked. “So, you’re going go to school, and work with Aunt May to keep her safe, and keep Y/N with you all the time? All while keeping New York safe?” He knew he was being a little hard on the kid, but he was so worried. This completely changed the game.

Peter winced, he knew he couldn’t do all that. He couldn’t imagine what Aunt May was going through right now. He was also wishing that this would have happened at his own apartment, so that you weren’t involved at all.

“I thought so. Don’t worry, I sent bodyguards to Aunt May after the hint that something happened. As for that, we’re going to work something out. I can’t have all of you running around without protection. You’ve made too many enemies and now you’ll have to deal with the paparazzi. Don’t expect any privacy in the outside world for quite some time.” Tony informed him. He knew what it was like, being completely under the world's scrutiny. Now not only would Peter have to deal with being called out as Spider-Man, but now everyone would know Peter Parker. They’d find out anything they could about him. He could only do so much to help him, but he’d do his best.

“Thank you,” Peter mumbled. He knew he was going to get an earful from his aunt later. No way was she going to be okay with having people follow her around all the time. He had so much to worry about before, now it was all about to get worse. He didn’t even want to think about what school was going to be like on monday.

Tony sighed. He didn’t want to yell at Peter any more, he knew the kid was beating himself up enough. “Let’s talk about your details before I send you back home.”

“Y/N needs one too?” Peter asked.

“She’s your girlfriend, Peter. She’s going to be the one that gets hounded most.” Tony admitted.

Peter only nodded in response.

It was now Sunday night and everything was settled. You had two men with guns guarding your apartment, much to your parents frustration. They couldn’t believe you were dating Spider-Man. They did though, mostly because they tried to convince you to break up with Peter. They loved him, but they loved your safety more than that. You refused though. You would never abandon him like that. He was worth more to you than anything else.

When you walked into school the next morning, Brodie and Tyler both respectfully keeping their distance ahead of and behind you, you were prepared to be trampled by schoolmates. However, you made it to your locker without a single person coming up to you. That didn’t stop you from noticing all the whispering going on. You rolled your eyes, grabbed your things, and proceeded to Peter’s locker.

You waited for him, he was running late like always, but you always made sure to stay until the bell. Today, however, he was already at his locker when you reached it. “Morning,” You greeted, kissing his cheek.

He offered a half smile and closed his locker. “How are you?”

“I’m okay, a little weirded out by being followed, but I’m okay. How are you?” You asked back, hoping for a good answer. This was just something you both were going to have to get through and you were hoping it’d be sooner rather than later.

He shrugged. “Aunt May’s still freaking out, Mr. Stark told me last night that he thinks it’d be a good idea for me to take a break for a while, even though I can’t and-”

He was cut off, you groaned hearing Flash’s voice.

“Hey, Parker?” The resident bully started as he approached.

You noticed one of Peter’s guards move closer just as one of your own did.

“What Flash?” Peter asked, turning around.

His posse was with him, they looked skeptical, just like Flash. “Is it true?”

We were both surprised by his question.

“It’s true, right, Petey?” Liz asked. “No way did someone make a mistake. That’s you that’s plastered all over the news.”

Peter rubbed at the back of his neck, before looking to you. It was like he wasn’t sure if he should admit to it or not.

You nudge his side with your elbow. You knew he’d have to answer, whether he wanted to or not, they already had the truth.

“I don’t believe it,” Sally cut in. “How could a loser like Peter Parker be Spider-Man?”

“Exactly,” Flash agreed, sending a glare Peter’s way. “You totally faked it, right?”

“Nope,” Peter finally cut in. “Didn’t fake it. Just screwed up, Flash.”

“Hey,” Randy started. “Props, Parker. You’re doing a lot of great stuff.”

Peter actually looked surprised to get a compliment. “Uh, thanks Randy.”

Flash was frowning like crazy as he spoke next. “I can’t believe my hero is puny Parker.”

“Well,” You cut in. “Believe it, Flash. Maybe now you’ll finally leave us alone.”

He sputtered as his friends agreed with you.

The first warning bell rang and Peter shut his locker.

The group that was there dispersed.

“Thank you,” Peter finally said, pulling you into a hug. It was only slightly difficult because of your backpacks. He pecked your cheek before releasing you.

“What for?” You asked.

“Being here for me through this. I know it’s a lot, and I’m so thankful to have you with me. I’m sorry I’m putting you through it though.”

“You aren’t putting me through anything, Peter. I chose this. I knew someday this was going to happen. I love you, remember? Through all of it.” You booped his nose for emphasis.

Peter released a sigh that he seemed to have been holding since you woke him up on saturday. He pulled you in for a kiss as the second bell rang.

“See you later,” You told him, breaking the kiss. You could not be late for homeroom.

“I love you,” Peter called, going to his own homeroom.

You had a lot of questions to answer, from way too many people. You told them the truth, you figured it was either they heard it from you or they heard lies from somewhere else. You knew this wasn’t the end of things. Peter wasn’t hanging up his suit yet. There were going to be so many obstacles to deal with, but for right now, you knew better than to dwell on that. Things weren’t as bad as you expected them to be. Sure, having bodyguards made things a whole lot easier, and thing were still rough, but you’d make things work. You’d help Peter with anything he needed, and he would always keep you safe.

@buckysendoftheline

[loveinpanem-blog]

The Right One

Well this is something I thought I would never do, write my own fic but here it is. Trust me, it’s a lot harder than you think and without the help of 3 special people, I don’t think I could have done it alone.

Firstly, I need to thank @thegirlfromoverthepond for her understanding and friendship. You are truly one lovely human being.

Secondly, my story would be nothing without my mentor and beta @finnicko-loves-anniec. Thank you for your patience and brilliant beta-skills. I really hit the jackpot with you as my mentor.  

And thirdly (and by no means lastly), @drivebyanon. Thank you for your never-ending support and encouragement throughout this whole journey, even when I wanted to give up. You were my very own cheer squad when I needed it the most so I’m dedicating this story to you.

Sorry, there’s no smut here. I’m still in the ‘pre-school’ stage but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

SUMMARY

‘we don’t meet people by accident, they are meant to cross our path for a reason,’ Rubyanne

Peeta didn’t know her name or even if she was real. All he knew is that he had to paint her image and hope that destiny would allow them to one day cross paths.

THE RIGHT ONE

“Well, thank you for applying. I do have a few other applicants to see, and I’ll be in touch if I need more information about your application,” Peeta said to yet another hopeful single young lady wanting to work at his bakery. It was becoming a joke between many of the other store keepers. They all knew why these girls were so interested in working at the bakery with Peeta. Ever since his father passed away almost one year ago, Peeta had been working around the clock to keep the bakery going and adding a few of his new ideas to make the bakery even more profitable than it already was. As a wealthy young bachelor, Peeta was finding it hard to find the ‘right one’. Obviously in another vain attempt to seduce Peeta, the young girl shamelessly fluttered her eyelashes and giggled whilst stepping closer, proudly showing off the low neckline of her dress that left nothing to the imagination.

“Thank you Peeta, it was nice to see you again after all this time. I’ll wait for your call. Don’t be a stranger, okay.” No, Peeta would not be calling her.

 As Peeta turned towards the front counter of the bakery, he thought about how all this came about. After his father died from a mysterious illness, his mother wasted no time in running off to District 2 to be with the man she had been having an affair with for the past five years, unbeknown to his father. Peeta, on the other hand had an inkling that something was not quite right. “Good riddance” he thought, but getting full ownership of his father’s beloved bakery cost Peeta an ‘arm and a leg’ in terms of monies that his mother said was owed to her for ‘pain and suffering’. For the years she had to endure working alongside her ‘good-for-nothing, spineless’ husband and his ‘wretched’ bakery, as she so coldly put it. Her parting words made Peeta even more determine to keep his mother out of his life for good. He agreed to pay her $50,000 which she happily accepted.

Yeah, good riddance indeed! Even at the ripe old age of twenty-four, Peeta was no fool and made sure that a legal contract was drawn so his mother (how he loathed calling her that) would not come back asking for more compensation. She would never get her hands on HIS bakery now.

“That’s the third girl this week, Pete,” Thom said as he locked the front door to the bakery turning over the sign on the door to ‘closed’. “What was wrong with this one? Clove right, was that her name?”

Thom helped Peeta out in the front of the bakery making sure the bread, cakes and pastries were always re-stocked and when the baked goods were sold, he helped clean up and counted the day’s takings. Thom was one of the few people Peeta trusted. But this was a temporary arrangement as Thom had a job at the local council as Head Building Inspector.

Peeta sighed. “All these girls want is to worm their way into this bakery thinking they can charm themselves for more than a paid salary. I’m not interested in any of them, and I’m certainly not interested in any sort of relationship. I just need to keep looking until I find the right one–I mean—applicant–I mean–I need someone who’s willing to work hard and help me with the daily running of my bakery–nothing more,” Peeta quickly added, his face burning hot with embarrassment.

As Thom looked at Peeta’s expression, he felt sorry for this young man that he had come to think of as his good friend. “You’ll find her, Peet. I bet you the right one is just around the corner.”

Peeta simply nodded head lowered and walked into the back kitchen.

The weather turned dismal the next day. Rain fell heavily and the wind became bitterly cold. Winter had arrived. The morning routine of firing up the ovens, kneading the dough, filling the cake orders was busily underway and the usual afternoon rush came and went. Thom and Peeta were glad they could finally start to shut up shop for the day.

While Thom wiped down the display cabinets and countertops, Peeta made sure everything in the kitchen was clean and tidy, ready for tomorrow morning’s baking. He turned off the ovens and decided to sit in front of them with a cheese bun he’d made only hours ago. “Okay, I’m going to sit down for a bit and maybe make a hot chocolate, do you want one?” Peeta shouted from the kitchen.

“Nah, I’ll take a raincheck though,” Thom said happily because Peeta’s hot chocolate was the best he’d ever tasted. “I’m going to lock up now Peeta, Madge is expecting me home early today,” Thom shouted back. He knew that Peeta enjoyed a bit of quiet time in the kitchen at the end of a busy day, just staring at that painting on the wall. The little girl with two braids. Who was she? He often wondered until one day he just came out and asked Peeta. He said he wasn’t sure, that maybe she was someone he met a long time ago, that he had to paint her before he forgot what she looked like.

Peeta often stared at the picture he painted a long time ago of a young girl with black hair that she wore in two braids. He hung the painting of her proudly in the kitchen because he was sure he could feel her presence. Maybe she was someone from his past, perhaps when Peeta was a young boy but the urge to paint her image was so strong that it took over him until he was satisfied that he had captured her very essence on canvas. Most of all, he needed to make sure he’d captured the right shade of grey in her eyes. They seemed to speak to him each day, greet him good morning and wish him goodnight at the end of the day. The feeling of calm and warmth coursed through his veins each time he looked upon her image.

The bell at the top of the shop door chimed announcing a customer had entered, only this time a very wet and cold young lady came in shivering with her arms crossed over her chest. She had dark hair that was braided to one side. Her skin was an olive complexion and her eyes were silvery-grey. She was obviously nervous. She looked across the store waiting for the old gentleman who was buying his usual loaf of bread leave.  She kindly stepped aside and opened the front door for him. He briskly walked outside in the rain with his baked goods tucked snuggly under his raincoat.

“Can I help you miss?” Thom asked.

She looked almost frightened but she slowly walked up to the counter and hesitantly started to speak. “Good morning Mr. Mellark, I believe you have a position for a helper available,” she said with teeth chattering.

 “Oh yes, we do, but I’m not Mr. Mellark.  He’s out the back taking a break but let me get him for you,” Thom said with a puzzled look on his face. You look familiar, where have I seen your face before? Thom quickly came to his senses. 

“No, no don’t bother him, it’s okay. I don’t want to stop him from his break,” the girl stuttered out.

Just as Thom was about to call Peeta, he came rushing from the kitchen. Peeta felt a sudden urge to go out to the front of the shop. His feet were walking, almost running before he had time to think and when he stopped at the doorway, he thought he had seen a ghost, no, not a ghost, a vision he wasn’t sure. Whatever he saw, he couldn’t speak—move or breathe for that matter.

“Peeta, this young lady is enquiring about the job-“ but before Thom could even finish his sentence, Peeta came out of his frozen stoop and quickly walked over to this mysterious woman. He couldn’t stop staring at her and it made the young girl feel very self-conscious.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied. Peeta could not stop staring at her eyes. Those beautiful grey eyes.

I’ve seen those eyes staring back at me a thousand times and now…. now you’re here, he thought.

“I..I..I’m Peeta Mellark miss and you are?” His hand instantly stretched out to her offering a gentle handshake which she accepted instantly.

“Katniss. My name is Katniss Everdeen, pleased to meet you,” she replied. “I’m new in town and I’m staying at my uncles for a while and he said you were looking for someone to help you in the bakery.”

“Yes, yes I am Miss Everdeen, Katniss? That’s a beautiful name.” Peeta whispered to himself. “Oh my goodness, how rude of me, you’re soaked to the bone. Please, come around the back the ovens are still warm. I’ll get you a clean towel to dry off,”

“Oh no, please Mr Mellark, I don’t want to impose. Like I said, I understand you have a job offering, but if this is an inconvenient time I can come back tomorrow.” Katniss was about to start walking out towards the front door when Peeta gently grabbed her arm.

“No, please, don’t go. It’s raining and you’re cold, please, stay.”

Katniss could not understand the warmth she felt at Peeta’s touch even though she was soaked to the bone. “Okay, but I can’t stay long. My uncle will be worried if I’m not home soon.”

“Okay, sure, no problem. I can walk you home if you like–and it’s Peeta, please call me Peeta.”

Katniss quickly nodded then spoke in reply, “Katniss, you can call me Katniss, if you like.”

“Yes, I’d like that Katniss, I’d like that a lot, thank you”.

As Peeta and Katniss walked to the back of the shop where the kitchen’s ovens were still warm, Thom could hear Peeta ask Katniss if she could start working tomorrow. “Yes, tomorrow, that would be great,” Katniss said enthusiastically. “I don’t have much experience with working in a shop and I really don’t know anything about baking. But I love bread and cakes and buns.”

“Buns, oh then you’ll have to try these,” Peeta said. “It’s a new recipe of mine and I think they’re good but I haven’t put them out to sell yet.” Peeta quickly grabbed two cheese buns that he had made earlier onto a plate and handed them to Katniss.

“Hmm, they smell wonderful,” Katniss said.

 “They taste great with hot chocolate too. It will only take a minute.”

 “No, please don’t go to any trouble Peeta, I feel like I’m imposing.”

 “No imposition at all Katniss, I was just about to have a cheese bun and hot chocolate myself so to share with you would be… nice.” Katniss nodded and smiled with blushed cheeks. Peeta handed her a clean towel from under the bench to dry off and as she reached out to take it their hands gently brushed against each other. That warm spark was undeniable, both felt it. Peeta quickly turned to the stove and started on the hot chocolate. The beam that shone from both their faces was hard to miss.

As Thom watched Peeta and Katniss together in the kitchen, he smiled and quietly walked over to the front door, turned over the sign and locked the door. Hmmm, am I imagining it, her eyes are strangely like the ones in Pete’s painting, the one in the kitchen? I’m sure of it, he thought.

Yes, tomorrow was going to be a new day. Thom would be teaching Katniss how to work in the bakery and he knew in his heart that this was the start of Peeta and Katniss’ story.

Yeah, Peeta just found the ‘right one’. 

[thisdaynews]

Man Utd 1999 Treble: Near misses, determination & 'pure luck'

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/man-utd-1999-treble-near-misses-determination-pure-luck/

Man Utd 1999 Treble: Near misses, determination & 'pure luck'

Thousands lined the streets of Manchester to celebrate on the team’s return from Barcelona

On 26 May, it will be 20 years since Manchester United completed a remarkable Treble – becoming the only team to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in one season.

The club are marking the achievement by hosting a Champions League final rematch against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford, and will also be paying tribute on next season’s kit.

Yet, such are the fine margins between success and failure that United’s Treble hopes were almost killed off before the players seriously started to think it was possible.

Six weeks before finally completing their hat-trick of titles – Premier League, FA Cup and European Cup – Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were playing major rivals Arsenal in an FA Cup semi-final replay at Villa Park.

Reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of captain Roy Keane, they were locked at 1-1 when Arsenal were awarded a penalty in the second minute of injury time.

Dennis Bergkamp prepared to take it. Up to that point in his Gunners career, the Dutchman had taken six penalties – and scored every one.

“When it was given, I honestly thought there were still about 10 minutes left,” says United keeper Peter Schmeichel. “That’s how the game had been. Two teams battling it out, just equal, nothing between them. In the end, at the highest, highest level, it is one stroke of luck that separates you.”

Facing that penalty, Schmeichel had nothing to help him but his instincts and his agility. Contrast that with Ben Foster’s situation 10 years later when United beat Tottenham on penalties to win the League Cup. On that Wembley day in 2009, United keeper Foster was shown footage on an iPad of where Spurs’ players liked to put their spot-kicks.

Back in 1999 at Villa Park, Schmeichel was on his own. He went low to his left. The guess was correct.

“I had done no research,” admits the Dane. “The save was pure luck. I’m glad we didn’t have iPads in those days. Who knows what would have happened if there had been?”

Schmeichel’s save was quickly upstaged as Ryan Giggs scored what has been voted the greatest FA Cup goal of all time to send United through. Physically, the players were exhausted. Mentally, Giggs felt a ripple going through the team. Others noticed it too.

Media playback is not supported on this device

Ryan Giggs v Arsenal: Is this the greatest FA Cup moment ever?

“Within the club, that match was the turning point,” says Dave Fevre, the United physio in 1999.

“Two months before, Dwight Yorke was saying ’25 more wins to the Treble’. It was a laugh really. But the hurdle of getting over Arsenal with 10 men was a big one. We came in afterwards and felt ‘this could happen now’. That is when the belief really kicked in.”

After that 14 April extra-time win, United still had 10 games to play if they were going to make history. They could not afford to lose a single one, but went behind in four. Of those, they came back to win three, drawing the other, at Leeds.

Before that Leeds game came a trip to Turin for a Champions League semi-final second leg that has gone down as the finest game of Keane’s career.

So consumed was the Irishman in the battle to overturn Juventus’ early two-goal lead, the full consequences of his yellow card for a poor tackle on Zinedine Zidane did not entirely hit home until long after the final whistle.

Keane would miss the final, but there were no Paul Gascoigne-style tears, just a steely determination to complete the comeback. He began it himself, scoring with a near-post header. Further goals from Yorke and Andy Cole sent United through 4-3 on aggregate. Next would be Bayern in Barcelona,

“I saw Roy in a different light to a lot of people because we had worked so closely together the previous year when he did his cruciate,” says Fevre.

“He was a brilliant injured player. He had such inner strength. Anything I told him to do, he did. Tears are not his style. He knew he’d done his best to get the team there.”

Roy Keane’s performance in Turin was crucial to United’s recovery in the match

It seems hard to believe now given Barcelona’s entourage extended to 160 for their Champions League semi-final second-leg at Anfield on 7 May but two decades ago, Ferguson’s backroom team was tiny.

Fevre explains: “It was me, Rob Swire, who was reserve-team physio but did the first team whenever we needed him, Mike Stone was the doctor and Jimmy Curran was a part-time masseur who also drove the bus. We didn’t have a strength and conditioning coach. We didn’t have a fitness coach.

“I always wanted the medical department to be the centre of the club, almost like a social club, where the lads could come in and get the banter. That is how it was at United in ’99 – and the person who kept everyone bouncing was Dwight Yorke.

“You had fabulous characters and you certainly couldn’t leave anything lying around when Paul Scholes was about because it would go missing – Brian Kidd used to call him the Artful Dodger – but Yorkie was the light-hearted one.

“He would come into the medical room every day but never for treatment. He would just ask for two paracetamol and then start laughing and joking. Everyone picked up on it.”

United’s first trophy that season was secured on 16 May. The Premier League title came courtesy of a final-day 2-1 comeback win over Tottenham at Old Trafford, as Arsenal finished a point behind, but more drama arrived the following night.

Keane, out with his team-mates to celebrate their success, got involved in an altercation in a central Manchester bar and ended up spending a night in the police cells.

Ferguson got him out the following morning. Given he was banned for the Champions League final and was injured in the early stages of the FA Cup final, United’s Treble did not turn out to be Keane’s greatest few days.

United finished one point ahead of Arsenal to win the 1998-99 Premier League title

For Fevre, the FA Cup final against Newcastle at Wembley on 22 May involved a tricky conversation with defender Jaap Stam.

The Dutchman had been nursing a hamstring injury, but wanted to play. Fevre had seen the scans and said no.

“He was disappointed but it was too big a risk,” he says. “I had to explain the physiology and the dangers. If there was a little tear and he extended it, he wouldn’t just miss the Champions League final, he wouldn’t be fit for the start of next season either. It was actually a fairly straightforward decision.”

Stam did come on for the final 12 minutes, although by that time a one-sided game had already been won thanks to goals from Teddy Sheringham and Scholes.

This time the celebrations were muted. Ferguson noted all the players likely to be involved at the Nou Camp four days later were in bed by 01:30.

Instead of returning north, United relocated to Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre in Berkshire, where they were joined by a nutritionist and a chef. Analysis of Bayern Munich consisted of one 40-minute video, condensing the highlights of the two drawn group games against the Germans earlier in the competition.

They flew to Barcelona on Concorde the following day.

“None of us had been on it before, so it was quite exciting,” says Fevre. “I was sat next to [reserve-team manager] Jimmy Ryan, who has a very dry sense of humour. One of the attendants asked if they could get him anything. He said: ‘Do you have any fast food?’ The girl just didn’t understand Jimmy’s sense of humour. ‘No sir, but we have some sandwiches.’ We were in stitches.”

Training at the stadium the night before a Champions League match was not a new experience. Using the home dressing room was.

“All the lockers had a Barcelona player’s personal picture on them,” says Fevre. “The lads were scrambling about who was having who’s locker. We went back to the hotel and played Trivial Pursuit that night. The staff had a couple of drinks and went to bed.”

The final itself did not go to plan. Mario Basler gave Bayern the lead after six minutes. United struggled to find any fluency. As the massive stadium clock ticked towards 90 minutes, Fevre noticed something.

“The trophy was brought to the side of the pitch with the Bayern colours on. Even Uefa had decided the outcome.”

What happened next was almost beyond comprehension, certainly to Bayern defender Samuel Kuffour, who ended up lying face down on the pitch, banging the ground in frustration.

A David Beckham corner. A misdirected Ryan Giggs shot. Teddy Sheringham turned in a 91st-minute equaliser.

Two minutes later, another Beckham corner swings in. Sheringham flicked on at the near post. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer jabbed home the winner.

Pandemonium.

Solskjaer’s 93rd-minute winner left the Bayern players shell-shocked

Schmeichel:“My brain just overloaded. I know the celebration. I know the goals. But only because I have seen them on TV. From the night itself, I have no memory.”

Solskjaer:“I remember the celebration when I slid and then all these bodies piling on top of me. I remember thinking the subs were all there and wondering how they got there so quickly.

“I also remember accepting an interview request immediately after the game. I lost two or three minutes of the celebrations because of that. I could hear it but I wasn’t there. If I had my time again, I would say no to the interview.”

Fevre:“My one regret was celebrating the equaliser in front of the Bayern bench but we had it rubbed in our faces that we weren’t going to win. Normally I am dead calm and collected. I don’t get too flustered by goals. But for the second, I just lost it.

“I threw a medical bag in the air and all the stuff came out. I ran on to the pitch. We all did. It was crazy.

“The celebrations on the pitch went on for ages. we got back to the dressing room and threw [kit manager] Albert [Morgan] into the bath. The party started at 03:30. Nobody went to bed. We just went straight for the plane.”

Sir Alex Ferguson was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours less than a month after the final

Such were the crowds for the parade through Manchester the following day that it took three hours to get down Deansgate, a main road through the centre of the city that measures just over a mile.

For United, it marked the end of an epic six weeks. For Fevre it marked the end of his time at United. Two days later, he handed Ferguson his letter of resignation after accepting an offer to join Blackburn, closer to his family home.

He still has the memories though; everyone associated with United’s Treble success does.

“There was a fantastic spirit in that squad,” recalls Solskjaer, now the United manager himself.

“It came from the top. The manager instilled this hunger and humility, a desire to work hard and win. We never accepted defeat. In training, we kicked each other in order to win. In quizzes with the gaffer, we had to win.

“It was about work-rate. It was about coming in on time. It was about doing all the extras that can give you those little percentages that win you games.

“They are the things that are easy to do, but also very easy not to do. Do we go all in, or don’t we?”

For six weeks in 1999, Manchester United went every single step.

Read More

[justsomebucky]

Ten Years (Part 10)

Summary: AU. When a major account is on the line at work, reader is forced to revisit some old connections at her ten year high school reunion for a chance at success. Will she let the past consume her, or will she see the future in her grasp?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 2,786

Warnings: language, fluff, confrontation

A/N: Tags are closed. This part was over 4K words long, so I split it into two. I’m sorry. Reader takes some steps to make everything right again, but Bucky Barnes is nowhere to be found.

You have always hated Mondays.

It wasn’t so much that a new work week was starting, although that certainly didn’t help.

No, your hatred of Mondays went a little deeper than that.

It all started with Sunday nights. Sundays were the bane of your existence, to put it mildly. Everything about them felt uncomfortable, like you were waiting for your freedom to be taken from your grasp. You’d watch as it was dragged away to a slow, painful death, with the clock ticking the hours down relentlessly. You never slept well on Sunday nights, either. It sort of felt like the last night of summer vacation before a new school year started, only it happened once a week.

That feeling lent itself to your hatred of Mondays. You were always tired from not sleeping well the night before, you were sad that the weekend was over, and you had five whole days until you had the chance to be free again.

As you got older, it shifted to include a new facet of hatred: each Monday became symbolic for your lack of a meaningful relationship.

Sam would show up and talk about this great time he had with friends. Wanda would come strolling in with another hopeless romantic story. It seemed had something going on that would make the Monday headlines at work except you. There were only so many times you could smile and say, ‘Nothing exciting happened, how was your weekend?’

This was the first Monday morning in your entire life that you dreaded the question, ‘How was your weekend?’ because of events that actually happened, instead of what didn’t happen.

When you arrived on the seventh floor that particular Monday morning, you kept your eyes straight ahead. Maybe if you walked in like nothing had happened, no news would be good news, and you’d make it through the day without issue.

Sam Wilson naturally had a different idea. “Hey, Big Shot! How’d it go?” he asked cheerfully.

The tone he used was so infuriating, but you knew he couldn’t help it. Never in his wildest dreams could he have guessed the drama that went down last Saturday.

“Fine,” you muttered, logging into your laptop.

Right away, you had two goals to accomplish. The first was to draft a memo to management to explain Bucky’s lead on the new bid, along with Pepper’s contact information.

The second goal was to draft your resignation letter.

“You don’t sound fine to me.” Sam pushed his wheeled chair over to you, reading over your shoulder. “Whoa, a memo already? You got the meeting? That’s great, Y/N!”

“Yeah.” Was he going to do this the whole time?

“Hold up. Is it that they won’t let you participate, or are you removing yourself?”

“Is there something I can help you with, Sam?” you asked in a fake, sugary-sweet voice. “Because I’m here trying to concentrate. I don’t need a play-by-play on what I’m writing.”

“You can’t let them remove you from the meeting, Y/N, it was your score for the company.” One look at Sam’s face proved he was dead serious. You knew he meant well, but he just didn’t have the details.

You shook your head, eyes flitting back to the screen. “It’s Bucky’s meeting to run.”

“That’s not right, do you want me to go to-“

“I’m quitting, Sam,” you interrupted, turning in your chair to look at him again. “After everything that happened this weekend, I realized that I just don’t belong here. I don’t want to work here anymore.”

He stared at you, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he found his voice. “Quitting? What are you going to do for work then?”

“I haven’t thought that part out yet,” you admitted, turning back to the screen. “I’m sure I’ll find something. It’s a big city, right?”

You meant to think of something on Sunday, but you’d spent the whole day lying in bed with Mr. Fuzzypants, feeling sorry for yourself instead. It was most definitely hypocritical after the pep talk you’d had with yourself on the way home from Long Island, but you were just so tired.

Wanda had tried calling you for details. Your parents had called to ask how it had gone. Your sister messaged you on Facebook to find out why you hadn’t posted any updates with your ‘sexy boyfriend,’ and worst of all, the reunion page began posting pictures of everyone, making you relive it over and over again.

You had ignored them all, not wanting to talk to anyone. You shut off your phone, stayed off of Facebook, and had a Netflix marathon all day.

Secretly, you’d been hoping to hear from Bucky, though. You couldn’t tell if it was an ego thing, or if you’d grown so used to his company that you just missed him, but when he didn’t call, you added that to your pity party reasons.

“Thought what out yet?”

You cringed. Wanda was here, right on time, for her update in person.

“Y/N got the meeting with Stark, and yet she’s quitting,” Sam filled her in.

“WHAT!?” she shouted.

Every single person nearby stopped to see what was wrong with Wanda. She waved her hand sheepishly at them, before moving into your cube to lean against your desk, arms crossed indignantly. “You’re quitting? What the hell happened this weekend, Y/N?”

Since you obviously weren’t going to be able to accomplish your goals here, you saved your progress and shut your laptop. “We got the meeting, and after that, I realized I didn’t want to work here anymore.”

“But why? You probably just saved the entire company, let alone your own job!” Her eyes were huge, and she looked so confused. “This is a huge deal for you. This will get you noticed from people at the top!”

You leaned back in your chair. “There were conditions to getting a meeting. Long story short, I can’t be on the account because of my connections. It wasn’t just Natasha that I know at Stark Industries. So, if Wakanda, Inc. expects to get a meeting, I have to step away. They don’t want any more trouble over this.”

She shook her head. “That isn’t fair, though, you worked really hard, and-“

“I didn’t, though,” you refuted, grabbing your laptop and standing up to move past them. “I didn’t work really hard. Bucky did. To be honest, I took every chance I got to make life harder at the reunion. So, if you’ll just excuse me…” You turned to leave, not wanting to continue this conversation right now.

Sam and Wanda were left staring at your retreating form in disbelief.

---

Luckily, the fifth floor, the one with all the accountants, the floor that Bucky had sent you to on your first day of work as a hazing joke, had a rarely-used conference room. The only reason you knew it existed was because of your little elevator adventure with him months ago.

The memo about the meeting took less than five minutes to finish, and you clicked send with a breath of relief. You reread the last two lines again:

At the request of Pepper Potts, Tony Stark’s top assistant and Chief Operating Officer, I am withdrawing my name from the management of this account. Bucky Barnes will remain as the lead manager, and I am certain that with his guidance, Wakanda, Inc. will receive a contract with Stark within the week.

The entire account manager team, including Bucky and T’Challa, were copied on it. Bucky received all the credit, and you meant what you said about his ability to land the deal.

Your resignation was kept short and sweet, too. In it, you thanked management and T’Challa for the experience and opportunity to work at Wakanda, Inc., and mentioned that you felt it would benefit your career and personal life to move on. You wished everyone good fortune for the future as a closing line.

This one was a little harder to send.

It was scary to jump off into the unknown, especially with rent and other bills due each month. It’s not like your savings account was loaded. What if you didn’t find anything? You could always move to Florida with your parents, you supposed, or to California with your sister.

New York City was the greatest love of your life so far, though, and you didn’t want to leave. Your final paycheck from Wakanda, plus vacation payout, could buy you some time to job hunt.

At the last second, you added another contact to the email under bcc. With a single click, you sent your resignation off to management.

You let your head fall onto your arms on the desk, just needing a moment to yourself.

---

When you made your way back to your desk, you had not only your work laptop with you, which you were going to strip of personal pictures and data, but you also had a giant empty box for your belongings.

Unfortunately, your plan to clean out your desk and sneak away to T’Challa’s office was put on hold. There were about ten people, including Wanda, Sam, and T’Challa, milling around your cube.

“There she is!” Sam pointed at you, standing up at his desk.

“Where did you run off to?” Wanda asked, her eyes frantic. “We’ve been looking everywhere!”

Damn, rumors spread fast here. You turned to T’Challa. “Sir, I take it you got my memo?”

He nodded. “I also received the second note, but we can discuss that later. For now, I need to know where Barnes is.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“He didn’t show up for work today. He put in a request for a sick day and didn’t say another word about it. He’s not answering his work phone or his personal number. If we truly have a shot with this meeting, I need him in here ASAP.”

“Maybe he is sick.” You shrugged and moved through the small crowed to your desk, setting the laptop and box down. “If he called off, I’m sure he had a good reason. I’m not his keeper.”

“You both returned the rental car yesterday morning. He didn’t mention calling off to you then?”

“I didn’t come back with him,” you admitted, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “I caught a ride back to the city Saturday night.”

There was a low murmur among the group, and you immediately felt your face heat up. Now everyone was definitely going to be spreading gossip about this weekend. You were almost relieved that you were quitting, if only to avoid this office bullcrap.

“Can we discuss this in your office?” you asked your boss quietly.

T’Challa shook his head. “I have to get some people started on this pitch for Stark, I don’t have time to play babysitter. Your resignation is not accepted until you find Barnes.” He turned on his heel, and everyone but Wanda and Sam shuffled after him.

Wanda turned to you the second they were out of earshot. “You didn’t even ride back with him? What the hell happened on Saturday, Y/N?”

“This is bad,” you muttered, ignoring her as anxiety began to seep into your system. “What if something happened to him? It’s so unlike him-”

“Earth to Y/N!” Sam called out. “Start with his emergency contacts.”

“You’re right,” you breathed out, sitting down and opening your laptop. You found the number for the HR department, and explained over the phone that you’d been tasked by T’Challa to find an emergency contact for Bucky.

They gave you his parents’ number in Connecticut, and a number for Steve Rogers, his best friend, also in Connecticut.

You leaned back the second you hung up. “I don’t want to call his parents. I’ll try Steve.”

Wanda and Sam weren’t about to let you work to find Bucky in peace, so you let them listen in on your side of the conversation. You used your personal cell to call Steve.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Steve? Steve Rogers?”

“Yes. May I ask who is calling?”

This was so weird. You felt like you were digging too far into the realm of what was allowed for a coworker-slash-fake-girlfriend. “Steve, this is Y/N. I know we don’t know each other. I’m calling because-“

“Y/N! No way,” he spoke over your voice happily. “I was wondering when I would get to talk to you! Bucky went on and on about you the other night, and I kept trying to ask when he was going to bring you home to Connecticut, but he avoided the subject.”

“Steve, I need to know-“

“He adores you, by the way. I can hear it in his voice. The pictures you guys take are great, too. He talks about you like you set the stars in the sky. I know getting to know him probably wasn’t easy for you, but I’m so glad he has you. He’s been so hurt before, and-“

“STEVE!” You couldn’t handle his friendly rambling anymore. Time was of the essence here. “I need to know if you’ve heard from Bucky in the last two days!?”

“You mean you haven’t heard from him either?”

“He didn’t come to work today. No one can reach him.”

“Have you tried his mobile?”

“Our boss has,” you confirmed, pressing your lips together in a thin line.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Why haven’t you? Did you guys have a fight?”

“Something like that. Listen, I need to know if you have any other way to find him.”

“Have you tried his apartment?”

No, no one had tried there. You smacked your hand against your forehead in frustration. “I don’t know where he lives,” you admitted sheepishly.

“W-what? How can you date someone and not know where he lives?”

“It’s a long story, Steve. I promise I’ll explain everything, but for now, can you please give me his address?”

“Okay, but I expect answers.”

You motioned for Sam to hand you paper and a pen, and when he did, you took down Bucky’s address as Steve recited it.

“Thank you Steve, I promise we’ll clear everything up. I just have to find him first!” You hit the big red end call button before he could say another word.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Wanda asked gently.

“No. I’ve got to find him on my own.” You gave her a sad smile. “If he really is just ditching work, I have a feeling that I’m part of the reason he didn’t want to come here today. I’ve got to make things right. Thank you both, though.”

“If you need us, we’re here,” Sam added.

With a sharp nod, you grabbed your bag and took off for the elevators, clutching Bucky’s address in your hand.

---

His apartment was empty, as far as you could tell. No one came to the door when you knocked, and no one was shuffling around inside. As you left the lobby, you stopped to ask the doorman if he saw Bucky leave earlier this morning. The doorman had seen him leave, but there had been no sign of Bucky since.

You trudged back out on to the street. It was a little bit windy today, but otherwise it was warm enough to go traipsing the city for that idiot coworker of yours, assuming he was even still here.

Facebook was the only other connection you had to him at the moment. He was still listed as your boyfriend, and you had access to see his recent activity. But, when you pulled up his page in your mobile app, there was nothing new. No check-ins, no pictures, no activity of any kind.

This was so unlike him to ditch work and disappear, so out-of-character that even his best friend couldn’t predict where he would go or understand why he was doing this. You were starting to get anxious with worry again, so you headed for the one place in the city where you could sit and think.

And let’s be real, you’d take any chance you could get to see your beloved Lincoln Center Fountain, even if for a moment.

Just as the corner of the fountain came into view, your breath hitched in your throat at the sight before you.

Your eyes locked on his figure almost immediately. He was so familiar to you now, you could pick him out in a crowd with ease.

Bucky Barnes was sitting at the edge of the fountain, leaning with his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together. He was staring up at the Met.

You hesitated for just a moment, then started walking toward him.

---

Part 11

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[ecotone99]

[SP] Keeper

I set the cup of coffee back on the table as I took my last sip. I let the warm and bitter taste of the coffee stay for a while before I finally let it down. I finally felt myself a little bit more energetic than when I woke up. Coffee always had that effect on me. It was a few hours after sunrise that I found myself here at Raed's cafe.

Raed's was this homey little cafe near my apartment, only a 10-minute walk away. It was only after a few days from when I moved here that I stumbled upon this place. I remembered feeling very glad that there was a place like this near my new home. After my first visit, I frequently found myself going back to Raed's just to have that cup of coffee and to meet with K.

K was the manager and owner of Raed's Cafe, who I met during my first visit. He was a tall man standing just below six feet with brown wavy hair and a picture perfect smile. He always wore this tucked in, black, long sleeved polo with the nameplate "Manager" pinned to it, which was also always paired with slim khaki pants. He was the type of guy who was always the center of attention in the room, always full of energy. We quickly became friends after my first visit.

"You want another one?" K asked as he passed by my table, which was directly in front of the bar.

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks." K told his barista to prepare another coffee and after a while, I was drinking my second cup.

"So, how are you?" he asked, as he took a seat across me. "It's been a while since you last went here. It's nice to see a regular back again." he asked.

"Well," I sighed. "It's the usual daily mess of going to work everyday from 12 to 5. Those are short hours, but I'm telling you, they're really stressful. It's really nice to relax here and be sane every morning before I go to work."

"I'm glad you like it here," he smiled. "At least I know I get to help someone start their day right."

I nodded. "Oh! That would be a nice line for the greeting card I'm working on. 'Help someone start their day right'. Perfect for coffee shop owners and the .like/"

K laughed, "I'd like a commission for that if ever you actually use that."

"They'd probably reject it as usual," I laughed. "It really is hard to work in that job - writing greetings I don't even mean. What a joke! My works have gotten approved and I got paid fairly so who am I to complain? I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for that job. The pay is good so I didn't mind moving."

"That's tough," K said. "I'm lucky that we're a team here in Raed's. We work together to think of things, while you, on the other hand, have to do things alone."

"Let's switch jobs," I said jokingly.

K laughed and said that he had to check on a few things. "I'll see you again tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I’ll see you," I said, as I finished the cup of coffee. I stood up and made my way to the door. "Thanks, K."

It was an hour before noon, just the right time to head to work. I took a 15-minute walk to the bus stop and waited. It took around 5 minutes before the bus came. When I got off the bus at Downtown DT District, I walked for another 15-minutes and then I found myself in front of the building of my office. It was a 5-storey building with glass windows and modern design. I looked up and saw the window not far from my cubicle at the 3rd floor. It was actually staring outside through the window and watching people that was my real work. Often times, writing greeting cards needed inspiration and I found it outside.

I went in the building and went inside the elevator. It was cramped as usual, full of people wearing their fancy suits and ties. I blended in like normal with my navy blue suit. I always thought that my outfit didn't fit with my job. I felt like I was overdressed just to write for 5 hours. Once the elevator reached the 3rd floor, I made my way out. My cubicle was found on the far end of the aisle that went straight from the entrance of the elevator. I set my bag down beside my monitor and sat down. It was going to be a long 5 hours.

The usual day at work would consist of reading submissions from my staff, revising the submissions, and finally making my own greeting card, which would all be submitted to Chief Bill, the President Writer. The task may seem easy, but there are a lot of submissions to go through, maybe 40 to 50 a day. And I would need to finish those in 5 hours. THis was what the Head Writer did and I didn't understand it at first when I was promoted, but I didn't mind.

I read the first out of forty submissions from my staff sent to my email. The design was bright, colorful, and bordered by straight lines. In the middle of the card, a greeting was placed in fancy lettering. 'After one drink, everything will click' I was puzzled right after I read the greeting. It didn't even make sense. I checked who wrote the card and it was the intern, Joseph. I typed in my feedback, reminding him that he's working for the Motivational Cards Department, not the Alcoholics Department. Some people really can't do things properly, I thought. I read through all of the submissions and I was surprised that there were only five submissions that needed major improvement. I was thankful for that since usually there were ten to fifteen submissions that needed major revisions.

The light of the golden hour was glaring at my window I finished working. It was a stressful yet productive day at work. I made my way out of my cubicle to report to Chief Bill.

I knocked on the door thrice and opened it. "How are you doing? I've sent all the submissions to your email, Chief," I reported. Chief Bill grunted and I closed the door. The Chief never really was a guy for small talk.

I got my bag from my cubicle and made my way to the elevator. The trip down was uncomfortable and very noisy. There were officemates planning their night out and there was also the usual rant about the superiors. I hated noise like that. Thankfully, as I was about to get sick of it, the elevator reached the lobby. I hurriedly walked out and I was on my way home. The route home may be the same, but it was always longer. I realized it was because of the increase in the people riding the bus. There were also a lot more cars than there were before noon.

I got off the bus at AD District and walked for half an hour to my apartment. On the way, I caught a glimpse of Raed's and I saw only a few people in the cafe. I would've gone inside for a cup of coffee, but I figured that I would wait for tomorrow. I reached the building of my apartment and opened the gate. The apartment complex was five-storeys tall, relatively new, and there were 8 apartments for each floor. My apartment was on the fifth floor and I always rode the elevator going up. I reached the door of my unit '502' and unlocked it.

The familiar smell of home, soft leather, and linen greeted me as I went inside. The apartment was a studio sized room with the essential kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom/living room area. It was a small yet comfortable space for one person. Found on the left side from the entrance was the bathroom, on the other side was a mini closet room, and straight from the entrance was the bedroom/living room area on the right side with the kitchen right across it. I went inside the closet room and changed my clothes. I wore a soft white shirt and shorts, my usual sleeping attire.

I was getting hungry so I cooked up a small meal for myself at the kitchen. The days of living alone taught me how to be a good cook. It was in my college days when I started preparing food for myself. I started with instant noodles and the like, but then I got tired of it. So, I learned how to cook. Now, in my late 20's, I can say that I've learned and mastered a lot of dishes. Tonight's meal was my favorite Adobo along with a few cups of rice. I took my first bite and I tasted the rich flavor of the adobo along with the salty and sour taste of the sauce. I could've cooked it better, I thought.

After cleaning up, I looked at the clock and it was four hours before midnight. I sat on the couch and I reflected about my day. Today was the usual day of getting up early, getting coffee, and going to work. It was routine. My life has become routine since I landed my first job right after college six years ago. I graduated with a degree in Creative Writing and I had dreams of becoming a novelist. I wanted to write my own book, sell it, market it, and just be proud of it. Instead of doing that, I focused on my career and I got jobs in companies that needed writers for their marketing team. After three years of marketing jobs, I moved to writing greeting cards since the pay was surprisingly better. Even though I despised it, I did my best at work in order to earn more. I got a good income, a good career, and a few friends, but I wasn't happy.

I sighed and stood up to get some warm coffee. I took a sip and I felt the relaxing energy of it all. It was refreshing. I sat down again and thought about my dreams. Stagnation and routine. Those two words were the words I hated the most. In the past, I stood out from the rest since I wrote pieces that were always moving and outside of the box. Now, I am what I despised - inside the box and stagnant. It was in the past year that I realized this. Since then, I've been trying to get back to working on my dreams but the cycle was hard to break out of. It was when I talked to Kanna a few months ago when I realized I should change.

"Taki, you can't go live your life being miserable. You have your own passion. You're a master with words and you're writing greeting cards?" Kanna said as she looked at me straight in the eye. Her sharp eyes stared at me and I felt attacked.

"I-I don't know," I muttered.

We were in a cafe in BD District drinking coffee and reminiscing about the past. It had been half a year since I last saw her, my best friend. She still wore her black hair short and she still had that aggressive yet caring way of talking. It was our free day from work in a long time and after catching up on our lives, I opened up to her about my realizations.

"You can always write your feelings down and everything, but you can't express yourself when you need to talk?" She sighed. "Ok. I won't force you into telling me something you can't properly express. But do promise me this," she looked at me again straight in the eye. "The next time we meet I want you to show me something new! I know you, Taki. I believe in you."

I was taken aback by her strong belief in me. Kanna was a really strong-hearted person and she had this way of influencing others to believe in her. I didn't really believe in myself at that time, but I trusted her. It took a hard effort for me to get the words out of my mouth. "Ok. I promise."

"There you go!" she smiled. "Place this moment in your Keeper so you won't forget."

"I will," I said. I was very thankful for Kanna on that day.

I removed my Keeper, which was my watch, from my wrist and held it. I closed my eyes and I thought of the day when I promised to Kanna. I searched for the memory and there it was. I saw the image of Kanna of that day at the cafe forming inside my head. I felt the energy and feelings of that memory surge into my head and engulf me. I did as she told me and kept the memory in the Keeper. This was the function of the Keeper. It can store memories that I chose to keep and seal in it. It was very useful in remembering important moments like my promise to Kanna.

I held on tight to my Keeper and thought hard of the new promise that I had made with myself. The process of storing a new memory needed focus and concentration. I condensed everything I felt and thought about during that time into one single memory. There was a beeping sound from the Keeper that told the memory was saved.

I finished my cup of coffee and thought about tomorrow. Tomorrow would be different.

submitted by /u/quasaonk [link] [comments] via Blogger http://bit.ly/2v15fFD

[robertmcangusgroup]

The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland

Friday 14th April 2017

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. Drove to Malaga, yesterday lunch time to see my mother-in-law Livia de Figueroa.. Malaga is my favourite small city in Spain, it has everything, Modern Airport, Castle, Museums, Birthplace of Picasso, Old Churches, and buildings, Modern train station with access to all Europe via high speed trains and modern restaurants, even has a modern shipping port and great beaches with blue flags (Clean Water for Swimming) and a great shopping complex. We went out for lunch, fresh fish caught that morning, quality meats, and great service…lunch over we went back to Estepona and home and one last long walk for Bella…

BLACK WATCH CASTLE AND MUSEUM READY TO BUILD ON SUCCESS OF WEEPING WINDOWS DISPLAY…. Perth’s biggest tourist destination has unveiled ambitious expansion plans after attracting more than 120,000 people through hosting the popular Poppies: Weeping Windows sculpture. Proposals to create a wedding and conference venue at The Black Watch Castle and Museum have been submitted to Perth and Kinross Council – following on from the previous £3.5 million development at the site, which saw a café built and led to the museum providing a permanent home for archives on the history of The Black Watch. The main aim of the latest plan, which will increase floor space in the café, is to attract more visitors following the success of Poppies: Weeping Window display, which saw more than 121,500 people visit Perth to remember the country’s war dead. The Black Watch Castle and Museum was the only Scottish mainland venue to host the sculpture which marked the centenary of the First World War. The famous regiment lost nearly 9,000 men in the conflict with another 20,000 injured.

LAMBING: LEAPING INTO A NEW SEASON…. Lambing season is in full swing, with thousands of baby sheep being born across the UK. Gayle Ritchie lends a hand at a farm in Fife. The sight of newborn lambs gamboling in the countryside is a sure sign that spring has well and truly sprung. But how many of us understand the hard work that goes into this traditional picture of rural life? Hilltarvit Mains near Cupar, farmer Ian Whiteford is midway through lambing season and already, more than 400 new arrivals have been born. With 530 of his sheep due to give birth, scans predict 1,100 lambs will be born this year. Of the ewes, 116 are having triplets and four are having quadruplets… Along with son John, Ian has fourth year vet student Gemma Thomson, 21, and agriculture college student Erinn Bell, 19, on hand to help. His wife Margaret is also involved and today she’s taking on the essential role of preparing mid-morning tea and toast. After a quick breakfast, Ian and the girls get straight into action, helping a ewe give birth to a lamb which is in the breached position. “We try not to interfere if we can help it and only give assistance if it’s needed,” he explains. “If the birth is progressing normally, we allow nature to take its course.” She then lets mum take over, her strong maternal instinct kicking in as she immediately starts licking the newcomer, cleaning off the afterbirth. Within a couple of hours, the lamb is able to suckle and stand on its own two feet. While most lambs are healthy, there are always a few which don’t survive and those which need a bit of extra care and attention. There are also some mothers, usually first timers, who will reject their lambs. These little ones might be adopted by other mums or fed by bottle – meaning more work for Ian and the team.

CELEBRATE WORLD GIN DAY WITH A TASTE OF THE HEBRIDES…. Just in time for World Gin Day on June 10, Colonsay Beverages has produced a new premium gin infused with the flavours of the Inner Hebrides. Wild Island Botanic Gin features six Hebridean botanicals including lemon balm which gives it the perfect summer, citrus twist. Wild water mint, meadowsweet, sea buckthorn, heather flowers and bog myrtle are combined for a distinctive drink which stands out from the increasingly-crowded market, helped by a beautiful watercolour bottle label. Wild Island Botanic Gin is available from Drinkmonger.com and independent stockists.

ALL DUN — VICTORIAN RAIL RARITY BRIDGES LINK BETWEEN DUNBLANE AND ANGUS…. A rare Victorian footbridge from Dunblane Railway Station is being given a new lease of life in Angus. The installation at Bridge of Dun marked the culmination of four years of work to secure the future of the historic bridge. Finishing touches are still taking place to complete the bridge in time for Caledonian Railway’s Easter Eggspress service on Easter Sunday with an official opening planned for later in the year. Blair Winton from the railway said: “It certainly is a good news story and we’re grateful to Network Rail for their work. “It will be a great addition to our station which will be open on Easter Sunday.” Dating back to 1895, the bridge was erected by the original Caledonian Railway at Dunblane station and was the second footbridge on the site. The bridge survived in use at Dunblane, relatively unaltered, for over a century until the current Caledonian Railway – which operates a four-mile preserved railway from Brechin to Bridge of Dun – was approached by Network Rail in 2012. Network Rail was upgrading access at the listed Dunblane station and was keen to explore the possibility of moving the bridge to improve access at Dunblane. A site close to the location of the original footbridge at Bridge of Dun station was identified as suitable and, with the agreement of the appropriate planning authorities, work started.

HOLLYWOOD STAR GERARD BUTLER WHIPS UP A STORM AS HE FILMS ROLE AS ARBROATH LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER…. Hollywood A-lister Gerard Butler has started filming his role as an Arbroath lighthouse keeper for a new movie. Butler and a 60-strong crew have shaken up a quiet corner of Dumfries and Galloway where they have been shooting psychological thriller Keepers. The Paisley-born actor plays Arbroath lighthouse keeper James Ducat who was one of three men to vanish without a trace from the island of Eilean Mor in the Outer Hebrides in 1900. A spokesperson for Mull of Galloway Lighthouse said: “Gerard Butler fever is sweeping the Rhins of Galloway just now. “We were delighted to welcome Gerard Butler, Peter Mullen and Connor Swindells to the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse and Mull of Galloway Lighthouse Holiday Cottages.” Butler has been getting plenty of attention in Galloway where he surprised staff at the Gallie Craig coffee shop during a break in filming. Owner Angela Sloan said: “They were posing for photos with people and some of them bought cakes. “Gerard seemed like a really down to earth guy, very accommodating and happy to take photos with people too.” Butler sported a shaggy beard, a flat cap, cable-knit jumper and thick coat while filming his role as Arbroath lighthouse keeper Ducat who was a 43-year-old with more than 20 years’ experience in lighthouse keeping. He had arrived on the deserted island to man the lighthouse with Thomas
 Marshall and Donald McArthur. Just a few weeks into their stint, on December 15, a passing steamer on passage from Philadelphia to Leith noticed the light was not working, which it reported three days later when it docked in Oban. A relief vessel, the Hesperus, carrying supplies and a relief lighthouse keeper Joseph Moore, had been due to arrive on Eilean Mor on December 20 but had been delayed until Boxing Day due to rough seas and dangerous weather. Mr Moore rowed to shore and found the lighthouse in complete darkness. Inside the beds were unmade and the clock had stopped. A chair had been overturned and a pair of oilskins was still on its hook, indicating that one of the three men had gone outside without dressing for the wild winter weather. There was no sign of Ducat or the other men. In the days after the discovery of the abandoned lighthouse, the crew of the Hesperus made thorough searches of the island, hoping to find a clue. At one of the harbours they discovered considerable damage, with part of an iron rail wrenched out of the concrete and a rock estimated to weigh a ton dislodged. Turf on top of a 200ft cliff had been ripped away from the edge but there was no sign of any of the men. The lighthouse log was kept up to date until December 15. The final entry read: ‘Storm ended, sea calm. God is over all’.

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is of the Weeping Windows and the Black Watch Piper’s……

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Friday 14th April 2017 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in ….. Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus

[lumiolivier]

Chapter Sixteen:  Ohayo, Misa Misa

Word Count:  4036

Chapter No. 16/36

Notes:  It has been a hot ass minute since I posted a chapter.  And this is why.  The first week I put it off, (and you have to promise not to judge me!) Breath of the Wild had just come out and I’m kind of a big Legend of Zelda fan.  Why I put it off LAST WEEK was because of this.  I was still playing Breath of the Wild, but later that evening, I ended up getting drunk with my brothers and one of them’s girlfriend and my mom and played Cards Against Humanity.  I don’t regret it.  That was a fun night.  But now, it’s time to stop putting it off and I’ll let you read, ok?  If you’re still a little iffy on what happened last time, reread the last chapter.

Chapter Fifteen:  Yes, Mistress

My parents’ room?  I know their bed is massive, but when did I get here?  Even worse, why did I wake up alone?  I could’ve sworn Julian was here, too.  Yeah! We had that talk.  Slumber party proposal.  Sebastian cuddles.  What more could a spastic, little otaku girl like yours truly want?  Julian gave Paul his housekeys and Julian came home with me. If that was the case, where the hell was Julian?

 I rolled out of bed and the bright red numbers on the alarm clock nearly blinded me.  Nine in the morning.  Fantastic.  Just a little more sleep.  Was that too much?  Oh well. I’ll live, I guess.  I don’t even remember going to bed last night.  My head’s still fuzzy.  Although, I couldn’t forget last night for as long as I live. Now that I think about it, aren’t certain demon butlers supposed to be here to wake up their young mistress?  

 Instead of finding said demon, I found a note on the nightstand.  No post-its.  Normal paper. This looked like it came out of one of my good notebooks.  A light mint color.  Some silver border.  Yeah. This came out of one of my notebooks. He didn’t know, but Julian and I would be having words about that later.  My good notebooks usually came from Japan or Korea.  Those little bitches were expensive.  It costs to be kawaii.

 Good morning, beautiful

In the kitchen.  I got a surprise for you.

All my love,

Julian

 I think he likes me. I zipped my onesie up some more and stumbled out to the kitchen.  My god…Something smelled like Christmas morning.  The overwhelming cinnamon and nutmeg and fresh coffee.  Just like Christmas morning.  Like when my grandma would bake in excess like she was feeding the entire world.  Either way, I needed to find the source of it.  And I had a feeling deep in the pit of my heart that my boyfriend was the one.

 “Well,” Julian chimed, “Ohayo, cutie.  Sleep ok?”

 “Like a rock,” I rubbed my eyes, still not entirely sure if a Disney marketplace opened up in my kitchen or not, “Julian, what are you doing?”

 “Making breakfast,” he grabbed a pan of cinnamon rolls out of the oven, “If that’s alright with you.”

 “Super,” I jumped onto a barstool, “But you realize this is our day off.  You don’t need to be doing any of this.”

 “I want to, though,” he defended, “Let me do nice things for you!”

 “I’m not going to stop you,” I scanned around the kitchen for the sweet smell emanating from the coffee pot.  I might have had the best sleep I’ve had in years last night, but all the sleep in the world couldn’t take away the half dead feeling I seemed to always have, “By the way, when did we go to bed?”

 “You fell asleep in the middle of Dramatical Murder last night,” Julian filled in the gaps, “I carried you to bed and I just got up a couple hours ago.”

 “You do understand the concept of a day off, right?” I teased, nuzzling my face in his shoulder blades, “That whole sleeping in, sitting around in your underpants, not having to leave the house, video game and anime binges thing?  That’s a day off.”

 “If I remember correctly,” he reminded me, “You and I are taking pictures today.  I should probably make sure my house didn’t burn down last night. God only knows the shenanigans Paul got into.  He better not have touched my Miku-chan…”

 “I’m sure everything was fine,” I assumed, “I didn’t hear any sirens when I woke up.”

 “We can always call him, right?” Julian got his phone out of his hoody pocket and dialed Paul’s number. While he got back in the oven, his phone hummed from the speaker.

 “Morning, princess,” Paul chimed on the other end, “What can I do for you?”

 “Get the hookers out, Paul,” Julian told him, “There’s only room for one princess in my house and that’s me.”

 “Mother of God,” I rested my head on the island, “What did I get myself into?”

 “You knew,” he kissed my forehead, “You knew I wasn’t conventionally normal.  You knew what Paul and I have is special”

 “Yet, here we are,” I mumbled into the granite.

 “Good morning, Mimi!” Paul chirped.

 “Hi, Paul,” I mustered up as much enthusiasm as I could.  Where did I put my…?

 “Coffee?” Julian assumed.

 “Yes, please,” I sighed out. That’s why I don’t kill him.  

 “Would you like a handful of amphetamines in it, too?” he giggled.

 “If it’s not too much to ask for.”

 “Wow,” Paul worried, “Are you ok?”

 “She just woke up,” Julian answered for me.  And that’s the other reason I don’t kill him, “If you want, Paul, I’m making breakfast.”

 “Hell yeah!” he squealed, “I’m down.  Where are you?”

 “Mimi’s house,” Julian started drizzling the frosting on the cinnamon rolls the size of my head.  My god, it was mesmerizing, “It’s four blocks down, three houses in.  My car’s out front.  You can’t miss it.  That is ok with you, right, Mimi?”

 “Fine,” I allowed, getting off my barstool, “I’ll be back.”

 “Where you going?” he pulled me against his chest, “You just got here.”

 “Shower,” I submitted, reveling in his embrace, “I’m gross.”

 “You’re not gross,” Julian assured me, “You’re perfect.”

 “Oh, honey,” I chuckled a bit, “I’m far from perfect.  For now, I’m going to take a shower.”

 “Alright, baby,” he let me go, “Paul, call me if you have any problems finding the place.”

 “Ten-four!” Paul confirmed, “See you soon!”

 Click.

 “That asshole can never say goodbye, can he?” Julian ran his finger over his phone screen.

 “Apparently not,” I shook my head, running upstairs.  I really didn’t want to be Misa longer than I had to be.  So, instead, I decided to be something a little simpler and much more intelligent.  Had to be smart to be an alchemist.  Becoming Edward Elric was easy.  Black tank top.  Black jeans. Silver cuff bracelet to simulate his automail and a red cardigan for his coat?  Didn’t get much easier than that.  Except for maybe L, but L was also a simple creature.

 The hot water was sorely needed.  Nothing better than a good shower when one was still half asleep with zero coffee in her and had a big day ahead.  If I didn’t have plans with Julian today for our Death Note shoot, I would’ve gone back to sleep.  Oh no! He had to make my kitchen smell like the Pillsbury Doughboy and the Keebler elves had an orgy in there.  I couldn’t say no to that.

 I got out of the shower and ran a wet braid down my back.  I didn’t want my hair in my face and I could always straighten it later. I wasn’t out to impress anyone right now anyway.  Not yet. Not until Mimi had gone away from the late morning, early afternoon, and Misa Amane was slowly killing my brain cells. I didn’t have to like her, but I had to admit, girlfriend had a killer sense of style.  No pun intended.  When I got back to the kitchen, Paul had joined Julian at the island.

 And I knew Julian was a keeper when he handed me a massive cup of coffee, “Sorry.  We’re short on amphetamines and I don’t have a guy for that. I have a photography guy.  That’s it.”

 “This will do,” I assured.

 “And I’m trying to figure out who you are today,” Julian looked me over, “Could you give me a little hint?”

 “When’s my birthday?” I asked.

 “Don’t answer it, dude,” Paul warned, “It’s a trap.  Trust me. I’ve been down that route before.”

 “It’s not a trap,” Julian promised, seeing right through me, “Do you also have a girlfriend that’s not your girlfriend, but she’s only your mechanic.”

 “You know who I am,” I cuddled into his chest.

 “I’m confused,” Paul gave us what the fuck face, “What’s that got to do with anything?”

 “She’s a casual cosplayer,” Julian explained.

 “That’s right,” I squeaked, feeling much more awake, “My hint was asking him when my birthday was. My birthday is October third, a major date in the Fullmetal Alchemist universe.  Therefore, someone was smart and pieced it together that I was Edward Elric.”

 “I don’t get it,” Paul scratched his head.

 “Sorry, Mimi,” Julian apologized, “I may have neglected to mention that Paul isn’t exactly one of us. He’s not an otaku.  He just takes my pictures for me.  I don’t think he’s ever seen an anime in his life, have you, Paul?”

 “Not that I remember,” he thought it over.

 “Really, though?” I gasped, “You’re not our level of nerd?”

 “Nope,” Paul shook his head, “I’m a gamer, though, for what it’s worth.  Self-proclaimed sci-fi junkie.  Hopeless romantic.  Chocolate connoisseur.  Pisces.”

 “Settle down, sport,” Julian stopped him, “My girlfriend, not yours.”

 “So,” I got back on my barstool, “Last night.  You don’t understand the significance of what happened?”

 “Not a bit!” Paul smiled, “But last night wasn’t for me.”

 “I know that much,” I blushed, “Julian, can I ask you something?”

 “Sure, Mimi,” he allowed, “Shoot.”

 “What made you pick Sebastian?” I wondered, “Out of all the options I gave you, why did you go with a demon butler?”

 “It had been a while since I had been Sebastian,” Julian admitted, “I missed him.  And I could write the post-its better with J. Michael Tatum’s voice in my head instead of Travis Willingham.”

 “Mustang was your second choice?” I whined, “I like a man in uniform!  Why didn’t you go for him instead?”

 “When I was in your closet the other day,” he went on, “and I had Ciel’s dress in my hand, I wanted to know what you looked like in it.  I know I probably could’ve asked, just like this situation with your underwear, but this seemed like a better idea.”

 “I still have to hang that back up,” I remembered, “It’s in a pile on my bedroom floor.  I also have a fan fiction to finish and post sometime this week.  My fans are going to be pissed.  Finicky bunch.”

 “I’m sure they’d understand,” Julian comforted, “You had other things to do.  You had work from Monday to Saturday.  You had a photoshoot on Sunday.  Your boyfriend took you out Saturday night.  You’re a busy girl.  How much do you have left for it?”

 “I don’t know,” I shrugged, “It could be another couple paragraphs or I could end up having to turn it into a miniseries.  Wouldn’t be the first time I did that.  I have a hard time writing one-shots anymore.”

 “I’ve never written fan fiction before,” he kissed my cheek, “If it makes you feel any better.  Maybe we should write one together.”

 “No,” I shook my head, “I love you, Julian, but I work alone.  I tried writing with someone once and I couldn’t do it.  I’m too much of a control freak.”

 “Well,” he mulled it over, “Since I’m so inexperienced, maybe you being a control freak would be a good thing.”

 “No,” I put my foot down, “I refuse to come out of this hating you.  I’m very set in my ways.  I have my system.  I wouldn’t get in the way of that if I were you.”

 “Speaking of getting in the way,” Paul chimed in, “When did you want to do this shoot?”

 “I have to go get my Light,” Julian spun me around, “And you, young lady, need to go become Misa Misa.”

 “Why can’t you be Misa Misa?” I pouted, “We could do a genderbend.”

 “Do you have a genderbend for Light?” he asked.

 “No…”

 “That’s why you have to be Misa,” Julian grinned, poking my nose, “I’ll be right back.  And you know you’ll have to do it again.”

 “Don’t make me do it,” I begged, “If you love me even a little bit, you won’t make me do it.”

 “I don’t love you a little bit,” he clarified, “I love you a lot of bit.  And you’re doing the thing.”

 I held back any gagging, “I don’t want to.”

 “For me?” Julian batted his eyelashes.

 “I hate you,” I growled, “If I had a Death Note…”

 “I love you, too,” he beamed, “Paul, you’re coming with me.  You don’t need to be left alone with her when she’s naked and you have your camera. I know how weird you are.”

 “I wouldn’t be taking naked shots of her!” Paul promised, “I have a little bit of decency, you know. I’d only do that if she asked me. Or if you asked me with her consent.”

 “Thank you!” I squeaked, keeping that in mind.  I never wanted to do naked pictures, but maybe some suggestive shots wouldn’t be a half bad idea for a certain someone down the road.

 “We’ll be back,” Julian grabbed Paul and dragged him out of my house.  Meanwhile, I had to do something I knew I was going to love and loathe at the same time.  My IQ was about to drop at least thirty points.  

 Once Julian and Paul left, I dug through my closet, looking for my Misa Amane cosplay.  And there she was, hanging between my genderbend Ryuk and my Winry Rockbell.  I didn’t want to be Misa.  I’d rather be L and do a yaoi cosplay.  Hell, Julian and I could even be handcuffed like L and Light were.  I had those handcuffs.  But alas.  I was going to be Misa.  I could do it.  I could handle it.  I’d be fine.

 I pulled my hair out of my braid and started getting redressed.  I could’ve picked anything for Misa.  She was a model/actress.  I could’ve been that weird angel thing she was in one episode, but instead, I went with her usual stock goth Lolita.  Besides, I can pull off a leather jacket like nobody’s business.  And I could stand to feel badass from time to time.  

 Alright.  Now that I had her outfit down, I needed to get my hair and makeup right.  I grabbed my tablet and pulled up a reference picture.  Every other cosplayer did the same thing.  Maybe I could just mix some of the looks together.  Misa was a simple creature.  Pale, porcelain skin (which I had in spades).  Big, false eyelashes.  Blood red lips.  Excessive eyeliner.  And I couldn’t be completely Misa without her tiny pigtails.  

 I gave myself one last glance over in the mirror.  Damn, I hated admitting this, but I made a hell of a Misa.  Leather and black lace suited me.  I looked just like her the first time she met Light.  All I was missing was my own Death Note.  That was on the top shelf of my closet.  I looked super cute!  This was a good idea!  And Death Note was what brought Julian and me together in a way.  If I wouldn’t have quoted Kira, Julian never would’ve known about this.  And I wouldn’t know he was the same.

 After a quick spin, I started heading toward Julian’s house.  I’ve only done this once.  Even then, I had no idea what I was doing.  I still had no idea what we were doing.  I’ve never done a photoshoot before.  Even taking selfies made me squirm.  How the hell was I going to manage a semiprofessional photoshoot? Just don’t think of it that way. Something tells me Paul isn’t exactly professional.  He night have been, but I doubt this will be a formal feeling shoot.  Last night wasn’t.  Why should today be any different?

 “Julian!” I called from his front door, “Are you ready yet?”

 “Just about!” he yelled from his bathroom, “Paul had to run back up to Kansas City.  He wanted to grab more lenses.  He should be back soon.”

 “Ok,” I jumped up on the counter, “That’s fine.  I can wait.”

 “Wow,” Julian giggled, “Awfully patient for being Misa Misa.

“If you call me Misa Misa one more time today,” I threatened, “I will write your name in my Death Note.”

 “Misa Misa’s bitter,” he teased, “I like it.”

 “I hate you,” I chuckled a bit to myself.

 “I’ve heard otherwise,” Julian pointed out, “Hey, Mimi, could you do me one little favor?”

 “What?” I had a feeling I already knew where this was going, “Don’t tell me.  You want me to go full Misa, don’t you?”

 “Please?” he begged.

 “No, Julian.”

 “I went full Sebastian for you!” he reminded, “I watched anime porn with you!”

 “Dramatical Murder doesn’t get porny in the anime!” I retaliated, “Now, if we were playing through the game, that’d be a different story.  That shows actual pixelated dingle dongle.”

 “But…”

 “It’s bad enough I’m practically her doppelganger,” I cringed, “I’m not going full Misa.”

 “Please…?”

 “No!”

 “Fine,” he whined, coming out of the bathroom, “Well?  Good? Yeah?”

 “Good enough for me,” I got up.  Hot damn, he was a good Light, “What about me?”

 “Like Bonnie and Clyde, baby,” Julian gave me a kiss, “But, you know…If Clyde had suppressed feelings for the detective trying to take him down and used Bonnie to kill a whole lot of people.”

 “Just like Bonnie and Clyde,” I took his hands, “You really could pass for Light, though.”

 “Better than the Netflix casting?”

 I glared a hole through the place where his soul should be, “We don’t talk about the Netflix casting for Death Note.  That’s a sensitive area for me.”

 “I hear you there,” Julian agreed, sharing my disdain, “Now…All I want is to enjoy a long life with you in an ideal world.  That’s just how I feel.”

 “What?” This sounded familiar…

 “Let’s create a new world together,” Julian smirked, “It’ll be a place with no crime.  Where only kind people live, ok?”

 Wat a second…This was the conversation Light and Misa had after Light regained his memories.  I knew what this asshole was trying to do. And as much as I was going to hate myself for it, I was going to indulge him.  If I got into character, I’m sure it’d show up on film, right?  If that was the way I had to justify it in my head, then so be it.”

 “Light…” I spoke softly in Misa’s sandpaper enema voice, “I’m so happy…”

 “That’s my girl,” Julian pulled me tight against his chest, “You think I could get a little more Misa out of you before the end of the day?”

 “Pushing it, Julian,” I snapped back to being me, “But I’ll think about it.”

 “Yay!”

 “Honey!” Paul came in with his bag on his shoulder, “I’m home.”

 “How was your day, sweetheart?” Julian asked, sounding like a fifties housewife.  This was my life.  Caught between my boyfriend and his photographer.

 “Never better!” he sang, “The stocks are up, the crime rate is down.  All in all, can’t complain.”

 “You two are weird,” I opened Julian’s fridge in search of a bottle of water.

 “You’re not truly best friends until people start questioning your sexuality,” Julian shot Paul a quick wink, “But you know who I come home to at the end of the day.”

 “Excuse me?” I turned it around, “I’ve been coming home to you at the end of the day.”

 “True,” he nodded, “But you understand what I’m trying to say.”

 Then, Paul let out a high-pitched wolf whistle.  Assuming it’s for me, “Looking good, Mimi…Julian, you are a very lucky man.”

 “Avert your eyes,” I demanded, “It’s only for today.  Then, Misa goes back in the closet, never to be let out again.”

 “Hey,” Julian wrapped his arms around me, “What if I want you to be Misa again?  Like…Sometime in the near future?”

 “Then, I’ll half assed consider it,” I assured, “Until then, we forget this ever happened.”

 “These might be the prints that put you on the map,” he figured, “There’s no forgetting that.”

 “Hold on,” I stopped him, “What do you mean, put me on the map?”

 “I told you I was getting back in the game,” Julian explained, “I’m going to drop your name in the description box.  You and me, remember?  This is a partnership.  We’re going to be that cosplaying power couple and this could be the photoset that gets people to look at you.”

 “Um,” I winced, “You didn’t think to run this plan past me first?  See if I was ok with being more internet famous than I already am?  For the world to see my face in the cosplay community?”

 “It’s not like anyone from around here would be looking at cosplay sites,” he assured, “You’ll be fine.  But baby, you’re so much more than the weird girl with the Japan obsession.  You’re the second Kira.  You’re the Queen’s guard dog.  For our con debut, you’re the most badass lieutenant and the greatest sharpshooter in Amestrian history.  Who cares what everyone else thinks?”

 “I do!” my heart started racing, “I don’t know if I’m ready for that kind of thing, Julian.”

 “You know what?” he comforted me, “If they do judge you for what you love, fuck them!  you’re better than that.  It’s not their life to live.  It’s yours.  If you don’t want to do it, that’s fine.  I won’t force you.  I’ll do this myself.  But I won’t post anything from last night or today without your permission first.  We good?”

 “Of course we’re good,” I rested my head on his chest, “It’s just…”

 “I know,” he cradled me, “It’s a lot to take in.  I’m sorry for dropping this all on you at once.  I should’ve eased you into this.”

 “Maybe,” I compromised, “We could release the ones from last night first.  I look less like me when I’m Ciel than when I’m Misa.  Depending on the reactions, we’ll see if I go on from there.”

 “Alright,” Julian agreed, “I can do that.  Are we still doing conventions together?”

 “Oh, hell yeah,” I scoffed, “I’ve made peace with that long ago.  I can’t wait for our first stop!”

 “That’s my girl,” he beamed, “You ready to do this shoot then?”

 “Let’s do it!” I hyped myself back up for it.  

 However, Julian dropping that kind of bomb on me was a bit much.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do this on a grander scale, but me? Professionally cosplaying?  My parents thought I had given up my otaku life. They wrote it off as a phase. What if they ended up finding my pictures online?  Not only would that out me, but Julian, too.  They don’t even know we’re dating!  I mean, Mom has speculated it, but aside from that, they’re clueless.

 Even more disturbing, what if Griffin saw my pictures?  Being Misa was just the beginning.  I had some cosplays that rendered me half naked.  Granted, I didn’t have much chub.  Some, but not much.  And I carried most of my weight in my thighs and my boobs!  I didn’t want him seeing me like that.  God only knows what those pictures would be used for.

 Then again, Julian did have a point.  If they couldn’t accept me, they didn’t deserve me.  Dressing up like a cartoon was something I loved to do.  I loved seeing my favorite characters come to life. More importantly, I loved being my favorite characters!  Even though I shit on her and she’s considered as one of the most useless anime characters to ever exist, I had a soft spot for Misa Amane. As dumb and ditzy as she is, she’s hopelessly in love with Light and willing to do anything to support him.  I can’t fault her for that.  Even though, her way of showing her love and affection is killing people in the name of Kira’s crusade to make a better world.

 Maybe I could do this. Maybe professional cosplaying was in the cards for me.  And Julian did make a mention of doing cosplay crack.  I could actually put my fan fiction to good use!  And if we start posting that online, we’d get ad revenue from that, too.  It sounds completely batshit insane, but maybe, just maybe…This could work.