#I'll try my best not to leave ya high and dry

[sunarots]

so high school ━━━ atsumu miya

24. dinner date ♡

You look at your reflection in the mirror, regretting not bringing some basic makeup. The fear of someone seeing the two of you and taking a picture (or ten) and uploading them online has your heart pounding, but knowing that it’s Atsumu with you makes you feel slightly more at ease.

And, of course, the worries in your mind on why Atsumu asked you for dinner on this ‘date’. Could you even call it a date? A pretend date? Who knows… The complexity of your fake relationship has played a major part on you not wanting to leave the house, knowing that someone would spot the two of yous and rip you apart even more. But, you couldn’t deny that you were relieved how close you had gotten to Atsumu. Even more so that he seemed to forget that you were pretending in private, what with your many evenings spent together on the sofa watching movies.

Did he want a relationship? Is that why he asked you here? Was he going to confess?

You splash some of the cold water in your face, an attempt to distract yourself from the thoughts running rampant in your mind. Taking in a deep breath and flattening out your dress, you gather your things from the hook on the back of the bathroom door and make your way out from the staff area and head towards the table. You give a small smile to the bar supervisor in passing, who'd shown you the ropes and basics for serving drinks and how they take orders.

You try to avoid the tables where people are sitting to get over to Atsumu as unnoticed as possible, sliding into the seat facing towards the door. "Are you sure you don't mind paying? I can pay-"

"If you say yer gonna pay me back for anything ever again, I'm gonna have Omi chase you around the apartment with a spider," he threatens, pulling his mask down to sit beneath his chin. He takes a sip of his coke, running a finger around the rim of the glass. "Do ya know what yer having?"

You nod your head, picking up the menu and pointing to it. "Kelp and soy sauce onigiri. It caught my eye immediately. What're you having?" You lean forward, elbows on the table for support to see what he'll say.

"Tuna mayo, I love tuna." Atsumu closes over the menu, setting it down carefully on the table top. He fills up a glass with the water he'd got for the table and slides one over to you before filling one for himself. "So, how was the first day? Think yer gonna be back?"

You nod your head, taking a sip of the water with a small smile. "Yeah. It was really good. It's not the first customer service job I've had. The hardest thing is remembering how to take the order. It's numbers and letters, and I'm so lost half the time. But I'll get used to it. I was also shown the ropes on the bar, too. So I can now make very basic alcoholic drinks."

Atsumu grins. “Well, I just got even luckier.”

You can’t help but laugh at his comment, covering your mouth with your hand and leaning back in your seat. “What can I say? I’m a woman of many talents.” You shrug your shoulders and try to stop yourself from laughing even more, taking another drink of water to try and help your drying throat. “How did practice go?”

“So productive,” he answers, his eyes rolling as he speaks. “Apparently it was my fault that Bokuto wasn’t feeling his best, but I’ve not done anything to him!”

You scratch the back of your neck, avoiding eye contact so you can get out, “Well, we are kinda forcing him to keep this secret…”

When you look back at him, he’s running his fingers across his chin, visibly cringing. “Shit… I didn’t think about that.” He sips his coke, setting it back down. He goes to speak, immediately stopping himself when his brother appears by his side.

“Hey, I know what her having, but I need to double check what y/n’s having.” He looks at you, waiting for your response. Once you confirm your order, you turn back to face Atsumu your anxiety returning.

He’s playing with the chopsticks once set carefully on the table, twirling them in his hands. You can feel his knee bouncing beneath the table. When his eyes lock with yours, you try to read his expression. There’s an unfamiliar look in his eye, a strong fear.

He clears his throat, looking around to make sure no one’s near enough to hear him and sets the chopsticks back down. “Do you…regret this?”

You furrow your eyebrows, heart stopping. You adjust the strap of your dress, straightening your posture and trying to hide the hurt on your face. “Oh… Um, I- I don’t. Do you?”

Atsumu rapidly shakes his head, holding up his hands. “No, no, no. That’s not- that’s not why I asked. I don’t regret it. Like, at all. I just…” He takes in a deep breath to calm himself, regain his thoughts. “It’s just that my fans can be a lot sometimes, and I don’t want ya to feel like they matter more to me. They do matter, but not the mean ones. I don’t claim them.”

You feel your nerves melt away, a warmth growing in your chest. Your smile grows, a soft laugh of relief slipping past your lips. “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you’re a hot and famous guy.”

You realise what you’ve said when Atsumu reacts, his eyes wide and his signature cocky grin. “Y/n l/n. You think I’m hot.”

Feeling the heat rising to your cheeks, you’re thankful that one of the waitresses is approaching with your food.

“Hi, Miya-san. I’m assuming the fatty tuna is for you?” He nods, picking up his chopsticks and saying a quiet thank you.

Once the waitress has set the food in front of you and backed away, you immediately start eating to try and stop Atsumu from saying anything else. For the most part, it works. The meal is silent, save for compliments over the food. Once you both finish, you take Atsumu’s plate and set it atop yours.

“I’ll take these up-“

Atsumu stops you, taking the plates from your hands and shaking his head. “You’ve been working all day, I’ll do it for ya.” You don’t have a chance to offer, because he’s already out of the seat and away from you.

Settling back in your seat, you keep your eyes fixed on him. Your eyes scan his outfit, the tight-fitted shirt framing his muscles and a pair of baggy jeans that are hugging his thighs. Atsumu leans across the bar, handing over the plates and saying something that makes the supervisor laugh. He waves to his brother, before turning around locking eyes with you, the corners of his mouth tugging up. He taps his hand against the bar, pushing himself away and making his was towards your table. He slips back into his seat, dusting his hands off on his jeans. “Don’t think I’m letting ya forget ya said that I’m hot.”

You press your lips into a firm line, trying to stop yourself from embarrassing yourself anymore. You fight back the smile wanting to show, running your fingertip along the edge of the table and considering your options: deny it, or push your luck. “I have eyes,” you mumble, a part of you hoping he doesn’t hear it.

Unfortunately for you, he does. He straightens up, laughing louder than he should have, and raises an eyebrow. “Aren’t you the same one who said ya can’t have my ego getting too big?”

You shrug your shoulders, tucking your hair behind your ears. “You know you’re hot. Your ego’s already big in that area.” You tuck your hair behind your ears.

Atsumu takes in a deep breath, forcing out, “I really like ya, y/n. A lot.”

It takes a moment for you to process his words, leaning further back into your seat. Your heartbeat grows faster, taking a sip of water to try and keep yourself calm. “What?”

He looks around himself before clearing his throat, leaning forward over the table. “Um, I like ya. I have for… a bit. A few weeks. And I’d like to see where this takes us.” He waits patiently for your answer, elbows rest on the wood. Despite the confidence on his face, you can see the concern in his eye.

“Really?” Eagerly, he nods his head. You can feel the smile breaking through. “I’d like that.”

Atsumu’s quick to rise to his feet, the chair squeaking against the wood. He tucks it under the table, outstretching a hand to you. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”

# fun facts !

unlike y/n, atsumu didn’t go through her drawers

masterlist. previous | next

summary. after your best friend reveals he’s moving out of your shared flat, you’re presented with a tough choice: let one of the creeps who are begging you to let them move in with you, or find a cheaper flat in another area of town. a do-over couldn’t have come at a better time for you, but your only option for a place to stay is with someone your best friend knew from high school, and his two teammates.

taglist (open!). @reignsaway @yuminako @thiisisntlovely @diorzs @aboutkiyoomi @spicana @bakingcuriosity @kr1nqu @savemebrazilhinata @dazqa @sereniteav @beckxisxinxlovexwithxjin @sleezzsister @hermaeusmorax @giocriedpower @sophosphorescent @gigiiiiislife @zazathezaer @rrosiitas @iaminyourfloors @writing-for-the-hell-of-it @sillygooseymood @ellouisa17 @wakashudou @punkhazardlaw @arminswife12 @libbymeows @thomatri @nanamis-right-tiddie

[the-broken-truth]

Last Meal - Jamil Viper [Yandere] [Female Yuu] [Mini-Series?]

Summary: After spending a year in Twisted Wonderland, Crowley finds a way to send Yuu back to her Original world; while she is happy with this news, a certain serpent servant is not. How does he cope? By making a very special meal - their last meal together.

[Notification: New Message from Jamil Viper 🐍]

Jamil Viper 🐍: I heard the news... Crowley found a way to send you back home, correct, Prefect.

Prefect: Yeah! I'll be able to head home tomorrow morning. I'm actually glad you texted, I wanted to take you for everything you've done for me, Jamil-senpai.

Jamil Viper 🐍: I see... What about Dinner?

Prefect: Dinner?

Jamil Viper 🐍: If tonight is going to be your last night in Wonderland, I would like to make dinner for you and we can talk one last time. I already prepared the food and I'm currently on my way to Ramshackle. Is that alright?

Prefect: Sure! I would love to have one last meal with you!

Jamil Viper 🐍: Yes... One Last Meal.

About 5 minutes after the last message was received, there was a knock on Ramshackle's Front Door. Yuu placed her phone in her pocket, left her room, walked down the stairs, and opened the front door to reveal Jamil Viper standing on the other side of the door with two large bags in his hands while dressed in his casual clothing, his signature hoodie on display for the Prefect of Ramshackle to see.

"Hello, Jamil-senpai!" Yuu said as she moved to the side to allow Jamil to walk in.

"Good evening, Prefect." Jamil said before looking around as if trying to find something, "Is Grim around?"

"No. Grim decided that he was going to head to Heartslabyul and stay with Ace and Deuce; it was kinda weird because it was as if he was hiding something." Yuu said as she closed the door behind her before walking over to Jamil, looking down at the bags in Jamil's hands. "What did you bring?"

"Some high-grade steaks and some other sides that would best compliment the steaks." Jamil looked into the eyes of the Prefect before smiling at her," This is going to be a lovely dinner. Just for the two of us."

Yuu looked into Jamil's eyes - an unknown emotion, mysterious but dangerous. Something within her was telling her that something was not right with Jamil, however, Yuu knew that Jamil was always a mysterious person and that could just be how he currently was since he wasn't too happy about Yuu leaving in the morning.

Jamil walked into the Dining Room and began to set the table after collecting plates and wine glasses from Ramshackle's Kitchen Cabinets; Jamil brought the crystal wine glasses with him. Yuu watched as Jamil placed the food on the plates before pulling her chair out for her, waiting for her to sit, and pushing her chair in before walking to the other side of the table and taking a seat. The two of them said a prayer to the Great Seven before they started eating while enjoying conversation about their past adventures.

After dinner, Jamil was washing the dishes while Yuu was enjoying the dessert that Jamil made for her: It was a Strawberry Parfait with whipped cream and some small fruits that resembled seeds; she felt like she had seen something like that before but she couldn't place her finger on it and ate the dessert before turning to Jamil who was placing a plate in the drying rack.

"Jamil-senpai, you don't have to wash the dishes; ya know?" Yuu asked.

"I just want to be a good guest. This is your dorm after all." Jamil said, not turning to face Yuu, but the tone in his voice was...different; she remembered that tone when she met him when he was hiding his true intentions.

"It won't matter in the morning... I'll be gone." Yuu said.

Jamil was silent for a while before he spoke again.

"Prefect... In your Original World, do you have any Mythology that originated in Greece that you are familiar with?" Jamil asked while he was drying a wine glass.

"Greek Mythology? I mean, they taught us some but I don't remember everything. Why?" Yuu asked.

"I am curious if your Mythology matches with our own." Jamil answered.

"Hmmm...." Yuu pondered for a moment before answering with the first thing that came to mind, "Oh, I remember this one rule: Do not eat food in the Underworld, otherwise you will not be able to leave! Oh, and avoid pomegranates unless you are offering them to Lord Hades!"

"I see... Your Knowledge is similar to our own in regards to the King of the Underworld, but there are a few...differences." Jamil said as he placed the glass on the drying rack; that was his last dish but he kept his back turned to Yuu for a moment, "Our myth is about food, but it's more about cooking it there."

"Huh?" Yuu questioned.

"Here is our myth: If you consume food that has been cooked in the Flames of the Underworld, regardless if you are in the Underworld or the Mortal Realm when you eat the food, you will die if you are not from a host of high power." Jamil explained, "However...if you consume pomegranate seeds before the effects of the tainted food take effect, you will survive but... your soul will be...reborn. Everything you once were will be erased and you shall be a new template; ready to be shaped. It is a painful process...painful but necessary."

"That's rather...brutal. Why are you telling me this?" Yuu asked.

Suddenly, Jamil's Phone started ringing; the Viper pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked to see who was calling before telling Yuu that he needed to take this before walking out of the kitchen, and out the front door to have his conversation in private.

Yuu sat there for a while when she felt a light tightness in her chest before using her fist to lightly hit her chest as if she was trying to bring up a burp, but a cough came up instead; she instinctively covered her mouth and violently coughed into it before removing her hand from her mouth and looked down at it - her eyes widened as her eyes landed on a crimson stain on her palm of her hand...

"Blood?" She questioned herself before she coughed once again, even worse this time, and her heart was hurting even worse; as if something was pulling her apart from the inside. She tried to stand up but her body suddenly felt weak as she fell to the ground, causing her phone to fly out of her loose pocket and slide across the floor.

Yuu continued to cough up blood, the pain getting worse and worse with each passing moment; she clenched her shirt over her heart as she looked at the door, she wanted to call out for Jamil but her voice was hurting; she couldn't speak. She looked around, her vision starting to blur when her eyes landed on her phone. She pushed through the pain and crawled to the device, she reached out for it, only for a tan and to reach down and pick up the phone before she could grab it. Her eyes landed on familiar tennis shoes as she weakly looked up and landed in the face of Jamil Viper, watching as he placed her phone in his hoodie pocket. Yuu attempted to speak through her blood-stained lips but Jamil knelt beside her and gently caressed her face while shushing her.

"I know. I know it hurts, My Diamond... It's so painful but necessary." Jamil whispered.

Yuu's eyes widened.

The story.

This pain.

Everything made sense: Jamil fed her food that had been cooked using the flames of the underworld.

She was dying...

"No, My Diamond, you are not dying; you are being reborn. Your dessert is making sure of that." Jamil said while smiling at her before gently holding her in his arms, not caring that her blood was getting on his hoodie.

"I never wanted to do this, none of us did, but we could not all you to turn to the world you came from; you belong here in Wonderland but you never understood that. You wanted to leave me and the world we were building together, but I couldn't allow that to happen. I need you, My Diamond, just as you need me." He gently kissed her forehead, "You will experience more pain in the coming days, but everything will be for your betterment, and once everything is said and done... We shall have our Happily Ever After. Rest, My Diamond, don't fight it... Let the rebirth happen and I shall be there to guide you."

With those words, the pain became too much for Yuu to bear and she slipped into an unconscious state of mind. Jamil looked at her body for a while before pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing a number, putting it up to his ear.

"It's done. Prepare the room and get everyone together." Jamil said.

"Understood." The other persona said before hanging up.

Jamil looked at Yuu's face before pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping the blood from Yuu's lips, "Everything is going to be alright, My Diamond in the Rough; once everything is done, no one will be able to take you from me again...nor will you escape me. Everything will be as it is supposed to be." Once her face was clean, he placed a tender kiss on her lips, "I love you. I love you so much."

The front door opened and Jamil looked behind him at the eyes watching him. He lifted Yuu in his arms and carried her out of Ramshackle before the door slammed behind him, leaving the Prefect's Dorm in darkness.

[END?]

[infernalwitxhcraft]

How To Dilute Essential Oils

Be ready for a long one. Essential oils can be tricky. And they are something you don't want to be using undiluted for the hell of it or because an article you read claims it's more potent if you, ya know, put it directly on (yikes, don't fall for that!). I got certified in aromatherapy five(ish) years ago for the hell of it & to help my business for in-person clientele. While I don't use it as much as I used to, I did learn all the proper dilution techniques that I thought I would share here!

Before I dive into this breakdown, know that it is in your best interest to dilute any essential oil. While lavender doesn't cause a reaction out of most people, it is still in a highly concentrated form. There are many oils, such as cinnamon, that you should never put on your skin without diluting first, as it will cause irritation. It falls into a category of "hot oils" which means that you will feel a tingle or burning sensation, depending on your skin type. Tea tree and lavender are the only two you can use undiluted (and if you have sensitive skin, you may still want to dilute to be on the safe side) - for anything else, you should be grabbing your carrier oil.

Do not replace the carrier oil with water. You remember that you learned somewhere growing up that water and oil do not mix? Yep, same rule applies. They will separate and the oil will still go directly into your skin.

That being said, carrier oils that have nourishing properties for the skin tend to be best. Jojoba, coconut, almond, hell even olive oil all work. The essential oil sticks with the fats in the carrier oil and will slowly absorb into your skin (via the fat in your skin). All of this prevents skin irritation. You can buy these in bulk for a discounted price if you find yourself using essential oils on a regular basis to save on money.

Carrier Oil Breakdown

• Jojoba - usually a favorite of many people that use essential oils in their skincare products. Odorless, non-greasy, a little waxy.

• Coconut - light, doesn't go rancid or leave residue, good for every skin type! You can also use it in a wide range of product types.

• Grape seed - mostly odorless. Best for delicate skin (sensitive skin, for the elderly, etc.)

• Olive oil - heavy & can be greasy, so buy the light stuff. Has strong odor. High in vitamins and minerals, very good for your hair and skin! Be aware though that it will leave some residue until fully soaked in & can clog pores. Personally, I use this a lot for my anointing oils or salves.

• Almond - slightly oily. Best for dry or irritated skin. Beauty & health recipes.

So, some quick pointers.

• Firstly, best way to remember it is it is 1 drop of essential oil per 1 tsp of carrier oil.

• 1% is recommended for children, the elderly, and immunocompromised. 2% dilution for a healthy adult. 3% for short term, small areas (if you're washing it off right away or sometimes in the situations of pain relief).

• Make sure you are diluting if using for hair care.

• Make sure you are diluting if adding into the bath. Remember, oil separates from water. Put the diluted mix in.

• Also, if you're trying to mix essential oils, go ahead and do so. Just make sure that it equals out the entire drop rate (if it were 6 drops, for example, it's be 3 drops of lavender oil and 3 drops of rosemary).

• This is where I'll answer the whole, well what the hell would you use 10% or 25% dilution for? You can use 10% for specific issues, such as an injury. Don't keep at it for more than two weeks. For 25% is the most you should ever go, and that would be for debilitating pain. Don't be using that every day though, and not every type of essential oil is good for that high or concentration.

Now, here's a little conversion list. Hopefully it's clear enough!

• Okay I know that I have followers on both sides of the globe so here's this: 5ml = 1 tsp. 10ml = 2 tsp. 15ml = 1/2 oz. 30ml = 1 oz. Do with that what you will. I am american but I'll be using millimeters to explain since I, too, find it easier.

• For 0.5% dilution: 10ml = 1 drop. 15ml = 1.5 drops. 30ml = 3 drops. You can't do 5ml for 0.5%.

• For 1% dilution: 5ml = 1 drop. 10ml = 2 drops. 15ml = 3 drops. 30ml = 6 drops.

• For 2% dilution: 5ml = 2 drops. 10ml = 4 drops. 15ml = 6 drops. 30ml = 12 drops.

• For 3% dilution: 5ml = 3 drops. 10ml = 6 drops. 15ml = 9 drops. 30ml = 18 drops.

• For 10% dilution: 5ml = 10 drops. 10ml = 20 drops. 15ml = 30 drops. 30ml = 60 drops.

• For 25% dilution: 5ml = 25 drops. 10ml = 50 drops. 15 ml = 75 drops. 30ml = 150ml.

This is where I will mention: children, the elderly, and those that have chronic skin conditions will oftentimes need different dilution rates than the generically given 1%. If you someone that fall into this category, it is in your best interest to speak to your doctor first. Find someone certified that can help you with finding the proper dilution rates, as you may need further adjustments, don't just use these guidelines.

I don't offer clients aromatherapy-only packages anymore (as it worked better in combination). When I was offering that service, I kept it strictly in-person for a reason!

[flickeringflame216]

Same hair!!! same hair!!! If you don't mind telling, what products do yoy use/how do you care for your hair? I had it figured out when I lived in the middle east and now that I'm back in the States I cannot keep it from frizzing and just...NOT listening to me!

ooh nice! *high fives*

Ok so. I cut my hair really, really short a little more than a year ago. I'm talking 3/4 inch buzz cut short.

This ^^ is about what it looks like now, a year and a half and a lot of maintenance cuts later. The care is very different now compared to when it was long, so I'll do my best to remember since I assume your hair is longer.

So I grew up not knowing at ALL how to care for my hair. It was generally kind of a mess. I feel ya on the stubborn frizz, friend! Best advice is to mess around and find out. Experiment! Find what works for you! I tried soooo many products and did a lot of research to figure out my hair! Like with anything else, people will do a lot of yelling on the internet about how bad X thing is for your hair. Especially sulfates and silicones, people looooove to yell about those. (Note: I did end up avoiding sulfates and silicones, but I won't yell at people who can use them in their hair scot-free.) Take it with a grain of salt. I'm not a professional but here are some things that worked well for my hair when it was longer (it oscillated between collarbone and past bra-strap length when dry for awhile):

Wash day: I washed my hair once a week or at most every 5 days. Even though I have very coarse individual strands and my hair doesn't look fragile, it's prone to breakage if it gets too dry.

Scalp: My scalp was getting a bit crusty from the new wash routine! Product buildup is real. I got a silicone scalp scrubber from Walmart--nothing fancy, it was probably like $7. I still use it even though my hair is short now--it cleans effectively and gets rid of that icky scalp feeling for me.

After-shower routine: My hair (this applies to curly hair in general, i think) hates being combed or brushed when dry. That means I had to get products in and set up the "structure" of my hair, or how I wanted it to look when it was dry, while it was still wet. This is the cheap version--I get my haircare products at Walmart and don't own a diffuser. If you can afford better products/tools, more power to ya!

Wash day routine-- a. detangle before getting in the shower! I would sometimes dampen my hair with a spray bottle or just in the sink beforehand to make this easier. A chunky wide-tooth comb can help detangle, and you want to go slowly to avoid breakage. b. wet hair and wash with the shampoo of your choice (I'll list some that have worked for me below). You can use a scrubber thingamajig or just your fingers. c. rinse out the shampoo and condition. I had to use way more conditioner that I thought I would at first, since my hair was so dry. Then I would let the conditioner sit there while I did the rest of my shower routine. When my hair was near waist-length I would tie it up with a scrunchie in the shower so it was out of the way and the conditioner stayed in. d. rinse out almost all the conditioner. I would leave a very small amount in, again because of dryness. If that's not a problem for you skip this step--again, experiment til you find what works! e. I found that terry cloth towels destroyed my hair. If that's a problem for you, try microfiber towels or an old cotton t-shirt. Some people swear by styling their hair soaking wet, but that never worked for me since it had to air dry. I dried it to medium damp and then added products f. only on wash day, I would scrunch in some kind of medium-hold gel. Get your curls hydrated and defined at this stage! There are lots of methods for this. I never had to do much besides the gel and the scrunching, but there are some great resources I can link if you need them. Once your hair is 80-90% dry, scrunch again from the ends to the roots to get rid of the "cast" (the crunchy feeling from the gel). And that's day 1 hair! usually it's a bit less voluminous than your rest-of-the-week hair, but has great curl definition.

All the other days-- I put my hair up in a pineapple in the shower and avoided getting it wet. Then I'd use a spray bottle with a fine mist (also from walmart eyyyy) to dampen the shaft of my hair (so avoiding soaking the roots) and scrunch gently. This reactivates the product (whether gel or something else) from day one. I'd add a small amount of mousse or leave-in conditioner, depending on what I was doing with my hair that day and how it was looking. Then you just mess with it a little to get it where you want and voila! Ready to go!

Sleep-- I covered my hair to sleep. Usually with a little bandeau or scarf of some kind, just to keep it from getting frizzballed from rolling against my pillowcase. You could also get a silk pillowcase, which is said to help with that, but I personally never did (silk be expensive).

Products-- Right now I use Native shampoo and conditioner and Maui moisture curl mousse and that's it. When my hair was longer I bounced around a lot. Maui moisture shampoo and conditioner (I know I used the Heal & Hydrate and Nourish & Moisture specifically) worked pretty well, and smells AMAZING, but beware of silicones in some of their conditioners if you're avoiding them. I also used their gel. I tried Aussie and didn't love them for my hair, I tried Shea Moisture and their stuff was better but hit-or-miss for me from product to product. The Hairitage line wasn't bad, but again I think they used silicones in their conditioners. Native works well for my hair now, but I never used them when I had long hair so idk. Also they're a wee bit pricey compared to what I'm used to (but they have great sales). Hopefully this is a good starting point and you can find what works for you! Hit me up if something was unclear or you have more questions--or just to share something that went well! It was tons of fun rambling (sorry this is so long) so thanks for the ask, friend! ~Zaki P.S. Do you mind telling where in the middle east? I get it if you can't share or don't want to, just asking because my Dad is Egyptian (that's where the curls come from lol) and I was curious if you're also from around there!

[cxnscience]

"Perfect! Straight to the point! See, now, this is why you're the wordsmith," he teases. Really, though, he's Shakespeare - he could name it anything, anything at all, and folks would scramble to get their hands on it. Heck, he could write about paint drying and it'd be a staple of high school English classes worldwide.

Jiminy's gaze darts away at the bard's statement, feeling both flattered and a little proud. "Yes, well... it comes with the territory. But, uh... thank you. I do try." Honesty, that is. He couldn't get very far doing what he's doing without it. On the other hand, though, this is Will. Will is nicer to him than most other folks, and Jiminy hesitates to hand out any harsh feedback to him as a result. Particularly when he knows the man is an expert at what he does. But so long as he's not judging the quality of the writing, merely the enjoyment one might get out of reading it... that might be a little more doable. Jiminy reads non-stop, after all.

"It's all a little subjective, I'll be honest, but I'll do my level best. You're real talented, though, Will - I'm sure it'll be just stellar. Won't lie to ya if it leaves me bored to tears, of course." Immediately thereafter his grin drops gradually into a frown and he folds his arms, leaning back a bit. "Though... you know your stuff's gonna end up suffering, too, if you're runnin' at full-throttle all the time. Writing is demanding work - and it IS work. You gotta take a step back for your own life just as often." Maybe it's hypocritical coming from someone whose job is their entire life, but he knows it's advice he ought to be taking and therefore knows it's sage.

"I mean, c'mon. You've been remembered this long, a heck of a lot longer than most other folks. It's not like you're gonna fade into obscurity on account of you took a month or two for yourself. Anybody who can't wait that long for the next installment's expecting too much outta you - you're only human, at the end of the day. You can be hard-working without pushing yourself to the breakin' point."

" you think so . . ? maybe i'll call it ' the new play: the comeback, ' " he muses, a smile filled with clear jest curling his lips, " and the one i release after this will be ' the new play . . two ' ! "

he clasps his hands together with a laugh. in all honesty, the title of the play wasn't the hardest part - will simply needed to figure out the name of the main character and title his next work after it. now, to figure out the character in question was another whole issue in itself, though he would like to believe it's one he's solving well.

" well, i do, but . . i need someone who's honest, not someone who tries to sugarcoat whatever criticism they might have or pretend it's not even there at all. if the plot is boring, i need to know before it gets staged. that's why i wanted to talk to you - you say your thoughts freely and truthfully, while i've noticed some people tend to shy away from criticizing my works, even if in a constructive way, " he leans back against his seat with a wink,

" but i trust you with this sorta stuff. you've seen an awful lot of writings - heck, you write yourself, so i'd love to hear your opinion. if there's anything in there that's hard to understand, don't be afraid to ask about it, dear. "

a puzzled look is displayed in return at the seriousness shown by the conscience's features, the bard's eyes moving to some other random point on the table upon being hit with realization. right, he hadn't even thought about that - the current one he's writing is about halfway done, if he had to guess, and even if it gets taken away momentarily for his story so far to be proofread, it'd be in his best interest to immediately start working on the one that will eventually succeed ' the new play ' - albeit none of this is admited outloud right away upon jiminy's words.

" i mean . . i probably should get started on the next one. don't wanna bore my audience to the end of their patience 'cause i took an extra month to start making my new play. a vacation sounds nice, but . . between you and me, i don't think it's a good idea. been lucky enough to be remembered after centuries, but i don't wanna push my luck, y'know? not only that, but i'm known as hard - workin', darling, so i suppose there's no rest for the william. "

[angel-bubbles]

a (best) friend

this has been in the works for well over a month now but here we have the longest fic i've ever written (its only 3.7k but that's A Lot for me) >:3 it's angel and darlin being besties bc it's what they deserve. enjoy the Vibes >:3

-------

Angel stared at their wheel in disbelief as they heard their engine putter, failing to actually turn over and start.

They tried again, desperately turning their key in the ignition, but this time they were met by a doomed clicking sound, the lights not even blinking on their dashboard. 

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” They said to themselves, laughing a dry humorless laugh before scanning the empty parking lot around them.

The sun had almost disappeared past the horizon, the sliver of sunlight illuminating the fact that they were the only ones left in the parking lot, everyone else long gone.

They begrudgingly pulled their phone out of their back pocket and slid over to David’s contact only to stop short, their heart seizing with their fingers.

David and Asher were up north meeting with Gregory and his pack. The whole reason Angel had stayed so late was because there was no reason to hurry home just to be met with an empty house. They slid over to Tank’s contact thumb hovering over it.

They were good with cars right?

Angel thought hard about their other options, not wanting to bother them but honestly having no choice before groaning loudly and calling them. They put their phone on speaker, allowing their forehead to meet with their wheel as they listened to the monotone ringing. 

“Hello?” Darlin’s voice filled the car suddenly causing Angel to jump a little. They were spacing off thinking about how the hell they were gonna get home, forgetting that they were currently calling the solution. 

“Oh shit! Hi,” Angel said, scrambling to pick their phone up off where it was gently balanced on their leg, “How are you?”

The huff of air and distant shuffling could be heard from Darlin’s side of the line before they replied.

“I’m fine? What do you need?” It wasn’t that Darlin’s words were any more harsh than usual but Angel couldn’t help from cringing a little. 

“I can’t call my best friend?” Angel laughed lightly, causing Darlin’ to scoff at the declaration.

“I doubt I’m your best friend. Besides you wouldn’t be calling if you didn’t need something Shortstack. I’m not stupid.”

“I’m not that short, ya know. Calling me Shortstack doesn’t really make any sense.�� 

“Mhm, you most definitely are that short, but that’s neither here nor there. What do you need?” Angel quietly let their forehead reconnect with the wheel in front of them.

“You busy right now?” Their tone light and calm, trying their best to keep their brain from taking off at a high speed sprint.

Darlin’ glanced over at Sam who was sitting next to them, watching some show that had been on when they arrived.

“No. What do you need.” 

“A mechanic is what I need,” They said, letting the displeasure of the situation seep into their words, “Or maybe a shifter who knows their way around a car. Honestly at this point I'll take anything.”

On the other side of the line Darlin’ scrunched their eyebrows together sitting up a little bit on their couch. Sam glanced over at them, raising a silent eyebrow to which Darlin mouthed Angel’s name toward him. He silently nodded, slyly listening into the conversation from there. 

“What do you mean by that?” Darlin’ wouldn’t ever tell them but they were already moving to grab their boots when they asked.

Knowing David was out of town, the sun was setting, and from the sounds of it Angel was stuck somewhere caused their muscles to tighten. The news about Quinn had them on the edge recently, and this sure as hell wasn’t helping.

“I just,” Angel’s groan echoed over the line before they continued, “I was leaving work and my stupid car won’t start. I think the battery is dead or something but I’m not gonna pretend that I know anything about cars.”

Their tone wasn’t as carefree anymore, the tightness of it causing Darlin’ to furrow their eyebrows even more before mumbling an ‘I’ll be back’ to Sam and stepping out the door of his place. 

Angel could hear the sound of Darlin’s truck door swinging shut behind them and felt the anxiety that had been wrapped around their heart loosen a little. It’s not that they doubted Darlin’ would come but knowing that they were on their way put Angel at ease. 

“Wait,” Darlin’s voice rang out, as they saw the time displayed on their dashboard, “Why the hell were you still at work. It’s almost 8.”

Angel laughed at their words as they stared out their windshield watching the sunset paint the sky. 

“Careful, you’re starting to sound like David.” They said playfully only to elicit a scoff from the other end of the line. 

“That doesn’t answer my question Shortstack.” 

“I was behind on stuff, it’s not a big deal.”

“Mhm.” Darlin’ let their memory lead them to Angel’s office building. They had to pass it on their way to the den and had made a mental note of it for times like this.

They didn’t really think they would have to actually use that information, but they were glad now that they had. They carefully considered Angel’s words, shaking their head a little. “Now what’s the real reason?” 

The line was quiet for a bit, if it weren’t for the faint sound of Angel’s breathing Darlin’ would have thought they hung up. 

“It’s stupid.” Their tone was even more defeated than it had already been and Darlin’ groaned. 

“We’ll talk about it when I get there, I’m only a few minutes away.” Darlin’ said, causing Angel to sit up in their seat and smile a little at the words.

“Okay. Wait, do you even know where you’re going?” Darlin’s cheeks heated up as they sat at the final light before their destination trying to school their voice.

“It’s on my way to the den.”

“Awe.” Angel drew the word out and Darlin’s groan blended in with it creating a weird harmony. “That’s so cute! You noticed!” 

“Anyone would have noticed that. I pass it practically every day.” Angel had a wide, close mouthed smile sitting on their face as they hummed in amusement. 

“Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.” They said as they watched Darlin’s old truck rumble into the parking lot. Quickly ending the call they climbed out of their car and leaned against the door as the truck parked next to them. 

Darlin’ clambered out of the drivers side, calmly walking around front with their eyebrows pulled together. They got to the hood of Angel’s car and raised a single eyebrow at them. The unempowered human stared blankly back at them before Darlin’ rolled their eyes.

“If you want me to look you’re gonna have to pop the hood.” Darlin’ watched as their words sunk into Angel’s brain and a small ‘oh’ came from their mouth as they turned to climb in their car. The wolf couldn’t help but breathe a laugh at the slow reaction before hearing the small click of the hood unlatching.  

Once Darlin’ got the hood open they immediately started inspecting something. To be honest Angel had no clue what they were looking for, or if they were really looking for anything at all. The wolf could have lied in their face and Angel would have believed them completely. Not that they would, but they most certainly could.

Angel happily leaned against their car, watching Darlin’ tinker around with different things. The unempowered human let their mind eb and flow as it always does before they tilted their head to the side a little. 

“I wasn’t lying about you being my best friend ya know.” Angel said softly, still not taking their eyes away from Darlin’s hands as the wolf used their phone flashlight to illuminate the inner workings of their car.

Darlin’ glanced up at them though, studying their body language before turning back to the job at hand. The two sat in silence for a couple minutes, Darlin’ still processing those words. 

“Okay, try and start it.” They said, throwing a glance at the human in front of them. Angel nodded, sliding back into the drivers side and turning their key in the ignition. Darlin’ was met with the doomed clanking sound they were afraid of and pushed themself upright signaling for them to stop. “Did the lights come on?”

Angel shook their head as they returned to their previous spot leaned against the front of their car while carefully crossing their arms across their chest. 

“No lights, just that god awful sound.” Angel grumbled. Darlin’ felt the corner of their lips twitch upwards at their choice of words, bracing their arms on the car in front of them. 

“I’m thinking you need a new battery. Well I’m not thinking that. You do. But I can try and jump it for now. Get you home at least.” Darlin’ watched as Angel deflated a bit, nodding their head and sliding their stare to their engine. 

“Was hoping you wouldn’t say that.” Angel grumbled quietly. Darlin’ laughed a bit at their words as they walked over to their truck, popping their own hood.

Angel, again, watched quietly as they set up all the connections. Darlin’ felt their own mind wandering too, remembering their conversation from earlier and glancing up at their alpha’s mate. 

“So why were you avoiding going home?” Their words were nonchalant but they saw the way Angel tensed at the phrase and felt their own muscles tense too. Seeing Angel, who’s usually so carefree and open with them, close up was off putting. When there wasn’t a response Darlin’ looked up from their engine and met their eyes wearily. “Did- Did something happen?”

They weren’t sure what would have happened but the thought of Angel avoiding the home they built with their mate put Darlin’ on edge. Angel’s eyes widened at the insinuation and quickly shook their head.

“No! No, nothing happened, it's just,” They dropped their gaze again and Darlin’ suddenly felt like they were crossing a line. Whatever it was, it was clearly affecting Angel enough for them to be this reserved about it. 

“Look, if you’d rather not talk-”

“I didn’t want to be home alone.” Angel said, effectively cutting Darlin’ off. Angel let out a dry laugh and slid their gaze back up to meet Darlin’s eyes, seeing the understanding wash over them. “See. Told you it was dumb.”

Darlin’ shook their head before turning towards their truck, starting it and letting it run, hopefully charging Angel’s own battery. Once the smooth grumble of their engine filled the air Darlin’ came and stood across from them and leaned on their own car door. 

“It’s not.” Darlin’ watched as Angel shook their head a little, running a hand through their already frazzled hair, no doubt they had been doing that all day. Up close Darlin’ could see the bags under their eyes and the slouch to their shoulders that they don’t think they had ever seen on them before. 

“It is though. But stupid or not, I’ve been avoiding being at home as much as possible all week. It’s such a big house even when David is home, without him it’s-” Their sentence trailed off and they dramatically waved their arms around. Darlin’ nodded in understanding, though they weren’t sure they really understood what they were feeling.

They knew what the absence of Sam felt like, it was lonely and empty and they hated that they let themself become so dependent on someone like that, but it was their reality now. They didn’t need him to survive, they were completely content surviving on their own, but Sam made living easier. 

They had also been in David’s house more times than they could count and they couldn’t imagine being in it alone. There was something about the space that begged to be filled. With pack, with music, with love.

They couldn’t imagine Angel going home and seeing them sitting alone on the couch in this big empty house. 

“I’m serious Shortstack. I couldn’t be in that house alone.” They said and Angel gave them a  small smile, one that didn’t quite meet their eyes. The exhaustion written on their face was deeply unsettling to Darlin’, something in their core yelling at them protect the pack. Swallowing down their thoughts Darlin’ nodded their head in the direction of Angel’s car. “Try and start it.” 

The sound of the clanking engine echoed around them again and Darlin’ saw the way that Angel’s shoulders sagged, turning their head towards Darlin’ and looking at them with glassy eyes. 

“This sucks.” Angel says as they climb out of their car. Their voice wavers a little and the internal panic in Darlin’s heart heightens for a second. They were never good at comforting people, much less Angel.

It wasn’t that comforting them was any different from anyone else, Darlin’ just cared a lot more about the quality of the comfort they gave them. They never wanted to mess anything up especially when they needed the comfort the most. 

Darlin’ reached over from the passenger seat and killed their own engine, quickly running to the front of their cars and carefully removing the jumper cables. 

“I’ll give you a ride home now, then I’ll call the towing company in the morning alright?” Angel silently crossed their arms tighter across their chest. “Do you work tomorrow?” Darlin’ said trying to get them to stop looking so beaten down.

They wished more than anything the playful jabs Angel had thrown at them earlier would return. Quiet Angel was one they wanted no part in. It just felt wrong. 

“You don’t have to do all that, I have the day off tomorrow I can call the towing company.” Darlin’ quickly shook their head as they loudly slammed the hood of their truck. 

“Good. You need the rest. But I know a guy, well, Milo knows a guy and by proxy I know the guy and use him religiously. I’ll call him, he’s good at what he does and he won’t hike the prices.” Angel sighed a little before nodding and grabbing their things out of their passenger seat. 

The two quietly climbed into Tank's truck while Angel begrudgingly looked over at their own car, the weight of the day settling down onto their shoulders. The drive to Angel and David’s house was quiet as both the shifter and the unempowered human felt their brains running a mile a minute.

Darlin’ threw a few glances over at Angel, noticing the way they kept taking a breath like they were going to say something, but never speaking.  After a few more minutes of this Darlin’ finally broke the silence. 

“If you don’t ask you’ll never get the answer.” They said, their words coming out sharper than they had planned. Angel jumped a little, almost as if they had forgotten they weren’t alone in the car, and turned their head. 

“Huh?” Darlin’ threw a glance their way, meeting their eyes for a second before focusing back on the road.

“You have something to say. So say it.” They said matter-of-factly. Silence enveloped the car again while Angel mulled their thoughts over in their head. 

“Would you… um,” they cut themself off with a groan before straightening their posture in the seat. “Could you stay? At the house?” Angel’s knee was bouncing when they asked and Darlin’ furrowed their eyebrows at the clearly anxious action, not used to seeing their alpha’s mate so unsure of themself. 

“Just for a minute but you don’t have to! I’m sure you had plans tonight and I already took you away from that, which I’m really thankful for by the way. You really didn’t need to come all the way out here and I’m actually sorry that you had to go through all this trouble and I’m sure you want to get home to see Sam since the sun is setting. Oh god you were probably with Sam weren’t you? I’m sorry I really didn’t mean to take you away from-”

“Stop.” Darlin’s voice was stern and Angel found themself snapping their jaw shut looking down at their lap, causing Darlin’s stomach to flip. “No… sorry… I-” they cut their sentence off with a groan, running a rough hand through their hair.

“It’s okay Tank, I’m sure you’ve had a long day just forget I asked okay? Don’t even worry about it.” Angel’s words sounded genuine but their continuously bouncing leg gave them away. Darlin’ bit back a frustrated growl as they pulled into the driveway, trying desperately to find the right words to express what was going through their head. 

“No I… I said stop because I didn’t want you apologizing. It’s nothing to apologize for. Shit happens.” Angel silently nodded their head and watched as Darlin’ killed their engine. 

“I know but-” Darlin’ quickly cut them off with a little ‘Ah. No.’ and Angel laughed at the parental tone they took on.

“And yes. I can stay.” Their words were quiet and quickly followed by them jumping out of the truck walking up to the door. Angel scrambled to follow behind them, tripping over their own feet and barely catching themself along the way. They unlocked the door for the two of them, letting the shifter enter before them. 

“You don’t have to stay long, I just-” 

“It’s a big house. I get it. I wouldn’t have stayed if I didn’t want to and you know that.” Darlin’ said seriously, turning to look at the shorter human as they locked the door behind them. Angel’s shoulders loosened a little, seeming like some of their anxieties slipped off. 

“I’m gonna go change really quick, if you’re hungry or anything you know where everything is.” Darlin’ felt their own shoulders relax as the carefree tone seeped back into Angel’s voice, and this time it was genuine. As they watched the unempowered human walk down the hall they made their way to the living room, sitting on the couch and pulling out their phone.

From: Cowboy

Everything alright?

They cringed at how quickly their lips tipped upwards at the name on their screen, biting their bottom lip and typing out a quick response. 

To: Cowboy

All good, just car shit. Gonna hang here for a bit.

As they put their phone onto the coffee table in front of them Angel emerged from the hallway and Darlin’ immediately laughed despite themselves. They were absolutely swimming in the length of David’s hoodie.

“Fuck you don’t laugh at me.” Angel said with a smile spreading across their face. They plopped down right next to Darlin’ and promptly sat criss cross causing their knees to bump into each other. 

“I don’t know if you know this but I don’t think that fits you.” Darlin’s voice was light but Angel scoffed in response. 

“It fits just fine thank you very much." They said as they carefully pulled the remote from the table. Darlin' shook their head a smile still pulling at their lips.

"Alright tough stuff wanna watch a movie? I’ve been wanting to watch this new one that came out on netflix. I think you’ll like it.” Angel said, causing Darlin’ to raise a silent eyebrow, watching as Angel found what they were looking for. It was a Hallmark movie. 

“No way you’re gonna make me watch a Hallmark movie.” They deadpanned, turning their body to face Angel. The shit eating grin that their alpha’s mate wore was enough to pull a loud groan out of them.

“It’ll be good! Plus it’s only an hour so little to no commitment!” Darlin’ continued their silent glare as Angel’s laugh filled the room. “We can make fun of the acting!” Their argument was almost convincing and for that Darlin’ had to give them credit. 

“It’s a Christmas movie. It’s literally October.” 

“So!” Angel’s arms were thrown in front of them gesturing vaguely at the cliche trailer playing on the screen. “Aren’t all hallmark movies Christmas movies? That’s their thing.” 

Darlin’ sighed and leaned back into the couch a bit, crossing their arms across their chest. 

“Fine. But no one hears about this.” Angel’s cheers drowned out the rest of their sentence and they fought to keep the stupid smile off their face. As Angel got up to turn off the lights Darlin’ found their thoughts drifting towards their earlier conversation, considering how the night had even gotten to this point in the first place. 

When the human plopped back down next to them they carefully studied the way they were so calm around them. So many people in the pack still had issues with Darlin’, no matter how hard they tried to act like they didn’t. It wasn’t that Darlin’ didn’t understand. They understood just fine. But that doesn’t mean the distance didn’t sting.

With Angel though, there was no distance. They genuinely cared about the wolf and they didn’t care to hide that. Darlin’ stared down at the way their knees knocked into each other and carefully cleared their throat. The noise pulled Angel’s attention away from the movie and they looked at Darlin’ expectantly. 

“Um- Just…” They cleared their throat again, “thank you for being a friend.” Their voice was quiet but they knew Angel had heard from the way their eyes softened. Though the look quickly shifted to a mischievous one before they replied.

“Your best friend?” Angel’s eyebrows wiggled up and down quickly as they spoke and Darlin’ scoffed loudly, firmly pushing them away. 

“Yes, now get the hell away from me.” Darlin’ spoke through a laugh.

“Awe you don’t want to cuddle?” They joked as they took up residency on the opposite corner of the small couch and not so carefully letting their feet drop onto Darlin’s lap. 

“Fuck no. David isn’t kidding when he says you’re a walking furnace.” Darlin’ said, carefully adjusting Angel’s feet so that they could get more comfortable. Giggles could be heard from the other end of the couch as they shook their head silently. They quietly watched the movie for a few minutes before Angel lightly kicked their chest, causing the wolf to look over at them. 

“Thank you for today Tanker.” Angel said softly.

“The cars no big deal Shortstack.” Darlin’ said but Angel shook their head.

“No. Well, yes for the car too but for staying. And watching this shitty movie with me.” Their smile was small but bright and Darlin’ nodded their head.

“Anytime.”

[animesllut666]

Helium balloon

Characters: Toji, Geto, Gojo, Nanami

Type: Headcannon

Anime: jujutsu kaisen

Warnings: none? One curse word.

Summary: Helium, Helium balloons. An instant party favorite. Who would enjoy it, an how they would react.

GOJO:

Imagine him on helium

He already annoying, an obnoxious, give him a balloon that will alter his voice for a couple seconds

An he will become worse then a 5 year old that becomes OBSESSED with the balloon with 'funny voice powers'

Highly recommend keeping those balloons away from him

Megumi once popped all those balloons at a grocery store once, to prevent Gojo from buy them.

" Satoru, please for the love of everything holy. Shut up," You groaned as he rubbed the balloons together, his face twisting with joy at the sheer annoyance it was causing with everyone in the facility room.

A small plastic knife zoomed passed you, Uthamie sighing in vain as it bounced off from Gojo shield. "Tsk, I was going to give you some of this Helium but nevermind," Satoru informed her, bitting the end of the balloon an sucking out the gas that was going to make him annoying an bothersome.

"Yet, I'll keep it all to myself, oh is.. is that MY voice?"

A roar of laughter over took the room, at Satoru shocked an confused face at the state of his voice. His eyebrows raised, an his eyes widening at the sound, taking in another large inhale.

"Baby, what about with sexy time, I talk to you like this? Ya wan-" He was cut off by Nanami knocking him out of his chair, a surprise yelp. "Why are you in love with him again?" Mei Mei asked, a dry tone to her voice, as she watched with what seemed like amusement at seeing Gojo chasing you around with his very high voice.

TOJI:

Didn't believe anyone that it would alter your voice

He didn't really have a good childhood, nor was allowed to have any fun. Cuz the Zenin Clan SUCKS.

So when he saw a balloon, an you slightly bit the bottom an inhaled deeply

He was concerned

"Hello, Toji!" You squealed, laughing hysterically at your voice. An a second later doubling over at the expression on his face as he took a shocking step back. This being the first time seeing him off guard, an not knowing what to do in this case.

"W..what.. I... The fuck?! ARE YOU OKAY?!" He questioned in a rush he bolted towards you, his hands examining you an see if you had an cuts.

You felt bad for laughing, but this just made it even more difficult for you to breath. While he took the balloon an started to expect it, "Oh, Oh.. just.. it's the gas in the balloon. Try it." You offered, holding the balloon out, the sound of the gas leaving it.

"No."

Slightly pushing it away, a stern tone on his face. "Come on, please."

With a heavy sigh, he took it, inhaling deeply before speaking, "Se-" He started an then stopped at the state of his voice. Too say, he was NOT enthused by this, would be lying.

Anytime after that, he would point out the balloons

An ask in tiny, "Does that have the gas?"

Bought 10 balloons, an you had to tell him NOT to do it all the time.

GETO: (non possessed zombie puppet Geto)

Actually likes them, he was best friends with Gojo for a few years

An got a little too into them for the most part

"SURPRISE!" Geto shouted, jumping out from behind the couch, balloons an a small cake trailing from behind him. "What ..what is this for?" You stuttered out, surprised by the sudden sight when you walked in from a long day of dealing with children.

"It's for... Being so great, an okay, yeah the cake was discounted along with the balloons..an I thought it would be nice."

"You just want to suck the helium out, don't you?" You questioned, your body feeling heavier then before you walked in to the surprise.

With a quick nod of his head, he handed you the small cake with a fork already on top. He offered the helium to you first, an with a shrug you took a deep inhale, "Work was shit, a little kid threw up on my shoes."

A small giggle was heard from Geto, at the sound of your voice. Taking the balloon away, he spoke, "Well now, you get to deal with another kid! Me and Gojo!"

You walked out the door, once you say Gojo walk into the living room with a balloon in hand. "Hello, my best friends lover!"

Nanami:

Would not tolerate it from Gojo, or anyone else

Maybe besides Itadori, but would give him a speech about maturity an how helium is bad for you.

But if a buzz kill, but would let you an Itadori have fun with it.

"Just make sure you don't inhale too much," He warned as you an Itadori had a sing off, Nobara an Megumi sitting on the couch watching. Nobara shouting an encouraging you on, while trash talking Itadori. An poor Megumi, sitting there watching his sensei partner with a high pitched voice having a sing off with his student.

"YOU CALL THAT A HIGH NOTE?! MEGUMI DIVINE DOGS CAN CARRY A NOTE BETTER THEN YOU!" Nobara hollered at Itadori, him in return rolling his eyes, "Then you try it!" He offered, holding out the balloon.

"Ew no, I want my own balloon not yours with your cooties!"

With a giggle, you skipped back over to Nanami his face being covered by the news paper he was reading. Peaking over it, his brows were furrowed as he read the stories. "Hey, wanna try this?" You coaxed, holding the balloon above your head for him too see it.

With a roll of his eyes, he took the balloon, silence fell in the room at the action.

"There, that's my voice." He spoke, a roar of laughter an a smile breaking on Megumi face at Nanami.

[lsmu]

Book 2 Epilogue: One in a Million

I heard something that sounded like water being poured, then my nose picked up something that smelled familiar. Was it hyeonmi-cha? But the aroma was mixed with something else, something that smelled like the scent of a peaceful morning in the countryside.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. My vision was still blurred, but from the light I saw filling the room, I knew it was daytime. I was in a room, the walls were painted clean white and the room was decorated with a collection of nice and modern wooden furniture. Where was I? I turned my head to the left, and I saw someone sitting in a chair by the bed, pouring steaming hot water into a teapot.

It was a woman, dressed in a pure white dress. Her long black hair glistened, and her pearly skin glowed. She looked just like an angel. Was I dreaming? Or was I dead? The angel turned to look at me, and she immediately realised that I was awake. She gasped and smiled sweetly.

"Oh! You're finally awake, Minsoo-ssi," she said.

How did she know my name? Did angels speak Korean anyway? Hang on. That voice sounded familiar. I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes, clearing my vision, and I could see the person talking to me. It was not an angel.

"K–Kim... Jisoo... ssi?" I stuttered, feeling my throat as dry as a desert.

Jisoo smiled and poured tea from the teapot into a cup. She offered it to me.

"Drink this, Minsoo-ssi," she said calmly.

I took the cup and sipped it slowly. The tea was delicious, and it warmed my insides. I suddenly felt fresh and alive again. I looked around, realising that I was in a nice and neat looking bedroom, but I could see tree branches from the window, so I was not in a high-rise apartment. I looked at Jisoo.

"J–Jisoo-ssi... W–where am I?" I asked her.

Jisoo looked around the room and smiled.

"You're in my house, in Geumho-dong. Well, it's Yeoni's house too, to be honest," she said, giggling, before looking at me again. "He brought you here unconscious yesterday." "Y–Yesterday?" I asked her. She nodded. "Yes. You passed out yesterday at SM headquarters after the fight out of stress. Yeoni, Jihyo, Irene, and Jennie brought you here, and now, you're awake," she explained to me, like a teacher explaining to a student.

"I was... out... The whole day... After the fight?" I repeated her words.

Suddenly, memories flooded my mind like a broken dam. I remembered everything that happened yesterday. We went there to stop Momo and Mina, then suddenly Director Jung appeared, and Park Manse appeared, then the IPG appeared. There was a fight, and then... Chuyoung and Jeongyeon...

"W–What happened... With..." I stuttered. "Nam Chuyoung and Yoo Jeongyeon? Don't worry, they're still alive. They're in the hospital now."

I turned and saw Yeoni standing at the door, Jennie and Irene there with him. The three of them smiled wide as they saw me.

"How are you, Minsoo-ya? Are you okay?" Yeoni asked me.

I nodded. Yeoni smiled wider and sat on the bed next to me. I had so many questions in my head, but I didn't know where to start. All I wanted to do at the moment was to see Jeongyeon, Chuyoung, and... And Jihyo. As if reading my thoughts, Yeoni chuckled.

"I'll take you to the hospital later. The Twice girls are all there," he said. "But first, breakfast!" exclaimed Jisoo, standing up from the chair excitedly.

Yeoni, Jennie, and Irene chuckled seeing Jisoo. Jisoo walked towards the door, rubbing her belly gently. I noticed that her belly was bulging a little bit. Has she gained weight? She did look a little chubbier. Maybe being on a hiatus made her relaxed a little bit on her strict diet and exercise regime as an idol.

Jisoo went out of the room, followed by Irene and Jennie, talking happily. Yeoni stayed by my side for a moment, before standing up.

"Come on! You need to try Jisoo-noona's cooking. It's one of the best in the country," he said proudly.

I felt a chuckle leaving my mouth. I stood up from the bed and walked groggily towards the door. I exited the room, and immediately the aroma of Jisoo's cooking filled my senses. I felt my stomach rumbling, suddenly feeling famished.

I staggered to the dining room, where Yeoni, Irene, and Jennie were preparing the dining table. Jisoo brought a steaming hot pot filled with something soupy and spicy from the kitchen to the dining table, while Irene took out a few plates of kimchi from the fridge. Jennie was scooping rice from the rice cooker, and Yeoni playfully kissed his girlfriend's cheek, making her squirm and giggle.

I smiled. They looked like a happy family. Irene looked up and smiled kindly at me, immediately erasing the cold and aloof first impression I had of her.

"Come, Minsoo! Sit here!" she said, gesturing towards the chair next to her. "A–Ah, yes, Sunbaenim..." I said, walking towards her.

I sat next to her awkwardly. Yeoni and Jennie sat across the table, while Jisoo kept standing, serving the delicious looking and smelling soup, which turned out to be haejangguk, to our personal bowls. I felt awkward as I received the bowl from Jisoo, thanking her. Jennie noticed my nervousness and giggled.

"Ya, Minsoo! Why are you so nervous? Just enjoy the food and eat! You skipped lunch and dinner yesterday, right? You must be really hungry right now!" she scolded me jokingly. "I can hear his stomach rumbling the entire time, Jen," uttered Irene, slurping her soup. "Girls! Stop teasing poor Minsoo and let him enjoy his breakfast in peace!" exclaimed Jisoo.

They all laughed, and slowly, I laughed too. I didn't know these people personally, but they were very kind towards me, a complete nobody. I chuckled, said my thanks again to Jisoo, and scooped the haejangguk with my spoon.

As soon as the hot and spicy soup entered my mouth, I felt like all my strength returned almost immediately. My eyes lit up, and I instinctively turned to look at Jisoo. She looked at me in surprise.

"Omo... Why do you suddenly stare at me like that, Minsoo-ssi?" she asked me. "A–Ah... S–Sorry, Sunbaenim... I–It's just... It's so good!" I exclaimed.

Jisoo giggled and nodded, while Yeoni sighed and smiled.

"What did I tell you? She's one of the best in Korea!" Yeoni said with a chuckle. Jisoo pouted. "'One of the best'? I am the best!" she protested jokingly.

They all laughed again. Yeoni leaned in to kiss Jisoo's cheek. Jisoo blushed slightly, and she smiled as she sat down at the head of the table. Jennie looked at me and smiled.

"You're brave, Minsoo-ya," she said. "P–Pardon?" I asked her. Jennie chuckled. "What you did yesterday. You're a brave man," she said again.

I felt confused. As far as I remembered, I didn't really do much during the fight. In fact, I didn't fight at all, only looking here and there in fear, witnessing the amazing IPG members beat down Park Manse and his thugs.

"I–I... I didn't do anything yesterday, really..." I said shyly. "I... I just stood there and watched all of you save the day."

Irene chuckled next to me. I turned and saw her sipping her coffee.

"No. Jennie was talking about how you uncovered the plot to make Suzy fail," she said calmly.

Jennie nodded, but I shook my head.

"I... It was by chance. I overheard Jung-isanim talking on the phone," I said.

"But you still did the right thing by informing Suzy-ssi immediately," Yeoni said. "That started the entire operation to bring him down and stop Momo, Mina, and Tzuyu from signing the contracts."

I looked at him. His words were true, but somehow I still didn't feel deserving of the praise. Jennie slurped her soup, and suddenly something came to her mind. She straightened herself.

"Also, don't forget! You tackled Jung Hosung-ssi and stopped him from running away," said Jennie. "While he was holding a gun," added Yeoni. "That he pointed at you," continued Irene. "And you kicked it away," said Jennie. "So Yeoni could take it," said Irene. "And used it to stop Manse from killing Tzuyu," Yeoni said.

"Ya," said Jisoo suddenly.

We all turned to look at her. She was scowling at the four of us.

"Are you seriously going to go around the table taking turns describing all the horrible things that happened yesterday? Can't we just have our breakfast in peace?" she scolded us exasperatedly, sounding like a mom scolding her naughty children.

Yeoni chuckled.

"Mianhae, Your Noona-ness..." he said jokingly. Jisoo slapped his arm, but she giggled afterwards. "Aigoo... Stop talking and just eat! The haejangguk will go bad!" she said urgently.

We all chuckled and nodded, deciding to just enjoy our breakfast. Jennie was bubbly and kept talking through the meal, although to her credit, she didn't mention the events from yesterday at all. Irene was elegant, Jisoo was warm and motherly, while Yeoni was simply cool and calm. I found myself longing to be part of a family like this.

After breakfast, Jennie and Irene helped Jisoo wash the dishes, while Yeoni brought me outside to the patio. He took out a cigarette from a pack and offered it to me, but I refused.

"I–I don't smoke, Hyung..." I said, before apologizing. "Sorry..."

Yeoni chuckled. He lit up his cig and took a long drag, before puffing out a cloud of smoke.

"No, no. It's good," he said, before turning to look at me. "What are you going to do next?" "W–What do you mean?" I asked him. "I mean... What are you going to do right now, after breakfast?" he clarified.

I considered his words for a moment, then I remembered something.

"Hyung, y–you... You told me earlier that Jeongyeon and Chuyoung are in the hospital," I said. He nodded. "Ah, yes. I said I'll bring you there. You must want to meet your members, right?" he asked me. "Yes. I... I want to see them," I said while nodding.

Yeoni nodded and took another drag from his cigarette. Another question came to my mind.

"Are they... Are they seriously okay, Hyung? Chuyoung and Jeongyeon, I mean," I asked him. Yeoni thought for a moment before answering. "They had surgeries yesterday. From what Sana told me, the surgeries were both successful. So I think you have nothing to worry about," he said calmly.

I nodded. I found myself wanting to ask another question, but I felt embarrassed to ask it. Yeoni noticed this and bumped his elbow to my arm.

"You have another thing to say. Just say it, Minsoo-ya. Don't be afraid," he said.

I chuckled nervously and looked up to him.

"I... Is... Is Jihyo there in the hospital too with the rest of them?" I asked him.

Yeoni stared at my face for a moment, but then he smiled.

"So you're with her, huh? Yeah. She's there. She was here with us yesterday, looking really worried for you. She left at night after dinner. We actually asked her to stay here if she wanted, but she said she needed to go back to the apartment to look after the girls. Earlier today she came here and brought you some change of clothes," Yeoni explained.

I felt my face blushing, and I smiled knowing Jihyo was worried about me. Yeoni chuckled and placed his arm on my shoulder.

"You've improved a lot, Minsoo-ya. I still remember you asked me how to be close with them that night in the bar, and now you've already made one of them fall in love with you. You're doing great," he said, praising me.

"A–Ah, yes. Kamsahamnida, Hyungnim," I said shyly.

Yeoni finished his cigarette and stumped the butt on an ashtray. He smiled and tapped my shoulder.

"Come on. You need to shower, then I'll take you to the hospital," he said, walking inside.

I followed him inside, and he directed me to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, got dressed, said my goodbyes to the girls, before following Yeoni to his car. He drove me to the hospital, and dropped me off at the lobby. I stepped out of the car and bowed to thank him.

"Kamsahamnida, Hyungnim. Are... Are you not joining me?" I asked him. Yeoni smiled and shook his head. "It's Tuesday, Minsoo-ya. I need to work, and so do you!" he said. I didn't understand him at first. "I–I'm sorry?" I asked. He chuckled. "You're Twice's manager, right? Go manage them now!" he said, before driving away.

I watched as his car exited the hospital and smiled. I felt thankful to have Yeoni as someone to look up to. The way he treated Jisoo, Jennie, and Irene with respect and the way he genuinely cared for them were something I always wanted to be able to do. Smiling wider, I took a deep breath and entered the hospital.

I had texted Jihyo earlier, telling her that I had woken up and was going to the hospital. Jihyo told me that she was in Jeongyeon's room on the fifth floor, so I took the lift up. It was the VVIP ward. I knocked on the door to Jeongyeon's room and waited for a few moments before someone opened the door. It was Dahyun.

"Minsoo-Oppa!" she squealed and hugged me. I hugged back and laughed. "Hi, Dubu!" I said.

I looked up and saw Jihyo had rushed to the door when she saw me. Dahyun let go of me and giggled, giving Jihyo the space to hug me freely. She hugged me tightly, and before I could do anything, she kissed my lips warmly. I felt my face burn in embarrassment, but I kissed her back nonetheless.

"Hi, Jihyo..." I whispered as we separated. "Minchu... I'm so happy that you're okay!" she said, wiping tears from her eyes.

I hugged her again and kissed her cheek, before entering the room. Dahyun closed the door behind us, and we walked together to the bedroom. Momo and Sana looked up and smiled when they saw me. Jeongyeon was lying on the bed, looking really pale, even paler than Dahyun, her left arm was put in a cast up to her shoulder, but she smiled the widest.

"That's my Little Brother right there..." said Jeongyeon, looking happy, but I noticed that her voice was way weaker than it usually sounded, almost reduced to a whisper.

I laughed and walked to her side, hugging her carefully from her right side.

"I'm so happy you're okay, Noona..." I whispered to her ear. Jeongyeon chuckled weakly. "Of course. One bullet is not enough to put me down..." she uttered. "The doctor said the bullet went right through her, thankfully, so they only needed to stitch her up," said Jihyo.

"But Unnie did lose a lot of blood," said Dahyun. Jeongyeon chuckled. "Oh, yeah. I bled like crazy, right..." she scoffed. "I thought I was a goner, really."

I chuckled and shook my head. I knew that my Noona was one of the toughest people around.

"Ya! You told me that you'll be okay yesterday! You even gave me a thumbs up!" I protested jokingly. Jeongyeon chuckled, sounding frail. "You were crying like a baby... What did you expect me to say? 'See you in heaven, Minsoo'?" she said.

We all laughed, but I noticed that Momo and Sana were very quiet. I looked at them, and I noticed that both their eyes were red and swollen, especially Sana's. She looked up and smiled.

"Hi Minsoo..." she uttered weakly. I reached to grab her shoulder gently. "Are you alright, Sha?" I asked her.

She nodded, but she evidently still looked shaken. Jeongyeon scoffed.

"My girlfriend here keeps crying the entire night... As if her tears could magically wake me up," she uttered. Sana glared at her, but she smiled. "I was worried sick, you know! I thought you're gone!" she complained, tears started leaking from her eyes again. She honestly looked so cute.

Jeongyeon smiled warmly and held Sana's hand.

"Don't worry, Sha... I won't leave you to have fun with Dubu alone..." she whispered naughtily. "Ya! Unnie!" complained Dahyun, her face blushing red, but Jeongyeon's words made all of us laugh, even Sana.

I looked at Momo, who stood awkwardly a few steps behind all of us. I smiled and flung my arm around her shoulders.

"I'm glad you're okay, Momo," I said gently.

She looked down, finding the right words to speak.

"I... I–uh. I have to apologise to you, Minsoo... To all of you... I... I caused all the trouble. I put your lives in danger, all of you..." she whispered.

Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Dahyun, and Sana stared at her for a moment. Slowly, Dahyun walked to her side to hug her, followed by Jihyo. Soon, Sana stood up and hugged her too. Momo looked down, and I saw tears streaming from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, girls... I'm sorry... It was all my mistake. If I wasn't so stubborn, I... Jeongie..." she whispered, but Sana shushed her. "It's alright, Momoring... Stop blaming yourself," she said kindly. "We all love you, Momo..." whispered Jihyo.

Momo hugged the girls and cried. I sat on the bed next to Jeongyeon, smiling as I watched the girls reconcile with each other. I felt Jeongyeon's foot tapping my back, and I turned to look at her. She was wiping tears from her eyes, but she smiled happily.

"We're finally one again, right, Little Bro?" she whispered. I smiled and nodded.

I spent almost half an hour in Jeongyeon's room, talking and joking with everyone, totally enjoying this feeling of unity once again, now with Momo back together with us. Jeongyeon's spirit was high, even while she looked so frail and fragile. At noon, I stood up, and told everyone that I wanted to see Chuyoung.

"He's in the room next door," said Jihyo. "The others are there to accompany Tzuyu and him."

I nodded, saying my goodbyes to everyone, before turning to smile at Jeongyeon.

"Get well soon, Noona," I said. She smiled and nodded. "I will, Little Bro..." she said calmly.

Jihyo walked with me to the door, hugging and kissing me one more time.

"I love you, Minchu. Thank you for everything," she said. I smiled. "I love you too, Mommy. Don't forget to rest, okay?" I said. She nodded.

She opened the door for me. I kissed her cheek and went out, going to the next room. I knocked on the door, and this time I had to wait a little longer. Finally, Chaeyoung opened the door for me, and she smiled wide when she saw me.

"Oh, Oppa!" she said, rushing to hug me. I hugged her back and smiled, but then I realised that she looked sad. "Is everyone alright?" I asked her. She nodded slowly. "I... Yeah. I... I'm worried for Tzuyu, though," she said, lowering her voice. "What do you mean?" I asked her, feeling alarmed. "She... She hasn't eaten anything since yesterday, and... And she kept crying, and... Well..." her words trail off.

I understood her, and honestly, I kinda understood Tzuyu too. I went inside with her, meeting Mina, who had just exited the bedroom.

"Hi, Mina," I greeted her.

She waved and smiled, but didn't say anything. She looked a little sad. I followed her inside, and I immediately understood what made them look that way. While Jeongyeon's room was filled with laughter and jokes, this one felt a lot more sombre.

Chuyoung was still unconscious, an electrocardiogram machine beeping by his bedside. His torso was bandaged heavily. I saw Tzuyu sitting by the bedside, still in her same outfit from yesterday. Tzuyu looked so weak, like she hadn't slept for a long time.

"Hi, Tzuyu," I said softly.

She didn't look up, as if she didn't hear me, like she was in her own world. I walked towards the bedside, staring at Chuyoung. I noticed that he was breathing using a nasal oxygen cannula. His eyes were closed, and he looked at peace. Mina walked beside me.

"The... Surgery to remove the bullets was successful. One bullet nested a few centimeters next to his heart, while the other almost punctured his lungs, but he'll survive. He just needs some rest," she explained softly. I nodded.

"He hasn't woken up yet?" I whispered my question. Mina shook her head. "No. He lost a lot of blood too," she whispered.

I nodded and looked up to Tzuyu. She was staring at Chuyoung, tears still streaming from her eyes. Her fingers rubbed Chuyoung's knuckle absentmindedly. I walked beside her and touched her shoulder gently. Startled, she looked up, and when she saw me, she forced a weak smile.

"H–Hi, Oppa..." she whispered. "Are you alright, Tzuyu?" I asked her gently. She smiled and nodded, but she didn't look okay. "Y–Yeah. Thanks, Oppa..." she whispered, looking back at Chuyoung.

The bedroom door opened, revealing Nayeon. She looked disheveled and tired, and I noticed that she too was still wearing the same clothes she wore yesterday. She must have stayed with Tzuyu the entire time.

"H–Hi, Minsoo..." she greeted me weakly. I waved and smiled.

Nayeon walked slowly to Tzuyu's side, clutching a clear zip-lock bag in her hands. She touched Tzuyu's shoulder and the maknae looked up.

"What is it, Unnie?" she asked her.

Nayeon thought for a moment, finding the right words, before looking straight at Tzuyu. She took out a folded piece of paper from the bag.

"Tzu... I–uh... I just went downstairs to pick up Chuyoung's belongings... From his clothes yesterday. I... I think this is for you," she uttered.

Nayeon handed Tzuyu the paper. Tzuyu picked it up slowly and opened it. It was a letter, written on a piece of a hotel notepad paper. Tzuyu slowly read it, and the more she went through it, the more tears streamed down from her eyes. Nayeon grabbed Tzuyu's shoulder gently, and I noticed that she was crying too.

Tzuyu broke down in tears and stood up, hugging Nayeon. They both cried, but Tzuyu cried the loudest. Her body shook violently as she bawled and bawled, her face buried in Nayeon's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Tzu... I'm so sorry... I judged him wrongly and I... I'm so... so... Sorry..." whispered Nayeon through her sobs. Tzuyu nodded rapidly, but she continued crying.

I looked at the paper that was on the bed, and I picked it up curiously. The words were blurred, the ink smeared with Tzuyu's tears, but I could still read it. Chaeyoung and Mina were evidently curious, and they huddled behind me to read the letter too.

Tzuyu,

When I am with you Something magical happens I keep smiling for no reason Though there's nothing going on A spell is cast upon me

I could stay up all night without feeling sleepy All other thoughts go away and my heart beats louder Suddenly love feels so easy

So I fall deeper and deeper for you That's what you do to me

Saranghae, Nam Chuyoung

I looked up, feeling like I recognised these words. Chaeyoung and Mina chuckled, but I saw tears dripping from their eyes.

"Isn't this..." I asked. Mina and Chaeyoung nodded, wiping their tears. "Yeah... It's the lyrics of 'Alcohol Free'..." said Mina softly. "The guy's so cheesy..." uttered Chaeyoung, tears kept streaming down from her eyes.

I stared at Chuyoung, and slowly, I smiled. Yes, this guy was cheesy, but he was also the bravest man I knew. He might not be able to communicate his feelings directly to Tzuyu, but at least he tried, and to be honest, I thought he picked the perfect song to express his love for the woman he was willing to die for.

* * *

"Right. So... Everything is packed up! Are we ready to go?"

Jeongyeon was skipping giddily, excited to finally go home. She was worried that she would stay in the hospital until the new year, but today, right on December 31st, the doctor finally said she could go home. Her left arm was still put in a sling, but it didn't dampen her spirit.

"Ya! You're still in your hospital gown! Are you seriously going to just parade your butt in front of everyone?" exclaimed Sana, slapping Jeongyeon's butt.

Jeongyeon squealed and turned, glaring at her girlfriend, but she reached for a kiss anyway. Sana giggled and kissed her cheek loudly.

"Alright! Alright! But you gotta help me change, though!" she said naughtily. Sana blushed. "Oh that will take a long time don't you think?" she teased her. "Oh my God, seriously, you two! Get a room!" complained Jihyo.

Sana and Jeongyeon laughed. I laughed too, as did Dahyun, Momo, Mina, and Chaeyoung. Jihyo scowled for a moment, but then she joined us laughing. I really enjoyed this feeling. Finally Twice was whole again, and I couldn't be more thankful.

"Sana-unnie, don't you have a meeting with the IPG soon?" said Dahyun. Sana's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, you're right! I totally forgot!" she said, gasping. Jeongyeon smirked. "Ah well... Then Dubu'll be the lucky one to help me change!" she exclaimed.

Sana slapped her arm, and Jeongyeon chuckled. Dahyun's face blushed, but she smiled and nodded. They laughed together, while the rest of us shook our heads. These three, seriously! Momo stood up.

"Well... Say hello to the IPG for me, okay?" she told me. I nodded. Mina stood up with her. "We'll go back to the apartment first. Lots to prepare for our New Year's Eve celebration tonight!" she said. "Ooo... What dessert are you going to make for us tonight, Unnie?" asked Chaeyoung excitedly, clapping her hands.

Mina laughed and winked at the Baby Tiger.

"Oh I'm sure you'll love it," she said. "Yay!" exclaimed Chaeyoung cutely. "See you back home, Jeongie!" said Momo. Jeongyeon nodded and smiled.

Momo and Mina said their goodbyes, and they left. I was about to ask Jihyo to leave with me, when Sana suddenly called my name.

"Minsoo-ya! Suzy-unnie actually told me to ask you to come to the meeting too," she said. I raised an eyebrow. "Eh? Me? What for?" I asked her confusedly. She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she wanted to thank you personally," she said. "Can I come too?" asked Jihyo. Sana looked at her for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, sure! Why not," she said with a smile.

I looked at Jihyo, who nodded confidently. To be honest I felt Jihyo would make a great IPG member, with all her knowledge of the industry. Maybe I should ask Suzy to let her join her ranks.

Chaeyoung and Dahyun took out a set of clothes for Jeongyeon. Sana prepared to leave with Jihyo and I, but not before she kissed Jeongyeon's lips again, smiling at her girlfriend.

"I'll see you at home tonight, Babe..." Jeongyeon whispered lovingly. Sana nodded. "Don't get shot while I'm gone," she said jokingly. Jeongyeon laughed. "Oh, I might get shot with some Dubu juice at least," she said naughtily. "YA!" Dahyun, Chaeyoung, Jihyo, and I shouted. Jeongyeon cackled.

Sana, Jihyo, and I left the room, leaving Jeongyeon under Dahyun and Chaeyoung's care. We decided to visit Chuyoung's room next door before we left, as Nayeon needed to join the IPG meeting too and we wanted to make sure that Tzuyu was okay.

Nayeon opened the door for us and smiled. She looked much better now. I knew Nayeon finally managed to convince Tzuyu to come home with her, but Tzuyu still spent most of her time in the hospital, staying by Chuyoung's side, faithfully waiting for her lover to regain consciousness.

"How are they doing?" I asked Nayeon. She shrugged. "He's stable, but still unconscious. Tzuyu's... Doing better," she said tentatively.

I entered the room, and Tzuyu looked up and smiled as she saw us.

"Hi, guys!" she tried greeting us cheerfully, but I noticed that she still looked really tired and sad. "Are you alright, Tzu?" I asked her. She nodded and smiled. "I'm fine, Oppa. Thanks," she said softly.

She looked back at Chuyoung. He still looked at peace, and I noticed that his heart rate was better. I hoped he'd soon regain consciousness. Sana cleared her throat and approached Nayeon.

"Nabong, we need to go now. IPG meeting," she said. Nayeon nodded and looked at Tzuyu. "Tzu, I need to leave. Will you join us later for our New Year's Eve celebration?" she asked her.

Tzuyu looked up and nodded.

"Yeah, Unnie. I'll stop by later," she said softly. "Jeongie, Dubu, and Chaeng are preparing to go home now. I'll tell them to come here before they leave," Jihyo said. Tzuyu nodded again.

I walked slowly, approaching Tzuyu. I rested my palm on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're okay, Tzu?" I asked her carefully. She looked up and smiled. "Yeah, Oppa. I'm fine. Chuyoung-oppa is stable, so I have my hopes up," she said. "Thank you for caring for me..."

I stared at her for a moment, before smiling. The sorrow in her voice was still clearly evident, but I decided to just give her some space. I nodded, before joining Nayeon, Sana, and Jihyo.

"We're leaving now, Tzu. Take care," said Nayeon. Tzuyu nodded again. "I'll see you later tonight," she said, smiling weakly.

Nayeon, Sana, Jihyo, and I walked slowly towards the door, leaving the bedroom. We opened it gently, not wanting to disturb Tzuyu and Chuyoung. Suddenly, we heard a soft voice from inside the bedroom. A gentle voice, a singing voice, singing an English song. I felt like I knew that song.

"When I fall in love... It will be forever... Or I'll never fall... In love..."

I turned to look at the girls, and we all realised that it was Tzuyu who was singing inside. We looked at each other, and our curiosity won. Slowly, silently, we walked back to the entrance of the bedroom.

"In a restless world... Like this is... Love is ended before it's begun... And too many moonlight kisses, seemed to cool in the warmth... of the sun..."

Tzuyu was staring at Chuyoung while singing the lyrics very softly. Almost absentmindedly, she rested her chin on the bed, her hand rubbing Chuyoung's limp hand. She didn't realise that her friends were standing there at the door, a private audience to her heart breaking performance.

"When I give my heart... It will be completely... Or I'll never give... My heart..."

I saw tears start to fill Tzuyu's beautiful eyes. She kept staring at her lover, and slowly, she smiled her gorgeous dimpled smile. I felt tears starting to flood my eyes too.

"And the moment... I can feel that... You feel that way too... Is... When I fall in love... with... you..."

Tzuyu closed her eyes, tears dripping down her cheeks. She bowed her head down, resting her face on the bed. I thought she was crying, but a few moments later I realised that she had fallen asleep. She must have been so tired.

I looked around at the girls, and I saw that their eyes were all wet with tears. Nayeon wiped her eyes once, then slowly, she walked inside. She picked a blanket from the sofa and placed it gently over Tzuyu's shoulders, letting her sleep more comfortably.

"Come on, let's go..." Nayeon whispered as she walked back to join us, wiping her teary eyes.

I stole another glance at the sleeping couple in the hospital bedroom before we left. Their love for each other was so powerful and genuine, and I found myself admiring them. Chuyoung for his bravery and selflessness, and Tzuyu for the pureness of heart, for giving Chuyoung the chance he needed for his redemption. I followed the girls out of the room, and closed the door behind me gently.

We walked to the parking lot in silence. Jihyo joined me in the TWD car, while Nayeon joined Sana's car. We drove to Guryong and entered the IPG warehouse. When I parked the car, I noticed that there were so many luxury cars parked side by side, the warehouse's entrance looked almost like a car showroom.

Jihyo and I walked inside, following Nayeon and Sana. When I reached the main common area, I realised who those cars belonged to. Chairs and sofas had been brought to this area to cater for the number of people who were joining this meeting. So many K-pop stars were present, both from the Second Generation and the Third, all gathering around the atrium. I felt my mouth gaped looking at them.

"They're all IPG?" whispered Jihyo. I shook my head, not knowing how to answer.

From where Jihyo and I stood, I could make out the three separate divisions of IPG. To my right sat Taeyeon, who was talking with Irene, Sooyoung, Jennie, Seulgi, and Joy. I assumed these were the IPG strike force.

To their left, sitting right in front of Jihyo and I, sat IU and Dara. Around them, sat Lisa, Rosé, and Wendy. These were the hackers, spies, and information brokers of the IPG. After knowing what IU was capable of doing, I couldn't help but to see her differently, now with a touch of fear.

On the far left, Seungyeon sat with her Care Team, some of whom were present three days ago in the aftermath of the fight. Nayeon walked straight to join SNSD's Sunny and Seohyun, as well as Red Velvet's Yeri. Jisoo sat with them calmly, smiling as she welcomed Nayeon to sit on her side.

Sana walked to the center of the room, joining Suzy, who was talking with Yeoni and the detective from three days ago. I couldn't remember her name, but I remembered that she looked so much like Jeongyeon. Sana touched Suzy's shoulder, and the IPG leader turned around, while Yeoni looked up and noticed that I was there. He smiled and walked towards me.

"Minsoo-ya!" he said, greeting me. I smiled and nodded nervously. He reached us and clasped my shoulder warmly, before smiling at Jihyo. "Welcome to the IPG, Jihyo-ssi," he said. Jihyo only nodded, looking dumbfounded.

Suzy cleared her throat loudly. The room fell silent, and everyone present turned their attention to the two girls standing in the middle of the room: Suzy and the detective.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Hyejin... Moon-Hyeongsa has something to say," she announced. That's right. Her name was Detective Moon Hyejin.

Detective Moon stepped forward and flung her sight around the room. She cleared her throat and started speaking.

"Good afternoon, everyone. For those of you who haven't known me yet, my name is Moon Hyejin. I'm a detective from the SMPA. I have been following the IPG's movement since earlier this month, and... well... I have to say that I'm impressed," she said.

She paused for a few moments. She then looked at Yeoni, who nodded at her.

"I've learned how you guys stopped Park Manse and his gang from blackmailing Kim Jisoo-ssi to submit to their demands last year. Ji-eun-ssi has briefed me about your activities over the years since the 2010s, and I have to admit that I am truly embarrassed that the police have not learned about this for such a long time. For that, I want to express my sincerest apology from everyone in the Police Department. We have failed to protect you," she said seriously.

She bowed deep down respectfully as a sign of apology. The IPG members all nodded and smiled. Detective Moon straightened herself up and continued speaking.

"Now, the Police have released an APB for Park Manse, but for the past few days we haven't got any leads. So... I've decided that I will start a thorough investigation to find out more about Park Manse and his cronies, including his getaway driver who helped him escape from justice yesterday," she announced.

I heard murmurs from the IPG members, and from their faces, I could see that they were not taking Detective Moon's words positively. Yeoni leaned in to whisper to my ear.

"We're worried that Moon-hyeongsa and the police will take over the investigation. Manse might have people under his payroll in the Police," he whispered. I nodded, looking at Detective Moon concernedly.

To my surprise, Detective Moon smiled for the first time this afternoon, and at that moment I noticed that she was actually very beautiful. IU stood up and walked to her side.

"We've agreed that Moon-hyeongsa will conduct the investigation herself, not with the Police, because we fear that Park Manse might have his people inside the SMPA itself," the spymaster announced.

I could feel the tension in the room easing almost immediately. Detective Moon nodded and continued.

"Yes. I agree with her. We cannot trust anyone outside of the IPG, not even my colleagues in the Police. Besides that, the IPG have proven that you are as resourceful as anyone, if not more. Hence, I have asked for her permission to... Borrow... some of her members, to help me in my investigation," she said.

The IPG spy team exchanged glances between themselves, but I could see that they were excited. IU smiled and looked at Taeyeon and Seungyeon.

"Actually, Taengoo-Unnie and Seungyeon-unnie... I might need to borrow some of your members too," she said cutely.

Taeyeon and Seungyeon looked up in surprise for a moment, but they shrugged and chuckled.

"Anything for the IPG, Ji-eun," Taeyeon said casually. Seungyeon nodded.

IU smiled and nodded, before turning to the floor again.

"Alright. Until last year, Park Manse was a YG executive, and before that: JYPE and SM. Hence, if we want to dig deeper into his story, we'll have to start from these three companies. Luckily for us, we have everyone here," she said, before looking straight at her members, who smiled at her.

"Rosie, you'll be helping Moon-hyeongsa to learn more about Manse from his time in YG. Our new member Lisa can help you," she said. Rosé and Lisa nodded, smiling happily.

"From SM... Wendy, of course," IU said, before adding. "And I know Joy, Seulgi, and Yeri will be happy to help."

The Red Velvet members nodded and smiled.

"From JYPE, Dara-unnie and the Consigliere had volunteered to help," she said, looking at Dara and Sana. They both smiled and nodded. "And I know Nabong is eager to help as well."

Nayeon nodded and chuckled, while Sana placed a hand on IU's shoulder.

"There are two more people that will help us from JYPE," she said, looking straight in my direction.

Everyone turned to look at us suddenly. I felt my face blushed in embarrassment, and Jihyo squeezed my hand, surprised by the sudden attention. Sana smiled.

"Jihyo is one of the most loyal JYPE employees, she'd been in the company for almost her entire life. Her knowledge and connection will be invaluable for our investigation," she announced.

I turned to look at Jihyo, and she was looking around in surprise. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Sana giggled, while IU smiled as she looked at her.

"Jihyo-ssi. Will you join my team to find out more about Manse?" she proposed.

Jihyo stared silently at her for a few moments, before turning to look at me, as if asking permission. I smiled and nodded. She would be perfect. Finally, Jihyo nodded slowly.

"Y–Yes, Unnie. I will join you," she said. IU smiled. "Well, welcome to the IPG!" IU said happily.

Everyone clapped, but the spy team clapped the loudest. Rosé, Lisa, and Wendy beckoned her to join them. I smiled and nodded at Jihyo, telling her to go. Jihyo giggled and walked towards the spy team, sitting together with them. Sana smiled happily, giving Jihyo two thumbs up, before turning her attention towards me.

"And... We all know how Han Minsoo-ssi helped uncover the revenge plot, so... I think he'll be a great help for us in our investigation," she said. IU nodded and smiled.

"I'll be counting on you, Minsoo-ya!" she said, winking at me. I felt really embarrassed. "I... Well... It was pure luck, Sunbaenim... I..." I stuttered, but I felt Yeoni's hand on my shoulder. "Luck is a skill, Minsoo-ya," he said calmly.

I stared at him for a second. His words didn't actually make any sense, but I chuckled nonetheless. Slowly, I nodded towards IU.

"A–Alright, Sunbaenim. I will help," I said.

IU and Sana laughed and gave me a thumbs up, but Suzy stood from her chair. She smiled wide as she looked at me, and started clapping.

"Let's hear it for my gutsy intern and our newest associate: Han Minsoo-ssi!" she declared happily.

The IPG members all stood and applauded me, Nayeon, Jihyo, and Sana even cheered for me loudly. Yeoni slapped my back a few times while laughing.

"Welcome to the team, Minsoo-ya!" he exclaimed. "T–Thanks, Hyungnim," I stuttered, a stupid grin forming on my face.

After a while, IU cleared her throat. Everybody sat back down and turned their attention back to the Spymaster. She looked at Detective Moon and smiled.

"You have your team, Hyejin-ssi," she said. Detective Moon nodded. "Alright. I will be starting right away with SM, together with Seulgi, Yeri, Joy, and Wendy. The rest of you, please get back to me when you find anything, okay?" she said. Everyone nodded.

Detective Moon bowed respectfully again, saying her goodbyes, before walking out from the warehouse. Seulgi, Yeri, Joy, and Wendy stood up, nodded to the Leaders, and they followed her out. IU went back to her seat, together with her spy team. Suzy stood up and cleared her throat.

"Right. Now that we've covered the most urgent matter..." she said, before turning to look at Taeyeon. "I think... Taengoo-unnie... Has a very important announcement to make."

Taeyeon smiled, and I could see her face blushing a little bit. Suzy couldn't hide her excitement, and she squealed when Taeyeon finally stood up. The Strike Force head walked to the center of the room, slapping Suzy's arm playfully. She looked at everyone, taking a deep breath, before speaking.

"I... Yeah. Shit. How to say this..." she said, shaking her head. I leaned forward, curious to find out what she was about to say.

Taeyeon took a few deep breaths, then she spoke.

"I'm... Two months pregnant. With my third child," she announced.

I heard loud gasps filling the room, but it soon turned to cheers and happy screams. Sana, IU, Seungyeon and Suzy screamed happily and ran to hug her, who hugged them back with an exasperated look, but she chuckled coolly. Sunny, Sooyoung, and Seohyun rushed to hug their leader, congratulating her noisily.

I exchanged glances with Yeoni in surprise. I knew Taeyeon had married a very wealthy chaebol heir a few years ago and they were blessed with two beautiful children, but this news was still shocking.

"Alright, alright, calm down! Calm down!" Taeyeon said, giggling.

Almost everyone stood and congratulated her, hugging and screaming and jumping up and down. Yeoni and I joined eventually, hugging the SNSD legend and congratulating her. I couldn't help but to laugh seeing these girls. They all looked so happy. Finally, Taeyeon raised her arm to stop everyone from talking and cheering.

"Okaaaay! Calm the fuck down everyone!!" she shouted loudly.

We all laughed and returned to our seats, except for Sunny, Seohyun, and Sooyoung, who all stood by her side. Taeyeon cleared her throat.

"Right. I'm pregnant. So... I can't be going around punching and kicking people like what I did three days ago. It's dangerous. My OB-GYN screamed at my face yesterday when I did my check-up with her," she said, giggling mischievously.

She seriously sounded like a naughty teenage boy. Yes. Boy. Not a girl.

"Sooo... I'll be taking a..." she paused, looking at Jisoo. Jisoo chuckled and nodded, as if giving her permission. "... A hiatus–borrowing Blackpink's term–from my role as IPG's Head of Strike Force."

Everyone nodded understandingly, but a question came to my mind. We were conducting an investigation on Park Manse, and sooner or later, we would inevitably come across him and his cronies again. Who would be leading the charge, then, if a physical confrontation were inevitable? Would IU do it? But she'd already have so many things on her plate. As if reading my thoughts, Taeyeon continued.

"So... In the time being, while I'm gone... I've... Appointed a replacement," she announced.

Taeyeon turned to look at Suzy.

"You want to make the announcement?" Taeyeon asked her, but Suzy shook her head. "You do it, Unnie," she said, smiling wide.

Taeyeon smiled and nodded. In a mischievous way, she turned slowly to her SNSD members, adding to the suspense. They all glared at her.

"Enough with the dramatic pause, Unnie!" Seohyun complained. "Ya! Stop trying to make everything so suspenseful!" exclaimed Sooyoung. "Oh for fuck's sake, Taengoo! Just announce it!" scolded Sunny.

Taeyeon cackled her iconic laugh, before turning to the Strike Force. She raised her arm, pointing at their direction.

"Please welcome, the new IPG Head of Strike Force... Well, until I'm back, at least... IRENE!" she announced loudly.

The Strike Force team cheered loudly, and soon the entire room erupted in cheers. Irene's face had turned as red as a tomato, and she smiled really shyly. Jennie shook her best friend's shoulders violently, her mouth gaping so wide.

"You didn't tell me!!!" she shouted. Irene glared at her. "Taengoo-Unnie told me not to!" she defended herself, but then she laughed and hugged Jennie tightly. Yeoni had rushed to join Irene and Jennie, hugging them happily.

Everyone started chanting Irene's name, led by Taeyeon herself. The Strike Force members pushed Irene to the center of the room, and the new IPG Leader walked there slowly, looking totally shy and embarrassed. Jennie shushed the whole room, allowing Irene to make her first speech as the new Head of Strike Force.

"I... Hi. I'm... Um... It's an honor. Thanks," she said, looking really shy.

Everyone laughed and applauded her again, before standing from their chairs, cheering loudly. Taeyeon hugged Irene and whispered some words in her ear, making Irene laugh. Everyone started surrounding Irene, congratulating the new Leader.

Jihyo turned around and smiled at me. She raised her arm, beckoning me to join her. I laughed and rushed to her side, grasping her hand, and soon we all joined in to congratulate Irene.

We stayed in the IPG warehouse for a while, chatting and drinking with everyone, getting to know each other. I noticed Taeyeon and Jisoo talked together a lot, as if sharing knowledge about something. I smiled as I watched them talk, realising that those two were the oldest unnies of the two most successful girl groups from the Second and Third Generations. As far as I was concerned, they were both legends of the industry.

Jihyo, Sana, Nayeon, and I said our goodbyes to everyone in the warehouse around 5 pm, realising that there was still another gathering we needed to attend: Twice's very own New Year's Eve Celebration. When we reached our car, Suzy caught up with us.

"I'll be joining you in the apartment with Mr. Shin. There's something we needed to do with all of you. JYPE business," she said briefly.

We exchanged curious glances with each other, not knowing what she meant, but Suzy only winked and left us, going back to the headquarters. Eventually, Sana shrugged.

"Ah well... Let's just wait for her at home. Come on! I miss the girls!" she said happily.

We chuckled and entered our cars, driving back to our apartment. Jihyo and I talked about the IPG and how excited we were to start working with them on our way home, and in no time, we reached the Twice apartment in Hannam.

We went up to the 22nd floor, and when we opened the door, the apartment was already filled with the delicious aroma of food. The living room was empty, so everyone must have been in the kitchen.

"Did someone come?" I heard Dahyun's voice. "Is it the IPG members?" Jeongyeon answered with another question.

A second later, I saw Dahyun's face peeking from the kitchen door. She gasped and grinned widely when she saw us.

"It's them!" she announced, before running to hug Sana. Sana giggled and slapped the pale girls' butt repeatedly.

"Did you manage shoot Jeongie?" she asked mischievously. "Ya! Unnie!" Dahyun exclaimed, but she giggled nonetheless.

Momo, Mina, Chaeyoung, and Jeongyeon followed Dahyun to join us, and to my delight, Tzuyu was walking behind them, smiling happily. She looked well-rested now, and she reached to hug Nayeon when she saw her. Nayeon hugged back happily, giggling.

"Alright! Everyone's here! What's cooking? I'm hungry!" Jihyo asked everyone. "Jeongyeon-unnie insisted on cooking, even with her arm in a sling!" reported Chaeyoung.

Sana glared at her girlfriend, but I spoke first.

"Ya! Noona! You don't need to exert yourself like that! You should rest!" I scolded her. "I could still cook all the food with one arm!" Jeongyeon defended herself, laughing happily.

We were all busy talking and joking, when suddenly we heard the doorbell. I somehow knew who that was.

"That must be Suzy-sunbaenim," I said, walking to the door to open it.

I was right. It was Suzy, together with Mr. Shin, who smiled brightly.

"Hello, Minsoo-ssi!" he greeted me happily. I noticed that he was carrying a large folder. Suzy smiled. "May we come in?" she asked me. "Suzy-unnie! Come in, come in!" exclaimed Jeongyeon from inside.

Suzy chuckled and entered the apartment together with Mr. Shin. She went straight to Jeongyeon.

"How are you, Jeongyeonie?" she asked her. Jeongyeon nodded and smiled. "I'm great, Unnie. I'll recover in no time," she said confidently. Suzy chuckled and nodded. "I admire your spirit!" she said happily, before turning her attention to Tzuyu. "I'm so glad you're doing fine, Tzuyu," she said kindly, reaching for a hug. Tzuyu smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks, Unnie. Thanks to the IPG for saving us, too," she said softly.

Suzy released Tzuyu gently, smiling as she walked with Mr. Shin inside and sat on the sofas. We followed them and sat around the living room. I noticed that this was extremely similar to what happened during the Christmas Eve celebration, but now, everything was much better. Much, much better.

Tzuyu sat happily next to Nayeon, who rested her head on the maknae's shoulder lovingly. Momo and Mina sat with Chaeyoung, the three of them holding hands. Sana, Jeongyeon, and Dahyun sat together on one sofa, giggling and smiling. Jihyo sat next to me, holding my hand. I smiled and looked at Suzy and Mr. Shin, waiting expectantly on what she was going to say. She looked at each of us once, before clearing her throat.

"Alright. I have two announcements to make. The first one... I bet all of you have already known about it," she started.

She looked at Jihyo, who nodded. Somehow, I fully understood what she was talking about.

"Jihyo told me yesterday that... All of you have decided to renew your contracts with JYPE," she said.

The girls clapped and cheered, while I breathed a sigh of relief. After all that had happened in the past month, eventually TWD's mission was a success. Jihyo squeezed my hand and smiled.

"All thanks to you," she whispered in my ear. I chuckled.

Suzy nodded to Mr. Shin, who hastily opened the large folder he was carrying. From it, he took nine sets of papers, distributing them to the members. I looked at Jihyo's contract when she received it and smiled.

"So... Tonight is the signing ceremony!" Suzy announced happily. "Please read the terms carefully before signing your contracts, girls."

The girls smiled and nodded, each taking out their pens and dojang. They read the contracts carefully for a few minutes, before signing their names in each of the pages, and stamping them with their dojang. They returned the documents to Mr. Shin, who carefully placed it inside his folder again, smiling happily as he did it. Jihyo looked around the room at her members.

"Girls? Is that our final decision? Are we extending our contract with JYPE? What's the answer?" she said. The girls smiled. "We've only got two choices, Jihyo," said Mina. I heard Chaeyoung chuckled. "Yes... or... Yes?" she said. The girls laughed. "YES!" they exclaimed in unison, before cheering and clapping loudly.

I laughed. They all looked content and happy, and honestly, I was delighted. As a lifelong Once, I never wanted them to disband. I knew they loved each other so much, and the friendship and sisterhood that had developed for the past twelve years between them proved to be strong in the end, able to withstand even the evilest plots concocted by Manse and his cronies.

"Thank you, girls. I'm so happy," I said sincerely. They all smiled and nodded. Suzy chuckled. "Well, I have to thank Minsoo for successfully convincing all of you to stay," she said.

I felt my face blush in embarrassment, but the girls all clapped for me and thanked me too. Suzy and Mr. Shin laughed in approval, giving me thumbs up.

"That brings me to my second announcement, and it's about Han Minsoo-ssi's status as Twice's manager," Suzy said after a while.

Suddenly, I realised the truth. With Twice's contract secured, my mission had ended, and that might mean that my time as their manager was coming to its end too. I turned to look at Jihyo, who stared at me with confusion. She must have thought the same thing, for she immediately turned to face Suzy.

"Unnie... Don't tell me you've found another manager for us? A permanent one?" she asked. "What? But we like Minsoo-oppa!" protested Chaeyoung.

The others nodded in agreement, all glaring at Suzy with disappointed looks, even Mr. Shin joined the girls in glaring at his boss.

"Surely you can't ask Minsoo-Oppa to leave?" complained Dahyun. "Yeah, we've never had a manager as capable as he is!" said Momo aggressively. "I can assure you he's the best manager we've ever had, Unnie!" defended Jeongyeon. "He's a great cook too!" said Mina urgently. "Unnie, you have to see him cutting those veggies!" "I don't want Minsoo-Oppa to leave..." uttered Tzuyu softly. "He's so cute and adorable too!" added Sana. "He's been doing a great job as their manager this month, don't you think?" continued Mr. Shin. "And Minsoo loves Jihyo's mil..." Nayeon started.

"YA! NABONG!" shouted everyone, silencing her.

Nayeon giggled mischievously, hugging Tzuyu's arm tighter. Suzy stared at the girls for a while, surprised at their sudden barrage of defense for me. Slowly, she smiled, then the smile turned to a large grin, and finally she bursted out laughing, confusing all of us.

"B–Bae-isanim... Are you okay?" asked Mr. Shin concernedly.

Suzy kept laughing for a few more seconds, before wiping her tears and calming herself down. She grinned from ear to ear as she spoke.

"Girls! I haven't even said anything and you've attacked me!" she said, then she shook her head. "I'm not asking him to leave! I'm promoting him to be your permanent manager! No one's better than him!"

Her words stunned everyone, including myself. We stared at her blankly for a few seconds, before Nayeon screamed and leaped from the sofa, hugging me tightly. Everyone started cheering and laughing, joining us in a group hug, even Suzy and Mr. Shin.

"WAAAH!! CONGRATULATIONS MINSOO!!!" screamed Sana loudly, shaking my body and attacking my cheeks with kisses after kisses. "Yaaay! Twice's new manager! Permanent manager!" exclaimed Mr. Shin, emphasizing on the word 'permanent'.

Jeongyeon shook my body violently and slapped my back with her full strength, before kissing my cheeks loudly. Mina and the maknaes danced around me and hugged me, while Mr. Shin, Momo, and Nayeon started leading the girls to chant my name.

Honestly, I still felt stunned, like I had not believed what I heard. Suzy laughed and hugged me, patting my back. Slowly, I came back to my senses and started laughing happily. I hugged my boss back, and felt tears of joy wetting my eyes. This was a dream come true, and it would stay a reality for a long, long time.

"I'm so proud of you, Minsoo! I couldn't have done any of this without you!" she said proudly. "T–Thank you. Thank you so much, Sunbaenim!" I exclaimed, finally finding my voice again.

She let go of me and smiled. I turned to see Jihyo, who stared at me, smiling happily. I opened my arms to hug her, but she reached for my cheeks, pulling me for a kiss. I heard gasps from everyone, but soon they cheered for us. Slowly, I closed my eyes and enjoyed Jihyo's passionate kiss. After a long time, we finally separated, and I felt my face burning.

"Alright, ehm... We... Should probably leave," said Mr. Shin awkwardly.

Suzy giggled and nodded.

"Happy New Year, everyone! I'm so happy that we'll still be working together in the same company in the new year!" she exclaimed. "Happy New Year, Twice!" said Mr. Shin.

The girls and I bowed respectfully towards them, wishing them a happy new year, and they left. As soon as the door closed behind Suzy, the girls cheered again and started jumping around crazily. I laughed and joined them, but then I heard a loud rumbling sound. It was my stomach.

"Girls... Can we eat now? I'm so hungry!" I announced.

They all laughed loudly. Nayeon pointed towards the kitchen.

"The Manager said we should eat! Let's eat now! Wooo!" she exclaimed, running towards the kitchen.

We all laughed, rushing towards the kitchen, following the crazy Nabong. We all sat around the table, which was already filled with lots of delicious dishes cooked by Jeongyeon earlier, as well as a bottle of champagne brought by Tzuyu. Dahyun led us to say grace, and we thanked the Lord for the food, but most importantly for the fact that finally, Twice was united again. Jihyo raised her champagne flute after we finished praying.

"Shall we have a toast? For the new year?" she proposed. Everyone raised their flutes, but Mina shook her head. "Not just for the new year, Jihyo. For Twice," she said warmly, smiling.

Jihyo nodded and smiled.

"For Twice," she said firmly. "FOR TWICE!" everyone exclaimed, clinking our champagne flutes together.

We finished the champagne in one go, before digging into the delicious food. We talked and laughed a lot during dinner, and I drank more alcohol than I ever drank before that night, totally enjoying myself.

After dinner, Mina brought a spiced carrot cake she baked earlier. When I tasted it, I squealed in delight, because for me it was the most delicious cake she ever baked, although after a while I theorised that it might only tasted as great because I was feeling so happy that night. I shrugged, and couldn't be bothered by it. Momo poured some rosé for us to enjoy with the cake, while Nayeon made cups of marshmallow hot chocolate drink for anyone who ordered it.

Tzuyu stood up and smiled after she finished her cake. She looked at everyone happily. Nayeon looked up and smiled.

"Are you going to the hospital?" she asked her. Tzuyu nodded. "Y–yeah, Unnie," she said softly, but then she smiled really sweetly. "Would you like to join me?"

Nayeon's eyes widened in surprise and she let out a gasp. Tzuyu chuckled and stretched out her arm towards Nayeon.

"I want to spend my New Year's eve with the two people I love the most," Tzuyu said.

Nayeon's eyes flooded with happy tears and she stood up, squealing as she ran around the table to hug Tzuyu. Tzuyu giggled and hugged Nayeon tightly. I chuckled. I could never have imagined a better resolution to Nayeon and Tzuyu's conflict, remembering how angry Tzuyu looked and how sad Nayeon was when they fought.

Tzuyu pulled back, smiling wide, looking straight at Nayeon's eyes. Suddenly, to our collective surprise, Tzuyu grabbed Nayeon's cheeks gently, and she leaned forward, kissing her surprised unnie's lips warmly. Nayeon's eyes widened in surprise for a second, but the next moment I could hear her giggle. She closed her eyes, then her hands reached behind, squeezing Tzuyu's big butt naughtily.

"Oh shit... Here they go again," smirked Momo.

Nayeon and Tzuyu kissed passionately for a few moments, caressing each other. Somehow, I felt my dick start to harden beneath my pants. I gulped, trying to calm myself down, not wanting Jihyo to notice this. Thankfully, they separated, staring at each other with lust, their faces blushed red.

"Let's go, Unnie..." whispered Tzuyu.

Nayeon giggled and grabbed Tzuyu's hand, before waving to us.

"Goodbye, everyone! Happy new year!" she exclaimed. Tzuyu giggled and waved. "Bye Tzu! Bye Nabong! Happy New Year!" exclaimed Jihyo. "Play safe!" added Jeongyeon naughtily.

Nayeon and Tzuyu laughed loudly, leaving arm in arm together. I heard them closing the door. Dahyun sighed and stood up. Sana stared at her.

"Are you going to the hospital too?" she asked jokingly. Dahyun shot her a tired look. "Aigoo... No, Unnie. Somebody needs to clean up the dishes, right?" she said. Sana chuckled and nodded. Dahyun laughed and started taking the dirty plates off the table. "I'll help you, Dubu!" said Chaeyoung, standing up with her. "I'll help you too!" said Jeongyeon, but both Dahyun and Chaeyoung glared at her. "YA!" shouted Chaeyoung. "Stay where you are! Stop exerting yourself!" Dahyun yelled, sounding terrifying.

Jeongyeon pouted, but then she laughed and turned to me. I understood her and stood up.

"I'll help you two," I said.

Dahyun and Chaeyoung giggled and nodded, and we worked together collecting the dirty plates and cups, before bringing it to the sink to wash. Dahyun did the washing, Chaeyoung the soaping, while I was in charge of wiping the plates and cups all clean and dry.

We finished washing quickly, and as I dried my hands with a paper towel, I went back out to the living room. Momo beckoned Chaeyoung to join her outside on the balcony to smoke, which she gladly agreed to. Dahyun sighed and shook her head.

"Why do they like to go out so much... It's so cold out there!" she protested, but then she chuckled and walked to join Sana and Jeongyeon, who were talking happily near the bedrooms.

I noticed Jihyo was nowhere to be found, and I assumed she must be upstairs, so I started walking to the staircase, before noticing that Mina was sitting on the sofa alone. She was speaking to someone on the phone. I realised that she looked a little sad.

"Are you serious? B–But why... You've done a great job... Yeah! Yeah, and it's not your mistake, either!" she said.

Curious, I lingered at the bottom of the staircase, listening in. Who was she talking to?

"Yeah. I... Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right. Yeah..." she said again softly.

She paused for a few moments, listening to the other person, and slowly, she smiled her gummy smile.

"O–Oh... Alright. Okay. Yeah that'll be great. Alright. See you soon. Bye... Love you," she said, giggling, before hanging up. She looked up and noticed that I had listened to her. She smiled. "It was Ansel," she said softly. "Ansel? How is he?" I asked her. I had totally forgotten about the handsome SM guy after all that happened these past few days. Mina chuckled and nodded. "He... He resigned from SM... Because... Well, because he failed to land our signatures," she said slowly, sounding a little sad. This surprised me. "What? But why? It's not his mistake, wasn't it?" I asked her. Mina shook her head. "I guess... That's his Japanese pride talking," she said.

I looked at her. Why would Ansel resign over such a minor setback? Surely there was still so much more he could do for the company. Mina smiled and stood up, walking closer towards me.

"Don't worry, Minsoo. He told me he already has something else to do. He's relentless, that guy," she said. I stared at her for a moment, but then I nodded. "I wish him well," I said. Mina nodded and smiled, walking towards the door. "Are you leaving?" I asked her. She smiled. "Yeah, I'm... I'm going to spend New Year's Eve with him. He's coming to my place now," she said, before hugging me. "Happy New Year, Minsoo. I'm excited to work with you again next year," she said. "Happy New Year, Minari. Stay safe, okay?" I whispered as I hugged back.

Mina smiled and walked to the door, leaving us. I turned and saw Sana, Jeongyeon, and Dahyun staring, evidently hearing our conversation. I understood the looks on their faces.

We all shared the same knowledge about Ansel's unfaithfulness back in Singapore, and we all knew we needed to tell Mina eventually, but for now, I thought it was best to just give Mina the space she needed. She was happy with Ansel, and after all she's been through, after all we've all been through, I thought we should allow them some time to be happy together.

I nodded and shrugged to Jeongyeon, Sana, and Dahyun. Without words, the three girls understood this, and they too nodded, before continuing their talk. I chuckled and walked up the stairs, wanting to find Jihyo.

Jihyo was outside on the deck, sipping her hot chocolate. She turned and smiled widely as she saw me, and she opened her arms wide to hug me. The night was cold, but our embrace warmed me up. I smiled as I enjoyed her warmth, thankful that his incredible, smart, beautiful woman was my lover.

"You can see the Seoul downtown fireworks at midnight from here, you know," she said after a while. I chuckled. "Really? We can watch it here later, then!" I said excitedly.

Jihyo giggled and nodded, turning her attention to the Seoul skyline. I stood beside her, and she rested her head on my shoulder.

"What do you think will happen in the new year?" she asked me softly. I looked at her. "What do you mean?" I asked her. "I mean... With the IPG, Park Manse... Moon-hyeongsa..." she said, sounding deep in thought.

I thought for a moment, but then I smiled and flung my arm around her shoulders. She looked straight into my eyes.

"I don't know, really. But I believe in the IPG. In you," I said, smiling. Jihyo chuckled and nodded. "In us," she said. "Don't forget, you'll help us too!"

I chuckled and nodded.

"As for Moon-hyeongsa... I think she's capable. If IU-unnie trusts her, we should trust her too," I said solemnly. Slowly, Jihyo nodded, then she straightened herself. "Moon-hyeongsa... Is it just me, or does she look a bit like Jeongyeon?" she said. I laughed. "She does look like Noona," I said, agreeing with her.

Jihyo chuckled, then let out a sigh. She turned to face the Seoul skyline.

"Well, whatever happens in the new year, one thing's for sure: Twice is together again," she declared proudly. I smiled and nodded. "That's the most important thing," I uttered.

We stared into the skyline for a while. Finally, Jihyo shuddered and rubbed her elbows.

"It's getting cold. Shall we head inside? I want more hot chocolate!" she said. I smiled and grabbed her hand, and we walked hand in hand back inside.

As we walked slowly down the stairs, I heard voices from downstairs. At first, I couldn't make out what it was, but the closer we got to the first floor, the clearer the sound was. I felt like I knew that sound, but I couldn't believe my ears. I did not want to believe it.

"Dubu... A–Ah..." "F–Fuck... Un... Unnie..."

I heard a loud slapping sound. What... What was that? We reached the bottom of the stairs and looked at the sofas. When I saw what happened, blood almost spurted out of my nostrils.

It was Sana, Dahyun, and Jeongyeon, but they were... Well... They were all naked, having sex. Sana was wearing a strap on dildo, kneeling behind Dahyun who was on all fours, her face buried in between Jeongyeon's crotch, busy licking and eating Jeongyeon's pussy.

Sana slammed the dildo vigorously and repeatedly into Dahyun's asshole while slapping her pale, chubby butt, making the pale girl squeal and moan with every thrust and slap while Jeongyeon was playing with her own tits using her right hand. They didn't notice us, busy in their own world of pleasure.

"W–What... H–H... How... Wh... Why?" I stuttered, shell-shocked seeing the obscene scene.

To my surprise, Jihyo laughed loudly by my side. I turned to look at her in horror, but she kept laughing, before placing her hand on my shoulder.

"This... Happens almost every time after a night of drinking and dinner together," she explained. I kept staring at her, so she continued. "You're our permanent manager now, so you should get used to it."

"Wh... Wha... B–But... Why... Why not in the room?" I asked her, dumbfounded. Jihyo laughed again, but she shook her head. "Trust me. You'll get used to it. If not them, then Nayeon and Tzuyu," she said calmly.

I turned to look at the moaning three girls again, and I started to feel my dick hardening. I had never imagined that I would ever see my idols in such a lewd situation. Sana's body was perfect; her tits were proportionally round and large, her abs toned, her hips, thighs, and butt looked meaty but firm. Dahyun was stacked all over, and I noticed how her butt jiggled deliciously everytime Sana's dildo entered it. Jeongyeon was more to the chubbier side, her belly a little bulbous and her love handles evident, but I could still see the muscles in her shoulders and arms.

I felt Jihyo's arm pulling mine, and I turned. She eyed me with naughty eyes.

"Come on. Stop watching them. Let's do it ourselves," she whispered. "W–What?"

Jihyo giggled and pulled me to her bedroom. She opened it, and immediately started kissing my lips passionately the soon we entered it. As if in a trance, I started kissing back, my hands went up, squeezing her massive tits.

We undressed each other quickly, stealing kisses after kisses while doing so. In no time, we were already in our underwear, eyeing each other. My eyes stared at her mounting cleavage, and I knew my cock was already rock hard underneath my boxer.

"Gosh... You're so beautiful, Mommy..." I whispered.

Jihyo giggled and pulled me to the bed. She pushed me to it, and I laid down obediently while she took off her panties and climbed up to straddle me. She pulled my boxer down, and my dick immediately shot up, swaying left and right. Jihyo giggled again and stooped down, ready to give me oral sex, but I stopped her.

"Mommy... Can I... Can I have some milk first?" I asked her.

Jihyo's eyes widened, but she chuckled.

"My, my, what a naughty boy..." she whispered.

I chuckled and reached back to unbuckle her bra. As it did on Christmas Eve, her tits bounced free the moment I took off her bra, and I could see milk already dripping from her plump nipples. I pulled her closer to me, before sucking her nipples deliciously, enjoying her milk.

"A–Ah... M–Minchu... D–Don't suck too hard... A–Ah..." she moaned.

I didn't listen to her. I kept sucking and sucking, drinking Jihyo's creamy milk from her breasts. Jihyo's fingers squeezed my hair, her body tensing as more and more milk squirted out from her nipples.

"M... Mmhh... M–Min... Minchuu..." she moaned loudly.

Jihyo started moving her hips, rubbing my cock against her labia. I felt a tingling sensation rushing from my cock up to my brain, but I kept sucking on Jihyo's tits. Suddenly, Jihyo tensed, and with a loud sigh, she came.

Her body slumped on top of me, but then she rolled to my side. I climbed up to straddle her, rubbing my dick head on her clit. She squirmed and jolted, enjoying the sensation.

"G–God... J–Just... Put it in, Minchu..." she begged.

I grinned, and immediately jammed my cock inside her pussy. The warm and juicy sensation filled my senses, and I started plowing my way inside her. Jihyo screamed and moaned, her milk squirting again and again from her tits with every thrust I made. I stooped down and sucked her nipples interchangeably, not wanting to waste her precious milk.

"A–Ah! M–Minchu... M–M... Min... A–Ah! Ah..."

My dick head slammed the entrance of her womb again and again, her vagina walls clasping around my shaft. I watched her enormous tits bouncing deliciously up and down as I pummeled her, spraying milk here and there. I couldn't hold back much longer. I felt like I almost reached my climax, but I still wanted to continue. Jihyo noticed this, shaking her head. I understood her, so I quickly pulled out, jerking it off rapidly.

"J–Ji... J–Jihyo... M–Mommy!"

I came hard, spurting my cum onto her breasts, painting it white. Jihyo panted, still feeling the sensation of my cock inside her pussy. I slumped next to her, but she evidently wasn't satisfied yet. Honestly, I wanted more too.

She brought up her tits and breastfed me, and as soon as her milk entered my system, my dick shot back up. I stared at it in surprise, while Jihyo giggled.

"Still works wonders, right?" she uttered. I laughed and nodded. "I... I want to..." I said, looking at her, gesturing with my hands around my chest.

Jihyo laughed and kissed my lips.

"Of course you do," she said, reading my thoughts.

I sat up, and Jihyo knelt by the bedside in front of me. She grabbed my cock and slapped it on her tits, making them bounce and jiggle, before playing it around her nipples, wetting my cock with her milk. She placed my cock in between her tits, and she pressed them together, wrapping my cock, before moving her tits up and down slowly. I closed my eyes. This was by far the best sexual act anyone could ever do to me. A moment later, I was proved wrong.

I felt a strange sensation on my dick head, so I looked down. Jihyo had opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, letting her saliva drip to my cock and her breasts. She licked my dickhead everytime it came out of her cleavage, adding so much pleasure to the already extremely good tittyfucking she performed.

I felt my mind go blank, my head dizzy. I reached for Jihyo's head, grabbing it with both of my hands. Jihyo let go of her tits and instead went in for a full blowjob, sucking my dick vigorously. The slurping sound of her mouth filled the room, arousing me even further.

"A–Ah... J–Jihyo... J... Jihyo... I'm... I–I... Sh... Shit!"

I couldn't resist. I came buckets and buckets inside her mouth, filling her throat. She pulled back, and my cum landed on her beautiful face again and again.

I fell back to the bed, panting and gasping for air. I felt like my life was sucked out of me with every semen I shot onto her face. Jihyo crept beside me, kissing my cheek.

I smiled, turning to look at her, wanting to kiss her lips lovingly, but at the same time the corner of my eye picked up something from the door. I felt my heart stop. Jihyo noticed the same thing, and slowly, we both turned to look at the door with horror.

"Wow... That was some hot shit..." said Momo.

Momo, Chaeyoung, Dahyun, Sana, and Jeongyeon were standing by the door. They were all giggling and staring at Jihyo and me naughtily. I realised then that both Jihyo and I didn't lock the door when we entered. I felt colours leave my face. Hang on. How long had they been there? Did they watch the entire thing?

"G–Girls! W–What the fuck!" protested Jihyo, pulling a blanket to cover her naked body. "Come on, Unnie... What are you trying to hide?" said Dahyun exasperatedly. "Your face is covered in Minsoo-Oppa's cum," said Chaeyoung, grinning mischievously. Jihyo's face turned cherry red almost in a flash. "You were moaning so loudly, we couldn't even concentrate on having sex," said Sana, giggling. "Woo-hoo! Nice moves, Little Bro!" exclaimed Jeongyeon.

The girls entered the room and walked towards us slowly, eyeing us with lust. Sana, Dahyun, and Jeongyeon were all still naked. They climbed the bed, while Momo and Chaeyoung started stripping.

"Ya! Ya! Girls! Wh–What... What are you doing?" Jihyo asked panickedly. "Joining you," said Momo casually.

Jihyo's eyes widened. She was about to protest, but suddenly she moaned. Chaeyoung had sucked on her right breast.

"I want milk..." she whispered with her mouth full.

Dahyun started sucking Jihyo's left breast, making the Twice leader jolted and squirmed, unable to speak. The two maknaes sucked Jihyo's milk deliciously. I watched them with my mouth open, but my dick was rock hard again. Jeongyeon sat next to me and giggled.

"Next time, don't forget to lock the door," she whispered, and with that, she pulled me for a kiss.

This was the second person I ever kissed in my entire life, and somehow, the moment Jeongyeon kissed me, I felt at ease. She kissed me gently and softly, unlike her usual brash and loud attitude. Her lips were thin and delicious, and after a while, she let go, smiling at me.

I panted for breath, looking at Jihyo, who was also gasping and panting. She had just reached another climax after Dahyun and Chaeyoung sucked her tits, and we stared at each other blankly. Momo sat on the bed and stared at Jihyo.

"So? Can we join you?" she asked her. "After all, Minsoo-oppa's our manager, we need to take care of him together," said Dahyun. "Don't worry. We won't break him," said Sana. "B–Break me?" I stuttered in fear. "Don't tell me you don't want us to pleasure you too, Jihyo," said Jeongyeon, winking towards Jihyo. "Oh she just came after we drank her milk," said Chaeyoung, nodding at Dahyun.

Jihyo looked at her members, looking both shocked and embarrassed. The members kept staring at her intently, until finally, she relented.

"Alright, fine! B–But... He can only penetrate me, okay?" she stated her condition, her face blushing red.

The girls cheered and clapped, and somehow I felt both aroused and confused. Hang on. Was I... Was I really about to have an orgy with these gorgeous girls?

"Don't worry, Jihyo... I can't do much with this stupid sling, and I don't like dicks anyway. I'll just sit here on the bed and kiss him," said Jeongyeon. "Wait 'till drunk Nabong is around, though..." uttered Sana. Jihyo glared at her. "Ya!" Jihyo complained, but eventually she chuckled.

Jeongyeon kissed my cheek and pulled me to the head of the bed, resting my head on her shoulder, kissing my forehead lovingly. Jihyo sat next to me, and I saw Sana climbed the bed and straddled Jihyo, who chuckled and kissed my bias passionately. Shit. These girls were wild!

I looked down, and saw Momo, Chaeyoung, and Dahyun surrounding my dick. The two maknaes started jerking my shaft, while Momo licked my balls with her tongue. I wanted to close my eyes to enjoy the sensation, but I found myself staring at the three girls. This was even better than my wildest dreams.

Momo started slobbering my cock head, while Dahyun and Chaeyoung sucked and licked my shaft. I jolted and squirmed, unable to handle this triple blowjob I received from the Twice members. Jeongyeon noticed this and pulled my chin up, stooping down to kiss my lips again, calming me.

"Mm... Mhh... A–Ah... Sa... Sana..."

I turned to my right, looking at Sana, who was busy fingering Jihyo while sucking her tits. Jihyo squirmed and moaned, before turning to look at me. Sweat dripped from her face, and she looked elated. She reached to grab my hand, and hand-in-hand, we enjoyed the pleasures given to us by the members.

I looked down. Momo had switched places with Chaeyoung now, who sucked my cock deliciously, my penis going balls deep into her throat. Dahyun kept licking my balls together with Momo, and a few seconds later she swapped places with Chaeyoung too. I felt dizzy, numb, and confused all at the same time, and I knew I was about to reach my climax. Jeongyeon noticed this.

"He's cumming," she announced to the girls.

Dahyun released my cock from her mouth and together with Momo and Chaeyoung she started jerking me off. I couldn't hold back.

"F–F... Fuck... FUCK! G–Girls!"

My body tensed, and I came hard, spurting my cum on the girls' faces. They opened their mouths wide and closed their eyes, enjoying the shower of white liquid that kept shooting out of my cock. It was starting to hurt now after being forced to cum three times in a row.

I slumped back to the bed, and Jeongyeon kissed my lips again, bringing my heart rate back to normal. I felt spent, unable to go again. Momo, Chaeyoung, and Dahyun giggled and wiped the cum from their faces, looking satisfied. I heard Jihyo screaming from my side, and I knew Sana had sent her to another summit.

Jihyo slumped next to me, panting and gasping. Sana looked at me, her eyes looking like a predator, but she smiled cutely. Shit. What was she about to do? I heard Jeongyeon chuckling next to me.

"Oh, here comes the legendary Sana blowjob," she said. "L–Legendary... Sana... Blowjob?" I asked in confusion.

Jeongyeon nodded and chuckled, rubbing my hair. Sana giggled and positioned herself in front of my limp dick, grabbing it softly in her hand. She looked up to Jihyo.

"Jihyo, I might need some help down here," she said sweetly.

Still panting for breath, Jihyo understood her. She reached for my head and pulled it to her tits, breastfeeding me again. As always, my dick shot up to its full strength instantly, and Sana giggled.

"Gomawo, Jihyo!" she exclaimed, before staring into my eyes. "S–Sha?" I asked her in confusion. She smiled. "You might want to grab onto something, Minsoo-ya," she said. "Don't worry, we got him," said Jihyo, nodding to Jeongyeon.

I was totally confused, but Jeongyeon flung her arms across my shoulders and Jihyo grabbed my hand, nodding to offer me assurance. I looked back at Sana, who smiled and winked at me. She opened her mouth wide, and very slowly, she started putting my cock inside her mouth.

"Oh shit, here it comes," squealed Dahyun, watching us expectantly.

I felt the warmth of Sana's oral cavity engulfing my dick. Her tongue felt so soft underneath my shaft, and she moved her head very slowly forward, letting me feel every single sensation on my dick. My eyes rolled back to my head. Sana's head kept moving forward, and I felt my cock reaching her throat.

I looked down, and I saw Sana's eyes locked into mine. She winked once, and suddenly, I felt something like an electricity current surging all over my body, from the penis all the way to the top of my head and my toenails. Jeongyeon hugged my shoulders tighter and Jihyo squeezed my hand, but my body shook violently. What was happening?

Sana hadn't even moved her head, but I could see her throat muscles tightening and relaxing in a very quick succession. I felt her throat clasping around my shaft. My limbs tensed and lost integrity at the same time, and my vision went blurry. I felt like I had lost my mind.

"H–H... Aa... H–A... nnh... A–Aa... Hh..."

It took me a second to recognise that it was me who was wailing. My voice sounded weird and far away, like it had not come from my mouth. It took me a few more seconds to realise that my mouth was wide open. What was happening?

I looked down, and I saw Sana still had not moved her head. I felt my head spinning, and I felt Jeongyeon and Jihyo's grips on my shoulder and hand tightening. My body tensed. I let out a weird scream, and then I felt like something exploded out of my body.

I could feel every single shot of cum coming out of my penis into Sana's throat, who kept my penis locked inside it. After what felt like an eternity, Sana pulled back, gasping for air. Shit. She held her breath the entire time? I kept cumming and cumming, shooting thick white liquid onto Sana's face, covering it. She giggled and kept her eyes closed, until finally I stopped cumming.

"Woah... Daebak... Works every single time," said Dahyun in amazement.

I heard Jihyo and Jeongyeon giggling. They kissed both of my cheeks, and I felt stunned. I had never cum like that before. How did Sana do it? My eyes were so heavy, and I felt sleepy all of a sudden.

"Shit, he's going to faint," said Chaeyoung.

I felt something creamy wetting my mouth, and a second later I jolted up. Jihyo had just breastfed me again. I stared at her blankly, who laughed and kissed my lips.

"Sana was that good, huh?" she asked me, giggling. "I–I... Huh? W–What... What... How?" I asked her, feeling totally confused.

Jihyo laughed again and kissed my lips. She turned to look at Sana, who was wiping my cum off her face. She giggled.

"Sorry, Minsoo... I very rarely do that to boys, but when I do... Somehow the boys always... Well... Always exploded like that," she said cutely.

I stared at her, dumbfounded, not fully understanding what she was saying. I opened my mouth to speak, but at that moment I heard a loud bang, and the room was suddenly filled with colours.

"Oh! It's the fireworks!" exclaimed Chaeyoung.

She stood, wore her clothes, and rushed outside, Dahyun and Momo following her steps. Sana giggled and pulled Nayeon's sweater from the nearby chair, wearing it before walking outside. Jeongyeon stood and kissed my forehead again. She took a robe from Tzuyu's bed and wore it before smiling at me.

"Come on, Little Bro! It's New Year already!" she exclaimed happily, before walking out.

I turned at Jihyo, who stared at me lovingly. She leaned in for a kiss, and when our lips touched, finally I felt at ease again.

"I love you so much, Minchu," she whispered. I chuckled. "I love you too, Jihyo," I replied.

We kissed for a few more moments, then we stood up and got dressed. We walked outside together. The living room was empty, but I heard the girls laughing upstairs. I saw Sana's phone vibrate on the sofa. Someone must be calling her, but for that moment, I didn't care, and by the looks of it, Sana didn't care either, for she was usually inseparable from her phone. Jihyo and I walked hand in hand upstairs, and found the girls on the second floor deck. We joined them, braving the chilling winter midnight.

The fireworks were blasting beautifully, lighting up the night sky with its vibrant colours. I smiled as I watched the show hand in hand with Jihyo, but soon I felt Jeongyeon's right arm flinging around my shoulders again.

"Happy New Year, Little Bro!" she said, smiling wide. "Happy New Year, Manager-nim!" exclaimed Sana, who was hugging Jeongyeon's waist. "Happy New Year, Minsoo-Oppa! Happy New Year Unnies!" said Dahyun happily, standing next to Sana. "Happy New Year everyone!" shouted Momo, hugging Jihyo. "Happy New Year, Twice! Woo-hoo!" yelled Chaeyoung, who was hugging Momo.

Jihyo giggled and looked into my eyes. She smiled and kissed my cheek.

"Happy New Year, Minchu," she whispered.

I smiled happily. I started the month as a lifelong Once, feeling like I had landed my dream job by entering JYPE, and somehow, I ended the month as Twice's new permanent manager, having Jihyo as my girlfriend, and spending New Year's Eve surrounded by the people I love the most in the world. I wouldn't trade this moment with anything else in the world.

I even managed to convince all of them to renew their contracts in JYPE, and more important than that, together with the IPG, I had managed to repair their broken relationship. Twice was whole and one, and even now, with Tzuyu and Nayeon at the hospital by Chuyoung's side and Mina spending the night with Ansel, I knew for a fact that their hearts were united. For that, I was eternally grateful.

"Happy New Year, everyone..." I said happily.

An idea came to my mind. I looked at everyone, and somehow, I knew they understood what I was about to do. I took a deep breath.

"ONE IN A MILLION..." I shouted. "TWICE!" the girls yelled in unison, before cheering happily.

[hotsuqueen]

Chief's Stance dialogue

Thursday 15:30 Chief's Stance

Tenjinbashi-Suji Ten 7 Mall

Yamato is searching around the city with a fierce look on his face…

Yamato: Oh, it's you. I didn't think to encounter you here.

Hibiki Kuze: - Likewise. - What are you doing?

Likewise. Yamato: Yes, it's been quite a while since I was out among society. I'm scouting the potential in civilians, to see if there are more like you.

What are you doing? Yamato: Testing a hypothesis. I was looking for other civilians. I thought perhaps I might find more like you.

Yamato: It seems to have been for naught. A waste of time… They are frightened, fleeing, hiding in hopes that danger will pass, like small animals. Hmph… What was I thinking? Huh?

A middle-aged man runs up to the two of you…

Bald Man: Ah, gentlemen, what timing! O lucky day!

Yamato: Who are you?

Bald Man: This batch just finished cooking. Would you like some? It's simply divine!

Yamato: Is this… made of carbohydrates?

Bald Man: Business has gone dry, as you can see. So I used the very last of my ingredients. This… is my masterpiece!

Yamato: I do not require your civilian hospitality.

Bald Man: No, no… I insist. Young men like you need to eat! Enjoy, I'll see ya around! Hahaha!

The man forces a plate of takoyaki into Yamato's hands and leaves…

Yamato: What… is this, exactly, Hibiki?

Hibiki Kuze: - It's takoyaki! Delicious! - Junk food, cheap and easy. - The High King of the street.

It's takoyaki! Delicious! Yamato: Is this something you people eat? It looks… dubious at best.

Junk food, cheap and easy. Yamato: "Junk food"… inexpensive and convenient. I have heard of such things.

The High King of the street. Yamato: Ha! The High King? A lofty claim. Perhaps you simply do not know any better.

Yamato: No matter. I have no use for civilian foodstuffs.

Yamato glares down at the takoyaki with cold eyes…

Hibiki Kuze: - Come on, Yamato! Chow down! - It's delicious…!

Come on, Yamato! Chow down! Yamato: It's not exactly the most appetizing thing.

It's delicious…! Yamato: So you say. It is difficult to… trust it.

Yamato is indecisive…

Hibiki Kuze: - It's gonna get cold. - Trust me, it's really good.

Yamato: Hm… Alright, alright. If you are so committed, I will try one. Only to broaden my horizons!

Yamato raises a piece of takoyaki to his mouth…

Yamato: Ridiculous… Silly thing… A vulgar food… What!? Wh-What on Earth!?

Yamato shovels the takoyaki into his mouth, devouring one after the other…

Yamato: ……

Hibiki Kuze: - Well? - Was it good?

Yamato smiles slightly…

Yamato: You… are a strange one, Hibiki. You defy my predictions, know this unknown world, and constantly surprise me. chuckle I've never met anyone who so betrayed my expectations. It seems I was correct in my judgment. Perhaps, with you… hm…

Yamato walks away…

---

WE MADE IT!! THE INFAMOUS TAKOYAKI SCENE!!!

There is so much to like here. Yamato being so enchanted with Hibiki that he's willing to brave being out amongst the public on the off chance there might be someone else like him out there. His extremely alienlike reaction to being given street food for the first time. The fact that it so clearly changes his life right there on the spot.

He's so damn charming, even after he busted out a 'you people' on me when I wasn't expecting it. I actually laughed in disbelief.

One thing I'll say is that I find the acting direction they gave the Bald Man NPC to be pretty baffling. He sounds so sinister and offputting when as far as I can tell he's just a normal dude who wants to feed two strange teenagers who clearly could use it. According to the art book, Yamato weighs 130 pounds. He's six inches taller than me but only weighs 10 pounds more? Okay.

Regardless of the extremely weird NPC, everything else about the scene is really appealing to me. I love that Yamato is an ultra dweeb who says things like 'foodstuffs' unironically and turns his nose up at ~junk food~. It makes me wonder what they eat at JP's. Has he only ever had cafeteria food and astronaut ice cream? What is he eating if not civilian foodstuffs??? Inquiring minds want to know.

I also can't believe he straight up ate the entire boat of takoyaki by himself and didn't give Hibiki a single piece of it. I guess they missed out on the sharing lesson when he was being privately tutored as a four year old. Yamato Hotsuin is my forever girl.

Yamato Hotsuin's Recordbreaker Dialogue - Thursday

Poisonous Day dialogue below the cut

Thursday 08:00 Poisonous Day

Minato Shiba Park

You find Daichi staring at something…

Daichi: Oh… Hey, Hibiki.

Hibiki Kuze: - What's wrong? - What're you doing here? - Not doing much?

What's wrong? Daichi: I found something unusual. Check this out…

What're you doing here? Daichi: Well… How should I put it? I found something kinda weird. Take a look…

Not doing much? Daichi: C'mon, gimme some credit. I found something crazy. Come see…

You follow Daichi's gaze to Yamato, who is staring at the sky with other JP's agents…

Hibiki Kuze: - Let's go over there. - Let's go talk to him.

Daichi: Huh? Wait, you're gonna talk to him!? Hey…!

Yamato: Hrm…

Hibiki Kuze: - What's the matter? - Is something up there? - is something bothering you?

What's the matter? Yamato: Ah, Hibiki. There's something on my mind.

Is something up there? Yamato: Ah, Hibiki. The sky, clearly.

Is something bothering you? Yamato: How pedantic. I expected something more interesting from you.

Yamato: Since dawn, neurotoxin deaths have been on the rise in Tokyo. What do you think's behind it?

Hibiki Kuze: - Perhaps Ronaldo and his rioters. - Perhaps the Septentriones.

Perhaps Ronaldo and his rioters. Yamato: Hahaha! You've a long way to go as a commander. That man would never have the nerve. Casualties keep rising but there are no witnesses or other information. It must be Septentriones.

Perhaps the Septentriones. Yamato: Correct. You're quick to assess a situation. Casualties keep rising, but there are no witnesses or other information, it must be them…

Yamato: Extrapolating from the time of the outbreak and the proliferation of cases so far… The enemy must be moving at a constant speed. For optimal distribution of the toxin, it would have to be flying overhead.

Hibiki Kuze: - Amazing. - Stands to reason.

Amazing. Yamato: You're impressed by such simple things. It was the most natural conclusion to draw.

Stands to reason. Yamato: It's a theory still, but I don't see any holes.

Yamato: Its target… is here.

Hibiki Kuze: - The tower. - Shiba park?

The tower. Yamato: I'm sure of it.

Shiba park? Yamato: Tokyo Tower is just past this park. It will definitely go after that.

Yamato: The towers are strategically vital. We must defend them at any cost.

Hibiki Kuze: - Why? - What's with the towers?

Yamato: I suppose it is time to let you know. I told you once that JP's carries the burden of protecting Japan from the supernatural.

Hibiki Kuze: - I remember… - When was this?

I remember… Yamato: Mmm… You did a superb job against Merak at the time. I should thank you again for that.

When was this? Yamato: Before the battle against Merak. Do you recall now?

Yamato: We of the Hotsuin learned of the Dragon Stream long ago. With ancient incantations, we created a spell that twists its power into any shape or form we desire. After the war, it was applied to build these towers. To defend Japan against all foreign invasion.

Hibiki Kuze: - It creates a barrier? - How does it protect us?

It creates a barrier? Yamato: Very keen of you. The tower focuses the Dragon Stream into a barrier.

How does it protect us? Yamato: It creates a barrier. One that cannot be seen or touched. It is the strongest bastion we have.

Yamato: This is why they target the towers. This is why we must defend them at all cost.

Hibiki Kuze: - What if one's destroyed? - What if the barrier breaks?

What if one's destroyed? Yamato: The barrier will disperse. Cities that lose their towers are doomed to destruction.

What if the barrier breaks? Yamato: The city will lose its only defense. It is certain to crumble and perish afterwards.

The JP's agent standing nearby approaches you…

JP's Agent 1: We've been exposed too long, Sir. You must fall back immediately.

A hot pink and purple pod falls from the sky and lands behind Yamato and the agents.

JP's Agent 2: What is that thing!? It came from the sky!

JP's Agent 1: Stand back, Chief Hotsuin! We'll handle this! I'll flank it! You assault the front.

JP's Agent 2: Roger.

The agents flank the pod.

JP's Agent 2: Stay alert! I can't even tell what it is…

JP's Agent 1: No reaction? I guess it's just a coward. Wait… What's it doing!? Ngh!

JP's Agent 2: It exploded! Hey, are you alright!?

JP's Agent 1: I'm good. I've been through worse… What is this stuff? Huh…! Gyargh!

JP's Agent 2: H-Hey! What's happening!? Sit-rep, now!

JP's Agent 1: Stay back…! Don't come any closer! Rgh… unh…

JP's Agent 2: Hold on! I'm coming!

Yamato: Imbecile! Don't risk your life!

She runs into the toxic cloud anyway and dies immediately.

Yamato: The Septentrione is here…

Hibiki Kuze: - We have to save them! - Where is it?

We have to save them! Yamato: Leave them! It's their own fault!

Where is it? Yamato: I don't see it. Perhaps it has some kind of camouflage.

Airi: They're… dead!?

Yamato: Hm… That explains where the toxins are coming from at least. The falling objects explode after a time, releasing the toxins into the air. This is a great opportunity, Hibiki. We shall not let it pass us by. Prepare for battle. Defend me as I obtain the enemy's location. I will now present the details of the operation.

Hibiki Kuze: - Please do. - We don't need that.

Please do. Yamato: I shall use the fallen objects to calculate the coordinates of the main body. To maintain accuracy, I'll need to make multiple calculations. I will be vulnerable. I need the rest of you to destroy the fallen objects before they explode and release their toxins. That is all. Do you understand? Hibiki Kuze: - I do. - Not quite. - Not quite. Yamato: Of course. Let me explain it again. Listen closely this time.

Yamato: Alright. As my subordinates are trash, I must depend on you. Now… It's showtime.

Mid-battle, Yamato's first turn: Yamato: Alright… Let the operation begin. I need you to defend me.

He approaches the first pod and captures the coordinates.

Yamato: I have completed my calculation at the first location. Now advancing.

Mid-battle, Yamato's second turn taking poison damage: Yamato: The toxin is spreading. This will be rather troublesome.

Mid-battle: Yamato: I have completed the calculations! Let's eradicate the demons!

Post-battle: Yamato: Excellent. All the demons have been destroyed.

Yamato: Data input complete. Coordinates calculated. Beginning scan… There!

Daichi: What the! There's something floating up there!

Yamato: "Alioth" designation confirmed. It's already passed above… That's unfortunate.

Daichi: Wh-What do you mean "unfortunate"?

JP's Agent: Yes, Chief Hotsuin?

Yamato: A Septentrione is approaching your location. Don't let your guard down.

JP's Agent: What!? We don't see anything here.

Yamato: It's invisible to the naked eye. I'm sending over a filter module now. Check the skies!

JP's Agent: Understood, Sir!

Alioth appears in the sky.

JP's Agent: Holy hell! What is that thing!? Chief Hotsuin! There's an unidentified flying object up there!

Yamato: I figured as much. Cut the power!

JP's Agent: What!? D-Did you just say to…

Yamato: Was I somehow unclear? Cut the damn power! Temporarily freeze the barrier!

JP's Agent: That's crazy, Sir! If we do that Tokyo will fall!

Yamato: Don't question me! If the tower loses power it will no longer be an active target!

Hibiki Kuze: - Will we make it in time? - But Tokyo will fall!

Yamato: What do you suggest? We sit idly by and watch while it destroys the tower? There will be some casualties but it's better than losing the tower. Cut the damned power!

JP's Agent: Yes, Sir!

Yamato: …… Can you hear me? Respond!

Hibiki Kuze: - Is he dead? - Did the tower fall?

Yamato: I don't know…

JP's Agent: Chief! Chief Hotsuin! Can anyone hear me!?

Yamato: What happened!? Report!

JP's Agent: We're safe, Sir. The power has been cut. Alioth is changing course, Sir. It's headed north!

Hibiki Kuze: - We're saved! - Thank goodness…

Yamato: We're not out of the woods yet. North, huh?

Hibiki Kuze: - What's wrong? - What's up north?

Yamato: The active towers are in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Sapporo. It must be…

Hibiki Kuze: - It's going to Sapporo. - What's up north?

It's going to Sapporo. Yamato: Precisely. It hasn't given up on attacking the towers.

What's up north? Yamato: To the tower in Sapporo. It hasn't given up its attack.

Yamato: Based on its flight speed, it'll take a few hours to reach Hokkaido. We can't leave the barrier in Tokyo off indefinitely. Unless we defeat it, it will eventually return here.

Hibiki Kuze: - We need a plan. - Now's the time.

Yamato: You're right. We must devise a countermeasure before it reaches Sapporo. Do you read me? Alioth is advancing towards Sapporo. Relay that to all JP's personnel and begin work on a countermeasure at once.

JP's Agent: Understood, Chief Hotsuin. We'll post status reports as soon as possible.

Yamato: Do we have your support?

Hibiki Kuze: - Of course. - Do we really have a choice?

Of course. Yamato: Thank you. Alioth's altitude is far higher than our demons' effective range.

Do we really have a choice? Yamato: Ha! No. Alioth is flying far higher than our demons' effective range.

Yamato: If this continues, it could destroy the tower without us ever intercepting it. You must find a way to shoot it out of the sky. We'll be making our own preparations. I have every faith in you.

You say your farewells to Yamato before leaving…

---

Oh my god this battle took me two hours to transcribe. Partially because I made himself repeat his explanatory dialogue six times to hear his voice line where he sounds like he's talking to a preschooler.

[oddsnendsfanfics]

Sparkle

Genre: Fan Fiction (Sand Castle)

Pairing: N/A

Warnings: It’s so fluffy!

Rating: G

Length: Drabble

Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.  

A/N: thank you @rmtndew​ for the edit of Sy in glasses :D More Sy and Wispy? Why yes! 

Henry Cavill Master List

“Uncle Sy,” Annie giggled at her uncle, as he pulled a face. “Sit still.” Her voice going firmer.

Beside her, Willow had her hand on her hips shaking her head at their uncle. “Uncle Sy, we need you to stay very still.”

“Fine, fine.” He gave in sitting statue straight, still as could be.

“Close your eyes, please.” Annie instructed.

Doing as he was asked, Sy closed his eyes and leaning against the couch to support his back. Cross legged on the floor, a mound of pillows under him, he fought the smirk that kept threatening to creep onto his face. The two little girls painting the floral scented mud, clay, paint? Whatever the cool, thick stuff was onto his face. Around his beard, across his cheeks and forehead. Sy felt the soft brush that Aimee had handed them against his skin.

“You know Sy,” Aimee's voice greeted him, yet his eyes remained closed, “this stuff is actually pretty good. It might even help brighten that complexion of yours. Tired and sunburned was so last year.”

Snorting, Sy shook his head, both nieces scolding him for moving while they tried to apply the mask. Directing him to pucker his lips, Willow stood in front of him, a glob of lip moisturizer on her brush, she slapped it on spreading it thickly against his red chapped lips. The girls were taking good care of their Uncle Sy.

At least they wanted to do it at home this time. Sy was unsure of the product quality, but the service was far better and cheaper than when he'd taken them to an actual spa. Now that had been a sight, the look on the woman's face when the giant, bearded man in boots strode into the salon with the two little girls in tow. Despite the initial shock, Sy had to hand it to them, those ladies were magical.

He'd left feeling like his hands, feet, and face had been kissed by angels and butterflies. Hell, he'd even let Willow and Annie pick out a polish for his toes. Sitting in the chair chatting with the woman painting his toes, while his nieces had watched from their own pedicure chairs, Sy learned that men coming in to dote on their daughters and nieces wasn't really all that uncommon. He, however, was one of the first to ask for Pompeii Purple toes. The shade had really brought out his eyes.

In his sister's living room, Sy chuckled when Willow announced that he absolutely needed to trim that scraggly beard of his. In their life time, neither of his nieces had ever bore witness to their uncle without his beard. He liked it too much to part with it. Besides, the women loved it. Clearing his throat, Sy opened his eyes, a mocking frown on his face.

“Don't you dare touch my beard, understood bub?” He smirked. Willow nodded and Annie, standing just out of sight giggled. “There will be no cutting of my beard, until I say so.”

“Oh come on, Sy.” Aimee teased from the kitchen. “You could use a trim,” she winked at Annie.

“I would prefer to do it myself, thank you sister dearest.” He winked at Willow, a near impossible task with the clay beginning to set on his face.

“What if we just make it pretty?” Annie piped up, shuffling into the room with a hairbrush and bows in her hands. “Can we?”

“Please, Uncle Sy.” Willow pulled out the puppy dog eyes. Bouncing on her tip toes with excitement.

Playfully grumbling, Sy waited a minute or two. Letting the little girls get antsy before agreeing. Under some conditions. Nothing but a comb and some pink sparkly bows went into his beard. If they so much as tugged the wrong way, Sy was combing it himself. His beard was his pride and joy, right after his Wispy. He'd worked hard over the years to grow this bad boy.

“Gently,” He reminded them, lifting his chin for Willow to gingerly take the comb through his thick beard.

Climbing onto the couch behind him, Annie sat with her legs crossed gently rubbing a hair brush through his growing curls. A full out pamper day wasn't entirely bad. Enjoying his “spa treatment”, Sy winced when he heard Aimee giggling like a child on too much sugar. He knew his sister well enough to know that this was not going to be good.

“Aim, what in the hel-ck are you doing?” Sy asked glancing at his sister. Her phone poised as she giggled and shrugged.

“I thought ma might like to see. Maybe fire one off to the boys. You still in touch with the Major? Show him what retirement does for ya?”

“You wouldn't dare,”

“Send one to the Major? No. But I would send it to ma and everyone else we know. Come on Sy, you're adorable. You should let me share this on that mommy blog, it would be a hit.” She laughed. “Former Army Captain attacked by Girl Scouts.”

Sy replied with a grunt. More than one single mother, and a few not so single, on that damn blog Aimee was part of had themselves hot and bothered for the youngest Syverson. Every time Aimee mentioned her brother, at least one woman would ask if he was seeing somebody or how he liked children, who weren't his. Sy liked children fine, but he had no interest in taking on any to parent.

“Leave Uncle Sy alone,” Willow pouted, as she put the last bow into his beard. “Don't be mean, mommy.”

“I wasn't being mean, baby girl. Uncle Sy and I were teasing. Now, why don't you finish up those bows and help him wash his face. You can't leave the mask on too long, remember.”

“Oops,”

“It's okay bub,” Sy pulled away from the hair styling by Annie. “You ladies clean up a bit out here and I will go clean my face off.”

Striding down the hall, Sy could feel the clay on his face hardening and drying. If nothing else his pores would be flawless for a few days. Chuckling as he went, he could hear Annie and Willow in the living room. No doubt discussing their next plan for their uncle's beauty treatment. If he had to, there was a lovely yellow nail polish that he'd been eyeing in the box of tricks. It may not be the right season for yellow, but it would surely make the hair on his big toes really pop.

In the bathroom, he grabbed a wash cloth and turned the taps. Allowing the water to reach a nice, warm temperature he began scrubbing the dried clay away from his face. The bows in his hair and beard were a sight to behold. Admiring the handy work, Sy stood for a few seconds looking at the man in the mirror. The one grizzled, gruff, hard as nails and fearless Captain was reduced to a soft and gentle giant.

He loved spending the time with the kids, allowing them to have their fun, before Uncle Sy packed up and drove back across town. It was no wonder people were forever asking him when he'd have his own. Ah well, it was better this way. Sy enjoyed the company of the kids, but all the time and he would be even more grizzled and cranky than he was when he was stationed over in the desert.

Being home had it's perks, like getting to be with his family whenever he wanted. Having sleepovers with the kids, whenever Willow decided that he was lonely in his house. Or how she was forever trying to set him up with any woman they came across, while he had her out. That one was less and less cute, especially as she had somehow been targeting only married women lately.

The last thing Sy wanted was to get his ass kicked by some woman's husband or wife, for hitting on their wife because some kid said she was pretty. Shaking his head, he finished checking himself in the mirror to make sure he had all of the clay off.

Cleaned up and refreshed Sy joined the girls in the living room.

“Ladies, what's next?”

“Lunch!” “Make up!”

Laughing at their very different ideas, he nodded to Annie. “I agree lunch is the much better idea, make up can be after.”

“But mommy said we could go out for lunch. You can't go out unless you have a proper face on.” Willow pouted. Annie sighed. Her cousin had a point.

“Girls,” Aimee spoke, she was about to do everything in her mom power, to get Sy out of this one. As amused as it would be, seeing her brother go to lunch in a full face of make up.

“No, no she's right.” Sy nodded in agreement. “Aim, why not let Annie do your make up and Wispy can do mine. Then we'll all be ready for lunch, hel-ck, I'll even pay. Treat all of my girls.”

“Yeah!” The cheers went up from the girls.

Aimee, rolling her eyes and making a mental note to kill her brother later on. She would never forgive him, nor forget. Some day, she would get him back.  This is when she should suggest wearing their best dresses – Sy included. Instead, she'd pay him back when he least expected. Maybe the next time, she'd insist they go for lunch wearing some over the top princess costumes.

Sy chuckled, what did they have to lose? At 11 years old, Annie was more than capable at putting together some make up. Willow was eccentric with her colour palate, but Sy wasn't worried much about that.

“Mommy, please. Please, we can all do our make up and go for lunch.”

“I hate you,” Aimee whispered passing her laughing brother, sitting down on the floor. “Okay, girls, let's get to it. Then we can make Uncle Sy take us for the best lunch, we've ever had.”

“Drive thru at Burger King isn't that fancy,” laughing, Sy nudged his sister with his elbow.

“Oh, but Sy if we have our best faces on, we need something better than cheap burgers in a bag. I was hoping maybe we could go to Janet's.”

It was Sy's turn to roll his eyes and stifle a groan. Of course Aimee would insist they go inside to eat. Saturday was the busiest day of the week for the small diner. Whatever, Sy was man enough to take it. With more confidence than anyone had ever seen, he would walk into that diner, head high, and his beard bows sparkling. The things he did to keep these children happy.

If it meant buying a hundred ponies, wearing full make up, and walking across a floor of legos – Sy would do it all to see these kids smile.

“I love Janet's!” Willow squealed dancing on her tiptoes, nearly poking her uncle in the eye with the eye shadow brush she was using. The hot pink creme shadow she had chosen for him was really going to pop with his dark beard. “Uncle Sy, please. Please can we go? You said that you would take me there the next time we went for lunch, you said that I could have a big sundae and...”

“Sy?” A sideways glance at her baby brother, Aimee puckered her lips for Annie to apply some lipstick. Offering the kids ice cream as a meal wasn't a crime, but it would explain why they sometimes came home bouncing around like mad hornets in an old coke can.

“Wispy, you're not supposed to tell your ma that I let you at ice cream as a meal.”

“Sorry, but can I?”

“Maybe for dessert, you can Annie can shade a giant sundae.” Aimee reasoned.

“Fine, but the next time we go....” Staring at her uncle, Willow pouted.

“Whatever you want, bubs.” Smirking at his sister, Sy conveniently pointed to the blush in the bag, asking Willow if she thought the orangeish colour would work for him.  “Whatever you want.”

[arminbitchlover]

reincarnated lovers (1)

armin arlert x f!reader

summary: in their past life, reader and armin's love journey is cut short with the tragic death of reader from a deadly plague. now, they are once again reunited, but somehow everything feels wrong between them.

word count: 2.5k

content warnings: death

1349

"Armin... it hurts." You dazed off and felt nothing but sharp pains all over your body.

Your throat was dangerously dry, and your stomach grumbled from the lack of food you couldn't properly digest. You suffered from the feeling of a knife being pushed into your lungs and when you tried to pick up your head, black dots overtook your fuzzy vision. Every time you tried to move a muscle, the pain would exponentially heighten, and experienced your abdomen compress with an exorbitant amount of pressure.

"N-no please don't leave me yet. What about all our plans together? Going to the beautiful forest behind the hills for our anniversary next week, building a house to move in together, getting married, a-and start a family..." Armin's voice cracked as tears cascaded down his cheek and dripped onto your arm.

You sensed a soft warm hand grab yours which caused your heartbeat to quicken as you felt it coarse throughout your body.

This is the end.

You knew this was your last few moments on earth with your soulmate. It was over so fast. Too fast. You couldn't believe you wouldn't be able to fill the promises you made with your lover. This was your only and last chance at this life, and it was over in nineteen years, only four of them being spent with the person you thought you would grow old with

"Stay away... get sick..." You jerked your arm away from Armin unaware that you didn't feel the need to chug a gallon of water to quench your throat and that the nauseating feeling from hunger completely vanished as you kept slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Don't do this shit to me right now, I'm staying by your side no matter what." He lightly caressed your face not caring about the black lumps that engrossed your skin.

He knew he would become infected sooner or later and understood that this would be it for you even though he couldn't find it in himself to believe it.

"I-I-I'm sorry." You felt the back of your throat get knotted up but couldn't produce any tears.

You slowly moved your hand back down to your side, not feeling the aching pain that had taken over your body, as you barely brushed his fingertips.

"Baby, what are you apolo... not your fault." He looked down to your palm and intertwined his fingers with your cold limp hand. He trailed his eyes back up to your face and saw your closed eyes.

"Y/n?" His breathing became shallow and irregular as he gently shook your body in an attempt to bring you back to consciousness.

You lightly squeezed his hand with the last bit of energy you had in you; letting him know that you were still with him.

This isn't the last time... swear to you we'll find each other again... I'll... protect you. I lo..."

And that was it.

The last words you heard.

Passing away was more peaceful than you imagined. It was just like going to sleep, except you knew that you wouldn't wake up with Armin by your side.

...we'll find each other again...

His last words kept replaying in your mind before your brain completely shut off. It made you happy. He made you happy. You died happy knowing that there was a chance to meet him again, but who are you kidding, this was it. It's over now.

Right?

Present Day

"I don't know if going on a date is the best thing to do right now, Sasha. I just got out of a three-year relationship with Jean and that was really rough." You grab a bag of chips and plop yourself onto your bed.

"Comeeee onnnnnn, y/n, I think you would really get along with this guy. I mean he's smart and kind anddddddddd has a pretty face!" She walks up to you and quickly steals a chip from you.

"Hey! Well as tempting as your mystery man sounds, my professors decided to assign a shitload of work, so I have to get busy." You pull out the box of textbooks from under your bed as you mentally prepare yourself for a draining weekend.

"Ugh, you're hopeless. Well, I'm going with Niccolo for a while, so have fun with... that! But if you change your mind, I'll text you his number." She grabs a Twinkie and skips out of your dorm room.

You figure that maybe she's somewhat right, but you know it's too soon to go out with another person. You and Jean had been together since high school and only broke up because you agreed that both of you needed time to find yourselves in college. It's very apparent that you still have some type of feelings for him even if it isn't love and it certainly didn't help that he goes to the same school as you.

But it is college. Even though the love you have towards Jean is still slightly there, maybe going out with another person was what you need to get over him. Even then, you wasted all your high school years getting good grades and being an A+ student that you never got to enjoy yourself and you weren't going to mess it up again. Besides what's the worst thing that could happen?

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺���༛ ༛ ༛༛

roomie <3

Today 5:12 PM

can you send me his number

AHH I KNEW IT

here ya go ;)

contact sent

ur a pain but thank u

you better tell me how it

goes!!

duhh

love u

love you moreee

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

While gazing at the contact, you can't quite explain the feeling you have in your stomach and could only call it excitement, but why?

You're just going out with a guy you've never even met before and for all you know, he could be some creepy perv who just wants to make you feel extremely uncomfortable for his own liking. You giggle to yourself as you keep on thinking of worst-case scenarios and become very aware of how in need you are of getting out of your dorm.

You sit and stare at your phone, wondering how to text someone who may not even remember his conversation about you with Sasha. But fuck it, it was just a date.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

Maybe: Armin Arlert

Today 5:20

hey armin, i'm y/n and i don't

if you recall giving your number

to sasha but she said we would make

a great match so i would love to go

out with you later today !

Hey y/n, I do recall Sasha

talking about you and everything

so I would be honored to take you out! (:

Do you want to go out for

a coffie in about an hour?

yeah, that sounds great !

We can meet at the library.

alright, see you then (:

Read 5:31

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

You feel your face warm up, excited to finally do something out of school and maybe have the possibility to meet someone who could be special. You waste no time sitting around, given that you had only an hour to look your best, and got ready.

You have ten minutes to spare after prepping yourself and decide to walk to the library a bit early. You head out of your dorm, still in disbelief that you're going out with someone who was a stranger. It's definitely more of an exhilarating feeling than a nervous one; this would be the second person you've ever gone out with, Jean being your first and only partner and you have to admit that you feel good. You could feel yourself growing as a person even if this was just a silly first date that could potentially mean nothing.

You make your way to the front of the library and right when you were about to open the door you hear your name being softly called out. You turn around and see a blonde boy with a blue-collar shirt and khakis.

Damn, you have no idea who this boy is and you don't care, but why is someone this gorgeous calling out to you? His doll-like skin complexion looks so soft and smooth while his shirt matches his blue eyes perfectly, and his khakis just adding on to his soft persona.

"Are you y/n?" He snaps you out of your thoughts and back to reality.

"Oh, um yes, and you're Armin? How did you know it was me?" You can't keep your eyes off of him. This is the mystery man that Sasha fixed you up with and, fuck, he's more beautiful than you could've pictured.

"Sasha showed me pictures of the two of you and I must say you're more stunning in person." His cheeks turn into a bright pink as he looks down, feeling as if he's embarrassing himself.

"Thank you and you're a lot more attractive than I ever imagined." You give him a friendly smile when he looks back up as he hears your compliment.

"The uh coffee shop is not far off-campus so we can walk if you like." He rubs the back of his neck, unsure how to begin your date.

"Yeah, that sounds great." You both walk together in awkward silence, not knowing how to start a chat with each other.

"So, Armin, what are you majoring in?" You turn your head towards him, but Armin seems to not want to make any eye contact with his hands in his pockets.

"Oceanography."

"That's cool, have you always loved the ocean or are you just experimenting with different fields?" You try to carry on with the conversation, hoping he would open up to your about his studies at the least.

"I've always loved the ocean."

"Are the classes you're taking pretty difficult?" You feel your face heat up as he continues to be difficult about continuing your attempted dialogue.

"No."

You start losing your patience with this boy. It frustrates you that no matter what you did he can't try to at least engage in the conversation. You knew from the beginning that this could've been a disaster, but it hadn't even started, and it's already exasperating.

You start to genuinely think of ideas to bail yourself out before it could get any worse, but no, you're going to finish this date whether it's awful or not and move on with your life. You told yourself you were evolving as a person and to bail would only be taking you a step back from the new you.

"How do you know Sasha," you ask him, making it your last-ditch effort to start a conversation as you arrive at the coffee shop.

"We met through a mutual friend at a party." He opens the door for you and both of you enter the cafe.

You and Armin are kindly greeted by the barista as you walk to to the cashier. Both of you order your drinks and sit at a table that's next to the glass wall.

"So, did you meet Sasha because you're dorm mates?" He finally ignites some type of conversation as he fidgets with his fingers.

"We actually somewhat knew each other through my ex-boyfriend and we randomly got paired to be dorm mates." You grin to yourself, thinking about how close you and Sasha got over the year.

Even if it was a bitter-sweet moment mentioning Jean, that you realize may not have been the best thing to do. You hear you and Armin's name being called, but right when you're about to get up Armin quietly spoke, "Stay here, I got it."

You watch him get up from his seat and walk back over to the cashier. He pulls out his brown leather wallet, pays for both of your drinks, and makes his way back to the table with a cup in each hand.

"Thank you for paying, you really didn't have to do that." You feel your cheeks get hot as you grab your drink, slightly grazing his fingers.

"It was no biggie." He shrugs his shoulder and slumps back to his seat.

Subsequently, the awkward silence is back, but a lot stronger than before. You can't understand why it's so difficult to get along with him if this was the date where you're supposed to get to know each other and have endless topics to discuss. You keep reassuring yourself that this would be over soon anyway and now you know that Armin just isn't the one for you and you're completely fine with that. At this point, you only see Armin as the boy you went on the most awkward date with and didn't even picture him as a friend.

"Sorry about this, I've never done anything like this before," he mumbles while tapping on the side of his cup, not wanting to look at you because he felt ashamed.

"O-oh, don't stress about it too much, it's my first date after getting out of my relationship so we're on the same boat." You both exchange warmhearted smiles, trying to break the tension but nothing seems to work.

"We can go back to campus. I have some assignments I need to finish up anyways," he suggests and you feel the weight being lifted off your shoulders. Even though Armin seems like a great person, both of you assume that your wavelengths couldn't match, and it was just best to end it.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I also need to catch up on schoolwork as well." Both of you grab your drinks and head back to school without trying to strike a conversation, knowing that it would just make the tension even more awkward.

As soon as you make it back to your dorm, you must say that you never feel happier to arrive in your shitty box.

"Well, thank you for the coffee and I hope you have a great weekend."

"Yeah, you too." You both wave bye and you walk into your dorm, feeling displeased.

While you didn't expect your date to be completely perfect and for you and Armin to fall in love, this was by far the last thing you wanted to happen.

It didn't take long for you to forget what had transpired as you change to comfortable clothes and start heavily working on your assignments. While you were finishing up on one of your worksheets, you feel your phone vibrate and see a text from Sasha.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

roomie <3

love you moreee

Today 7:47

you better still have some energy

left in you

??

i'm heading back to get dressed

cause we're going to go PARTYYYY

oh god sasha

i don't do well at parties

pleaseeeeee

i can introduce you to my friends

they're really cool

okayyy sure

so get dolled up

i'll be there soon <3

alright

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[br4tcult]

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UPON RETURN | T. SHELBY | ii

﹒♱﹒

part. ii

•requested: yes by a few

•tw: slight mention of blood/fight, alcohol? at the very end theres a bit of seggsual tension

•wc: 2k ish

•season set: 1 /2 (i vision just before 1 tbh)

﹒♱﹒

You almost went silent as you doubled over, laughing with John, trying to catch your breath. The Garrison was loud, a Saturday night was always the busiest, being that it was half of the towns last day at work. Unfortunately not everyone had a two day weekend.

"So this whole room is yours then, ay?", you asked after your laughter died down and you both took a swig of your beverages.

"Oh yeah", John sat up, his arm resting on top of the bench, a few foot between you both, "Meetings, parties, everything 'appens in 'ere", he cleared his throat as he watched you look around in awe.

"When I left", you snorted, "When I left, you boys were barely even feared by Misses Briggs down at the bakery, 'n' she's a scaredy cat", you laughed, "Fuckin' 'ell, now look at ya, practically run the town".

John shrugged, "I don't even know how it got to this, to be fair".

The door burst open to reveal a drunken Arthur, "Y/L/N!", he called, walking over to sit adjacent from you in a singular arm chair,

"Y/N/N, how are ya?".

You held back a laugh, slightly tipsy yourself from Harry's generous pouring, "Better than I was this afternoon, Arthur", you leant back into the bench, "Me 'ands are comin' along now n'all".

Arthur squinted his eyes as you held your hands out above the table. Suddenly he stood up and moved over to sit next to you on the end of the bench. You quickly scooted across it to make some space and practically fell against John. Which of course ended up with now all three of you wheezing with laughter.

As if on queue, Tommy then walked through the door. His eyebrows slightly knitted as he looked over at the scene before him. Y/N's practically in John's lap, Arthur practically hugging the side of Y/N. The three of them hadn't even noticed Tom standing there as they tried catching their breath, trying to remember why they were laughing in the first place.

"Tommy!", John saw his elder brother first, "Finally! Come to join us for a pint 'ave yah?".

Tommy barely nodded his head as he kept his eyes trained on Y/N, who appeared to be now busy talking to Arthur about something. Clearly ignoring Tommy. Which angered him. Not that he would exhibit any sign of that.

"Did you know that Y/Ns been taking notes from our books whilst she's been away", John asked Tommy, "She's practically made her own betting shop down in London, t' make a few bob on the side". John nudged you, bringing you into his conversation, "'Aven't yah?".

You shrugged, "It wasn't really a betting shop", you turned to face John as Arthur stood up, stumbling to the small double door in the wall to get a fresh pint from Harry. "It was more like a 'You bet money on this and I'll double your winnings if you win, except, you won't win because I've rigged it' kind of thing and it was in the middle of the street".

John laughed, "Yeah, exactly, that's what I said".

Tommy walked over to the arm chair where Arthur had first sat, "That's dangerous", he commented as he pulled a pre-rolled cigarette out of his own metal tin.

You scoffed, sitting up straight, realising Tommy was actually in the same room as you right now and you looked a mess, "That's a bit rich coming from you, Thomas", you lifted your leg across the other under the table as you held your chin high. Who was he to tell you something was dangerous; As if he wasn't a notoriously dangerous criminal himself.

Tommy narrowed his eyes as he quickly took a glance at you before lighting his cigarette and chucking his pack of matches onto the table, his spare hand landing next to them. "You know", he began, which made you roll your eyes already, "I'm only trying to look out for you, it's not as if you have us down there with you".

You arched your eyebrow as let out a dry laugh, turning to John to see if he found his just as amusing. He didn't, of course, he was a man, he thought nothing of it as took a swig of his drink. Unfazed by the conversation.

"What, so are you sayin' that 'coz I'm a woman, I can't run my own dodgy business 'coz I won't 'ave The Three Main Peaky Boys to protect me when shit goes bobbins?".

John turned to you, his drink a centimetre away from his lips, "Goes what?".

"Rubbish! Goes Rubbish!", you shook your head at your best friend with a light slap to the side of his head, he tutted and pushed you back slightly.

"This, Tommy", you turned back, "This is exactly why I run my own dodgy business, by myself".

"What do you mean by exactly why?", he said simply.

"I mean, I don't have to fuckin' explain myself every five seconds", you sighed as you leant forward, resting your elbows on the table, a clear sign that you weren't having any of it. Tommy had almost forgotten you were like this. So brash. He liked it. He liked you. It irritated him. "Because everyone down there understands what I'm fuckin' on about".

John turned to you, speaking lowly, "Yeah, but you grew up here?".

You turned to him with a scowl, "Yeah, doesn't mean I fuckin' talk like yous, does it ya muppet".

"Shut up".

"You're the one that fuckin' said it".

"Oi", Arthur shouted as he walked back over, "Why are you arguing like little kids again".

"'Cause Tommy thinks I shouldn't run my own business", you turned to Arthur as he sat down across from John.

"I never said you shouldn't be running it", Tommy said with a flat tone, "I said, it's dangerous".

"Yeah, but it's the way in which you said it".

"You knew I wasn't being condescending".

"Fuckin' seemed like it", you crossed your arms across your chest as you turned your head away from Tommy.

"Oh for fuck sake!", John shouted, "Can't you two go five minutes with out bickering? It's like 1912 all over again", he stood up, "I'm going to find a woman".

"Fine! Fuck off then", you smiled playfully as you watched John flip you off whilst leaving the room. Arthur watched in wonder, he didn't understand your friendship at all, though he admired it.

"Right", Arthur slapped the table, "I've gotta piss but I'll see you two when you've stopped arguing". With that Arthur left the room. You and Tommy now alone.

Wonderful.

Great.

Neither of you said a word. You watched as Tommy eyes moved from every item on the table until he had no choice but to look up around the room. You wasn't stupid. You knew he wanted you to speak first. He wasn't good with expressing his emotions.

But fuck that.

And neither were you.

You brushed your skirt down before standing up and walking behind Tommy's chair. You didn't get far before he sharply turned to grab your wrist, letting go when he realised that was a little boisterous.

"Where you off to then?".

You shrugged, "Dunno, anywhere that's going to hold more conversation then you".

Tommy sighed, "Fuck sake", he mumbled, "Sit down", he looked you in the eye as he motioned for you to sit in the singular seat across from him.

You pursed you're lips, thinking — although honestly, you didn't need to think twice before agreeing to whatever Tommy told you.

Getting comfortable on the seat you looked over at the broken criminal, the shell of who used to be a bubbly trouble maker. "Well".

"Well what?", Tommy asked as he spoke with the end of his cigarette in his mouth.

You shook your head slightly, amazed by the stubbornness, "Why did you want me to sit down, I was excepting at least a smile, or would you rather I leave and find Jack from down the lane", you smirked as you picked at your nails innocently.

Tommy looked over with a harsh glare, "We both know you'd rather spend eternity in a prison cell with me and a rat then have to get into bed with him".

You smiled, it was true, you both knew it.

Yet even the idea of you with Jack still managed to irritate Tommy, it was amusing. You chose not to speak, wanting Tommy to give you his full attention. He looked over, stubbing out the end of his cigarette as he turned to face you, body mirroring yours. He cleared his throat before speaking, "Remember the day you left?".

You shrugged, "Suppose – everyone hugged me a thousand times over and you gave me that pocket knife".

Tommy shook his head, "Wasn't asking a question".

Your voice faded as you knitted your eyebrows together with an irritated smirk, "Oh, sorry, so go on then", leaning forward and resting your elbow on the side of your chair with your chin in your hand you looked Tommy up and down, debating how much time you would have left alone with him before another brother made an entrance, "Enlighten me on my memories".

Tommy's body relaxed back into his seat as his tongue touched his cheek, he had always loved your argumentative side, it seemed as if you reserved it especially for him.

"When you left Jacks house", he spoke as he reached into his blazer to grab something from a hand sewn (by polly) inner pocket, "with this", he handed you a smashed pocket watch.

You took the old small gold plated clock and looked at it with a small glint in your eyes. That clock had once belonged to Jack. Poor lad. You'd been in his house helping out his mother with some letters she wanted to send out for Christmas. Everything was fine until Jack came home, drunk. He was a few years older then yourself. Almost the same as Thomas.

Skipping the details he was talking about a certain girl he had been trying to chat up. Of course she didn't want anything to do with Jack, which she seemed to have cleared up respectfully. However, Jack, being the piece of shit he was, didn't care for that and thought she owed him something.

After hearing enough of it you turned to his mum and said, 'sorry but I can't take this any longer'.

You then stood up and grabbed the pocket watch hanging loosely from his gin stained blazer and smashed it into the side of his head, hitting his left temple. Blood trickled down from his eyebrow as he stumbled back, tripping up and falling onto his settee.

You grabbed him by the collar of his shirt with your free hand, leaning down to face him, 'don't ever talk another girl who's uninterested in you ever again', you pushed him back and stood up straight, 'and if you so I'll let some not very nice men know about it, call in some favours if you know what I mean'.

He nodded profusely and started mumbling some apology as you turned back to face his mother, 'sorry, I'll see myself out', you said as you grabbed your coat and bag before quickly leaving to go find Tommy and tell him about how you probably just made a big mistake.

"He was an ass", you simply said as you placed the watch onto the table, "Whats your point, Thomas". The mans face twitched, almost invisibly, but you saw.

"My point", he leant forward, "Y/N". You gulped, sitting up straight. "That's when I realised you were the one". You visibly shivered when you felt his finger tip on your knee, slowly tapping it he moved it half an inch up as he spoke, "That's when I realised you were going to be the death of me, Y/N".

Biting your lip you looked down, watching Tommy's finger tease it's way across your thigh, unsure of his plans. Barely above a whisper you managed to get out a breathless, "Tommy".

You saw him smirk as he licked his lower lip, his eyes travelling over your body before finally meeting yours, "Yes?".

Cheeks rosey red as you felt yourself blushing you uncrossed your legs and sat up straight with your chin in the air. Only to recross your legs the opposite way.

"Is this an issue, sweetheart?", Tommy said gently, this time he placed his entire hand on your thigh, the thin fabric of the old dress you borrowed from Ada being the only thing separating your warm skin from Tommy's stone cold hand. The only thing stopping you from losing all self control you had.

﹒♱﹒

✒︎author note: part three then?

& comment any spelling mistakes x

✒︎feedback: plz :))

✒︎requests: open⎝09/2021⎞

☞published: 16.03.2021

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[settersprouts]

꒦ ikanaide : chapter four ! ꒦

半神

. . : oikawa is the son of athena, while iwaizumi is the son of ares. both godly parents are known to be rivals, but what does that mean for their children ?

or, hq + percy jackson au, where oikawa is not the son of aphrodite for once, but people still think he is because he's pretty, and he's flattered and confused.

. . : okay hear me out, oikawa is known to be strategic and analytical, which is perfect for a descendant of athena. that is my reasoning for this alr dont attack me pls also, vv sorry this was late, i was feeling like shit all week and couldn't finish m sorry :((( hopefully you guys didn't wait too long :((

iwaizumi's about had enough of his bullshit.

his fists were shaking as he stood in front of his divine cabin, the front door ajar and an absolutely horrid smell wafting out from the cabin. he stepped closer to the cabin, stiffening even more as he pushed the door open the rest of the way. the whole place was absolutely trashed- both his and his other roommates' clothes mixed together in many piles on the floor. he could tell just from the strategically placed items all around the room that the place was definitely rigged with mediocre traps. nothing would kill him, but it would most likely maim him.

the demigod growled, stepping over the tripwires on the floor and grabbing his khopesh. it was charged with electricity, thanks to yū nishinoya from cabin one. in exchange for the many weapons the son of ares' crafted, the son of zeus would help charge a select few and give them back to him.

the added energy would definitely be helpful for when he beat the absolute shit of a certain demigod.

he was seething with bloodlust as he stepped out of his cabin, walking towards the beach, where he knew the person he was looking for would be.

and there he was. sitting in one of the little tide pools, talking with one of the sea nymphs. she was way too close to him, but oikawa didn't look like he minded in the slightest. or he didn't notice, one of the two.

she bent down to whisper in his ear, his pupils growing smaller in his brown eyes, and he let out a laugh. it was really melodic, which was common for a son of aphrodite. their beauty was immaculate, and they were practically irresistible to everyone, unless you had a decent sense of self control. iwaizumi knew that oikawa had the whole camp under his fingertips. except for him.

iwaizumi let out a groan, clenching his fists. fuck morales. he knew that his father and oikawa's mother were on really good terms, but he couldn't help but feel attracted to the absolute need to punch the brunette in the face. with a concrete slab. or choke him with aphrodite's famous scarf. one of the two.

he let out an animalistic growl, drawing the attention of oikawa and the unnamed sea nymph. oikawa blinked at him, unimpressed, while the nymph shrieked and dove back into the ocean with a splash. oikawa glanced at the bubbles where the nymph had disappeared, and let out an unamused sigh.

`oh, well, she was kind of boring anyways,` he said nonchalant, stepping out of the pool, buck-naked, without a care in the world. iwaizumi's eyes widened as he turned away almost immediately, his face flushing completely.

`what the hell do you think you're doing?` he seethed, his usual bark lacking no bite, since oikawa really couldn't see his facial expression.

the latter let out a chuckle. `calm down, you can turn around, now. i'm decent.`

forest-green eyes slowly darted back to the brunette's figure, pupils growing bigger in relief, as he realized that he really was decent. he was dressed in the atrociously bright orange camp half-blood shirt, and bleached denim jeans, rolled up to just above his ankles. his bead necklace was still wrapped around his neck snugly. it was extremely tighter than iwaizumi's, which hung down just over the scar on his left pec. he must've tightened it like a choker. it was kind of smart- usually, monsters with half a brain used those necklaces to pull demigods towards them if they couldn't grab their limbs. this tactic limited the amount of things they could grab on him.

iwaizumi would've never thought of that.

`so,` oikawa mused, folding his now damp towel. he must have used it to dry himself off while iwaizumi was looking away from him. `what do you need from me?`

the other demigod blinked, mouth forming an 'o' once he realized his reason for being there. he totally didn't forget that he wanted to sock oikawa in the face just because he saw him naked. `right. i have a bone to pick with you, oikawa.`

`oh? is that so?` the brunette smiled sweetly at him, his eyebrows furrowed in an act of confusion and innocence. disgusting.

iwaizumi stepped forward, whipping out the khopesh he had stuffed in his pocket. with a simple flick of his wrist, it extended. the contraption was thanks to someone in cabin number six, with the help of cabin nine- apparently, iwaizumi had saved someone dear to them, and he was given the khopesh as a thank you. however, the person never did reveal themself to iwaizumi. it was an athena cabin secret.

oikawa's brown eyes widened at the sight of the weapon, but that expression was quickly replaced with an amused sneer. `oh, what's this? you want to fight?`

`no, you're going to let me maim you in silence, i refuse to fight someone as weak as you.` iwaizumi retorted, fists clenching. the brunette gawked, his mouth agape in a silent shout.

`weak? excuse me? i'm far from weak. just because you come from cabin five, doesn't mean you're higher than everyone else.` he replied, sticking his nose high up in the air. `i'll have you know, i've won many tournaments against your cabin.`

iwaizumi rolled his eyes. `yeah, because you always cheat and sneak over to athena's group.`

`i don't cheat! and i don't have to sneak over to athena's group, i have a place there you know!` oikawa shrieked, whipping out a dagger and pointing it at iwaizumi threateningly. however, the latter remained unphased, which pissed the brunette off even more.

`yeah. sure, and what's that?` iwaizumi said, letting one of his eyebrows raise. if rules served him correctly, there was no teaming allowed in any game at camp half-blood, unless stated otherwise. however, he always saw oikawa with athena's group, but he let it slide, thinking the ares' cabin would win anyways. he was, unfortunately, very wrong.

oikawa blinked. `are you stupid? athena's my mother.`

`huh?` the son of ares' stepped back a bit, glaring at the other. `you- athena's son? but- you're-`

`pretty? yeah, i get that a lot.` oikawa sheathed his dagger, stretching out his muscles. `people mistake me for the son of aphrodite way too much. it's kind of annoying, actually. there's a lot more to me than my face,` he mused, glaring at iwaizumi. `looks like you're no different from the rest of them. shame. i actually took a liking to you.`

the other stood there, unmoving, confusion lining every forehead wrinkle. `what are you saying? there's no way-`

oikawa sighed. `i should've known you were going to be hard to convince. look, i'm the son of athena, and the current ruler of the cabin. if you don't believe me, ask my cabin mates. they'll tell you.`

`then who the hell's trashing my cabin?` iwaizumi seethed, still not convinced by oikawa's truths.

the latter let out a melodic laugh. `i thought that was obvious. i saw some of hermes' cabin sneak out to yours during lunch. makes sense, they're always trying to pull pranks on everyone and see their reactions. yours was most likely the best one of them all.` oikawa smiled, his eyes twinkling as he walked away. `well, while it was fun talking to you, i have to go. it's getting dark, and i'd rather not get caught being out past curfew.`

iwaizumi looked up to the sky to find out that he was, in fact, right. the sky was slowly darkening, the sun almost disappearing at the horizon. the green-eyed demigod let out a sigh, turning to glare at oikawa, to find out he was long gone.

`..damn it!`

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

`can you believe he's even athena's cabin ruler?` takahiro hanamaki muttered lowly to his fellow cabin mate, issei matsukawa, who also stood in front of a very emotional toorū oikawa. he had been ranting about how he was sick of everyone mistaking him for a son of aphrodite, and when his cabin mate shigeru yahaba said it could've been a compliment, the hysterics had gotten even worse.

fortunately, the 18-year-old had tired himself out, and was now resorting to laying on his bed and blinking the tears out of his eyes.

matsukawa sighed. `no. i can't. not when he's like this.`

`i can hear you, 'ya know.` oikawa muttered, tear-filled chocolate brown eyes turning to them accusingly. `you can't even act like you're tired of me, you just got here.`

`true,` hanamaki replied, kneeling down next to his dear friend. `but according to yahaba, you've been complaining about this for the past forty-five minutes. don't you think that's a tad bit excessive?`

oikawa sat up abruptly. `no! well- maybe. but it's so stupid!` he exclaimed, fists furrowing in his fluffy brown locks. `i don't act like aphrodite at all! i don't even look like her, but i'm pretty and that's the only reason people need to lump me in with that cabin. i actually liked iwa. of course, he's just like the rest.`

`oh.` matsukawa snapped his fingers, pointing at oikawa. `he's the guy who rescued kiyo and takeru, right?`

the brunette shuddered. `right. that memory just gives me chills.` he thought back to that day, where a gorgon had came across oikawa while he was taking his sister and nephew shopping. the gorgon smelled him, and realized he was a son of athena, and attacked the group, leaving oikawa bruised and bloodied while he took kiyo and takeru as prisoners. however, a group of demigods from camp half-blood on a quest sensed the violence occurring, and rushed to the scene as quick as possible. iwaizumi was amongst the group, but he had taken off after the gorgon, and didn't get a good look at oikawa's face.

when the group returned to camp, oikawa had made the khopesh iwaizumi had sported, and left it on his bed while he was out training with his cabin mates. he also left a thank-you note, but didn't sign it, hoping to leave his identity anonymous.

`yeah, why don't you just tell him that you're a relative to kiyo and takeru? the whole camp knows about that quest, so if iwaizumi knows your identity, everyone else will too. people won't mistake you for a descendant of aphrodite anymore,` hanamaki supplied, reaching into the tupperware of ambrosia oikawa was given (he had started a fight with kyōtani from ares' cabin to relieve his stress- both parties sporting the same amount of cuts and bruises) and popping a bit into his mouth.

oikawa shrugged, snatching back the tupperware before hanamaki could steal any more. if a demigod ate too much of the sweet, healing treat, they could get extremely sick. `yeah, maybe. but,` oikawa grinned, turning to his two friends that stood by his bedside, `beating him at capture-the-flag tomorrow sounds way more fun.`

the two boys sighed, smiling at the sight of their best friend with a much happier mood. capture-the-flag with demigods was always a very violent and extreme sport, but all cabins ended up having a lot of fun playing the game. and, no matter what side the athena cabin was on, they always ended up winning. no one could remember a time where they lost.

beating the ares' cabin was going to be a piece of cake for oikawa.

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

`you seem on edge, iwaizumi.` ushijima had muttered to the demigod, taking a seat beside the other. they were currently stationed in the middle of the forest, with the job of guarding the red flag. `do you want to talk about it?`

iwaizumi glanced at his companion. under the absolutely atrocious battle helmet was a look of concern and worry for his friend. the dark-haired demigod let out a sigh, nodding slightly. `yeah. i'm just.. shaken up, i guess.`

`how so?`

`well..` iwaizumi pondered, trying to figure out the best words and phrases to lay his point across. `i pissed off one of the sons' of aphrodite here, because apparently, he's the son of athena, and not aphrodite. like, what the fuck? the dude even acts like the deviled spawn of her, so i don't understand why he's so pressed.`

ushijima nodded, listening intently. `you mean toorū oikawa, right?`

iwaizumi gaped. `how the hell did you know that?`

`i made the same mistake you did, thinking he was a descendant of aphrodite.` ushijima mused, looking up to the sky. the clouds reflected in his olive-coloured eyes, but were less noticeable than the clouds reflecting in oikawa's eyes. `when he had first came to camp half-blood, he was called weak by one of our cabin-mates. he challenged him to a duel and won. i then told him he should have been a descendant of ares, not one of aphrodite. he would have a rightful place here, with us.`

`oh? what'd he say, then?`

the olive-haired demigod shuddered. `he slapped me. very hard. and then yelled at me, saying he was a son of athena, not aphrodite. he apparently doesn't like being addressed as a child of aphrodite.`

a sharp wolf-whistle came from the trees. ushijima and iwaizumi stood up, quickly switching to a fighting stance. iwaizumi clenched his khopesh as the figure who was listening to their whole conversation emerged from the trees.

and of course, it was fucking oikawa.

`y-you?` iwaizumi shouted, almost dropping his weapon. `how long were you there?`

the brunette stretched, calm despite the fact that a sword and a khopesh were both aiming at his chest. `i heard the whole conversation. i've been watching you two for quite some time, now.`

ushijima stepped forward as to greet oikawa, but faltered. his eyes widened, and he turned around. leaning on the flag they were supposed to protect was a silver-haired male holding a celestial-bronze axe. his honey-brown eyes met ushijima's olive-green ones, and a corrupt smile split his face. `finally. you noticed me. i was wondering how to get your attention.`

iwaizumi turned around to see the second attacker, letting out an almost animalistic growl. `it's a fucking ambush.`

`correct~` oikawa mused, taking out his dagger and smiling at the other. `however, suga-chan isn't allowed to touch you. i wanted to do all the dirty work myself.`

the silver-haired demigod nodded. `my only purpose here is to take the flag once oikawa defeats you. he requested to fight you both at the same time.`

oikawa nodded, flicking a little switch on his dagger iwaizumi hadn't noticed before. as soon as he did so, he dropped the dagger, and it extended into a much longer weapon. the other demigod scanned it, recognizing the weapon to be a scythe. 'suga-chan' smiled at the sight, meeting iwaizumi's questioning eyes. `you guys better be prepared. he hasn't lost a duel since he came here.`

the brunette nodded, pointing at ushijima with a smile before lunging at the demigod. before the latter could even react, oikawa had connected his foot with ushijima's abdomen, sending the demigod flying. he landed on his back with a gasp, having the air knocked out of him. iwaizumi's eyes widened- he hadn't even been able to react either. that was how fast oikawa was.

ushijima sat up quickly, blocking oikawa's attack with his sword. the other demigod smiled sweetly, twisting the scythe and yanking ushijima's sword out of his hand. it landed in the dirt a couple yards away.

iwaizumi growled, running at oikawa with his khopesh up high. the brunette turned around, unamused, sidestepping iwaizumi's attack and tapping at the end of his weapon. the khopesh hissed and groaned, a net pooling out from the back end, trapping iwaizumi in the knots. the demigod gasped, writhing around in the trap. `wh-what the hell?`

`you seem to be confused. could it be,` oikawa laughed, `that you didn't even know that was there?`

`s-shut up! how the hell did you know anyways?`

oikawa deadpanned. `i made the stupid thing. i think i would know every little thing there is to know about it.`

the dark-haired son of ares stared at his attacker, watching as he stalked over to suga and ripped the flag out of the ground. the brunette turned and smiled sweetly at his victims, waving. `well, see you.`

the two demigods sprinted off, laughing at the shouts coming from behind them.

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

`i can't believe him!` iwaizumi kicked the boulder, ignoring the pain from doing so. `he's so fucking insufferable! but i can't even do anything about it, because apparently he made this stupid weapon-` he waved the khopesh in the air, `-and i have to be grateful, but he's making it so goddamn hard!`

kyōtani glanced at the demigod, popping another piece of ambrosia in his mouth. he was still recovering from his fight with oikawa earlier. `you didn't know he made that for you? i thought it was obvious.`

the other glared at his cabin mate, confusion in his eyes. `what do you mean?`

`well,` kyōtani chewed the left over ambrosia in his mouth and swallowed, before continuing. `i'm pretty sure he has a crush on you, or something. he's been watching your duels ever since he came back with your group.`

`what group?`

`the quest you had a while ago.` kyōtani muttered under his breath, probably ridiculing iwaizumi. `you saved his sister and nephew from a gorgon. remember that?`

iwaizumi deadpanned, the memories all but flooding back to him now. `that was him?`

`that was him.`

`so he really is a son of athena?`

kyōtani nodded.

`..fuck, i'm an idiot.`

`i know.`

─── demigods.

[flowerslightning]

The OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) in FF7

This thing actually caught my eyes while reading a few theory about FF7R and the word OCD appear in their certain analysis, in IG, youtube comments and some posts in tumblr too. Dunno why but they always relate Biggs with OCD. I looked back to the scenes where Biggs appear and... Okay, i understand why they thinj Biggs has OCD or perfectionist

A lot of people, including the psych students themselves easily confused with OCD and perfectionist (I got confused by it quite often too). Now, is Biggs OCD or is he just a perfectionist? Let's take a deeper look at it

Biggs is not a famous character. So fans dont really care about him, but I do

Disclaimer : i'm not a psychologist. Im an intern and still studying. Psychiatric is not my major field but i got assigned there as an intern for quite a time and we got exposed a lot about psychology too. We didnt learn them professionally like the real psyche students, we learned (and still under training) through real life experience + a little bit from the books.

So there might be wrong interpretation here and there. Pls correct me if I'm misleading u. And pardon my english. Pls dont use any of these terms to diagnose urself. Remember, I'm a student, not a professional.

I kins of blame the social media for portraying OCD in such a nasty way, when someone with OCD is actually suffering inside.

OCD is not just about 'clean clean, must clean this place till squeaky clean' and OCD is not about being perfectionist. OCD and perfectionist are two different thing.

Perfectionist is more to a demand demeanour, eg "I want the cake to be like this. I want it to be pink. No, not that pink, it must be neon pink with slight purple. Do it again. No, i dont want that pink. Do it again. Ahhh yess, nice pink." Someone with perfectionist, after they got their result, they will immediately bcome calm and satisfied. Perfectionist is obviously different from OCPD (Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder). OCPD falls under Personality Disorder and it is different from OCD. Im not going to talk about that

Credit goes to crazyheadcomics.

Look at how OCD got spoken from the media perspective. It is very much resemble to Biggs, dont u think? In reality, someone with OCD always feel stress about everything around them, and they will find it hard to complete their task.

OCD has two components - Obsessive and Compulsive

| 1. Obsessive. It is a repeating thoughts about something and often occur until it makes someone feel stress about it. Eg, u think that ur hand will get bacteria infection if u touch a chair, door, fridge or when holding someone's hand. This thought always appear in ur mind everytime u touch the door, chair, fridge or somebody's hand, but when u touch ur shoes, u never think about the bacteria (in certain cases, some patients become scare of everything they touch)

| 2. Compulsive. It is a repeating of the same actions to fulfill the 'obsession' in order to reduce the stress acted upon them. Usually the 'action' has a specific ways in which the patient believe he has to do it like this or that way or else he will fail. Eg, after touching the chair, he will immediately wash his hand 10x from left to right. He believes the hand washing wont be effective if he starts from right to left

Another sign of OCD is when someone re-checking the door lock few times. Its normal for us to re-check once/twice the door lock for confirmation, but for people with OCD, they will re-check the door lock for about 6-10 times and still not feel satisfied and later they stress out. And also the OCD people, they tend to get annoyed when something is not in particular order and they will immediately fix it eventhough they know they're wrong.

I met a funny woman at the hosp arranging our students' books according to its thickness, when I asked her why did she arranged our books like that,

She replied : "Doctor said I have CDO"

Me : "Sorry, CDO? Never heard of it"

She : "It is actually OCD but I feel so stress hearing that term so I put it in alphabetical order. CDO, much better"

We both had a good laugh. Her case was not serious though, but she was feeling miserable with her thoughts and decided to meet a psychiatrist. I would say she was still in early stage for someone with OCD, but may lead to severe if left untreated

It is really hard to satisfy and convince someone with OCD and they always feel stress about something they shouldnt care too much about. U can say OCD is a fastidious type, and they're actually more than that

If we want to relate this condition with Bigg's case., urmm. The only time where I can spot him being different than the other characters is when he's busy sweeping his front house and when he pat Cloud's head during the Sector 7 plate fall.

The cleaning stuff isnt exactly weird thing for a human to do. But it is something odd, I mean, he just finished his mission with Jessie and survived a jump from the plate, and yet he still have the energy to sweep dry leaves, AT NIGHT! He can wait till tomorrow though and should get himself a proper rest.

Wedge says Biggs has a habit of overthinking stuff

And there we see Biggs sweeping the dry leaves. It might be because he is trying to distract himself from doing his bad habit - overthinking. But urm , i think there'll be higher chance for someone to overthink when doing house chore like Biggs is doing. This is where lots of people say Biggs cleaning the house at night is bcause he has OCD or he's a perfectionist.

But I dont think thats the case. For real, he is completely normal. No sign of him acting weird in that scene. If he really does have OCD or he's a perfectionist, we'll see more of him arguing with Barret about unnecessary stuff. He cant become one of Avalanche's strongest member (not exactly strong, but hey, he's trustworthy). Also, if u notice, Biggs have one earring on his right ear. Someone with OCD will feel irritated by it bcause his ear doesnt look 'balance'. OCD people, even in mild case, they want everything about them to be balance and in good order.

After trying to understand Biggs way of thinking and style through his short screentime, I strongly believe this guy has no such thing as OCD or being a perfectionist. Biggs just cares tooooo much about his friends, he thinks 10 times ahead from the bigger picture in which it frightens him about the bad consequences that will occur to people he cherish.

He is the type that always have a back up plan in his mind. He thinks of 5 possible bad things and comes out with 10 solutions. That's the power of an overthinker like Biggs I'll tell ya

Biggs probably cleaning his front house area at night bcause the next early morning, he will need to leave his house for the bombing mission. Better take care of things the night before the big day. He can ditch the cleaning work but he wont do it, not bcause he's a perfectionist/OCD, but try to imagine this, if ur front house is full with dry leaves and rubbish, it will be unpleasant for the neighbours next to ur house to see. Living in the slum means higher chance for u to get sick if u dont take care of ur surrounding hygiene. Biggs is a kind man, and I believe he doesnt want to upset his neighbours

He probably has overthink this matter like "If i dont do this now, I probably dont have time for doing it tomorrow. Maybe I'll broke my leg from the mission and this trash will be left untouched, then there'll be high chance for the children around here to get sick. What if they get infectious disease bcause of this dry leaves? And then the parents will be worried and the Sector 7 Slum will be in chaos etc etc. Time for plan A. Let's clean this place"

Besides, remember the post where I mentioned about Mental Health First Aid? Biggs, as the side character gives the best MFA to Cloud even without knowing what Cloud had gone through. Biggs is just toooo kind with his friends, he cares too much causing him to overthinks about his friends conditions. He can notice even the slightest change in his friend's behaviour and with his own instinct, he cheers for them

Aww man, how can u not love his personality? He's the sweetest side character ever (and kinda hot too).

Soo as the conclusion for my post here, Biggs does not have OCD. He's a side character with a big heart who cares tooooooo deeply about his friends that leads him to overthink too much.

However, if the devs say Biggs really has OCD then my statement about him will be invalid. I'm sure they have put everything in a very close detail look.

Btw, I personally think Biggs kind of portrays the other small side of Cloud, the overthinking part for their romantic partner. But Biggs express his worry through words while Cloud express it through his actions, eg - like how he always keep an eye on Tifa. He never speak it directly like "I'm worry about Tifa, I must help her", he just simply be with her either she needs a help or not. While Biggs clearly says "Jessie been acting weird, I should go if she needs any - help -"

Action speaks louder than words but sometimes our eyes failed to listen.

Alright, that's it. Thanks for being with me till the end.

[loveactualharry]

The Shamrock of the Sea [A Niall Horan short fiction.]

Good evening lovely people. I haven't been able to post anything decent on here for a while, and I know many of you are still waiting for part 3 of "December, 1997" - I'll be quick on that : it's coming next week.

Meanwhile, you might or might not be interested in a little Niall thing!

I originally wrote it for a friend, but I thought It'd be nice to share. So, here it's Part 1 of The Shamrock and The Sea.

Overview: Niall is the only son of a wealthy Irish family in 1897. He sails to New York to negotiate a business on behalf of his father. But The Shamrock has a different fate for him in mind.

Facts: Harry has a part in it as well!

--------——-------------------------------

24th July 1897

“Lily. For you, again.”

Her colleague had panted, throwing the umpteenth letter on her bed. She swiftly lifted up, sitting on the slender, uncomfortable mattress. Her fingers unfolded that paper, slightly wrinkly and rough. The words gathered in the middle of the page, written in a neat, clean handwriting. She noticed how the letters slightly leaned towards the right angle: the author of those verses had to have been lefthanded, she figured.

“One more? Jesus, it’s the sixth in five days.” Sarah remarked, absentmindedly tying the back of her apron.

“I know! Lily, are you sure you don’t know who sent them?” Selene asked with hands on her hips, squinting her eyes. Sarah darted at her, then turned around rolling her eyes. She did not like the questioning tone she always put out. And anyway, she was the last person in the position of questioning her colleagues, especially after Sarah had caught her sneaking out of his cabin. She twitched nervously at the mere thought.

Lily, however, failed to catch the jealousy displayed in the eyes of her best friend, still too caught up in her own thoughts to even care.

“I told you both, and a million times: I have no idea. I don’t know who sent them. Maybe…maybe it’s just a mistake.” She tried to convince herself, getting up and rubbing her palms on the wrinkly surface of her work uniform.

“Or maybe it’s a secret admirer.” Sarah winked at her with a silly face, “A secret admirer who is also a poet. Wait, maybe he is rich! Maybe it’s Lord Styles!” she battled her eyelashes, looking up with a dreamy face, before curling her lips and darting her eyes towards her friend, tapping her foot. “Are you fucking Lord Styles? You’d better not, or I’ll-”

Lily let out a puffed laugh, placing her hands on Sarah’s shoulders. She adjusted her long, silky hair, shaking her head. “I am not doing anything with Lord Styles. First off, he is way too out of our league, and second, I could never do this to you.”

They both tried to look serious but burst out in a loud laugh.

Selena looked at them from afar, hands still on her hips.

“Shut up, you are going to get us all in trouble. We’d better get to work.”

Sarah rolled her eyes again, sneaking out of her friend’s hug to follow the other girl outside.

“Yes, miss. But seriously, Lily, try to find out who this secret admirer is. Maybe one of the musicians?” she hinted.

“I think we are setting out hopes too high. For what we knew, it could be some kind of joke.”

She lowered her eyes, looking at the words inked on the paper one last time.

“You, that's what I've been missing,

Was tangled up and twisted

Now all the clouds been lifted

Lately, my heart's been so empty.”

Her heart still beat in the hope that it would be no joke.

--------------------------------------------------

Dublin, 14th July 1897

HORAN, NIALL JAMES.

The name was inked on that yellowish piece of paper. He read it one last time, then raised his blue, wide eyes. Niall was still amazed at that monumental, imponent structure in front of him. His gaze run on the long, majestic right broadside of the ship. Not far away from him, the long cue on the third-class passenger’s footbridge disgorged in a chaotic mass of unhealthy-looking and dirty men, women and children, gathering upon each other, pushing and shouting phrases in Gaelic.

“Come on, son, let’s move forward.”

His father grabbed his arm, dragging him around, in the that multitude of souls, looking for some sort of salvation on that ship. “The Shamrock of The Sea”, they had called it, in the hope that it would cast the light of good luck upon those travelling on it to the new world. Niall had heard many times his father ramble about how he knew the lord who had funded the construction of the Shamrock, but he had never paid much attention to that. He had never been fond of business and funding, and he had a relative interest in the world of major buyers and sellers. He knew, though, that the trip to America would be a lifechanging path for him, and he was grateful that his father had put enough expectations on him to give him the opportunity to go and negotiate a business on his behalf. New York was waiting for him, and he was excited. Yet, much as he loved his hometown and his country, he wished he didn’t have to come back to Ireland.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, my baby? You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

His mother stopped to wipe a few tears away from her cheeks. She hadn’t stopped crying ever since they had left Mullingar a few days before. Niall found it sweet and heart-breaking at the same time. Mr. Horan senior asked two of their servants to load his son’s trunk and all his belonging up on board. The boy cupped his mother’s cheeks, looking at Maura with a half-smile.

“I’m alright, ma. I’ll do what I have to do and…I’ll be right back to you sooner that you think. Stop crying for me, will ya, ma?”

The lady smiled through her whimpers and nodded. He held her close in one last, long hug.

----------------------------------------------

18th July 1897

Niall had spent the first few days wandering around, exploring all the salons, hallways and decks he had access to. Of course, travelling as a first-class passenger had its advantages. Nobody would pay much attention to him wandering around every part of the ship. He liked to look at the other people around him though. He fancied reading and collecting the multitude of emotions displayed on everyone’s face. Most of the passengers were rich, wealthy people, happy to be there, excited about their new adventure and all the comforts that would accompany them to the new world. He could recognize them. Not only by the clear expensiveness of their clothing and shiny jewels, but also because they wore proud smiles on their lips. The men often gathered around the counter of the bar for a sip of whiskey, or they would play cards, setting their bets higher and higher each time. Niall liked to play bets with himself, too. For example, he enjoyed betting on who would have lost at least half of their fortune before even getting to America. One of his favourites to bet on was Lord Styles. He was rich, extremely rich, apparently. And he would walk around the salons with a proud smile on his lips and, very often, more than one woman behind him. He had heard stories about him: he was, apparently, the most coveted bachelor of the whole Cheshire county. And nobody knew why. Niall liked to take the piss out of him, and he didn’t like him very much.

Sometimes, he liked to wander along the lower decks of the ship, and once he had even reached the stern, where the third-class passengers where hoarded. In was different, down there. Hidden in their cheap cabins, mother would try to soften the cry of their many children, shrieking out of fear and hunger. Some young men would whimper, facing the parapet running along the back deck, looking back and thinking about the mother and lovers they had left behind. Niall wondered which storied they carried along. He wanted to ask, sometimes. But he knew the wound of leaving their motherland behind was still too fresh, and scars were still wide open and too delicate.

His trip from Mullingar to Dublin had been long and exhausting, and over the past few nights he still hadn’t been able to adjust to his new bed, losing more sleep than he should have. His sunken eyes and his slightly unshaved face made him look older than he actually was, and he knew he needed some rest. After all, it would be a long trip to New York, and most of the times he preferred staying up at night to write or play his beloved fiddle. So, after lunch he found his way through the decks and staircases, to the cabin 402. He let his gaze travel up to the golden number on the black wooden door, then opened it, still holding the case of his fiddle in one hand. He rarely left it behind and found some kind of comfort in carrying it around with him.

The girl in the room flinched, then turned around as the key clicked in the lock. Niall stepped in, and there she was. She had dark, brown hair, which were thin and shiny. He couldn’t see her eyes, though. He put his fiddle on the freshly made bed, furrowing his thick, ash-blond eyebrows as he slowly walked towards her.

“Good afternoon, Sir. My apologies, I was just bringing fresh towels for you.”

She performed a quick, small bow in front of him. Then, she left with a fleeting glance. Niall noticed how her big brown eyes had rested upon his face for a little longer, before she stormed out of the cabin. He felt his throat go dry for a couple seconds, standing like frozen on the spot. He was normally not an impulsive man, usually very calm and thoughtful. But there was no hesitation in his steps, which led him out of that cabin, after grabbing the pile of white towels she had just left inside. His deep, blue irises squinted, looking around the corridor till he spotted her.

“Excuse me?” he called.

The brown-eyed girl turned around in his direction, still holding one hand on the handle of the wooden trolley she was pushing around on the mahogany wooden floor.

Niall straightened his back as he walked towards her in long strides. There they were face to face again. Now he could see. She looked younger than him, a couple years maybe, he guessed. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she carried no ring on her left hand.

“Yes, sir?” she patiently said, bringing Niall back to reality. She was staring at him, now. He had wide, deep, baby-blue eyes. His hair, she thought, resembled a dense honeypot, fluffy and perfectly combed. His cheeks were slightly puffy, making him look younger than he actually was, in contrast with the shallow shade of beard. He had thin lips, and a lovely dimple rested beneath his chin.

“Aye, I…I need to have my towels changed.” He demanded. Then mentally cursed himself.

She furrowed her brows in confusion, taking one step back.

“My apologies, Sir, but I brought laundry-fresh ones no more than one minute ago.”

Niall tapped his foot on the floor, following an irregular rhythm.

“I know, I saw you. I just don’t think they are clean and fresh enough.” He stated, handing her the pile of cloths.

She slightly parted her lips, but bit her tongue right after, taking a new pile from the trolley.

“As you command, sir.” She answered, handing the fresher towels to the man, never breaking eye contact, till she once again bowed before him and went back her own way.

“Many thanks, miss…”

His eyes were quick enough to shoot a glance at the silver name badge on her chest. He stood there, watching her walk away, holding the new towels in his right hand, before heading back to cabin number 402. He locked the door, frantically opening his large, black trunk, searching for ink and paper. Niall sat on the floor, writing her name on that page. Lily.

[thequeensofmemes]

Six Lyrics

Ex wives:

Listen up, let me tell you a story a story that you think you've heard before

We know you know our names

Know all about the glories and the disgraces

History's about to get overthrown

Get ready for the truth

All you ever hear and read about is our ex and the way it ended

Tonight we gonna do ourselves justice

Was married 24 years

I'm a paragon of royalty

Why did I lose my head?

When my son was newly born I died

Lock up your husbands

Lock up your sons

I saw him to the end of his life

I bet you wanna know how I got this far

I said, I bet you wanna know

No way:

There's no way

In all the time I've been by your side I've never lost control

And even though you've had your fun running around with some pretty young thing I didn't say a word

You must think that I'm crazy

You wanna replace me?

If you think for a moment I'd grant you annulmen

So you read a Bible verse that I'm cursed 'cause I was your brothers wife

Daughters are so easy to forget

If you thought it'd be funny to send me to a nunnery honey, there's no way

Please tell me what you think I've done wrong

If you can just explain asingle thing I've done to cause you pain, I'll go

I'm not going away

Don't Lose Ur Head:

I wanna dance and sing

You should try and get ahead!

I'll think about it maybe

You're living with his wife?

Like, what was I meant to do?

Sorry, not sorry 'bout what I said I'm just trying to have some fun

Don’t lose your head

I didn't mean to hurt anyone

If you wanna be wed make up your mind!

Somebody hang you

Way to make the country hate you!

Tried to elope

___ out every night on the town just sleeping around like "What the hell?"

If that's how it's gonna be maybe I'll flirt with a guy or three

You damned witch

And now he's going 'round like "Off with her head!"

What was I meant to do?

What was she meant to do?

Heart of Stone:

You've got a good heart but I know it changes

You'd lift me high, or let me fall

You can build me up

You can tear me down

You can try but I'm unbreakable

You can do your best but I'll stand the test

You'll find that I'm unshakeable

When the fire's burnt when the wind has blown when the water's dried you'll still find stone

When I say you're the only one I've ever loved I mean those words truthfully

I know, without my son our love could disappear

Soon I'll have to go

I'll never see him grow

But I hope my son will know be'll never be alone

'Cause like a river runs dry and leaves its scars behind I'll be by your side

Haus of Holbein:

But which one will it be?

No one wants a waist over nine inches

So what, the makeup contains lead poison? At least your complexion will bring all the boys in

Ignore the fear and you'll be fine

We must make sure the princesses look great when their time comes for a portrait

Get Down:

Sittin’ here all alone on a throne in a palace that I happen to own

Fill my goblet up to the brim

I wanna go hunting, any takers?

You said that I tricked ya cause I, I didn’t look like my profile picture

I’m the queen of the castle

Get down, you dirty rascal

When I get bored I go to court

All You Wanna Do:

I think we can all agree I'm the ten amongst these threes

Ever since I was a child I'd make the boys go wild

We spent hours strumming the lute, striking the chords and blowing the flute

Tell me what you need what you want

I feel the chemistry

Like I get you and you get me

And maybe this is it he just cares so much it feels legit

We have a connection

I think this guy is different

All you wanna do, baby's touch me, love me can't get enough

All you wanna do, baby's please me

Run your fingers through my hair

Tell me I'm the fairest of the fair

Gets what he wants and he won't take no

Passion in all that he touches

He even let me use his favourite quill

Still I came back the next day as he required

You see, I'm all you needa ll you want, you don't need to plead

I know, this is it he just cares so much this one's legit

I'm sure this time is different

You can't wait a second more to get my corset on the floor

Yeah, that didn't work out

I decided to have a break from boys

You'll never guess who I met

He swears it's true that without me he doesn't know what he'd do

I'm finally where I'm meant to be

He cares so much, he calls me 'love'

I guess it's not so different

There's no time for when or how 'cause you've just got to have me now

So we got married.

His temper's short and his mates are sleazy

The royal life isn't what I planned

Why did I think he'd be different

It's never, ever different

When will wnough be enough?

I Don't Need Your Love:

I'll miss you every day

I wish that I could stay with you

I'm holding back the tears tonight

I have built a future in my mind with you

There's nothing left for me to do

I don't need your love

Been a wife twice before, just to survive

It's what I have to do

I am not your toy, to enjoy till there's something new

There's nothing left to discuss

But it's time for us to rise above

Six:

He got down on one knee but I said "No way!"

___ sent me a poem

We're one of a kind

I'll do that until I die

It's the end of the show