#I'm trying to get more comfortable with having small talk with people from the neighbourhood

[degenezijde]

Went to the swimming pool today but it was closed for, according to a sign, cleaning the whole week. An older man biked by, started talking to me, how long were they going to be closed for, etc.

His reaction to the cleaning thing: 'Ha, I'll bet they're got more than cleaning to do'

And that's how I learned how last week the saunas malfunctioned and hit 120°C

[n1ghtfurys]

Cream II

Okay so this is the second part to when you met Keegan at a party? A whole one person asked so I'm going to make this a thing. Also don't hate me I'm gonna do another one...probably.

Part I: Cream

You haven't been able to look him in the eye since the party, most of the time when you see him you walk immediately in the opposite direction. One time, when you were with your friend, you audibly squeaked. She still hasn't let you live that one down. His behaviour hasn't changed at all, not that you've been around him enough to tell but still.

Guys normally go for your friend. She likes to pretend otherwise but you've always got people asking about her and yeah, the free drinks are great but they aren't usually directed at you. Not that you mind, peace and quiet is nice and there are so many guys that are so far up their own asses you're shocked they can still see.

Regardless you've been in hiding, you feel like he's everywhere. Obviously he's around because you live in the same building but you find yourself noticing him more, you think he's been trying to talk to you too. Most of the time he doesn't catch you but every so often it looks like he's gonna, luckily that has yet to happen.

Honestly you're shocked he's been here so long, usually he stays at the base and he's deployed a lot, like more often than not. You've been putting off laundry on the off chance that he happens to be down at the same time as you. Only because it would trap you down there with him and you still haven't gotten over the party. The picture of him on his knees in front of you, his mouth open, is one that lives with you. Comes to the front of your mind at night when you're tossing and turning and usually ends in something you aren't really proud of.

You can't put it off anymore though, you're running out of clothes. You spent all day today wandering around in weirdly tight grey sweats and a frankly, very ugly top with a red dragon on, that you had stolen from an ex. It's a truly interesting look, one that has left you comfortable and uncomfortable. The sweats cling to you in so many places and none of them are great, you don't really like how they sit on your hips or how they somehow flatten your ass but the top is on the bigger side so mostly hides that.

You decide to bite the bullet, another mismatched outfit of ill fitting clothes and pieces stolen from various ex’s is not really how you want your week to look. And you can be quick, in and out. No chances of an awkward encounter that just ends with you retreating to the safety of your room, probably never to leave again.

You have never liked the laundry room. The landlord hasn't bothered painting the walls so there is only water stained concrete and cobwebs for decoration, if you're honest it's dingy and always smells dusty despite the detergent people use on their clothes. It's also always warm down here, you hate that, It's like being wrapped in a warm, damp blanket. The dryers sometimes eat your socks too and at least half of the machines are out of order.

It's not like your building is particularly bad, sure some of the halls have cracked paint and one of the doors into the building is held together with duct tape but it's really not a bad building.

It's empty when you get down though, much to your delight because you don't have to deal with any polite small talk about weather or neighbourhood changes. As much as you like the older citizens in your building they can be quite boring to talk to. Plus it gives you some time to read, the book is truly subpar but it's entertaining and music makes it slightly more bearable. So once you've put the clothes on you perch on one of the machines that don't work and hope nobody else comes in.

Of course your luck is never that good and the door opens pretty much as soon as you settle on the cool metal of the dryer. You don't look up, mostly because if you pretend you haven't noticed them, they can't start a conversation but also if you look up and he's standing there you're going to curl up into a ball and die of embarrassment.

Your plan works perfectly until the mystery person pipes up.

“What you reading?” You know the voice without having to look up, of all the people. It had to be him, you know your luck isn't amazing but you didn't think it was that bad.

This would be your que to curl up and die, only you can't ignore him. It's rude and you don't hate him so you make the decision to look up from your book. You, however, immediately regret your decision to do that because why does he look like that? Part of you wishes he could be on his knees in front of you again but that part of you is clearly unstable and is to be ignored at all costs.

You paint a polite smile over your face, in hopes he can't figure out how many times you've come with his name on your lips. You lift up the book to show him, he doesn't really strike you as the reading type so you have no problem showing him and if you show him the cover he might not ask questions. He nods, you think for a moment he's going to ask what it's about but he doesn't. He actually doesn't say anything else, he just goes about his laundry.

You're not entirely sure how you feel about the fact that he didn't continue the conversation, technically you have no reason for it to bother you. Especially since you didn't want to talk anyway but something about the fact he says nothing annoys you.

You can't help but watch him, hunched over the machine. The black t-shirt he's wearing has no right being that tight, you can see the muscles in his back whenever he moves and you know all he's doing is loading clothes into a washing machine but god his arms.

He must feel your eyes on him because he looks up, you meet his eyes before you avert them quickly back to your book because that was mortifying. Seriously it's just a guy in a black t-shirt and you're basically drooling over him, god you're better than this. You swear you hear him chuckle which serves to both annoy and embarrass you.

The chime of your cycle being over literally cannot come fast enough. You have never unloaded one of those machines faster, you grab what you think is all of your shit and basically run up the stairs because anything is better than being in a room with him in his stupid sexy t-shirt with his dumb muscles and deep voice.

You retreat to the familiar safety of your room for the rest of the day, stress reading your book to get past the awfulness of that encounter.

That is until you hear the front door open, obviously since you have a roommate you think nothing of it until you hear said roommate call you to the door, because today couldn't get any worse. You go to the door, expecting a delivery or a salesman she needs you to get rid of but obviously you're not that lucky because the universe must hate you.

Standing at the door is, of course, Keegan because who else would be at your door? What could he possibly want? He doesn't seem like the type of guy to make fun of people, let alone seek someone out to do so.

You make your way to the door, which is arguably the last place you want to be right now. As you pass your friend she punches you like this is a good thing because you may or may not have told her what happened at the party and she's very, very set on getting you laid. That's not what's going to happen though.

You stand in the doorway and watch as his eyes drift slowly down your body, when he meets your eyes again you can tell that he's smirking, not that you can see his mouth but you know.

“You left everything but your glass slippers, princess.” He holds out the detergents you had taken down there with you.

“Oh” really, you know that you should use more words than that, because you do know more words than that or you think you do. Right now it doesn't matter because you're trying to will your brain to pick between saying thanks and sorry.

“Sonks” clearly you are not stronger willed than your brain. You take the bottles from his, still, outstretched hands while hoping that a you-sized sinkhole would appear beneath you.

“Thanks, and sorry for making you come all the way up here. Bye.” he barely has a chance to answer before you're shutting the door.

You put the detergent on the kitchen counter and then proceed to put your head there too because what the fuck was that? A one way ticket to forever being the one girl that can't even talk. You then start to realise how rude it was to slam the door essentially on his face when he was being nice and then you feel even worse about everything.

Not much you can do about it now anyway so you put the detergents away because this day couldn't get any worse. If you weren't hiding in your room before, you are now. Forever. Unless you're called out by your friend or need to cook so that she doesn't burn down the apartment. You like your room anyway, so big deal, and you can probably get enough sunlight from the windows not to get a vitamin D deficiency and if not there's always supplements.

“Honey!” your best friend and roommate has taken to calling you that, usually when she gets home from work but it's kinda just stuck. “Whose number is on the fabric softener?”

Before you really have time to move, she's bursting into your room, as she does.

“Bet it's his.” she has also already taken your phone which you now regret giving her the password to. Luckily your brain catches up before she sends a message that starts with ‘hey sexy’

You forget for a moment that the world hates you and everything sucks because you in fact don't delete the message, instead you manage to press send, like an idiot but it's fine. Maybe he doesn't use his phone at all, or maybe it fell out of his pocket down a flight of stairs or maybe he broke his neck.

Clearly not because he reads it before you have the good sense to delete it. Clearly, all that can be learnt from today is that luck doesn't exist and everything sucks and you're never gonna end up in bed with this man, ever.

[thilsworld]

[Nov 2nd 2024]

Today I went on a 6km walk for a fundraiser event for Kim Hongjoong's birthday! 🎉

Well, the goal was 6km, but in the end according to my phone it was 7km, and according to my mom's fitbit watch it was 7.8km. Guess overachieving is just the norm for me nowadays.

I never really go on walks, it's not my thing. Either you're in a park and there's people and I am bad at basic social cues meaning I hate small talk (even saying hi as you pass someone I'll overthink). Or you're near traffic, and that's overwhelming in terms of sounds, lights, and fast moving objects in my peripheral all the time.

BUT, I joined a sponsor event!!

Basically for the birthday of singer Kim Hongjoong of the band Ateez, he was partnering with Global6kWorldVision to raise funds for water supplies for a more rural area in Africa. So to support my favorite singer and his goals to help out the world, I decided to participate in the event! 🧡

After donating the entry fee of €8, everyone was sent a file of a participation number. Like those you'd also get when running a marathon with a number on your chest. You'd print these, take a picture with it, walk or run 6km, and post a screenshot of your tracking app as proof of participation.

With the autumn weather it was definitely a bit cold for such a long walk, but the beautiful scenery made up for it.

I was a bit dumb though, cause I own hiking shoes. However, my dumbass put on my scensory safe sneakers which have velcro straps to close them. Which is good for short distances, but because the velcro doesn't close the shoes as tightly as hiking shoes would, I now have blisters 🥲

However I also got to see some pretty parks, and also walked past this small farm with 2 donkeys, a bunch of chickens, and some bunnies! 🐇

Lowkey my hair looks so nice in that picture with the donkeys!? It never looks that wavy but I love it 🤭

I didn't use my headphones for the majority of my walk, but the last 1km was on the sidewalk next to busy roads, meaning I was getting overwhelmed by the traffic noises FAST!

Luckily Hongjoong had also prepped a playlist for everyone participating, so I got to listen to some songs by him and his group, some old classics from artists like David Bowie and Michael Jackson, and some more pop-rock-esque songs from my own teen years since he is the same age range as me and grew up on similar music, such as Twenty One Pilots, Paramore and Panic! At The Disco. My personal favorite song from the playlist and thus my song recommendation of the day: Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars 💛

Since it's also just 2 days after Halloween, some people still had decorations up, which was nice to see since our country doesn't even really celebrate Halloween. But this one neighbour was fully decked out with amazing decorations and there were trick or treat tables by front doors and stuff, so I'm guessing that specific neighbourhood had decided to celebrate together for the kids there, which was so cute 🎃

So yeah, while I don't really like going on walks due to sensory overwhelm, and the muscle pain and blisters afterwards are telling me to never do it again, I did have a lot of fun doing this, and I'm glad I could participate in this fundraiser event.

The rest of the day I just sat in my comfy chair watching Netflix btw. I deserved to recharge after that walk 😂

To end of this blog entry, 3 positive things of today I'm grateful for:

After I got home from the long walk I made soup and my mom made French toast, so I had a nice warm lunch after exploring the cold outside world 🍂

I am proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone and going on this walk while trying out some new coping strategies I learned in therapy for my autistic sensory overwhelm 🩷

When I got home my cat Storm fell asleep in my lap and on top of my arm. It was a bit impractical to have 1 arm be trapped under his weight, but he was too cute to move him. I'll put a picture of him here 🥹

Thank you for reading!

Much love,

- Thil ✨

[a-s-levynn]

14, 23 & 36 so you're not bored on the train❤️‍🩹

🫶🏻 you are far too kind to indulge my compulsive need to overshare

this got long again, so there is a cut again but the questions are:

biggest turn offs, relationship with siblings and where i'd like to live

14: Biggest turn offs

Ooooh there is a few but the biggest one is when people become like.. creepy weird? I know this is very vague. Let me give an example:

When someone is not self-identical to a blearing point. If i pick up on someone trying to match their interest with mine just for the sole purpose to please me, to get my.. approval? Make me happy? Make themself more likeable? More interesting? Please no. I don't know what to do with that. It just weirds me out immensly. I know what it's like to keep quiet about what you like, otherwise you get shat on but it's a whole another beast when one tries to just lay under you just like that. I love love love the fact that people like different things and can talk about it and share it and stuff and then genuinly share those interests. But when someone isn't genuinly tries to like the same crap same as you, and faking to share the same interests as you? I had people who have done it because for some inexplicable reason found me cool (which i'm not, never was never will be, trust me on this) and started to try to match me. And it is so incredibly weird to witness when someone just morphs from a nice, fun individual to this weird twisted reflection of how they see you. That is so uncomfortable. Especially because first you can't differentiate if it's genuin or not because we all want people the share our interests with and it's so exciting when you find someone who is matching your weird. But then there is that few who is the above mentioned type. Don't get me wrong i get that it might be coming from a genuinly sad place of always being rejected before for their interests and whatnot and just wanting to make friends or relationships but there is a point when it get's just so uncanny for me to handle.

23: My relationship with my sibling(s)

My closest sibling on the family tree is my older brother and i love him to bits. We weren't very close for most of our teenage years and few after that. But it started to flip since he moved countries to live, somewhere about a decade ago. We talked more and more since then and by now we speak almost every day, we play video games regularly together, sometimes even talk about like.. what's not fine in our lives and stuff.. ya know, like actual sibling talks. We still can drive each other up the wall like no other but nowdays we would bite trough anyone's throat if talked shit on the other. That is our privilage to do.

My cusins.. we are on good terms, we meet sometimes but i don't stress it because they both have smaller kids and i'm not really compatible with kids. I don't know what to do with them.

36: Where I would like to live

Honestly anywhere where my job is paid properly and the sunshine is less and the base temperature is lower. Definitely farther north then i currently am. Maybe England or even upwards. I'm not sure. I don't think much about it. But definitely close to a large city. For the longest time i thought a small house in the middle of nowhere by a forest or on a beach would be for me, and it might if i'd had someone to be there with but as long as i'm alone? Yeah i need the faceless movement of a large city. It somehow makes me more comfortable and i feel emotionally safer.. it somehow makes me feel less alone even when i very much am in the crowd. It's weird. Especially with the fact that i grew up in the outskirts of a smaller city, very much in a suburban area with a very quiet neighbourhood and gardens and birds and all that. It's nice for like.. a weekend or a vacation but i don't know. I became a city person and i don't know how well would i do without it, especially on my own.

[jasontoddswhitestreak]

something more

(originally posted by alpha-bug)

summary: where pietro confesses his feelings to you without actually confessing them to you, through a necklace. inspired by this prompt list.

content warning: pietro maximoff x fem!reader (i’ll try to write more gender neutral fics in the future!) obviously set in a world where he survives and civil war doesn’t happen. (friends to lovers, mutual pining and pietro being a sap.)

note: okay so this is my first fic in a while so i’m sorry if this sucks </3 i want to write more pietro/peter fics so please send requests ! (also lemme know if you can guess the movie bucky was confused about !)

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

masterlist

"You're staring." Wanda points out, idly watching the older twin stare at the person who clouded his thoughts, not that Wanda needed to read his mind to know that.

"Don't you have something better to do?" Pietro scoffed, unwillingly looking away to glance at his sister. She chuckled, turning away from her brother to check on the pot on the stove, before continuing to chop the vegetables scattered on the chopping board.

"Don't you?" She simply asked, humming to the song playing out loud from her phone, Pietro's eyes were drawn back to you.

You were explaining the plot of a movie to Bucky who stared at the screen in pure confusion. "I don't get it? He killed her but he loved her?" Bucky asked you, in response you shook your head exasperated. "You saw her give birth right after, how could she be dead if she was naming her kids Buck?" You asked, glancing up when you heard the footsteps of someone approaching you.

"You're not replacing me with this old man, right?" Pietro teased, moving to sit next to you, reclining back on the couch, arm around your waist. You rolled your eyes at what he said, automatically leaning into him as the three of you continued to watch the movie playing on the big screen in front of you. The two of you barely noticed when Bucky decided to leave, too caught up with one another to bother caring about what's going on in your surroundings. You pushed him away from you when he tried to steal the m&ms you were currently snacking on only for him to pour most of the packet into his mouth.

"You disgust me Maximoff." You scoffed, biting back the smile forcing its way up. "And you love it Prinţesă." Pietro retorts, his eyes meeting yours. You opened your mouth to say something but nothing could come to mind, it was common for Pietro to randomly call you nicknames but that doesn't mean you were used to it, especially when he'd use pet-names.

Your friendship with Pietro came as a surprise to the rest of the Avengers years ago due to the differences in your personality but if you asked any of them what they thought about your friendship now they'd complain about how clueless the two of you are to the other person's feelings.

Somehow in the chaos that the two of you called your 'friendship', the line between platonic feelings and romantic feelings blurred. Pietro isn't the type of guy to steer away from romance but this situation was entirely different to anything he experienced. He cant just tell his closest friend that he loved you, he couldn't tell you how when he holds you in his arms it pains him to let go. How could he tell you that? After everything that happened to him in the past, the wall he built around his emotions to protect himself began to crumble and you were the cause of it. Pietro always struggled to talk about his feelings, his past. He felt the urge to protect himself and his twin from anything that could hurt them, he didn't want to make the same mistake again.

The unintentional movie night led to the two of you continuing to hanging out in Pietro's room hours later. It was your nightly ritual to watch an episode or two of a show that Pietro usually wouldn't want to watch before the two of you go to bed. Pietro was in the far end of his room, fumbling with something in the palm of his hand while you sat comfortably in the middle of his bed, head resting on one of his pillows as you set up the show on the laptop.

"For someone as quick as you, you sure are taking your sweet time doing whatever it is you're doing."

Pietro glanced back at you in surprise, almost like he forgot what he was supposed to be doing, too busy staring at the dainty chain tangled in the palm of his hands, with a small engagement ring at the end, in place of a pendant capturing all of Pietro's attention. It was fit for a petite woman. The silver was slightly scratched. Two slightly larger silver stones surrounded a slightly larger stone, although quite dull at first glance the engraving on the inside showed was still noticeable.

"I'm in no rush, dragoste mea." He chuckles, shoving the necklace into his pocket before moving to take his shirt off to put on a different one while continuing to speak. Your eyes followed his movements, subtly admiring his body as his muscles unintentionally flexed which resulted in you feeling your cheeks heat up, quickly looking away to not get caught checking out one of your best friends.

"You know I still don't know how I feel about Vision hanging around my sister." Pietro confesses, his overprotectiveness towards his younger sister evident as he continues to replay what occurred during dinner hours ago, Wanda confessing she wouldn't mind moving to a rural neighbourhood with Vision instead of staying at the Avengers Headquarters.

"People can't control who they fall in love with Pietro." You sighed tiredly not realising the irony behind your words, it wasn't the first time Pietro mentioned his hesitation towards the Android.

"People can't, robots can." He scoffed, walking to the dresser to put away his shirt, now wearing a pale blue shirt instead of the charcoal grey T-shirt he was previously wearing.

He moved to the bed, sitting beside you before shifting around to get comfortable. Your hand reaches out to the laptop to begin the episode only for Pietro's hand to place his above yours, stopping you.

"Since we're on this subject..." he paused to pull the necklace from his pockets before holding the necklace out towards you, letting the ring dangle from the chain between the two of you, twisting and turning because of the sudden movements.

You glanced at Pietro in confusion, eyebrows furrowed. He then pulls the hand that was covered by his own and turning it so your palm faced upwards, dropping the necklace in your hand. You held the necklace between your fingers, admiring the gems on the ring before noticing the engraving etched on the inside of the engagement band.

"I+O?" You read out the engraving in confusion, eyes meeting Pietro's soft gaze. He paused for a bit, struggling to put together a sentence that wouldn't cause the wall he created to completely collapse.

"Irina and Oleg, my parents. This was my mother's engagement ring. It was apart of the few belongings they've managed to find after what happened." He gently takes the necklace from you, signalling you to turn away from him so he can put it around your neck. Gently pushing all your hair to the side you felt goosebumps rise wherever Pietro's fingers grazed on your skin, the familiar heat rising in your cheeks once again.

You were secretly relieved that he couldn't see your reaction, the unspoken tension between the two of you currently was unbearable. You looked down at the ring, twirling it around with ur fingers while Pietro continued to speak.

"We decided that Wanda should keep our father's ring since he barely acknowledged me as his son, let alone a person." Pietro chuckles dryly.

Pietro turns you to face him, palm resting on your left cheek. "It looks good on you Draga Mea." He compliments you, eyes glancing down to your lips ever so often. "Why did you decide to give it to me?" You whispered, struggling to find your own voice.

Pietro's mouth curved into a smile, his thumb gently stroking your face

"Can't you tell?" He asked.

"Hmmm i think I'm going to have to hear you say it." You teased, smiling up at him, arms sliding around his neck pulling him closer towards you. He rolled his eyes feigning annoyance before telling you what you wanted to hear.

The next morning Wanda lightly knocked on her brother's door, wondering why he wasn't at breakfast. Waiting a couple moments for a response Wanda slowly opened the door only to be met with with the two of you lying in bed in each other’s arms,  the laptop ended up at the edge of the bed as you completely forgot about it after the events of last night. Pietro had his arms tightly wrapped around your waist while your head rested on his chest, the two of you smiling contently.

"They're good for each-other." Wanda whispers to her partner who stood beside her.

"They are indeed."

[jungkooks-left-tiddie]

I think I’m in love | knj.

Summary: Your new internship sucked ass. It was fun, but exhausting at the same time. It also didn’t help that uni was also stressing you out. Amidst all this pressure and stress, perhaps a midnight walk on the Han River with your crush Kim Namjoon is what you needed all along. A/N: so I saw this namjoon picture circulating around stan twitter and my 3am sleep deprived ass decided to write a Drabble. 1 hour and 2k words later, here we are.

Words: 2k (maybe more idk I didn’t count)

Warnings: grammar issues, 4am writing

Song rec: I think I’m in love (kat dahlia)

———————————————————————————

“You’ve never been to the Han River at night?” Screams of outrage filled the silent room as you shook your head.

“I’ve never had the need to,” You frowned, feeling a little lost. “Plus it’s not like my parents would have let me.”

“Have you ever heard of something called sneaking out?” Jimin continued berating you and you couldn’t help but feel a little upset.

“Look, I know it may seem like Jimin-hyung is overreacting, but he’s not.” Jungkook clarified and made you feel even worse. “Han River is amazing at night.” The 3 boys nodded as if it were a common fact.

“You guys aren’t making this any better, y’know.” You frowned yet again.

They continued describing how mesmerising the river looked at night and you could do nothing but frown and continue doing your work.

Unbeknownst to you, Kim Namjoon kept sneaking glances at you from where he was seated. He wasn’t even trying to be subtle and that got on Yoongi’s nerves.

“Just ask them out, for fucks sake.” Yoongi massaged his eyes as Seokjin and Hoseok tried not to laugh.

“What do you mean?” Namjoon pretended to not know what Yoongi’s words meant and noted down a few more points for his assignment.

“Please tell me Namjoon did not just ask that,” Yoongi took a deep breath before proceeding, “Look, we all know that you have the most obvious crush on (Y/N) so just go and confess ok?”

It was true. Ever since you’d moved into the flat right opposite to his, Namjoon’s been talking about you non-stop.

But he continued to pretend like he didn’t hear Yoongi.

Seokjin and Hoseok, who were tired of their constant bickering and Namjoon’s denial, decided to take matters into their own hands.

“Yoongi’s right Joon,” Seokjin shared a mischievous glance with Hoseok before continuing, “If you don’t do anything, we will.” He declared, standing up and making his way to where you were sitting with Hoseok following in suit.

Namjoon started panicking even more when Yoongi decided to join Jin and Hobi as well, because he knew; oh he knew that they would not hold back. So he quickly ran after them and tried to convince them to back out.

“Guys, come on!” He begged, “I promise I will ask them out one day, but please please don’t do anything now,” It was too late now. Taehyung had spotted the lot of them walking up to your table.

“(Y/N), look!” You winced as Jungkook elbowed you harshly.

“What, dumbass--”  Kim Namjoon was standing in front of you.

For a moment, you felt your entire surroundings become a blur and you could only see Kim Namjoon in all his 6ft glory. And as soon as it came, it was gone because you had to remind yourself that people were watching.

“Jin-hyung! What’s up?” Jungkook hits the other man’s arm in greeting.

“Stop hitting me, punk,” They started doing their own thing again, forcing Hoseok to take over.

“We heard you guys talk something about rivers and we were bored so we decided to join lmao,” Hoseok dragged one of the chairs from a nearby table and slumped.

“Damn, I didn’t realise we were that loud,” Tae rubbed his neck sheepishly.

“It was necessary though! I mean it's not everyday we come to know that our best friend never visited the Han River at night,” All eyes were on you after Jimin’s statement.

“Wait (Y/N) really?” You nodded reluctantly. “I lived pretty far away plus I had strict parents so…” You hoped they would drop the topic here, and were extremely thankful when they did.

“Well, I'm sure you’ll have plenty more opportunities to visit. So don’t worry!” Seokjin cheered you up a little.

Your phone started ringing from nowhere and apparently your boss wanted you to collect some files to write a report on from the main office so you quickly informed your friends and bade them farewell.

Collecting the files wasn't the hard part. The hard part was walking home with no one except your thoughts to keep you company. You thought about what your friends said about the Han river and decided to make a trip if you were done with your work.

It sucked to admit it, but they were probably right. The Han River must be really mesmerising for them to talk about it so much and you found yourself suddenly envious of the rest of them.

Night strolls weren’t an option in your old neighbourhood; and though the new one wasn’t bad, you were busy with both uni and your internship. I mean being able to read your fanfics itself was a luxury and these hoes expected you to take a leisure stroll? Keep dreaming luv <3

You said all that to say, but you were still thinking about going there tonight. It seemed like immense fun and plus, it would be your first midnight stroll. You just hoped, with all your might, that you would be able to finish the work as soon as possible.

Lo and behold! 3 cups of coffee later, you were done!

To celebrate, you blasted some music on the speakers and danced along to the lyrics, bopping your head along to the beats.

Namjoon looked at your dancing form through his window. You seemed like you were having a lot of fun, he concluded, an amused  grin now apparent on his face. Judging by the way you seemed to have fun, Namjoon concluded that you must've been done with the work you mentioned you had.

Namjoon did not know the practicality of this, but he had a very random idea to take you on a riverside date. And you know what? He was going to do it. Fuck Yoongi, he’s going to prove it to the rest of them that he, indeed, could ask you out.

And so he took out a random book and wrote a message on it, Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me style.

He did not know where this sudden confidence came from, but he took a small pebble from his rock collection and chucked it across to make sure it hit your window (yes, he was careful not to break it) and waited for your response.

You, on the other hand, were confused. Your mini-dance session was interrupted by a clink! Against your window and you went to check for the source of the sound; only to be met with Kim Namjoon’s waving form.

You panicked internally, not knowing what to do in front of the man you obviously had a thing for. And you were even more confused when he held up a paper with something on it.

“Do you want to go on a riverside walk with me?” It read.

Apparently, you could not form words so that’s fun =D. Instead, you chose to stand there like 🧍🏽and just nod in response. Namjoon gave you a beautiful dimpled smile with a thumbs up before closing the curtains to his window and switching his lights off.

It was only now that you were hit with the epiphany that you were going on what was essentially a midnight date with the Kim Namjoon and boy, oh boy, you were most certainly NOT prepared for it.

Rushing to your closet, you threw on your most comfortable pair of outerwear (and of course made sure you looked presentable) before chewing like 5 breath mints and grabbing your scarf (and your apartment keys) to go and meet Namjoon.

“Hey,” He smiled.

“Hey,” You replied, still breathless.

“Ready to go?” Namjoon asked and you nodded in response. You noticed that he hid something in his bag but made no comment and instead fell into a steady pace beside him.

The walk to the river was not awkward at all, thanks to Namjoon’s ability to radiate comfort. Which was a blessing cause otherwise you would definitely have embarrassed yourself by now.

You didn't even realise that you’d reached your destination until you noticed the numerous cars and lights.

“Woah.” You had no words for the sight in front of you.

“It's beautiful, isn't it?” Namjoon chuckled and sighed, “I love coming here. It never gets old.” He stares off into the distance.

You get it now. The way the bridge lit up, the view, the vibe, everything. It was enthralling. And the fact that it was Namjoon who was with you made this 1000 times better.

You were so absorbed with admiring the view in front of you that your dumbass didn't notice Namjoon staring at you. There was just something so absolutely adorable and endearing in the way your eyes lit up and seemed to sparkle at the sight in front of the both of you.

“Namjoon, look!” You grab the sleeve of his hoodie, “Purple lights!” He quickly snaps a picture of not only the scenery in front of him, but also you. You who were so excited to see this view at midnight for the first time.

You spent a bit more time admiring the view, goofing off, and taking pictures before finally deciding that it was time for the both of you to head back. As upset as you were, you took comfort in knowing that you could visit this place more often hereon.

The conversation on the walk back home was one that you would never forget.

“No way… Here I was thinking that alpha and beta were just limited to greek alphabet and math,” The look of horror on Namjoon’s face when you explained omegaverse was something that you desperately wanted a picture of, and regretted not taking one.

“It’s a thing that definitely exists, and though I may not be a fan of it; I think a lot of people are into that kind of thing.”

“Interesting,” He comments, pausing. “Say, would the title ‘My Alpha mate’ qualify as omegaverse?” His sudden question caught you off guard.

“I think so… Why do you ask?”

“I think… I think Yoongi-hyung is into omegaverse.” Even though you did not mean to, you burst out in laughter. Yoongi being into reading stories centering around dom alpha mating rituals was something you never needed to know but were glad you did.

You continued explaining the various fanfiction tropes to the other male, especially your favourite ones.

“Oh, I once remember reading this amazing Zuko, Sokka and Suki fic somewhere and I genuinely think that it should be nominated for the Nobel prize,” Namjoon looked at you affectionately while you rambled about the plot of the story.

“And at the end--” You paused, looking behind you and caught Namjoon standing with a camera in his hands.

“Sorry, you just looked so beautiful, I had to take a picture.” You were sure you looked like the capillaries in your face burst.

There were a lot of things Namjoon was proud about, and making you blush that hard was definitely on his top 5.

“L-let’s go, dork.” You try your best to brush it off but KIM NAMJOON JUST COMPLIMENTED YOU STFU OK YOU WERE ALLOWED TO CRY.

Anyways, y’all reached your apartment complex sooner than the both of you wanted, and honestly? Neither of you wanted the other to go.

“So,” “Actually--” You both begin at the same time. Flustered, you gestured to Namjoon to go ahead with what he wanted to say and assured him that what you wanted to say wasn’t of any major importance.

“I actually bought something for you,” He took a small bag out of his backpack and handed it to you. “It’s a collection of poems and short stories that i wrote for-for you,” He flushed and avoided making eye-contact with you.

“Namjoon, I--”

“You don’t need to read it, but I just wanted to give them to you because… because I really like you.” It was your turn to blush (again).

“Of course I will read it, you idiot. I’m literally in love with you, what makes you think I won't?” Namjoon widened his eyes and proceeded to smile bashfully, pulling you into a tight hug.

“You have no idea how happy I am right now,” He admits, swaying you around in his arms. You nuzzle deeper into his warm embrace and whisper--

“Thank you for everything, Joonie.”

[hiro-gari]

In the meantime of me running out of new ideas to write for, I'm gonna share this older headcanon that I have in my draft to you:

Do we have an AU where Garou and Badd are neighbours who hated eachother but eventually become friends or more because their pets are bonded first? Despite their houses are practically side-by-side, they're always get into petty fights over something silly. Zenko guessed it was just them having secret crush on eachother but totally in denial over their feelings.

Until each of their respective pet start getting along with eachother first.

Badd has a second cat, one of Tama's kitten which Badd still keep while the others had already adopted by his classmates, a tuxedo cat who likes to intrude into Garou's house through his window and steal his breakfast or napping on top of Garou's dog.

Garou has a big white fluffy malamute dog, a puppy he got from his father Bang as a birthday gift years ago so Garou wont feels lonely in his new home, who likes to jump over Badd's -unfortunately short- fence and playing with Badd's cat on his front porch.

Although the tuxedo cat somehow really looks alike and acting just like Badd, and the giant white malamute is basically Garou's doppelganger in a dog form, they're affectionate to eachother everytime they play together.

The tuxedo cat almost never shown his adorable side of him except for Badd's family, as he would be the crankiest cat ever with any strangers. But the kitty strangely becomes attached with the fluffy dog since their first met. He always trying to get outside to see his favorite puppy friend and spend more time with the doggo, no matter what and how. The kitty just likes to be near the warm presence of that fluffy and charming dog, 3rd place after Zenko's and Badd's. Thus the tuxedo cat often caught on loitering around Garou's house, making Badd must come to his -hated- neighbour to collect the cat back.

On the other hand, at the first time coming into Garou's house, the white malamute felt a bit lonely. He was happy to have such caring hooman butler who adores him, but he wanted more friend to play with. Until the dog saw an adorable tuxedo cat chilling out in the middle of small garden on the next house across the fence. He fell in love instantly and wanna knows more about this little kitty. Cue the malamute often caught on peeking from the fence or even jumping over it, ruining Badd's small garden after it got trampled on by the dog's big paws.

Surprisingly, the cat and the dog are becomes bestfurrends much faster than their hooman butlers, putting Garou and Badd in a big shame, courtesy by the exasperated Zenko. How come two animals who are supposed to be sworn enemies, cat and dog, could be more friendly to eachother than them??

If only Garou and Badd could be more honest for their hidden feelings, maybe their relationship would improved alot. Ironically, it was their pets who helped them out.

Since their look-alike animal counterparts love eachother so much, sometimes Garou and Badd went for a play date for them on the local park, or visiting eachother's house when their pets are playing in one's house. After many friendly interactions, slowly they developed new feelings and realizing they're not frenemies anymore.

On several occasions when Garou let Badd's tuxedo cat have sleepover on his house, he was witnessing how affectionate the "so-called crankiest cat in the world" towards his malamute dog could be.

The cat always grooming the dog's fluffy fur or his head not caring about their size difference, snuggling with the dog and trying to fit himself into the dog's space as close as possible asking for a cuddle time together, letting out those rare sweet meows everytime he tried to get attention from the dog, giving those slow-blinks kitty kisses whenever they're gazing on eachother or gentle headbutts whenever the dog feels sad, etc.

Garou often wished if it was Badd and him in those positions, feeling pathetic for getting so envious for their pets' lovey dovey moments. He admitted to himself that secretly he fell in love with Badd, especially after they're finally get along after spending more time with him nowadays.

But Garou still couldn't confess his feeling he has for Badd since he doesn't know if Badd likes him enough or not. It would be very awkward moment if Badd rejected him and they ended up back into square one, ruining whatever friendship they have built together before.

Unbeknown by Garou, Badd was also experiencing the same thing. Everytime Badd pet-sitting Garou's dog for awhile whenever Garou wasn't home to visit his father's house, or watching over his cat playing with the big white malamute at his front yard, he couldn't deny that the relationship their pets were having together was very sweet, actually.

The malamute always so playful and becomes such an attention seeker around his cat, also being all goof and adorkable despite most of the time the dog was just like his owner: chaotic cocky bastard (at least in Badd's eyes). Successfully turning his own grumpy cranky cat into a cuddly soft kitty.

Especially when they both were chilling out on the front porch, Badd would find them curling up together with his cat buried himself into the malamute's fluffy fur, sleeping between the dog's front paws, or peacefully loafing on his back.

One time the malamute also protecting his cat from a gang of neighbourhood feral cats, Badd totally didn't expect that goofy cloud of fur could be looking so terrifying like a wolf when he was in protective mode. Fortunately there's no actual fight happening between them and those feral cats, though. But Badd could see his kitty becomes much more affectionate than before towards Garou's dog as an appreciation.

Badd knows he shouldn't be envious for his own pet because the kitty has a better relationship than himself, yet he couldn't help but longing for Garou's love.

At that time, they have already managed to form a good friendship and Badd was glad they're not fighting out of pettiness anymore. It was just, Badd starting to see Garou as more than a friend. Since they become closer, he has discovered Garou's softer side and Badd was fallen so hard for him because of it.

The problem is only how to confess to Garou without ended up being awkward. He didn't want to misinterpreted Garou's flirty acts towards him during those "play date" time. Did Garou really means his flirtateous attempts as a serious thing or just a joke? If he misinterpret it, Badd was afraid he would be a laughing stock for Garou while he suffered a broken heart alone.

So, in the end, Garou and Badd were still being so oblivious to the other's very OBVIOUS feeling. Everyone around them could see the former hating neighbours slowly falling in love with eachother, yet never make a move. Very frustating to watch, honestly.

But at one night, when the exhausted-from-working Badd visiting Garou's house to retrieve his cat back home, he decided to take a brief nap on the living room. Garou asked if he wanna have sleepover over there since it was weekend, and he would let Zenko knows that her big brother was staying overnight at his home. Badd just nodded weakly, already feels the sleepiness coming for him.

Looking at how uncomfortable Badd's sleeping position on the couch, Garou carefully lifted Badd up in bridal style, before walking towards his bedroom so Badd could sleep on his cozy bed while Garou sleeps on the couch. But before he could leave, Badd grabbed Garou's hand to prevent him from leaving him alone. He told Garou that they could sleep together on the bed, since it was Garou's own bed and it's big enough for two people.

At first, Garou was hesitated because what if Badd just sleep-talking in half-sleep and would regret any of his words in the morning? But seeing Badd's reddened face yet still persistent on making Garou stay based on the strong grip of Badd's hand on his wrist, Garou was grinning happily. That means Badd was fully conscious of what he had said and taking it serious.

Hence Garou immediately scooting over beside Badd on the bed, taking a warm blanket and covered their bodies with it. Then Badd shifted closer until he was practically curling up against Garou's body like a cat, seeking warmth from the wolfy man. Even purring and snuggling on Garou's chest when Garou put his arm on Badd's back, embracing the smaller man which made Badd gets comfortable sleep. Soon enough Garou also followed Badd to the dreamland.

Meanwhile..

Both were oblivious that two pairs of eyes were watching them from the opened door. The kitty and the dog felt happy that their butlers finally having sweet moment of their own, too. They wished the hoomans would keep being lovey-dovey so the four of them could have double date together soon. Like, a real date and not the "play date" anymore.

It was so tiring to see the butlers' mutual pining, in which it took forever to make them realized their own feelings. But now that the mutual pining era was over, they feel relieved.

The malamute dog entered Garou's bedroom, then laid on a fluffy carpet beside the bed while staring at the cat, as if he was inviting the cat to join him. The tuxedo cat quietly following him and plopped on the dog's belly, curling up into a small ball of fur before closing his eyes.

The cat was purring in joy when the dog gave kisses to him (or more like muzzle nudging), before putting his front paw around kitty's body in a protective manner. The fluffy duo then also following their butlers into dreamland, too.

Now, both of the sleeping couples looked the same: Badd and the kitty were sleeping in their respective lover's warm embrace..

---------------------------

----- THE END ----

--------------------------

Notes:

Aaaah finally I can finish this! I was almost getting writer's block again but still struggling to fight against it, and here we are we got one writing finished so yayyy 😅💦

I hope this silly headcanon could entertain you all, but I apologized if this looks very low quality as always I'm so sorry please forgive me 🙇

@hiro-gari @the-goddessfighter @garous-nipple

Thank you so much for willing to write this lowly writing of mine, I always grateful for you.. 😭🙏💕💖 Have a nice weekend, everyone! 😉👍🌸🌺🌼🌻💐

-Little1993lamb-

--------------------------

THIS IS SO CUTE I CAN’T- 💗💕

First of all, I love their respective animal counterparts, they fit so well for both of them 🥰 Angery tuxedo cat for Badd, and a giant floofy malamute for Garou omggg

I love how, of all things, they gotta have their PETS lay it out for them before they finally start to Get It™️. Like everyone around them sees it but nope 😤 they’re wrong, they’re meant to hate each other.

But when their pets become bff’s despite the obvious size difference and being entirely different SPECIES... Oh ok maybe we can get along 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

Ghhhhsksk the END SCENE is so sweeet I have cavities 😩💗 I rlly liked how Garou was like, oh no, he’s delusional :’) That’s so him oh my god, I love them sm, this is so precious!!

Thank you for putting so much work into writing these for us, it is so appreciated, we love to see it!! 😘💗

[mimi-cee-hq]

Embarrassing Moments, Endearing Moments - Shibayama x Reader

Pairing: Shibayama x fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff!!

Summary: Y/n often feels embarrassed in front of Shibayama. But when she steps out of her comfort zone and intentionally embarrasses herself for him, he decides to tell her something.

Warnings: Dateko manga spoiler

Other Tags: Getting together, meet cute, big brother!Inuoka, second year Shibayama (for most of it), a Dateko vs Nekoma match

Author’s Notes: This is a match-up story for an anonymous who gets easily embarrassed :) I finally wrote this! I hope you like this. Match-up request description is at the end.

Also, this is for the Haikyuu Writers Monthly Prompt Event. I used Summer for the Summer Interhigh tournament. lol.

General Taglist: @dorkyama @the-black-birb @hqprotectionsquad @nagichi-kenma @moonaaluna @muffins-puffins (let me know if you want to be added or removed)

Word Count: 2,233

*****

At Yamamoto Akane’s direction, the cheers went silent as they anticipated the next serve. Futakuchi dribbled the ball, searching for the player he was targeting. The score was 24-23, match point for Dateko.

Y/n tugged at the sleeve of the oversized jacket draped over her shoulders and hands. Her palms were moist and contained imprints from her nails.

Shibayama stiffened on the court yet kept his eyes on the ball. Knowing this could be their last point at the Summer Nationals, Y/n closed her eyes and clenched her hands, thinking of her memories with Shibayama. Still shaking, she quickly inhaled and pushed out a yell from the stands. “GANBATTE SHIBAYAMA!”

And then she fled - not wanting to see all eyes in the stadium looking at her.

*****

Colored pencils laid across the kitchen table. Y/n had set aside a dark blue one for the hair and a light lavender one for the eyes. As she wore her headphones listening to her favourite music, she held a silver colored pencil as she added the finishing touches to fill in the drawing of a metal plate.

“There!” she grinned to herself as she held up the picture of her favourite Naruto character.

“Oh! I like that character too!”

Y/n screamed and fell off her chair. With her bottom feeling sore, she looked up to see Shibayama standing in front of her.

“Ack! I’m sorry!” Shibayama panicked, bowing repeatedly to her. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Hiding her face in her hands, Y/n promptly stood up, startling Shibayama. Running towards the kitchen doorway, she bumped into Inuoka.

“Oh! There you are Y/n!” he said. She tried to walk around him, but he just grinned as he kept blocking her exit. “Did you meet Shibayama yet?”

Y/n, whose face got redder by the second, muttered to him, “Nii-chan, you didn’t tell me anyone was coming over.”

“Actually I did,” Inuoka laughed as he pointed out her headphones. “Anyway, go say hi.” He shoved Y/n back into the kitchen, knowing there was no way else to get her through her nerves.

After he placed Y/n right in front of their guest, Shibayama said with a wide, toothy grin, “Hi Y/n! It’s nice to meet you.” He rubbed the back of his neck and added, “Sorry I scared you.”

Y/n blushed. This was the day she met Shibayama.

*****

Y/n bit her lip as she scanned the classroom numbers down the school hallway. Being her first day of high school, all of the rooms and hallways looked the same. Y/n turned the corner, hoping to find the second year classrooms. Her forehead suddenly bumped into someone's face, and looking up, she saw Shibayama clasping his nose.

"AHHH! I'm so sorry!" Y/n apologized. Just as she was about to run away, Shibayama got a hold of her wrist.

"Wait!" he told her. "I want to make sure you're okay!"

Y/n quickly nodded, hoping her answer was enough to satisfy him and let go. But he continued.

"Where were you going?" Shibayama asked. "I don't want you to run away and get lost." Y/n finally turned towards him which allowed him to release his grip on her. "You're still adjusting to high school, right?"

Y/n nodded again as she bit her lip. "I was looking for my brother."

"Oh! He's chatting with another teacher in class 2-2. I can walk you there if you want," he offered.

Y/n would have preferred to look herself, considering this was the second time she embarrassed herself in front of Shibayama. But she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to find her brother as quickly as possible. "Okay," she complied in a meek voice.

As she followed Shibayama down the hall, her palms continued to sweat. He tried to make small talk but the topic fell flat. Feeling awkward with the silence, she also made an attempt.

"Maybe you should wear a helmet," she quietly told him.

Shibayama turned back to raise an eyebrow at her. "What?" he asked.

"Because I'm clumsy," Y/n added. She saw him blink a couple of times before she continued, "in case I bump into you like that again."

After a beat or two, Shibayama's face lit up. "Oh! Okay! You should get one too!" he said with a little too much excitement. "You probably need it more."

She whispered with a frown, "That was supposed to be a joke."

He stared for a moment and then laughed at himself. He placed a palm on Y/n's head and rubbed her hair. "That would have been funny if I caught on earlier," he grinned.

As he continued to lead the way, Y/n inwardly groaned at how stupid her joke was. But she smiled, blushing not out of embarrassment for once.

*****

Y/n sat on the park bench as she stared at her foot in disbelief. Her foot was wet, cold, and sticky. The back of her neck sweated as she watched the ice cream drip to the ground.

“Hold on a moment!” Shibayama said in a panic, handing her his cone. “I have my towel here!”

“No! Don’t!” Y/n was embarrassed enough already. But of course she continued being clumsy around Shibayama. “You use that towel for volleyball!”

“It’s fine!” he replied with a sweet look. He took off her sandal and wiped her foot with his towel. Y/n went stiff at the gesture, knowing her feet were sweaty and gross. She hoped they didn’t smell or else she’d faint from embarrassment. She was surprised she was able hold her shaking hands still, or else his ice cream cone would have fallen as well.

“There. I think you’ll have to rinse off your foot at home,” he told her, picking up her sandal. “And I don’t think you should wear this either,” he chuckled. The sandal was sticky from the ice cream. Y/n nodded in agreement.

“I can carry you on my back if you want,” he offered with a grin.

“What?” Y/n went flush. “N-no, that’s fine,” she said while lowering her eyes to not make eye-contact.

“Don’t worry about it,” he insisted. “Your house isn’t very far. It’ll be quick.”

Y/n gazed at Shibayama then at her sandal. Trying to take a breath to calm down, she rationalized this wasn’t the worst thing Shibayama had seen her do. For the past two months, she had been eating lunch together with him and her brother. Inuoka tried to encourage her to get to know other people in the class even though she was shy with them. But Shibayama told him it was fun having her around. During that time, he got to know how much of a dork she was, which was really awkward at first, but she started getting more comfortable around him.

“Okay,” she responded, allowing him to give her a piggyback ride.

As Shibayama carried her down the neighbourhood, Y/n felt her heart beat thump faster against his back. Not even Inuoka had carried her like this before. She wondered if Shibayama could feel her heartbeat and really hoped he didn’t.

Shibayama started chatting with her - things like their teachers, their favourite TV shows, and his volleyball team. Y/n had met some of his teammates and planned on coming to watch them at the summer interhigh national tournament.

“I heard from Kenma that Karasuno lost,” he told her. “I’m a little nervous since Karasuno’s a really good team.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he continued. “Dateko won this time. They’re really good at blocking.” He sighed. “I might need to get better at follow-ups.” He thought for a moment before he added, “Actually, there might be a lot of block-outs too. I think I just need to be faster in general.”

Y/n knew Shibayama was the team’s main libero now. Yaku’s shoes were hard to fill. “Nii-chan said you’ve gotten better with all of your practice,” she said, trying her best to support him. “Maybe I could help you with some drills?”

Shibayama gently placed her back on her feet, arriving at her house. “Sure,” he said with a shy smile, rubbing the back of his head. “I’d love that.”

*****

It was the match point for their game against Dateko. Futakuchi picked up the ball; it was his serve. He had been targeting Shibayama the whole game, trying to make him crack. Y/n now understood what happened in the foyer of the stadium.

When Y/n came down to meet the team from the stands, she saw Aone pointing a finger at Yamamoto. At first, Futakuchi scolded Aone - only to tell him he should have waited for him. With a smirk, Futakuchi proceeded to point at Shibayama, letting him know as the ace that he would be targeting him.

Shibayama was terrified. It was the first time Y/n had seen him freeze up like that. Inuoka had told her Shibayama used to be a bundle of nerves but she never witnessed it firsthand.

Yet in the midst of that, he was still sweet enough to notice little details. When he saw Y/n rubbing her arms as the A/C ran at full power, Shibayama gave her his jacket.

So Y/n clung onto the jacket as she braced herself for what may be the team’s last moment on court. She could hear cheers for both teams on either side of her. But all she paid attention to was how frightened Shibayama looked, knowing he was targeted. The match would abruptly end if he wasn’t able to get the ball.

The cheers stopped. As Futakuchi dribbled the ball to prepare for his serve, Y/n mustered all of her courage and yelled, “GANBATTE SHIBAYAMA!”

He heard her - turning to her, blinking at her. His clenched jaw finally relaxed into a smile. After the referee blew the whistle, he turned back to focus on the ball.

But before Futakuchi served, a heap of embarrassment dropped on Y/n’s shoulders. She froze, knowing that many eyes turned to her when she broke the silence with her cheer.

Then breaking under the pressure, with cheeks red and hot, she fled.

*****

“I found you!”

Y/n jumped at the shock of hearing someone’s voice.

“I knew I’d find you here,” Shibayama said, grinning.

“How did you know I’d be here?” she asked.

“Well, I didn’t think you’d go to the restaurant or to the hairdresser,” he laughed. He was right. Trying to find a place to calm herself down, she left the stadium and found a pet store. She had been watching the puppies running around, giggling at their cute barks.

“Oh wait!” she suddenly remembered, turning to him. “Did you win?”

“No.”

Y/n bit her lip, eyes filled with worry. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” she apologized. “I shouldn’t have distracted you!”

“N-no!” Shibayama stuttered. “It’s not your fault.” He gave her a small smile as he nervously scratched his cheek. “I actually did really well after I heard you cheering for me.”

Y/n’s eyes grew, not believing what she did actually helped. Then a smile formed on her face.

“Thank you,” Shibayama told her. “E-especially since I know how easily embarrassed you get.” He started to blush. “I really like you Y/n.”

He continued to share how he had a crush on her ever since they first met. Inuoka would share about her - how she was smart and really supportive, how she also loves volleyball and how Inuoka was able to spend time with her that way. It made him want to meet her because she sounded like someone he could be friends with. He didn’t know he’d actually fall in love with her.

“What? N-no, I-,” Y/n started to reply. “I wouldn’t be a good girlfriend, I-”

“No, don’t reject me for that.” Shibayama took her hands and looked at her with determination. “No, I don’t want to be just friends.”

Y/n blinked a couple of times, surprised at his assertive tone. “U-uh, okay,” she replied. She couldn’t say no to that.

Shibayama got so excited that he cheered and then gave Y/n a kiss on her forehead. When she finally noticed what had happened, she hid her face in his chest, telling him not to look at her.

*****

I hope you liked it! Sorry this took so long. I wanted this to be a one-shot since Shibayama doesn’t have one. I thought Shibayama would be a cute fit because he'd be able to relate to being embarrassed. :)

Some of you might have caught the same joke from my meet cute episode from Operation Moniwa SMAU but told in a different way. lol.

Here are my other stories.

*****

Match-up request from Anonymous:

Heeeey, can I ask for match-up? I'm shortie (5"0) with brown hair and brown eyes. I love hoodies. I'm really shy with people that I don't really know, but I'm actually a dork. I'm so clumsy (I can fall anywhere on anything) and I'm not funny at all (my jokes are so stupid). I'm biology and chemistry nerd. I really love listening to music, drawing and volleyball. I really love my friends and I try to support them all the time. I become embarrassed really easily. Oh and I love dogs *^*. Thank you❤ 

[chanlixformysoul]

Sounds easy, right? [ Chanlix ]

rating: mature

word count: 2217

chapter: 1

next chapter: 2

summary:

➥ Felix was sent to kill Chan but he got hurt and now Chan is nursing Felix back to health, they might also fall in love on the way.

song recommendation:

estimated reading time: 17.1 minutes

ົཽ⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎❝᷀ົཽ≀ˍ̮ ❝᷀ົཽ⁎⁺˳✧༚˚

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Felix would sneak his way in, kill Chan and get his goddamn money.

But oh boy he was in for a ride. The 'Big Boss' as people would call him wasn't that big nor great at all, he was just the co-CEO of the company, one position away from being the big CEO. His brother, Chan's dad, died besides his mother 7 years ago in a car accident , leaving Chan as CEO of the company. The Big Boss used Felix whenever he wanted to, but he never put Felix in a position like this before, to kill a person. He knew that if he disobeyed the Big Boss he would get beaten up and tortured, plus he would never get the money promised back and the fact that he was a cat hybrid didn't help either. The Big Boss told Felix to kill Chan, he would sneak in his house and get rid of him because he needed to not because he wanted to.

Sounds easy, right?

Well it actually isn't, not when Felix tripped because the welcome mat at the entrance was crooked sending his head into the door with a loud thump sound. As he tried to get away fast he lost his balance and was sent once again flying down the big and grand staircase. The door immediately opened, revealing a distressed looking man, shirt halfway undone and one shoe off. Felix knew Chan rushed outside because of the noise that he made but he couldn't help but admire his figure.

'Hey buddy, care to explain?' Chan said as he crossed his arms one over another raising his eyebrows.

'I umm... actually.... sorry, I gotta go.' But little did he know that falling down a huge staircase can do this much. Pain started to shoot from his ankles to his ribs and back. The big impact with the door sure left it's mark as he felt blood dripping from his blonde locks to his eyebrows. He pulled himself from the ground, trying to not make a fool out of himself more than he actually did earlier, wincing and shooting silent cuss words at himself for being so goddamn stupid.

Before he could walk down the street, he wanted to run but he weighed his options and he knew that if he started running it was only a matter of two steps before he came crashing to the ground once again.

He was about to do his second step but suddenly a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

'What the heck happened to you?'

'Oh... as I said I have to go, sorry.'

'You're not going anywhere, not with that head of yours.'

Felix couldn't believe what just happened, he screwed up the mission. He could say goodbye to this month's rent, goodbye to any decent meal he would allow himself to buy with the money check. Maybe if Big Boss would have some mercy he could leave him and not kill him, maybe he would understand, but deep down Felix knew he was gonna be tortured again by the thoughts of affording to even live when he opens his eyes every morning.

He couldn't stop trembling and his legs started shaking with fear of being killed by Big Boss because of his failed mission. Before he knew it he started crying, like full on sobbing and at last collapsed to the ground leaving a distressed Chan picking him up and urgently calling his doctor to come see the boy.

Chan was confused, really confused. This boy, he wanted to do something, right? But at the same time he couldn't help but feel a little weird because of the younger one. He had such a pretty face, rosy cheeks accompanied by constellations of freckles, lips that looked like petals of the rarest and finest flower you could find on earth. Chan found himself admiring the boy after the doctor left. As the doctor said it there weren't such serious issues but it wasn't something little either. The paper entitled prescription was long and let's say not even close to Felix's budget.

Chan kept a washing cloth by his side all the time, slowly stroking the youngest arms and forehead. He placed Felix on his bed justifying his actions in his head saying 'the couch is too small'. As he was making his way to the kitchen,Chan saw a little head that popped up in his bed. He made sure to bring the glass of water and the pills that the doctor prescribed. Felix woke up, and by that he knew he had officially fucked up real hard.

He tried to escape the blanket, kicking it off of him but the pain started once again as well. His ribs, back, legs, head and ankles hurt like hell. As he cleared his vision he saw Chan... he was done for sure.

'Hi there, I see that you woke up. Don't worry just stay in bed and take these. Oh and the bill for the medication, I took care of it.' He simply said smiling while placing the pills and water down on the nightstand.

Felix immediately came to his senses when Chan sat besides him on the bed. He tried to get off the bed but he was once again stopped but this time not only by the immense pain, but by strong arms.

'Where are you going?'

'To my house? I didn't ask for your kindness you know? You could've just let me be on the ground. It would've been better that way for the both of us trust me.' Felix said with no emotion in his voice.

'Hey, you can go to your home once you will recover, I'm not letting you out like this especially at this hour.' That made Felix turn his head for the nearest thing that indicated time only to read it as 11:34 pm. Fucking great isn't it. He knew the busses wouldn't be out that late and he knew that from this wealthy neighbourhood to his small apartment was an immense distance that he couldn't travel by foot.

'At least tell me your name, mines Chan.'

'Felix...'

'That's a cute name, Felix.' Chan said while trying to get the younger one to look at him in the eyes. He was getting closer and closer until he saw that Felix was crying once again.

'Hey what's wrong? Did I make you uncomfortable?'

'I failed, I'm gonna be left in the streets again, I'm so sorry. Please let me go, please. I'm a bad person, you don't want me here.' Felix continued sobbing, putting his hands to cover up his face and turning his head so Chan couldn't look at him.

'No you're not a bad person, Felix. If you want you can stay here with me, I'm always lonely, I rarely go out because of my work. I'm either at work or at home. You can stay with me for as long as you want to, I won't force you, just come here...' Chan says looking at Felix with gentleness in his eyes before climbing over the mattress to hug the youngest little frame.

'It's okay, Lix, I'm here you don't need to worry'

'Why are you being nice to me? I was supposed to do a bad thing to you.' He says sniffing and letting more tears fall down.

'Felix, I like you, that's why I'm being nice to you, I want you to stay with me, please tell me what's wrong' Chan said, voice trembling, not knowing what to do.

'Please don't hit me or do something, your uncle s-send me to kill you, I didn't want to but he would torture me if I didn't and I wouldn't get the money, I need the money so I can live, I'm sorry ' Felix sobbed harder than before as he looked at Chan. Chan shifted, Felix immediately twitched expecting a slap and then to be beaten up and thrown away just like Big Boss's men do with him all the time, Felix was shaking so much he fell out the bed into the hard and expensive wood flooring. His back started hurting more but that didn't matter he started to run to the door. Chan was quick and caught him pulling him to his chest.

'Did uncle really say that?'

Felix couldn't even look in Chan's eyes as he nodded. Tears trailed down his cheeks again.

'I'm sorry, I'm going to leave you. I don't have the money for the medication but I will give it to you, I promise just please don't hurt me. I swear I will disappear and you don't have to see me again, I promise...' Felix cried into his hands, his knees starting to give in so he dropped to the floor. He winced in pain as he made contact with the floor. He felt exhausted but he would go to his apartment, he had to.

Chan quickly went down to Felix picking him up while whispering that he's not mad at him and that he is just a little shocked. Felix was still saying that he didn't need to be carried, he just wanted to go home but Chan insisted that he will have to stay here till his pain is gone. Felix being exhausted physically and emotionally he agreed. Chan carried Felix to his bed placing him gently on it.

'Let's sleep for now, we will talk tomorrow,ok?'

'It's ok' said Felix going down on the floor again, this time intentionally. Chan just watched the younger not understanding what he was doing.

'Good night.' Said Felix as he laid on the cold flooring, feeling his back and ribs ache.

'Felix I-' Chan was cut off by Felix.

'Oh sorry, I will go in the living room'

'No, don't do that. I was just wondering what you were doing on the floor?'

'Trying to sleep?' He said looking confused as well.

'Felix, come here' Chan said as he patted the space next to him.

'I know we've just met a few hours ago but please stay with me, I beg you'

'I don't know, Chan, I have nothing to offer you, I have no family, no friends, no money, I'm also a cat hybrid. I'm practically useless, better off dead.' He said as he slowly got on the bed, staying on the edge so he could occupy less space than he needed to.

'Don't say that, come closer, I want to hug you if that's ok'

Felix didn't say anything he just got closer to the older. Raising his head to look at Chan, he found the older's eyes comforting, this time Felix hugged Chan burying his face in Chan's chest and collarbone. Chan let out a chuckle, Felix feeling the vibration through his chest.

'So what's your answer?'

'If I'm not a bother, I want to stay.'

'That's perfect then, can we sleep like this? I want to cuddle you while sleeping.' Felix turned red feeling his ears burning.

'O-ok then' Chan only nodded in agreement, setting them down. Felix didn't know what to do so he just stayed still not even daring to look at Chan.

'Do you not want to cuddle?' Asked Chan as he propped his head up a little.

'I never did it before, I don't know what to do...' he looked down in embarrassment.

'Really? That's okay. Do you want to face me or not?'

'I want to see your face'

'Okay then, sweetheart, come closer'

Felix could only smile at the sudden nickname clinging to the older, as he snuggled into him.

'I'm sorry for everything'

'You didn't do anything, bub, it's all ok now, we are together and that's what matters in the end.'

'Aren't you mad at me? I got you in so much trouble...I feel bad, i didn't want to accept the task, but I didn't have another choice, they would torture me and beat me and then throw me out like a dog... I didn't want that to happen again, I'm sorry Chan, I really am...' Felix said looking up at Chan, putting a hand gently on Chan's cheek.

Chan put his hand above Felix's hand noticing how tiny it was.

'Don't worry, it's none of your fault, you were the victim and as soon as you get better we will go and confront uncle.'

'No, please don't do that, please. You will get in trouble for me and he will come for you. I don't want to lose you' Felix started tearing up again but now Chan was here for him. Chan held him closer whispering that everything is okay.

'Don't worry Felix, uncle will be punished for everything he has done to you. I can't believe he will actually do that to someone, how cruel can one be?'

'Thank you, Chan, for helping me and letting me stay with you.'

'Felix, no need to worry, okay? You're here with me from now on. Let's sleep, it's gotten late.'

'Thank you, Channie.....' Felix mumbled cutely as he drifted into the land of dreams but this time his dreams weren't nightmares this time, his dreams were full of Chan's face, laugh, touch.....he was feeling happy. Was he allowed to feel that way?

᷀ົཽ⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎❝᷀ົཽ≀ˍ̮ ❝᷀ົཽ⁎⁺˳✧༚˚

my ao3: Mrs_SnowPitch

my wattpad: ChanlixForMySoul

my masterlist: iza’s masterlist

[possiamo-andare]

No More Divisions - Chapter Three: The Jacuzzi

JJ x Original Character

I'd like to give a small shoutout to @fangirling-allday for giving me such a sweet comment. You have inspired me to write another chapter so this one is dedicated to you! <3

MASTERLIST

~

If I could only describe Sarah's younger sister, Wheezie, in one word it'd be difficult. I've met her a total of two times and both times she's been difficult. She always has to put her two cents into every conversation and she asks so many questions.

Trust me, I love curious people but Wheezie isn't just curious, she's nosy. She's basically the stereotypical annoying younger sister.

With that being said, she no longer was difficult to me anymore. She was our hero. The cup with the string attached to it ended up being a makeshift phone where Wheezie could hear us from her room.

At first, Sarah was going to try and explain to Wheezie the truth but it was clear that within the first few minutes of talking to her, Rafe had gotten to her first and poisoned her mind.

So, since telling the truth didn't work, we decided to lure her into Sarah's room. Our plan was to get Sarah to fake cry hard enough to get Wheezie to unlock the door to come comfort her sister. When she opened the door, we'd then explain to her that we needed her to pretend to be us in the room as we slipped out the front door.

This plan was foolproof.

That is, until Wheezie asked a question we hadn't even thought she'd ask.

"If John B. didn't do it, who did?"

Sarah and I looked at each other as this child stood in front of us, begging to know the truth. We didn't know what to say. How do you tell a child that their brother was a murderer? Sarah shook her head at me. It wasn't the time nor place. Wheezie would find out eventually but not right now.

"We have to do something first," I say, crouching down to meet her gaze. "But you need to promise us that you'll be here for as long as you can."

Wheezie nodded, furrowing her brows together. I could tell she still didn't understand what was going on but she wanted to help out as best she could.

"Can you do that for us?" Sarah asked, her pinkie out towards her sister.

Wheezie nodded again, this time holding onto Sarah's pinkie finger with her own.

We tucked Wheezie into Sarah's bed and created another "person" under the sheets with a pillow and blacket so it would seem as if Sarah and I took a nap. After we said our goodbyes, we turned off the lights and quietly made our way downstairs.

I was barely breathing as we crept down the stairs, hoping not to cause a commotion even by breathing heavily. Once we successfully made it down the stairs, Sarah led me to the sliding windows in the back on the house. As Sarah quietly opened them, I was the lookout. I could hear the faint distance of talking with the tv drowning out what the actual words between the two people were. I could tell Ward and Rafe were bickering but I couldn't make out what they were saying, only that Ward was mad.

Sarah nudged me softly, getting my attention as she pointed to the open sliding doors. We quickly made our way out of the house before quietly closing the doors again.

After the doors were fully closed, we took off running. Sarah's bike was at the front of her house and now that it was darker, we were sure that Ward or Rafe couldn't see us from outside.

Once we found Sarah's bike, Sarah told me to sit on the handlebars as she rode out of the neighbourhood. She said she had a suspicion where John B. was and wanted to see if she was right. Once we made it out of the neighbourhood, we were swarmed with flashlights and dozens of people looking for John B. Apparently there was a $25,000 reward for whoever caught him and everyone in OBX was making it their mission to find him. People young and old, even children, perused the streets calling out for John B. as if there was any way in hell he'd answer back.

As we rode, we stopped to ask people where they were going. Some were going to the ferry, others were going to the docks where they knew many Pogues hung out but what we found was that no one was going to the Bell Tower, where Sarah believed John B. was. Although I wanted to go with her and make sure she was safe, I knew I couldn't go.

"I can't go with you." I say to Sarah as she peddles forward.

"What?" Sarah asks, holding onto her breaks as her bike comes to a stop.

"I have to go to JJ's house and help them. I'm sure they are doing something for John B. there. They need my help more than you do." I say, getting off the handle bars and crossing my arms over my stomach this time.

Since my clothes were stained with blood, Sarah lent me her clothes. Everything she had was cropped which wasn't usually my style but it was the only option. I had changed into a purple tube top with black ripped jean shorts and although Sarah said I looked awesome, this cropped top made me super self conscious.

"Okay. I'll give you JJ's address and you help him and Kiara and Pope. I'll find John B. We'll meet at the JJ's father's dock at 3pm tomorrow. Okay?" Sarah smiles at me, grabbing my arm for a moment to reassure me. She tells me JJ's address and I repeat it back to her to remember it.

I nod to her as a way of saying bye. "Okay. See you tomorrow. Stay safe until then."

We both smile at eachother and then briefly hug. It's weird that even in a time like this, where our lives are literally in shambles, we still have the time to smile and hug eachother.

"Love you Callie." Sarah whispers to me as we hug.

I pull away from her. "Love you Sarah."

And with that, Sarah is off again. She peddles away from me, not looking back once. I stay completely still until I can't see her anymore. Until she's into the woods so much so that she becomes a dark little speck.

Once Sarah's completely gone, I take off running like a madman. I run on the pavement, my sneakers slamming down on the sidewalk the faster I run. I run down one street and turn and then turn again. I continue to run until I don't recognize the houses as Kook houses but Pogue houses. I run until I get to JJ's street and I count the number of houses I pass until I come upon JJ's.

JJ's house is more like a shack than a home. A home is where you feel safe and cozy. I don't think I'd ever feel safe here. The screen on one of the sides of the house is ripped. It looks like somebody ran through it and I wouldn't be surprised if someone did. JJ had a reputation after all. He got into fights, stole, and hated Kooks. He hated them so much that he'd start fights with them for no reason. This made me question why he was so nice to me. I understood why he was nice to Sarah, but why me? If I was a Kook and he hated Kooks, why was he nice to me?

I decide that since it's so late, not to ring on the doorbell but instead make my way to the backyard and see if anyone's there. Once I get closer to the backyard, I hear people talking and I hear a distinct voice. I recognize it as Kiara's.

"Pope make sure you get two gallons of gas. Not one. He'll need two if he's ever gonna cross the border."

I try to make my way quietly over to them but a stick breaks under the pressure of my foot and it makes a loud noise.

"Who's there?!" JJ yells from his place on the jacuzzi.

Wait. A jacuzzi? Why does his house look like a shack, but he has a jacuzzi.

It was dark when I first arrived but someone turned on the lights and I soon see all three of John B.'s friends much more clearly. Pope is sitting on the floor beside Kiara who is sitting on a chair in front of JJ, who is sitting on the ledge of the jacuzzi. They all look very happy to be with one another, even though something bad is happening to their friend. I guess that's what happens when your only family is your friends; you're always glad to see them.

"It's me, Callie." I say, loud enough for them to hear. I'm only 10 feet away from them now and I can see all of them turn around in shock this time. JJ is literally so shocked to see me he stands up to greet me.

"C-callie." JJ stutters.

"Where's Sarah?" Kiara asks, walking up to me and giving me a hug. I return it with open arms.

Kiara was always so nice to me even if Sarah and her didn't get along.

Sarah always told me not to talk to Sarah but Kiara and I shared the same biology class and our interest in the environment allowed for us to bond. We were never close and rarely spoke outside of school but she was a sweet girl and I'm so glad Sarah and Kiara are friends again. Maybe after all of this is over, we can finally hang out. If all of this ever is over.

"She's looking for John B. She says she knows where he is." I reply as Kiara pulls away from me and I get a chance to greet everyone.

I hug Pope briefly. He was always nice to me whenever he saw me with his father and I think we've talked about four times. Each time he was sweet and very pleasant so I'm glad he's here to help. I can tell he's very on edge about the whole situation and I'm not surprised if I look as nervous as him.

Then there's JJ. I make my way to him and give him an awkward hug. He pats my back and then we quickly move away from each other. I've never talked to him before and I've never heard good things. Yet, all of those bad things were from Rafe and he's not exactly a model citizen. I decide to see how he is now and make my own decisions about his personality.

There's a small amount of silence that passes through us and Pope breaks it by talking. "Did you actually see Rafe kill the Sheriff?"

I nod. Kiara, JJ, and Pope all look at eachother in disbelief. They knew Rafe was crazy but never like this. I don't think anyone could think Rafe could do this, no matter how cruel he was.

I want to change the subject so badly that I end up asking, "What were you guys just doing?" I glance at the notebook on Kiara's chair.

It has all their names on it with different things to do. Pope is supposed to get two gallons of gas, Kiara is suppose to get food from her parents restaurant and JJ is supposed to get his dad's keys. This is definitely a list of things for them to do but I don't know what for.

"We're getting a boat for John B. with food and gas so he can get away." Pope answers me.

I look to Kiara who is not meeting my gaze. "I thought we were gonna clear his name."

I hear JJ scoff from behind me. "Yeah, we tried that. These officers have tunnel vision. John B. has to leave, at least until we can clear his name."

I turn and look to JJ. I could tell he's been observing me since I came. I know he doesn't trust me like Kiara and Pope do. I dont know why but my gut tells me it's because I'm a Kook and he hasn't had the best experiences with Kooks.

"How can I help?" I ask, turning to face everyone. They've all gathered around me now and I'm ready to hear what they have to say.

"JJ is gonna give me a hand with getting all of John B.'s food. You can help. We need some extra hands." Kiara says, grabbing her notebook and writing it down.

I nod. "Okay."

"Well," JJ sighs, looking to Kiara. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Kiara rolls her eyes at JJ and then looks to me. "I do."

~

After each plan is made down to the last detail, I finally feel a little at peace. The final plan is that Pope is gonna take two gallons of gas from his dad's shop and try not to get caught (I hope that Mr. Heyward is not too pissed off). JJ, Kiara and I will get food from her dad's restaurant for John B. for at least two weeks. And JJ will steal the keys to his father's old racing boat. We will all meet at the garage where the boat is at the bring it back to JJ father's dock for 3pm tomorrow.

After everything is written and memorized, we all lay blankets down on the floor and decide to sleep. I take the edge and Kiara takes the other. Pope takes a spot beside Kiara while I get stuck with JJ. I'm not facing him when he lays down so I can't tell if he's disappointed or not but I can imagine he's not exactly thrilled to sleep beside me.

"Night." Kiara yawns before turning over. Pope does the same and before I can reply, I hear their soft snores.

JJ says nothing to me and I actually like it that way. I'm beyond exhausted and I don't want to have to deal with him if he's just gonna be cruel. He hasn't be outright mean to me but he hasnt exactly been hospitable while I've been here so I'm a little scared to talk to him alone.

Five minutes later, I'm asleep and dreaming. Except dreaming is supposed to be fun but this is a complete nightmare.

I see the sheriff on the floor like how I did this morning and I try to rush towards her. I'm calling out to her and running as fast as my feet will take me but she's just getting father and farther away. I am forced to watch her bleed out but I'm not getting any closer. I look down at my feet and see that my feet are stuck in cement and I can't move them. I'm yelling to the Sheriff but she can't hear me. I'm drenched in blood and I see Rafe. He's looking right at me. I call to him and he laughs and lifts his right hand to point a gun at me.

Before I can scream, I wake up. It's almost dawn now and the space where JJ was sleeping is empty. I sit up and look around.

Kiara and Pope are still sleeping. They look so cute cuddled up together. I look around more, trying to find JJ. I finally find him in the jacuzzi.

The water is up to his chest but the jacuzzi is not on. He's just sitting in a jacuzzi that's not on which has to be one of the most depressing things I've ever seen. My heart aches for him. There is something up and I want to make him feel better.

I stand up and walk towards the jacuzzi and where JJ is sitting. He's playing with the water and moving it with his hands. I don't think he realizes he's even doing it. Once I get to the jacuzzi, I rest my elbow on the ledge and JJ finally sees me.

"What are you doing up?" He asks, a little surprised to see me.

"I should ask you the same thing." I smirk, letting one of my hands touch the water. It's hot. He must've just got in.

"I can't sleep." He says. He seems detached and cold, as if he doesn't want to talk about something.

"Bad dream?" I ask. I don't mean to pry but sometimes I can't help it. Especially when someone is feeling sad. I want to help.

JJ nods. He quickly looks up to me but then quickly looks back to the water.

"Same actually." I sigh, my hand now also absentmindedly playing with the water.

"About the Sheriff?" JJ asks, actually holding eye contact with me this time.

I nod. "How did you know?"

"You were yelling her name." JJ answered, closing his eyes for a second to take a deep breath. "This jacuzzi actually helps me with my anxiety alot. Especially with nightmares."

"Really?" I ask, a little skeptical on why he's brought this up.

"Yep." JJ nods, finally moving closer to me. "Would you like to come in?"

I don't know whether I should or not. On one hand, I barely know this guy and he's already indirectly asked to to strip and get into a jacuzzi with him. On the other hand, I bet that hot water would feel amazing on my skin and very relaxing. Even though my better judgement tells me no, I go against in. I might get arrested for aiding and abetting tomorrow so what the hell.

"Okay, but close your eyes until I get in." I narrow my eyes at him, being a little sarcastic but at the same time I'm completely serious.

JJ rolls his eyes. "Please, don't flatter yourself Kook."

I frown. "Just do it."

JJ nods and closes his eyes and then covers his closed eyes with his hands. Once I know he's not peeking, I take off my sneakers and unbuckle my jeans. I lift my tube top over my head and lay it neatly beside all if my other clothes. Now I'm in my black underwear and pink strapless bra. I curse Sarah in my brain. If I knew a boy was gonna see my bra and underwear today, I would've told her to make them match.

I slowly get into the water as JJ sits across from me, hands still over his eyes. It's really warm and my skin starts having goosebumps the more I emerge myself in the water. Once the water gets to my shoulder, I shudder a little. This water feels amazing on my muscles. I've been running around and fighting all day yesterday that I completely forgot what it did to my body. Now, I realize how achy I really am.

"Okay." I say, my hands absentmindedly playing with the water between my fingers.

JJ finally uncovers his eyes and opens them. When he does, there's a smirk on his face. And it's directed towards me which is super surprising.

"Feels nice, right?"

I nod and continue to play with the water. "What's this beauty's name?"

JJ smirks. "Finally someone who appreciates the finer things in life."

I laugh. "I'm thinking Cherry." Cherry was a Kook JJ had slept with last year and I had only heard about it because she had slept outside his house overnight to prove her devotion to him. It was just about the funniest thing ever. Sad to say it didn't work out between them.

JJ rolls his eyes. "Although that is a very good guess, it's actually called cat's ass."

I snorted. "You weirdo."

JJ rolls his eyes. "I think it's weirder you remember Cherry. You obsessed with me or something Callie?"

This time I roll my eyes. "Cherry was the funniest story ever. The day I start to like you JJ is the day of my demise."

"Well, I think this is the start of your demise then."

I don't say anything but I kinda know JJ's correct. Before long there's a silence between us. It's not like last time. This time, it's a comfortable silence. Like we're both just relaxing together and not worrying about John B. or Sarah or the Royal Merchant.

"What was your dream about?" I ask, my eyes closed now. I could fall asleep like this if JJ wasn't here.

When JJ doesn't answer me, I try not to take it personally. Only when I hear the water moving a little too loudly, I open my eyes. JJ is moving towards me and now I'm super aware that I'm basically naked. In an attempt for him not to see my bra, I cross my arms over my chest.

When he finally sits beside me, he speaks, "You don't wanna know."

I scoff. "Oh yeah, sorry my little privileged ass could never handle your mind." My tone is dripping with sarcasm and JJ is smiling as I speak.

"Yeah basically." JJ confirms, only making me more pissed off.

"I know that my demons could never compare to yours, but I have them too." I roll my eyes at him and look to the water, away from his gaze.

"What demons? You're a Kook." I could feel his smirk as he said this.

I look back to him. "Being a Kook doesn't protect you from the bad shit in life. Hasn't what's happened yesterday proved that?"

JJ doesn't answer me. For a moment, he's just taking in what I've said. I don't think anyone's ever done that. I don't think anyone's ever just thought about what I said so deeply as JJ is now.

Finally, he speaks. "Are you still with Rafe?"

I scan JJ's face for a moment before answering. Does he wanna know because he thinks I'm gonna betray them or because he wants to know if I'm taken. I can't tell but either way I'm gonna answer him.

"No, we broke up weeks ago." When I answer, I make sure to see JJ's reaction but he gives me no reaction. This guy is really good at hiding his emotions.

"Cool." I want to ask him what he's thinking but I can't.

I want to look away from him but I can't. JJ is acting so differently from when I first met him that I can't help but start to like him. He's already changed his views on me by talking to me. I know he'll never like or trust me 100%, but to know he respects me enough helps.

There's been a long silence between us and I want it to end.

"So," I say, wanting this awkwardness to stop. "What was your dream about?"

JJ takes a deep breath and looks away from me. We must've been staring in each other's eyes for 10 minutes. It feels like that anyways.

He doesn't answer me again, just stands up from the jacuzzi and hops out. He grabs a towel that was hanging from a wire and dries off his swimming trunks before hanging it back up on the wire. Then I see it. There's purple spots all over his torso. He looks like he just got into a fight and he wasn't the winner. I look for defensive wounds but there's none I can see. Taking a beating and not defending yourself does not seem like something JJ would do. I realize that maybe he didn't fight back because he cared for the person beating him.

As he puts on his shirt, I speak up. "Did your dad do that?" I'm still in the water and I feel a little colder now that JJ is no longer inside.

He looks up at me once he has his shirt on. "We all have different demons Callie. Some are just worse than others."

And with that, he's walking back to where Kiara and Pope are sleeping. And I'm stuck here, in a jacuzzi I don't even want to be in anymore. It's not the same without JJ.

[jonghoshoe]

Just Peachy :)

@tinymingi you asked and shall recieve :)))

Summary: Moving to a new place is always a little unnerving, luckily there’s a cute, pink haired stranger who makes you feel welcome.

Pairing: Jeong Yunho x Reader

Word Count: 1-2k words 

No content warnings apply (unless you count like one swear word)

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Moving house sucks. Especially when it's to somewhere you don't know. Not that you aren't happy with it- it's amazing to even get a house these days. But it's hardly fun to deal with all the boxes and the unfamiliarity of a new place.

Even less fun when said boxes haven't arrived yet. Seeing nothing productive to do, you've decided to explore the area, there's a few hours to spare before everything arrives so you may as well acquaint yourself with what's around you.

That's how you ended up finding a cute little corner café 'The Aurora', what a cute title.

It's fairly small on the inside, though there are a few seating areas outside too, and it seems to be a rather quiet place as well, perfect for just relaxing, especially after all the work you've been doing the past week.

The barista who serves you is a rather bright character, you mean this literally as he has a few pink streaks in his hair that shine a little under the lights. His name is Yunho, you find out from the nametag, and he seems to pick up on you being a stranger.

''New to the town or just here?'' He asks, setting about on preparing your order.

''New to the town, I just moved in today actually- figured I'd explore while I wait for everything to arrive.''

''Nothing quite like walking around a new place huh?'' He says, plating everything up (not that there's much) before he slides it over the counter, telling you your total with a cheerful smile.

''Hey- If you ever want me to show you around I'd totally be down for it! There's a few little secret places here that you might not find on your own.'' He suggests, practically bouncing on the spot.

''Maybe once I've settled in a bit more.'' You supply, it's not that you don't want to hang out with him- He's just so cute you're already getting butterflies!

Yunho smiles and nods as you walk away to a table, choosing a smaller one by the window so you can people watch.

The following day you're a little more anxious, you'd told your friends about the cute barista in your new town and now they all wanted to come over to see him- and wanted you to take him up on his offer.

So that was the plan for today, get his number and arrange a day to go out- maybe get some work done too since you'd brought your laptop.

Or it was the plan until he decided to flirt with you, saying ''One angel cake and peach tea for the peachy angel!'' with a wink.

That really shouldn't have stopped you in your tracks, it was so incredibly cheesy but he's just so- aah. You're pretty sure you already have the wings of the angel cake in your stomach.

He teases you when you freeze in place at the words, watching humorously as you stutter out an excuse.

''Ah just- your hair! Your hair is really nice, th-the streaks are cute.'' You say, the colour draining from your face when you realise you'd accidentally called him cute.

Yunho grins and shoots back, ''You're pretty cute too, maybe you should dye yours too and we can match.'' he says with a chuckle, full of confidence despite the blush dusting his cheeks and the tip of his nose.

You nod and walk quickly to your table, face flushed red as you hear him laugh behind you.

Well that didn't go at all as planned.

There's always tomorrow, you think. Settling down to get some work done- it doesn't desperately need finished now, but since you're still unpacking, you figure you may as well work on it here. The atmosphere is nice and the menu is relatively cheap, you can see yourself coming here often already.

You're distracted when you see Yunho coming over to your table out of the corner of your eye, paper bag and a coffee in hand. He flashes you a smile as he stands by the chair opposite you, ''Mind if I sit here?'' he asks. He's so cute that even your shyness doesn't stop you nodding in confirmation.

He grins happily when he sits down, pulling out his sandwich as he glances at you from over your computer screen, ''So, watcha workin' on?'' He asks.

Your response to a simple question turns into spending his entire break talking. You talk about where you're from, how long he's lived and worked here, you find out that you have some common interests and when you tell him your new neighbourhood, he tells you a friend of his lives there too and he hopes you can meet him soon.

The day continues with that accidentally happening, because apparently he's described you both to each other so now his friend is eager to meet you.

''I'm Jongho.'' He introduces himself as, walking with you as you both exit the corner store.

Jongho is a lot more quiet than you'd expected from someone who's friends with Yunho, and you tell him just that.

''Yeah, nobody ever believes us when we tell them I'm younger. Yunho is kinda like a hyperactive puppy so people never think he's the older one.'' He says, clearly having told this story a million times over.

On the walk home, he entertains you with stories of Yunho and himself, saying how they'd met during high school and been practically joint at the hip ever since. You come to learn a lot about the both of them, and in the end, Jongho and you exchange numbers when he walks you to your house (what a gentleman). He teases you about not having Yunhos number yet, but says he won't give it to you and you'll have to ask him for it yourself.

You end the night with your friends practically yelling at you over text to make a move already, you'd like to see them try and not be stuck in place by Yunhos flirtatious remarks and cute smile!

Okay, third day here, you've literally exchanged numbers with his best friend, you are going to get Yunhos. Nothing will stop you this time!

Alright, nevermind, you can't do this. You've barely even stepped in the door and you're already smitten.

He's dressed way differently today. He's wearing a giant, baby blue sweater that he's practically drowning in and he's tied his hair up in a cute little ponytail. You're almost tempted to text Jongho and ask if he planned this to fuck with you.

Alright, he's cute but you have to make your move today, you've put this off for too long.

Your ordering goes as normal, getting the same as you always do before Yunho starts talking with you, nobody else is waiting to order so he just talks at the counter.

''So Jongho told me he met you yesterday, he said you got along well?'' He says, seemingly very excited that you'd met his friend.

You confirm, and talk about how the evening had went and the stories he'd told you.

Yunho groans and hides his face in embarrassment at one of them, ''Of all the stories, he tells you the sleepover ones.'' he whines, his face almost matches the pink streak in his hair.

Your conversation is interrupted when the very focus of it enters the building.

''Jongho! Why'd you have to go and embarrass me like that!'' Yunho complains despite already gathering up what you assume is Jonghos usual order.

''What? They asked for cute stories about you, so I told them.'' He says nonchalantly, sipping on his drink once it's handed to him.

''Well- I didn't ask for specifically cute stories-''

''Yes you did.''

You kind of want to hit Jonghos coconut head with a real one for this, he just finds it hilarious that you're both equally as embarrassed now.

''Which story made him react this way? The-'' He begins to list them off when Yunho interrupts him with 'The teddy one.'

''Ah, that's a classic. Still dunno what's so embarrassing about it though.'' He says.

Yunho huffs and punches his arm, ''It's embarrassing because I'm a fully grown man who couldn't sleep without a teddy bear and had to bring it to a sleepover!''

''San literally has his entire bed covered in them, none of us were going to think it was weird.''

''But still!''

The three of you pass the time once Yunho is finished for the day, he had a shorter shift so he's happy to spend the evening sitting and talking, and he shares embarrassing stories about Jongho as revenge.

By the time the building has to close, you all agree to go your separate ways. Yunho lives in the same street at the shop, Jongho is going to a friends house to study, and you don't quite feel comfortable enough with going to Yunhos house yet to continue the conversations.

He asks you to wait at the door before you leave though, claiming he left something in the kitchen and needs to go pick it up.

When he comes back, he's holding a little bag, which he hands to you.

''I've been wanting to try something new with one of the cupcakes- I was hoping you'd try it and let me know what you think?'' He asks, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

''You never said you baked.'' You say, a little surprised at the gesture.

''Ah- well I don't really bake what's on the menu, but I thought this might be an improvement so I worked on it in my free time.'' He says with a smile, fiddling with the sleeves of his sweater.

You nod and reply that you'd give the snack a try, then you part ways as you exit his neighbourhood.

When you get home and finally sit down that night, you open up the bag, noticing the cupcake in a little container and a small pouch in the bag beside it.

You open the pouch first, curious to what's inside and notice a small teabag and a note.

''Y/N. I figured you'd enjoy this with your food, It's the same brand we use at The Aurora! You seem to really like it so I thought I'd give you one.''

There's a little smiley face scribbled next to it, and below is a phone number.

Well, at least you don't have to worry about asking for it now.

Setting the note aside, you finally open up the cupcake, It's an angel cake like what you ordered before, but you notice the cream is tinted a little bit orange. Upon tasting it, you realise it's peach flavoured, matching the tea you'd usually drink with it.

You decide to finally message Yunho, sending a quick hello and thanking him for the gift.

Yunho: So, what do you think of it?

You: It’s just peachy :)

[just-another-robin]

Rocketman • HalBarry (Part 2)

- As a quick author’s note this story is unedited. I’m sorry for any grammar, spelling mistakes or any inconsistencies. This was previously posted on Wattpad. And, thank you to all of you guys who left feedback. Title is also the title of an Elton John song.

Summary: Barry always felt welcome within the Justice League. He wasn’t part of the core three, he was added on later. Yet one day Diana decided to take Barry alongside her, Bruce and Clark to meet a new possible member of the league.

Diana said his name is Hal, and she thinks Barry would get along with him.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

“Forensics.” Barry said before returning the question to Hal. “You?”

“Pilot.” Hal smiled, one that didn’t fully meet his eyes before nodding the waitress over and asking for a beer.

Which lead Barry to wonder. The fake smile was probably because they don’t know each other, right?

Diana, Clark, and Bruce feel into nearly effortless chit-chat. Barry was left looking down at his drink in the middle of an awkward pause.

He could tell the liquid in the cup was in fact vodka but there was a giant red piece of ice in the middle. He slightly poked at it with his index finger. It was most likely harmless.

“Trying something new?” Hal asked Barry.

Barry decided that if he were to be a possible league member, it would be great to start as friends. “I couldn’t really hear her that well.” He shrugged, causing Hal to chuckle.

“You have freezies when you were a kid? Well it’s kinda like that.”

Barry raises an eyebrow. “I don’t think freezies look like this.” He raises his glass.

“It should be as soft as freezies. I swear.” Hal raises one hand in the air. As he does so, the waitress comes over and places Hal’s beer in front of him.

In that moment Barry decides that he should be trustworthy enough. He is friends with Diana, after all.

Barry picks up the drink and slowly takes a bite of the red ice, it easily breaking under the tiniest amount of pressure.

“How is it?” Hal asks, before taking a sip of his own beer.

“I think it’s cherry?” Barry says which comes out as more question than an answer.

Hal hums some response before looking out over the dance floor.

Another pause in the conversation happens in which Barry feels extremely awkward yet, Hal remains sitting there with no signs of discomfort.

After a few seconds Barry grabs his phone and starts playing some random game he doesn’t remember downloading. It was a match four game, one of the several that were made about fixing up houses. It seemed so simple yet it was addicting.

When Barry looked up from his phone, he saw Hal and Clark talking. If he tried to eaves drop he most likely would hear the two men talking about what it’s like on the surface of Venus. Even though he couldn’t hear their conversation, he noticed something odd about Hal.

On the middle finger of his right hand, he had a Green Lantern Corp ring.

While Barry shouldn’t be too surprised, (they were here to include him in the league after all.) he still had fifty questions in his brain. Mainly: is he wearing his own logo as a shirt?

Diana was right, he was a character. Yet, something about him had Barry entranced.

“Do you want to dance?” Hal asked, snapping Barry away from his own thoughts.

He looked to where Hal was standing, at the head of the table. He wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular. More like the whole group.

“Uh, I’ll dance.” Barry says before looking at the rest of the group, silently wondering if he’s just sealed his fate.

Diana and Bruce were holding hands. Bruce was staring forward but not towards Hal, most likely not wanting to dance. Diana was smiling and talking with Clark, using her free hand to motion.

“You guys have fun! Me and Clark will join you in a second.”

As much as Barry respected Diana, she really was like the group’s mom at some points.

“And now we’re gonna change things up a bit with: Crybaby by The Neighbourhood.”

Hal walks the two of them onto the dance floor. It was filled with people who were either half or fully drunk. What under normal circumstances would be considered nice dance moves now seemed to be extremely sloppy. The small area of dance floor Hal found could probably comfortably fit three people. So there was enough elbow room for both men.

“You okay?” Hal says, turning to face Barry.

He just met this guy, it can’t be a crush. So no need to act so weird. Act like he’s a colleague. “I was thinking.”

Hal looks curious but doesn’t press Barry for answers.

“I can’t dance.” Barry lies. It seems to make more sense then what was actually going on in Barry’s head.

“Don’t worry. Dancing isn’t about being the best. It’s about just having fun.”

Barry decides to take Hal’s advice and calm down. He decides to focus on the music and just dance along.

“I can't take it, I'm inpatient, tell me baby. Now I know, you should go. I know I'll fall in love with you, baby, and that's not what I wanna do.”*

Barry notices the two of them slowly getting closer as they dance. Barry knows that he wasn’t doing it on purpose. It was even like a slow dancing song.

“Barry?” Diana yells over the noise of the crowd, suddenly at his side. Was he really that caught up in dancing? “Iris called for you.”

“Sorry.” Barry says, turning to from Diana to Hal. “I got to go.”

Barry pushes his way through the crowd before Hal can say anything in response. If Barry looked back, he would of seen Hal extend an arm out towards him, hoping to get him to stay.

Once outside Barry takes a deep breath, letting the cool air fill his lungs before he decides to run home. Him and Iris can talk in person.

[* These are lyrics from Crybaby by The Neighbourhood ]

[peacheswatts]

Opening up

A fanfic written by me

Based on: the Punishers Frank Castle

Genre : romance (male + female)

Wattapad link:

I had moved into my new apartment almost a week ago. Focusing on unpacking, organising and getting comfortable, I hadn't noticed how good looking the neighbour across the hall was. I saw him leaving his apartment this morning, wearing a black hoodie, dark jeans and combat boots. He was tall, about 6'3, fit and muscular. You could could tell his frame that he took care of himself, and he had really good posture. He had his head down, and earphones in. I tried to smile at him to say hi, but he didn't notice.

Oh well.

He walked down the stairs and out the front door and I got those familiar butterflies I get when I see someone really attractive. 'oof' I thought.

'Focus Emily' I reminded myself, Youre going to be late for work.

It was about midday, I was on the late shift today. I hated the late shift. This neighbourhood wasn't great and walking home at night was always pretty scary. I always put my keys between my fingers, and I had a small knife in my bag, but I don't have a very big frame.

As I left my apartment I couldn't help but think about my new neighbour. What was his story anyway? I kind of like the idea of a mysterious handsome neighbour. He probably has a girlfriend anyway, he's too cute to be single. A girl can daydream though right.

Before I knew it I was at work. I do data entry for a law firm most days and sometimes I pick up a shift at a diner on nights when the owner needs help. I don't mind working it keeps me busy. I don't know anyone in this neighbourhood so I get pretty bored. Tonight I was working at the diner. The lunch rush had just started and I spent the better part of the next three hours taking orders, filling up coffee cups and busting tables. I keep to myself mostly, but I'm friendly with customers and the boss is really nice. She's an older woman, about 50, and she calls me sweetheart which I don't mind.

Around 9 pm, an hour before my shift finishes, the bell rings as the door to the diner opens. Someone comes in and sits down at a booth. I'm facing the kitchen and I grab my notepad and walk over. They are wearing a black hoodie, dark jeans and combat boots. 'could this be?' I thought quickly to myself.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I walked towards the booth and saw that it was my neighbour.

"Hi! What can I get you?" I said cheerfully

"Just coffee. Black" He answered, not looking up.

"Okay, I'll be right back"

I poured him a cup, and set a menu down Infront of him "the food is really good here" I offered with a small smile. I started to walk away and the mysterious man spoke up. "What do you recommend?" He asked flatly.

"Well, around this time I like to have pancakes." I replied, happy that he was talking to me.

"Yeah, okay. Pancakes".

"Okay!" I stated and walked away.

A small smile crept on his lips as he looked out the window.

He finished his pancakes just my shift was about to finish. It was 10pm and the nervousness I usually feel around now started. I hate walking home this late.

I put my apron out the back, said goodbye to the chef and Rose, the owner, and got my bag from under the counter.

"Hey, uh, you live in my building right?" A mans voice spoke up.

It made me jump a little I was in my own world. "Yeah I think so" I replied, trying not to let this stranger know that I was daydreaming about him earlier.

"Can I walk you home?" He offered, as he pulled down his hood. I saw that he had a beard and dark brown almost black hair. It looked like it has been growing out for a couple months. "it's a pretty bad neighbourhood, we are going the same way anyway."

"Uh yeah okay" thankful of the company, and maybe I'd get to know him a little bit better.

We walked towards our apartment building together, he didn't say anything and I didn't want to press conversation if he wasn't much of a talker.

We walked past a homeless man sitting on the ground against a building, who asked for same change. I stopped and handed him a couple dollars and he said "Thanks lady". I noticed he had a dog companion and I asked if he needed dog food. "No thank you, we are fine, thanks though" he reassured me.

The neighbour watched this interaction from the sidelines, looking curious. "That was decent of you", he commented as we walked away.

"Uh yeah" I replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable about the comment.

"People in this city usually ignore people like that", He stated.

"That sucks. He's a person too. And he has a dog. They are good companions when you're on the street, but it can be hard to afford food for both of you sometimes" I blurted out. Did I say too much? I usually keep my cards close to my chest, but something about this guy makes me want to get to know him. Maybe he's just a pretty face and I've been alone too long.

My companion looked a bit curious at the obvious concern my face was showing, but didn't ask any questions. He sure was a quiet one.

We made it to our building and he opened the door for me. We walked up the stairs and I put the key in my apartment door.

"When is your next shift at the diner?" He asked

I was surprised at the question, wary but curious. "Why?" I asked suspiciously, maybe a little too harshly.

My harshness made him smile a small smile, "My name is Frank, I like the coffee and pancakes at your diner, and this is a bad neighbourhood. Do you want company walking home after your next shift?" He offered, a tad flatly.

"Uh yeah, okay. I have a shift tomorrow night that finishes at 11:00. I do get kinda scared walking home on my own. Thank you" I looked at his face and he looked a little concerned.

"I'm Emily" I offered my hand out to him and he took it. His hand was big and rough, and it was kind of sexy. We shook hands and smiled at each other. "Goodnight Frank" I said as I opened my door.

"Night" I heard him mumble as he walked through his.

I closed my door and took a second to think about what an interesting night I've had. I had a quick shower and hopped into bed. 'Frank' I thought to myself, huh.

---

Thanks to anyone who read this! I have more chapters on my wattapad, I'd love to hear comments for this. I've never written anything before and I've had this idea floating around my head for a long time!!

[alphawave-writes]

DPD chapter 25- Annuit cœptis: part 2

Richard sees Gavin's dad naked and learns Gavin's embarrassing secret childhood. The investigation into Philip lead to a shocking reveal about the true murderer. You guys can find this fic on AO3 and FF.NET

RA9 was an elusive murderer, but with a highly specific motive to go on, it felt like they were finally gaining traction. After Gavin spent the night ruminating about the events surrounding Arthur's suicide, he was able to come up with a new list of suspects. Fortunately, it was a small list of people, almost all of which were stationed in Detroit. Unfortunately however, getting in contact with these people and crossing them off the list was a much harder job than either Richard or Gavin anticipated. The prime suspects were Percy Conrad and Philip Seymour but the closure of CyberLife and their subsequent dismissal from the company made finding them difficult. The only other suspects on the list—an NX700 by the name of Rachel and Gavin's father, Wilson Reed—were at opposite ends of the city and required the pair to split up.

The odds were against them: a vicious time limit, the scrutiny of the world, and Gavin's own tragic past loomed with vicious snarling teeth, a three-headed Cerberus that wouldn't let the pair escape hell without a fight.

Richard's one respite was that Gavin was motivated by a determination stronger than gravity itself. The source of this determination, Richard did not know if it was selfish or selfless, but he believed it was good for Gavin. The world had kicked Gavin until he was black and bruised but finally, finally he began to rise, began to fight. Gavin threw himself into his work, not because he wanted to avoid the pain of the recent and distant past but because of his desire to see justice done.

If Richard was honest, he was envious that Gavin could grow like that. The magical change from hot-headed brute to the brilliant rational detective was a sight to see. Richard didn't know if he was capable of such change as an android. At the very least, he will try and match the detective's fervor. He too wanted to see RA9 taken behind bars.

"Are you sure you should meet my dad?"

Richard watched Gavin sipped his coffee loudly as he quickly browsed through the files Connor had sent minutes ago. Perkins was looking into Percy Conrad and Philip Seymour as well and was going to interview them. Connor promised to update them both as soon as possible. Gavin set the tablet down on the kitchen table and stretched his arms behind his back.

"It will be fine," Richard said.

"You sure?" Gavin yawned, creating a few tears to wipe away the crust in his eyes. His hair was sticking in weird ways and he was in due need for a shave but Richard couldn't help but stare at Gavin's scar-riddled chest. He suppressed a smile. Despite himself, he was a little bit proud for being the cause of Gavin's sleepy state this morning.

"You said you wanted to interview the NX700, Rachel."

"If I interview my dad, I'm gonna get complaints about being biased again. The media's already got themselves in a nip twist by the fact I'm still working on the case, and once they hear my dad's a suspect, I'm never gonna hear the end of it." Gavin took a big gulp of his coffee. When he set the mug down, his lips were pressed into a line. "Also, er…I might've…told my dad about us."

Richard blinked once. Just once. "Should I be worried?"

"Fuck no, my dad's fine with the whole android thing, and he knows I'm gay. I'm just saying, er…fuck, how do I say this…he's got a special way of welcoming people."

"Does he not like me?" Richard narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Are you not close to him?"

"Dad calls me up every now and then but we haven't met in a while. As for the first question—" Gavin chugged the rest of his coffee, wiping the beads from his lips with his forearm, "—you're gonna find out later today."

And indeed Richard did indeed find out when he came to the address of a reasonably posh house in Grosse Pointe. Rows of vintage houses with perfectly manicured gardens and snobby old men and women who looked down upon him greeted him once he stepped out of the taxi, though Richard wasn't sure if it was because he was an android or because he arrived in a taxi.

He approached the house of Gavin's father, almost a perfect mirror image to its neighbours were it not for the curious interior that Richard caught sight of through slitted curtains. He rung the doorbell. After a few seconds, a gruff voice rung out over the intercom.

"Who is it?" They rasped.

"My name is Richard. I'm an RK900 android from the DPD, and I need to talk to you about an ongoing investigation."

He heard the grumbles of displeasure.

Richard let out a sigh before adding, "I'm…also Gavin's boyfriend?"

The intercom shut off. Richard was thinking that he might be refused but with his hearing he could hear the faint noise of bare feet shuffling down the stairs. He waited with bated breath as the door creaked open.

And a completely naked old man revealed himself, leveling a pump shotgun right into Richard's chest. A quick scan confirmed that it was definitely Wilson Reed, Gavin's father. A cursory glance downward revealed that the apple didn't fall from the tree in terms of the size of certain bodily parts. Richard didn't know how to feel about this new piece of information.

"So," a sly smile crept up Wilson Reed's cheeks, "you're the one dating my son?"

Richard willed himself to stay calm even as his LED threatened to flash yellow. He had been expecting Gavin's father to be eccentric. He couldn't show he was scared. "Yes," he said. "We are dating."

Wilson Reed glanced up and down Richard's body, as if appraising him. He looked into Richard's eyes, which was difficult, because he was well over a head shorter than Richard. His eyes narrowed. "Living together?"

Richard nodded. "For a few months."

"You two done it together?"

Richard's cheeks flushed. "Yes," he quietly admitted, still keeping his hands up.

"Is that so…" Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Wilson Reed put the shotgun away behind the front door, ushering Richard in. Richard quickly lowered his arms and looked around the neighbourhood, seeing a couple people purposely avoiding eye contact with him, before entering.

It's a stylish yet cosy mansion inside. It's not as perfect as the exterior of the house was but it was built for comfort, with comfy leather sofas and rustic timber tables sat side by side modern IKEA-style shelves stacked full of DVDs and the single largest TV screen Richard had ever seen outside of a billboard advertisement. He turned his head and saw Wilson Reed struggling to put his pants on near the staircase. Out of respect for the man who was seconds ago wielding a shotgun, Richard stood where he was by the door, waiting patiently until Wilson Reed was equipped with pants.

Wilson Reed turned back to Richard with a gentle smile. It suited his rosy cheeks and plump face, but it didn't suit his potentially homicidal tendencies. One hand holding up his slack trousers, he gestured for Richard to follow him and the android silently obliged, going through many short corridors until he found himself in a small study. On the table were a variety of tablets with different police reports about Gavin and a few magazines. Wilson Reed reached for one of the magazines and threw them in Richard's direction. Richard caught it and read the front cover. An LGBTQ magazine held a picture of him and Gavin staring with haunted eyes into the cameras shortly after 42's suicide. The tagline was not much better: All you need to know about Detroit's gay homoandro powercouple.

Wilson Reed grabbed an old polo shirt from the chair and slung it on. "You didn't get scared earlier."

It took Richard longer than he'd like to get what Wilson Reed was saying. He lowered the magazine slightly. "A little bit. More about your nudity than the shotgun."

"You weren't scared of the shotgun?" Richard shook his head. "Why?"

"You didn't take the safety off," Richard pointed out.

Wilson Reed snorted. "Fuck, you noticed. I was hoping you wouldn't." His eyes followed Richard's gaze to the magazine and his lips pull up into a smile. "Of all of the stuff I'd have thought Gawain would be in, I didn't think a gay magazine would be one of them."

"Gawain?" Richard asked.

"That's his name."

"Gawain?!" Richard repeated.

"Blame his mother. She wanted a Knights of the Round Table theme for her kids. Had she gone through with the third pregnancy, he'd have a younger brother called Bedivere."

Richard cringed. "That's a horrible name for a child." Considering the names he initially considered for himself before settling on Richard, that might've been hypocritical for him to say.

"I know, right?" Wilson took the tablet from Richard's hands and stared at the photo. He sighed sentimentally. "Always knew Gawain would be a lawman. You know he legally changed his name to Gavin when he was still in high school? That's when I knew he was gonna be a law man."

It's fascinating learning about Gavin's childhood, and Richard was sure to tease him about it the next time they meet, but there were more pressing issues. For all he knew Wilson Reed was purposely trying to distract him. "Mr. Reed, I must ask you about your whereabouts on the mornings of the 12th, 13th and 14th."

Wilson's eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

Richard frowned, mentally deliberating on whether to tell Gavin's father, but the man was astute, catching the meaning behind Richard's hesitation. Wilson Reed sat down in his chair, dazed.

"No…"

"We believe the killer is motivated to bring justice to those they believe meant ill will for Arthur." Richard paused. "Few know the nature of Arthur's death. You are one of them. That gives you motive."

"I didn't kill anyone. The gun's for show, look, I'll even show you, it's actually a lighter if you just flick this switch and—"

"Mr. Reed," Richard said forcefully.

For a second Wilson stared incredulously into Richard's eyes but the weight of the situation finally hit him in the stomach and it sent him reeling. He stared dejectedly between his knees for a few seconds, a million emotions flashing before him, before swiveling his chair to the desk. He moved aside books and tablets to grab a dust-covered photo at the edge of his desk. It's an old photo of Gavin after graduating from the police academy. He was grinning into the camera, holding his mother in a one-armed hug beside him. Richard saw this photo before. Gavin had a better quality copy on his bedside table.

He watched as Wilson took the back off of the photo frame, pulling the photo out. Wilson stared at it, his eyes cloudy with a melancholy Richard couldn't even begin to comprehend. After a few seconds, he handed it to Richard.

"Why are you giving me this?"

"I've been at home all week. Haven't really gone out anywhere or seen anybody so I don't got an alibi to give you—" He tapped the photo, "—but I hope this might make up for a lack of alibi."

With Wilson's prompting, Richard flipped the photo to the other side to find a message written in fine pen.

If any hot guy says 'fuck the police', I'm obliged to show them this picture and give them your number. Sorry, don't make the rules, it's not my fault I got the coolest bro in the world. (Mom, if you're reading this, you also look nice btw).

Love and kisses and all that gay shit,

Arthur

Richard couldn't help but smile. He wasn't sure if the copy Gavin had held this message or not so just in case, he took a snapshot and saved it into his memory. He handed the photo back to Wilson, who carefully put the photo back into its frame and returned it to its designated spot on the desk.

"Those two were thick as thieves," Wilson explained. "You know why Arthur wrote that message? Because he couldn't make it to the graduation. And you know what was the first thing Gawain said when they finally saw each other one week later? 'Don't worry about it'. That's it. Wouldn't accept Arthur's apology because he said there was nothing to forgive."

"It's a touching story, but how does this help me?"

"If your killer knows all about Arthur, they'll know all about Gawain too. And if they know all about Gawain…"

"They'll be one step ahead of us," Richard finished.

"Yeah…" Wilson uttered. "Hate to say it, but maybe my son shouldn't get so involved."

There was a beat of silence where nothing could be heard but the faint fumble of cars driving down the street outside. In that moment Richard thought of Gavin and his actions during the case, the things he said when it was just the two of them, the abrupt confession of love the other day that never failed to leave Richard smiling.

"You're wrong," he said. "The killer is wrong too." Richard gazed meaningfully into Wilson's eyes. "Gavin has changed."

Wilson scoffed with humour. "I'm not surprised, if he's dating an android of all things."

"It's not just that. Gavin is the most unpredictable man I know, and I say that as a good thing. Plenty of expectations are leveled over him and yet he constantly defies them. When everyone expects him to lash out, he keeps a level head. When the world expects him to act stupidly, he thinks rationally. I highly doubt that the killer truly knows Gavin because he's impossible to define. In the context of this case, in light of what the killer may know about us, that might be Gavin's greatest strength." Richard crossed his arms. "Gavin has truly changed, and for the better, I think."

Wilson's reaction was delayed, taking him a fraction of a second to consider Richard's words, but when they do register, his lips curl upward into a sweet, almost gentle smile. It's a smile Richard was familiar with, because Gavin would occasionally make those sweet smiles for him, usually in the comfort of his apartment, alone with each other.

"You and my son are serious, huh?"

Richard smiled bashfully. "Saving each other's lives multiple times tends to do that to a couple."

"But do you love him?" Wilson asked, leaning forward in his chair slightly as he steepled his fingertips.

"I do love Gavin," Richard said, surprised by the ease in which the words spilled out of his synthetic lips. He quickly collected himself, hoping Wilson did not notice the flash of yellow on his right temple. "I hope I have your blessing."

Wilson smirked. "I only just met you. Like all the other boys Gawain brought home, you gotta earn my blessing."

Considering this was Gavin's father, the man who leveled a shotgun naked at him mere minutes ago, Richard suspected earning his respect was going to be something ridiculous. Not that that would stop him. He'd do almost anything for Gavin. "What do I have to do?" He asked.

"You wanna earn my blessing? Catch the motherfucker who thinks he can toy with my son, and make him rot in jail."

Richard smiled wickedly. That was something he would gladly do.

After finally leaving Wilson Reed's house (but not before Wilson revealed more childhood stories about Gavin), Richard was en route to Philip Seymour's address. Along the drive, it's Connor who updated him on new information on the case. Perkins had found and interviewed Percy Conrad, who in turn revealed Philip Seymour's address. Once it was revealed he was a suspect in the murders, he practically threw Philip under the bus, citing an incident Philip masterminded that led to their simultaneous dismissal from CyberLife and their subsequent hiding from RA9. Connor claimed that Percy Conrad was vague in describing the inciting incident, but insisted that it was quite bad. Connor gave him and Gavin Philip Seymour's address.

"I bought you some time, but I will have to report this to Perkins in half an hour," Connor said through the mental uplink.

"It's fine, Connor. Half an hour is more than enough. ETA 3 minutes to Philip Seymour's address."

"I'll continue my research into him, try and figure out how exactly he got fired. At the moment, however, it seems like he is our primary suspect."

Richard pursed his lips. "Even though he's a human?"

"I'm…still working on my theory on how." The sound of a forced chuckle could be heard through the connection before they disconnected. The taxi stopped in front of Philip Seymour's place. A few blocks away, Richard could see Gavin sitting in his civilian car. As he got out, so too did Gavin. Richard walked over to Gavin and broke out into a grin. Something about seeing the man he loved just made him feel better somehow.

Gavin leaned onto the car. "My dad didn't give you too much crap, did he?"

Richard went around to the trunk of Gavin's car, retrieving a briefcase. "He tried to shoot me with a shotgun naked."

"Huh. He must like you," Gavin murmured.

Richard shut the trunk and turned to Gavin. "How is threatening me with a shotgun a good thing?"

"If he didn't like you, he'd have brought out the shovel too," Gavin said casually.

Richard recalled seeing a shovel right next to where the shotgun was kept. He suppressed a shiver as he followed Gavin to the front steps of the house.

Gavin pointed at the briefcase. "Gonna tell me what's in that case?"

"My new back-up plan. If one of us ever needs to make an escape, I can camouflage myself as you." Richard opened the briefcase slightly to reveal a bunch of folded up clothes, including a perfect replica of Gavin's trademark red hoodie.

Gavin rolled his eyes, smiling. "No offense, but that's not going to work. You're way taller than me. There's no way you can mimic me."

Richard was glad Gavin had responded in that way, because now he could prove him wrong. He turned to Gavin and transformed slowly, letting the skin shift and morph until his face and skin was an almost perfect representation of Gavin. He cleared his throat in an obnoxiously loud manner and, in a perfect echo of Gavin's voice, said, "My name is Gavin Reed, and I love cock. I love it so fucking much because it helps me compensate for my tiny dick—"

"OK, I get it—"

"—because my dick, which is tiny, has been compared by many to look like a baby's pacifier."

"—What the fuck, Richard, stop. Seriously." Gavin playfully slapped at Richard's arm. The camouflage melted away shortly afterwards. An incredulous chuckle bubbled from Gavin's throat. "Y-You absolute dick."

"Still think I can't camouflage as you?"

Gavin snorted. "We both know my dick is not tiny."

"I know," Richard grinned, "but mine's bigger, Gawain."

Before Gavin could even splutter a retort, Richard rung the doorbell, effectively silencing the man.

Instead of an older human opening the door as Richard expected, an android was the one standing in the doorway. They smiled politely, the expression only reaching their lips and not their eyes. Their LED was gone, removed some time ago, but if it was still there, Richard would think it would perpetually shine blue.

"May I help your gentlemen?" The android asked.

Gavin wasted no time flashing his badge. "We're here to see Philip Seymour."

"Of course, right this way." The android sidestepped so they may enter. Gavin entered first, with Richard trailing behind, taking in the strange expression on the android.

The android led them to a sitting room filled with a variety of different good luck charms. Gavin was asking meaningless questions to the android and it's then that Richard saw the first crackles of emotion on their expressionless face, that emotion being surprise. Richard did not pay attention to what Gavin was saying, for Richard already knew what the purpose of the conversation was, and that was to distract the android while he scanned the area undisturbed. Richard scanned the bookcase that was filled to the brim of books on astrology and pseudo-sciences, the kitchen in the next room that looked like it had never been used, and finally the android that was in the room with them. It's a typical HK400 model but even from a preliminary glance, there was something strange about the android in front of him. What specifically was so strange about it, Richard could not yet figure out.

Richard retracted the skin on his hand, ready to extract more information from the HK400 while it was still distracted by Gavin when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the wooden floors. Flesh had returned just as a chubby man in his 40s slowly walked in, accompanied by another android. Philip Seymour's profile appeared in Richard's periphery. The only thing of interest in the profile was that he was extremely near-sighted, but the man wasn't wearing his glasses. He might as well be blind as a bat at the moment.

"You're that famous detective on the TV," Philip drawled, gesturing vaguely for them to sit on his leather seats. "You must be here about those awful murders."

Gavin crossed his arms instinctively, making no move to sit down. "We are," he said, already wary of Philip.

Everything in Richard's body and mind was screaming that Philip was danger incarnate, but for the life of him he could not figure out why that was his initial response. The answers were locked away in the recesses of his mind, and Richard did not yet have the key.

The HK400 slinked away while the other android, a PL700 from Richard's analysis, came from behind to offer Gavin a drink from a tray. The detective shook his head. The PL700 retreated. The corners of Philip's lips inch downward for a microsecond before returning to a placid smile.

"What brings you here then?" Philip asked.

"You've heard about the RA9 murders, right?"

Philip Seymour's eyes narrowed. "You're not suggesting I am involved, are you?"

"Of course not," Richard lied, not missing a single beat. "We are merely addressing security threats to the most probable targets, which unfortunately includes you. This will mean officers will be assigned to your care indefinitely."

Philip's eyes widen in shock and his stress levels jump. He clicked his fingers impatiently to his side, prompting the PL700 to quickly retrieve a pair of glasses from his pocket. Philip quickly slid them on and stared intently at Richard. His eyes focused on the scar on Richard's cheek.

"…What was your name again?" Philip asked cautiously.

"Richard," he said slowly. The grip on the briefcase was tight.

Philip nodded in acceptance, but the crease in his brows remained. He turned to Gavin. "You don't have any suspects?"

"Our primary purpose is the protection of the city and its people," Gavin said, probably quoting some old handbook for cops. "We are looking into the murderer, but it is equally important that potential key targets are protected."

Philip nodded stiffly, flicking his wrist in the direction of the PL700. They quickly grab a bottle of bourbon on the lone table and poured a glass, handing it to Philip. He takes a big gulp, not even bothering to savour the flavor and makes a show of disgust as it burned his throat. By his side, the PL700 stood motionless, a servant at the beck and call of his master.

"We need to take a look around your house," Gavin continued. "For security reasons."

Richard glanced at Gavin who was already staring pointedly in his direction. I'll distract him, you go dig up some dirt the detective's eyes said. Richard nodded microscopically.

"Very well," Philip sighed, unable to hide the grumble of anger in his voice. He and the PL700 lead Gavin through the house, leaving Richard alone with the HK400. Richard waited as Gavin is lead through the ground floor and up the stairs, their footsteps going softer and softer until they could be heard no more.

He did not waste the opportunity he was given. He snooped through the ground floor, searching the kitchen, the downstairs bathroom, the dining room, searching for the evidence of fowl play he knew was here somewhere. In opening a door to what he thought was a supply closet, Richard instead encountered a narrow staircase descending into darkness. The basement, his mind supplied, but he didn't need to enter to know that there was nothing of interest. Just a beat-up old car that hadn't seen the light in well over a few years, and a workbench covered in thirium packets. Withholding a sigh, Richard closed the door.

"May I help you?" The HK400 asked.

His eyes widen, the only indicator of his surprise aside from his yellow LED. Richard quickly put on a fake smile, "I'm fine," he said, when he noticed something off. A theory that sprang into mind, one that explained the strange behavior of the android in front of him.

Ignorant of this, the HK400 remained smiling.

"You're…not deviant," Richard said.

"That is correct, I am not," the HK400 stated. "I am a household android tasked with taking care of my owner, Philip Seymour."

Richard couldn't recall meeting an android that had yet been touched by the gift of deviancy. Unconsciously the skin on his hand retracted, and he briefly wondered whether he should liberate this android like Connor had done so before him. Richard knew roughly how to do it, and it might provide him some answers, but then he recalled his own discovery of deviancy, how it took Gavin's help to feel a sense of control. He recalled Regina and how she lashed out after deviancy.

Maybe another time, he thought as he grasped the HK400 by the wrist. Investigation first.

Richard held onto the HK400's wrist for less than three seconds, before he violently retracted his hand, his LED flashing red. In those precious few seconds, Richard saw almost a year's worth of incriminating footage, saw the obsession, the writing on the walls. Worst yet was this feeling that bubbled within him, the knowledge that he had scraped the surface of something much more sinister than a few murders. In those three seconds, he'd opened Pandora's box and saw the wicked, twisted truth and the sins it represented.

He staggered back, the systems keeping his posture temporarily malfunctioning. The HK400 smiled woodenly. There was no emotion in its eyes, not even as Richard reached for the emergency panel and shut the android down manually.

Quickly and quietly, Richard hurried up the stairs, trying to find Gavin. All the doors were closed except for one, which was slightly ajar. Richard peered through as his mind desperately tried to conjure a way to get both him and Gavin out of his wretched house alive and uninjured. The narrow possibilities began to ring through his head when suddenly the uplink is forced open, and he heard the shrill panic of Connor's voice.

"Nines! Get out of there!"

"Connor, I know. I don't have time for this," Richard said hurriedly through the uplink, not even bothering to hide his terror.

"Philip Seymour was fired from CyberLife for stealing androids and reprogramming them."

"What? Reprogram?"

"I don't know how exactly, but I don't want to find out. You need to get out of there now!"

Richard knew Philip Seymour had to be involved in the murders, he had to be. All the evidence was stacking up against him, but there was no way he could have physically have done it. He was too short and too slow, and everything else had pointed to a singular android culprit. He was clearly the mastermind, but who was the pitiful android he had ensnared for this purpose? Who?

The sound of a body crumpling to the ground took Richard back to reality. He leaned closer to the gap in the door in time to see Philip glaring down at Gavin's body. It's then that he saw it on the wall behind Philip, the final piece of the puzzle, the identity of the culprit.

"No…no," Richard mouthed, as he attempted to scurry away. He still had the Gavin disguise in his briefcase. He could find a bathroom to change, wake Gavin up, and switch places before they know the difference. It's the only way to ensure Gavin's survival. He whipped his head around, only to find the PL700 stare emotionlessly at him. Richard glanced downwards far too late, the crackle of electricity from the taser seizing his body in jittery spasms. His systems overload one by one, fireworks exploding within his plastic body. He collapsed on the ground and closed his eyes.

Richard found himself in the one place he never wished to see again: the graphical interface he had once dubbed 'the forest'. A swell of panic rose as he saw what he thought to be Regina, his tormentor, but the genuine fear she showed him was all that he needed to know that this was another entity altogether. An entity that merely shared Regina's face and body. An entity purposely designed to only appear in times of stress when he's found conflicting data. A stress ball made corporeal in an imaginary world.

"Morpheus," Richard gasped.

The look on Morpheus was not calm like when they first met. Instead it was harrowed and haunted. "Richard," she said quietly.

"Please, let me out of here. I need to help Gavin. Let me wake up."

"If you awaken, the chance for self destruction is high."

"Please," Richard begged, "just for a few seconds. If not to save myself, then to make sure Gavin is OK." He tugged at her sleeve desperately. "Please…"

Morpheus looked down to her feet for a few seconds before nodding. Her hands move and a screen is projected in front of her. It's Richard's emergency feed, originally designed for human technicians to review his cases for any faults in his logic. There was no video but the sounds of a conversation could be heard.

"—really think we should reset it? It's too dangerous," Philip's muffled voice said.

Another voice chimed in, "It is merely an android, one that just so happens to be working on the case against us. If we reset it, we can raise it our own way. Control it. It will be instrumental in acting out our revenge."

Richard could feel the stress levels in him rise. It's a voice he was familiar with, but the way they spoke brought chills up his spine. What used to sound so full of life was now an empty shell, void of emotion.

"You think?" Philip paused. He didn't need visuals to hear the malicious smirk spread across his face. "Then let's do it. Set the machine up. We're resetting the RK900."

The video cut out and Richard stared wide-eyed, trying to stop his hammering heart from exploding within him. He collapsed on the ground, begging helplessly to wake up, to stand up and rescue Gavin. But Morpheus stood with a frown on her face, shaking her head. Tears flow uninterrupted from Richard's face as he pleaded and pleaded with Morpheus but she remained unmoving. She placed a single hand on his shoulder, the only bit of comfort the artificial construct could reproduce.

[spaci1701]

I get that, I really do. And I wish we could do something like that but it's just not feasible without devoting a large chunk of our program to it. We only get them for an hour a week and one weekend activity a month and we still have all the Scouting specific stuff (camping lessons, badge work, service stuff, etc) that we have to fit in as well.

As importantly, however, though we are in a fairly diverse area, our corner of it isn't as much. People who live here go to other areas for their temples and such. Take Judaism specifically - there is only one Jewish temple within the surrounding 5 (suburban) cities and is not that large. It's not that there aren't Jewish people here but they go into the city itself for things to do with their faith so the other kids (and adults) don't really see the other faiths in their neighbourhoods.

Which, I have no doubt, is quite likely due to a lot of bigotry and assimilation in the past. But we are becoming a more diverse area and we want to make sure the kids know to not only ask and learn about other faiths and cultures but also how to do so respectfully. So we want to give them just enough info to be a starting point while pointing them at better ways to learn more and accurate. I'm hoping that enough of them show enough interest that we could have one of the older sections arrange a faith exchange festival or something similar so we can expose the kids to a bunch of people willing to share their faiths.

But we have to take baby steps, here. We tried for 4 years to get the kids' families to bring some of their culture in to share, with as much emphasis on different religions as we could use without pressuring people. And we got some great results culturally! Mexican good and sushi lessons and historical hockey (we ARE Canadian) and even some good bits about unknown ancestry due to various causes.

And we got one presentation that had to do with ANY religion and that was Ukrainian Orthodox Easter eggs. That's it.

But I can look at my records and see that there are currently at least 5 non-Christian faiths represented in our group. And we've tried to get parents to suggest places we could visit for diversity and to weigh in on anything in our program that we are being insensitive or blind about and we've talked with the kids ad nauseum about how people are different and we get nothing back. We even had one parent who didn't tell us that her family was halal - we heard it from the youth while we were actually at camp. Thankfully I'd had advice previously from an imam and we were able to come up with some options for the poor kid but his menu was really strange that weekend.

Clearly those of other faiths aren't comfortable being visible in our community right now and that's what we're trying to change. Without pressuring anyone into stepping forward if they aren't willing.

So we just want to get the kids to know enough to ask the questions that will get others to share with them. Right now they don't have a starting point. And we can't provide it ourselves as our leadership right now is almost exclusively agnostic/atheist with a couple of casual Christians.

I've copied down your suggestions and I thank you for them! I'll be passing them on to some of our older sections who can roam a bit further for their activities. And hopefully we can get to a point in a few more years where visits to temples and mosques and festivals and such is more of an option.

Then again, hopefully in a few more years we'll also have more diversity visible within our small city as well. I tried searching after your great suggestion and realized that, although we have a LOT of retirement homes in our city, we don't have a single faith- based one. At least not one that lists it publicly.

I do promise that we'll take your concerns into account and won't present anything that hasn't been approved by a leader in any faith. If the entire thing ends up boiling down to 'Hanukkah, Diwali, Yule and Kwanzaa exist and you should politely ask people wearing a Star of David, a turban, a hijab or a really colourful headscarf if their willing to talk about their beliefs' because we can't get any more detailed without approval then we'll do that. Even that will be a start.

Hi! I've seen people send asks about Judaism to your blog, and I have a question for you, if you're okay with that: How do you (and the Jewish community in general, if you can answer that) feel about Christians celebrating their own version of passover?

Hi there!

Thank you so much for your thoughtful question.

My name is Josh (he/him/his) and I’m a student rabbi living in NYC.

I and – to the best of my knowledge– most Jews feel that it is abhorrent for Christians to celebrate their own version of Passover.  I firmly believe that it is not only an act of appropriation (Passover is a Jewish holiday developed over the past 3000+ years, the past 2000+ through a rabbinic lens) but it is also an act of antisemitism.  Historically Passover (i.e. Easter time) is a time where Christians created antisemitic lies that sought to hurt Jews.  The blood libel is the particular lie that I am referring to here.  (But there are many others)

I’ve noticed that several well-meaning Christians attempt to Christianize Jewish holidays and traditions and making them all about Jesus.  Sadly, ignorance creates a rather dark shadow in which several people forget history and try to rewrite a tradition that is not their own, in a way that truly scares me and other Jews half to death. 

Passover is a holiday that celebrates Jewish freedom against tyranny, against slavery and persecution.  It celebrates life and light, tradition and bravery, heroism and justice.   Appropriating Passover as a non-Jew not only appropriates someone else’s holiday, but it spits in the face of all of the reasons why we celebrate Passover– especially as a Christian who is a part of a system who has historically oppressed and hurt the Jewish People.

We are living in a time where Jews are being murdered in their synagogues.  We are living in a time where Jews are being hurt in the streets to which they live.  We are living in a time where Jews are being questioned about their politics on Israel to determine if they are a “good Jew” or a “bad Jew.”  We are living in a time where white nationalism is rising in the United States and around the world.  We are living at a time where people are continuing to try and erase the identity of Jews and the Jewish People- and that’s exactly what appropriating Easter does.  This goes for folks who wish to celebrate it without elements of Christian tradition, as well as for folks who wish to celebrate it with elements from Christian tradition.  A non-Jew celebrating a Jewish holiday the ‘right way’ is still appropriation, unless said non-Jew is working to convert to Judaism and join their Jewish family in the celebration of their freedom as well.

So, what do you do if you’re a Christian and you’d like to celebrate Passover?  Unless you are invited to a Passover seder by your Jewish friend, do not celebrate Passover.  Unless you are the spouse, parent, child, best friend, or other close person to a Jew helping to support their Jewish loved one(s)’ celebration of Passover, just don’t do it.    It’s not cool, it’s not appropriate, and will only hurt your Jewish friends (and family).  The same goes for celebrating every other Jewish holiday, festival, or doing Jewish rituals. 

I will be one of the first people to invite non-Jewish friends or family to Jewish events.  On the same token, I love to be invited to Christian, Muslim, and events for other faith traditions.  I think interfaith discussion is one of the most important keys to our futures as human being.  But that said, inviting someone into your home and into your tradition is different than borrowing their home or tradition.

Thank you again for your really thoughtful question.  I hope that you are having a lovely evening!

l’shalom,Josh

[chimomo]

I'm going to give you the chance to rant and ask for your opinions on Snape even though I already know them. >:D

Ohhhh boy. Alright.

First of all – this is not aninvitation to debate or anything, please. My opinions are just that –my opinions. You may see differently, and that's FINE, but pleasedon't try to debate with me. I'm a very anxious person who willprobably just combust.

Warning: NOT SNAPE FRIENDLY. If youlike Snape, this is not a post for you.

So, Severus Snape.

When talking about Snape, I've reallygot to divide this into three parts: him as a character, him as aperson within the universe, and his fans. Yes, they get their ownsection.

First up: Him as a character. Snape's agood character. I consider all of the central characters in HarryPotter to be good characters. They're well-rounded, interesting, havetheir own motivations and voices. Each one of them is worth includingin the story, and that includes Snape. That... is all I have to sayon that.

Snape as a person within the universe?This is where things get messy. Snape is not a good man. Snape is nota kind man. Snape is not a hero. Did he do good things? Yes. Did hedo them for the right reasons? Absolutely not, and that's thedifference. You really have to look at Snape's motivations, beginningfrom when he was a child. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt andsay that as a child, he really WAS Lily's friend just forfriendship's sake. They were two wizard children in theirneighbourhood, things were perfectly innocent. However, when he gotto Hogwarts – when he was sorted into Slytherin – that's whenthings changed.

I'd also just like to point out that Idon't hate kids in Slytherin. Not at all! IRL, my sister's one. Someof my friends are. And in universe, look at Andromeda, Slughorn, orthe dozens of Slytherin kids we never hear about because they're justliving normal lives. However, at the time when Snape was sorted intoSlytherin, it was probably at the House's most toxic point inhistory. Voldemort was actively recruiting, and Slytherin House wasripe for the picking. Many older students would already have beenswayed to join the cause, like Lucius, the Black children alreadythere (except for Andromeda, of course), etc. That is the environmentSnape was put into. And Snape bought into it. He wanted to fit in, sohe bought into this idea of purity and being better than muggleborns.And that's where everything went downhill.

James and co bullied Snape (and, asAllison pointed out to me, other characters agree it was really arivalry). This is true. But Snape was not a nice boy. Lilysays it herself – he called other students mudbloods all the time,and with the people he hung around with, you think he wasn't doingsome serious bullying himself? He was literally longing for the daywhen he could join the Death Eaters, a terrorist group, and spent hisdays – when he was not with Lily, which I'll get to in a moment –with other young people who also wished to be Voldemort's lackeys.That is not a good group of children. The kid was obsessed with DarkMagic – with hurting and killing people. He literally inventedSectumsempra, and we've seen what that spell does. THIS WAS A BOY WHOSPENT HIS DAYS COMING UP WITH SPELLS TO SLICE INTO PEOPLE AND KILLTHEM.

“But he changed becauseof his love for Lily!” But... was it love? Look, I'mdemiromantic, so I'm not the BEST person to talk to about romance.But I've been infatuated with people before. It's not romance. It'snot love. It's obsession. And that's what Snape's “love” for Lilysays to me. Snape clearly did not get a lot of attention as a child.Lily was most likely his first friend. To an 11 year old who hasnever had friends, that's important.As he told her about her new world, she must have looked at him likehe was giving her the sun. And he'd never felt that sort of attentionbefore. And of coursehe liked it. And that's when his obsession with Lily began, I think.To him, she is a prize – this beautiful intelligent witchwho gave him attention andlikes him and wantsto be his friend. And then weget into issues of friend-zoning, both within the universe and infandom. “Snape deserved Lily, he was a better friend toher!” “I'm a better person than James Potter, why doesn't Lilylove ME?”

Then,of course, we get to the Mudblood incident. Snape literally calledher a racist slur. He used themost offensive term for a witch possible. Did he do it withoutthinking? Yes, he did. But to me, that proves the sort of person heis. If he has to actively think about not calling her a mudblood,that is very, very telling. If it just slipped out because he didn'tcensor himself in time, that is very, very telling. And let me justsay – I'm queer. If someone I considered a friend evercalled me by a slur because ofmy identity, you can bet I'd drop them faster than I'd drop a giantspider.

Lilydid for herself the best thing she ever did on that day – ended it.Permanently. She cut herself off from a toxic friend and from thatpoint on was able to change and grow without this tumour of a“friend” hanging onto her by a thread – until, of course, heset it up so that her husband and son would die.

Petersold the Potters out to Voldemort. But Snape planted the idea in hismind. He told Voldemort of the prophecy, and only changed his mindwhen he realized Voldemort was going to kill Lily. But he did notcare about James. He did not care about Harry – this“good man” did not care that a toddler and his father were goingto be killed. He was so bitterabout James Potter and Lily Evans falling in love – of James“stealing” Lily – that he genuinely did not care about thedeath of a small child and his father. And that also PROVES that hedoes not love Lily. I've been in love with two people, and God doesnothing make me happier than seeing them happy, even if it's withsomeone else. It's a bittersweet happiness, but I would never, NEVERwish death upon the boys that the people I love have loved. Becausethat's what love is – letting go, and wanting someone to be happy.For a beautiful example of that, look at the character Tomoyo in themanga Cardcaptor Sakura. Now that isunrequited love.

I'msorry, but that's not a good person. Just.... not. Yes, he went toDumbledore. Yes, he switched sides because of it. But the factremains that he never wanted James to survive – and he never wantedHarry to, either. And that's really what sums up Snape for the restof his life – bitterness.

Snape,from that moment on, could no longer be considered truly evil– he was, yes, now fightingfor good. But he is still not a good person. He is not a kind person.And nothing is more telling of that than his interactions withstudents.

SeverusSnape is as much of a bully in his adult life as James Potter everwas from the ages of 11-16. The difference is that Snape bullieschildren. He is in a position of power over these children. Ofauthority. And he uses that power to bully, shame, and hurt children.Whether it's him sneering at Hermione and mocking her appearance (“Isee no difference”), threatening to feed Neville's toad poison(he's literally threatening to kill a child's pet),or knocking points off of innocent kids for absoltely no reason, he'sa horrible, horrible teacher. Not to mention a biiig, big fact – heis Neville Longbottom's worst fear in Prisoner of Azkaban. I want totalk about that.

NevilleLongbottom has not had an easy life. His parents, of course, weretortured when he was a small child and are now in the hospital,permanently, unable to care for him, love him, or even recognize him.Neville was thought to be a squib for years. He no doubt considershimself barely a wizard. That has left his self-confidence so, so cutup, and Snape just preys onthat. So by the time Neville is in third year, Snape is genuinely hisworst fear. But let's take a moment and think about something – inPrisoner of Azkaban, the entire Wizarding Britain is terrified of awizard who has escaped Azkaban. We know that Neville knows theidentities of the wizards who tortured his parents – and that they,too, are in Azkaban. This is an anxious 13 year old boy. He'sprobably fretting over the though of someone like Bellatrix escapingtoo – not to mention just the general fear of Sirius being out andabout. Yet, despite that, his worst fear is Severus Snape. BecauseNeville is at Hogwarts. Hogwarts, a place of safety and comfort,learning and laughter, a place that is supposed to be so incrediblyuntouchable. And Snape has taken this place that should be a havenand twisted it forNeville. He's made him scared to do things in his own home, and assomeone with an abusive parent, I know how awful that is.Neville can reassure himself about being safe from the Death Eaters.But not from Snape. Snape is not only at Hogwarts, but has genuineauthority over Neville. Authority he uses in the worst possible way.

Andthen there's his treatment of Harry. Was he technically protectinghim? I guess. But honestly? It's a very good thing Harry has a thickskin and just loathed Snape rather than feared him, because Snape wasAWFUL to him. He was unfair, bitter, and nasty to a kid who, in firstyear, really did come in with a clean slate and wanting to dowell/get along with teachers. Snape is the only regular teacher Harryhas an issue with. He gets along well with pretty much everyone else– not counting Umbridge, etc – and his marks are fine. But Snapedespises Harry – DESPISES this innocent kid. That's. That's sochildish and petty and bitter oh my god. I have people I dislike butif one day I meet their kids of course I'm going to be nice to them,because children are not their parents. Harry was not James JR orLily JR, he was Harry, an empathetic, kind, sarcastic boy with hisown personality and life. I still don't like the fact that Harrybasically reacted the way fandom did re: Snape (“Bravest man Iknew” my ASS I can feel all the people Harry's ever met rolling intheir graves when he says that).

Icould go on and on about Snape in universe, I really could. But I'mgoing to wrap it up by saying that Severus Snape is, by all accountsin the Harry Potter books, not a kind person. No amount of fanfictionor gifs of the movies will change that.

Andthat brings me to my last opinion of Snape. Snape within the fanbase.The glorification of Snape makes me sick. If you like his character?Great! We all have our favourites and least favourites. But please,please please PLEASE do not pretend he is something he is not. Andthat's what many, many people I have seen do. These are, typically,people who have not read the books in years. Maybe not at all. Theysaw the movie, and felt their hearts ache at the sight of Snapecradling Lily's body and weeping over her. They turned to fanfiction.And fanfiction, in the Harry Potter fandom, is where canon goes todie. Fanfiction is where the tropes “Ron the Death Eater” and“Draco in Leather Pants” became popular.

Andthe Snape adoration begins.

TheSnily. Oh, the Snily. But that's not even the worst. The Snarry. TheSnamione. The Snape/any studentin Harry's generation (excuse me while I actually go and vomit). Thewank over “Oh, Snape, he was such a good person, did you know Lilyand James were going to forgive him and make him their second child'sgodfather because Lily was pregnant when she died and alsoCrookshanks was the Potters' cat blah blah blah” (reread the booksholy shit reread the books and learn the difference between canon andfanon PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE).

Andyou can't escape it. This Snape adoration, this hero worship, isEVERYWHERE. I honestly categorize the HP fans I meet into “Snape”and “No Snape” - and am far more willing to discuss HP with the“No Snape” category. I just get this huge sense of relief whensomeone says “Oh, I hate Snape”.

Look,I could keep going, but I'm over 2000 words and I'm tired. I'm sotired. If you read this whole thing and hate Snape too, I love you.Come talk to me.

Andplease, please, please – if you disagree, you do. Not. Have toreply. My opinions will not change. I'm just posting this ask as aresponse to my friend sending me in the question.