#STOP ASKING ME TO OPEN STUFF FOR YOU IF YOU NEVER BUY IT! GAH

[whaleiumsharkspeare]

Me minding my business until I notice that the problem customers have walked in

(Gif by @thisgameissonintendo )

[ambigirl]

Why are girls so different!? Part 1

Notice: this is an au for Wind breaker characters

Characters: Haruka Sakura, Tachibana Kotoha, Hajime Umemiya, Hayato Suo, Kiryu Mitsuki, Akihiko Nirei, Kaji Ren, Toma Hiiragi, Taiga Tsugeura, Tsubakino Tstsuku

Ship: Kotoha x Sakura

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

"Why are girls so different?"

This question has been living in his head rent free for days. It isn't like he had encountered many girls in his life! As a matter of fact, in all his life, girls had been avoiding him. It may be because of his aggressive attitude, or may be because of his heterochromia weird appearance.

But recently, a girl has entered his life. She doesn't seem to be scared of him. In fact, she stared into his eyes, face to face, and said his appearance is awesome! He felt something in his heart that wasn't familiar, so for avoiding it, he snapped and yelled. But she didn't seem scared of his attitude, too! What a weird girl...

All of this fun started from the time he met her, and now, he's in front of the mirror, weirdly caring about his appearance. He had his comb in his hands and was trying some new hairstyle that makes him look better. Suddenly, he snapped out of imagination and found himself with his hair looking like Umemiya Hajime, his senpai in school.

"Huh!?"

He felt weird, why is he trying to change his appearance!? He tried to find the answer from what he remembered from yesterday:

~ He was walking in the street with his hands full. The first year's patrol finished just half an hour ago, so, after saying goodbye to his classmates and a little chit-chat with Suo and Nirei, he met with people he helped during the patrol. For some reason, people has started to call him "captain Sakura". The sound of "captain Sakura, take this" "captain Sakura, take that" was filling the area. Sakura couldn't stop blushing, thinking about how popular he has become. He both like and hate being the centre of attention.

"This town is full of weirdos" he thought.

Suddenly, someone passed by him that caughthis eyes. His eyes widened by the sight of shiny brown threads dancing in the air.

"Ko..."

He stopped himself, remembering how embarrassing it is to call her by her name. It loks like she was in hurry, and her face was sweaty. The weather was kinda chilly, so he couldn't understand why she was sweating this much. He took a big step and caught her hand.

"Oi"

She turned back with a big gasp. But then, her eyes sparkled.

"Sakura! What a relief, you scared me."

He grabbed his things in one hand, then opened his hand in front of her face.

"Let me carry your stuff"

She smiled and said: "are you sure!? Your own stuff seems heavy, but mine aren't"

"J-just give them to me already" he blushed. "A man wouldn't let a woman carry things when he's around."

Mitsuki taught him that. He never thought he'd use this on her, of all people.

Kotoha smiled and handed over all the things that was carrying.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to trouble you."

"It's nothing."

She looked her back real quick, kinda nervously.

"Uhhh, Sakura, I'm happy that I've seen you! You're a life saver." She gave him a big smile.

"Can you... please... go somewhere with me tomorrow!?" She said it while trying to open the cafe.

"Where!?"

"Well, I wanna go shopping, and since I have a lot of things to buy, they're going to be heavy for sure. I wanted to ask Nii... I mean, Umemiya, but he's really busy."

He put all the eggs on the cabinet and said: "well, ok. What time!?"

"How about 10 a.m?"

"it's ok". He sat on the chair. "Can I have omelette rice?"

Kotoha giggled. "Ok ok. Wait a little". ~

Sakura came back to present, suddenly remembering it's 9:45.

"Gah, I wish my hair wasn't 2 coloured. I look weird with any hair style!"

He left the comb on his futon and ran outside. He didn't want to be late for...

He stopped and grabbed his head between his arms. "Stop thinking about date, this isn't a date, you're just gonna help her, that's it". Would someone as mature as her even think about dating someone like him!? This question popped into his mind, causing a pain in his heart. "Well, that hurts."

Kotoha was standing in front of cafe, with a long white and green dress. This was the first time Sakura had seen Kotoha with a dress! "She looks so pretty!" He couldn't resist this idea in his mind. "I should tell her, I think."

"Hi."

Kotoha gave him a smile. "Hello Sakura."

Sakura couldn't open his mouth to say "this dress suits you so much" or "you look pretty". It was so embarrassing that thinking about it made him blush wildly.

"Y-y-you have changed your appearance". He said it while trying to look away.

"Oh, you mean this dress!? Yes. I... like wearing these kind of dresses, but wearing them when I'm alone makes me feel uncomfortable." She blushed saying that, with an uncomfortable face.

"Why? It looks pretty on you!"

Suddenly, he understood that he let that slip his mouth, tried to fix it.

"I-I-I-I mean..."

But Kotoha seemed kinda sad. "Thank you, but when there isn't a man around, other men try to harass, especially when I'm wearing these beautiful dresses."

Sakura couldn't stop himself from feeling sad. She seemed really upset about it. Sakura could remember the first time they met, there were a group of boys surrounding her, trying to drag her with themselves.

"Well, now I'm here, so don't worry about anything and enjoy wearing this dress"

Sakura said it by instinct, with a blushing face. Kotoha looked at him with surprise, but then, she smiled. "Thank you, I really appreciate it." She grabbed his arm as they were entering the mall.

Sakura looked at Kotoha's face, blushing about her grabbing his arm, but saw Kotoha with a shiny face and eyes full of sparkles, with a tiny blush on her chick.

"Let's Go!!!" Her voice was full of excitement.

Sakura never had seen someone being this happy about shopping! "Why are girls always look so happy while shopping!?" Well, according to what he knows, guys mostly think shopping is a pain in the ass, and don't do it till it's completely necessary, but girls!!! He heard that girls love going into shopping malls and not coming out for hours!!!

Sakura took a long breath. "Haaaahhhh, I hope God save me from a long shop!"

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

"I wished we could've went back and eat your omelette rice instead of eating ramen here" Sakura said it with a pout. Kotoha gave him a small laugh.

"We're out, so why not enjoying a meal outside of what we usually eat!?"

"I-I like trying new things!!! But... I like food at your cafe more... kinda"

Kotoha gave a very kind smile. "I'm happy to hear that!" (Her face in my mind: 😄)

Sakura put the chopsticks into his mouth angrily. He couldn't help but think Kotoha is angry at him. For 3 or 4 hours straight, she was putting on different kind of dresses and showing them to Sakura.

"Does it look good on me!?"

And Sakura, while couldn't help his dropped jaw could just say: "Yes! You look absolutely beautiful."

He feels like because he kept saying that, Kotoha is upset with him. She even said: "Are you saying it like this so we can finish our shopping sooner!?"

And Sakura answer it with "No, I mean everything I say."

Sakura wished he could give his vision to Kotoha, so he could see how stunning she is with the dresses she wear!

"Do guys look this different with some outfit change!?" In his opinion, guys don't look beautiful in any clothes, they can just look cooler and cooler. And it's not like if they change their t-shirt with another t-shirt, their appearance look cooler! But when Kotoha changed her t-shirt with another cloth that was strange to Sakura, her appearance went from stunning to absolutely stunning! And Sakura's jaw dropped on the floor by witnessing that!

"I'll pay the bill." Sakura said that with a pout. Kotoha stopped eating and looked at Sakura.

"Really!? How!? Do you have enough money!?"

"O-of course I have! I've been paid for doing some small things in town by elder people."

He - was - lying!

Yesterday, Hiiragi came in front of his home, after some talk they had about things they do in school, Hiiragi said: "Kotoha-chan told me she's taking you with her for shopping, is that right!?"

"Y-yes"

"Then, have this."

He gave Sakura some money. Sakura was blushing surprisingly.

"What is it for!?"

"For tomorrow. If you two went to a restaurant to eat something, or if there were small payments like taking taxi or buying something, do it with this. It's not that much, but it should be ok for the little time you two are going to spend together." Hiiragi looked at Sakura who looked struggled, and smiled. "I'm not doing it for you, I want Kotoha-chan to have a good time, and I know she'll have a good time if you don't get embarrassed in front of her." He sighed and turn his back. "We men have different world view about everything with women, and now, you're going to experience it yourself, and not with anyone, but with someone I consider my little sister, so, just have fun and don't worry about anything, your big brother have both of you guy's back!"

He waved at Sakura and disappeared in the darkness.

"Hiiragi, thank you." Sakura thought that with a smile.

Outside of restaurant, there was a game with some prizes. And the biggest prize was a big pink bear!

"Tch, who is that idiot to give money to get a big bear!?" Sakura thought, then turned around to see if her shopping is finished or not, just to face Kotoha with an excited face of her that sparkles were flying around her!

"Eh!? Eeeeeehhhhhh!? She's excited just for a big bear toy!?"

"Do you want it!?" Sakura said it with surprised face.

Kotoha turned around with puppy eyes. "C-can I please try!?"

Sakura felt his chest was empty for some seconds. "Eh!? Where's my heart!? I feel like I'm about to die!"

What's her deal!? "Ugggghhhhhh"

"It's f-fine, let's try it." HOW COULD HE SAY NO TO THOSE EYES!? DAMN IT!

Kotoha paid for the game. It was a simple game: throw the ball to some kind of animals. If you could take down the lion, you could get the big bear. Kotoha could throw it, but it didn't take it down.

"Aaaawwwwww". She seemed so sad.

"Don't worry, beautiful young girl, you can have one of these smaller items." The man said.

"Hold on, let me try once, too!"

Sakura grabbed the ball and throw it with every strength he had. The ball hit the lion and make a hole in both lion and the decorations behind it.

"What did you do!?" The man seems so angry.

"I'm sorry for that." He gave the remaining money he had to the man. "Can we take the big bear now!?"

The man threw hand angrily. "You can take whatever ... you want!"

Sakura got angry because of the curse he said. "Calm down Sakura, calm down. Remember you promised Kotoha and Hiiragi to not fight."

He picked the bear and went to Kotoha. "Is this the one you wanted!?" He asked.

"Yes! Yes! Can I carry it myself!?"

"Yes, here you go."

Sakura hand the big bear over to Kotoha, and she get it with a happy smile.

"Why are girls so different!? How can a girl smile this bright and suddenly becomes the centre of the world!? How can the world vanish and only she stays with such a beautiful smile!?" Sakura couldn't stop the thoughts popping into his mind.

"Sakura. Thank you for getting me this. Now, I wanna share my happiness with you."

She stands on her toes and gave Sakura a cheek kiss! He got frozen, he couldn't even remember how to breathe! He tried to imprison the shout that was coming from the bottom of his heart, and gulp down all "What was that for" words that were coming up his throat. She was hugging the bear very happily and he didn't want to ruin her mood.

Walking out of mall, they saw Tsubaki on patrol.

"Tsubakiiiiii-chaaaaaaa-"

While Kotoha tried to get Tsubaki's attention, Sakura ran to him while shouting "just a minute, I have to tell something to him".

He grabbed Tsubaki's arm and dragged him a little further.

Note: I'll write a part 2 for it, this one got too long and we're still in the middle of story ;-;

Note 2: according to official English editors of manga, the mangaka announced that Tsubaki's official pronounce is he/him.

Note 3: other characters will show up, too ;-;

[jdetan]

A Royal Retreat

A decade after the Upheaval, a shopkeeper has a few unexpected guests...

Cambo leaned against the wall of his store, occasionally calling out to passersby. “Fresh food! Hylian rice, Tabantha wheat, Hateno cheese! All at low prices! I also sell arrows and tunics! I’ll buy your stuff too! C’mon, buy something, will ya?” No one stopped, and he sighed deeply. Gah. Business has been crap ever since I moved my business from Lookout Landing. Castle Town has way too much competition. Maybe I should go a bit south, set up business around Tarrey Town. He looked up at the new castle, built over the ruins of Akkala Citadel. Still, it is nice seeing the Queen and Princess Sonia every so often. Wonder why the king never accompanies her, though. Maybe he’s shy. He chuckled at the thought. The king had slain the Demon King Ganondorf and fought back the Calamity!  Why would he be shy? “Um, excuse me sir.” Cambo looked up from his half-dozing state. A lithe man with dirty blonde hair was standing in front of him, an awkward smile on his face. “I see you have a good selection of food! Are you open?” “Oh, yeah! Sure! Take a look! Everything you see is on sale.” Cambo put on his best merchant’s smile as they headed into the store. “I recommend the Hateno Cheese! Have you ever tried it, young man?” “Oh, yeah. I’m from Hateno, actually!” The man chuckled lightly. “And I’m not that young anymore– I’m thirty five!” He pointed out a few items, looking over the selection. “I’ll have a bundle of Hylian tomatoes, Hateno cheese, Goron spice, Tabintha wheat…” He began loading the items on the countertop. This little guy’s making my MONTH! Cambo thought with a grin. All the stuff he’s buying is gonna put me back in the black! “Hmm… will that be all, sir?” He asked, delighted. “Yeah, tha– hold on, you sell jewelry too?” The man suddenly caught a glimpse of the gem studded items off to the side. “Is this Gerudo made?” “Very good eye! My wife is a Gerudo, so she picks up items from their jeweler to sell here! Have anything in mind?” Cambo was now seeing rupees dance in his vision. “Yeah! It’s my wife’s birthday tomorrow, and she would LOVE this pendant!” The man grinned widely, adding the pendant to the items. “Same birthday as the queen’s, huh? I bet she’s a little jealous of all the attention Queen Zelda gets!” Cambo laughed good naturedly. The man shot him a strange look before laughing himself. “She likes small scale celebrations, so we usually have our celebration the day before anyway. Besides, our little one has the day off of school for the national holiday, so we can stay up late if we want.” Read the rest on AO3!

[colorseeingchick]

Valentine’s Affections (Kageyama, Oikawa, Kuroo)

I adore Valentine’s day! Love is in the air and chocolate is in my stomach. But for you and these boys? Well... it’s a lil more complicated than that. 

A/N: We are going to completely ignore the fact that valentine’s day was a full 3 months ago. Love is always in the air on this blog !

Warnings: Light swearing? Maybe? Lotsa fluffy stuff beware cavities. 

Kageyama Tobio

Kageyama stares hard at the vending machine in front of him. Now, this was far from a new situation he found himself in- he found himself in front of this very vending machine every single day. But the stakes were much higher this time.

Strawberry, or chocolate? Which would be a better gift? 

Early on he decided against chocolates, cuz it felt too obvious. He opted out of a note, cuz he wasn’t articulate enough for that. And for the same reasons a verbal confession was completely out of the picture. So here he was, in front of the vending machine, hoping you would accept his love, or at the very least, the milk carton as a token of it. 

He decides on the strawberry milk, because the pink carton color reminded him of hearts, so he was hoping his love message would be real clear!! 

As he approaches you in the gym, he feels the nerves stir in his stomach. You’re surrounded by the other first years, excitedly chirping at Tsukki and Yamaguchi while Yachi and Hinata jump up and down around you (for what reasons, who knows) now that clean up is over. The second and third years weren’t that far away either. But he knew he’d have to do this sooner than later. 

Kageyama stands pensively behind you at a slight distance, awkwardly shifting weight back and forth between his feet. Finally, he finds the guts to call out to you. “Y/N...san.” Alright, maybe it was more like a mutter. No one had heard him, but Hinata had noticed his presence. 

“Kageyama! There you are.” 

All eyes shift to him, including yours. The heat rushes to his face as he hides the milk behind his back. “Boke! What do you want!” He only gets redder as his eyes meet yours. 

“Y/N-san!” He yells a bit too harshly. But you don’t flinch, you just smile. “Yes, Tobio-kun?” Gah, your voice is sweet as always, and he doesn’t even know what to say. 

Stepping towards you, he essentially shoves the milk into your hands before turning around and marching out the door. 

You stare at the carton quizzically, while the boys in the gym collectively let out a heavy sigh. 

“Was that… supposed to be a confession?” Daichi’s disbelief was evident.

“He does that every day though,” Hinata comments, clueless. 

“But today’s Valentine’s day, there’s probably more to it, right?” Ennoshita curious.  

“Of course that’s the way that idiot would do it.” Tsukki is snarky as ever. 

But you don’t hesitate to run back into the club room, a determined look glued to your face. 

“Y/N san! Where are you going?” Hinata calls. 

“Let them be, Hinata. They have something to take care of.” Suga has a glint of amusement in his eyes. 

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

Kageyama tries to calm down as he aggressively drinks his chocolate milk. But he’s jittery all over when you pop up next him. 

“Tobio-kun, did ya really think you could just throw me a box of milk and then split? On Valentine's day? Tsk Tsk.” You smile as you move to stand in front of him. Words are far from his physical capacity at the moment, so he opts to just stare at you instead.

“But by the way,” you pull the carton from behind your back in your left hand, and shake it in front of him, “Accepted.” He feels his heart melt in relief. You understood what he meant. At least he thinks you do. You always understood him somehow, even though he wasn’t great at communicating. 

“And also…” Your right hand appears now, a small box of cutely wrapped chocolates snuggly fit into your palm, “this is for you. Please, accept it.”

His eyes go wide in shock. For some reason, this was not what he had expected (though everyone else knew it was coming). His heart now swells with an indescribable feeling that he never wants to stop experiencing. 

“And this too... unless you want me to stop...” He doesn’t know how else you could potentially make him fall apart more than he already had- but he got his answer when your hand grabbed onto his collar and tugged him down to your height. You placed a slow and gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Tobio-kun, I like you.” Yeah, his heart wasn’t ready for that one. 

Oikawa Tooru

“Thank you, Suki-chan!” “So sweet, Maki-chan!” “These are delicious, Haru-chan!” First period hadn’t even begun and Oikawa had already been swarmed with gifts. But despite the time he spent basking in the affections of his little fans, his eyes were trained on you, watching as you happily handed Iwaizumi a cute little box of chocolates. Oikawa saw how his best friend smiled, and he saw the way you buried your face into Iwa’s chest when he hugs you. He decides to ask you about it at practice. 

“Y/N-chan!! You know what day it is today!” 

“How could I forget when I see my favorite setter drowning in more chocolates than usual?” He ignores the unidentifiable tone in your voice and presses on. 

 “I saw you give Iwa-chan some~” 

“Yes I did.” 

“Sooooo~”

 “....so what?” 

“Where are mine?” 

“...I…”

 Iwaizumi steps in, his hand protectively grabbing your shoulder. “What’re you harassing Y/N for, Shittykawa. You got enough chocolates already didn’t you? No need to be greedy.” Your eyes are glued to the floor, but Oikawa just sighs and waves it off. 

“Sorry, sorry, Y/N-chan! I just figured your chocolates would be so tasty I was jealous Iwa got some~ but I’ll be waiting for them next time!” If only you knew, I would rather eat a single one of your sweets than all the other sweets combined.

He tries to forget the incident until he hears his doorbell ring at 9 pm. “Tooru! You have a friend who’s come to see you!” He’s surprised to see you waiting at his gate, face flushed, breath ragged, and hair ruffled.

 “Oikawa-san!” You say with determination. “Y/N...chan?” He walks towards you, confusion and concern clear on his face.

“Oikawa-san…” the confidence fading as he comes near. You look away from his face as you outstretched your hands, a cute, small pink box with a tiny bow on it in hand. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t give you chocolates earlier today….I just....” your hands retreat to your body, box still grasped. You look down at your feet once again, so you can’t see his eyes go wide. “I thought about making you some sweets yesterday but, I always knew you had so many fangirls and I didn’t wanna get in their way, or worse, make you see me as one of them… so I didn’t. I’m sorry. I, I didn’t consider you would feel left out. So I made these for you after school! Will you please accept them!” 

You look up at him finally, only to see tears streaming down his face. “Oikawa san? Are you okay? I’m sorry if I said something that-” 

“I’m sorry Y/N-san, I don’t know what’s gotten into me. But are they really for me?”

 “Mhm!” You hand them over, in anticipation of what he would do next. He opens the box, pops a chocolate into his mouth, and then smiles. 

“Just as I expected- it’s perfect.” He steps towards you once again, and wraps his arms around you, tightly. “You’re nothing like the rest of them, yanno. You’re very special to me.” 

Kuroo Tetsurou

“Happy Single’s Awareness day!” You sing-song at the boys standing in front of your gate, the sun peeking out over the horizon. 

“Just jumping over Valentines, then?” Kenma asks you, his face hidden in his switch. 

“Yep! Nope! Not for me~ don’t need a valentine!” You’re carefree as you stroll ahead of the two of them, hands thrown behind your head. “Giving Valentine’s are dumb. Right, Kuroo!”

Kenma takes his time to pull his nose away from his switch to let his cat like gaze fall on his best friend, who’s been awfully quiet this morning. He knows why. 

“Do you agree, Kuroo?” He asks, probing. 

“...Yep. What type of headass buys into Valentines-” He criticizes. 

Kenma knocks Kuroo’s bag with his elbow, his gaze transforming into a glare. You do, Kuroo. No chickening out. 

Kuroo’s grasp on the bag resting on his shoulder tightens, well aware of what he has to do. 

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

After school was over and practice was done, Kenma got dropped off at home because he wanted to go home early, for some reason. So now it’s just you and Kuroo, laying on the hill by the bridge, bathing in the hues of orange and pink as the sun sets slowly. 

You stretch out on your back, relaxing onto the grass underneath you. “Man, did ya see all those idiots handing out valentine’s? So cheesy.” You close your eyes and pull your hands up to cushion your head, turning your chin up. Kuroo rests on his elbow, angled so that he can watch you as you talk, his hand scratching his head soothingly.

“ Who wants dumb chocolates anyways? You think these chicks would get sick of all the chocolates they get. Hmph.” He watches as your mouth twitches down, eyes squeezed tight. 

To be fair, both of you were acting...different today. Kuroo can read you like a book, and even how he can still pick out the unease you’ve been tryna hide all day. But his own nervousness and jitters keeps him quiet. 

As you both sit in silence, stewing in your feelings, Kuroo lets out a deep sigh. Now or never. You hear him rustle in his bag as he pushes something over to you. You open your eyes to see a small box by your shoulder with a cute lil cat sticky note pressed onto it- reading, “be Mine, Valentine? :3” 

You freeze for a second, processing what he pushed over to you. You look up at Kuroo, who’s now turned his back to you, sleeping on his side. 

You open the box and find a cute cat bracelet inside. “Kuroo?” 

“You’ve been trashing valentine’s chocolates for a while now- so I figured I’d get you something better. It’s cheesy, I know. Don’t “at” me.” He stays, turned away from you. 

You take your time to pull the bracelet out the box, letting heat rise to your face. 

“Did you do this just because…? To make me feel better, or-”

“Still a headass huh.” He finally turns around, and you’re glad to see that his own face is as red as yours feels. 

“Kuroo… do you, like me?”

“Damn, you’re gonna make me say it huh?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah I like you. Now hurry up and reject me so we can go back to being normal and I can get over my damn nerves. I hate not being myself.” He mutters as his lips twitch into a pout as he rests his bedhead into the grass, hands caressing his neck. 

You take a second before crawling over to him, watching him in silence. 

“You’re an idiot, too, ya know.” He peaks one eye open, to give you a questioning look. “Now help me put this bracelet on.”

“You like it?”

“I love it. I’m never taking it off.”

“You serious?!”

“Of course I’m serious.”

His Cheshire grin breaks out onto his face as he sits up, closing the gap between you two.

“Oh? Does someone like me back?”

“Yeah someone does. Now are you gonna help me or not.”

In that moment, you don’t think anything can compare to the sheer joy in Kuroo’s eyes as he carefully clasps the bracelet onto your wrist, wrapping his strong fingers around yours.

Copyright © 2021 Colorseeingchick. All rights reserved. Do not repost or copy.

[doyouevenshipbr0]

gruvia drabble

author’s note: ok. hi. here we are again. i go on a 1948392 year hiatus and then become inspired to write something from the most RANDOM thing. but this was too good to pass up. so essentially i saw a headcannon by @incorrect-ft-ez-quotes and then @bbygirljuvi added onto it:) look at my most recent reblog for reference if u want hehehe. yeah ok maybe i did add some bs healing abilities to juvia’s powers... sue me! ok here we gooooo i hope u cuties enjoy!!!

*

“Popsicle,” Natsu sighed. “What the hell are you doin’ back here?” He held his door in one hand as he stared at a recently familiar face.

“What, a guy can’t stop by and visit his best friend?” Gray nervously chuckled.

Happy and Natsu weren’t buying it, exchanging suspicious looks as Gray impatiently stood at the door frame.

“Best friend?” Natsu rose an eyebrow.

“And for the 4th day in a row?” Happy jabbed, hovering beside Natsu’s head

“Would ya’ just let me in?” Gray spat out, clearly looking jittery.

“Fine.” Natsu groaned, stepping aside so Gray could step in.

“But we’re gonna’ start charging rent!” Happy exclaimed.

“Whatever, I don’t care, just as long as I can hang out here for a little while.” Gray hustled in, plopping himself onto Natsu’s worn down couch.

“Ok, you can stay here on one condition, tell me what it is you’re freaking out about. And gimme’ the real reason you’ve been comin’ here.” Natsu folded his arms.

“Aye!” Happy mimicked Natsu, crossing his little paws.

Gray let out a groan, bowing his head between his legs before whipping his head back up. “It’s Juvia, ok!?”

“Juvia?” Happy asked.

“But, you haven’t tried avoiding her in forever. You guys have been all buddy-buddy lately.” Natsu was trying to piece this all together in his head.

Gray blushed, averting his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“So what’s the deal?” Natsu was doing his best to get straight to the point, as nuance was not his strong suit.

“W-well... we... kind of... sort of...” Gray scratched at the back of his head, searching for the gall to say it. “We got drunk the other night at the guild, and then I went to walk her home since she was pretty wasted, and...one thing lead to another and... we almost kissed.”

Natsu was as confused as ever. “So?”

“So?!”

“Well, don’t ya’ like her?”

“W-well-!” Gray stammered, and gave out a defeated sigh, bowing his head again. “Yeah.” He mumbled to the point that Natsu or Happy could barely hear him.

“So then why don’t you wanna’ smooch her?” Happy was almost as dense as Natsu.

“Gah! You guys don’t get it!” Gray sprung up. “Forget it. I’m gonna’ find a new hiding spot. Preferably, one that asks less questions.”

Just as Gray made his way to Natsu’s front door, there was a sudden knock. Gray froze in his tracks as a chill went up his spine. He had a knack for this sort of thing, knowing when Juvia’s around, and that chill only ever meant one thing.

“Shit.”

Gray needed an escape route, but his head wasn’t on straight. He frantically scoured the little house, looking from wall to wall, but there was only one door, and Gray was just feet away from it.

“Natsu, whatever you do, don’t-“

“Be there in a sec’!” Natsu shouted at the door.

“You idiot!” Gray whisper yelled.

Natsu opened the door to none other than Juvia. She was known for her expressive nature. The look on her face could tell you anything you want to know, without her having to say a word.

“Hi, Natsu-san.” Juvia said both frantically and nervously. “Juvia was just wondering if Gray-sama was here.” She held her hands together promptly, hoping that he would be there.

“Actually Gray-“ Natsu was cut off at the sound of shattering glass. He instinctively spun around to a disastrous scene, displaying a broken window, shards of glass everywhere, and no Gray to be found. “Just left.” Natsu finished the thought differently than he originally intended.

Juvia heard the shattering too, and she had her answer. Her Gray-dar never failed her. Using her Gray-dar she quickly scurried to the back of the house, crossing her fingers that Gray hadn’t gotten away yet. The first thing she heard was a hiss of pain, and as she turned the corner, there sat her Gray in the ground, holding his bloody knee.

“Son of a bitch!” Gray yelled in pain, applying more pressure to his cut knee. Sure, he was used to getting beaten to a pulp in a fight, but he wasn’t exactly expecting a busted up knee right about now.

“Gray-sama!” Juvia’s eyes widened at the blood, and she hurried to his side.

Gray finally realized her presence. He stopped writhing in pain for a moment, and tried to appear as casual as usual. “Oh...” He forced a laugh. “Hey Juvia. what are you doin’ here?”

“Juvia should be asking you the same thing.” She knelt by Gray’s side. “But first, let Juvia help.”

“I’m fine.”

“Let Juvia see it, Gray-sama.”

He sighed, giving in and releasing his hold. Juvia quickly took her hands and placed them on Gray’s knee. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and suddenly her hands became water, but it wasn’t normal water. It was soothing, and it was making the stinging in Gray’s knee go away.

“Juvia has been working on some healing techniques. It’s nothing like Wendy, but I can heal some minor, surface-level things.” She explained, using her water hands to massage the area.

“Now that Juvia has finally caught you, why have you been avoiding me?” She finally looked at Gray who blushed at the sudden eye contact.

“I haven’t.” Gray tried to sound as natural as possible.

All Juvia had to do was give him a look that practically screamed “oh, please.” before he cracked. “Ok, fine. I’ve been avoiding you.”

“Juvia knows!” She exclaimed.

“I just don’t want things to be awkward between us!” He explained.

“But you don’t think avoiding me for days would make it awkward?” Juvia finally finished his knee and reverted her hands back to normal.

Gray groaned. “You’re right.” He ran his hand through his hair, trying to hide his face.

“Is this about... the other night?” Juvia finally asked.

“Do ya’ really have to even ask?” Gray avoided eye contact.

“But Juvia thought the night went well! I had a lot of fun!”

“So did I! Until...” He cut himself off.

“Until we almost kissed?” Juvia finished it for him.

“Yeah.”

“I see.” Juvia paused. “Are Juvia’s lips chapped?”

“Huh?” He finally peaked up at her.

“Or did Juvia have something in her teeth maybe?” She was going into panic mode.

“No that’s not-“

Juvia cut him off with as gasp, and her hands slapped against her mouth. “Or does Juvia’s breath stink?! Is that it?!”

“Would you knock it off!” Gray finally stopped her. “It doesn’t have to do with any of that stuff.

“Oh.” Juvia sunk. “So Gray-sama just does not want to kiss Juvia then.”

“No!” He instantly cut off that thought, even though he was embarrassed by how eager he sounded. “Not that either.” He grumbled.

“Then..?”

“We were drunk. Yes, we were having fun and all, but, I dunno’.” Gray grumbled, looking for the right words. “We haven’t had our first kiss yet. So when we do, I want it to be... kinda’... special. I guess. In a way.” Gray finished with some filler words to try and take the heat away from his face, but it was no use.

“S-s-special?! Gray-sama wants our kiss to be special?!” Juvia lit up, almost freezing in time waiting for someone to pinch her, because she figured this had to be a dream. However, she still was a bit lost, so she put a pause on her momentary fantasy. “Wait, so then why have you been avoiding me?”

“Because I didn’t know how to tell you all that. I was trying to buy some time until I could figure out what to say.” Gray released a deep exhale. “But I guess I’ve said it all now.”

“You sure have.” Juvia said giddily right before she launched herself at Gray, tightly clutching Gray’s shoulders in her arms as her cheek was pressed up firmly against his.

“Gah!” Gray shouted in surprise, trying to keep his balance as Juvia leeched onto him. They were still sitting, but she almost knocked him flat on his back.

“But you know what, Gray-sama?” Juvia broke her clutch, making sure she was looking right at Gray.

“What?” He looked down at her curiously.

“Juvia thinks every moment with Gray-sama is special. So to Juvia, any time is perfect for a first kiss.” She smiled so sweetly is made Gray’s heart just about burst.

“Yeah?” Gray felt the corner of his mouth tug up.

“Yep.” She nodded in assurance.

“If you say so.”

And without a second thought, Gray closed the gap between them, planting a sweet and soft kiss on Juvia’s lips. As they parted, they leaned in and pressed their foreheads against each other, both wearing matching grins.

“That looked pretty special from in here!” Happy interjected from inside the house, followed by Natsu’s laughter.

Gray and Juvia jumped, startled by the sudden noise. “Happy, shut it!” Gray turned his head, looking through what used to be a window, and seeing Natsu and Happy standing in their living room.

“Maybe we wouldn’t be able to hear you two slobbering on each other if there was a window here!” Natsu yelled, referring to the gaping hole in the middle of his wall.

“We were not slobbering, you moron!” Gray blushed furiously, finally standing up and facing Natsu.

“That’s what it looked like to me!” Natsu teased back, wearing a devious smile.

“Aye!” Happy seconded.

“Mind your business, flame-for-brains!”

“Next time you need to hide out for a week, you ain’t comin’ here!” Natsu shouted.

“Fine by me.” Gray scoffed.

He then looked back at Juvia as she appeared a little on edge, wondering if she was going to have to break up a fight between Gray and Natsu.

He grinned once again, at the girl he couldn’t wait to spend more special time with, making more memories, and growing even closer

He reached for Juvia’s hand and squeezed it. “I was gettin’ tired of running away anyway.”

[peach-pops]

Hi! Can I requests a HC with Suga, Kageyama, and Noya where they go into Ukais store and they completely fall head over heels for the girl behind the register ( she can be related to Ukai or just works there for him)

This is my first request! Make sure you guys like/comment/reblog if you enjoyed it and requests are open! 

Suga, Kageyama, and Noya develop a crush on Ukai’s new employee 

➣Sugawara

One day after practice, Suga finds himself heading to Ukai’s store with Daichi and Asahi because they’ve been craving those steamed pork buns and since it was Daichi’s turn to pay for food, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse 

He’s definitely an advocate for “Free food is the best food” 

#sugardaddydaichi

The boys walk into Sakanoshita and Suga is the first to notice a new girl standing behind the counter who is reading the newspaper with her legs propped up just like a mini Ukai

Instead of a cigarette between her lip, she has a stick of chocolate pocky in her mouth 

Suga thinks you are SO cute and he can’t stop staring at you but once you look up from your newspaper to lock eyes with him, he averts his gaze and continues to walk forward, only to bump into one of the shelves by accident 

“ Woah, you okay suga?” Daichi asks as he turns around to face his friend

“ GAH I’m fine!”

Suga hears you let out a small giggle as you went back to your newspaper and pretended to act uninterested in the boy, even though you knew fully well that he was reallllllly cute

Daichi is a smart boy and he can clearly tell that Suga is completely flustered over you but decides to say nothing for now while Asahi is deciding between which flavor drink he should get 

He’s oblivious, aren’t all aces? 

The boys grab their buns and head over to the counter where you greet them extra politely because you are an underpaid customer service worker who is just genuinely nice a cute boy is in front of you and you wanna make a nice impression

“ Okay, you’re all set,  is there anything else I can do for you guys?” You asked sweetly as Daichi looks over to Suga who’s cheeks are getting flushed

Daichi gets Asahi’s attention and nods over to the door,” We’ll be outside Suga, don’t take too long.” 

Suga’s eyes practically are pleading with Daichi saying “ Please don’t leave me I think I’m choking on my own tongue” but Daichi just laughs and walks out with a confused Asahi trailing behind him 

Suga just tries to calm himself down because he knows the goal is to make a nice impression and hopefully set up a date so he can see you again 

“ From the way you were sitting, I imagine you’re related to Ukai? ”

Suga immediately regrets this approach because now he sounds like a weird stalker but you don’t think anything of his question

“ Mhm, I’m his niece Y/N, how do you know him?” 

He replays your name out loud and for some reason it makes him smile even more

You being Ukai’s niece doesn’t really make Suga panic even though the thought of crushing on his coaches niece seems like he is crossing some sort of moral line

Suga tells you that he plays volleyball for Karasuno and that your uncle is also his coach which lights up your face 

“ No kidding, what a small world! I would love to come out and cheer you on. When’s the next game?”

Suga short circuits for a second because you specifically said you would cheer him on instead of the team as a whole

“ S-sure! There’s one next week if you want to come .ANDmaybewecangetsomethingtoeatafter!” 

“ Sounds like a plan, its a date,” You smiled as Suga nods excitedly before rushing out of the store without another word 

“ Did I just hear her say that Ukai is her uncle?” Asahi asked as the three of them walked down the street

Suga nods and blabs on about his interaction with you but Asahi and Daichi look at each other the whole time as they think of how screwed Suga will be once Ukai finds out

➣Kageyama

Kageyama never really heads to Ukai’s store unless he’s with his teammates but one day when he’s out jogging, he forgets his water bottle so he decides to stop by Sakanoshita to grab a drink since he knows he won’t be able to run much longer in this heat 

He steps into the store and he’s blessed with not only the blasting AC but the sight of a girl around his age refilling the drinks in the fridge

Kags can only see the side of your face but even then, he feels his heart skip a beat 

He’s never felt anything like this before so he’s convinced he’s about to have a heart attack but then the unsettling thought hits him as he’s just standing there in the middle of the store with his wallet out 

“ She’s really pretty” and Kageyama doesn’t even realize he’s said this OUT LOUD until you turn around and give him a shy smile

“ Um, thank you, you too”

Kageyama wants to just run out of the store because he is so embarrassed and he can feel the back of his neck and ears heat up as he contemplates leaving

And that’s EXACTLY what he does!!!!

The dude just leaves without buying anything and decides to just run back home because he is MORTIFIED 

You’re kinda bummed out because “damn, I scared another one off this week” but you realize that he dropped his wallet as he was sprinting out so you knew he’d be back

You didn’t look through his wallet, all you did was put it in one of the drawers at the register and continued on with your day as usual 

Just kidding, you totally looked through it and founds his Karasuno school ID and when you saw he was a first-year too, you mentally gave yourself a high five

Kageyama on the other time is freaking out because not only did he lose his wallet, he is so sure that the last time he had it was at Ukai’s store which means he has to see you again

He decides to wait until later that night to show up because he thinks maybe Ukai will be there instead-but sure enough when he shows up, you’re still sitting behind the counter and this time, he can see your whole face as you’re doing homework 

And his heart stops when he sees that you’re wearing a Karasuno school uniform because he could’ve sworn he would’ve recognized someone as pretty as you around the hallways

He’s never felt this way about any girl before and now, he slightly regretted not listening to Tanaka’s advice on how to pick up girls because he was felt so lost on what to do 

You could feel someone staring at you but when you turned your head up, you found yourself almost glad to see him

“ Oh hey Tobio! Did you come back for something?” 

His brain short circuits for the millionth time because hardly anyone calls him by his first name and he figures you probably went through his wallet 

Kageyama sheepishly nods as he heads over to the counter. You don’t even understand how hard it is for Kageyama to even talk to you

Cause granted, he’s talked to girls before like Kiyoko and Yachi but never a girl he was interested in because until now, he never even found himself attracted to girls 

You hand him his wallet as you defend yourself, saying that you only went through it to find his address so you could return it after your shift  

he apologizes over and over again on how much it was a burden for you to keep his wallet for the day

All you could do was laugh at how absurd this whole situation was and your laugh made Kageyama tense up because even your laugh was attractive 

He made sure to keep that in his head though 

Kageyama doesn’t know why his feet are practically cemented in front of you but he just doesn’t want to leave

He makes up any excuse and looks down at your math homework and thinks of an idea

“ Oh, do you need help with that?”

And Kageyama feels so stupid because why the hell did he just offer to help you with math homework when he only has one working braincell

You look down at your homework and back up at him,” You know this stuff?”

Kageyama looks at you before swallowing hard and shakes his head,” No…I’m actually really bad”

You giggle at his attempt at trying to be helpful but you nod back towards your homework,” Well don’t worry, I have math under control...If you want I can tutor you sometime?”

Kageyama almost says yes way too quickly before he pretends to think it over in his head and happily accepts your offer

You smile back at him before grabbing a sticky note and scribbling your name and number on a piece of paper,” Call me whenever, yeah?” 

You know that face Kageyama makes where his smile is super weird and squiggly? Well thats the exact face he has as he takes the piece of paper and tells you goodnight

And you can bet everything you have that he immediately rushes home and pulls out his homework just so he can have an excuse to call you up 

➣Nishinoya 

Nishinoya frequently visits Ukai’s store even if it’s out of the way because he likes to see a familiar face 

And also tries to bargain a “family discount” to which Ukai always denies him 

So one night Noya feels a sudden craving for literally anything that isn’t within his own house and he just decides to go drop by Sakanoshita to annoy Ukai out of a free bag of chips

“ Oi Ukai-” Noya stops in his tracks when he sees a girl around his age carrying a big box of products out from the back of the store

He is completely SMITTEN for you right away and in the back of his mind he’s like Kiyoko who? 

He had been going to Ukai’s for a long time but he had never saw you around before so already his mind was thinking of who you could be 

“ She’s too pretty to be Ukai’s daughter- he isnt even married why would he have a daughter-unless his wife left him with a baby and that’s why he’s grumpy all the time- wait but aren’t babies made by having-”

Noya kinda snaps out of it as you let out a small grunt while you’re trying to balance the two boxes on top of each other

Lets be real, Noya is the number one women respecter so when he sees you somewhat struggling, he rushes over and helps take some of the weight off of you

You could feel your load lighten but you still keep your hand on the box,“ I got it, it’s fine!”

“ No, please let me help! You’re too pretty to carry heavy things, you need a big strong man to help!” 

He didn’t mean for it to sound so unfeminist because again, he loves women as much as Hinata loves volleyball but he just didn’t want you to hurt yourself

You guide him where to set the boxes and they’re way heavier than Noya anticipated but since he wanted to impress you, he tried to play it off like it wasn’t even that heavy 

“ Thanks for the help, I hate making multiple trips” You said as you crouched down and opened up the boxes. When you look up at the boy for the first time, you feel your heart skip a beat because duh, cute stranger alert and Noya was feeling the exact same way 

“ I would do it again in a heartbeat,” Noya smiled and introduced himself and when you said your full name, Noya felt like his mind had exploded

“ Woah! I know him, he’s my volleyball coach- I’m Karasuno’s libero-that’s the school I go to- and he owns the store- but you probably already know that- I’ve never seen you around before, are you new?” 

When Noya gets excited, he has a tendency to talk people’s ear off but you found it so amusing and almost endearing 

“ Yep, today’s my first day. It’s been pretty hectic but it keeps me pretty busy for the most part.”

“ You know, I’m here all the time so I practically own the store myself. If you need any manly assistance, I could help you- like right now- do you want me to stock these chips? The cheesy ones are my favorite what about you?” 

You didn’t want to burden him but after trying to convince him you were fine doing it by yourself, you just gave up and decided that it would be quicker with him by your side

It would’ve taken you about an hour to stock whatever was left but with Noya’s help, you two managed to get it done in 20 minutes. While you closed up the shop, he even offered to walk you home because “ someone as pretty as you shouldn’t walk home without a bodyguard” 

You happily accepted your offer because hellooooo any excuse to hang out with him longer worked for you! 

When you got to your house, you gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek to thank him and for extra measure, you pulled out a bag of cheesy chips from your coat

Noya practically fell to his knees once you closed your front door and he was simping so hard for you that everytime he wasn’t busy with volleyball, he would close up the shop with you and walk you home

[the-awkward-outlaw]

A New Adventure - Pt 12

Hey folks! I figured it was only fitting that this series get a chapter about Thanksgiving. Enjoy! (BTW, this one made me really excited to go and bake some stuff).

Masterlist 

Read on AO3

Thanksgiving 

November has swept past and Thanksgiving is now only days away. 

Right after Halloween, Arthur mentioned it. Of course, you knew that Thanksgiving has been celebrated in the US since the Civil War. 

Curious about what it used to be like, you asked him how the gang celebrated the holiday. 

Arthur just smiled and explained that the last Thanksgiving he had with the gang, he and John had gone out hunting for turkeys, managing to catch four of them. 

Pearson had done his best to make an exemplary meal but, lacking a proper kitchen, he could only do so much. He’d made a hash along with some peach cobbler. 

There had been roasted vegetables cooked with the turkeys. 

Sean and Lenny snuck into town and stole some pies and desserts. 

The night had ended with most of the gang getting trashed. 

Arthur, chuckling at the memories, sombered up and asked you what Thanksgiving is like now. 

Your smile faded. You haven’t had a Thanksgiving in years, thanks to not really having much of a family anymore. 

The last one had been the last year your father was alive. 

Arthur apologized and hugged you. 

“Well, why don’t you and I do one? Just us?” he suggested. 

You heartily agreed and were silently grateful you still had the recipes your mom used for this celebration. 

The next shopping trip, you bought as many of the ingredients (and most importantly the turkey) as you could in order to get them before they were gone. 

Arthur looked at the frozen turkey. You didn’t get a big one, just one of those packets of breast meat since there would only be two of you. He seemed a little put off. 

When you asked him why, he said “Just don’t seem as satisfyin’. Buying a turkey from the store. I always caught ours back with the gang.” 

You put your hands on his hips and kissed him. “Well, maybe next year, you can go turkey hunting. I’ll get you a license and everything.” 

Arthur kissed you softly and thanked you, saying he’d like that. 

As the weeks of November went by, the inevitable signs of Black Friday and Christmas were popping up. None of which excited you. In fact, nothing annoys you as much as Black Friday. 

Arthur was seeing the ads too. He asked what Black Friday is. 

“Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where, even though people just had this big feast to be grateful for everything they already have, they go insane and spend hundreds of dollars and stand in lines for hours on end while risking getting punched in the face so they can save twenty dollars on a $400 dollar item.” 

“You serious?” he said, not hiding the ludicrousy from his voice. 

“Yeah. It’s a bullshit holiday. I always just stay home and watch South Park’s rendition of Black Friday.” 

Arthur said it shouldn’t really be classified as a holiday and you agree before telling him it’s just a US thing. Other countries don’t do it. Black Friday is the most undeniable form of capitalism that has ever existed. 

Along with Black Friday comes the other signs of Christmas. Ads on Youtube playing holiday music and some people in your neighborhood have already put up lawn decorations. 

You tell Arthur you don’t really like Christmas, not being religious yourself and not having a proper family. Then you tell Arthur you don’t wanna talk about Christmas because you hate the avaris of the whole thing and want to enjoy Thanksgiving properly this year since you finally have someone to spend it with. 

He agreed, figuring you’d tell him about Christmas the closer it got. 

Now that Thanksgiving is only days away, you’re getting excited. You’ve just pulled the turkey out to thaw ans Arthur comes up and kisses you. 

You love whenever he does this, surprising you with his kisses. 

The two of you have not slept together yet, and honestly you’re not quite sure you’re ready for that just yet. Soon probably, but not yet. 

Arthur has not been pushy. In fact, he hasn’t even brought up sex or made any kind of advances. 

“So, there any Thanksgivin’ movies you folks got?” he asks, figuring there must be as it seems there’s a movie for everything. 

“Not really. Unless you count Garfield,” you say, referring to the cartoon cat. 

Arthur wants to watch it as he enjoyed the Halloween episode of Garfield, so the two of you sit down. 

Arthur pulls you into his lap while it plays. God, he is such a sweetheart. How can he go from being scary as hell to sweet as honey within seconds? 

Thanksgiving day comes and you get up early in order to start making pie dough. 

You don’t have to start the turkey until a couple of hours before eating, thanks to your trusty Instapot. 

Just as you’re starting, Arthur comes into the kitchen, hitching his pants over his union suit. 

You have to avert your eyes as his suit hugs his body in the right places, showing the firm muscles of his chest, arms and shoulders. He leans on the doorframe and watches you for a second. He really thinks you’re beautiful and he’s thankful every day for having ran into you. 

After a moment, he joins your side. He wants to help you make dinner. 

He’s pretty out of his element, rarely having cooked anything proper and never having baked. 

Despite that, he’s helpful and eager to learn. You show him how to grind the ingredients together to make it into pie dough. 

He tries his hand at it, but seems to struggle. You tell him to just add a little bit of cold water and a lot of elbow grease. 

Finally the dough is ready, so you show him how to throw it into a ball and then roll it into a circle and then how to get it into the tin. 

Arthur asks if it wouldn’t have been easier to get pre-made dough. 

“Gah, no. That stuff is crap. Besides, for Thanksgiving you should make as much by hand as you can.”

Arthur is impressed. He didn’t think you knew how to make so much from scratch.

Arthur samples the pumpkin pie and he sighs audibly. You have to push him out of the way to stop him from dipping his finger into it for a second time so you can get it into the oven. 

While the pie is cooking, you begin another batch of dough, but this one is different as it is meant to make rolls. 

Arthur likes working with this dough much better as it’s more stretchy and doesn’t take as much pressing. 

When you show him how to grab the dough and toss it hard on the table, he finds it particularly enjoyable. He really likes kneading it too, chuckling when you ask him if he likes it. 

“There’s something to this,” he says. You agree that this dough is fun. 

Finally the dough is ready to raise. The tricky thing about this recipe is it has to be raised three times, but you learned when you were young how to grow the yeast in order to make it rise quickly. 

You and Arthur have about an hour to relax while the dough rises and the pie bakes. 

Arthur suddenly pulls you close and suggests the two of you cuddle up on the couch and just watch something that isn’t going to require your commitance. 

You blush heavily but agree. You love cuddling with Arthur. He’s warm and soft in just the right places. 

He takes you into the living room and plops onto the couch before opening up his arms so you can climb onto him. You do so right after turning on some Netflix. 

The second your cheek hits his chest, he starts combing his fingers through your hair. 

The two of you watch the show for a bit but neither of you is really interested. You’re more distracted by your company. 

You really just want to kiss him. Lately you’ve been thinking about what he might be like in the bed. Something tells you he might not be too bad, though perhaps a little inexperienced or ignorant. Sex ed nowadays is bad enough, it was even worse in his day. 

His heart is pounding hard in your ear, and it’s faster than it usually is. Is he thinking along the same vein as you? 

Before you can stop yourself, you look up at him and kiss him. He responds enthusiastically. 

It isn’t long until you’re fully straddling him, your hands winding in his hair. His hands are gripping your hips almost painfully hard. 

As you shift your thigh, you feel something below his belt pressing into your hip. It makes you blush but excites you when you realize what it is. 

You stop kissing his lips and instead move down to his neck, sucking on his pressure point. He groans heavily. 

Just as you’re about to start working at the buttons of his union suit, the timer for the pie goes off. 

“Shit,” you whisper into his neck. He’s panting a bit beneath you. 

If it weren’t Thanksgiving, you’d say fuck it and keep going with Arthur. But you want today to be special. 

So you resolve yourself and get up, not looking at him as you go into the kitchen to pull out the pie. 

You expect Arthur to be practically behind you, but he isn’t. Even when you go to the roll dough and pound it down for the second rise, he doesn’t come. 

You blush again when you realize you left him half baked and he’s probably working on taking care of things. 

Part of you wants to go and help him, but you know you really shouldn’t. Right now isn’t a good time. So you decide to just carry on with cooking and give him five minutes. 

Before his time runs out, he strolls into the kitchen, a pink tinge to his cheeks. 

“Sorry, darlin’. Didn’t mean to leave you with the work.” 

“No, it’s fine. And I’m sorry too. Didn’t mean for things to get so far between us.” 

He smiles a bit. “I’m not. That was… well, it was nice.” 

You smile back a bit and return to the turkey, which sits mostly wrapped in the sink as you’re letting the juice run out. 

Arthur gently pushes you aside and takes the turkey from you. He delicately strips it of its wrappings while you get out the spices. 

When the meat sits inside the Instapot with all the spices and oils, Arthur takes a curious sniff. He hums appreciatively. 

By the time the turkey’s set to cook, you find the roll dough is ready to be rolled out. So you show Arthur how to roll it out into a circle, how to cut the dough into crescent shapes. 

After they’ve been rolled and buttered, you put them in your room, on your bed, and turn on your space heater and close the door. 

By the time the rolls are set to go, you have to start making mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. 

The mashed potatoes are a tried and true recipe so they don’t take too much effort. 

The vegetables are different as you’ve never done them before. But the spices make them smell good. 

Once all the food is cooking to the point you don’t need to do anything, you and Arthur give the kitchen a quick clean and begin setting up the table.

Luckily you have your grandmother’s china (your mom didn’t want it). You’ve rarely used it as it’s only for special occasions. 

Arthur inspects the china, noting the hand painted designs on the edges of the plates. He’s obviously impressed. 

Finally everything is ready to be set out. You and Arthur sit down, but you feel a little awkward. It’s been so long since you had a proper Thanksgiving you’re not really sure what you should do. Should you say what you’re grateful for?

You look at Arthur questioningly and his face says he’s thinking of the same thing. 

He clears his throat. “Darlin’, I know what I’m grateful for. I’m real thankful for havin’ run into you that day all them months ago. You saved my life and, well…” He blushes a bit and looks away. You’re blushing too.

He looks back at you, his eyes bright. “Darlin’, I love you.” 

Your eyes widen. He loves you? 

You huff a little and return his smile. “I love you too, Arthur. I’m most grateful this year for that day too. I wasn’t the only one who was saved that day.” 

If you were close to him, you’d lean over and kiss him, but as you’re separated by the table, all you can do is reach your hand over and grab his. 

He returns the gesture and squeezes yours. 

Dinner turns out to be surprisingly good. Better than you’d hoped seeing as you haven’t cooked this much or this complicated in years, and some of the recipes were new to you. You even pulled out some of your good wine.

Arthur heavily enjoys the meal. He excitedly dives into having seconds. 

After you’ve both gorged yourself, you and Arthur retreat to the couch again to wait out the guaranteed stupor that is to follow. 

You’re embraced in his grasp like before, but you don’t end up in a make out session. In fact, your mind doesn’t even wander into the direction of anything sexual. 

For the next two or so hours, you both slip in and out of your sleepy states while watching Netflix. 

Arthur likes brushing your hair. He’d never say it out loud, but he loves the way your body feels pressed against his.

He’s not thinking about sex either as he realizes this. You just feel comforting and warm. 

By the time the sun has properly set, you and Arthur go into the kitchen again and pull out the pumpkin pie.

“Oh, I’ve been excited for this,” Arthur admits eagerly.

You giggle as you lay on the whipped cream. 

The pie turns out to be just as good as the dinner. 

On his last bite, Arthur comes up to you, puts his hands on your hips and kisses you.

You can taste the pie and cream on his lips, but you enjoy it. 

As you kiss him, you wonder where your next steps in your relationship will take you. Unsurprisingly, you’re excited to find out.

[popculturebuffet]

The Loud House Reviews: The Cow-Pie Kid and Saved by the Spell

Welcome back Loudiacs.. I .. don’t know what the fandom calls themselves. And given I dont’ know anyone personally in the fandom and the going into the tag is like living in a living nightmare.. it’s easier to keep workshopping a name till either someone tells me or I find one that sounds right. Loudites.. there we go that didn’t take long. Point is we’re back in The Loud House, In The Loud House for the first regular coverage, i.e. when I cover a show as It comes out of the season. And I was lucky enough to actually see the episode same day this time and with a promo that at least gives me images to work with, so yeah, i’m pretty pumped. And not just because I can cross this one off because SOMEBODY has a birthday tommorow.. no not me, that was last month. 

There ya go. But yeah the show’s back. I’m excited, your excited, i’m scared because nick dosen’t give a clear schedule out ahead of time so i’m left wondering when one’s going to pop up and when to get it on my schedule now I have one... it’s a good time. Seriously though Nick needs to get their scheduling in order. So i’m happy to be back, your happy to have me here, but probably not happy to have spoilers so let’s take this under the cut and we can talk about cow pies, magic, and ... how this block is weirdly almost all lincoln episodes. 

The Cow-Pie Kid:  Yeah.. this was the only bit from cow pie kid I could find. Tons of stuff to mine from for saved by the spell. Nothing for that one. Weird.  Anyways our story opens with Lynn’s baseball team, who we’ve met before.. and include friends who have played other sports with her and that guy she had a crush on for all of five minutes because the writers kinda forgot L is for Love happened for anyone but Luna and Luann. 

Okay look MOST of the love intrests introduced there were not great and while Lincoln needs one NOW, at the time he really did not as the Ronnie Anne thing had not, and still has not, been properly resolved. Still vastly prefer him with Stella and her with Sid, i’m just saying closure would be nice.  Look i’m getting off topic point is one besides Sam, who was great out of the gate and not just for being gay.. though that was a lot of it, and Benny, whose objectively a really sweet kid and damn likeable. Luaggie shippers feel free to boo me, I understand.. dosen’t change my mind or the fact Poly exists to fix that. I mean why not both I ask you.  Besides them, we had Chazz, a loveable chubby guy who Leni was into and worked at clothing store and knew his fashion stuff. and was charmed by her romantic gesture. He just seemd sweet and it was implied via background stuff they were still dating.. but he hasnt’ shown up since despite her working AT the mall and that being her main arc for the last two seasons. 

Just why? What’s wrong with the chubby fashion boy? Why? Did they decide they had too many romance arcs.. at exactly two? I get focusing on sam, because duh, and because that was awesome.. but you’ve had 2 full seasons since then and again Leni and him now work in the same location if not the same store, which in itself is a plot. I don’t ask much from you show.. well okay I do but let me clarify I don’t ask much from you that you could actually do: I know i’m never getting my a diffrent world style spinoff with lori and bobby. I know Zach is going nowhere and i’m just going to have to get over it, I will not, but I DO know you could include chaz and just won’t. So do that at least. I will put up with several more seasons of Zach if it means this adorable love story continues. It’s even easy enough to pick up this late: they are both stupid. Work with that. Gah... coach if you’d please. 

Thanks coach. Okay so one tangent later we’re back to the episode. Point is her team is loosing even though Lynn’s the captain now, and while she’s perfectly encouraging it’s not winning games. Lynn is understandably dejected in the car not helped by the sports commentor guys from the game... commenting about it on the radio...

I mean.. I get sports can have dry spots and all that but who covers a middle school basketball team on the radio that isn’t the middle school radio station. I mean I genuinely can’t decide which is more sad... a radio personality doing a children’s baseball game on his own show, or having so much trouble getting one that he’s apperaing on the middle school radio show. And I COULD say it’s just a guest spot but he’s talking like he knows what’s going on intmatiley> Did his daughter ask him to? I mean I know radio’s fallen pretty far but I dind’t think it was that much in the basement. Do a podcast at least man. 

Okay before I go on another Tangent point is Lynn feels it’s her fault as Captain.. which granted whoever the coach is should be .. but it genuinely looks like they don’t HAVE a coach. Maybe they had to sack him to pay for the newly refrubished av department? I dunno. Point is she feels bad and Lynn Sr vows to cheer her up.. before stopping for farm fresh eggs. Which.. yeah can’t blame him. He’s a cook, and Liam’s family likely has good prices. He can buy for both home and restraunt at once. I mean he has a van and only one occupant at the moment. Don’t judge him.  But this little detour DOES help Lynn’s mood. Her problem is the team lacks a decent pitcher, since Lynn herself was banned for throwing one at a heckling goat. The Lawsuit is ongoing and that made me laugh a lot. But Lynn finds Happy Gilmore style that Liam.. has a really great arm. Granted instead of actuall balls it’s with cowpies because this series really loves a shit joke, hence the title and the new nickname for liam, the cow pie kid.. but compared to some of the series toilet humor it’s a lot less in your face. But with Liam being so good Lynn can’t help but sign him to the team and Liam being a sweetie pie is happy to agree.  I have.. not hid even for a second how much I liked Liam or wanted him, and Stella, to show up outside of Lincoln episodes more often, or even get his own again. That day.. has come. Not only does LIam now have a roll entirely outside his friend group, but this episode’s about him and Lynn together.. not in that way.. yet. Someday.. Point is my boy is in the spotlight and I could not be happier.   And thankfully.. Lynn’s at her best. What I feared would be an episode about her overtraining him and making him not enjoy the game, htat old chesnut instead.. she just genuinely helps mentor him. She’s tough but fair as she helps him get his aim right as he’s used to firing Cow Pie’s, so the weight distrbution is off. So she helps train him and .. it’s really cute honestly, with her genuinely helping him and showing a softer side and later realizing she had him thinking about it too hard and just having him not think.. and going by instinct naturally works for a carefree and easygoing guy like liam. Wouldn’t be suprised if he went ultra instinct eventually.. but that’s for another episode. They also have a pig pile together.. which sounds bad but is just pigs piling on liam and lynn gladly gets on top of the pigs and god that sounds worse. next scnee. 

So Liam gets ahead and becomes the star pitcher for the zanarkand abes.. I mean the Royal Woods Kangaroos, and they just keep wining and wining and wining. Their like glomgold: all they do is win... but probably with less attempted corpse dancing. Problem is as we see during the montage Liam’s arm is slowly but surley getting cramped and while he wins hte next game.. his arm gives out from noodle arm. The good news is with rest, he can fix it, as her injury prone friend Paula, whose somehow allowed to play with crutches despite ALL the legal and moral issues that raises explains. but they don’t have days to rest it. So insane plans it is!  So Lynn goes to her sisters for herlp..specifically lisa int he hopes her mad science can either fix his pain or turn him into the hulk. Neither happens.. yet. I mean LIam is so sweet if he IS a hulk, we won’t know yet. But the green door will.. it always knows. IT ALWAYS KNOWS.  Lynn bemonas her luck.. before Lucy appears!

I JUST said last month when reviewing 11 louds a leapin that I missed the duo of her and lynn and lo and behold here we are. While we dno’t get much of the two fo them, it is still nice to see Lynn suprised by her scares and Lucy trying to use the dark arts to heal his pain.. which actually works. Lucy’s upgraded from wants to be a witch to full witch. 

So yeah her dark magic works and now Liam is fine just fine as the championship game approaches. Until naturally it isn’t. While Lucy STOPPED the pain, she didn’t make anything better, just numbed it so Liam’s arm’s pretty bad and Lisa suggests there’s a 70 perfecnt chance he’ll wreck it if he does so.. and while Lynn is naturlaly, given one of her main traits is asshole, ready to risk that.. she realizes she can’t. Rusty is on her team following her orders.. and no matter how good a W feels.. she can’t trade in someone’s health for one. Honestly bettter than most sports managers ngl. So Paula subs in and misses, loosing them the game.. but Lynn. takes it in stride, having realized she can win next year and having finally realized what being the leader REALLY means. She can work on paula’s curve, give Liam a break, and win next time... which she’ll have because time dosen’t work normally in this show’s dimension and a solid timeline is just a pipedream, so she probably has another year of being 14 to redo this and has become aware of it. I’m scared and excited for what that means.  Liam celebrates with a pig pile of two and we get a REALLY fucking cute shot of the two being happy and what not before a pig jumps on them still though.. yeah I ship it now. Liam taps into the space where I thought a black void of misery and douchebaggery was but ti turns out is in fact a heart, something few can do with Lynn and Lynn can protect him form bullies and is perfectly suited for his rough hewn farmboy styles. Point is their cut.e And so was this episode. IT was a really nice return to the series and it was again REALLY fucking great to see one of Lincoln’s firend,s and one of the GOOD ones at that, get a starring roll without him. HOpefully this keeps up and hopefully we see more of these two. 

Saved by the Spell:

RUSTY SPOKES IS TRASH (Ring) I don’t have a saved by the spell font that’ll have to do. Point is he is but before we get to Rusty being Rusty, Lincoln is doing magic tricks at the table. 

Point is he’s excited to do it at the talent show. The next day his friends discuss doing something to make them look cool to everyone. WHich.. kids. i’ll level with you. You. are. NERDS. As a massive one in both size and nerdiness myself, there’s nothing wrong with that. 2/3 of you are lovely people. You’ll be fine. But you are geeks, and should be proud of that.. not so proud you evolve into an incel or it’s adjacent form of assholes mind you, but still proud of who you are. You are never going to be that cool by trying to appeal to everyone. Just be yourslef and the cool comes naturaly. Like kool aid, which is naturally made by milking the Kool Aid man. Be you. 

But instead they decide to do a dance routine which..  let’s face it.. is probably just this spread across 6 people...

Point is maybe don’t do that. Also when Clyde does a dorky but endearing dance and says their going to shake their groove things, Rusty pipes in with “But cool”... and while sadly not as glorious as EVERYONE looking enitrely done with him like last time we saw this tool, Clyde clearly still does while the rest of hte Lincrew have no idea what the hell he’s on. I think their just.. numb to his stupidity and ego at this point.  But when Lincoln shows off his magic they all hide him, fearing that magic.. is well for younger kids and this won’t play so well. Which isn’t an invalid fear: this is middle school and from personal experince, middle school can be hell.. and also one of hte best years of my life which shows the vast gulf between the two schools I was in but was also not the point. the point is kids can be cruel and maybe don’t do this. But lincoln gonna do it anyway because he has confidence.. and frankly given there was an ENTIRE episode about being yourself instead of putting on an asshole suit of armor to avoid being hurt, which Lynn finally took off again last episode, he’s right.. but the rest of them all feel THEIR ALL GOING TO LAUGH AT YOU. and since they don’t know if he has latent psychic powers or not can’t risk him getting pigs blood dumped on him so they plan to find some way to trick him out of it.. Clyde of course gets his stomach in nots because he’s not good with schemes or lying ot his best friend, both of which this is and requires. 

Also Stella’s in the lead, as she should be. And she helps as her positive attudie makes what their doing come off as it should: KINDA douchey, but not intentionally so, they just worry about hteir freind getting pummled.. possibly by his own sister but now sh’es possibly with Liam that’s probably not as much of a worry. Or Chandler but frankly he’s going to do that no matter what.. and is probably getting his ass kicked himself by older kids who won’t toldeate his bs, so your clear. But their fears while a bit unfounded are understandable and well inteitoned if misguided, as we don’t know LIncoln’s act at this point or how well it’d go over with a mostly tweenager crowd, who can be the best as we’ve seen in recent tv.. or aboslutel monsters.. same deal. You either get Luz or you get BOscha, the inbetween is rare. 

So cue our usual setup of a bunch of attempts to do something in a row, but like I said while i’m not a fan of reptition if it’s done well enough it works and with it’s rather sizeable supporting cast , LIncoln and Friends episodes usdually do make it work. In this case it does as each of the sensational 6, lincoln and clyde asid,e try their hand at it. Liam, being the golden child, just has the most direct and obvious route: swipe his magic stuff.. and runs off without letting them talk it out but unlike Rusty in the next attempt, his plan was actually viable.. he just gets tangled up in the scarves and taps out.  Rusty is next ....and his idea is to.. show lincoln his killer dance moves to convince him normally. 

Yup pretty much that. And somehow out of the four plans, RUSTY’S is the only one that dosen’t bring up any serious moral quandries. I know i’m shocked too. He just thinks his moves will do it when no they won’t, please stop it hurts to watch and I can’t turn the fuck away. This is my job you redheaded kanker sore! Gah it thankfully ends and is unsurisingly unsuccesful. 

Also unsuprisingly, i’ve been waiting since i got that image to use it on Rusty. And as a third dollop of unsuprise I did not have to force it in any way shape or form. Point is it’s Zach’s turn as during the last two he’s been pushing really hard to use some form of brainwashing on his friend.. yes .. really. 

Thought Rusty would be the first loud house character to get that one but hey if the shoe fits. Seriously I thought rusty was the creep among them but at least you know.. altering someone’s throughts to suit your own isn’t his go to move. Being excetsivly cocky and coming on too strong is but still better to take THAT out of the Zach Morris playbook than “brainwash people into dooing whatever you say because tha’ts not creeptagious.” And unsurpsingly it does not work.. on Lincoln it woroks on Meyrl for some reason. Thankfully it dosen’t though just.. Zach needs no power epsiecally over the mind. 

So UNSUPRSINGLY, Stella has the working plnan.. and also unsuprisingly the last three just did theres by running off, running off and shouting the loudest. Again somehow Rusty is NO LONGER the most obnoxious one of the group. Zach won that title this episode. He’s still the most pathetic.. but i’m the most done with Zach who adds nothing to the dynamic or the planet or anything and I wish would just go away. Your home planet needs you. 

But yeah Stella has the winning idea: pretending to be “Yodel Boy”, a student who was humilated at a talent show last year, proving sh’es not only a decent actress (I mean it’s obvious i’ts stella in a wig, padding and lederhosen, but points for the accent being okay and hey she’s in middle school), but also the smartest of them. Only one of those is a suprise. It works and Lincoln agrees. 

So the night of the talent show they’ve caught him up to speed and prepare to celebrate, only for clyd eto open the wrong locker and reveal the yodel boy suit. WHy it was in there instead of at Stella’s house where this wouldn’t happen?

But yeah the cat’s out of the bag and lincoln leaves, depressed his friends think that little of him and lied to him. Which.. yeah completely fair. They tried talking to him, it did not work.. they shoudl’ve just left it at that. It would’ve SUCKED if he got bullied true, but it was his choice to go out there and take a risk and do what he loves. As someone whose constnatly self concious and had to fight to start writing like i’m doing now, I envy that kind of youthful confidence and thus wholly support him. 

And finally.. so do his friends. Realizing they’ve been kinda crappy, they introduce lincoln instead and work as his assitants.. and.. it works. Stella gets sawn in half, Zach gets astounded by a card trick, and Liam wears a bunny outfit which is just.. precious. Good boy. Best boy. It’s a huge hit.. and we also get to seesome of the new background kids including one with pink hair who looks kinda nb. I’m just saying one of you should take a crack at them, they seem nice. But for now our heroes are haield as heroes, and the other 5 apologize to lincon and they do their now cemented and fucking adorable group hug. Happy ending to a pretty great episode, with decent gags, a good relatable plot, and Rusty being just the right amoutn of obnoxious. Good stuff.  So that does it for this week. If you liked this review like or reblog it, check out my other work and come back later today for some duck content. and every week once the show returns. Until the next rainbow, it’s been a pleasure. 

[dzifasblog]

Chapter 4

Read from Chapter 3

It would be a bit of a stretch to say no one had ever rejected me . Yet, it did not happen often and it did not happen when I like like someone. Not only was I rejected but I was also friend zoned. Which is crazy because I usually did the zoning. Everything comes back full circle indeed. It had been a week since I had my ego bruised and I have to say, I was being a big girl about it. With Darcy's friend shooting the cheer "movie", she was left alone a lot of the time. Time she usually spent with me....because we're friends now.

Kill me now!!

Not that I don't enjoy her company. Au contraire, being near her all the time. Listening to her silly jokes, hearing her laugh and the way she would get pa Her boyfriend is one lucky bitch.

I was currently sitting in the house's common room, making use of the uncharacteristic quiet. Seemed like there was some party I was not invited to because the whole house was almost empty. It didn't bother me much; but as time ticked on and Darcy still hadn't made an appearance I became more and more curious.

Darcy did not strike me as a party girl. and her friend could not have dragged her because she had a meeting with Mimi today. (Yes I had learnt the schedule to see what times I could be with Darcy, yes I am a simp.) It took everything in me not to barge out and go look for Darcy: 1. We hadn't made any plans and 2. It would be plain weird. So I stayed my ass in the chair.

A couple of minutes after trying to focus of the copy of Shakespeare in my hand. The door to the common room burst open to reveal Kaitlyn, one of the girls in the opposite dorm. Putting her hands on her knees (thot shit), she tried catching her breath.

"Boys, " she panted. "The boys are here."

So this is why she ran?

All of a sudden it hit me. Darcy hadn't ditched me, she was busy with her boyfriend. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, she hadn't ditched me and that gave me semblance of peace(??) And on the other hand she was with her boyfriend, someone who I didn't need to see to hate.

I was so engrossed in weighing the pros and cons of my love life. (if you can even call it that) That I hadn't realized Kaitlyn had been speaking until Darcy's name came up.

"What did you say about Darcy, sorry I'm hard of hearing" I needed to not come of as too curious.

"Her boyfriend came in a car and brought her a bouquet of flowers," Kaitlyn swooned.

"How do you know that?" It wasn't strange for guys to bring presents to their girlfriend. But I doubt Darcy announced it to the whole school.

"He came in a car, with his friends. He's like a year older," Kaitlyn spoke so animatedly. "He got out of the car with this huge ass bouquet and got on one knee and everything." After narrating the story complete with hand gestures. she fell onto the chair opposite me with all the drama of a Disney princess.

"How romantic," I deadpanned.

"I know right" Kaitlyn sighed completely oblivious to the sarcasm. "I wish someone would do that for me." Men would do the bare minimum and hetero girls would swoon. The bar was in the absolute pits of hell. Also, I doubt Darcy liked all the fanfare around the bouquet of flowers and their delivery. I needed to go see all this for myself.

Standing up I dusted imaginary dust of myself and moved to put the book back in its place. Kaitlyn was still sprawled in the chair with a goofy smile on her face. I do not know what would have happened if she been the one to get flowers. I wanted to say goodbye to her but I doubt she would have heard it over her self-excitement, so I made my way out of the room.

I had not made it far when I heard someone calling my name. I turned to find my longtime friend and partner in crime Robin jogging towards me.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been looking for your bitch ass everywhere." Robin and I had been friends for as long as I can remember. Our mothers had been bestfriends and roommates in the same sorority house. Our friendship was a given. We lived on the same street, went to the same school and did almost everything together.

We even came out together, him as bisexual and me, as lesbian. This broke our parents who had hoped we would end up together hearts but they got over it. Or at least I think they did.

Ignoring his question, I asked one of my own. "Why is my school crawling with degenerates from your school?"

"Wait you didn't know?" He furrowed his eyebrows in genuine confusion. "We're having some lame ice breaker. Never wrote to you cause I thought this was something you'd have been all over."

"I've been busy," I shrugged.

"Busy doing what?"

"You knowww....this and that" He looked confused. I wanted so desperately to share this whole Darcy thing with someone else but the thought scared me. I don't know what of, but the thought of another person knowing terrified me. Maybe it was the shame of being friend zoned.

"Is it a girl?"

"Wh..what...no" Hesitating and stuttering through your answer is never a good thing. I cast my eyes to the ground to avoid Nico's.

"Uh huh" Was all he said, not buying my bull.  "You know what I think?..." I didn't get to find out what he thought because just then the loud revving of a motorcycle cut through the air, demanding everybody's attention. I looked down to the park in front of out hostel to see one big motorcycle flanked by two smaller ones. I guess the big one belonged to the head honcho.

"Ghost riders," Robin said, coming to stand beside me. "Ninja name, trash guys."

I giggled at that. "I'm guessing they don't tickle your fancy." I teased.

Robin just rolled his eyes at me. "They are bad news, like really really bad news. Like gang shit, and not in a cool fun way but in an you could probably get killed way." My brows shot up at his statement. Gangs were nothing new but high schoolers in a gang would be pretty bad. Imagine being this hormonal and having the equipment necessary to kill.

"That sounds bad,"

"Bad? Try awful. I stay 5 feet away from them all the damn time, I will not be caught up in any of their shit. Not even by accident." Robin was usually very dramatic but something told me he wasn't exaggerating.

Suddenly, the girls seemed to burst out in cheers, I looked down to see the head honcho lip locking with Darcy.

My Darcy! My grip on the railing tightened hard, and I tried leaning forward to get a better look but I felt a hand pull me back. I turned ready to give Robin a piece of my mind before catching myself. Did I really like Darcy enough to yell at Robin?

Robin had one eyebrow arched at me. "I know I said some stuff but you look ready to end him"

I cast one more look at the park and grabbed Robin's hand and started dragging him to the common room where no one would see or hear us. There I spilled my guts about everything till now. Robin sat there quietly listening to me ramble on and on. It felt good to get it all out.  When I was done, he had a very Joker like smile on his face and for once I was grateful he would eventually have to leave.

"I've seen a lot of strange things in my day," he started. "But I have never seen anyone get under your skin so fast."

"You don't get it, she's just amazing" I argued.

"Look at you with heart eyes," Robin teased. I punched him in the arm. "Stop it"

"Ok, ok," he laughed. "Look, I know you think you've met the love of your life but you might want to pace yourself a little. I mean do you really know this girl? Like know know her? She was kissing one of the ghosts for crying out loud."

"I know her," Sort of. "I know she would never be mixed up in some illegal shit." Robin had raised some good points but I knew Darcy would never get mixed in any illegal activities. Or would she?

"How do you know?" Robin asked

"I....I just do, ok?" But did I?

"All things you know about Darcy are very surface level things-"

"I wouldn't consider knowing the way she looks when she comes surface level," I interrupted.

Robin shot me a look but continued anyway. "Why don't you take sometime to get to know her better, like where she's from and where she met her terrible boyfriend." He was right, I knew he was right and judging from the look on his face, he knew that I knew he was right. "Besides," he continued. "You and her are not together so use this friend zone wisely."

"Gah, fine." I hated playing the waiting game, I'm not known for my patience.

"Good," Robin pat my head. " Let's go, I need to get back to school as soon as possible."

"Alright" With that we left the common room and made our way downstairs. I walked Robin over to his ride, a 6'5 muscular guy I was 85% sure he was fucking. "See ya later, alligator." Robin yelled as the car took off.

"You're such a loser." I yelled back as the car disappeared behind the gates.

[camillemontespan]

her one constant [part ten: head vs heart] [drake the bodyguard AU]

Master List

A/N: Such a cliche of a chapter but I don’t care, I enjoyed writing it! And it follows canon but with a twist! :)

Big thanks to @jovialyouthmusic​ for your pointers! Very helpful and appreciated x

@ibldw-main​​​​ @jovialyouthmusic​​​​ @katedrakeohd​​​​ @moonlightgem7​​​​ @pug-bitch​​​​ @princessleac1​​​​ @burnsoslow​​​​ @notoriouscs​​​​ @dcbbw​​​​ @saivilo​​​​ @rainbowsinthestorm​​​​ @marshmallowsandfire​​​​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite​​​​ @gardeningourmet​​​​ @kingliam2019​​ @nomadics-stuff​​ @kimmiedoo5​ ***********************

The following morning, Drake and Camille joined each other in the Manor ballroom for self defence class. Drake had instructed Camille to wear something comfortable. 

He wished he hadn't. 

She was wearing tight black leggings and a pink sports bra that showed her toned stomach. Her hair was pulled into a ballerina bun. 

Drake swallowed hard. Of course she looked good in gym gear. 

'So, what are we doing today?' Camille asked eagerly. 

Drake chuckled at her enthusiasm. 'We're going to learn basic self defence skills so that if you are ever in a situation where you feel unsafe or are threatened, you can hold your own.'

Camille nodded. 'Sounds good. What first?' 

Drake smiled. 'How's your punch?' 

Camille blinked. 'Um, I don't know.. I've never had to punch someone before.' 

Drake smirked. 'I had a feeling.' 

Camille rolled her eyes but smiled. 'Okay, so I'm a really nice person. I settle disputes with communication.' 

'God you're such a Duchess,' Drake teased. 

Camille giggled. 'And I also settle disputes with a bottle of wine.' 

Drake laughed. 'Maybe not a typical Duchess..' 

Camille gave him a wink and followed him to the centre of the room. She was trying her best not to eye fuck him but it was proving incredibly difficult due to the fact he was wearing a black gym vest that showed off his broad chest and muscles. His arms were corded with veins. Camille pushed down the thought: God I wanna lick one.

Drake cleared his throat and stood before her. He looked powerful. 

'So,' he said. 'Punch me.' 

Camille blinked in shock. 'Uh.. No.' 

Drake sighed. 'Look, just punch me.

'No!' Camille protested, stepping back in horror. 'I can't punch you!' 

'I need to see how you do it,' Drake explained. 'It's a basic move.' 

'It's a shitty move,' Camille corrected him. 'Drake, I'd love to punch the Applewood intruder but I don't wanna punch you.'

Drake pressed his fingers on either side of his nose, trying to gather patience. 'Camille, this is self defence. This is for your own safety. If I'm not around, you need to be able to look after yourself. I can't walk around knowing you can't defend yourself while I am the person who can help you. So, punch me.' 

Camille scrutinised his face. There was a long silence until she said simply, ' No. '

'Why not?!' Drake burst out, frustrated. 

'Because you're handsome and I don't want to give you a black eye!' Camille cried. 'And you're my friend!' 

Drake sighed. 'You won't punch me hard enough to give me a black eye,' he told her. 'Camille, punch me.'

'No.' 

'Punch me.' 

'No.' 

'Camille, for the love of God, fucking punch - FUCK!' 

He reeled back clutching his face. Camille stared at him with wide eyes, holding her painful hand to her chest as she watched him react to the sudden punch that she dealt him. 

'Drake?' 

He let out a deep breath and opened his eyes to give her a warm smile. A bruise was blooming around his eye but he didn't mind. Not one bit. 

'Not that difficult, huh? ,' he asked her softly. 

*********************

'Right, put these on.' 

Camille stared at the stilettos in Drake's hands with her eyebrow raised. 'Drake, when did you break into my dressing room?' 

'This morning,' Drake said casually. 'I chose your favourites.' 

Camille took the Manolos and tried to hide the blush on her cheeks. He knew about her favourite heels. Was there anything about her he didn't know? 

She slipped them onto her feet and swayed her body from side to side. Drake watched her, smiling at how cute she looked. 

'Okay, so you're wearing these because you tend to wear heels on a daily basis,' he said. 'But these heels are your secret weapons.' 

Camille let out a gasp. 'Oh my god, can I be like Catwoman?' 

Drake chuckled. 'Sure, why not?' 

'Does that make you Batman?' Camille teased. 'I mean, you are a loner. You wear black on a daily basis. Your voice is deep. You work alone. But are you Christian Bale Batman or Lego Batman? Lego Batman is the best Batman..' 

Drake rolled his eyes, enjoying her banter. He moved to stand behind her and placed his hands on either side of her hips, making Camille stop chattering. 

'What are you doing?' she whispered, turning her head to the side. 

Drake smirked. 'Relax, Camille,' he murmured, his breath hot against her neck. 

He closed his eyes for a brief moment. He could smell her perfume and her hair. Memories of the night when they kissed filled his mind. Hands. Silk. Coconut. Perfume. 

'So,' he croaked. 'You're gonna stab your heel back onto my shoe -' 

'No!' she gasped. 

Drake reached out to place his hand over her mouth, shutting her up instantly. 

'While you stab the heel down, elbow me in the gut,' he instructed. 'Fast movement, don't give room for any delay or they will know what you're doing to do.' 

Camille's tongue shot out to lick his palm. 

'Gah, Camille!' Drake groaned, pulling his hand away. 

Camille giggled and turned to face him, a mischievous smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. 'Fast movement, don't give room for any delay or they will know what you're going to do, right?' she teased, raising her eyebrow. 

Drake chuckled. 'I can't believe you licked my hand. Such a child..' 

Camille stuck her tongue out, proving his point. Drake shook his head and gestured for her to turn around. Camille obeyed and turned. 

'I'm going to grab your arm,' he told her. 'And you are going to strike the heel down and elbow me at the same time. Can you do it?' 

'I don't want to..' 

'Camille.' 

'But I need to learn so fine!' Camille said quickly. 

Drake nodded and took her arm, being gentle. He wasn't going to hurt her. 

His fingers felt like fire against her skin. Camille felt goosebumps blossom on her skin. She hoped Drake wouldn't notice. 

'Now.. Heel,' he said. 

Camille brought her heel down, making Drake wince in pain but he didn't let go of her arm. Her elbow stabbed into his gut, making him let out a groan. He let go of her arm instantly. 

'Well done,' he finally said once he recovered. 'Manolos are your weapon of choice now, okay?' 

Camille grinned. 'I knew I had a good excuse to buy them.' 

****************

'Last move,' Drake said, facing her. Camille threw her shoulders back and started to jog on the spot. She was filled with adrenaline now. Kicking ass was fun - though shame it had to be Drake getting his ass whipped. 

'Knee me in the crotch.' 

Camille stopped jogging. 'No,' she said. 'No, no, no -' 

'Camille, as a woman, you need to kick dick head men in the balls if they try to hurt you,' Drake told her. 'Balls are precious. It fucking hurts. I've not worn anything to protect myself because I need to see how hard you do it.'

'But it'll hurt you!' 

'I'll live.' 

Camille sighed but stepped closer. Drake braced himself. 

The things I do for her.. 

She kneed him in the crotch. 

Drake fell to his knees, holding his groin. His eyes watered as he felt pain fill every nerve. 

'You.. Did.. Good..' he choked out before falling on his back. 

Camille raced to his side and fell to her knees beside him. Her hair fell like a curtain from her bun, so that all Drake could smell was coconut and all he could see was her brown eyes with golden flecks. 

'I'm so sorry..' Camille whispered, reaching out to place her hand on his cheek. Her hand was cool against his skin. Drake closed his eyes, allowing her cool skin to soothe him. 

'I asked you to do it,' he croaked. 'No harm done.' 

Camille grimaced but she didn't protest. She knew this was Drake's job. He had to protect her and teaching her self defence fell into that category. But that didn't mean that sat right with her. 

Drake awkwardly sat up, leaning back on his elbows. He looked at Camille now, taking in her regretful expression. 

'Camille, I'm okay,' he murmured. 'Honestly. Stop feeling guilty.' 

Camille let out a shakey breath. She looked down at her hands, wringing them together. Drake's heart softened more. 

'Camille, look at me.' 

Camille sniffled. 

Alarmed, Drake reached out to rest his finger under her chin so he could raise her face up. Their eyes locked. Hers were filled with tears. 

'What's wrong?' he asked gently. 

'I know you're teaching me self defence,' Camille said, her voice trembling, 'but the idea that you could get hurt protecting me.. It really scares me, Drake. I can't.. I can't bear the idea. Like it kills me having to hurt you during this lesson. But what happens if you get hurt in real life? I can't stand to think about it.'

She rubbed her eyes harshly. Drake caught at her wrists, forcing her to look at him. 

' Camille,' he said steadily. 'I am your bodyguard, first and foremost. My job is to be your human shield. If you are in danger, it is my job to get you out of it, no matter the consequences.' 

Camille's eyes bore into his. 'You are so much more than a human shield, Drake,' she told him, her voice growing fierce. 'Your life has no less equal value than mine -' 

'But it's something I will happily give away if it meant you're safe,' Drake interrupted. 'Camille, I knew when I became a bodyguard that I could get hurt or even die in duty. But I don't care. And when it comes to you, I will protect you with my life. Because its my duty but also -' 

Camille blinked. 'Also?' she echoed. 

Drake kept his eyes on hers. His heart was hammering inside his chest, threatening to explode from the way she was looking at him and the thoughts going through his mind. 

'But also because you are the single most important thing in my life,' Drake finally said. 'I'll be damned if I let anything take that away from me. If that means getting hurt in the process, I don't give a shit. I'd never hesitate to take a bullet for you, Camille. So you better get used to the possibility-' 

Camille's mouth crashed against Drake's. 

He let out a surprised gasp as her lips pressed hard against his. When he realised what was happening, he automatically reached out to pull her into him, his hands spreading across her back. Camille kissed him hungrily, as if she had been starving for years and only now had found sustenance. 

'Camille..' he said against her lips, his voice like a warning. Be normal. Be normal. 

'Don't talk,' she whispered against his mouth, drowning out the warnings in his mind. 

'Yes ma'am,' Drake growled. 

He pulled her down onto him so he was lying on the floor. Camille straddled him, her kisses urgent as her lips travelled down his jaw towards his throat, kisses filled with heat and longing. 

Camille could feel his erection through his sweatpants. Testing the waters, she rolled her hips against his. 

Drake let out a visceral groan that rumbled from the pit of his stomach. Camille smiled like she had discovered a dirty little secret.

He rolled her over suddenly so he was suspended above her. His hands rested on either side of her head, supporting his weight, as he kissed her neck. He nipped at her throat with his teeth, making her curl her fingers into his hair. 

'I like self defence classes..' she whispered in his ear. 

Drake pulled back to give her a smirk. 'Oh really?' he asked. 'How about this?' 

He pinned her arms above her head, holding her down. Camille arched her back as Drake's lips kissed her collarbone and jaw. As he kissed her, Camille's hand roamed down his chest to the waistband of his sweats. Her hand brushed his crotch. 

Drake stilled. 

Camille blinked, sensing a change in the atmosphere. 'Drake?' 

'We should stop..' Drake whispered, his eyes dark as he looked down at her. 'Before we go too far.' 

Camille looked down at the tent situation in Drake's crotch region. 'But its right there.' 

Drake chuckled despite the awkward situation. 'We agreed to be professional,' he said. 'Be normal, whatever that means. Right now, we are doing the opposite.' 

Camille cleared her throat and sat up. She arranged her hair, now a tousled mess, back into a neat bun. 

'You were just saying all these things..' she muttered. 'I overstepped. I'm sorry.'

'Don't be,' Drake said. 'I meant every single thing.' 

An awkward silence. Drake sighed, wishing things weren't so complicated with them. 

'I'd never hesitate to take a bullet for you too,' Camille whispered, referring to their previous conversation, her eyes meeting his. 'I hope you know that. I care about you, Drake. I know how complicated our situation is and I'm sorry I've made it worse by kissing you.. My heart overruled my head.' 

Drake smiled weakly. He reached out to take her hand and squeezed it gently. 

'I've got to use my head when it comes to you,' he told her. 'I can't let feelings cloud my judgement. But that doesn't mean my heart isn't beating. It is, Camille.'

Camille brought her hand out to rest over Drake's heart which was indeed beating hard in his chest. 

'I understand,' she murmured. 

Drake's heart quickened, each beat betraying his determination to take it slow and be normal. 

I love her. I love her. I love her. 

**********************

The following night detailed yet another ball at the palace. Camille was sick of balls but as the newest Duchess, she had to go to the opening of an envelope. 

She sat beside Drake in the car as Geoffrey drove them through the city streets towards the palace. 

They were both acting 'normal'. There was no awkwardness between them after the kissing during their self defence lesson - far from it. 

Drake and Camille were perfecting their performance of 'normal'. 

To pass the time on the way to the palace, Drake and Camille were playing Rock Paper Scissors. 

'Damn it!' Drake swore. 

Camille let out a laugh. 'Everytime with the scissors, Drake!' 

Drake groaned. 'You and your damn rock.' 

Camille giggled and tucked her hair behind her ear. Drake smiled at her unguarded moment when she was just being free and silly. Camille savoured moments to be silly now - her role as a Duchess meant she had to hide part of her personality, something which she was still trying to get used to. 

They arrived at the palace and as usual, Drake got out of the car first to ward off any photographers. He opened her door and shielded her from the cameras, making sure she felt comfortable enough to proceed. 

Camille gave him her usual smile to show she was ready. 

'Let's go, kid,' Drake whispered, giving her a wink. 

*********************

Camille helped herself to a glass of champagne, feeling Drake's eyes on her as she did so. His eye never strayed from her whenever they went to these balls.

He was the reason why she could summon the courage to set foot in this ballroom again. 

'So we meet again,' a sleek and revoltingly familiar voice sounded in her ear. 

It was Leo. 

'Your Highness,' Camille greeted him, curtseying to him. She resisted the urge to vomit as she played the part of the Duchess of Valtoria. 

Leo smirked. 'After last time, I'm surprised you would even curtsey to me. I admit, I was very rude and inappropriate. So sorry.' 

He didn't sound sorry. Not one bit. 

Camille smiled thinly. 'It's water under the bridge,' she said. 'I have to speak to Liam, good to see you.' 

She turned to leave but was stopped by Leo grabbing her arm. Camille's breath caught. She could see Drake standing in the corner, his eyes furious. Any moment now, Drake would leave his post and rescue her. 

Camille closed her eyes. One day, Drake might not be in the room. He might be somewhere different. He wasn't in the room at Applewood. Camille was alone with a man who was holding her too tightly, asking for too much, demanding everything. 

Enough now. 

Camille's heel stamped down onto Leo's foot and her elbow jabbed him in the gut. 

'Fuck!' Leo cried out, letting her go. Camille saw the nobles around them turn to look at them, curious at the disturbance. Without hesitation, Camille 'accidently' spilled her champagne down Leo's chest, acting as if that had been the reason for Leo to shout out. 

'Soooo sorry Your Highness!' she cried. Leo had a face like thunder but Camille didn't care. She picked up two glasses of champagne and strutted away from him, her head held high. She looked over at Drake with a triumphant smile on her face and could see that Drake's expression reflected hers. 

His eyes sparkled with joy as he watched Camille regain some of her much needed confidence. 

Camille reached him and passed him a glass of champagne. 'Thank you,' she whispered, giving him a warm smile. Drake laughed and took the champagne glass, tossing the bubbly drink down his throat and grimacing at the taste. But the sickening taste faded quickly as his joy at seeing Camille free and happy enveloped him. 

Leo watched the Duchess of Valtoria and her bodyguard stand too close together, sharing smiles that showed a hint of something more. He glowered as the Duchess threw her head back as she laughed at something the bodyguard had said. She turned to leave him, squeezing his hand before she went, and moved across the room to speak to Maxwell, but Leo's eyes slid across to the bodyguard. 

He was watching her with a hopeless expression on his face. Hopeless and lovesick, that's what it looked like. 

Leo clutched his champagne glass, feeling revulsion in the pit of his stomach as he put two and two together. The Duchess wasn't returning his affections because she was close with her bodyguard. No wonder Leo hadn't been able to break through to her. A literal human shield was in the way. 

Leo would fix that. 

[inupibaldspot]

Saviour : Chapter 21

"Why is it that every time you train with Vice Admiral you get injured so much?" Zack sighed as he put a band aid on Emilia's forehead. The child in-front of him had a bruise which now attained a blueish color and a bulge. "It never happens when Bogard-San trains you."

Emilia raised her hands and  pressed on the band-aid and nervously laughed. "Garp-san has always been rough with his training. I used to run away from him when ever I got the chance back in Goa Kingdom."

"So.." Zack continued as he started putting his stuff back into the first aid box. "What was the training this time?"

Zack mentally prepared himself. Garp had always made up stupid training because he always felt left out when Bogard would train Emilia.

Just last week, the old man tied Emilia on a rope and threw her out of their marine ship.

"Gah?!" Zack shouted, panicking as Emilia, almost drowning ,  struggled to stay afloat since her arms were also tied up. "What are you doing Vice-Admiral?! Emilia will drown!"

"GAHAHA!" The old man crossed his arms and laughed proudly. "With this training Emilia will become one with the sea and become much stronger!"

"You do realize that doesn't make sense right?!"

"Huh...Are you doubting my training?" Garp stopped laughing and glared at Zack making him shiver under his gaze. "Guess you also need some training."

Garp also tied a rope around Zack and threw him off the ship and anyone who questioned his training method. And at the end of the day more than half of squad were in the sea, struggling to survive and fighting off any sea monsters.

"He blindfolded me and made me put of some ear plugs to cancel the sound. After that he beat me with my kendo stick." Emilia pouted. Although it might sound insane and impossible to counter back,she did think it might be helpful.

Without sight or hearing ability you start paying attention to every detail making you haki much stronger. But at the level she was in, all she got as a full on beating from the merciless Vice admiral.

Zack sighed. He goes too far sometimes but we cant go against him...

Just then something crossed his mind. "Emilia are you free during our break next week?" He smiled.

"You do know I am 10 turning 11 years right? How old are you?? 30?" Emilia said in a stoic tone. "And you call your self a marine..heh..."

Zack stilled for a moment before his face turned red in embarrassment at what Emilia was implying. "That's not what I meant! I'm not asking you on a date!!! Also I'm just 23!"

Emilia bringing her hands covering her mouth giggled. "I was joking" she then look at him in his eyes and smiled. "What is it?"

"I uh..." Zack scratched his hands at the back of his hands face blushing a bit. "I thought I would like you to meet my girlfriend"

Emilia eyes widened a bit.

"You know we have started dating for a while but I liked her from way before and ..." The man continued on.

"Why" Emilia's soft voice questioned making the guys stop his ramble.

"Why not?" Zack said as he smiled. "We've known each other for almost 2 years now Emilia and now I want the two people precious to me meet, that's all!"

This was the first time in a while,at least ever since she left Goa kingdom, her heart filled with joy giving her a giddy experience.

"No that not what my question meant. Why would anyone be dating you??" Emilia lied, just to tease him  abit.

"I swear you're nice to everyone except me."

"That's because I feel comfortable enough to do that to you"

.....

"Emilia!" Garp called out looking at the girl who was simply looking at the sea with a dazed look. The weather was good and she didn't have anything to do.

Hearing her name being called out she turned around and faced Garp, slightly tilting her head.

"Starting tomorrow we will have a break of 3 days. I'm thinking of going to Goa Kingdom" Garp said as he put his hands in his pocket and walked towards the girl. "Do you want to come as well? You can meet the boys."

"No." Emilia simply said

"Eh...what did you say." His eyebrows knitted her asked. She didn't want to go with him...or meet the boys...? Was his precious granddaughter in her rebellious phase...?

"I've made plans with Zack so I'm going with him tomorrow." Emilia explained.

Zack who heard the conversation,gulped loudly.

Garp's face was blank for a few seconds before he shouted.

"ZACK!!! HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY PRECIOUS GRANDDAUGHTER AWAY FROM ME?!".

...

Emilia walked beside Zack. They were currently in marine ford headquarters and as some of you may know beside the Main offices at the center there are residential areas at the sides.They were currently headed there.

Emilia looked at Zack holding a bouquet in his hands,a small smile on his face, obviously looking forward to meet his lover. Emilia also noted that she didn't have to walk fast next to him unlike when she did when ever she was walking beside Garp or any of the other grown ups. Zack simply slowed his pace down so that's she could walk without rushing him self.

Soon they reached in front of a door of a small house. Inhaling deeply Zack knocked. This man was really out there getting nervous to see his own lover. This almost made Emilia want to tease him then and there.

Few seconds later the door creaked open. A woman with short blonde hair and green eyes appear her face showed a surprise expression at first and then a wide smile formed.

"Zack!" The woman laughed and opened her arms and jumped towards the man attempting to hug him.

"Wait Claire!!!"

"AH!!! THE BOUQUET!!!"

......

"Hehehe Sorry about that." Claire said, face a bit red,blushing. "And you are?"

"My name is Emilia. Ainsworth Emilia." Emilia replied as she sat down on the chair of their dining table. "Currently I'm waiting to get older so that I join the marine. Till then I will still be with the marine crew but I wont be able to do any official work." She explained assuming that Claire will soon ask what she was doing with the marine.

"Eh? Marine. Directly at the age of 13?"Claire gasped "How old are you right now?"

"I'll be turning 11 soon."

Claire eyes widened and the strayed to look at Zack asking for confirmation.

"Sorry the say this but she is right. That little girl doesn't act liked her age at all. Even her strength is like an elephant"  Zack sighed "Must be from Garp's side of the family" he muttered as he picked his cup from the table and sipped on his tea.

Emilia eyes widened slightly... She forgot to tell him Garp and her aren't related by blood...

"You!" Claire raised her hands and smacked the back of Zack's head making his choke on his drink and Emilia winch at the sound of him getting hit. That must have hurt.

"What was that for?" Zack managed to say in between his cough,hands at the back of his head rubbing it to sooth the pain even abit.

"You should never compare a lady to an elephant,dear!" Claire shouted. "On top look at Emilia! There no denying that girl is really beautiful! Super cute!!" She pointed at  Emilia.

Zack's eye twitched and look at Emilia only to get annoyed at her giving him a smug expression. This brat is enjoying this...

"Claire,I didn't notice that at all!" Zack said as he held Claire's hand. "That must be because no one is more beautiful than you" Zack said ,hoping his lover wont be angry at him anymore with this cheesy line. Emilia really tried her best to hold back her expression. She almost gagged in disgust at the show of affection in front of her.

Claire eyes widened and a blush formed on her face. "Oh you!! You make me blush!" Claire brought one hand on her face,smiling and the other hand slapped Zack making him fall from his chair.

"ACK!"

.....

Emilia watched Claire chop some vegetables. Right now Claire was making lunch for them. Zack had currently went out to buys some meat, Claire wanted in her beef stew.

"Do you want me to help,Claire san? " Emilia asked as she walked towards the blonde woman.

"Claire is fine." She corrected Emilia." And Emilia you're the guest. You can just sit down and relax. Besides I'm almost done chopping these up haha."

Emilia didn't move. It made her feel abit awkward, going away when someone was working also since back in Goa kingdom, it was Emilia who did most of the cooking,after all those boys were horrible at it.

"Emilia..." Claire said as she put her knife down and walked towards the sink to wash her hands. "Can..Can you tell me how Zack is at work?"

Emilia said nothing for a few seconds.

Claire laughed abit. "You see..." she started "He never really talks about these and always avoids talking about it... He isn't strong at all but he always wanted to be a marine. He accepted his weakness and so then studied really hard so he can get in as a navigator in the marine."

"But he probably still feels abit insecure by it." Claire's eyes dropped and smiled sadly. "But for me...Since I knowing how hard he always worked always made me proud of him..."

After that there was a brief silence.

"He is weak." Emilia said. Claire's eyes widened at the girl's bluntness. "Even I can also probably beat him. He panics every time we face an enemy..."

"But then he always makes sure to check up on me and make sure I am safe...He is the friendliest and kindest person in the crew. Even when I joined that crew, he was one of the first people who treated me as a person and not a burden since most thought of it that way as i am a child."

"He is also very knowledgeable" She continued. "He really taught me alot related to navigation. He is also one of the few people who I've opened up to."

"He gets frustrated when I make fun of him but then he never actually gets angry. That's the kind of person he is.Everyone on the ships likes him." Emilia smiled. "So I don't think you have to worry, Claire. And even if there is danger,I'll be sure to protect him."

Claire teared up and kneeled down to hug Emilia ,smiling "Thank you, Emilia".

If me and Zack will ever have a child, I want the child to be like you, Emilia.

"I'm Back!"

Zack shouted from the entrance and walked directly towards the kitchen. "Here Claire."

"Thank you ,darling." Claire said taking the grocery bag from Zack, kissing his cheeks and walking towards the kitchen.

"Emilia." Zack called out. "Follow me" he said and walked towards another room.

Confused but nevertheless Emilia followed Zack in a room. Zack opened the room. It was filled with boxes stacked one on top of another. Zack then crouched down and took out one of the boxes. A rectangular looking box which was quite long.

He blew on top of the box to make the dust go way and then opened it.

"What is it?" Emilia questioned curiously, trying to peek to see what was in the box.

"Here" Zack pulled out the item and handed it to Emilia.

"A sword..." Emilia was surprised.

"It was my grandfather's. He used this when he was also in the marine." Zack explained. "My dad didn't want to be a marine so this sword was directly given to me by my grandfather before he passed away."

"Is...Is it okay for me to have this?" Emilia asked gripping gently on the sword. "It must be precious to you..."

"It is." Zack smiled. "But I don't know how to use this nor do I think I can ever fight."

Zack brought his hands up and placed them on Emilia's head. "Besides it's always better to make use of things. Take good care of it,Emilia"

"I will."

"Also Emilia " Zack continued,making the girl look at it. He closed the previous one box and slid it to it's original place. "That sword has a name."

"A name..." Emilia whispered. This sword was a meitou.

"The name is Tenryu" He said. "Beautiful name,isn't it?" The question making Emilia nod.

Emilia was touched. For Zack to give something of such importance for him to her.

"But it looks like you'll have to grow more,for you to use it. Hahahaha" Zack laughed. "That sword is longer than you."

Maybe now was the moment to see if the sword got blunt or not. Emilia glared at Zack.

Just then Calire called out from the kitchen saying the lunch was ready. The food was delicious, The couple infront of Emilia were cheerful and kind. This made her feel as if she was back...back in her own world...

I miss them...

......

A/N: This chapter and few coming chapter will have alot of time skips and few more new characters which are not there in the canon One Piece will be introduced.

So I would like to apologize in advance if that may bore you.

Anyways Thank you for reading and Be Safe! 

[sondepoch]

XXII: Saeran's Route (Saeran)

Where Futures Begin

Life used to be simple for you. Peaceful. But the Savior had other plans for you, and in moments, she ruined what you thought was your one shot at happiness. Blinded by anger, you escaped the Mint Eye, but that triggered a series of events that would bring you further into the world of brothers Saeran and Saeyoung. And further into the twisted world of your love for them.

Neutral Route: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ✔

Saeyoung’s Route: 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | ✔

Saeran’s Route: 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ✔

MASTERLIST

The sleep was the best thing, he decided.

Saeran opened his eyes lazily, staring up at the ceiling. He didn't shift his body when his eyes darted over to the clock, the mint greens widening ever-so-slightly when he saw that it was already four in the morning.

His body still hadn't fully adjusted to the whole concept of sleeping more than three hours at once. Or the idea of getting real food instead of pills and sugary sweets. Or even the sensation of not having a suit restricting his movements to make him feel like a prisoner inside his own body.

Even the roots of his Saeran's were beginning to grow back in, and they were redder than he had ever remembered them being.

After all, so much had changed.

But the sleep was still the best thing.

Saeran closed his eyes and wrapped his arms tighter around the (h/c) girl clinging to him, breathing in the smell of her hair.

It never failed to be a surprise to wake up, every morning, and find her at his side.

The sweetest surprise.

The boy let out a sigh, perhaps in preparation to drift off into another dreamless slumber before the sound of cursing from another room pulled him back into a state of alertness. He raised an eyebrow at the sound, an amused smile flitting across his face before pressing a kiss to (Y/N)'s temple, crawling out of bed.

"Need help?" He asked once he had snuck up behind his brother.

"Gah!" The redhead exclaimed, practically falling out of his chair. "You scared me, Saeran! Geez!"

Saeran rolled his eyes, glancing at the code his brother had been working on before wordlessly adding a comma between two parameters. "You need sleep, Saeyoung. I saw you working on this before (Y/N) and I went to bed."

Oh.

That's another thing that had changed.

His redhead brother had abandoned the Luciel persona, deciding that it was time to go back to his roots as Saeyoung. He'd claimed that he was working on a plan to get out of the Agency and begin working with Saeran at Jumin's Intelligence Unit, but that plan wouldn't go through for a while.

"Quiet, little brother. Leave the complicated stuff to your big-brother-defender," Saeyoung responded with a goofy smile, causing Saeran to let out an ungraceful snort.

After two weeks of tension following their return from the Mint Eye, things had finally begun to calm down in their family.

The process was slow going, but Saeran felt it in the little things: the way he no longer tensed at the call of his name, the way his body no longer felt nausea at the sight of a healthy meal, the way the sight of his brother began to calm him instead of frustrate him.

Saeran was healing.

And not just him. (Y/N), too. And even Saeyoung.

At last, all three of them were beginning to grow used to each other, to this whole idea of living together in the bunker.

"Have you decided if you're going to the party or not?" Saeyoung asked, after a moment of silence.

Saeran sighed, plopping himself down on a nearby couch. He stared at the ceiling as he thought about his brother's question.

V had decided to hold another party through the RFA: one to commemorate the return of its original founder (though she wouldn't be joining the organization itself for a long time to come) and to raise the funds necessary to reintegrate all the Mint Eye believers and disciples back into society.

Saeyoung had to attend, as a member of the RFA, but V had extended the invitation to both Saeran and (Y/N). Thus far, Saeran had shown little interest in going and rekindling the flames of their shared memories at the Mint Eye that he'd worked so hard to dampen. But the date of the party drew close, only two days away, and the boy knew that he had to make a decision eventually.

"I'll go if (Y/N) says she wants to," Saeran said after a long silence. "But I don't see any benefit to attending."

"V said that there's something he wants to show you," Saeyoung ventured, turning away from his keyboard to face his brother. "He thought that you and (Y/N) would like it."

"Did he specify with 'it' is?"

The sheepish chuckle from Saeyoung was an answer in itself. The redhead opened his mouth, perhaps to convince his little brother to attend the party, when another voice interrupted them altogether.

"I want to go."

The twins raised their eyes in unison to the source of the voice.

"To the party, I mean," (Y/N) clarified, tossing Saeyoung a sleepy smile as she rubbed her eyes.

"What are you doing up?" Saeran asked, eyes raised in concern. His sleep schedule was still healing from years of neglect in the Mint Eye, Saeyoung the exact same as him in that regard. But it made him worry to see his lover up at such an ungodly hour, especially when she was so vocal about loving her slumber.

"You weren't there in bed," She mumbled, flopping onto the couch and throwing herself into Saeran's arms. She said nothing more, already beginning to doze off as she made herself comfortable while she koala'd herself around Saeran's chest. The boy felt a blush rise to his cheeks, used to her affection but used to it in private, behind closed doors. But if the girl noticed his flustered state at such open love, she didn't show it.

Next to them, Saeyoung stifled a laugh.

"Quite the girl you found yourself, Saeran." An amused grin had risen onto the redhead's face, never failing to enjoy an opportunity to tease his little brother.

"Quiet," Saeran grumbled. He shot his brother a glare, trying not to move to avoid disturbing his lover as she slept—now completely asleep—atop of him. "You found her, too. She told me about how you two kissed in the cabin."

A momentary silence followed, and for a second Saeran worried that he had said something wrong. Should I have not brought that up?

But the boy had no reason to fear.

Time had allowed him to forget how deep his connection was with his twin, but the present was proving that bond to be strong and stronger with every new opportunity.

In front of him, the redhead laughed.

"You've got me there, Saeran," Saeyoung said with a chuckle. A new sort of grin spread on his face, one mischievous and light with amusement. "But I never truly had her."

Saeyoung winked, and Saeran felt a blush spread over his cheeks, knowing the meaning of his brother's words.

Her heart was always mine, Saeran knew. Even when she left.

Even when he had been awful to her, even when the Elixir had stolen the love from his heart, even when he'd brought her a world of pain...(Y/N) had never stopped loving him. And now it was his turn to return all the affections she had never stopped giving him, tenfold.

"Well, you heard her," Saeran mumbled. "She wants to go to the party."

Saeyoung grinned. "Need help picking out a suit?"

"Only if we can find (Y/N) a dress to match."

"And here I thought you wouldn't be one for such sentiments," Saeyoung said with a chuckle. "But don't worry. I'll make sure you both have everything you need for the party."

But Saeran knew that when Saeyoung said those words, he didn't just mean them in reference to the party. No, Saeyoung had made it abundantly clear from the first day when he'd invited Saeran and (Y/N) into his home, going shopping with them the next day to buy them all they could possibly need to survive for the next five years, that his hospitality extended past whatever formalities they were used to.

Saeyoung would make sure that Saeran and (Y/N) were happy, truly happy.

And as Saeran sat, arm wrapped around the love of his life as she slept, engaged in casual conversation with the twin he'd spent so much of his life missing, he found that his happiness was rising with the sun behind him.

It was a slow process, but steady.

And certain as the sunrise, no matter how far Saeran fell, there were now two people in his life who would help him pick up the pieces and get himself together.

The boy smiled, watching lazily as his brother continued on whatever rant he was pursuing, observing as the sun lit up the room: the face of his brother, the outlines of all the previously dark objects in the room, the (h/c) strands of his lover that were beginning to grow back in at the roots.

It was a strange happiness. Certainly not a conventional one.

But the happiness was there, covering every moment as clearly as the light that shone through the window.

"Yeah," He answered his brother when the redhead posed a goofy question, an excited smile on his lips as he continued to gesture wildly. Saeran was barely paying attention to half the words coming out of his twin's mouth, but he didn't need to.

This was happiness, and Saeran had to do was sit back, smile, and enjoy it.

MASTERLIST

Neutral Route: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ✔

Saeyoung’s Route: 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | ✔

Saeran’s Route: 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ✔

Word count: 1.7k

Notes: It feels really strange to say, but this next chapter will be the final chapter in the entire series! Preliminary goodbyes are always different than the final farewell, so I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been with me on this ride before it gets too bittersweet :) I appreciate all your support, and i feel like this publishing this series has taught me so much. It's my first series, actually, and its sort of strange but i can see how my writing has subtly developed and changed from chapter 1 of the neutral route to this here xD anyways - final chapter this thursday (you can bet your butt i wont miss it for the world) and I'll see you all then <3

Comment & Like

Next Update: 4/30/20

I do not own the rights to Mystic Messenger or any of the characters within it.

[crackimagines]

A Professor’s Daily Life (FE: Three Houses Short Fic)

Edit: PART 2 HERE!

Edit 2: SEQUEL HERE!

When we vomit about 40 flowers onto a student, fish for an unholy amount of time, and sprint faster than the speed of light across the Monastery, that’s normal to us because game shenanigans. 

But, what does that look like to the students of the Blue Lions?

The bell rung, and the long day had finally ended. 

The students of the Blue Lions were finished with a grueling week of lectures that neither they or the professor were excited to learn about, but had to regardless.

Now that it was over, everyone decided to group up and talk about what they were feeling.

“Jeez, I thought that would never end! I know this important to learn but...” Annette griped.

“I know, I was almost ready to pass out!” Ashe responded while tidying up his papers.

While everyone chimed in their two cents, Sylvain had a troubled look on him, which made Ingrid tap him on the shoulder.

“Sylvain, is something the matter?” she asked.

Everyone turned to him, and began tapping his chin.

“Ya know,” Sylvain said. “I’ve been thinking lately-”

“What, about girls?” Felix sarcastically asked, already rolling his eyes.

“No, actually. It’s about the professor. Something’s been bugging me about him.”

Dimitri shrugged and replied.

“Whatever it is, he was just as thrilled as us to discuss the topic, so I say give him a-”

“No, not that. That I get,” Sylvain interjected. “It’s about what he does.”

“Whatever do you mean by that?” Dedue asked.

“...Wait, you guys seriously don’t know what I’m talking about? I’m talking about how different he seems during lectures and his days off!”

“Um, I assumed that’s natural. He can’t be professional a hundred percent of the time. After all, even people like him need breaks!” Mercedes said.

“Well yeah, but...Does that mean none of you have ever seen him on a day off?”

Everyone looked at each other and shrugged.

They said the only times they really saw him during days off was when he personally went to talk to them, invite them to tea and lunch, or when they had a problem.

“What’s your problem with the professor?” Ingrid asked.

“You’re not making a lot of sense either, Sylvain,” Ashe added.

“I mean just like...how-gah forget it! Tomorrow’s a day off, right? I need you all to come with me!”

“Tch, to hell with that.” Felix said. “I need to be training, so-”

“Please! I know I sound crazy, but I can’t be the only one imagining this! You need to understand why it’s been plaguing me, I’M BEGGING YOU ALL!”

Sylvain was grabbing Felix’s collar shouting in desperation which made Felix shove him off.

“Ugh, fine! If it means you’ll shut up!”

The Next Morning...

The class had gathered around a small barricade of boxes, watching his personal quarters.

(Felix) “...This is so dumb.”

(Sylvain) “Quiet you, he should be getting up by now!”

(Ingrid) “...Um, just how much have you watched this routine?”

(Ashe) “Listen Sylvain, maybe we should just get you a cup of-

SLAM!

Everyone suddenly turned to his room, which he bolted out of, dashing at a full tilt sprint, faster than they’ve seen anyone in their life run.

They noticed the door had opened up on it’s own, and closed itself as well making everyone do a double take on what they had just witnessed.

(Dedue) “W-What was that...?!”

(Annette) “I think that was the professor!”

(Dimitri) “If it was, then that’s the fastest I’ve ever seen him run! I don’t think he goes that fast on the battlefield!”

(Felix) “Where the hell did he go?!”

(Mercedes) “I-I see his outline! It’s bolting towards the greenhouse!”

(Sylvain) “AFTER HIM!”

Everyone hopped over their barricade and began chasing after the professor, going to the side of the building, watching him with the greenhouse keeper.

(Keeper) “Hello, Profe-”

Byleth said nothing in response as he dumped flower seeds in front of her, alongside a pouch of about 3,000 gold.

Everyone’s eyes widened, seeing him nonchalantly throw money like that, much less at flowers.

It looked like she was about to say something else, but Byleth stepped back and pulled out a map of the academy.

(Ingrid) “...What is he-”

Fast Travel to this location?     [YES]     NO

Right before their eyes, he vanished into thin air.

(Ingrid) “-BY THE GODDESS!”

They all rushed in, looking for any sign of their professor.

(Mercedes) “U-Um...! Our professor isn’t a mage, right?”

(Dimitri) “N-Not at all! He’s a swordmaster!”

(Annette) “Then how did he just teleport?!”

(Sylvain) “SEE?! SEE?! THIS IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT!”

(Felix) “Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?!”

(Sylvain) “CAUSE YOU WOULDN’T HAVE BELIEVED ME!”

(Dedue) “Ma’am, do you know about this?”

“...”

The keeper was dead silent, not even moving an inch.

(Ashe) “T-That doesn’t matter! Where did he go?!”

They all went outside, looking for any sign of their now mystical professor.

(Sylvain) “I-I think I saw a blur just dash near the marketplace!”

They all sprinted towards the market, and saw him at the Batallion’s guild. He pulled out what seemed to be a measly 100 coins, and a wave of troopers appeared before him, and disappeared suddenly.

(Guildmaster) “Need any more refilled?”

(Everyone) “...”

(Dimitri) “Wait a second, THIS is how we get our battalions?!”

(Ingrid) “T-That can’t be right! From what I understand, our platoons must cost hundreds of thousands of gold to replace the manpower each time our forces replenish! How does he pay more for flowers than he does for our troopers?!”

“Greetings, Professor’s students!”

Everyone turned around to see the Gatekeeper waving at them with a smile.

(Gatekeeper) “What brings you all here?”

(Ashe) “Um, it’s about the professor! He-”

(Gatekeeper) “He’s just making his daily rounds is all. I heard you guys talking, well more like shouting really. You all seem so concerned of how much he spends on flowers and stuff.”

(Mercedes) “Y-Yes! It makes no sense how he pays that much versus how much he pays for mercenaries!”

(Gatekeeper) “Bah, that’s nothing! You should see him buy tea bags! He buys so much it amounts to 10,000 gold!”

Everyone’s jaw hit the floor.

(Everyone) “WHAT?!”

(Ashe) “...Oh my...T-Then all those times he’s bought me my favorite tea!”

They all realized that the Professor had only been buying them their favorite teas. Somehow catered each and every one of them despite them never bringing it up at any time.

(Sylvain) “Uh, b-before that! Do you know where he runs...er uh, as crazy as it sounds-”

(Gatekeeper) “Teleports to? Should be around...Ah right, Black Eagles class now.”

(Dimitri) “Wait a second, how do you know-”

(Felix) “He did it again!”

They all turned around, and he was nowhere to be seen.

(Dedue) “WITH ALL DUE HASTE!”

They all nodded and ran for the classrooms.

Once they finally reached it, they were running out of breath at that point.

Panting heavily, they desperately tried to find the Professor with him nowhere in sight.

(Sylvain) “D-Did he already-”

Without warning, Byleth materialized in front of them, making everyone scream.

Somehow not noticing them, he immediately dashed towards Dorothea who was standing out in the courtyard.

(Dorothea) “Oh, hello Professor! What can I-”

Before she finished that sentence, Byleth pulled out a massive bag, and dumped it over Dorothea, dozens and dozens of flowers and miscellaneous gifts showered her, feathers and coins and the such.

Everyone stood in awe, as Dorothea didn’t even flinch at it, keeping her smile up the entire time, saying “Thanks!” rapidly with each item hitting her hat.

(Byleth) “Hey, want to join my class?”

(Dorothea) “Sure thing, Professor! I look forward to it!”

(Everyone) “HUH?!”

Byleth turned around and finally noticed them, making everyone ready to jump out of pure terror with his blank stare.

He had his sights set on Dimitri and walked slowly towards him.

(Dimitri) “P-PROFESSOR! A-AHEM! Professor, what can I-”

Putting the massive bag on the ground, Byleth pulled out an item.

(Byleth) “Is this yours, Dimitri?”

Dimitri looked at the item, then at the bag, suddenly realizing it had swords, paintings, food, flowers, and literally any item you could name, it was in there.

(Dimitri) “N-No...! Professor why do you have-”

Not even bothering to respond, he ran away again at the speed of sound leaving them all in the dust.

(Mercedes) “Ah darn, here we go again...”

(Ingrid) “DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY!”

They all attempted to run after him again, but they were so out of breath that a few of them collapsed onto their knees, everyone stopping to make sure they didn’t puncture a lung.

(Felix) “How in... the hell... does he run so fast?!... And why doesn’t he do that during battles?!”

Mercedes gently patted Annette in the back while trying to not topple over herself.

(Mercedes) “T-There there, Annette...!”

(Annette) “So...tired!”

(Ashe) “A-Alright Sylvain, we believe you! I don’t think we can take much more of this!”

(Sylvain) “Right let’s...call it...a day!”

Everyone was about to leave until they noticed something.

(Dedue) “...Where is his highness and Ingrid?!”

They looked around, suddenly realizing the two were nowhere to be found.

(Mercedes) “Huh?! T-They were right behind us!”

Dining Hall...

(Dimitri) “Ugh...WHAT IN THE-”

(Ingrid) “How in the?! Where did every-”

They stopped talking when they realized Byleth was in front of them, holding a plate of food they enjoyed. They looked down and realized they had their plates as well, and noticed they were in the dining hall.

Deciding against freaking out, they both smiled.

(Dimitri) “A-Ah, thank you for the food.”

(Ingrid) “N-Nothing b-beats my favorite food!”

Once they smiled, they were suddenly transported back to the group, landing on top of each other.

(Ashe) “OH MY GOSH!”

(Felix) “What in the damned hell is going on?! Where did you two come fro-No! Where did you two even go?!”

(Sylvain) “Oh to hell with this! EVERYONE, WE’RE TAKING SHELTER IN THE CLASSROOM!”

Dedue picked up Dimitri while Mercedes and Annette helped Ingrid to the classroom, shutting their doors. Everyone took a deep breath, making sure everyone was accounted for.

(Sylvain) “I-I’ve never seen it affect people directly like that! Let’s j-just camp out here until night! He’s usually not active that time!”

(Mercedes) “...Goddess, please help us!”

The next day on the beginning of new lectures, Byleth noted that when he introduced Dorothea as their new classmate, they didn’t seem exactly surprised. In fact, they seemed fearful of him, somehow. 

He didn’t really recall doing anything to freak them out.

[thiswasinevitableid]

Could you maybe do sternclay with #57? :3 Stern needs Barclay hello him with cookies IMMEDIATELY

#57: You called me at two in the moring insisting that I come over and help you bake christmas cookies for the party tomorrow because you forgot to make them earlier and need help now.

(I tweaked it slightly for the set-up)

Beepbeepbeep

Barclay blinks awake in a panic. That is definitely a smoke detector. His faculties return enough to clue him in that it’s not the one in his apartment, but rather the one below him. 

It’s probably nothing. His downstairs neighbor sometimes gets home late, and makes (or burns) dinner at odd hours. Still, Barclay would prefer to check and have it be no big deal than go back to bed only for said bed to collapse through the floor into the fiery inferno below an hour later. 

He pulls on his green, plaid bathrobe and walks the short flight of stairs to 32B. It takes a few moments for his knock to be answered. And he’s unprepared for the sight that greets him when it is.

Joseph Stern is the epitome of buttoned up; Barclay’s never seen him in anything less formal than a button shirt and slacks, even on the weekends. His black hair is always slicked back, allowing Barclay an unfettered view of his movies-star handsome cheekbones and bright blue eyes. He’s certain Stern doesn’t know how badly he’d like to dig his fingers into the gelled strands and pull them loose, how he looks forward to the times Stern invites him in for tea if they arrive home at the same hour, how weirdly relieved Barclay feels that he’s never heard or seen a sign that Stern’s brought a date home. 

Which is why the man who opens the door makes Barclays imagination spin out like a car on the ice. 

Stern’s hair is mussed, he’s in a white t-shirt and bigfoot-patterned pajama pants, and there’s a streak of white across his cheek. He turns red as soon as he glimpses Barclay.

“I’m so sorry, the alarm woke you up I assume?”

“Yep. Just, uh, just wanted to check to see if everything was okay.”

“Nothing’s on fire, if that’s what you mean.”

“You sure? Still smells kinda smoky-”

Beepbeepbeep

“Shit.” Stern dashes back towards his kitchen, leaving an open door and a confused Barclay behind him. 

Barclay crosses the threshold, shutting the door and then jumping when a narrow head and beady eyes peer at him from the dark bedroom

“gAH!”

Stern stops waving a piece of junk mail at his smoke detector to address the eerie shape, “It’s alright Nessie, your idiot owner just burnt some cookies.”

A greyhound pokes itself into the living room, collar jingling as it cautiously approaches Barclay. 

“Hey there, friend.” Barclay coos, lets the narrow, wet nose investigate him as he walks into the kitchen, “Cookies, huh?” He takes in the messy counters, the pile of bowls in the sink, and the plume of smoke escaping the oven. 

“Yes. I have a holiday party to attend tomorrow and I was already in bed when I remembered I agreed to bring cookies.”

“Can’t you just buy some before you go?”

“I considered that, believe me. But, well, it’s at a house where I know my ex will be attending, and he would just love the chance to point out to everyone how I’m too busy to even make cookies for the people I care about.”

“Jesus, what a dick.”

Stern laughs, a sound only he could make dignified, “That’s the understatement of the decade. And the reason it’s two in morning and my kitchen is full of smoke from cookies I clearly did not make correctly.”

Barclay examines the cookie sheet. It’s contents are one giant blob.

“Well, looks like your batter was too liquid so it spread and dripped off the sheet. That’s what started burning. Do you still have some left?”

Stern nods toward a silver mixing bowl. Barclay peers in, then grabs a nearby quarter cup measure and the bag of flour.

“This is a pretty easy fix. Here, I can get this sorted out if you can get the gunk out of the oven when it cools.”

“Right, of course.” Stern kneels down, searching beneath the sink through a stash of cleaning supplies, shooing Nessie away when she gets perilously close to the bleach bottle. 

Barclay adds flour to the cookie batter and turns on the mixer. It takes a little tweaking, but soon it’s looking how it needs to. His lingering grogginess turns on his autopilot, and he flours up the rolling pin and starts pressing down the dough.

“Why are you helping me?” Stern asks softly. 

“Just being neighborly, I guess.”

“It is two a.m, the apartment still smells like burnt dough, and you must have work at the bakery in the morning. You don’t need to stay. I care about our friendship Barclay and I’d hate you to resent me for this. You should go.”

“Yeah, I guess, even though I have the evening shift tomorrow. But I kinda want to stay. I like making cookies, and you could clearly use a little help. Unless you, like, need me to go, in which case I can.”

“I’d prefer the company, honestly. I can’t think of many things more pathetic than a grown man frosting Christmas cookies by himself in the dead of night.”

Barclay sets the rolling pin aside, rests a hand on either of Sterns shoulders, and smiles down at him, “Okay, how about this then: you plug in those lights you’ve got up and put on some water for tea and some music, and then come and help me make these? That still sound pathetic?”

“On the contrary” Stern meets his gaze, eyes regaining some of their shine, “it sounds wonderful.”

——————————————

The clock reads 3:30 a.m  by the time they’re frosting at the table. After he agreed to stay, Stern became immediately calmer, and has moved from that to downright chatty. He looks even more handsome by the glow of his christmas lights, and has made Barclay laugh more times than he can count. Barclay’s crush is only intensifying as a result. 

Stern opted for tubes of premade frosting to simplify things, and he’s busy decorating tree-shaped cookies with the green while Barclay tackles the star cookies with the white. 

“Anyway, that’s how come I named her Nessie. I actually had–ugh, why isn’t this coming out–a hamster named “Hodag” when I was youngAH!” The bag explodes, splatting sugary green goo over both men. 

“Shit, I’m so, so sorry.” Stern scrambles for a napkin.

“Really not your night, huh?” Barclay chuckles as he undoes his now-frosted bathrobe and tosses it on an empty chair.

“Clearly, good lord, I wasn’t even squeezing that…”

“Everything okay?” Stern’s eyes have gone worryingly wide

“Yes.” Stern breathes out.

Barclay shivers. Which is how he remembers that he’d gone to bed shirtless. And that Stern hasn’t stopped staring. 

He grins, “Like what you see?”

“Let’s just say my night has been greatly improved by seeing it.” Stern steps around the table, draws the napkin along Barclays neck, trying to remove a stray splotch of green.

“Agh, why is this stuff so hard to get off?”

“Dunno, must be whatever dye they use-oh, oh fuck.” A warm tongue laps at his neck, and the spot is gone in an instant. 

“It appears we’ve just found an efficient way of removing it.”

“Uh huh.” Barclay cups Sterns cheek, kisses him as gently as his jackhammer of a heart will allow. 

“Is this really okay?” He whispers. He needs to know, he has to be certain, because Stern is relaxed and melting into his arms and if he fucks that up by moving too fast he will never forgive himself. 

“It’s perfect.” Stern nuzzles his beard, “I’d, uh, I’d very much like to keep kissing you until I fall asleep.”

“Think I can manage that. Go get cozy, babe, and I’ll join you in a sec.”

Stern kisses his cheek and heads into the bedroom. As Barclay packs up the cookies, the dark-haired man reappears with a puzzle toy and a dog bed, which he sets in front of the heater so they won’t be disturbed.

By the time Barclay is done, Stern is waiting for him under the covers, sans his frosting covered shirt. Barclay snuggles up in his arms, kissing him slow and soft, learning and memorizing the ways to draw little sighs of pleasure from his lips. Sterns eyelids droop first, and he falls asleep in Barclays arms. He strokes his back gently before dropping off himself. 

And in the morning, they have cookies for breakfast

[mlovesstories]

Shake It Off Part 6

Tag List

Ask Box

Masterlist of Masterlists

Warnings: DEATH, ALL THE ANGST! cussing, therapist, physical violence kinda

AN- This is an emotional one! No bingo square.

Padackles x Reader

Jared x Therapist!Platonic

Reader’s Mom x Reader

Words: 1992

Summary: Relationships are test.

You ass!” YN screamed.

“Huh?” Jensen stormed into the last gong room hearing a yell from YN. He saw her asleep on the couch. “Hey, YN,” he nudged her awake. She rolled over.

“What?” She looked at him with tired eyes.

“You were cursing in your sleep,” he laughed quietly.

“Oh, sorry. I had a dream that all you did was yell at me and kick me out,” she sighed.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Jensen scratched the back of his neck.

“I know. That’s why it’s a dream,” YN sighed again. “Do you think my mom was a slut?” She looked at him curiously.

“No, why would I think that?” He motioned for YN to sit up so that he could sit next to her.

“She got pregnant young. All girlss who get pregnant are assumed to be sluts,” she shrugged her shoulders.

“Your mom was a good friend, actually. We had sex once. I’m not even sure what led to that-“

“Don’t need to know that, Jensen,” she put her hand up and laughed.

“Sorry,” He looked at his feet with a smile.  “It wasn’t just a fling.  She and I got along.  You weren’t a mistake is what I’m trying to say.”

“Yeah, tell her that.  She’s resented me my whole life,” YN sighed.  “Thanks.”

Jensen sat across from her in the living room.

“Thanks for what?”

“You like me,” she said plainly.

“Yeah…” he said confusedly.  “You’re easy to like.”

“No, I’m not.  I-”

“You’re amazing,” he interrupted her.  “Even when you’re mad at me for being an ass.”

“Ohhh, Daddy said a no-no word!” JJ gasped from the entryway.  “Mommy!”

“Shh!” Jensen tried to make her quiet.  “Here’s five bucks.  Don’t tell.  I’ll buy you ice cream tonight.” Jensen quickly shoved money in front of her face.  

“Okie dokie, daddy!” The little girl ran down the hallway to eat breakfast with the money in her hand.

“Too bad I didn’t grow up in your house.  I’d be rich, I’m sure,” YN giggled.  

“It is too bad,” Jensen said solemnly, “If I would have known…”

“I know, Jensen.” YN rubbed a hand over her tired face.

“I think we need some breakfast before this becomes a soap opera.” Jensen laughed.  “Come on,” he guided her up from the couch.

“It already did,” YN smiled.

Before the two could make it out of the room, Danneel stomped in.

“Why will JJ not tell me where this came from?” She waved the five dollar bill in the air.

YN and Jensen went into a fit of giggles.

“I did nothing. Absolutely nothing,” the dad composed himself. “Promise.”

“Uh huh,” his wife rolled her eyes.

_______

The Padalecki family came over for an afternoon barbeque.  YN played with the little ones while Jensen, Danneel, Gen, and Jared drank beers by the firepit.  

“Considering all, this hasn’t turned out bad,” Jared sipped his drink referring to YN.

“Yeah,” Jensen grinned.

“She is always welcome, babe.  You know that, right?” Danneel took his hand.

“Thank you,” Jensen kissed the back of her hand.  

“She really is amazing.” Gen looked to Jared.  

“Yeah, she is,” Jared agreed.  

“Guys?  A little help over here?” YN walked over to the four adults around the fire pit.  

“Nope, I gave birth to half of them,” Gen laughed.  

“Same,” Danneel smiled.

“Come on!” YN groaned.  The little ones ran up to her and yanked on her shirt.  Playfully, she fell over onto the grass.  “You guys stink!” She yelled from the ground to the parents.  They chuckled at her desperation.  

“Fine, fine.  I’ll help you out,” Jared stood up and fell onto the ground next to YN.  The kids piled on top of him while YN made her escape to Jared’s chair.  She caught her breath while Jared grunted with six children on top of him.

________

“So, how you doing?” YN asked Jared while the other friends and family played in the heated pool.

“I’m fine, YN.  Please don’t. You’ve been through a lot lately.  Don’t worry about me,” he dismissed her.

“Really?” YN rolled her eyes.  “I will always worry about you.  You’re my TV hero, and I pretty much saved your life, as you say,” she grinned, trying to gain a positive reaction.

“Okay, okay,” he assuaged her. “I”m okay.  We’re on break, so I think that helps.  Thanks for the Golden Girls coloring book,” he grinned.  

“Thought it was fitting,” YN smiled.  “Any issues?  Been seeing your psych?”

“Yes, MOTHER!” Jared laughed.  “Just deep breathing stuff, nothing came from it.”

“Good, glad for you.”

“How about you?” Jared continued the conversation.

“Eh, I’ve been fine since our little anxiety competition.”

“I’m so sorry about that.  My fault.”

“No, Jared. You didn’t know that I kept it a secret.  You know you don’t get to play the blame game.  It’s a never-ending battle.”

“I know.  It’s your story though.  You tell it if you want to.  I’ll keep my mouth shut, promise,” Jared said quietly.  

“Thank you, Jared.”

________

“So, you had a tough week, huh?” Jared’s therapist narrowed his eyes at the tall man.

“Yeah, but can we talk about something else, please?”

“You and another person were both having panic attacks, Jared.  That had to take a toll.  I let you steer the conversation a lot of the time because you are pretty open, and I don’t mind that.  BUT,” Jared huffed loudly as his therapist talked. The doctor glared at him in response. “BUT,  this was a big thing that set you back, and-”

“I’m fine!” Jared stood up from the couch he was sitting on.  The pillow he had been holding was thrown across the room and bounced off the wall.

“Yeah, obviously!” The therapist stayed seated but used a raised voice.  “Sit down or get out.  You know the rules in here.  We TALK about how we feel, but we can’t act on it in here.  You throwing things doesn’t fly, so either leave or cool it.”

Jared realized what he had done and became red with embarrassment.  

“Shit,” he whispered under his breath.  “Sorry, doc.” Quickly relaxing, he started to sit back down.  

“Go pick that up before you sit down, please,” his therapist calmly pointed to the pillow on the floor.

“Right, sorry,” Jared scampered over to it and pulled it to his chest.  

“Thank you.  Now I think we have some things to talk about.  If you act like that in here, you’ll be more than likely to be angry outside of this room.  The people outside of this room are not trained to calm you down.  You need to talk it out.”

“Ugh.  Why do I come here again?” Jared said in a whiney voice.  

“Talk, Jared.  Or I’ll kick you out.”

“No thanks,” he quietly stood up and walked out, feeling overwhelmed.  

_________

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Jared,” Jensen reacted to the man leaving therapy.  “In the middle of the session.  That’s not like you, dude,” he took a sip of beer in the Padalecki’s living room.  

“I just- he was pushing my buttons!”

“That’s kind of his job,” Jensen gave a laugh.

“I don’t know, man.  I just got so defensive.”

The boys heard a knock at the door.

“Yeah?” Jared’s voice boomed into the entryway.  

The door opened.  

“Hey,” YN walked in. 

“Don’t tell me you know too.  Gah, I didn't commit a crime, people!”

“Gen told me.  Jared, what I would give to be able to see a therapist.  And you just walked out?”

“You WANT to see a therapist?” Jared’s jaw dropped.

“I used to, but my insurance changed, and I can’t anymore.” She walked to him and sat in the chair next to him. “What happened?”

“He was being a dweeb, that’s what.”

“Shut up, Jensen,” YN rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t want to talk about it!  We were both freaking out, and it’s hard to talk about!” Jared groaned.  

“Okay, I’m sorry for pushing. Please promise me you’ll call him tomorrow?”

“I will, I promise.”

________

Later that afternoon, YN’s phone started ringing. She answered.

“STOP CALLING ME, MOM!” She yelled into the phone.

“Ma’am?” A soft voice stilled YN.

“Yes? This is my mom’s phone. Who are you?”

“My name is Darren. I’m a nurse at Dallas General Hospital.”

“Umm. Okay? Where’s my mom?” YN’s voice quieted with concern.

“She was brought in after she was found injured outside of her apartment.”

“WHAT?” YN gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Jensen asked. He sat down next to her on the couch.

“She was hurt,” YN whispered. “Is she okay?” She returned to her conversation with the nurse.

“No, ma’am.  She was beaten too badly…” his voice faded as YN realized her mom was no longer living.  She dropped her phone.  It bounced off of the couch cushion onto the rug covering the wood floor.  

Jensen knew.  He just knew.  Jensen took her phone and pressed the red button.  

“Come here,” Jensen pulled her into his side, wrapping his arms around her.  Before he could process anything more, he saw her tears and snot on his shirt.  “I know, I know,” Jensen sympathized.  

YN wiped her face.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.  It doesn’t matter.” She pushed herself off of Jensen and ran out of the room leaving her phone behind.

“Damn it,” Jensen took a deep breath. Danneel hurried in. 

“What happened?” 

______

“Honey?” Danneel knocked on the downstairs bedroom door. Not hearing acknowledgement, she entered. “Hi,” Danneel whispered.  She noted how YN was curled into herself with a blank expression on her face.  

“Hi,” YN looked up. “I think I need to go,�� she tried to stand up.  Too weak to maintain her own weight, she crashed back onto the bed.  

“It’s okay.  Stay as long as you need.”

“Can I have a hug?” YN asked.

“Of course,” Danneel walked to the bed and opened her arms to the tired girl.  “Always.”

______

“Do you need to go home?” Jensen asked YN the next morning.

“We had such a strained relationship, I don’t know,” she sighed, sitting on a barstool in the kitchen.  “My aunt and uncle are taking care of arrangements.  They’ll let me know when the funeral is.  Not that I will go.  I’m not sure yet,” she shrugged eating her cereal.

“I’m glad you’re eating,” Danneel smiled.  

“I feel like I’m going to throw up,” YN swallowed hard.  “I honestly don’t know how to feel.”

“That’s normal, sweetheart,” Jensen walked to her and engulfed her from behind.  “I love you.”

“Same,” YN whispered back.  She was surprised by her own reaction, but she meant it.  Jensen was also shocked, but he made no mention of it.  

“We’re here.  We’ll help you.”

YN expressed how she didn’t want Jared to know, but he entered the house as she said that.

“Wait, what? What don’t you want me to know?”

“Family business,” YN said seriously and tried to exit the room.

“Haha, that’s funny,” he laughed, thinking it was a joke.

“Shut up, Jared!” YN turned back around.  “My mom just died! You happy now that you know the secret?”

“Stay out of it, Jared.” Jensen groaned. He chased after her as she ran into the backyard to get some fresh air.  

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Jared tried to follow them, but Danneel grabbed his arm, stopping him.  “I’m sorry!” he started crying.  “I didn’t know, Dee!” The woman guided him to a chair and wrapped her arms around him.

“Shh.  It’s been a long day.  It’s okay. It’s okay.  When you calm down, I think you know what you need to do.” Danneel ran a hand through his hair to calm him. His face relaxed.  

“What?”

“Call your therapist,” Danneel prompted.  

“Can I use your media room?”

“Absolutely.”

Jensen caught up to YN in the backyard.  

“He didn’t mean it.  He thought you were kidding,” Jensen turned YN around to hug her.

She accepted his act of love and stood silently with him for a long period. Nothing was said, but their comfortable silence spoke for itself.  

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[thedailyimagines]

Imagine getting into a relationship with Barbara Gordon.

Anon requested: “Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) x Male Reader, where the reader is the son of joker and is arch enemy of batgirl, but eventually they end up falling in love and they get into a secret relationship due to their allegiances but later they are found out and they’re relationships spread throughout Gotham and swear to each other to protect one another and come public with their relationship.”

.

This work contains swearing and some pretty heavy violence near the end. Also it is long.

When you see the red WARNING, it’s a sign that the violence is about to start. Skip ahead if you need to.

~~~~~~~~

Being the son of the clown prince of crime sucked. He was, to put it extremely lightly, an asshole. So you made it your job to undermine everything he did. Currently, you had your own gang and were getting ready to rob Gotham’s biggest bank.

With a loud crash, you burst through the doors of the bank with your crew, taking out the security guards posted in the room. In moments you had everyone gathered in the middle of the room.

“Alright everybody, listen up! We’re not here to hurt anybody, just to lighten the bank’s vault! So stay still and quiet, and nobody gets hurt!” Leaving two of your men to watch the hostages, you directed the rest to start emptying out the vault. Soon everything was ready to go.

“Oi, the boss said shut up! So either make the kid stop, or I shut them up myself!” You turned to see one of your henchmen, Pete, yelling at a woman and her child. The woman was trying to calm her child down to no avail.

“Pete, dear, could you come here for a minute?” The henchman looked confused, but did as you said. You took him out of sight of the hostages to where the rest of your men were emptying the last of the vault’s contents.

“What’s up boss?” You smiled sweetly at the goon.

“You know how I feel about threatening children.” Pete’s eyes widened, realizing now you had heard his threat.

“W-wait boss, please—!”

BANG. Pete fell over dead, and you put your gun back in it’s holster. Turning to the other men, you addressed them like you hadn’t just shot one of their coworkers.

“Let Pete here be an example. Don’t break my rules.” The henchmen all nodded. You rolled your eyes when they didn’t start moving. “That doesn’t mean you stop working! Grab everything and let’s get moving!”

<—>

How was it you had the worst luck? First you had to find some new henchmen (stupid Pete), then your getaway driver decided to bail—forcing your crew to steal a car—and now you had to find another window repairman. You should get a discount for the amount of times you called.

“You know, if you asked I’d give you a key to the front door. Or the roof. You don’t have to come crashing through every window.” Batgirl raised her fists, prepared to fight you if necessary.

“You’re going to Arkham clown-boy.” You placed one of your hands over your chest, feigning hurt.

“Ouch. Clown-boy. Listen, I can take being called lots of things, but that’s where I draw the line. I don’t think I can be your nemesis anymore. We’re through now.” Batgirl threw a punch but you dodged it.

“This isn’t a joke. Now are you going to come quietly or do I have to knock you out and drag you back?” You shrugged and gave her a smile.

“Oh come on, lighten up a little Batgirl! It’s not like anyone died!”

“Really? What about the goon in the clown mask?”

“Oh yeah. Forgot about him. He threatened to kill a kid cause they were crying. I don’t like people who do that.” She scoffed and threw another punch, this one connecting with your shoulder when you tried to move out of the way.

“Yet you work with your father.” You caught Batgirl’s fist and pulled her closer to you, tapping her on the nose before releasing her hand.

“Correction: I work against him. I’m currently in the process of blowing his current cash flow to pieces. Make it a little harder to buy bombs and other fun stuff.” She backed away from you and frowned.

“So you can what? Own them for yourself?” You shook your head and crossed your arms behind your back.

“Nope. I really don’t care about gang fighting and all that crap. But I’d rather not have a lunatic running the streets, you know?”

“You’re insane.”

“Technically, yes. But you know me Batgirl. When I ever committed mass murder or something like that?” Before she could answer, a knock came from the door leading out of your ‘office’.

“Boss? Is everything alright in there?” Henchmen. Always interrupting the important things. You rolled your eyes and answered.

“Everything is fine. What do you want?” There was a pause, and the goon replied with a nervous voice.

“Joker’s on the phone. Says he needs to have words with you.” Gah. Couldn’t the clown call at a later time? Preferably never?

“Ugh. Fine. I’ll pick it up in here. Go back to doing whatever it was you were doing.” The henchman confirmed this and left. Batgirl waited til the footsteps had gone before she spoke.

“Some secretary.” You raised your hands up in an ‘I guess’ gesture and walked over to the phone on your makeshift desk.

“What can I say? He’s good eye candy. Only for looking though, wouldn’t want to make you jealous.” She scoffed again, and you picked up the phone.

“Doug Dimmadome, owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.” The voice on the other end screeched, causing you to hold the phone away from your ear. When you held it back, it was less loud but still as annoying.

“—And listen here you sarcastic little shit—” You interrupted the Joker before he could speak any more.

“I’m sorry, but it’s ‘Dr. Sarcastic little shit’. I have a doctorate in sarcasm.”

“You ruined everything! I had the perfect plan to drive Gotham mad laid out, and you ruined it!” You tapped your chin and turned towards the window, your back towards Batgirl.

“Oh yeah, I heard about that.” Your voice took on a mocking tone now. “Did the big bad Batman swoop in and disarm your little gas attack?” The Joker snarled and uttered several more expletives.

“When I get my hands on you, you’ll wish you were never born!” You chuckled into the receiver.

“Too late for that. Good talk, go take a walk off of Wayne Tower.” You hung up the phone and turned to face Batgirl once again, only to find she was gone. Huh. Maybe she got bored of waiting for you?

<—>

Finally, a night off. The bar was a little crowded but it was better than a cold warehouse full of people who probably shared one brain cell between all of them.

“Excuse me, is it okay if I sit here? Everywhere else is full.” You glanced up at the red haired woman in front of you and gave her a smile.

“Yeah! Let me just move my bag.” Once the seat was clear, you pushed it out so she could sit down. The redhead did so with a grateful smile.

“Thanks. My feet were killing me. Name’s Barbara by the way, what’s yours?”

“My name’s y/n. Nice to meet you Barbara.” Barbara tilted her head, trying to get a good look at you. For a moment you thought she recognized you from the news, but brushed that thought aside. You looked pretty different when you weren’t covered in face paint and your usual getup.

“Do you come here often? I don’t think I’ve seen your face before.”

“Nah, only when I’m not busy. Unfortunately those moments are few and far between. You?” Barbara waved down a bartender and ordered a drink.

“Usually I meet my dad here, but he’s working late tonight.” You nodded and took a sip of your own drink.

“Sounds nice. My dad would kill me if I suggested we have dinner together.” Or at the very least, put you in the hospital for a couple of months. That was assuming you would actually talk to him.

“Not a nice guy, huh?”

“That’s underestimating it, but yeah.” The two of you talked for a long time, and at the end of the night exchanged phone numbers. You probably wouldn’t call her, but it was nice to imagine.

<—>

“What the hell did you do to her?!?!” You were glaring in pure anger at your goons, all of whom were staring at you with wide eyes and pale faces.

“She snuck in boss! So we shot her—” Your hand shot out and grabbed the closest thug, the one who had shot Batgirl.

“Are you fucking idiots?!?! She works with Batman! We don’t need him breathing down our necks!” You shoved the man to the ground, running a hand through your y/h/c hair.

“Boss—”

“Shut up. I’ll deal with this myself. I swear if any of you do anything stupid while I’m gone, I’ll make the rest of your short lives hell. Is. That. Clear?” Your henchmen nodded, and you walked over to Batgirl. Picking her up bridal style, you carried her to one of the throwaway cars and loaded her into the passenger seat.

You were halfway to the hospital before you realized you couldn’t take her there. They would have to unmask her and that would most likely ruin her and any of her family’s lives. At the very least the GCPD would throw her in a jail cell.

...What was under the mask? Lots of Gotham’s thugs and lowlifes assumed the Batman was a robot or something, but what about Batgirl? You parked the car and looked at the unconscious superheroine. Surely a look couldn’t hurt?

The mask slid off easier than you expected. Your eyes widened as you saw the face of Batgirl—but you had seen her before.

“Barbara?” She groaned and opened her eyes. The first thing Barbara saw was you, your face painted and clothes covered in blood. Then she saw her mask in your hands.

“You bastard!” You raised your hands to stop her from murdering you right there and then.

“Wait Barbara, listen to me!” Barbara froze at the sound of her name.

“How the hell do you know my name?”

“Do I really look that different with face paint on?” Dropping the mask in her lap, you grabbed a towel from the backseat and scrubbed your face with it, until you were sure all the paint was gone. “Now do you recognize me?”

“You! You’re the guy from the bar!” Her surprise turned back to rage. “We’re you just spying on me? Trying to get information about me?”

“No! I didn’t know it was you, I just...I was curious. I wanted to see under your mask.” Barbara put her fist down, wincing at the pain in her side. She almost forgot, she had been shot. Her future really was in y/n’s hands now.

“So what are you going to do now?” You shrugged and drummed your fingers on the steering wheel.

“I’m not turning you in or anything. And you’re still bleeding. Do you have a place where I can drop you off, or...?” Barbara let out a sigh of relief, knowing you wouldn’t blab about her secret identity.

“I can contact Batman and he can pick me up. I just need to be dropped off somewhere.” You nodded and let her make the call, then dropped her off where she directed.

<—>

Five months.

Five months was all it took to start a relationship with Barbara Gordon. It was a rocky start, but it was easy when nobody knew your alter ego.

And it was almost a year after that, the night before your anniversary, when you received a call from the Commissioner that she was in the hospital.

A gunshot wound. The Joker has gone to her apartment and shot her. Tortured her father. All just to get back at the Batman.

You took a trip to the hospital to see Barbara, the sight of her hooked up to machines filling you with rage. When you left you drove straight to Arkham. You still had a few connections there and soon you were waiting in one of the various abandoned sub levels.

The door to the room you were in banged open and two Arkham guards dragged the Joker into the room. They threw him to the ground and looked to you for instructions.

“Leave. Call the Batman if you want. I don’t care. He stays.” The guards looked to one another, then nodded. When they left you turned to face the Joker.

“You know, I never thought you were so stupid. You may be crazy, but stupid was never really on the list. Yet you went after the commissioner’s daughter and the commissioner.”

“So what? It’s not like you had a personal stake in this.” You regarded your father with a cold expression, from his arms being restrained by a straight-jacket and to his face covered with bruises.

“You paralyzed a girl from the waist down, humiliated and tortured her father, and for what?” You grabbed his chin and leaned in close to the green haired madman. “Just so you could have the attention of the one person who you want to break? News flash asshole; He won’t pay attention to you beyond kicking your ass.” The Joker jerked his face away and gave you his signature grin.

“So what now? You drop me in Gotham Harbor? Feed me to Harley’s mongrels? Ooo, I know! Hand me over to some of Arkham’s nastiest to have a little one on one with me!” You turned away and grabbed something from the bag you brought with you.

“You might wanna close your eyes.” The Joker frowned now.

WARNING: VIOLENCE AHEAD

“What? Why—!” With a loud CRACK, the baseball bat you held connected with the side of Joker’s face. Over and over you rained blows down on him, not letting up until the bat finally broke from the stress.

You weren’t done yet. Going back to your bag you pulled out several metal spikes, their points barely sharpened. Ever-so-slowly you pinned the Joker to the floor, relishing in his grunts of pain. Once he was pinned down you pulled out your knife, a gift from (ironically) Harley for your birthday.

You carved into his skin, making sure each cut would scar permanently. But you left his face alone. You wanted people to see just who this was. That the Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime, wasn’t invulnerable.

By the time you let up, the Joker was a bruised, bloody mess. He would live. His injuries would take weeks, probably months to heal. And even then he would still be in pain for the rest of his life.

VIOLENCE HAS ENDED

The Batman found you not long after. You were sitting on a crate messing with your phone. The Joker laid nearby, beaten beyond a bloody pulp and unconscious, but still breathing.

“Why did you do this?” The Batman was shocked, but didn’t show it. He almost didn’t believe anyone was capable of doing this to their father, even if he was the Joker.

“You can’t tell me he didn’t deserve it.” You put your phone away and looked up at the Batman, his face unreadable beneath the cowl.

“Why?” Sighing, you ran a hand through your hair. You really weren’t getting out of answering his question, were you?

“He hurt my girlfriend.” Batman frowned a little more.

“Who—” You cut him off before he could finish the question.

“Barbara. She and I have been dating for about a year now. He fucking shot her. This is the least I could have done to him.” Shock silenced the bat, but soon he spoke.

“...You should go see her.” You raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“Not going to arrest me?” He shook his head.

“She needs you now. We’ll talk later.” You took a moment, then stood up and headed for the exit. The Batman was right.

And you needed to see how Barbara was doing.

~~~~~~~~

I don’t own the above gifs, all credits go to the owners.