#I was busy today. I went to the zoo and saw animals

[lulu-draws-stuff]

I don't have a cool quote for this one, I just wanted to draw these guys

Dhmis week day 3: love/family

@transgenderduckguy

[sunnyie-eve]

29 | Zoo

Series: Unexpected

Paring: (Matt Sturniolo x OFC Brock!) (Chris Sturniolo x OFC Brock!)

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: none

| MASTERLIST |

"Today we are doing something we've never done before." Nick starts.

"Something a little different." Chris adds.

"Something a little extra. A little pizzazz and flare." Nick adds more.

"Basically this video, me, Matt, and Nick splurged and spent a good amount of money." Chris explains making Nick hate the word choice, "And bought out the entire Roar and Snore Safari at the San Diego Zoo today."

"I have hidden cheez-its in here so I hope they don't find it." Chris shows his bag/

"Are we surprised though?" Dani laughs at him as he points of the fruity pebbles too.

"Dinner's like at ten and they serve till like 5 am." Nick tells the viewers.

"Like, we're not 80 years old." Chris adds.

"Hey, sometimes I get late night munchies." Dani tells them since she didn't find it odd.

"You catch me at 4 am in the elephant habitat." Chris jokes around.

"With a flashlight on." Nick jokes as well.

"With a flashlight on and fruity pebbles. Isn't it crazy like Elephants really like in the wild, they don't know what a flashlight is." Chris tells the group.

Dani looks over to him with a concerning look, "Chris, I love you but don't speak your thoughts."

"You shine a flashlight at it it's probably like what the heck." He laughs.

"I think that's with all animals." Matt says following the group.

"I'm so afraid actually..." Nick says as they walk to the Zip-line.

"Memo and Dani are going first." Chris lets viewers know, "We've never formally introduced Memo. He's just filming for us."

"Have fun guys." Nick shouts to the two.

"I hate heights but whatever." Dani looks over to them.

"She really does." Chris confirms.

"You talking shit over there?"

"She's such a pain." Chris mumbles.

"Chris, I can literally hear you over there still." She laughs at him.

"Sorry,"

After the zip line the group gets confused on which way they were supposed to go to get to their guide, "Ah it's so cold." Chris shakes, "This is the left." He points for the group.

"That the... this is the right." Nick tells him and the two start to debate which is the right way to go while Dani stood still with her arms crossed at them.

"You're going the wrong way." She speaks up to tell Chris.

"It's to the left, am I losing my mind?" He looks around so him and the other two walk off while Dani stayed behind before going in the right direction alone finding their guide.

"I think we should listen to Dani." Matt says slowing down as the three walk together.

"Then go back to her." Chris tells him.

"I think she was right about the other way."

"We did leave her alone back there." Nick tells the two then look at Memo recording them.

"I gotta use the restroom." Matt finds one leave the two so as they wait for him they talk about Dani.

"I bet she went to the camp alone." Nick tells Chris.

"But this the left so she's wrong."

"Dude, she's a girl so she's smarter than us three combined." Nick laughs.

"Don't give her too much credit."

Once Matt was done they walk back in the direction they just came from and saw Dani was no longer there, "Dani literally left us because we went the wrong way." Matt couldn't believe it.

"Because she went left unlike us." Nick points out.

Chris rolls his eyes, "We went left, you can't tell me I was wrong. I don't know how she somehow got it right." He says refusing to admit he went the wrong way.

"Because she went left!" Nick raises his voice a bit.

"If we were lost in the wild, we would get lost more and die." Matt points out to the two.

"And she would live." Chris agrees seeing where Matt was going. "I can't believe she didn't come get us before wondering off."

"For one, we wondered off first lost and confused." Nick corrects him.

"It's not wondering if she saw us walk away from her." Chris snaps back while Matt was busy trying to figure out what tents were around them.

"This tent, this tent according to my map... Is tent number..."

"Oh, Joseph and Dani!" Chris spots the two in the distance, "She's with our guide." He and Nick jog off ahead of Matt.

"That was tent 38 by the way." He still finishes.

When they get to Dani and their guide, Joseph, he talked to them a bit before asking if they have any questions and they tell him no.

"It has a step for Dani." Chris jokes about the telescope pointing it out.

She just gives him a look before going over to the other free one to look through it, "Nothing." She left go of it not knowing Chris had his hand in the way getting it crushed.

"Oh my god are you serious? You just let go and hurt my hand." He holds it with his other hand as Matt laughs at him.

"Don't put your hand there. Why would you, dummy." She tells him before reaching for his hand to look at it, "Doesn't even look hurt you big baby. Sorry but next time watch out."

-

"How tall is a baby giraffe?" Chris asks their guide as the come by them, "Like how tall is Elliot?"

"So at birth how tall would you guess?" Joseph asks the group and they all say their guesses and only Dani was close and right.

"Meanwhile Dani is the size of a baby monkey." Chris jokes looking back at his brothers while Dani stares at him sitting next to him.

"She's gonna punch you. Look at her face right now." Nick sees the death glare across her face so Chris looks at her sticking his tongue out at her shaking his head making her giggle.

"You're such a pain."

-

"Can I run to the bathroom quickly?" Nick asks as the head to dinner so they point it out where it is for him and Matt goes with him while Chris and Dani get their food.

"I feel odd." Dani laughs as she gets her food.

"Because it's just us here really."

When the other two join them to eat, Dani kind of just sits in silence while they all chat. She was just enjoying the food and the night.

"I can't believe... I'm super respectful that the lions are over there. But like, I can picture... other teens." Nick starts as they stand in their tent.

"Throwing rocks at them."

"Shining the flashlights at them." Nick  adds more.

"We're fully unsupervised and there's an African Elephant right there. Like we could do just about anything right now." Chris points out.

"I've never had this much easy access to an African Elephant ever before in my life." Nick says making Dani laughs at him.

"Of course you wouldn't in the past. Why would you?" She laughs more so Matt covers her mouth.

"They're right there." Nick points in the direction outside of the tent.

"I could probably hit them with this cup. I'm not gonna but I definitely could." Chris looks at his cup in his hand.

"It's just crazy that we're here and have Dani with us." Nick gives her a smile and the other two cheer.

While they look at the tigers and Joseph talks about them, Matt looks at Dani and leans towards her, " You radiate baby Tiger." He laughs.

"I hate you so much." She shoves him away, "How do I?"

"Small and thinks they're all that but they aren't yet till they're grown." He shoves her now.

"I'm gonna get you in your sleep one day." She glares at him.

-

"I think of Perry the Platypus from umm," Chris starts and the guys knew what he meant so they agree.

"Ooh look Matt!" Dani calls him over moving her hand to tell him to hurry up. They watch two lay next to each other compared with to all the others staying away from each other.

"Normally the males and females avoid each other except to mate. Those two are oddly don't follow that that and it's our first time seeing such a thing. As soon as we brought her in a couple of months ago he has been by her side. They are the closest two in there. Not even the siblings we have are close." Joseph explains to the group.

"So the platypus version of you two?" Chris laughs looking at the two.

"Shut up." They both tell him at the same time.

-

Before bed, they all have some s'mores, enjoying the night before getting ready for bed. Dani felt weird in the bathroom alone since the boys were all together in their bathroom. Not sure wanting to be alone for too long she hurry's then goes back to the tent.

For bed, Dani slept in the middle between Nick and Matt. It was the most comfortable she's even been since they were all squished.

"Good morning world. Good morning friends. We're gonna get ready for today." Nick holds the camera as they wake up for the day.

"We just got a wake up call at the zoo." Chris adds out of view.

"Literally, we woke up and she's like Good Morning. Sounds like me starting a podcast." Nick mocks the lady.

"Matt move over." Dani whines wanting to get out of the bed having trouble breathing a bit.

"Don't unzip it, I need to change my underwear." Matt tells Chris as he messes with the tent's window.

"I'll zip it back up."

"I want out of the bed but I'm stuck!" Dani gets annoyed and panicking deep down.

"Get out of her way Matt." Chris tells him.

"Yeah, we were sardines last night." Nick explains for the viewers, "This is a 4 person tent so Dani slept in the middle between Matt and I. Why did we think three 20 year old's would fit in a full size bed?"

Dani finally gets out of the bedroom going to the bathroom seeing a her neck and chest were in a rash. She knew she hadn't had any food with or near pineapple so she looks around the bathroom. Her eyes come across on of the bars of soap and it was Pineapple.

"Son of a bitch." She tries not to over react.

"Dani, you okay? You've been in there for a while." She hears Nick after some time.

She comes out scratching her neck to hide the rash from him, "I'm not feel good. I'm having an allergic reaction to something. I have a little rash and can't breathe so I'm just gonna stay in the tent." She lets him know.

"You don't want to join us for breakfast?"

"I'm good. Y'all continue with your day." She leaves him.

"Dani isn't feeling well this morning." Nick joins the boys at breakfast, "She said something is irritating her. She can't breathe and has a rash. She thinks it's an allergic reaction to something."

"Is it serious?" Matt asks worried.

"She said it's nothing serious."

As the guys continue with their visit, Dani starts to get worse so she tells someone. They were gonna take her to a hospital nearby but she told them not to tell the boys because they would worry. That if they were to ask says it was nothing too serious and they could go pick her up when they were done with the trip.

[pbandjesse]

It's our anniversary! I can't believe it's been two years since we got married. That's so cool. We have done so much!! And I love James so much so I also just feel so lucky to have this time with them. And now we're going to have a bebe?? Incredible.

Today was a pretty good day and I was mostly able to hold it together and enjoy it. I got home last night and after showering and putting my card and little gift for James together on the kitchen island, even put some flowers in a vase for them, I went to sleep. It wasn't the best sleep. I feel my stomach when I turn from side to side and I just kept waking up. It was not an amazing sleep.

I woke up right before 8. James was out biking but out come home soon. They got cleaned up and I would after them. They made us breakfast sandwiches and I came downstairs and we exchanged our anniversary things. They were very impressed with my card, which was an incident report from work, and I gave them these beautiful abalone inlay stickers for their guitar. I got them a hummingbird and some flowers and stars. James had a big bag for me. With two more bags inside. And inside that was an absolutely beautiful green leather purse from Portland leather. It's a round tote and it smells so nice. I am super excited about it. It was such a thoughtful gift. And matches my green leather phone case. Amazing. I didn't use the bag today because I didn't want a shoulder bag at the zoo but I will for sure be using it tomorrow.

After our sandwiches were ready we started our drive down to DC. It was about an hour. And I brought some knitting and was determined to finished one square even though my hands were already swelling. I would barely make it an hour into the zoo before I had to take all of my rings off. It was not very comfortable at all.

But the zoo was so fun. James prepaid for parking and we would not have a very long walk. It was a busy day because it's a holiday. But we did a pretty good job keeping our distance and getting to see everything we wanted to see.

I thought the pandas were back already but they are not quite here yet. But that's okay. Because I got to see animals I've never seen before, or never seen in person. James loved the Pallas cat and the bobcat. And I absolutely fell in love with the binturong. I have never seen this animal before. They were about the size of a German shepherd and had thick tails. The two they had were yelling at eachother but I was just. Enthralled with them. It was great.

We also saw the sea lion feeding. I loved that it's name was Nick. And he was afraid of the pelican naked Eugene. Nick was 17 and was a very good boy getting his eye drops.

We got to see a beaver and the otters. And we went in the Amazon house. Which was entirely to hot but I loved seeing the creatures. We took a picture at the same tree we took it at when we went there after our wedding. It was very sweet.

We decided to have lunch at the zoo. My energy was flagging a bit. But I was trying hard to not complain to much. My hands were really bothering me but thankfully my choice of boots was 100% the right choice because even though my feet hurt they actually felt fine all day in the boots.

We got to lunch at 11:53. Which apparently was the best decision because there was no line, and then once we had our food it was a alone out the door. Lucky us. We sat inside because I couldn't find any outside table. And we talked about the pregnancy and how James is going to structure work. They also said that they probably would have felt left out today if we weren't already pregnant because everyone had kids today. We also agreed that having four children is entirely to many based on what we saw today. Also that James hates strollers. But wagons aren't much better.

Though I think it would be nice for James to pull me and baby in a wagon.

After lunch we would get to see the small mammals. Which I loved. The slow loris was probably my second favorite thing after the binturong, and only barely squeaked ahead of the screaming armadillo and the sand cat. We just got to see so many good animals today. It was honestly lovely.

We did not make it in the reptile house because there was a line. We were not feeling waiting in lines today. But we got to see a lot of amazing things and even though I wasn't feeling amazing I was still really happy and having fun with James.

We didn't get to see the prairie dogs, for some reason they weren't out. And the buffalo were not on property. We think they are doing construction. So we were slightly bummed about that but everything else was wonderful. And the weather was great.

We had started with jackets but I took mine off pretty fast. I got stopped by a woman at one point who complimented my dress and when we ran into her later she was like. Omg pumpkin girl! It was so cute.

I let James know that I thought I was at the end of my energy. Like I wasn't falling apart yet but I knew I would soon. We would make a pitstop at the gift shop and James got me a plushie magnet. I used to have one of these when I was a kid. I can't remember what the animal was but I for sure remember it. Andy new lemer is so cute.

James took my picture and laughed at me for my face. We were just laughing and having a great day. I love them so much.

The drive home was fine. But I started feeling horrible and had to lay my seat back so I could lay down and I absolutely fell asleep. Apparently my "sleepy breathing" (according to James) made them wildly sleepy to and so they drank all my soda. But they got us home in one piece. We stopped for gas and I was still home and changed into jammies and in bed by 3.

I didn't fall asleep until closer to 4. James came and laid with me for a bit. But I would fall asleep and I got overheated and woke up sweaty and my hands and wrists hurt and I wasn't having a great time. I drank some water and tried to feel better.

James made me spaghetti for dinner. And after dinner I took a bath. And eventually came downstairs to lay on the couch with James and watched TikToks. Sweetp was lounging with us and it was so nice. I was still not feeling amazing but emotionally I was just really happy.

We are in bed now. And I am ready to sleep again. I have a field trip tomorrow but I am hoping for a really good day. I hope you are all feeling love tonight. Sleep well everyone. Good night!!

[agereninjas]

Little kai and cg zane went to to zoo

Zane smiled as he saw Kai look around the zoo with awe in his eyes. Today wasn't a busy day, both at the zoo and at home, so Zane decided to take Kai out while he regressed. They both were in civilian attire and Zane was disguised as a human as not to attract much attention. Kai held onto Zane’s hand as they walked.

"Which animal do you want to see first?" Zane asked. Kai looked around, then saw a sign that caught his eye. A sign that pointed to the red panda exhibit. He gasped and dragged Zane over that way, smiling happily. "Red pandas! Red pandas!" He excitedly said while Zane made sure not to loose Kai. He followed until Kai stopped, watching as the red pandas played and ate their food and napped and everything! It was all so exciting to him!

"Are red pandas your favorite animal?" Zane asked, wondering if he should make a mental note of that or not. "Yuh-huh! My favorite animals in the world!" Kai said as he watched as one red panda cautiously approached the glass wall. Kai stayed as unmoving as a brick wall as the little creature sniffed the glass as if it was trying to smell Kai. It then walked away and Kai looked up at Zane happily.

"Papa! It walked to me, papa!" He told Zane, shaking his arm to show how happy he was. Zane chucked and patted Kai's head. "Yes, I saw, little one! It must like you a lot!" He sweetly said, watching as Kai squealed from excitement.

"How about we go to the reptile exhibit next?" Zane proposed, and once Kai agreed, he led him with a smile on his face.

---

The day flew by, and going from exhibit to exhibit soon turned into walking out of the gift shop. Kai held a red panda cub plushie in his arms while Zane had gotten a matching adult one.

Kai was in Zane’s arms, murmuring to his plushie as Zane carried him to his vehicle. He set Kai in a seat and watched as the sleepy boy tried to buckle his seat belt by himself. He chuckled and helped him, then got in the driver's seat.

"Are you going to take a nap, little one?" Zane asked, looking through the mirror to where Kai was sitting. Kai, his eyes half-open, nodded. Zane started the vehicle and slowly drove out of the parking lot, watching as Kai drifted to sleep in the backseat. "Goodnight, my little sun." He softly crooned, watching as Kai feel asleep with a smile on his face.

[mama-pigtails]

mama!! (i follow from my side blog @1-800-sun-love i hope that's ok!) i went to the zoo today!! i saw SHARKSS!!! an an an they got this thing where you can colour in a pictur an put it on a screen to like swim aroun an stuffs was so cool!! lookie at wha i coloured!!

an what it look like on da screen! oh and there was a mama leopard nursin her baby! an one of da sea otters put his paw up on da glass against my hand!!

and dey got a BLUE lobster!! an a baby gorilla, they so tiny!!!

Hi, angel! Yes, following from a different blog is a-okay!

You had a busy day, it sounds like! I’ve always wanted to make my own fish like that, I saw it on tiktok once!

A blue lobster??? I didn’t even know there were blue lobsters! That’s so cool!

I hope you had a lot of fun, it sounds like you saw a lot of animals! What’s your favorite animal at the zoo? I like to see the monkeys - that baby gorilla is so cute! Thank you for showing me pictures!

[joshuasearing]

Monday 4th November 2024

So sorry that I have not wrote in here for a week was very busy on holiday enjoying myself as much as I can, so instead of tiring myself out I’m going to do a summary of my past week. So on one of the days in Tenerife, we went to this zoo/wildlife and sea life centre. We watched 2 orca whale shows one of them we was really close so we got soaked and the second one we sat higher up as we didn’t want to get wet again, then we also watched one dolphin show. We also when there saw loads of different animals, like fish, penguins, parrots, gorillas, tigers, lions and much more.

Then on another one of the days we did swimming which was good, then on another day we also went to there main city and visited there which was nice. I also bough some nice blue dunk lows in jd in the city. Then the morning we left before leaving we went to the beach front vet early in the morning and watched the sunrise above the mountain. This was beautiful and was at about 8ish but we were up very fucking early. Anyways since being back from holiday I had one day off I slept most of it then went gym. Then today’s I went to work started at 5am and finished at 12 midday. After this I went to the gym with Morgan I did some shoulders whilst I waited for him, then we did some chest together and finished of with some pad work to help me get better at kickboxing like I want to. Then for the rest of the afternoon I have spent finishing the rest of the peaky blinders and now I have watched it all. Since then I have got ready for bed and had a bath and posted some tiktoks.

Now I am going to post a load of photos from the past week! :)

[cadenceventures]

May 14 - Ueno and Akihabara

Today we visited parts of Ueno and Akihabara. I had no idea Ueno was so close to us and the visit definitely made me wish I had gone sooner. There were a bunch of vendors selling antique and vintage goods, a temple, a zoo, and more. And that's just in Ueno Park. The temple was pretty, and had some nice smelling incense outside to waft which I enjoyed. We walked over to the Tokyo National Museum and were asked to find a work that spoke to us. We wandered for a while, then got lunch on a busy street of Ueno. It was one of the best meals I've had so far in Tokyo.

When we went to Akihabara, I was already somewhat familiar with the area, but was excited to have some extra time to explore. We ended up skipping the store professor Smith suggested (I wasn't in the mood for pornography at 1 in the afternoon) and walked over to a maid cafe I had been suggesting. We were eventually all seated and got to have a very strange but unique experience. I had no clue just how animated the maids were. It was really funny to all of us, and I ended up paying for a polaroid with my favorite.

Academic Reflection

Of the readings last night, the one that was ecspecially interesting to me was the one on Otakus. As a psychology major, it was interesting hearing a scholar's perspective on the mind of an Otaku, something that is usually thought of in America as a "cringe" label. From what I got from the reading, Otakus need to create a reality where they are involved with the characters on a deeper level than others who casually enjoy a popular piece of media. They can do this through fan art or fan fiction in many cases. We saw this in Akihabara through the stores we walked by. They can also do this through cosplay, which is common in the area as well. Even the existence of maid cafes are a clear indicator that the Otakus are there, giving their money in exchange for immersion into their fantasy.

At the Tokyo National Museum, we were asked to find a piece that really spoke to us. While it may be a silly one, I knew that the piece I chose would have to be "Beauty with a Cat" as soon as I saw it. I've been missing my cat more and more lately, and it reminded me of him. I thought it was really interesting how timeless some things are, and how there are some things that span cultures. In this case, it's love for a pet. Needless to say, I was a little more homesick after giving that more thought.

[stusalgus]

Chicago

4 April

Helen dropped us at the airport. Thanks Helen!

Our original plan was to fly Auckland to Chicago on Air NZ, which would have been delightful. Almost non-stop! Sadly, Air NZ cancelled its Chicago route four weeks before our flight dates, and we had to fly Auckland to Houston and Houston to Chicago. The flight to Houston (~13 hours) was relatively tolerable, but the slog through TSA (Transportation Safety Authority) took a lot out of us. On our United Airlines flight (~2.4 hours) to Chicago, first the captain was late, then we arrived late, which meant we were banished to what seemed to be the furthest most arrival gate at the airport.

After quarter of an hour trying to buy a train pass (only for the nice ticket man to take pity on us and wave us through), we were about an hour on the train from O'Hare airport to the centre of Chicago, which felt like an aeon. With the jetlag, we were befuddled by a residual sense of NZ time (it should have been mid afternoon) vs our exhaustion, vs local Chicago time (getting on for 10PM). It was also approximately 0 degrees (in mid Spring? What is this place, Siberia?), which was a bit hard to take.

But you know, that's travel. Our hotel, is called Stay Pineapple (an Iconic (TM) hotel, apparently), is an old-fashioned Chicago building, right in the middle of the downtime city. Now it's time to sleep.

5 April

The beds at the Pineapple were magnificent. So soft… my only complaint is that sleep comes so quickly it's impossible to properly enjoy them.

Our first item of business was to visit the Wildberry waffle house not far from the shore of Lake Michigan. On the way there we saw the world-famous Bean, a giant mirror-coated sculpture that enables tourists to photograph themselves on its surface. It was closed for renovation, which Sally chose to take personally.

At the Wildberry we went ape. I ordered the French Toast, Sally the strawberry chocolate Belgian waffles, and Angus the Oreo pancakes. Angus' pancakes were garnished with so much Oreo and white chocolate chip shrapnel that it turned out to be the most formidable meal. The food was tasty but the quantity of it made the consumption a bit heavy going.

After breakfast we caught a bus up to Lincoln Zoo. The zoo looked quite small from the oustide, but had plenty of inmates. Angus' highlight was probably the squirrels outside the zoo, but he did like the Madagascar hissing cockroaches inside it too. Sally was definitely not a fan of the cockroaches, instead preferring the polar bears. Other animals of note: zebras, lowland gorillas, a Bactrian camel, a rattlesnake or two, and a kookaburra. Animals that didn't come outside: two species of rhino, a pygmy hippo, and half an anteater. Also MIA was the sloth Angus had been very much looking forward to seeing.

Lunch was another novelty: all you can eat sushi. It went reasonably well with small pieces of tuna and salmon but when we ordered the "Godzilla" sushi (tempura outside and cream cheesy center) I hit a bit of a wall, esp after the waffle house.

We caught the bus back into town. Jetlag had caught up with us, so we had a bit of a nap. At 5 we ventured out. In the chill of the morning the sky had been overcast, but it was now a bright blue, and the setting sun on the skyscrapers was very attractive indeed. We walked along the river path and took quie a few photos, all of which we were very happy to be posing for.

After sugar for breakfast and protein for lunch, dinner was sandwiches out of a Walgreens, along with a bag of mandarins and Magnolia bakery's banana pudding.

6 April

Today we set out late morning to Wilmette, in the north of Chicago. To get there we needed to travel to the end of the Red Line, and then the extent of the Purple Line of Chicago's "L" (elevated) train service.

Along the way we passed Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Generally the cityscape was dominated by midrise brick apartment blocks, with the odd mall sprinkled in. On the purple line, however, the housing grew more suburban, and the houses increasingly grand.

We'd come to visit the Ba'hai faith Temple, an imposing piece of 20th century architecture. I was a bit leery of Ba'hai as one of our neighbours once fell in to it and ran away from her husband (so my mother told me in hushed tones). So as we approached the visitors' centre I was a bit suspicious. But to be honest the tone of the place was pretty benign; the main message being all religions are one, and all humans are equal. In any event I found their bathroom very relaxing, so I'll say I'm a fan, if not a convert.

The Ba'hai temple was built over 50 years in the first part of the 20th century. It's an imposing building of white concrete studded with quartz chips to make it glitter. Although the building was festooned with the symbols of all the world's great religions, it was most reminiscent of a mosque. I guess the most similar building I've been to would be the Haghia Sophia in Constantinople. The inside of the temple was austere like a Prostestant church, but the dome was again exquisitely carved with patterns like concentric waves.

After visiting the temple we pottered around on the beach of Lake Michigan, enjoying the novelty of looking out over what looks like the sea, but is actually a freshwater lake.

We trundled back to Chicago the way we came. We got out at Chinatown, where we collected a series of snacks from a Cantonese bakery called Chiu Quon. We then caught a water taxi up the Chicago river. It was Golden Hour and we took numerous photos of numerous skyscrapers, before coming home for the night.

7 April

Today was rainy, so it was museum day. The first thing we did was catch a bus to Lou Mitchell's, a hundred year old diner. Gus had pancakes, Sally had a salmon bagel, and I had toast, Sally's bagel, and Gus' pancakes. Gus also got a chocolate shake so thick that it was practically concrete, but much tastier, and half the price of a Starbucks frappe.

From there we caught the 146 bus on to the Field museum, one of the world's greats. The Field's most famous specimen is Sue the T-Rex, the largest of all the Tyrannosaurus skellingtons. It's a sprawling museum, with its Natural History exhibits being the best, though it also has collections of Egyptian, Chinese, and Native American arts.

After several hours at the museum we caught a bus back to town. It was raining heavily and we got quite drenched. Our next stop was a Lou Malnati's Pizzeria (another Lou!) to consume Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. Given the quantities of food we'd been served already I was a bit perturbed we were going to be given portions we couldn't possibly consume, but they turned out to be plausible. As for deep dish pizzas, well I'd liken them to quiches where the egg is replaced with cheese. We had ordered four adult portions, and I managed to eat one portion, but Sally and Gus were well off the pace, and we took home only slightly less than we consumed.

(On the subject of meals, we found that two meals a day in Chicago were sufficient to keep us going.)

The rain had eased, so we decided to wander back to our hotel room. I found downtown Chicago's streets on a rainy Sunday afternoon to be quite peaceful. We came back to our hotel and got to packing and blogging.

8 April

Today was eclipse day! The shadow of the moon was set to wander across the United States. Appropriately, our first port of call in the morning was the Adler Planetarium, a magnificent Art Deco, polished granite construction. Outside it is a heroic statue of Nicolas Copernicus.

We got inside, bought our eclipse glasses, and got Gus an eclipse souvenir t-shirt, before taking a look around at the planetarium proper. The most interesting exhibit for me was centred around astronaut Jim Lovell, who went to the moon twice, but didn't land there because his Apollo 13 mission got into a bit of bother. The exhibit included his earlier two-man Gemini 12 capsule, which was very, very small. He flew for three days with moon-walker Buzz Aldrin, which seems an awfully long time to be stuck in a tin can with another man!

We then went to a planetarium session. Over the years I've been to a few at the Carter Observatory, and I can say Adler's one is a lot more slick (sorry Space Place!). The auditorium was pretty large too.

After that it was time for the eclipse itself. A large collection of people and TV trucks had gathered along the Michigan lakefront adjacent to the Adler. We found a seat by a small beach and peered up through our eclipse glasses. It was my first time seeing the sun through these, and I was impressed by how strongly defined the sun was against the (relative) darkness around it. Eventually Gus spotted a small dimple in the right lower limb of the sun, which marked the moon's presence. The eclipse proceeded to its maximum extent over about two hours, allowing us to do other things while occasionally peering skywards to check the moon's progress. One thing we were able to do was buy several Chicago-style hotdogs. Distinct from their New York cousins, these sandwiches include pickle and peppers. I thought they were pretty good, and I joked to Sally that there was more vegetable matter in these hotdogs that in anything else we'd eaten in Chicago. No offence!

Just after 2pm the eclipse reached its maximum. In Chicago that was 94% of the sun's surface only. On paper that feels like "good enough", and there was only a tiny fingernail clipping still visiable, but suprisingly 6% of the sun's brightness makes a big difference. The sky was still blue, for example. and although the sky was much dimmmer a casual observer might not have noticed the eclipse was happening.

Once we reached maximum, the rest was just what we'd already been through except in reverse, and we had a plane to catch. So we skipped the rest of the cosmic marvel and hurried back to our hotel to collect our bags. On the way we caught a section of the L train that is actually elevated above the streets rather than trundling beneath them. Bags collected, we caught the blue line back to O'Hare airport for an early evening flight to Iceland.

[flightplan-fox]

...Another J?

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader, featuring Jeff the Landshark, Jonathan the Wolverine, and Jroki the Crocodile 

Words: 1.4k  Warnings: none 

Summery: A trip to the zoo doesn't go exactly as planned. 

A/N here is an unofficial sequel to The Three Js! They can be read in any order, but I do suggest you read it first. I think I might be getting the hang of this whole ‘writing’ thing....

“Mrr? Mrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” Jeff stared up at you with big puppy dog eyes, mrr-ing and nudging your leg.

You glanced up from your laptop, where you were working on mission reports. “Hey bud, I’m a little busy right now, what’s up?”

“Mrrrr!” Jeff kept telling you, as he gently grabbed your pant leg in his teeth and tugged lightly. Of course he wanted you to follow him.

“Listen Jeff, I need to finish up these reports by next week. Can you go bother your mom? Or maybe one of your brothers?”

Jeff sighed and sat down defeatedly, continuing to stare at you sadly. You went back to work, doing your best to ignore his silent pleading. Which turned out to be almost impossible. You could feel Jeff’s big sad eyes watching you, leaving you completely unable to focus on your work. Eventually you sat back in your chair and rubbed your eyes, groaning softly. Jeff took this as his cue to jump into your lap. He nuzzled your face with his nose and looked at you hopefully.

“Alright Jeff. You win. I could use a break anyway. What do you want to show me?”

Jeff leapt off your lap with a happy, “mrrr!” and ran out of the room making a beeline for the kitchen. Despite his short legs, Jeff moved surprisingly fast and you had to hustle to catch up with him.

You caught up to Jeff in the kitchen, where you also found your wife making herself a cup of tea.

“What’s up with Jeff?” asked Natasha when she saw you come in. “He’s been at you all day. Does he need something?”

“No idea, but he’s supposed to be showing me now.”

You both turned to look at Jeff. He was sitting at the fridge, staring up at it intently.

“Are you hungry bud? Is that what this was all about?” You asked him.

“Mrrrr.” Jeff shook his head quickly and continued to stare intently up at the fridge.

“Its typically food he’s after.” Natasha remarked. “Interesting.”  

You and Natasha stared at the fridge with him. It was cluttered with scraps of paper, artwork, take-out menus, receipts, grocery lists, and an assortment of magnets. Jeff huffed, obviously frustrated you didn't catch on to what he wanted.

You looked over the decorations on your fridge, most of which you were familiar with. And then something new caught your eye. You grabbed the flyler for the zoo and Jeff immediately mrrrrr-ed happily and danced around your feet.

You laughed. “Guess we found what he wanted. Where did this come from?”

“It came in the mail yesterday.” Natasha shrugged. “Figured it could be fun to go at some point, so I just put it up here”  

Jeff was now gleefully running circles around the kitchen. You watched him for a moment as she turned back to you. “It seems like someone really wants to visit today. Think we could take a trip?”  

You smiled. “Yeah, I don't see why not. Gather up the boys, and let's go.”

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

At the zoo, you quickly learned many things. Jonathan, a wolverine, seemed to think he was better than any of the animals in the exhibits, especially the wolves. Poor Jroki almost passed out when you walked by the crocodile enclosure and you had to quickly usher him away. Jeff loved the penguins. Natasha swore he could have spent hours watching them through the glass.

After a few hours of walking around, and a quick snack at the cafe, your little family was checking out the last of the exhibits before going home. You came upon one of the last enclosures and Jroki and Jonathan both stopped to peer in. After realizing it was empty, Jonathan growled in disappointment.

“Sorry Johnny,” Natasha said, patting his head. “Looks like no one is home.”

You leaned in to read the sign on the fence. “It’s supposed to house a wombat. That’s too bad, I wonder what happened to her.”

“Maybe she hasn't been moved in yet.” Natasha turned to the boys, “Alright you three, shall we head home?”

Two pairs of eyes looked back at you.

“Um…Y/N?”

“Yes Nat?”

“Where’s Jeff?”

“You know, that's a great question.”

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

Jeff, of course, was off finding his own adventure. Some point after the stop at the cafe, Jeff decided he wanted to go back to see the penguins again. So he did, assuming the rest of you would see him leave and follow along. After watching the penguins for a bit, he turned around and realized he didn't see you. Or Natasha. Or either of his brothers. The realization he was alone struck him and he started to run, desperately trying to find any of you.

After about 10 minutes of no luck, Jeff climbed on top of a park bench to rest and get a better view of his surroundings. As he sat, he heard a rustle from the bushes behind him. Jeff immediately whipped around to find the source of the noise. From the bush came a soft grunting and some more signs of movement. Being the ever curious landshark, Jeff decided to investigate and immediately dove right  into the bushes.

Upon landing, Jeff came face to face with……well he wasn't sure what she was. She was around the same size as him. She was covered in soft brown fur and had small ears with a big nose. Whatever she was, she looked scared and lonely. Jeff knew just how he could help her.

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

You and Natasha quickly realized Jeff must have decided to look at the penguins again, so you started off in that direction. You were quickly making your way towards the penguins when Jonathan and Jroki suddenly took off running. You and Natasha immediately took off after them, shouting their names. This of course, earned you many weird looks from the other zoo goers.

You caught up to the boys sitting on a bench outside of the cafe, along with Jeff and another small creature. Jeff let out a proud, “Mrrr!” when you walked up, excitedly looking between you and the animal sitting next to him.

You groaned softly. “Oh boy, here we go again. What is it this time? A capybara?”

Natasha frowned and shook her head. “No, not a capybara. I’m pretty sure she’s a wombat. She’s probably the one from that empty enclosure.”

“She must have escaped.” You said, “should we grab a zookeeper so they can put her back?”

Jeff mrrr-ed sadly and frowned at you, while leaning closer to the wombat. The wombat leaned into Jeff and closed her eyes, grunting happily.

“Y/N…we can’t make her go back.”

You turned to Natasha incredulously, “I’m sorry what?”

“I mean think about it. It’s got to be really lonely spending your whole life in a cage. We could give her a home. Like we did for the boys.”

“Natasha, I get it. But we can’t just steal her from the zoo.”

She raised an eyebrow at you. “Why not?”

You chuckled softly and shook your head. “Okay, okay, you’re right. Why not? We’ll take her home.”  

“MMRRRRR!!!” Jeff jumped up and down and celebrated with his brothers and the wombat. Natasha hugged you tight and kissed your cheek. “Thank you Y/N. Let’s get her out of here.”

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

Back at the compound, you and Natasha sat on the couch watching your boys and the wombat play together.

“Well, we got her home. Now what?” You said. “We already have the three boys. Are we able to keep the wombat too? We are both pretty busy people, and already have our hands full with the others.”

Natasha sighed. “I know what you mean. It would really be a lot. But we couldn't have left her there.”  

“No, of course not.” You thought for a moment. “Even if it's not with us, we could still give her a nice home. Maybe give her to Wanda? I’m sure her twins would love a friend.”

Natasha nodded. “That's a really good idea. Wanda has talked about wanting to get the boys a pet. And that way Jeff and the rest could still visit her regularly.”

“Okay then, we’ll offer her to Wanda. But we also can't just keep referring to her as ‘the wombat’. She needs a name too.”

“You’re right. We’ll need to stick to the J theme.” agreed Natasha. “Any ideas?”

“Jessica?”

“Hmm no. Jennifer?”

“I’m not feeling it. How about Jill?”

Natasha smiled. “Jill. I like it.”

You leaned against Natasha’s shoulder. “You know, we're turning into quite the animal rescuers.”

She shook her head. “Not us, it's all Jeff. We might have found him, but he found Jonathan, Jroki, and now Jill.

You smiled. “We’re raising quite the landshark, huh?”

Natasha laughed. “Definitely. I wonder what adventure he’ll get himself into next.”

[floraltypes]

Ohshc Headcannon

OHSHC - Y/n in a uncomfortable situation head-cannons

saw someone else do something similar and wanted to put my own spin on it :))

TW: creepy males making y/n uncomfy

gender neutral x host club members

Haruhi 💗

You’ve decided to go visit the girl while she’s working.

She’s busy talking to one of her guests so you decided to wait and sit at one of the couches

One of the men quickly walked over, he was here to drop off some shipments but thinks that now you’re a new host/hostess

He sits across from you, just staring for a moment before striking a conversation

“So, you seem like a cutie, are you new here?”

Your eyes widen a bit, taken aback by his presence and how blunt he was

“I’m not apart of this club,” You awkwardly chuckle, hoping that Haruhi is almost finished because now you are starting to feel uncomfortable

“Good, good, that just means I don’t have to share you with anyone,” They wink, standing up and now sitting besides you

Haruhi, stops her conversation with the girls, hearing that awkward chuckle of yours her head turns

At first, she just thinks your talking with one of the boys, one telling a inappropriate joke and you just trying to be kind

But soon realizes that’s not the case, and excuses herself

Haruhi doesn’t exactly feel jealous, just a bit confused, and frankly worried

She can tell by your apparent facial expressions that you’re also worried yourself

Finding a empty tea tray, she grabs it, and rushes over with it, then taking a seat besides you

“Y/n!” She smiles, handing you a tea cup, not even filled. “I’m glad you waited for me, sorry to waist your time,”

You’re overjoyed she’s here, the man sending you some interesting glares and you didn’t want to cause a scene

“I’ll do better at watching the time. Um, i’m sorry you don’t look familiar,” She looks at the man while taking one of your hands and intertwining it with hers

“Oh, you were waiting for someone?” He asks you. “You should have told me, it was like you were leading me on,” he scoffs, standing up and leaving

Haruhi looks at you with a small smile

“What a jerk, would you like me to make some actual tea now?”

The both of you laugh, you feeling much more comfortable with her being by your side

Tamaki 💞

He was so excited to spend today with you!

You didn’t feel like doing much, just wanting to maybe go to a cafe with the man

He had tons of things planned, zoos, cafes, shopping, musicals, etc

If there was something fun, he had it planned for you two to do soon

After spending half a day planning the dates you’d have when you both had off, today the both of you would go to a pet shop

Tamaki always expressed how much he loved animals, ever since he was able to go to one, and it’s something he still enjoys indulging in

The both of you were outside the shop, he had some money almost spilling out of his wallet, prepared to buy some animals

Leaving you to make sure he doesn’t, or at least doesn’t go overboard...

Once inside the worker set up a room for you two to play with the puppy

Unfortunately, today was a busy day and many people were also coming, so you were paired up with another group of guys

They had a harsher look, not being so friendly, and smelled kind of gross

You weren’t one to judge, sometimes, but something about them gave off a weird feeling

“Gosh, aren’t these puppies adorable!” Tamaki beamed, picking up the little dog into his arms, then bringing it up to his face

“Tamaki, you have to share with the rest of us,” You reminded him, taking the puppy from him and placing it on the ground

The man sat on your other side, quickly went to grab the dog, his hand touching yours a bit

“But Y/n, I didn’t get enough time with him,” He whined, shaking your shoulders a bit while the other men stifled chuckles

“Y/n, that’s a nice name,” The man on your side commented, sending a smile

“Um, thanks,” You just messed with your fingers, not looking at him

“So,” The one man tried to start up a conversation with Tamaki, giving his friend the chance to talk to you

Tamaki knew they were trying to do something, so he made sure to keep a eye on you, making sure you felt okay

“You know, we don’t have plans after this, what if you came and hung out with us?” The man asked you, moving closer

“Sweetie! Don’t forget that you promised to go get ice cream with me after. It’s the perfect end to our date,” Tamaki smiled widely, grabbing your arm and standing up “Ah, I think i’ve seen enough puppies for today,” He put a hand on your cheek and kissed your lips. “Bye now!”

Kyoya 🤍

His father was hosting a dinner party tonight

The Ootori group just opened a new high tech hospital, with the helps of your families business

It was great to see both families interacting well, and felt good to have his father like you, even if you didn’t really like him

Kyoya was thankful that his father was okay with you, worried it would affect his opportunity in being the heir eventually

You were all dressed up for the night, told to keep a smile and kind words the whole time

But you were mostly planning on spending it by Kyoya’s side..

Eventually he was moved away because his father wanted to introduce all his children to a potential business partner

Your family did the same, to a different man, one who kind of seemed to take a particular interest in you

“I love your hair,” The older, 40 year old man complimented you, your father just smiling lightly and soon walking away

“I should go find, uh, Kyoya!” You smiled oddly at the older man, about to walk away

“Wait up handsome/beautiful,” The man wrapped his chubby fingers around your wrist, tugging on it, and pulling you to stand right in front of him

You frantically looked around, your father talking to someone else, and the mans smile was fretting away from friendly

Kyoya had just finished talking to some painting company CEO, someone he could care less about

He wanted to use this time to do things with you, talk more, hear about your day maybe, just see your smile and hear your laughter

Luckily he turned around at the right moment, seeing the man yank you back and his facial feature turning to a wicked expression

He quickly, but respectfully, whisked over, titling his glasses down a bit and reaching a hand across your lower back to wrap around your waist, pulling you into his side

“Darling, who is this?” Kyoya asked, seeing your expression change to a grateful one

“Um, I never caught his name....?”

“It’s Toling, from America,” He smiled at you, his ‘smile’ changing when looking at Kyoya. “You have a boyfriend?”

“And your from America?” Kyoya questioned back, not letting you answer his. “What exactly is your position, my father, Ootori, he also told me no one from out of country would be here. Why are you here? I don’t think you were invited, this seems like a appropriate moment to call security, do you agree, dear?” He looked at you

“Yeah, I think so,” You grinned at him, pecking his cheek while the older man ran off towards the front door.

Hikaru 💓

The two of you heard about this new performance group in the area

They weren’t anything professional but still interested you both, maybe being so bad you could make a couple jokes about it

It started off... well interesting to say the least...

You both couldn’t figure out where it was going, what the overall theme of it was, I mean someone spilt their ‘prop’ on the stage floor

It was a disaster in the beginning, the both of you already having jokes in mind, but being respectful to wait till the end to say them

During the performance a hand intertwined with yours, that being Hikaru’s of course

When it was finished, the both of you had no words, just tears?

You didn’t know when they got there, or how the performance all of a sudden changed sad, but it was there

You got up to walk by a concession area, hoping to purchase a pack of tissues

Someone was behind you in line, and you could just feel their gaze on your behind

“Do you have a pack of tissues on hand?” You asked, pulling out some money and the women handing it to you

“Tissues, I could have given you those for free,” The man behind you smiled. “Now, what’s a attractive kid like you doing here?”

“Watching a show, like everyone else,” You motioned with your hand, taking a tissue and wiping your eyes

“You’re a funny one, sparky. How about I treat you to a meal?”

“No, thanks,” You scratched the back of your head, trying to step away, but him just blocking you

“Come on now,” He chuckled, reaching for your arm before you pulled back.

“Y/n, hey, you got them,” Hikaru pushed past him, planting a longer kiss on your lips and swinging his arm to rest over your shoulders. “Do you mind? We’re on a date,” He told the older man, guiding you away from him. “You okay, that man sure was a idiot trying to take you away from me,”

Kaoru 💝

He was honestly super pumped about getting to spend time with just you

He saw how much his stubborn twin could fall in love with Haruhi and become a better person, to mature, he wanted that with someone and that was you

To say he was nervous, was a understatement, this was your guys’s first date and he wanted it to be great

Sure you had been dating for a while, but still

You both decided on just going to a carnival thing in town

Sounded fun and would let you both get loose a bit, chat about life, truly have a break from everything and everyone

(not everyone, the club was secretly there making sure it went great)

After a long day, and many rides, Kaoru went to go order some food for the both of you while you waited on the bench

“Is this seat taken?” A man around your age questioned, you nodded you head no, and moved over on the bench to give him some space

“Go ahead,”

“Thanks, wow, uh your eyes are really pretty,” He complimented, taking a sip of his drink

“Oh, thanks?” You shyly smiled, tapping you finger on the bench to a beat, waiting for Kaoru to come back

The man kept asking random questions about yourself though, like ‘how old are you’ ‘what do you think of the weather today’ ‘did you like that ride over there?’ it was awkward for you to answer

Kaoru had just bought the food, starting to walk over, but quickly noticing you chatting with the man

He felt, jealous?

This perfect day he was having, and you’re talking to another guy?!

But wait, he remembered his brother talking about really looking at someone’s actions to truly understand, things they say, really paying attention

He soon realized that you weren’t really liking the conversation, your eyes widening after he spoke, slowly returning the comment to him

He whisked over there, honestly just plopping himself in between the two of you, in the (little) empty space

“I, uh, got the food,” He waved it in the air a bit, not spilling it. “You still hungry, babe?”

“Thank you Kaoru, you’re so kind,” You grinned, kissing him on the lips, his cheeks beating up.

“Mhm, let’s go eat somewhere else, just the two of us!”

Mori 💜

Mori and you weren’t big on doing a bunch of stuff for dates

You both mostly ended up at one another’s house, lounging there, maybe a cafe, who knew

But today he kind of wanted you to watch his practice, he was a bit awkward which you noticed quickly

“Takashi, you okay?” You asked him, tapping his shoulder. “What do you want to do today?”

He wanted to straight out say ‘come watch me practice’ but also didn’t want to be inconsiderate of what you wanted to do

He shrugged his shoulders, cracking his knuckles a bit, hoping you got the sign...?

“You know, I haven’t seen you practiced yet, that could be fun!”

He was beaming inside

So it was set, the two of you planning to meet up at the place he practiced at

It was something nice to do, he worked on his moves for a while, you starting some homework but still watching

One of his partners he worked on some of the skills with sat near you

“Hey, what are you working on?” You two chatted a little, trying to be kind, but you knew he was just trying to speed up the small talk into something more fun, for him

“Anyways, I need to focus,” You told him, standing up and getting prepared to move to a different space

“I think you should take a break, what do you say?”

“I can’t, I have a test tomorrow, need to get this done,”

“Don’t be like that, i’ll help you study after our break,” He was slowly/quickly closing the distance between you two

Mori just finished throwing a man, going to have a drink of water and see how you’re doing, but seeing that ‘opponent’ of his flirting with you?

“Y/n,” He walked up, leaning down to kiss your forehead. “I’m done here, let’s go,”

You nodded, the man across from you shaken up a bit at the stare Mori sent afterwards

Honey 💛

Honey was babbling about a new cafe that popped up, very VERY excited about it

Apparently it was cute, had a nice seating area, and the BEST cake in town

So, of course, he had to decide that himself

(I think he secretly has a blog online dedicated to trying and critiquing cakes)

He thought this would be a perfect time to catch up and share the lovely moment with

You agreed, wanting to spend time with the boy you liked so much, always enjoying sharing treats with him

After school you both headed right there

The place was nice, and a little packed, since it did just open

You both found a little booth in the back, away from the crowd a bit

Honey ordered, almost, one of every cake they sold

“I’ll just try one of his,” You told the waitress, who looked like her eyes were going to pop out of her head due to Honey’s order

“If you want Y/n-chan!” He smiled at you, soon going into a ramble about one place he bought a bad cake at

Usa-chan also wasn’t pleased with the taste of it

Once a few of the pieces came, he gave you Usa-chan to hold, to make sure he didn’t get dirty

You spent the time, watching him eat cake, feeding him cake, eating some yourself, and chatting about the Host Club

He eventually had to go to the bathroom, telling you he would be right back and to watch Usa-chan

While he left another man came up, figuring you were by yourself

“Aren’t these a lot of treats for you?” He asked, secretly judging you

“I’m sure it’s not your place to decide what’s enough for me,” You scoffed, looking the other way

“And you have a stuffed bear? So cute. Let me buy you something else, for a little kid like you,” He placed some money on the table, trying to reach for Usa-chan

major pedo vibes ....

You moved away from him, not letting his dirty hands touch your boyfriends precious bunny

“Aw come on now,”

“Y/n-chan, let’s go now!” Honey walked over, you climbing out the empty way of the booth, standing near Honey

“Aw you’re here with your brother,” The man cooed, standing up himself.

You grabbed Honey’s hand, not wanting to interact any longer with the man, and leaving the cafe

“Sorry Honey, I- I just really don’t-”

There the man was, he followed the both of you out

He was moving to touch/grab you from behind, Honey quickly noticing and pushing you out of the way a bit

Pulling a classic move, the older man was on the ground

The surrounding crowds were in awe, you were still a bit surprised from his strength sometimes

“That’s not nice, please don’t touch Y/n-chan or I’ll have to call the cops!” He smiled at him, soon grabbing your hand and the two of you walking away like nothing happened

[jayeray-hq]

Twin Kittens (Part 1)

Hey everyone! This is my part for the Paws and Claws Collab that was with @katslutski The theme of the collab was hybrids (puppy/kitty/bunny etc) so if you’re interested check it out!

Unfortunately as usual I got excessively wordy, so this is going to be split into three parts. This part alone is about 20K words and we're only about a third of the way through! so it definitely had to be split up.

If you like this feel free to check out my Atsumu or my Osamu masterlists!

While there is no smut in this part there will be in the future thus this story is 18+ minors DNI please!

TW: Previous mentions of past abuse, gaslighting, verbal, death threats, hybrids have been treated like slaves before

This story is Fem Reader x Atsumu x Osamu but there will be no actual incest. While there will be a threesome at the end the boys won't ever touch one another sexually.

“Are you alright?” your neighbor Ojirou asked, a concerned look on his face as he watched you listlessly stir your drink with the straw, playing with the melting ice in the glass.

The two of you were actually good friends, having lived peacefully side by side for over five years now. You’d met on the very first day when you moved in, you’d been struggling to open the door with a large box in your arms and he’d rushed to the rescue. He and his hybrids diligent Kita, the blue merle border collie, and sly, sleek Suna the Siamese cat, had all pitched in to help you get moved in and settled. You’d been good friends with all three of them ever since.

It was his turn to host your traditional Friday night dinner, so you’d gone over to his apartment determined to enjoy yourself. However, something must’ve given away the rough day you’d had, because all three of them had been casting you concerned looks all night and trading glances when they thought you couldn’t see.

It was apparently Aran’s job to confront you about it, though both hybrids were looking at you expectantly. Well, Kita was looking at you expectantly, Suna was pretending not to pay attention, his phone in his hands, but you could see him watching out of the corner of his eye.

“What makes you think something’s wrong?” you asked determined to at least give it a try.

The stern look you got from Kita and the sympathetic smile from Ojiro told you how ultimately fruitless the effort had been, so you caved in with a sigh, pushing your glass away so you could slump face down on the table burying your head in your arms. You’d tell them, but that didn’t mean you wanted to be necessarily looking them in the eye when you did.

“You know how I went to that thing with some of my girl friends today?” you asked tiredly.

There were acknowledging hums all around even from Suna who you saw from the corner of your eye was no longer pretending to look at his phone and instead watching you like some rare breed of animal in a zoo doing something particularly fascinating.

“Well it was fun, great even,” you told them with a small quirk of your lips, “Right up until we started talking about significant others. Apparently two of them are getting married soon, one has a baby on the way, and the rest are in steady loving relationships or have openly declared they aren’t interested in that kind of thing. So guess who was the only sad single there?”

“Ah,” Ojirou acknowledged a well of sympathy in his voice.

“And of course once they found out, they were like ‘oh I think my husband has a brother’ or ‘oh I have this great friend from work you’d just love,” you ranted, earning a quiet snicker from Suna, which prompted you to lift your head up so you could dig back at the cat hybrid who looked to be having far too much fun at your expense.

“They even asked me why I didn’t date my nice neighbor, the one I’m always hanging out with,” you added on ruthlessly, ignoring Ojirou’s shocked sputters, “But I told them he was in a committed relationship. They were skeptical at first, but then I told them that I was sure because someone is extremely loud, enough that I’m forced to use headphones to drown out the yowling.”

Poor Ojirou was coughing, clearly dying of embarrassment, and even Kita had the faintest red tinge to his cheeks. Unfortunately, Suna, unbothered as ever, simply smirked at you, which confirmed some of your suspicions that he’d been doing it on purpose, the brat.

Heaving another forlorn sigh you decided to give up and give poor Ojirou a break, making a mental note to make it up to him somehow. The poor guy really didn’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire between you and Suna.

“So, I spent the time being relentlessly hounded until it was time to leave,” you continued on, pretending not to notice Kita patting Ojirou’s back sympathetically, “I tried to explain to them that I just don’t have the time and energy it takes to go out and start dating people, that work was taking up too much of my time, but they weren’t having any of it.”

“It sounds like a rough time,” Ojirou told you, with genuine sympathy, the man too kind even after you’d embarrassed the hell out of him, “like when I go home and baa-chan asks when I’m going to settle down and get married.”

Suna let out an involuntary hiss at that, and Kita’s shoulders stiffened up a bit. Even though hybrid-human relationships were accepted and even almost expected between them and their owners these days, it didn’t mean that everyone accepted them as ‘true’ relationships. There were a good chunk of people, mostly conservatives and the older generation who believed that human/human relationships were the only valid ones.

This was no doubt because of the fact that most hybrid children, once they hit eighteen chose to go to hybrid adoption centers rather than staying with their parents. This was partly because it was one of the few good ways to get out from under your parents roof.

Hybrid rights had come a long way from when they’d first been implemented a few decades ago, back when they were considered something of a toy and a pet, not better than a slave. However, they technically still required a human ‘owner’ to do things like go to school, find a job, or even be out in public unsupervised.

There were people working to change that of course, and you’d donated heavily to the cause and actively supported it, but change was slow going, so for now it was what it was. It didn’t help that there were a good deal of people around like Ojirou’s grandma who viewed hybrids as less than human, and would probably never acknowledge his relationship or any children they had, especially if the children were hybrids too.

It was something you’d listened to him vent about more than once, happy to lend him a listening ear, especially since he’d done the same for you plenty of times over the years.

“It wasn’t quite that bad,” you admitted, giving him your own sympathetic smile, “but it was rather depressing.”

“Do ya even want a companion like that?” Kita asked her reasonably, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard ya talk about wantin’ a relationship other than rantin’ about a few failed dates here and there. If ya don’t I don’t see why it should be a problem, and not any of their business either.”

“Except I think I kind of do,” you admitted with a grimace, to the practical dog-hybrid who always gave solid, dependable advice, “I never planned to spend the rest of my life alone you know? I just always put my career first figuring relationships could come later, when I had more time, but now I’m starting to wonder if later will ever come.”

“And ya don’t want to date?” Kita asked with a slight frown, “I’m sure ya could make time if ya really wanted to, we could change our dinners around fer a while maybe?”

“No way,” you protested immediately, “Dinners with you guys are my only bastion of sanity. Plus I’m not even sure I want to go out and meet people, frankly at this point I’m not even sure I know how. It just… gets a little lonely coming home to an empty apartment sometimes you know?”

“So why don’t you get a hybrid?” Ojirou asked, his tone eminently reasonable despite the shock of what he’d said.

“A hybrid?” you repeated a little dumbfounded, “Me?!”

“Well why not?” he defended, stroking his recently grown goatee with his thumb and forefinger, “You’re wealthy enough to afford one, it would solve your companionship issue, and you wouldn’t have to date anyone, just go to a hybrid adoption center and find someone you’re compatible with.”

When he put it like that it did sound reasonable, even if it wasn’t an idea that had ever occurred to you. A lot of your friends, not just Ojirou, had hybrid companions, one of the weddings discussed earlier that day was even to a hybrid even if it wouldn’t be official until they could get proper legislature passed. You just had never really considered it an option for yourself.

“Do you think I could?” you asked with a light frown, turning the idea over in your mind, the question directed more at Kita than anyone else, both because he was always the most reasonable of the three and because as a hybrid you thought he’d probably be more qualified to answer whether you were a fit ‘owner’.

However to your surprise it wasn’t Kita, but Suna who answered first informing you in his normal lazy drawl, “You’d do well with a hybrid I think, probably something lower energy, like a cat, and we’re pretty self-sufficient as you know, so you wouldn’t have to worry about leaving it home alone like you would a pet.”

“He’s right,” Kita agreed, after a thoughtful pause, “Personally I believe ya would do well with a hybrid, ya get along with us well enough. Plus if yer worried we can help ya look after them. Suna needs a playmate anyway, he’s been getting’ up ta too much mischief lately when Aran and I ain’t here.”

Suna didn’t even bother to protest, just shrugged, completely unbothered by the accusation. Figuring you might as well take advantage of the situation you asked a few more questions, all of which were answered by your friends who all had a lot of input on what kind of hybrid you should get.

You left that night with your head stuffed full of information, after telling them you needed time to think it over. Getting a hybrid was a lifechanging thing and you didn’t want to run off half-cocked. It had gotten you an approving nod from Kita and a supportive pat on the shoulder from Ojirou. Suna had simply given you a knowing smirk, as if the smug cat hybrid already knew exactly what you were going to do as you walked out the door.

You stared up at the hybrid adoption center, not quite sure how you’d ended up here. For the last week or so, ever since Ojirou had brought it up you’d had hybrids on the brain. You’d found your eyes wandering to look at them when they passed you in the street and idly daydreaming in your down time what it might be like to have one waiting when you came home and fantasizing about what kind you might get.

Normally you were very focused and productive at work, but somehow, you’d found yourself scrolling through different sites, putting in research into what kind of facility you should visit and what you’d need to do. It had gotten bad enough that some of your coworkers had noticed your distraction, which was the final nail in the coffin.

You’d already known which center Ojirou had used to choose Kita and Suna, and so at the end of a particularly long day, quietly dreading heading home to your empty apartment you’d instead found yourself driving over to the center.

It was on the smaller side when it came to hybrid adoption centers, privately run and owned by Azumane Industries, a fashion line that created clothes that specifically catered to hybrids. Ojirou had, had nothing but good things to say, and so gathering your courage you left your car to head resolutely inside.

The lobby was rather quiet, only one other patron and two people manning the desks, both of whom looked up when you entered. You were a bit surprised to see the only two workers in sight were hybrids, one a silver cat of some type and the other clearly a German shepherd.

In hindsight it made a lot of sense to have hybrids be in charge of the adoption of other hybrids as they would likely know best how to match people up. However, you rarely saw that kind of practicality when it came to hybrids especially because you knew there was a lot of prejudice out there.

You offered the cat a hesitant smile, stepping up to the desk, the smile he gave back one that was both kind and welcoming as he introduced, “Welcome to Azumane Industries Hybrid Adoption Center. My name is Sugawara, how can I help you today?”

“I’m looking to adopt,” you admitted, unsure what else to say you tacked on, “My friend recommended this place to me, so here I am.”

“Well, we’ll take good care of you,” he assured you calmly, “Usually we do this by appointment, but you’re lucky. It’s a slow day and we have an opening, so I’d be happy to start the process with you if you’re willing.”

“Great,” you told him with a quiet sigh of relief, glad that he could fit you in. Honestly you should’ve known that a place like this would require a call ahead at least. It would’ve served you right for being so impulsive if they hadn’t been able to squeeze you in, “Just tell me what I need to do.”

Sugawara offered you a sly grin, one that reminded you of Suna as he promptly pushed a large stack of paperwork in your direction and handed you a pen. You grimaced at the sight of it but set to work, quietly filling out the forms one by one and handing each of them to Sugawara after so he could log them into his computer.

The forms reminded you of a loan or job application in a lot of ways, asking after your health, your income, your living situation, if you had a criminal record, any previous experience with hybrids etc. It took you quite a while to fill them all out, and by the end of it your wrist was sore and you’d signed your name more times than you cared to remember. However, since Sugawara had been filling in as you went you didn’t have to wait long to move on to the next step.

“Congratulations,” he told you with an amused smile, watching as you massaged your wrist, “You’ve been approved to adopt from our center, which means we now get to the fun part.”

“Fun part?” you questioned a little warily, having learned from Suna that a cat hybrid smiling at you didn’t necessarily mean good things for your sanity.

“Tell me about what kind of hybrid you’d like,” he told you leaning forward, elbows braced on the desk as he watched you intently, “Do you have any preferences? I’ve read all your information as we’ve gone along so I have some ideas, but I’d like to hear from you what you think you want.”

“I’m not sure where to start,” you admitted, feeling a little overwhelmed.

“That’s alright,” he assured you, “That’s what I’m here for. Let’s start with species, that’s always good and will narrow things down a bit.”

“I know I want a cat or dog hybrid,” you told him immediately glad to have some kind of answer for him, “Rabbit and rodent hybrids have heats and ruts too often for me to handle given how busy work keeps me.”

Heats and ruts were one of the big things that separated hybrids from humans and were part of the reason it was hard for them to find and hold down jobs. There were two kinds of hybrid within each species, alphas and omegas.

Alphas were usually more aggressive, stubborn, and willful. You needed to have a more dominant personality to have an alpha hybrid otherwise they’d walk all over you. Alphas also had a period called a rut, where their hormones skyrocketed and made them want to breed with anything and everything. It was a really uncomfortable time for them, and made them even more aggressive.

Omegas were generally more passive, quiet and compliant. They tended to be favored over Alpha hybrids as companions because of their more docile nature. They had periods called heats, which were similar to an Alphas rut, the only difference being they wanted to be bred rather than to breed. It made them needy and clingy the entire time.

Both heats and ruts lasted anywhere from a couple of days to a week depending on the species of hybrid. Dogs and cats had week long heats, but they only happened two to three times a year, whereas rabbit and rodent hybrids only lasted a few days, but happened every week and a half to two weeks.

You knew it wasn’t necessarily expected for a hybrid owner to stay home when their hybrid was in heat or rut, but you also knew it was those times that hybrids tended to be more reckless. Most of the research you did advised that you should if you could, even if you weren’t the one who was going to be sexually intimate with your hybrid. There were of course hybrid heat centers, where hybrids could go to find willing partners and get their needs taken care of, but you’d heard horror stories about places like that and didn’t want to use one unless you absolutely had to.

“There are medications to manage heats and ruts,” Sugawara pointed out reasonably, a slight frown on his face.

“I know,” you agreed, “But I did some research and it looks like most hybrids don’t like to take them because they have nasty side effects, like potential infertility, mood drops, and weight gain. If there’s a rodent or rabbit hybrid that wants to voluntarily take the medication then that could be fine, but I’ve heard only a few ever want to risk it.”

Sugawara looked surprised for a moment, then slowly nodded, “It’s good you’ve looked into things, and it’s nice to see someone who’s come prepared. I’ve heard a bit of that too, so no rabbits or rodents. Do you have any preference Alpha versus Omega?”

“Not really,” you admitted with a helpless shrug, feeling a little bad for not being able to narrow down the criteria for him, “I’m pretty open so long as they can fit into my lifestyle, are a little more independent, and think they’ll get along with me.”

“Well you’ll at least have lots of options,” Sugwara assured you, with a smile that told you he wasn’t off put by the fact that you didn’t know exactly what you wanted either, “Does that mean you don’t have a preference for breed either?”

“That’s right,” you agreed with a firm nod, “I just want someone who’s going to be compatible with me, everything else is secondary.”

“Okay,” he told you cheerfully, “I’m sure we can do that! Though it might take us a little bit to narrow things down. Since you aren’t picky you might as well come with me to start looking. Daichi can you manage the desk on your own?”

“Sure,” the german shepherd hybrid agreed, from where he’d been sitting quietly, keeping watch over the two of you and typing away on his computer, since there was literally no one else in the lobby, “Just keep a radio on you so I can call you back up here if it gets busy Suga.”

Your soon to be guide agreed with a smile, plucking one of the aforementioned radios up and attaching it to his belt, before standing up from the desk. He stretched in a very feline manner, then ushered you towards a door that led toward the back of the building, tail swishing peacefully behind him.

“Each species of hybrid has its own floor,” Sugawara explained as he led you through the hall, “Bunnies are on the top floor, rodents underneath them, cats on the second floor and dogs here on the first. Each floor has four separate wings, separated into categories depending on whether the hybrid in question is male or female, alpha or omega. These wings have private rooms in them and are connected by a shared space.”

“We’ll be going into the shared space,” he explained pausing outside one of the doors, “It’s where hybrids come both to hang out, and to meet people. If a hybrid isn’t interested in being adopted by a specific human they’ll simply return to their rooms until the human leaves. This way we ensure that no one gets coerced into adoption. We also keep a close eye on things with security cameras in the shared space, for both the safety of humans and hybrids. Before we enter the room, I need you to give me verbal consent to allow yourself to be filmed.”

“That’s fine,” you told him, more than a bit impressed with how thorough and organized the whole thing was, along with the lengths they went to, to ensure everyone’s comfort.

“Alright then, let’s introduce you to the dogs,” he teased, with a confident smile.

The minute the door opened, almost every head turned in your direction, making you feel a bit awkward and unsure. Some of the hybrids were in their human forms, ears and tails the only hint of their non-human status, while others were lounging around in their secondary animal form.

The animal form of a hybrid was indistinguishable from a normal animal of the same breed. The only thing that might give it away was the high level of intelligence. Your research told you that hybrids tended to act more on their instincts when in animal form, which could be both a good thing and a bad thing.

Case in point, the minute you entered with Sugawara one enormous grey and white speckled dog came bounding over barking his head off. He was absolutely huge, and only the madly wagging tail kept you from cringing back as he charged over, his barking immediately setting off a few of the others.

You got the wind knocked out of you a bit as he collided with you, though thankfully the door was behind you, and kept you from being knocked off your feet as he placed enormous paws on your shoulders, burying his face in your hair and sniffing enthusiastically. You froze, unsure exactly what to do in this situation, and more than a bit uncomfortable.

Luckily Sugawara immediately came to your rescue, shoving the big dog off as he scolded, “Bokuto! What have I told you about jumping up on our guests!”

The big dog immediately began to whine, tail tucked between his legs, and you wanted to feel bad for him, except you were still a bit unnerved.

“Sorry about him,” Sugawara apologized with a sigh, “He’s harmless I promise, just incredibly enthusiastic about new people.”

“It’s okay,” you assured him, hesitantly reaching out to Bokuto palms first to see if he might be interested, only to have him turn away. Unsure what to do you glanced at Sugawara, whose tail was swishing in clear agitation.

“Ignore him,” the silver haired cat hybrid told you, “He’s just sulking because he got scolded. In fact, better yet ignore all of them, since they can’t stop being rude and barking.”

This last bit, along with the fierce glare that accompanied it was leveled at the room in general, earning some sheepish looks from a couple of the dog hybrids who were in human form, and managing to quiet several of the barking ones who were in animal form.

“Come on,” he urged with one last flick of his tail, “I should’ve started you with the cats anyway. You seem like a cat person to me, and I assure you they’ll have much better manners. If you don’t find what you’re looking for there, we’ll come back, but let’s explore the cat option first and give them time to recall their manners.”

You allowed him to usher you out of the room and toward the elevator, trusting his judgment. It was funny that he’d said you were a cat person, as he was actually the third cat hybrid to have told you so, Suna being one and the Siamese hybrid of one of your coworkers being the other.

It took you less than a minute to get up to the next floor, and when Sugawara ushered you into the cat hybrid room you could immediately feel the difference. There was no noise for one, just a bunch of curious eyes turned in your direction, but it didn’t feel hostile at all.

Sugawara quickly introduced you to the cat hybrids, telling them you’d come to adopt and had ‘just been slobbered all over by the dog hybrids’ so if they could all ‘mind their manners’ that would be great. You were a little amused at the exasperated hybrid’s antics, and you weren’t the only one, if the quiet snickering from a hybrid with particularly messy hair was any indication. However you were also grateful to him for being so diligent as he introduced you to everyone.

Slowly, several cat hybrids meandered up to you, some in human form, some in cat form, though some also stayed in place clearly observing everything. You chatted lightly with the ones in human form, while letting the ones in cat form do as they pleased, answering their questions and asking a few of your own.

It was a much more relaxed experience, something you were infinitely grateful for after the sudden chaos of the dog hybrid room, and you had to wonder if the cat hybrids who’d pegged you as a cat person hadn’t been right after all. You were in the middle of quietly talking to a lovely female alpha hybrid named Shimizu when Sugawara’s radio blared to life. Apparently, the front had gotten rather busy and Daichi desperately needed his help.

“Will you be alright if I leave you here?” Sugawara asked you seriously, “This shouldn’t take too long, and Shimizu is more than capable of looking after you.”

“Sure,” you agreed, after a quick glance at the hybrid in question, who gave an acknowledging nod of her head, “I don’t mind.”

“Good,” he agreed with a bright grin, before rounding on the rest of the room, “And all the rest of you better behave or I’ll hear why!”

With one last warning glare around the room he turned on his heel and left, leaving you in Shimizu’s capable hands. The two of you continued to talk amiably as several cat hybrids came by in one form or another to sniff at you or listen in on the conversation from nearby. A number of them only came over for a few minutes, lingered a bit and then left, spreading back out to the room or going into the hallways that led to their private rooms, however a good chunk of them stayed nearby as well.

Chatting lightly with Shimizu and a few of the others you found you really liked the poised and graceful cat hybrid and might’ve looked into adopting her. Unfortunately, Shimizu quickly made it clear that she had some plans of her own, that included getting herself and her young and adorable munchkin kitten hybrid Yachi adopted by one of their frequent visitors.

She was however, more than happy to give her own opinion on some of the other hybrids around, most of whom seemed to respect both her and her opinion a lot. You were listening to Shimizu tell you a bit more about Yachi, who was watching from a safe distance, clearly anxious, but also unwilling to leave, when you felt something paw at your leg.

A quick glance down revealed a long haired fluffy looking cat, in shades of silver and white who was staring up at you expectantly. None of the other cat hybrids had actually dared to touch you, a few coming close, but none making actual moves to greet you.

A little intrigued you crouched down so you’d be closer to his eye level, and extended your hands for him the same way you did for Suna when he was in his cat form, giving him a choice about whether he wanted to be touched or not. The cat hybrid eyed your hands thoughtfully for a minute, before sauntering within reach, nudging his head against your palm.

Taking your cue you allowed yourself to pet him, gently rubbing at his silky ears and enjoying the feeling of his thick, plush coat. His back arched pressing closer into your hands, eyelids lowering in contentment as you carefully massaged your fingers through his fur in a way you knew Suna enjoyed.

A rumbling purr escaped his throat and you couldn’t help the pleased smile that crossed your lips at the sound as he pressed his way closer to your torso, entering the circle of your arms and keeping himself there. You were caught up in petting him for a moment and didn’t immediately notice, but after a few seconds you realized the room had gotten very quiet.

It had been quiet before, as cat hybrids didn’t make a lot of noise in general, but now it was almost deathly still outside the small purring sounds from the cat under your hands. You immediately froze and glanced up at Kiyoko who was watching the two of you with wide eyes.

“Is something wrong?” you asked, more than a bit concerned.

“You pet him,” Shimizu murmured, more to herself than to you.

“Should I not have?” you asked worriedly, moving to pull your hands away, “I’m sorry I didn’t realize. I pet my neighbor’s cat hybrid all the time when he’s in the mood for it.”

The cat hybrid under your hands made a noise of protest as you pulled your hands away, giving Shimizu what you assumed to be a rather annoyed look based on her baffled and slightly contrite expression.

“No,” she assured you quickly, “We like to be pet, physical affection is important to hybrids. It’s just that particular one doesn’t usually allow anyone to touch him.”

“Do you mind?” you asked the hybrid in question, holding out your hands again.

He gave an agreeing mew and pressed his head to your palm, which you assumed meant you could resume petting. The fur under your fingers was clearly well taken care of, soft and plush and you truly wouldn’t have minded continuing to pet him until he got sick of you.

However, you were interrupted by a furious yowling sound that immediately made you jump, your head snapping up to search for the source of the noise. It turned out to be another long haired fluffy cat, this one in shades of gold and white who came charging out of the halls and ran straight at you.

You didn’t even have a second to react as the cat that had been in your arms darted around to hide behind you. Not that it stopped the oncoming golden one who didn’t even bother to go around and instead went right over you, claws digging into your arm as he attempted to get at the silver one.

You let out a yelp of surprise and pain, as he launched himself off your shoulder at the silver cat behind you who immediately darted out of reach, running around you in dizzying circles with the golden one fast on his heels both of them yowling, hissing and spitting, clearly having some kind of argument.

It only took a moment for you to regain your bearings and decide you needed to put an end to whatever this was, since poor Shimizu didn’t look at all ready to step in, an utterly appalled look on her face. Luckily you had quick reflexes and managed to snag both cats around the middle and stand up quickly, the abrupt shift immediately silencing both, no doubt shocked by your interruption.

“I think that’s quite enough of that,” you scolded firmly, as you hefted the two carefully, keeping them firmly separated. They were a bit heavier than they looked but certainly not too much for you to keep aloft.

“You,” you scolded the golden one, gently shaking him, who had turned to stare up at you with wide copper colored eyes, “I don’t know what he did to you or why, but I’m sure whatever it was could’ve been resolved without the ruckus. I also don’t appreciate being climbed on or used as a spring board.

“And you,” you gently shook the silver one in turn, who looked equally surprised to be addressed, “I’m not sure if he deserved whatever you did or not, but you shouldn’t have been causing a ruckus either, and I don’t appreciate you using me as a shield.”

“From what I understand, in order to be here you have to be considered adults,” you continued firmly, “So I suggest you act like it, and figure this out between yourselves without dragging innocent bystanders into your mess!”

With that you loosened your grip, fully expecting both of them to jump to the floor. However, both continued to simply hang limply in your grasp, watching you with curious eyes that you realized rather abruptly were almost completely identical.

“Siblings huh?” you asked no one in particular, nodding to yourself, “I suppose that explains a lot.”

“Are you alright?” Shimizu asked you worriedly, “You’re bleeding.”

A quick glance at your arm showed you were indeed bleeding, small pinpricks of blood welling up from where the golden cat had dug his claws into you. It stung a bit, but you didn’t think it was too bad.

“I’m alright,” you assured her, kneeling down and releasing both cats, since they seemed disinclined to continue fighting, and you wanted your hands free, “Though I’d appreciate some disinfectant and some band aids if you’ve got them.”

“Of course,” Shimizu assured you with a quick nod, “Just let me get them and I’ll be right back.”

The elegant hybrid moved with enviable grace and speed as she exited the room, leaving you alone. A quick look around the room showed that almost every eye was now on you, and you heaved a sigh, not exactly pleased to be the center of attention, especially since none of them did anything but stare, none of them bothering to approach, just look.

You glanced down in surprise when you felt something touching your leg, only to find the golden cat headbutting your shin, rubbing his face against your calf affectionately as he twined his way through your legs.

“Does that mean you’re sorry,” you asked, crouching back down and offering your hands to the pretty, fluffy cat.

He immediately rubbed his face against your hands too, which you took as permission to continue your petting, rubbing your hand affectionately over his head and earning a happy purr from the feline who arched happily into your hands.

You were distracted from your petting by a paw, which came to rest on one of your wrists, the silver cat watching with obvious envy in his pretty copper colored eyes. Luckily for both of you, you had two hands, and you reached out to pet him too after assuring it was okay. The golden cat clearly wasn’t too happy about his brother’s presence, but didn’t kick up a fuss, instead pressing himself closer and becoming more insistent as he purred ever louder. The silver cat didn’t seemed to pay him any attention though, simply soaking up your attention and affection.

“Here,” Shimizu offered as she came back, first aid kit in hand, “Do you need any help getting bandaged up?”

You were about to accept her offer, as attempting to bandage your dominant arm was always a pain, when you felt something strange under your hand. You turned your attention back to the cat hybrids you’d been petting just in time to see the silver one shift, form becoming large, limbs extending, body lengthening and bulking up until he stood in front of you in human form.

You blinked, utterly startled as you stared up at him, taking in his appearance. He was incredibly handsome in his human form, with the same silvery grey hair as his fur in cat form in an undercut and bright bronze eyes that peered out at you from under heavy lids. He had a strong, slightly square jaw and thick eyebrows, with blunt cheekbones and cupids bow lips.

He was also surprisingly big, at least six feet tall, and maybe a bit more than that, with broad shoulders and a trim waist. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt that clung to his chest, showing off the definition of his muscles. To top it all off he had two cat ears poking out from his silvery hair and a fluffy tail that was slowly waving back and forth as he looked at you.

“I’ll do it,” he told the two of you, his voice pleasant and lightly accented, his hand held out to Kiyoko gesturing for her to pass him the first aid kit, “I’ll bandage ya up. It’s only fair since the moron who scratched ya is too busy bein’ pampered.”

That earned a hiss from the golden cat, who immediately began to shift under your hands. You watched in surprise and no small amount of awe as he turned into a carbon copy of the other man who’d appeared, only with golden hair, ears and tail. You’d realized the two were related, but you hadn’t realized they were identical twins. Twins were really rare for hybrids, even more rare than human twins. As such they were usually snapped up for adoption right away, so it was rare to see them in any sort of center.

“If ya hadn’t stolen my puddin’ I wouldn’t have chased ya and scratched her in the first place,” the golden cat hybrid hissed at his brother.

“Well if ya hadn’t eaten my onigiri, maybe I wouldn’t have had to eat yer puddin’” the silver haired one retorted, his tone and expression both flatter compared to his sibling who looked like he might lunge at his twin at any moment.

Not wanting to get in the middle of a literal cat fight you held your own hand out to Kiyoko, who gratefully placed the first aid kit in your hands, then plopped down to sit cross legged on the floor. Your sudden movement startled both cat hybrids who turned to look at you, but you pointedly ignored them as you worked on opening the kit, and pulling out the things you’d need.

“Here I got it,” the golden haired one told you, plopping down beside you, “That scrub ain’t right about a lot of things, but he is right about this. I scratched ya, and I should fix ya.”

You gratefully held your arm out to him, and watched as he gently dabbed the scratches with disinfectant, grimacing slightly at the sting. You were distracted enough by his careful movements that you almost didn’t notice the other twin, right up until he gently smeared Neosporin over the scratches, placing small bandages over the deeper punctures.

“Thank you,” you told them both when they finished, automatically reaching up to pet their heads, but then pausing as you realized the gesture might not be as welcome in their human form.

Your worries were quickly allayed through as the golden one practically fell into your palm, soft, happy purring noises leaving his mouth as you gently scratched the base of his ears. His twin however didn’t immediately move for you, and you turned concerned eyes on him, worried he might be offended. The minute he saw you looking though he immediately leaned forward, pressing his head to your palm, his own soft purrs leaving his throat as you carded your fingers through his hair.

“I’m back,” a familiar voice sang, the door to the room sliding open to reveal Sugawara, with a cheerful grin on his face, a grin that was immediately replaced by wide eyed shock as he saw you and the two hybrids who were nearly in your lap with how close they were pressing towards you.

However, shock melted into fury as his eyes saw the open first aid kit and the bandages on your arm, his words nearly a hiss as he demanded, “What happened?!”

Both hybrids immediately stiffened under your hands, drawing closer to you, either looking to protect you or looking for protection you weren’t sure. Either way you allowed it, rubbing your hands over the backs of their necks in a way that always seemed to sooth Suna as you answered, “We just had a bit of a mishap is all, but we’ve cleared it up.”

“Are you sure?” Sugawara demanded anxiously, “We were told when they were brought in that they’d had a bit of trouble before, but they never mentioned that they might attack humans.”

The golden-haired twin seemed to bristle, and if he were in cat form you were sure all his fur would be puffed out as he glared at Sugawara. His twin didn’t look nearly as bothered on the surface, but close as you were, you could see how tight the muscles in his neck and shoulders were as if he was about to spring forward at any moment.

Instinctively you pulled the golden twin toward you, tipping him over into your lap. Despite his size it wasn’t all that difficult given he’d been practically leaning all his weight on you. He let out a yelp of surprise, but stayed still as you buried your fingers in his hair, keeping his cheek pillowed on your thigh. Your other hand gently squeezed the back of the silver twin’s neck, both holding him still and reminding him of your presence.

“It wasn’t an attack, simply an accident,” you assured Sugawara, as you soothed your thumb over the tense muscles of the silver one’s neck, hoping to get him to relax, “A bit like what happened with the dog hybrid earlier.”

“If you’re sure,” Sugawara told you, watching your pet the twins with wide eyes, like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing, “Does that mean you’ve decided to take them then? I know you were a little worried about adopting one hybrid so I never imagined you’d want two at once.”

“What?” you asked, a little overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of information, and the assumption he’d made.

“You’d have to take both of them,” Sugawara explained gently, “Admittedly sometimes twins are separated, but we don’t do that unless they want to be separated, and in this case both of them have stated they want to stay together.”

“That makes sense,” you agreed, with a smile. It was good that the center accommodated things like that, and you made a mental note to thank Ojirou for directing you to such an upstanding place.

“Should I get paperwork started?” Sugawara asked, with an answering smile, “If you’re taking the twins it will take a bit more work than usual, so I’d like to get started right away. No pressure though, you don’t have to make a decision today if you don’t want to.”

“I hadn’t really thought about adopting them,” you admitted, and felt both twins stiffen under your hands, so hurried to reassure them, “We haven’t had a chance to chat much yet. I’d like to talk to them a little bit first before we make any decisions.”

“Of course,” the kindly hybrid agreed with an understanding nod, “We’ll give the three of you some space and let you get to know one another a bit better.”

“Thank you,” you told him politely, waiting until he’d ushered Kiyoko a little bit away, clearly trying to give you some sense of privacy despite the fact that they were still well within earshot for hybrids, and likely interrogate the elegant female about what exactly had happened while he was gone.

“Do ya not want us,” the golden haired one asked you, once the two were gone, rolling over in your lap to peer up at you with wide copper eyes, the hint of a pout on his lips, and a little bit of hurt in his eyes.

“I don’t know yet,” you told him honestly, gently stroking his golden hair away from his eyes, “We don’t know each other, yet do we? Do you even know if you want to come with me?”

The two cat hybrids glanced at each other, clearly communicating silently with each other for a moment before turning back to you. The golden haired one had apparently been elected spokesperson because he was the one to admit, “We wouldn’t mind goin’ home with ya.”

“But you don’t even know my name, do you? And I don’t know yours either,” you pointed out, utterly baffled that they’d apparently already decided.

“I heard mister pleasant over there when he introduced ya,” the silver haired one told you with a shrug, “But if it matters so much to ya, I’m Miya Osamu and he’s Atsumu.”

“I can introduce myself ya know,” the golden haired on hissed, doing his best to glare at his brother, though you were sure the effect was entirely lost considering he was apparently refusing to move from your lap and was upside down, “And I didn’t get to hear yer name.”

“That’s because ya were sulkin’ in our room,” Osamu pointed out.

“And whose fault is that huh?” Atsumu demanded with a grimace.

“Yer own,” Osamu countered, looking utterly bored as he peered down at his brother. Atsumu made to lunge out of your lap, but was stopped by your hand pressed firmly to his forehead holding him in place. You took advantage of his moment of distraction to introduce yourself, gently rubbing behind his ears until he started purring again.

“And ya wonder why we want to go with ya,” Osamu told you sardonically, watching the two of you, “I ain’t ever seen anybody who could get ahold of Tsumu like that.”

“Do the two of you always squabble like that?” you asked, a little amused and a little concerned, “If I didn’t know better I would’ve thought one of you was a dog hybrid with how well you’re getting along right now.”

“It ain’t always so bad,” Osamu told you, turning his face away though you thought you saw the faintest hint of pink to his cheeks, “We’re just a little restless is all. We haven’t been here long so it’s just new, not as much freedom as we’re used to either bein’ cooped up for most of the day.”

“Surely they let you out if you want out,” you questioned, a little appalled that the center might be keeping hybrids like prisoners.

“Well sure,” Osamu answered turning back to you, his head tilted to the side as he studied you, “But there are only so many places a hybrid is allowed without an owner ya know.”

You winced slightly at the blunt statement, but couldn’t refute it. The law stated that all hybrids had to have a registered owner, and it was then up to that owner to set limits on the hybrid, about where they could go and what they could do. This was because if the hybrid caused any trouble, it was always on its owner to take responsibility which made things quite limited for them at times. There were lobbyists working to change that of course, as it was viewed as inhumane, but for now the law was the law.

“Did you have more freedom before here then?” you asked curiously, “I’ve heard this place is pretty good.”

“It’s not bad,” Atsumu piped in, his voice content and rumbly as he turned languid eyes in your direction, clearly not wanting to be left out of the conversation, “Better than the first center we were at when we first went up for adoption.”

“So you’ve been adopted before? Or did you just get moved from one of the other centers?” you asked curiously, only to have Atsumu go absolutely rigid under your hands as Osamu hissed at him, clearly angry with his brother, who’d apparently revealed something he shouldn’t if the way he shrank away instead of hissing back said anything.

You glanced between the two of them warily, unsure what to do as Atsumu pulled himself out of your lap so he could look at Osamu. The two of them were clearly communicating, both their tails swishing back and forth in clear agitation.

“We had an owner,” Osamu admitted at last, his words clearly careful as he peered at you from underneath the fringe of his hair, “But we didn’t get along with him so he surrendered us ta the shelter again and they sent us here.”

A part of you really wanted to ask why exactly they hadn’t gotten along with their old owner, but given the way Atsumu was refusing to meet your eyes, his nails practically digging into his thighs where he sat next to you, you got the feeling it would be kinder not to. Instead you carefully redirected the conversation back on topic and asked, “And what makes you think you’ll get along better with me than your previous owner?”

“Yer nothin’ like him,” Osamu told you bluntly, effectively shutting that avenue of conversation down.

“If you say so,” you told him calmly, holding his gaze until he glanced away, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

It was clearly a sensitive topic, and you didn’t want to push. You’d just met the two of them today after all, you certainly wouldn’t have liked it if they tried to pry into your past, fair was fair after all.

“What do you picture yourselves doing all day?” you asked instead, figuring you might as well.

“Doing?” Atsumu repeated confused, tilting his head in a manner that you couldn’t help but find rather adorable.

“I’ll be at work most of the day during the week,” you explained patiently, “Which means you’ll be by yourselves for quite a bit of time. You’d be more than welcome to laze around if you really wanted to, but I figured I’d ask.”

“What kind of things are we allowed to do?” Osamu asked slowly, a strange look on his face that you couldn’t quite interpret.

“Anything within reason,” you told him with a helpless shrug, “I have money, it’s not an issue, so long as it’s legal, and doesn’t have the potential to hurt me, you or anyone else then I see no reason to place restrictions. My neighbor has a dog-hybrid who works a small rice farm that Ojirou bought him, but his cat-hybrid Suna spends most of his time either lounging around their apartment or playing sports with some of the other hybrids who live in the neighborhood.”

“Which sport?” Atsumu asked, eyes bright, all hesitation forgotten in the face of this new information.

“Volleyball I think,” you told him with a shrug, “Ojirou and I have gone to watch a few games, though I don’t think it’s just volleyball either.”

If Atsumu had been a dog-hybrid you were sure his tail would’ve been wagging a hundred miles an hour with how eager he looked, copper eyes bright in his face as he told you, “I like volleyball. Do you think he’d let me play?”

“You’d have to take it up with Suna, but I don’t see why he wouldn’t,” you admitted cautiously, earning a happy smile from the hybrid.

“What about you Osamu?” you prompted gently, “Do you play too, or is there something else you’re interested in?”

The silver furred hybrid looked startled to be addressed, but then slowly admitted, “I like to cook.”

“That’s amazing,” you praised, “I live on take out a lot of the time, unless I’m headed over to Ojirou’s or Kita, his dog-hybrid makes an extra bento for me. I really should cook more, but I tend to be on the go a lot and don’t want to dedicate the time.”

“It’s a bit of a shame though,” you admitted, feeling more than a bit sheepish, “One of the best features of my apartment is the kitchen and I hardly ever use it.”

You continued to chat lightly with the twins learning quite a bit about the two of them in the process. Atsumu was definitely the louder twin, always eager and a bit blunt with his words, always saying the first thing that came to mind. Osamu was quieter than his twin, letting his golden furred brother do most of the talking for the two of them. He wasn’t necessarily shy per se, and would answer when spoken to, but he seemed content for the most part to quietly observe before adding his two cents in.

The two of them together were utterly charming, which made you wonder just how they hadn’t been adopted yet. You were fairly sure it must have something to do with the reason they’d been returned to their adoption center, though for the life of you, you couldn’t guess what that reason might’ve been.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Sugawara cut in gently, interrupting Atsumu telling you all about the last volleyball game he’d played in, “But the center is closing to visitors in a few minutes.”

“I’m sorry,” you apologized immediately, hurriedly scrambling to your feet, feeling more than a bit guilty, “I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten.”

“That’s alright,” Sugawara assured you with a kind smile, “It sounds like the three of you are getting along well.”

“I think so,” you admitted, glancing at the twins who’d both risen to their feet as well, both of them far more graceful than you could ever hope to be.

Both of them were watching you, Atsumu with tentative hope clear on his face, and Osamu completely unreadable except for the agitated twitch of his tail which told you he wasn’t pleased your conversation had been interrupted.

“I’m glad,” Sugawara told you, “Do we have any kind of decision made?”

“I…” you started glancing between the twins, who were both looking at you. Gut instinct meant you wanted to say yes. You’d gotten along well and you thought you might continue to enjoy one another’s company. They seemed like they’d slot into your life pretty easily. However you were still a bit hesitant. Adopting one hybrid had seemed like a big deal, but adopting two?

Plus you’d only met them today. Maybe you were being overly cautious but a single day didn’t seem like nearly enough time to get to know someone before inviting them to live with you, no matter how much your heart urged you to say yes.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter,” Sugawara interrupted, an apologetic expression on his face, pulling you from your thoughts as he explained, “We wouldn’t have time to finish the paperwork before it’s time to close, so you wouldn’t be able to take them home with you anyway, not today at least.”

“But…!” Atsumu tried to protest, but quelled as Sugawara shot him a stern look.

“I think that it will be good for all of you to sleep on your decision,” the cat-hybrid told all three of you firmly, gently beginning to usher you from the room, before telling you, “You can come back tomorrow if you like. We’re open at the same times then.”

“Alright,” you agreed, following after him without a fuss, only to pause in your tracks at a heartbreaking mewling sound.

You turned around to see Atsumu staring after you with devastation written all over his handsome features, his hand outstretched like he was trying to reach out and physically stop you from leaving. Before you’d really thought about it your feet had carried you back, and you’d pulled the hybrid into your arms.

Atsumu clutched you tightly, burying his face in your neck and rubbing his cheek against yours in a move you recognized as scenting. You let him do as he pleased without protest, gently running your fingers through his soft golden hair. However, you were conscious of Sugawara waiting for you, so you gently extracted yourself after a few minutes.

Turning you saw Osamu watching you with an unreadable expression on his face, but you stepped toward him, offering your open arms anyway, waiting patiently. You were rewarded for that patience as he stepped into your hold, nuzzling at you the same way his twin had on the opposite side.

“I’ll come back,” you found yourself promising, “I have work tomorrow, but after I’ll be here.”

Osamu drew back and peered into your face, copper eyes boring into your own, clearly searching for something before nodding, “We’ll hold ya to that.”

You let Sugawara usher you out after that, but found yourself tearing up a bit as you followed after him. You desperately didn’t want to leave the twins behind. Somehow, someway you’d gotten terribly attached to them in just a few short hours.

Your sniffling apparently caught Sugawara’s attention, because he turned around and hurriedly fumbled a packet of tissues from one of his pockets.

“I’m sorry,” he told you apologetically, “I thought maybe you wanted more time to think things over. We can still do paperwork tonight if you want I don’t mind staying a bit late.”

You looked at him, startled that he’d apparently picked up on your hesitation as you gratefully accepted the tissues, dabbing at your eyes and blowing your nose before replying, “No, no you’re right. It’s not a decision I should make impulsively. I do want to think it over I just…”

You trailed off helplessly, unsure what to say or how to explain that you’d gotten incredibly attached and were currently having a crisis as your head and heart were at war with each other. However, Sugawara apparently understood as he nodded in clear sympathy.

“Don’t worry,” he assured you, “That’s completely understandable, adopting a hybrid is no small thing. Those troublesome twins will still be here waiting for you tomorrow, so take all the time you need to think it over.”

“I will,” you told him, then tacked on sincerely, “Thank you, for all your help today. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he told you with a bright, pleased smile as he walked you to the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow,” you agreed with a smile, letting yourself out and heading back for your car.

The drive home your thoughts were absolutely full of the twins, and what it might be like to have them with you. Your heart and your mind were at war with one another, your heart desperate to run back to the center as soon as it opened in the morning for the cat hybrids, and your head worrying about what it might mean to have both of them and why they’d been returned to the center by their previous owner.

You were so preoccupied with your thoughts that you almost didn’t notice Suna as you walked passed Ojirou’s door, headed to your own.

“What is that?” Suna demanded, his voice making you pause in your tracks.

“What is what?” you asked him baffled as he strode toward you nose in the air, clearly picking up something.

“You smell like hybrid,” he informed you his tone accusatory, watching you with narrowed golden eyes.

“Do I?” you asked mildly.

“You do,” he affirmed, “Doesn’t she Kita?”

“Doesn’t she what?” the collie hybrid asked, emerging from somewhere deeper in the apartment.

“Smell like hybrid,” Suna explained, his tail twitching languidly behind him and eyes alight with interest.

“You do,” Kita agreed, after carefully scenting the air, “Two of them actually.”

“Really?” Suna asked, clearly surprised, moving closer to sniff at you again, “You sure?”

You held still, too used to his behavior to be bothered by it, partly amused and partly annoyed at the cat hybrid who was clearly digging for information.

“Yes I’m sure,” Kita told him calmly, “They’re very similar, but there.”

“They’re identical twins,” you explained, figuring the jig was up anyway, and hoping maybe Ojirou or Kita would have some advice that might help you with your quandary.

“Ho?” Suna asked a purr of interest in his voice as he inhaled and nodded to himself, then asked slyly, “And what were you doing with these twins to have their scent on you so thoroughly?”

“Is Ojirou home?” you asked Kita, completely ignoring Suna’s question, earning a chuckle of amusement from the Siamese.

“He’s here,” Kita agreed, “Did you need to speak with him?”

“Both of you, if you have a minute?” you questioned hopefully.

“For you? Always,” Kita assured you kindly ushering you in.

“Oya, I think I’m hurt,” Suna told you as he followed along behind, a feline smirk on his face, “What about me? Don’t you want my advice too? After all they’re cat hybrids aren’t they?”

“They are,” you agreed with a huff as you plopped into your normal chair, “But are you going to give me good advice, or are you going to say whatever you think will be most amusing for you?”

“What’s this about cat-hybrids?” Ojirou asked, emerging from the hallway, where Kita had gone to fetch him.

“She’s thinking about adopting twin cat-hybrids,” Suna informed him before you had the chance to speak up, smug as the cat who got the canary.

“Are you really?” Ojirou questioned with a grin, taking his own seat.

“Yes,” you agreed, shooting the smug Siamese a look for interrupting and stealing your thunder, “I went to that adoption center you recommended today.”

“That’s great,” Ojirou told you, leaning forward in his chair eagerly, “How did it go?”

You explained your meeting with the twins, happily accepting the drink Kita pressed into your hands, which was your favorite, as the collie hybrid got everyone settled and then settled in himself to listen. You talked about how much you liked them, but your wariness about getting not one but two hybrids, and the strange issue with them having a previous owner and being so cagey about it.

“I can see why you’re wary about used goods,” Suna noted.

“Don’t call them that,” you snapped, despite the fact that you could hear the tinge of sarcasm in his voice and knew he didn’t really mean it, unable to help yourself, “people aren’t like items, and shouldn’t be treated like them.”

“She’s right,” Kita told the Siamese sternly, “Even as a joke, that was a rude way to refer to them.”

Suna slouched in his seat, looking thoroughly chastised as he admitted, “I know you don’t see them like that. You’ve always treated us just like normal people.”

“That’s because you are just like normal people,” you told him, stroking your fingers through his hair to let him know you forgave him, “Just with enhanced senses and a different set of instincts at times.”

“I don’t know why you think you need our advice,” Ojirou pointed out reasonably, “It sounds like you’ve pretty much already made up your mind, you clearly adore them already.”

“It’s just a lot,” you admitted, “Do you think I can handle twin hybrids? Especially since I’ve never even had one before? I mean, I’m not like you, none of my family ever had one growing up, and the only ones I really know are Kita, Suna, and a couple that come into the office with Tendou from time to time.”

“We’re not exactly children,” Kita reasoned, logically, “We don’t actually require all that much care outside of the basics, which I know you’re monetarily able to provide, and companionship, which is the whole reason you decided to seek out a hybrid in the first place. One or two, does it really matter? It might even be better as they’ll be able to keep each other company if they get lonely when you’re gone, and I see no reason we can’t help you look after them too.”

“You’d do that?” you asked the collie hybrid, surprised.

“Of course,” he agreed with a tiny smile, “We’re friends are we not?”

You smiled at him, touched, and extremely reassured by his ever cool logic. It did make sense, and quelled some of your worries, plus knowing the extremely reliable hybrid would help you out if you needed it was incredibly comforting.

“I wouldn’t worry about them being returned to their center,” Suna told you, surprisingly serious, “Hybrids get returned for all sorts of reasons, but most of the time its owner incompatibility rather than behavioral issues. Plus that center wouldn’t let you adopt them if they thought they’d give you trouble.”

“But Sugawara did say they’d heard the twins gave someone trouble,” you admitted, recalling the conversation with the worried cat-hybrid.

“Yes, but they didn’t give you trouble,” Suna pointed out, “We cat hybrids tend to make up our minds pretty quickly about people. It sounds like they decided they liked you, and unless something really terrible happens they’ll keep liking you, we’re terribly stubborn that way.”

“If you’re really worried you can always ask the center about it,” Ojirou told you, “They keep records, and would probably tell you, especially if it’s a concern about their adoptability.”

“I don’t want to pry into something and lose their trust,” you admitted, even as part of you was incredibly tempted to do just that.

“Then maybe try asking if the center if they think whatever the issue was, will be an issue with you,” Suna reasoned, “And if they say no then let it lie and adopt them, and if they say maybe or yes, then tell the twins you can’t accept them if they can’t tell you what the issue was.”

“That seems fair to me,” Kita agreed with a nod, “Just make sure you’re honest and tell them you asked, just in case.”

“Okay,” you agreed, letting out a relieved breath, “Okay that sounds really reasonable to me. It’s just… do you think I’m rushing into this too fast? I mean going to the center today was an impulse.”

“I don’t think so,” Ojirou assured her thoughtfully, “You’ve been thinking about it for a while, haven’t you?”

“She’s put so much thought into it she’s actually over thought it,” Suna interjected wryly before you had a chance to answer.

You made a face at him but couldn’t actually argue. He might have a point about overthinking it. Reassured you spent a good couple hours talking with your neighbor and the two hybrids as they answered more of your questions, and you told them about the twins.

Eventually however you headed home, determined now to get at least a little bit prepared for the arrival of your two new housemates tomorrow. Luckily it wasn’t dirty, but running a load of laundry and doing a little vacuuming never hurt anyone. You didn’t have a whole lot for them and didn’t know what kind of things they might have or need, but hopefully your office with pull out futon and guest bedroom would suffice for now until you could take them shopping.

Falling into bed that night you let yourself feel your excitement for the first time. You were adopting a hybrid, not just one but adorable twin hybrids. You couldn’t wait to bring them home and maybe put an end to your loneliness once and for all.

Osamu glanced slowly around the room, trying not to look at his twin, the clock, or the doors to the main area of the shared living space the way Atsumu was. Yesterday had been a bit of a revelation. He’d never actually expected to approach the woman who’d shown up looking to adopt. After what happened with their last owner he’d never expected to ever actually want to be adopted again. However, somehow he’d found himself entranced by her, and he had no one but himself to blame.

When he’d initially strolled over, it was because he’d known via his bond to his older twin that he’d finally realized that Osamu had snagged his pudding for himself and was throwing a fit about it. He’d thought that his twin wouldn’t dare make a fuss if he was with a potential owner.

The rules of this place were pretty lax compared to the first center they’d lived in. It allowed them a lot more freedoms. It let them come and go from their rooms as they pleased rather than on a regimented schedule, and allowed them to turn down any potential adopter that they didn’t like, which had felt utterly shocking and unprecedented when he’d first been told about it. They gave them a small allowance they could spend or save as they chose, and even let them deal with their heats and ruts in whatever way they chose, including with other tenants so long as birth control was used.

It honestly felt like heaven compared to the first center they’d been at, and maybe even better than living with their previous owner even before everything had gone to shit. He wasn’t sure he’d even ever wanted to leave, which he’d been assured by several other tenants was also an option if he so desired.

However, the one rule that was the same between both centers was that they weren’t allowed to cause trouble with the humans that came looking to adopt. This was only good sense considering how much the law favored humans in cases of hybrid vs human issues. However, unlike the first center they’d lived, this one at least didn’t threaten to put them down if they misbehaved.

They’d been young back then, everyone in that center was, all of them below the age of twenty-one, because anyone who reached their twenty-second birthday disappeared and was never seen again. Thus he hadn’t known it was actually against the law to kill hybrids, none of them had known and the caretakers had perpetuated the rumor that those who reached twenty-two were killed instead of shipped off to other centers in order to make them that much more desperate to be adopted.

It had made him more than a bit bitter once he’d been with their new owner long enough to learn more about what was and wasn’t allowed when it came to human hybrid interactions. The man had actually found their previous beliefs amusing and had laughed at them more than once for being so naïve.

It was positively galling, and had made his hackles rise more than once. However he’d known better than to lash out and had better impulse control than Atsumu who’d been punished by their previous owner more than once for acting aggressively. Fortunately, Osamu had never liked being made fun of, and spite was a powerful motivator, meaning he’d practically memorized any and all of the laws that had to do with hybrids.

It meant the few times their owner had toed the line with Atsumu’s punishments that he’d been able to cite the law to pull him back, right up until their owner had decided he no longer cared and pushed too far, leading to them being removed from his home and put back up for adoption at this new center.

They had been here for just over a month and while several people had been interested in adopting the ‘rare gold and silver hybrid twins’ he had absolutely refused to engage with any of them. It was probably why that female alpha hybrid had been so shocked when he’d first approached.

He’d fully intended to just use the human to keep Atsumu at bay, right up until she’d crouched down and offered her hands to him and he’d gotten a whiff of her scent. He’d known from the few lessons their ma had bothered to teach them that hybrids relied a lot more on their sense of smell than humans did, and that scent was the basis of the instinct that told them who would be a good mate and who wouldn’t.

He’d originally thought compatibility could only be found with other hybrids, after all he’d met plenty of humans before both when he’d lived in the adoption centers and with his previous owner and never once had he gotten a hint of compatibility with any of them. He thought he could be forgiven for completely losing his head and giving over to his instincts as he caught the scent of the most compatible person he’d ever met.

Her scent was honestly indescribable, and his instincts had him purring within seconds as he tried to rub her scent all over himself. She’d obliged, petting him with fingers that had felt magical, her touch kind and soothing and perfect as she rubbed his ears, carded fingers through his fur and rubbed her hand along his back.

He’d been lost in a dizzy haze of touch and scent and probably would’ve remained that way if not for the fury of his brother, which had jolted him out of it. It had been like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head pulling him from his happy haze and reminding him of the whole reason he’d come up to the human in the first place.

He probably should’ve run off, but hadn’t been able to bring himself to move very far, instead darting around to hide behind her. He’d thought that once Atsumu saw her he’d stop and at least hold off attempting to get vengeance until later, but he’d overestimated his brother again, who was apparently more incensed than he’d guessed about the lost pudding.

Instinct had kicked in and before he’d really thought about it he was running away from his brother, darting around her legs in a game of chase that was both amusing and a bit annoying, especially when he could tell how much it was pissing his brother off, his sibling’s annoyance pulsing down their bond in waves of sparks.

He wasn’t sure how long it would’ve continued, as they’d actually run around like this until someone got tired before, usually Atsumu as he got fed up and didn’t have the patience to keep going. However, he’d suddenly found himself plucked right up into the air.

He’d been amused when she’d scolded Atsumu, though the amusement had faded a bit when she’d decided to scold him too, leaving him feeling properly chastised. He’d been more than a bit pissed off with his brother when he’d realized the nice smelling woman was bleeding because of him, though there’d also been a small frisson of fear, wondering what the consequences would be.

However, to his surprise she hadn’t actually seemed all that angry with either of them. Instead she’d immediately accepted Atsumu’s apologies as his brother, who’d managed to get a lungful of her scent had cuddled up to her. He could feel Atsumu’s deep interest in the human. His brother clearly also scented compatibility with her, which wasn’t surprising given they’d shared almost everything else in their lives.

He’d found himself more than a little bit jealous as he’d watched his brother soak up her attention. It had always been like that to an extent. Atsumu had always been the more outgoing one, the one who attracted attention, who wore his heart on his sleeve and somehow managed to win people over despite his often crass personality. Osamu had always kind of faded into the background as he was much quieter and had better control over his emotions, the silver to his gold, the shadow to his light.

Normally he didn’t mind, but this time being forgotten had stung. They’d always competed with each other, but most of the time he’d been humoring his brother, or simply hadn’t wanted Atsumu to win rather than wanting the prize of winning himself. This time though it had felt like more than that. No way was he going to let his brother steal her all to himself.

Before he’d really thought about it he’d reached out a paw, and to her credit she’d immediately offered him a sweet smile and resumed her wonderful petting. Atsumu hadn’t been pleased, but he hadn’t cared a bit.

It hadn’t surprised him at all that when Shimizu had come back with the first aid kit that Atsumu had insisted on taking over when he’d been the one to offer first. The two of them had continued to quietly compete over her attention as they fixed up her scratches, though he could at least feel his brother’s guilt for inflicting them on her in the first place, which did help sooth some of his annoyance with his older twin.

It was utterly gratifying that even when she had Atsumu literally in the palm of her hand, she’d still looked for him too. He’d tried to shove the feeling down and away, trying to remind himself that neither he nor his brother actually wanted another owner, but found it wasn’t working well. The combination of her scent and her fingers as she massaged her fingers through his hair enough to make him want to curl up in her lap and never leave.

He’d thought they might get in trouble when Sugawara returned. His fellow silver cat-hybrid belonged to the owner of the center, and took his job very seriously. He wouldn’t allow any of them to make trouble, and while he respected him, and admittedly envied him a bit for the clear trusting and loving relationship he had with his owner it didn’t stop him from wanting to claw his eyes out for bringing up their past in front of her.

Right when he was considering attempting to verbally eviscerate the other hybrid and damn the consequences his brother’s shock had pulled him from his thoughts, and he turned just in time to see her pull his twin into her lap. The feel of her hand gently squeezing his neck from behind practically made him limp with pleasure as Atsumu’s own bliss at being so close to her combined with his own to thoroughly distract the two of them, though not so much he didn’t notice her excusing their behavior and ensuring they didn’t get in trouble.

However, both of them had snapped to attention when the other hybrid had asked her if she wanted to adopt the two of them. He’d been able to feel his twin’s building hope, his impulsive brother apparently forgetting all about not wanting another owner, already clearly more than half in love with her despite not even knowing her for a day.

It was a trait he both hated and envied in his twin, the ability to be so impulsive, to move on so quickly and let go of past hurts. It wasn’t something he was capable of. He knew he was a grudge holder and far slower to trust than his brother was. He liked to think it served him well and kept him from being as naïve as Atsumu could be, though there were times it made things difficult too.

He’d been unsure whether he wanted her to state her intention to adopt them or not, right up until she’d said she hadn’t even considered it. It stung more than he’d expected, his own small hurt amplified by his brother’s though both of them had been somewhat soothed by her explanation that she wanted to know them better.

It was extremely reasonable and made him like her all the more, knowing she was the cautious type, more like him than like Atsumu, even if he simultaneously wished she’d been a little more impulsive just this one time and said yes instead. Though he found himself heartened by her honesty. That she’d actually asked them if they wanted to go with her rather than making any sort of assumption had settled things for him.

He hadn’t needed Atsumu’s silent pleading to forget their original plans to agree that maybe they should give this human a chance, though it did make it easier in the end to agree as he wasn’t the only one who wanted it.

They’d both tried to win her over, and though they’d accidentally fallen into squabbling more than once she’d handled it like a champ, not at all put off and even amused by it if the smile was any indication. However, despite the fact that they were the ones trying to win her over, it seemed every word she spoke was actually meant to win them over instead.

She was nothing like their previous owner, who’d been strict with his rules and harsh with his punishments. In fact she didn’t speak about punishments at all. He wasn’t naïve enough to think there wouldn’t be any if they misbehaved, but the freedoms she was offering in turn more than made up for anything she might throw their way.

The biggest hiccup had been when Atsumu mentioned their previous owner. The horror and guilt he’d felt from his twin was the only reason he’d managed to keep himself from doing more than hiss at him. His stomach had sunk when she’d gently pressed them for answers, but he knew they had to give her something.

He’d tried to give her as little as possible unwilling to volunteer the information, both because he hated even thinking about their time with their previous owner and because he was afraid she might somehow decide she didn’t want them because of it. In the end she’d changed the subject herself, and not brought it up again, but as she’d walked away from them with Sugawara, leaving them behind he’d wondered rather despairingly if that hadn’t been a mistake.

It didn’t matter that she’d turned around to comfort them when Atsumu had been unable to keep his heartbreak quiet. He’d known the minute she walked out the doors the chances of her coming back were slim to none. That was the other thing that remained consistent between this shelter and the last. Once a potential owner walked away claiming they needed to ‘think on it’ they never came back.

Still he hadn’t been able to turn away from her embrace, or to stop himself from scent marking the opposite side of your neck from the one his twin had claimed, laying his own personal stamp with the faint hope it would remind you to come back for them. However, no matter what you’d said, he couldn’t bring himself to hope. He knew hoping would only lead to more disappointment, and he wasn’t like Atsumu he wouldn’t be able to bounce back from it.

Not that his twin was making it easy on him. His brother’s hope was so fierce it was almost painful and he could feel the slightly desperate edge to it. He’d gotten attached to her, not that he could blame him, he was more attached than he wanted to be too. However unlike him, Atsumu had fill faith you were coming back, so much so he’d actually packed up his room into the bags they’d brought from his old place and was ready to go.

Nothing Osamu or any of the others, who also seemed to understand how small the chance was that she’d come back for them, said could sway him. The moment it had passed three o’clock Atsumu had brought hjs bags out to the shared living area and began to sit vigil, waiting for her to come back.

Stubborn as ever his twin had ignored all the pitying looks sent his way and the fact that slowly but surely time had slipped by, leaving just half an hour until they were supposed to close. Though his face was resolute, his brother wasn’t actually stupid and Osamu knew it was only stubborn pride keeping him in place. He could feel the slow onset of his twin’s hurt and despair as each minute ticked down.

He’d contemplated leaving him, going to his own room to wallow, but he knew he could never abandon his twin. They’d been through everything together, and he certainly wasn’t going to leave him now.

He was trying to figure out if he could coax his brother into leaving his post when the door swung open, revealing Sugawara, who had a wide beaming smile on his face. His fellow silver hybrid cast a quick glance behind him before ushering his follower into the room.

He barely caught a glimpse of her before his brother practically launched himself at her, but it was enough to freeze him in his place, because it was her. She’d actually come back after all.

His brother had wrapped himself around her, burying his face in her neck and clinging to her like favorite a stuffed toy, not that she seemed to mind, if the hands she was running over his hair and back meant anything. He couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, the words too quiet to hear over the sudden near painful hope and the rapid beat of his own heart at the thought that she’d come for them.

Atsumu’s joy was practically burning through him, combined with his restored faith and smug satisfaction that he’d been right all along about her coming back for them. It probably should’ve annoyed him, but he found that all he could really feel was a bone deep sort of relief.

“Where’s your brother?” she asked, as she finally managed to gently extract herself a bit from his twin’s embrace, though he noticed he didn’t let go entirely, one of his hands laced firmly with hers.

He immediately stood, letting himself fall back into his more human skin as he made his way toward them, not waiting for his brother to out him. She seemed to spot him immediately and the relieved smile on her face was enough to make his traitorous heart skip a beat.

“Osamu,” she greeted warmly, more warmly than he thought he’d ever been greeted by anyone before as she opened her free arm in an inviting gesture. It was maybe a little pathetic how readily he accepted that embrace, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, as he fell into her hold, face automatically nuzzling against the side of her neck that Atsumu had left unclaimed. A rumbling purr left his lips as he felt her press her face against his affectionately, as he allowed himself to cling to her for a bit.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she murmured to him quietly, her arm squeezing affectionately around his waist, genuine regret in her tone, “My boss made me stay a little longer than usual, and then there was an accident on the freeway. I called ahead though and Sugawara has almost all the paperwork done. I just need to collect the two of you, do some signing and we’ll go home okay?”

“Really? Yer takin’ us home?” he almost didn’t recognize his own voice given how weak it sounded, the quaver in it making him feel utterly ridiculous and overly emotional, something that was supposed to be his twin’s job, and frustrated him enough that he bit his lip nearly hard enough to bleed as he wrestled with himself, trying to get back in control of his emotions.

“Yeah, as long as you want to come, then I’ll gladly take you,” she offered with a gentle smile that made his heart squeeze nearly painfully in his chest, “Though there’s something I need to admit to first.”

He froze a little at that, staring at her anxiously as Atsumu also looked on, his blabbermouth brother finally silent and clearly wary. She carefully released him, though she still reached for his hand, peering between the two of them, anxious but also obviously determined. He allowed her to grasp her fingers, squeezing them automatically, anxiety making his heartrate skyrocket and bile rise in his throat.

“I asked the center about your previous owner,” she confessed, the words automatically making his heart drop, as he wondered numbly what they could’ve told her. Had she asked for the details? Was she afraid now? Had she changed her mind or decided to add some stipulations to their adoption?”

“I didn’t ask for details,” she clarified, her voice managing to cut through the haze of panic that had been rising in his chest, “All I asked was if they thought whatever had happened with your previous owner would cause trouble for me, or put any of us in any sort of danger.”

That didn’t actually sound so bad, and was even fairly reasonable the storm of hurt and anger that had been building behind his anxiety slowly dispersing the more he thought about it. He noticed that his grip on her hand had loosened a bit, and he retightened his hold, hoping the center had responded in a way that reassured her. Given that she was here, talking to them, he thought it wasn’t unreasonable to be hopeful.

“They said none of us would be in any danger, otherwise they never would’ve offered to take you both in, in the first place, and that they were sure you’d be alright with me,” she explained, her hand gently squeezing his in return.

He wasn’t sure if the bone deep relief he felt was his or his brother’s but he couldn’t bring himself to care, too caught up in the surging hope that followed it as she asked, “So, even knowing that I asked that, are the two of you still willing to come home with me?”

“O course we want to go with ya, right Samu?” his brother replied instantly, nuzzling into her neck insistently, clearly begging for attention, attention she seemed more than willing to give if the affectionate smile on her face was any indication. When she looked at him for confirmation all he could do was nod in agreement, unable to find the words for how very much he did want it and unwilling to sound ridiculous again.

The next half hour passed in a strange almost dream like haze, as he packed himself up, his smug brother clinging to her and gloating over how he was already finished, soaking up her attention as he made a mental note to get back at his annoying twin later. Once he finished packing all there really was, was a couple of signatures before he found himself in a nice car that was speeding along the highway.

Atsumu was chatting away in the front seat, practically bouncing as he asked their amused new owner anything that popped into his head as he tried to digest what had happened. Somehow, someway, they had an owner again.

You smiled to yourself as you listened to Atsumu babble away happily in the seat next to you. The golden furred twin hadn’t stopped bouncing since you’d showed up at the shelter, clearly over the moon that you’d come back for him. Osamu was quiet in the back seat, and you might’ve been worried he was happy to come with you if not for the way he’d scent marked you, almost frantically his hand clutched tightly to yours as you’d signed the paperwork to take them home.

It was pretty clear both twins had thought you weren’t coming back for them, and it had broken your heart a bit, and made you even more resolute that you’d done the right thing for all of you. You’d been anxious the whole day to get back to them, not nearly as focused on work as you probably should’ve been, which had been part of the reason for your delay in the first place.

You’d panicked more than a bit when you’d encountered the accident on the way there, afraid that you’d break your promise to the twins. It had only been Sugawara’s kind voice, assuring you that he’d start the paperwork while you drove and even stay open late if necessary for you to get there, that had kept your guilt and panic at bay.

Now that you had them with you weren’t quite sure how you felt. Dazed that it was actually happening, excited for what the future might bring, and a little anxious about all the changes you’d have to make in your life even as you looked forward to those changes more than anything.

However, before you headed for home there were a couple things you needed to do first. Luckily you would hopefully find everything you needed in one place, at least for today. You wanted to give them time to settle in a bit, more shopping could come later when they’d decided what they needed.

“Where’s this?” Atsumu asked, pausing in his excited babble to look at you with confusion, as you pulled into the large parking lot, “Ya don’t live here do ya?”

“Don’t be stupid,” his brother huffed from the backseat, “Yer gonna make her think we’re some kind of bumpkins, ya know what a mall is Tsumu.”

“O course I know what a mall is,” Atsumu blustered, twisting around in his seat to glare at his twin, “I just thought maybe she had an apartment nearby is all. Who knows how rich people live?”

You huffed in amusement, reaching out without thought to ruffle his ears affectionately. The golden haired hybrid froze for a minute under your touch, and you wondered if you’d done something wrong, freezing as well, before a rumbling purr left his chest as he pressed his head further into your hand.

“You’re too cute,” you murmured almost to yourself as you gently scratched his ears and stroked your hand over his face and neck, unable to keep the smile from your lips.

“We’re only stopped here for a quick couple errands,” you explained to both twins, reluctantly pulling away from Atsumu who offered a pout but didn’t protest, “I noticed you don’t have as much as I thought you would, and I want to get you more comfortable collars to wear when we’re in public.”

Both twins hands immediately flew to the simple brown leather bands around their necks. All hybrids were required to wear collars in public to identify them as belonging to someone. The collars had a tag on them, which was essentially a small chip that had all their owner’s information in it, that when scanned would tell someone how to get in contact with their owner. It was to ensure they behaved and that if they didn’t their owner could be forced to take responsibility for their actions. Any hybrid who walked around without a collar immediately had the police called and was brought in and held until they could figure out why they were without.

You’d heard horror stories about the way such hybrids were treated, innocent hybrids who’d accidentally lost a collar somewhere and been so traumatized when they were finally returned to their owners that they were never the same again. Which of course was why you were determined it was never going to happen to your twins, even if a part of you balked at the idea of putting a symbol of ownership on another sentient being. Judging from the looks on their faces, Atsumu’s much easier to read than Osamu’s they’d heard stories too, and neither of them bothered to protest.

“Come on,” you urged gently, climbing out of the car yourself, “The sooner we get the unpleasant stuff done the sooner we get to the good stuff. I’ve got a couple things in mind I’d like to get you both as welcome home presents, but if there’s anything else you think you want or need feel free to ask.”

“Presents?” Atsumu asked eagerly, practically bounding out of the car.

“That’s right,” you agreed with a small laugh, watching him sulk a bit as he realized his brother had beaten him in securing your free hand, Osamu’s fingers laced with your own and a smug smirk on the silver hybrid’s face, “So keep close and let’s get going okay?”

Luckily the mall wasn’t too crowded, and while the twins got more then their fair share of admiring looks, doubtless both because of how good looking they were and how rare twin hybrids in general were, no one actually dared to approach your group, even as Atsumu practically bounced around glancing around the mall in fascination and reminding you more of an eager puppy than a supposedly slightly older cat hybrid.

Osamu was much more dignified and kept close to your side, though judging from his wide-eyed look that he couldn’t quite hide behind his stoic façade he was just as in awe as his brother. You were starting to get an impression of their previous owner and it was far from good.

You’d known that some owners kept their hybrids close to home, either because they were overly protective or possessive, and it had always rubbed you the wrong way. Ojirou had always allowed Kita and Suna to do as they pleased for the most part, treating them as capable adults and equals, more like roommates than the pets some treated their hybrids as and his was the example you were going to strive to follow.

It was why your errands today were so important, because while you would happily have let your twin hybrids run around as they pleased dressed however they pleased a collar was unfortunately the one thing they couldn’t be without, especially if they were going to go outside without you.

Luckily the mall was outfitted with several hybrid specialty stores and it didn’t take you long to find one dedicated entirely to collars. Both twins were a little wide eyed at the selection, and neither seemed to know quite what to say as you roamed through the aisles together looking at the selection.

Several of them made you grimace in outright distaste, the collars boasting accessories like inward facing spikes or tracking devices that would alert the owner if the hybrid tried to leave their home. It made you feel a little sick to your stomach, so you instead turned to the less intrusive ones.

“Do you see anything you like?” you asked the twins, squeezing Osamu’s hand affectionately, “You don’t have to wear collars in the house if you don’t want to, but you’re going to need them if you want to leave when I’m not home, which means you’ll probably be wearing them a lot, so make sure to pick something you like. You can even pick a couple if you want it to match your outfit for the day or whatever I don’t mind spending a little more to get a handful of chips programmed.”

Both twins blinked at you owlishly clearly startled by the offer, which made your heart hurt for them, even as they hesitantly turned back toward the displays, looking more closely than they had before.

“Do ya have any restrictions?” Osamu asked bluntly, not quite looking at you as he eyed a display of thick leather ones that didn’t look comfortable in the slightest.

“No,” you assured him, “I’m not the one who has to wear it.”

Osamu nodded slowly, and seemed to be taking his time as he perused the collars. You let him do as he liked, allowing him to lead. You’d only loosened your hold on him once, thinking he may like to wander the store like his brother and not have to tow you along with him, but the way his hand had reflexively tightened on yours in response had put paid to that assumption and you’d immediately re-laced your fingers together.

In the end Atsumu approached you first, holding a collar out to you hopefully. It actually looked like it was meant more for a dog hybrid, thick black leather with steel spikes on it, making it look fairly fierce. Personally you thought it was gaudy and was probably going to be uncomfortable, but you tried not to let your distaste show, after all you’d said anything they wanted and you’d meant it. Luckily in the end you didn’t need to say anything.

“What the hell is that?” Osamu demanded when he caught sight of the collar in his brother’s hands, the disgusted look on his face letting you know his feelings quite clearly.

“It’s a collar scrub, what else would it be?” Atsumu replied with a sneer for his twin you were beginning to think was automatic.

“I’m not the scrub you are,” the silver twin sneered, “Because only a scrub would wear somethin’ like that.”

“Oy,” Atsumu interjected, with a fierce glare, “She said we could have what we wanted.”

“Yeah but she probably thought ya had some sort of taste, she doesn’t know you well enough to know how scrubby ya are scrub,” Osamu hissed back.

“Alright guys,” you interjected gently, squeezing Osamu’s hand and reaching out to gently ruffle Atsumu’s ears, aware of the eyes of the cashier which had definitely turned in your direction given the twins were getting louder and louder by the second, “Let’s try to keep it to polite volume levels in public hmm?”

“Sorry,” both twins grumbled, identical pouts on their faces that made you giggle.

“It’s alright,” you assured them fondly, “Just try to be good okay?”

They nodded though Osamu clearly needed to get the last word in as he turned to you with pleading eyes, “Ya think it’s an abomination too don’t ya?”

“I said you could have whatever you wanted,” you told him diplomatically, “If this is what Atsumu likes, then of course he can have it.”

“Ha, see!” Osamu demanded of his twin, clearly seeing right through your attempt at diplomacy, “She thinks it’s ugly too!”

“Do ya really think it’s ugly?” Atsumu asked you sulkily eyeing the collar in his hands.

You’d known before that you were weak to pleading eyes, but it turned out you were even more weak to the pleading copper eyes of your hybrid, the thought that he might be sad tugging at your heartstrings.

“I just worry you’ll be uncomfortable,” you assured him, letting go of Osamu’s hand and gently cupping his face in your hands, rubbing your thumbs along his cheeks affectionately, the same way you did for one of the hybrids that occasionally came to your office to sulk when his owner brought him to work but didn’t pay attention to him.

Atsumu immediately leaned into your palms, heavy lidded eyes half-shut with bliss as you explained, “It’s summer right now, and there’s no padding so it will be hot, heavy and probably chafe. Plus didn’t you say you wanted to play volleyball? Won’t it get in the way? I can definitely get it for you if you like it, but maybe pick something else too, okay?”

“Kay,” your golden twin agreed, sounding completely and utterly content as he nuzzled into your hands, making your heart melt in your chest.

“What about this one?” Osamu offered, pulling your attention away from his brother.

He was holding a collar in his hands, one that actually looked more like a necklace a thin but sturdy looking cord of leather fastened with a silver chain in the front that clasped on both ends to a silver hoop that suspended a solid silver disc in the middle that on close inspection revealed that it housed the chip needed for identification.

“That looks really nice,” you praised, letting out a breath of relief at his choice. You weren’t a big fan of the collars in general, but seeing it look more like a necklace made it seem far more tolerable. Plus it was black and silver and thus would probably go with just about anything he chose to wear.

Letting go of Atsumu to take the collar from his twin, you completely missed the smug smirk directed over your shoulder by Osamu as you inspected it, though Atsumu certainly didn’t, giving his twin an annoyed glare above your head.

In the end, while Atsumu sulked and complained about it, he did actually put the original collar he’d offered back and go with Osamu’s choice, even though you offered to get him both. He refused, sulking slightly all the while, but remained insistent that he only needed the one, even though you ended up buying four collars total, so you could have two back-ups. Though he did insist on holding your hand to make up for the disappointment.

Luckily the manager didn’t seem to mind having to program all four collars, tapping away at the computer, while Atsumu sulked a bit by your side and Osamu somehow managed to all but radiate smug superiority. The cashier carefully ringing up your purchases for you as you pulled your wallet out.

“A word of advice?” the cashier offered as you waited for the programmed collars, surprising you with his forwardness.

“You’re too indulgent with them,” he continued on, not giving you the chance to refute the need for him to speak, “Hybrid’s need a firm hand. You’ll spoil them if you let them get away with raising their voices in public and causing a scene. Don’t ever let them forget their place.”

You felt more than saw both twins bristle on either side of you, and gently squeezed Atsumu’s hand, before laying your hand over the back of Osamu’s neck. You wouldn’t care a bit if they wanted to verbally eviscerate the man who was eying them with clear distaste, a distaste you were almost sure stemmed from jealousy given the lascivious looks he probably thought you hadn’t noticed levelled in your direction. Unfortunately, you also didn’t want them to get into trouble, and weren’t quite sure what the law said about how hybrids were allowed to defend themselves from humans, something you planned to rectify as soon as possible.

For now however you weren’t about to let the twins get in trouble and cut in your tone as cold as you could make it, “I don’t remember asking for your opinion, nor do I care about what you think in the least. I’ll treat them how I want to treat them, which means I’ll spoil and pamper them as much as I like. I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself in the future if you want to keep this business running. As it is I’ll be sending my complaint to your superiors. Let’s go guys, we can find other collars elsewhere. It’s not like they’re hard to find.”

“Wait! The chips are already programmed and you haven’t paid,” the manager protested, standing up from the computer looking utterly appalled.

“Should’ve thought of that before your employee opened his mouth, and decided to spew his unwanted bile everywhere,” you countered with a shrug, “I’d consider finding better employees in the future if I were you, or at least teach them to keep their mouths shut.”

“But the chips can’t be removed from these collars, they’ll be completely ruined,” the manager put in, sounding more than a bit despairing.

“I’m sorry,” you told her, feeling genuinely bad for the woman, after all it wasn’t her fault the other employee was an ass, “But that’s not my problem. I refuse to support any sort of business that would treat its customers like this.”

The glare she leveled on her fellow employee was utterly ferocious and had him cowering back in his seat. Not that you could blame her for being upset, each collar was about three hundred USD so the sale they were losing out on was enormous.

“I can offer you a discount?” she tried hopefully, “Fifty percent off?”

You tilted your head thoughtfully, but didn’t reply instead turning to look at the twins who’d clearly been more than ready to follow you out of the store, “What do you think?”

“Us?” Atsumu asked, clearly baffled.

“Yes, you,” you told him with a fond smile, “You’re the ones who got insulted, not me, and they’re your collars. I’m happy to buy you whatever you like from wherever you want it, whether that’s here or somewhere else.”

“Seventy-five percent off,” Osamu bargained from her other side, taking you by surprise. You turned to see him watching the manager with shrewd eyes, and when it looked like she would protest he added in, “Seventy-five percent off and we won’t leave bad reviews on every site we can or send letters of complaint to upper management.”

“Agreed,” the manager huffed, shooting another vicious look at her employee, one that clearly read that it would be coming out of his salary.

You huffed, amused at Osamu’s bargaining, gently massaging your thumb against the base of his neck affectionately before releasing both twins and moving to pay, only spending a quarter of what you’d originally planned.

“Nice work,” you praised the silver hybrid once the three of you were out of the store and out of earshot.

Osamu shot you a sly smirk, looking exceedingly pleased with himself as he walked beside you. Atsumu had claimed your hand this time, so he was carrying the bags, though it didn’t seem to bother him in the least.

“Now that, that’s taken care of, let’s go grab your gifts,” you told the twins, tugging them along to the PineApple store.

“Presents?” Atsumu asked eagerly, practically bounding along beside you, your intertwined hands swinging back and forth between you.

Laughing you simply pulled him with you into the store. Both twins were wide-eyed as you browsed through, clearly unused to the cutting edge technology on display, both of them exceedingly cautious with the expensive looking tech. It took some gentle urging, but eventually you managed to get phones and laptops picked out for each of them.

“Isn’t this too much,” Osamu asked you in an undertone, clearly worried as an employee walked Atsumu through getting his laptop set up. It turned out that of the twins Osamu was definitely more technically savvy and loved his new laptop, though Atsumu had already managed to download several apps and games on to his phone and was thoroughly enjoying them as well, “It’s expensive.”

“I have the money,” you assured him gently, “And besides, everyone has a phone these days. I want you guys to have them in case you get in trouble when I’m not home and need to reach me, like if you got lost or hurt or simply need a human to ensure you’re treated fairly. I’d feel awful if you needed me and I didn’t know.”

“The laptops are so you don’t get too bored at home, though I hope you’ll find things to enjoy outside the apartment too,” you continued, absently stroking your hand up and down his back.

“Will you be wanting hybrid trackers in the new phones?” the employee asked, her voice professional as she began to ring up your purchases.

You hesitated. On one hand you hated the idea of invading the twins privacy, and on the other you knew that you fully intended to let them roam as they pleased so wouldn’t it be better to have the tracker just in case? A quick glance showed that Osamu was impassive as ever, and even Atsumu just looked bored, not paying any attention whatsoever, instead tapping away at his new phone.

“What do you think?” you asked them, more than willing to hear their opinions on the matter.

“You’re the owner,” Osamu told her, apparently speaking for both of them as he gave an unconcerned shrug, which wasn’t helpful in the least.

You grimaced a bit trying to think of a compromise before finally pulling out your own phone and asking the employee, “Is there anyway to ensure all three of the phones will track each other?”

“Let me go ask,” she told you politely, turning away to go grab someone more knowledgeable.

“That’s fair right?” you asked hesitantly, “This way you know where I am too and can come find me if you need me.”

“Yeah,” Osamu agreed, giving you a look that you thought might be something as close to awe as you’d seen on the silver haired hybrid, “Yeah that’s fair.”

The employee quickly returned and confirmed they could indeed make all three phones track one another, and in the span of a few minutes managed to get your purchases complete. Feeling like that was probably enough for now, you led them back towards the car.

It was starting to get pretty late, and the minute you’d exited the mall Osamu’s stomach had given a loud rumbling growl. Atsumu had made fun of him for all of a minute, before his own stomach betrayed him. You’d shaken your head at their antics, but allowed a surprisingly eager Osamu to order whatever he wanted for carryout from the Chinese place near your apartment.

One quick stop for the food, and you finally managed to bring your new hybrids home. Both of them were a little quiet as you led them up to your apartment, staring around and clearly taking everything in. Either Ojirou, Kita and Suna weren’t home, or they’d decided to give you time to settle with the twins as they didn’t emerge from their apartment as you arrived in the hallway and fumbled the door open.

“Here we are,” you told them, hitting the lights, “Home sweet home.”

Both twins were laden with things, carrying their purchases, the food, and their things from the adoption center. Still looking at them was enough to make your heart clench. It had only taken one trip to bring everything up, but despite hybrids being stronger than normal humans it still made your heart clench to see how very little the twins actually had. Each of them only had a medium sized suitcase of things, and Atsumu had a worn volleyball but that was it aside from the things you’d bought them. It was something you were determined to fix for the future, but for now you’d make do.

“I know you’re hungry, so unless you want to settle in for a bit first we can eat and then I’ll show you around,” you offered.

The twins exchanged looks, but nodded in clear agreement. You pointed out the bathroom just in case, but then brought them to the kitchen, trying to show them where everything was as you pulled utensils from the drawers. Osamu clearly paid much more attention to her explanations than Atsumu did, though both diligently helped her set the table.

The food was really good, and thankfully sparked more conversation, even if it was more subdued than earlier, all of them worn out from the long day they’d had. Osamu was clearly very interested in food, and not just in eating it the way his brother was. You managed to coax out that he’d cooked for their previous owner from time to time, and told him that as long as he was careful he was more than free to use her kitchen and anything in it for whatever he wanted earning what felt like her first real smile from the silver haired twin.

Despite how tired they clearly were, both twins helped you clean up. For the first time since you’d first discovered the lovely little Chinese restaurant there weren’t actually any leftovers, the twins having consumed everything you said you didn’t want. As they worked you noted it really was kind of nice, even if things were quiet, to have the company as they went about their tasks.

“Alright, so I wasn’t sure if you’d want your own rooms or if you’d want to share,” you told them, gesturing for them to follow, “We’re going to have to do some shopping either way, since they’re your rooms and I want you to be able to personalize them any way you want, but I think they’re pretty equal in size.”

The twins stared at you, clearly surprised, glancing at each other, to the rooms you’d offered, to you, and back again, the gesture making her more than a bit nervous. You’d thought there was plenty of space for the two of them, but maybe they didn’t see it that way?

“We get our own rooms?” Atsumu asked at last, finally breaking the silence, his voice quiet and disbelieving, copper eyes huge in his face.

“If you want them, then of course they’re yours,” you assured him, concerned, “I still have to clean out my study, but I didn’t want to delay adopting you and I don’t think it will take too long. There’s a pull out futon in there, though you’re more than free to share if you want a bed, or I can take the futon and one of you can have my bed for now. I’ve certainly slept on the futon before and I don’t mind.”

“You’d give up your bed?” Osamu repeated, looking like you’d just smacked him over the head with a fish, more surprise on his face then you’d thought him capable of showing.

“Just until we find something for you,” you told him, a little puzzled at his surprise but with the sinking feeling that your suspicions about their former owner were correct.

“But, why?” Atsumu asked you, wide eyed and a little teary.

“Because, you’re mine now,” you assured him, unable to quite find the words you wanted to say, but hoping you were conveying your feelings at the very least, “And I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe and happy.”

The sad mewling sound he made in response to your words was enough to break your heart, as he pitched forward squeezing you into his chest and burying his face in your shoulder. You pressed your cheek to his hair, rubbing his back soothingly with one arm even as you automatically opened the other one for his twin, a gesture that was slowly becoming more and more familiar to you.

Osamu didn’t sob the way his twin did, but the way he squeezed you tight let you know he was just as moved as Atsumu even if he was quieter about it. Seeing their genuine gratitude for what you felt was common courtesy broke your heart, but even as it ached and you did your best to soothe them you swore to yourself, to love and care for your new hybrids so they’d never want for anything ever again to be the best owner it was possible to be after all they deserved nothing less.

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[yourlmanburg]

benchsquad meetup // benchtrio (& others) + reader

i know nothing about london zoo

word count: 1,485

(this hasn't been proofread or anything pls forgive how bad it is smh)

---

You hadn’t felt excitement like this since you received your invite to the Dream SMP, barely containing your smile as you sat on the train on your way to spend the day with your three best friends. You’d known Ranboo, Tubbo and Tommy for a good few months now after you met them through the server, and your friendship quickly solidified and morphed into an iconic group known as the “Bench Squad”, and today was the day you’d finally be meeting them in person.

It’d been agreed that you’d meet in London, film a Tom Simons vlog, and then meet up with Wilbur, Philza, Jack and Niki to film another vlog for your own channel before spending a few nights at Tubbo’s house. You had a busy few days ahead of you filled with recording and streaming but you couldn’t care less; you knew these were about to be the best days of your life. You passed the time with your airpods in your ears with your guys’ collab Spotify playlist blasting through your ears and catching up on missed vods and YouTube videos, when eventually the train came to a halt at your stop.

This was it. You were about to meet the people who meant the most to you.

You pulled out your bags as quickly as you could, not wasting a single second that could instead be spent with them. Shoving through the congregation of people and stopping one or twice to greet fans who recognised you, you made your way over to a less crowded area of the train station to shoot Ranboo a quick “where are you?” text. It took a few anxious minutes for him to reply, but once he did there was nothing stopping you from practically running to where they waited.

And there they were. You could see them not too far away now, two tall figures and a slightly smaller one stood in a row, looking around as if they were waiting for someone. It was then that you were struck with an idea, what if you just…

You snuck round to the other side of where they stood, making an effort not to be seen. You crouched down a little and creeped towards them, praying none of them turned round.

“BOO!” you shouted, successfully scaring the three of them and even a few poor strangers around you. With a smile you jumped straight into Ranboo’s arms, and you held each other tightly as the four of you grinned like children on Christmas day.

“Y/n!” Tommy and Tubbo exclaimed in unison, while Ranboo simply commented on the pun you accidentally made. You chuckled as you pulled away, wiping the tears from your eyes and readjusting your bags. This is the moment you’d been waiting for for so many months now.

“How was the journey?” Tommy asked after you’d greeted them properly and had begun to make your way out of the train station and to the location of where the vlog was going to be filmed.

“Wasn’t too bad, it was a bit scary doing it on my own and it took way too long but it could’ve been worse, I guess.” you replied, the smile seemingly glued to your face. “Where are we going again?”

“This way,” Tommy led you through many busy roads and you really wished you had somewhere to put your bags, which is why you were grateful when Ranboo offered to carry one of them for you. You thanked him profusely, rubbing your sore shoulder from where the heaviest bag had been resting. It took a while to get there so Tommy decided to film the vlog intro while you were all walking, though soon enough you found yourselves standing outside the great entrance to London Zoo.

“Here we are,” Tommy said as he held his phone up to the sign, clearly out of breath from all the walking, “We’re at the zoo!” he showed you and the other two on camera and you all waved, just as worn out as he was.

You went in and got all the registration sorted, and now you were free to do as you pleased! As you walked into the main area the gorilla enclosure immediately caught your eyes and you ran to see them, Tubbo in tow. Tommy started complaining to the camera as he caught up to you and Ranboo simply laughed, standing back and watching the “argument” you two were putting on for content.

The four of you walked around the zoo for a while, filming the majority of it and laughing and joking around with each other. You were having the time of your life, and it was far from over; you couldn’t wait to meet the others.

“Hold on a minute…” you interrupted Tommy filming Tubbo trying to get an Alpaca’s attention as a certain species caught your eye, and being close to the one and only Wilbur Soot made it impossible to miss. “Are they anteaters?”

“Thank God Wilbur’s not here, huh!” Ranboo chimed in, walking over and standing beside you. This still didn’t feel real.

“Can we go and see them?” Tubbo asked, but there was hardly a chance of anyone saying no. So now you were on FaceTime with Wilbur (who was already with Niki) as he gushed about how much he hated those damn creatures, pulling up the infamous list. None of you could stop laughing rather loudly and you certainly got many dirty looks, but you didn’t care.

The aquarium was quite something, too. One of the staff members got particularly mad at Tommy for tapping on the glass and shouting at the fish while you recorded him for a bit, which was definitely a sight to see. Needless to say, you rushed right past that woman the next time you guys saw her.

You saw so many incredible animals and had so many laughs with your friends, and you didn’t leave until late afternoon. It didn’t really matter though, there wasn’t much planned for your vlog. You guys made your way out of the exit and caught a taxi to take you to another place, wrapping up Tommy’s filming there. You admittedly almost fell asleep, but the calm conversation you were having with Tubbo kept you awake.

The taxi eventually pulled up outside a post restaurant which is where your vlog was going to be filmed. You didn’t choose anything too extravagant, the plan was for a short but entertaining video with you and your friends. It took about ten minutes of standing and waiting for the other four to turn up. First it was Philza, of course he was the only one on time. You suspected Niki would’ve been too, but she was probably being held up by Jack and Wilbur.

“OLD MAN!” you shouted, zooming in on him as the first clip of your vlog. He burst out laughing as he greeted you, asking if the others were here yet. “Nope! Bet they won’t be here for another two hours.” you joked, stopping the recording and talking to Phil and the others until they did eventually turn up.

Soon enough all eight of you were sitting at a table in a fancy restaurant, trying to decide what on earth you were going to order. You were squished in between Ranboo and Wilbur which made you feel particularly small, and Tommy was laughing at you from the other side of the table, Niki jokingly scolding him for being mean.

“What? I didn’t do anything!” he retorted, amping up his personality for the camera again.

“Neither did Y/n and you’re being mean to them!” Niki said, a smile evident on her face as you caught her eyes and laughed.

“Thank you, Niki, I believe Tommy should learn his lesson from a responsible adult.” you thanked her, Wilbur tuning in from his conversation with Ranboo, Tubbo, Phil and Jack.

“Tommy, stop being a dick.” He said bluntly, causing you all to burst out laughing.

“I agree.” Jack said with a deadpan face, earning an eye roll from Tommy.

“Oh, shut up Manifold!” He whined, failing to notice the very confused waitress standing over the table, waiting to take everybody’s orders. Phil was, of course, the one to apologise for all the commotion and you all took turns to let her know what you wanted, going straight back to your previous antics the moment she left.

You left the restaurant hated by most people who were in there, and you all found it funnier than it really was. You said goodbye to the adults and finished up your very chaotic vlog, making your way to another train station and taking the train back to Tubbo’s house. You got back quite late and all of you pretty much immediately crashed after such a busy yet fulfilling day. And it was the first of many.

[bluesora]

celebrating mother’s day with you

tsukishima kei ; sugawara kōshi ; oikawa torū ; kita shinsuke

headcanon ; fluff ; age up ; snippets of cuteness ; parenthood ; special edition — mother’s day

note: i’m not sure if i portrayed each characterization well but i just thought it’ll be fun to write one. after all, i was blessed to be born with loving parents and i just wanted to share the love i’m grateful for.

tagging: @forgetou @amjustagirl @yacoka @haikyuutothetop @luvnami ;; thank you for dropping these characters as i couldn’t decide who to write for. (of course it was more exciting without context)

ps. it’s longer than expected i’m sorry :’)

tsukishima kei

tsukishima isn’t one who would remember special occasions unless someone had schedule a plan in advance with him. when he wondered if he should do anything for you after hearing his colleagues whispering during break, his work got busier than usual so he had forgotten about it.

that was, until he realized he had ten missed calls from his son; which was odd because he weren’t one to call him so often.

“i was in a meeting, what hap—” before tsukishima could finish his sentence, his son interrupted him, “i bought mom’s favorite cake since you’re slow. hurry home or there’s none left for you,” the line was cut right after; which of course left poor tsukishima’s partner to deal with the aftermath. “tsukishima-san, about the report—”

“it must be so urgent that it needs my immediate attention even when i’m packing up right?” his words dripped of pure sarcasm despite the polite smile hanging from his lips. everyone could literally see the panic swirling in his partner’s pupil.

“i’m sorry!! good work today and see you tomorrow!!” it’s the weekend tomorrow, but tsukishima was too hung up on his son’s attitude to shoot another of his sarcastic reply.

you, on the other hand, were neither someone who would celebrate such occasion unless it was for birthdays or holidays. therefore, you didn’t really had anything in mind nor were you expecting anything as well.

when you finally reached home from a tiring day at work, you were definitely not expecting to see your favorite cake on the table while your son popped a party popper with a party horn in his mouth right beside you.

“happy mother’s day!” he tried to mumble out with the horn still in his mouth. you couldn’t help but chuckle at the unexpected surprise, dropping your bag on the counter just so you could hug him—one that he wholeheartedly hugged you back because tsukishima wasn’t around.

it took an hour for tsukishima to be home, a small bouquet of flowers in his hand when he walked over to where you and the cheeky lad was sitting. “oh! you didn’t have to though,” you smiled in surprise.

“dad’s just guilty he forgot about our promise and didn’t want to come home empty handed.” you chuckled at that, perhaps it wasn’t entirely wrong either but you still appreciate the sentiment. it was rare for him after all.

“those who break promises don’t get desserts.” he continued to press his dad’s buttons, only to see tsukishima loosened his tie with an expression he could not understand.

“oh, but that’s on your mom to decide if i’ll get one tonight or not.” you could feel your face heating up at your husband’s words, the tone and smile that dawned on his face was a look you knew oh so well.

“tch...i thought i hid it well.” of course, your clueless son didn’t know the true meaning of those words and thought the strawberry shortcake he bought for his dad was found out.

sugawara kōshi

sugawara would definitely plan in advance with the children. especially when they were the ones who excitedly wanted to do something for you.

“mama like animals! lets go to the zoo!” the middle child exclaimed with so much enthusiasm, sugawara could only chuckle at her adorable smile.

“you only said that because you wanted to go to the zoo, dummy.” the eldest one huffed, feeling proud that he saw through her obvious tactic.

it didn’t take long for the two to start crawling over each other in a fight while the youngest one giggled amusingly as if she was watching a performance. that was, until an insult was thrown at her so she joined in the fight to prove her worth.

“if you don’t stop now, we’ll be celebrating at home like how we did the past two years.” that immediately ceased all action, since they haven’t had the chance to go out together as a whole family thanks to your busy schedule.

“how about the park? the cherry blossoms have bloomed and mama likes going to the park!” of course, sugawara was fond of this idea. it’s been a while since there was a family picnic session.

and so on that very day in which you finally managed to take a day off, you weren’t expecting to be blind folded while having your children guide you to wherever you were supposed to be.

knowing how clumsy the trio could be, he wanted to accompany them as well but was outright rejected when they said they could do it themselves with so much confidence, he wasn’t sure who they got it from.

with their tiny hands, it took a while for them to tie the piece of cloth around your eyes, and even when they did, it wasn’t tied well enough so you could actually still see your footing (which saved you immensely from all the accidental knocks along the way)

after what felt like forever, you finally reached the park where they shouted ‘happy mother’s day’ in unison. you kind of already knew it’ll be a picnic from the soft grass beneath your feet and those fallen pink petals, but you were still moved to tears when you saw your children squeezed together into your husband’s arms while cute decoration and plates of food were spread between you and them.

“mama, try the cookie first! i made them myself!” the middle one was the first to break the silence.

“no! try my sandwich first, i’m the eldest!”

“so what if you’re the eldest? mama must be thirsty from walking so have my ultimate happy berry juice!” the youngest chirped with pride, as if her logic was a straight pass to winning.

you laughed at their competitive nature, which was oh so endearing at the same time. and it was obvious if you don’t decide soon, an all out food war was going to happen.

“before that, shouldn’t mama receive papa’s present first?” sugawara’s cheerful voice interrupted their little argument, and just before the youngest could ask what it was, her eyes was covered by the eldest son along with the middle one.

you couldn’t help but hit his arm in embarrassment when his lips met yours longer than it should’ve been.

“hey! that’s not fair, i didn’t get to see papa’s present,” your middle one sulked, only to be carried into sugawara’s arms as he peck her little cheek with a wink. “why don’t you ask mama what it was, baby?”

oikawa torū

it was supposed to be a big surprise where he came home earlier than the date he had told you. he even told the kids about it and they promised to make it a success (money was definitely involved to be honest)

“make sure you delay mummy at the grocery store long enough for me to set everything up in time.” he reminded his daughter time and time again, only to have her sigh at his impatience.

“i think i’m old enough to not forget something so simple dad. and please stop addressing mom like that, it’s creepy.” she cringed, wondering how you even deal with oikawa every day.

“dad, have you even baked a cake before? do you think you can get it done within an hour or maybe two?” his son asked the third time that day, which did irk oikawa with that tone of his.

“of course i can! are you looking down on me? it’s just a simple vanilla cake and some fruits on top. how hard can it be?”

of course, with every rhetorical question that pose a challenge, there would always be an answer exactly of what’s to be expected.

you, with no idea that your husband was making a mess of your kitchen, took your own sweet time at the grocery store since your daughter was there to help and it’s been a while since you had a mother and daughter bonding time.

“do you think your dad would like to have curry tomorrow? or should we just have hamburger steak?” you asked, still unsure of the menu for a celebratory dinner.

“i think he would like anything you cook, so don’t worry about it. dad’s always so happy to eat your homemade meals.” she answered with shrug, but you could tell she was happy to rely the same sentiment.

everything went smoothly and she did managed to stall your time with her longer than the agreed duration. that was, until she received a text from her brother saying dad’s cake was a failure and they should just get one outside; you two were already at the apartment lift when she read it.

“dad, i think you should just give up. they are already walking over from the—” oikawa having enough of his son’s constant nagging about how he should’ve just bought a cake instead, threw a whiff of flour to his son’s face without thinking.

and of course, which kid would not retaliate from that. the kitchen, which originally wasn’t as messy, turned into chaos of white fluff and sticky childish banter between the two.

you, not expecting to see your husband, was clearly surprise when you heard his voice by the door. the only excitement that came from that vanished the moment your eyes fell onto the state of your kitchen.

“happy mother’s day?” oikawa managed to choke out when he felt your growing presence with each step towards him.

“i’m sorry mom, it was my fault please don’t kill dad—” your son pleaded softly by the side, only to fell speechless when you threw yourself into oikawa’s arms instead.

“welcome home,” you greeted with so much warmth, oikawa couldn’t help but embraced you tightly as he replied, “i’m home.”

“mom? you’re not mad?” your daughter asked in disbelief when she brought the groceries – including the ones you dropped – over to the kitchen.

“mad? why would i be when you dad’s sleeping in the kitchen tonight.” you were so serious and certain, the two broke into fits of laughter as they ran from their father (which was fertile because they got caught immediately and was tickled to tears)

“why are you laughing when you two are having a sleepover with daddy tonight.”

“please dad, just stop.”

kita shinsuke

there was no surprises because kita’s way of celebrating was just regular activities but doing it together. which was honestly, what you love to do most since you don’t always get the chance of spending weekdays with your family often.

from preparing meals to visiting town, usually it would be done by kita himself. however, this time because of the special occasion, you took time off to accompany your husband while bringing your little ones along with you.

“mama here’s the carrot,” your little girl placed the orange vegetable on the chopping board before humming a tune while the other twin helped kita with picking the ends of the beansprouts.

“papa are we going to town later?” she beamed excitedly, hands still working on the tiny vegetable while her legs swung to the rhythm of her twin sister’s melody.

“yes, we are. do you have a place you want to visit?” he was done with his side so he continued onto the pile his daughter was removing.

“yes! we want to go to onigiri miya!” they both said at the same time, giggling right after when their father looked surprise.

“all right, let’s go after our lunch.” and everything went along smoothly with the little twins setting the table together while you and kita took turns to cook up the dishes. lunch was pleasant despite minimal words being exchanged since the twins were taught to not talk with their mouth full (and their mouth are always stuffed full)

while you and kita held hands with the twins walking hand in hand by themselves in front, the feeling of nostalgia seemed to tickle your bones at the memory of how you used to take long strolls with kita during your younger days.

“what’s wrong?” kita tugged your hand gently which snapped you back to reality when you realized you all have reached the store.

“nothing...i’m just grateful to be your wife and mother of two beautiful angels.” your smile had him press a fluttering kiss to your temple as he softly replied, “me too.”

“i see yer two are still as lovey-dovey as ever captain.” atsumu popped his head out from the entrance, both twins sitting comfortably on his arms as he carried them as if they were feathers.

“i’m not your captain anymore atsumu, but i see they both seemed to like you.” kita smiled at his two lovely dolls, one that atsumu have never seen much of because of his busy schedule.

“of course, who do you think i am? the better—” but before atsumu could even finish his flex, the two snapped their head over at the appearance of osamu in his apron. their hands immediately reaching out for the man to hug.

“uncle osamu!!” they squealed happily, trying their best to squirm out of atsumu’s grip.

“i guess not huh ‘tsumu,” osamu smirked at the annoyed twin, patting his hands dry before prying the little twins from his brother’s vice grip. of course, they both would fight over the kid’s affection. who wouldn’t right?

you watched the pair of twins in amusement with your head against kita’s shoulder as he wrapped an arm around your delicate frame. this too will be yet another moment kita would not forget, for he felt blissful to be their father and your husband.

[pbandjesse]

Me and Jess are on the ferry boat back to our hotel. We are real tired. I am thankfully not in as much pain as yesterday. Still hurting but it is not as bad. And today was a lot of fun.

Last night we did get to watch cars and I was surprised by the emotional intelligence and lack of actual racing. The way that little boys seem to like it so much I expected more action and was pleasantly surprised. Don't know about the second and third but the first was solid.

I would sleep okay but not enough. Waking up was really rough. But besides feeling a little out of it we were doing good. I got dressed and ready and was done and waiting for Jess. I was excited to head out.

We had not done the rope drop thing. Instead we slept an hour later and had a slow breakfast. We shared a lot this time. Basically all of today we shared our food. Which is fun. Get to try more things. The only bad part about breakfast was when we got stuck apart because of a big cart blocking the entrance to the area where we were sitting. And Jess's coffee was very bad. But we struggled through.

We headed to the bus. And while we had joked about all the buses being Epcot today, we were a little delayed by the first three buses actually being Epcot. Finally an animal Kingdom came and things were fine. We were starting a little later but that was okay.

I didn't realize how much longer the ride to Animal Kingdom was going to be. So I was extra glad we got seats. There was actually plenty of space on our bus but a lot of people were stuck squished up front because one guy absolutely would not move back. Just completely unaware and that kind of thing makes me a little crazy. Like when people were getting in the elevator before letting people get off. Just super obnoxious.

But it wasn't a bad ride at all and soon we were there!

Again this entrance surprised me. But it was closer to what I thought it would be. Our first goal was to get Jess Starbucks. I decided that in the end I didn't actually want to do the kids scavenger hunts. To many people, to busy. I just wanted to enjoy the experiences of the immersive spaces. And I think that was the right call.

We got Jess her coffee and I got a cake pop. The girl at the counter was really sweet about us celebrating our birthdays. Everyone was today. And it made me feel really happy.

We did a lot today and saw a whole lot of animals. We started with a walk through zoo. We saw hippos and gorillas and meerkats and so many other little monies and birds. The birds were extra fun because we got a big paper with all the birds to help us identify them and I insisted on asking the staff their favorite birds so I could look for those specifically. And it was just really fun.

One of the workers was from Baltimore and she told.me her brother was at the game on Sunday that James was at. Very bad loss. No more super bowl. But Baltimore will recover emotionally I'm sure.

After our exploration and seeing a bit of Asia, and taking pictures, we decided that we could get in the long 55 minute line for the ride on safari.

And this was really awesome. The wait wasn't horrendous, even though it's longs, we talked and had things to look at. I had ran out of line to go fill my water and enjoyed seeing a little.of Africa. I would find out where we could get corn on the cob. And when I got back to Jess we just kept moving and when we finally got to the front of the line we lucked out and got the entire back row to ourselves. Prime animal viewing.

We saw some amazing animals. Giraffes. Elephants. Wild dogs. Zebras. Even the trees were incredible. I wish it was long but it was about 20 minutes and that was great. I loved it and would highly recommend it.

Once we were off and out of the safari area (after stopping to look at the gift store and hugging a cheetah plush for a long time) we went to find the African street corn I saw. We would get two of those and a churro. And at the last second I saw they were selling three packs of baby bell cheeses and I thought that might be nice to have for later.

The corn was incredible. Just such an unexpected flavor. Curry and pepper and some underlying sweetness and I would absolutely have that again. We got to watch some drumming and it just felt like a festival. The whole atmosphere was fabulous and I loved all the small details. The torn signs, the graffiti, the minutia that makes things feel real and lived in. I was pretty blown away.

We decided that we would not go back to the hotel for a break and instead power through and just leave early, have a nap before dinner. And while this was risky I'm glad that's what we decided to do.

We went to dino land. Traded pins. I didn't know there were carnival games at Disney. I didn't want to play any but it was interesting to see. And the prizes were cute.

I didn't realize, or more so didn't remember, that there is a dinosaur ride. The movie Dinosaur. And it's about going back in time to bring one of the main dinos back. And I vaguely remembered going on it and even though it was a "dark bumpy car ride" I convinced Jess to indulge me. It wasn't a terribly long wait and I really wanted to do it.

And I'm so glad we did. The wait was well timed. With dinosaur fossils and videos. The immersion in the storyline was really well done (even if I recognized the actors), I was very excited.

We got to buckle into the time machine car. And I turned to Jess and said that I wished it could be tighter but I didn't know how to do that. And man was that a bit of foreshadowing.

This ride was crazy. It was basically one step below a rollercoaster the way we were being whipped around. It was loud (I'm very glad I suggested Jess put her ear buds in) and dark and flashing. There were animatronics dinos coming from every direction. It was an absolute blast.

But my feet didn't fully reach the ground. My toes did but not my heels. And I wasn't tightly buckled. And with the sides of the car being open I was pretty concerned I was going to call out of the side. So I tilted my body so I could get one foot firmly planted and just really tried to hold on. I was screaming and laughing and it was a rush in the best ways.

We were both shaken up at the end. For different reasons. She hated it. Rated it a 1/10. I absolutely adored it and thought it was the best thing. 10/10. Only downside was the line and the seat belt. Would do it again. She was so funny though telling me about why it was bad because all of her bad points were my good points. I appreciated her going along with me. It was great.

We went and used the bathroom. Washed our hands. I sat in the sun for a bit and oriented myself on the map.

Our next stop was Pandora to see the avatar stuff. We wanted to go to the river ride but the wait was going to be about an hour again. So at least we would start to head over there. And it was a nice walk. It was beautiful out and we were both in a good place. Sore but not to bad. We considered a snack. But as we got into Pandora I was a bit mesmerized. I bet this would be beautiful at night. The plants were amazing. Between the real and the fake it was all integrated so well. Something I have been really appreciating is the music. It transitions from one world/space/country to the next so senselessly while still keeping you immersed. And this was no different. It was so cool. We went to look at the food but I wasn't sure about it. We went in the gift shop and I was excited to see the baby Navi plush. They have so many babies of every character and I have been excited every time we see a "new" one. It is just very fun.

I decided we should go get in line for the river ride. No snack. Even though we probably could use it. And just use that time to scroll on our phones and chat and enjoy the scenery.

As we were standing there waiting, I went in my bag to put my sunglasses away and realized. The baby bell cheeses!! The snack I had saved!! You should have seen how stupidly excited we got about these. We each had one and a half baby bells and shared some of her water and it was perfect. Made the hour so much easier.

Right before we made it to the end of the line my feet and ankles were really bothering me. Standing still hurts a lot more then walking. I took my boots off for a moment to stretch them out and that helped. And then it was time for our river journey.

This ride, on the whole, probably wasn't worth the hour wait but it was worth it because of the animatronic at the end. The ride is a boat, and you are literally going through the woods. And it was beautiful and the music and singing was lovely. But it wasn't particularly exciting. It was just nice. There were some screens, but they were better integrated so it wasn't to hokey. But when we got to the animatronic I was blown away. This thing moved in such a realistic way. Like it took my breath away I could have just sat with it and watched it for so long it was so real. I have no idea who she was. I never saw the movie. But she was incredible.

We got off of the boat and I felt like it was just to soon. I wished there was more. But that was okay, it was time to try the food.

There was a frozen drink that was apple and pear (desert leaf specifically, which Jess had misread early as dessert pear and we were trying to figure out for a long time what that could be and we had a big silly laugh about that) and a cream cheese and pineapple wonton wrapped treat. We got those and found a sunny place to sit.

I really enjoyed my wonton thing. I did not like the drink. It was to sweet. And I love sweet things so that's saying something. Once we were to got sitting in the sun we continued our journey. And headed back to Asia.

Jess wanted my feedback and rating/ranking between the two parks. And I think overall Animal Kingdom is better. The counties were fabulous and felt like like a show case and more real, I loved the animals, I liked that it was less hamfisting movies into the different spots. We also got to see Pocahontas twice! And she was beautiful. I really loved our day.

We would have French fries with spices and Sriracha mayo in Asia. And then wander around into a few more shops. Backtracking to Maharajah where we had started our day. And that's where we called it. Time to go.

We would get back towards the gate and go in the last few gift shops. Jess got a really nice animal Kingdom pin. We went to the last little shop where they had pin trading and had a nice conversation with the girl working that table, just about the concept of pin trading and how it's so nice. And as we were talking I saw in the shop behind her the cheetah backpack from earlier. I had not stopped thinking about it. Jess said I kept bringing it up. So I went back in and after checking online and finding it for the same price, I decided this would be my last plushie of the trip.

We named her Margarine (Margorie as a nickname). And I love her. She's so soft. I was holding her when we headed over to a bench so Jess could wait for me while I ran to a bathroom when we noticed that she still had a security tag on her! The ink releasing kind! Ugh oh. So we had to go back to the shop to get them to remove it and the guy at the counter felt so bad!! He also struggled to get it off but he got his manager and it was all fixed. Margarine was free.

We went and got the bus back to the hotel. And it was right there. No waiting. We had much better luck the rest of the day when it came to that. We got back to the hotel in one piece and we're only mostly dying. Thankfully the bottoms of my feet weren't as painful as yesterday. It was mostly my shins and ankles. Jess had gotten stiff and slow from sitting on the bus but after a few yards we were able to walk about the same pace and got back to the room as my body started burning and I desperately wanted to lay down.

After stripping down and putting away my jewelery I was able to sleep for most of an hour. Jess said I was making funny squeaking sounds which James has also said I do. She thinks I should go back to an ENT. I will consider it.

I felt kind of bad when Jess woke me up. She said it was 6 and I was like AM?? But no. PM. It was time to get dressed again and go to dinner. I got myself out back together and just felt a little quiet inside. We went to take the ferry this time. And we had to speed walk a little bit we made it to the one that was at the dock. And got to Disney springs before 7.

We had a plan. Rings, pins, dinner. Jess wanted a ring that said "baby" and the man who did this one was super fast! 15 minutes!

So while he was doing that we went to look at pins. And talked to the nice old lady at the desk. It was nice.

We had to get to our reservation though and that was about on the other side of the water. So we walked to Summer House. And this was much fancier then I expected. But it was great!

Our waiter was so nice and the food was excellent. We got a bunch of stuff to share. Potato salad deviled eggs, chips and a flight of salsa and guac, cheesy bread, and a split order of gluten free pasta. It was so much food and it was all so so so good.

We got some of it to go for snacks later. And after laughing with our waiter for a minute we headed into the night.

We decided to check out some of the stores we missed. I couldn't stand to be in the candy or m&m store for long it was so sickly sweet and powdery. But we still had a lot of fun.

I really liked the Coca Cola store. I decided to get myself a cup. I know I do not need a cup. But I loved that it looks like a diet Coke can and it has a straw. I have actually been so good with not buying nonsense this trip. I am really happy with all my things so far. And I have said no to many things! I'm having a great time.

We would continue our walk. Going in and out of shops. I liked the Lego store but it was to warm. We would end our journey getting a coffee for Jess to save for the morning. And then we headed back to our boat.

We did get a little lost and turned around. But when we found the exit and the dock the boat was right there and it was an easy journey back.

We are back in the hotel now. Showered and clean and holding it together. We put on a movie, Luca this time, and so far I love the art style. I have no idea what the story is so I am looking forward to how it unfolds. I am also really looking forward to sleep.

Tomorrow we go to HollyWood Studio. I have the least amount of expectations for this one. But I'm excited for the journey. If should be warmer but the wind will be stronger. So I am just hoping for a lovely time.

Sleep well everyone. I love you! Goodnight!

[nakachuchu]

Tiger Twins | Itadori Yuuji + Ryomen Sukuna

part two

SYNOPSIS: AU where beast-people exist and you take care of two tigers.

READER: zookeeper!gender neutral

WORDS: 638

WRITTEN: 02/23/2021

NOTES: Thank you for requesting! I'll do the part three you requested soon.

You laughed nervously as you backed away from the man who was currently hitting on you.

You were simply trying to do your job and your rounds around the zoo, making sure the beast-people weren't causing trouble—since you were mainly in charge of beast-people. 

"Are you free later today? Let me take you out."

"Uh—no, nope, I am not free. I'm very busy with taking care of the animals and beast-people. I have a very important job, you know," you responded.

"Don't worry about it."

Your nose scrunched up. 'Don't worry about it.' Was he even serious? You didn't know how to even reply to someone with this little amount of brain cells. 

You hugged your clipboard to your chest, continuing to back away while making sure you didn't bump into any customers or children. 

You jumped when you heard a tiger roar. The children either screamed or giggled at the sudden show. 

You looked over to the tiger exhibit and saw Sukuna staring right at the man with a scowl on his fluffy face while Yuuji was pawing at the glass. 

You could always tell who was who when they shifted as their beast forms. Sukuna was much bigger, menacing, and had darker stripes than Yuuji. 

"Uh—wow, they sure are acting up, huh?" you questioned. "I better go check on them. Have a good day!"

You frantically scurried away from the customer, looking over your shoulder to make sure he didn't follow after you. 

It was a complete lie. You weren't allowed to check up on beast-people until their meal time or if they were being too rowdy. 

To be honest, you were both shocked and impressed that Sukuna didn't charge at the glass separating him from the outside world. 

You took a break in the break room, taking off your cap and ruffling your hair for some air. 

"Rough day?" your coworker asked.

You grunted. "This idiot tried to hit on me."

"Was it the guy in the polo shirt?" 

"Yes!"

"Yeah, he hit on me too."

There was a brief moment of silence before your coworker spoke up.

"Maybe we should feed him to the tigers."

"I think that's offensive to the tigers," you retorted. 

Your coworker hummed. "Yeah, you're right. I'll feed him to the pigeons on my way out. You need anything?" 

"No, I'm good. I'm gonna feed the tigers their lunch."

Your coworker smiled and waved while walking out of the break room. "Telling you the guy could be their lunch!"

"Get out!" you exclaimed with a laugh. 

You put on gloves and went to the backroom to grab the chunks of raw meat and put them into a large bucket.

You panted as you carried the bucket down to the tiger exhibit. You placed the bucket down to unlock the door and step inside with the raw meat. 

"Yuuji, Sukuna, lunchtime," you called out. 

As usual, Yuuji ran straight toward you, stopping right before he hit you. He waited patiently in front of you like a dog waiting for a treat.

Sukuna slowly stalked toward you like you were his prey, but you didn't feel threatened since you knew he was actually too lazy to run unless there was a reason to. 

You held a large piece of raw meat and placed it into Yuuji's open mouth. He ate the meat in front of you as you waited for Sukuna to come to you.

Once he was in front of you, he flicked his tail around as he waited for you to drop the meat in his mouth. 

You grabbed a large piece and dropped it into his mouth, leaving the twins to eat. 

"I'll see you tonight, boys," you called out.

Yuuji meowed to let you know he was looking forward to it, while Sukuna simply ignored you as usual.

[heliotropehotch]

as it was - a.h. x fem!reader

Request by @greenprisca​: Hi can I request a Hotch x reader fic! The reader is always there for hotch and jack (took care of them even when Haley was alive), but they both snap at her. Telling her she’s not Haley/his mom. (Y/N) takes a break from them and goes out with a brother or family member that’s a single parent, and the boys see it wrong.

a/n: i contacted tumblr a couple of days ago about my tag issues but i haven’t heard back. boosting this fic, if you like it, could really help tumblr fix whatever issue it’s having with my accounts. its very frustrating, and is making me not wanna post right now, so i might take a bit of time off while i wait for this issue to fix, and while i wait for more requests! ilysm thank you for your support!

Masterlist

author: abby <3

words: 1667

warning: fighting, yelling, mention of past character death

It shouldn’t have happened the way it did. 

The collapse of a perfect world was triggered by a caring act. The end of a long day, the whisper of words turned to shouts, love turned into regret. 

Aaron Hotchner had come back to his home late that night, the smell of dinner flooding through to his nostrils. He smiled, a gesture he missed when he was away on case. He called for Y/N, a presence he had hoped to see. Instead of the giggles of his son and her that usually met his eyes, he was met with quiet, so he headed to his son’s room.

She was moving to close Jack’s bedroom door, having just gotten him to sleep. Her eyes were tired, holding a sadness he had not seen in a long time. He quirked his eyebrow, moving to speak. She shook her head, a finger going to her mouth as she motioned him into the living room.

“How was your day, hun?” she sighed, stirring the pot of food she had made. 

“It was work,” he took his suit jacket off, draping it over a chair before hugging her body from behind. “Did something happen today?”

“I think you’ll need to talk to Jack tomorrow. He yelled at me tonight,” she said sadly, head swimming with thoughts.

“He did what?” he asked concerned, he hadn’t seen his son angry before. 

“I was just trying to put him to bed, but I guess he was having a hard time,” she spoke, recalling the hour before. “So I started humming that song Haley used to sing to get him to sleep, Hey Jude.”

“What?” His body tensed around hers as she continued speaking. 

“I don’t know.” She remained oblivious to his actions. “I thought it would help, but he just got more upset. He shouted saying I wasn’t his mom and started crying. I just held him until he fell asleep.” 

He retracted his arms from around her, hands curling into fists. “You’re not.”

She paused her movements to the dining room to set out plates for the both of them. She asked confused, “What?”

“You’re not his mom,” Aaron’s voice rang stern, anger boiling behind his steely eyes. “You’re not Haley. 

Y/N took a step back, scared of the tone, the implication of the words not said pushing against his lips. “Aaron,” her voice was confused, hurt. “I know that.”

“Then stop trying to act like you are.” He pulled his tie off, chucking it across the couch. “What made you think it was a good idea to do that? Stop trying to be more than what you are.”

“And what exactly am I?” Her voice became louder, not caring about the way it echoed through the hall. 

“A distraction,” he bit out, jaw clenched. “Nothing more than a sound to fill the silence.”

She huffed out a teary, dark chuckle, looking away from the man she’d give up everything for. She grabbed her things, keys jingling as her adrenaline began to wear. “Well, thank you, Hotch,” she bit out, a sarcastic smile on her face. “For having the decency to let me know now. Dinner’s on the fucking stove.”

The silence that was there before her hung in the air as he watched her shut the door, as she watched her leave.

The next morning, Jack Hotchner woke up rubbing sleep out of his eyes, clutching a stuffed animal Y/N had given him for his birthday. He frowned as he saw his father making breakfast in the kitchen.

“Daddy?” he pressed the fuzzy elephant to his chest. “Where’s Y/N?”

Aaron sighed at his son’s confused voice, setting the spatula he was using for pancakes down. He tried to mask his own emotions with the excitement of seeing his son. “Good morning, Buddy! Y/N went home for a bit, she had some other things to do.”

“But I thought this was her home.” Jack’s small little eyebrows furrowed with more confusion. 

“It is,” Hotch knelt down to get on his son’s level. “She just needed some alone time, bud.”

Jack’s eyes began to well up, striking his father’s heart. “Is it my fault?”

Aaron felt his stomach drop with guilt. “Of course not Jack.”

“But I yelled at her.” His lip quivered. “I said she wasn’t mommy.”

“I know buddy-”

“But I don’t care!” Jack was sobbing into his dad’s shoulder now. “I love Y/N, daddy.”

Aaron pressed his distressed son into his chest, shushing his cries against his casual shirt. His own heart ached with regret and words he wanted to take back. He admitted the words he had yet to say, as if to give himself some comfort. “I love her too, Jack. She’ll be back soon, I promise.”

After Jack had calmed down, Hotch decided to spend his day off trying to ease both of their minds. He took Jack to the zoo, carefully avoiding the elephants, and spent what felt like hours staring at the waddling penguins. Jack insisted on getting Y/N an apology stuffed penguin. Then he promised a trip to the park with what Jack called the ‘cool jungle gym.’ 

Jack ran towards the swings as Hotch reclined back into one of the park benches. He smiled to himself momentarily, as he watched his once sad son giggle with the other kids. His grin fell though, as he realized she should be enjoying the day with them. 

He wasn’t sure if Y/N would wait for him, and he honestly didn’t blame her if she didn’t. He had put her through so much, after having cared for both him and Jack when Haley died, and long before she passed as well. He loved Y/N but she couldn’t be blamed for being hurt at the things he had said, and would never mean. 

His eyes glazed over the park, letting out a solemn sigh at the peacefulness that contrasted the interior of his heart. And then he saw her.

Her arms were wrapped around a man, one Hotch hadn’t remembered seeing before, although it felt familiar. Around her own legs, a boy, about Jack’s age, had clung himself to Y/N’s knees, looking up pleadingly. The sweet smile he thought was reserved for his family had worked its way across her face. He almost missed his own son bounding up to where he had planted himself on the bench. 

“Daddy?” Jack called out. “What are you looking at?”

“Hmm?” Hotch said distractingly.

“Who are those people with Y/N? Doesn’t she wanna hang out with us?” Aaron was too preoccupied, watching Y/N pressed a kiss to the man’s cheek. 

“Can I go say hi to her?” he pleaded, tugging on his dad’s hand. 

“Not now, Jack,” he sighed, pulling his now pouting son into his lap. “I think she might be busy, bud.”

Days had passed, without a word from Y/N. Aaron had picked up the phone hundreds of times at that point, wanting to say anything to bring her back into their lives. He had been relying on Jess for help taking care of Jack when he was at work, and had therefore endured a lecture he knew he deserved. 

He got in his car to drive home, sighing at the empty passenger seat next to him. His eyes landed on the stuffed penguin he had bought to please Jack. He sighed once more, knowing he had to do something. 

The front door of Y/N’s apartment was daunting, unfamiliar. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been to her place before, but Jack was right when he said their place was her home. She had basically moved in with them, so the varnish that covered the wooden door only seemed threatening of the barrier he had been putting up. He raised his fist, and knocked on the door. 

Her eyes widened at the distraught man in front of her, promptly turning into a frown with the recognition of Hotch. She moved to close the door again. 

“Y/N, please,” he begged, stoic expression long gone. “I’m sorry.”

“Aaron-”

“I don’t expect you to forgive me. I hurt you, I know that. But I didn’t mean it.” She stood still, allowing him to speak, and he took a step closer to her, reaching for her hand. “I love you, Y/N. You were never a distraction, only a relief. There’s so much I couldn’t have done with you by our side. We both know you’re not Haley, but I like you better as you are, as someone who cares for my kid like her own, as someone who cares for me when I forget to do it myself.” 

Her hiccups of tears flooded the silence that came when he paused, his hand moving up to her cheek. “If I could take it all back, before I said those words, I would in an instant. Just as it was, just as you were. I just hope you still hold your love for me after what I’ve done.”

Her arms wrapped around his neck, pressing his nose into her neck as he breathed her in. She sighed, relieved to have one of the Hotchner’s back in her arms. “I love you, Aaron, even when you decide to act like a dick.”

He chuckled against her, squeezing her body against his before pulling back. Brushing away her tears again, he kissed her forehead, making a promise to himself that he wouldn’t let her go again. Her giggle, brought him out of his soft trance.

“Did you bring me a penguin?”

He smiled sheepishly, pressing the stuffed animal into her palm. “Jack got it as an apology gift to you.”

She pressed it against her chest, clutching it the same way his son had days before. “That’s one sweet kid you’ve got there.”’

“One who desperately wants to see you,” he chuckled again.

“Well,” she said, grabbing her purse and keys. “Let’s go home then.”