#Thank you guys so much for the spirits Eve asks!!!

[shanes-mother-cluckin-asks]

Spirit’s Eve was fun this year. Jas was so brave making it all the way through the maze together. Plus, she got a butt load of candy in her pillow sack!

Welp, time to wrap up the event. You guys will see me in a new outfit for the season soon. Just gotta dig it out of the closet somewhere.

[stargirllanaa]

୨⎯ "Cruel World” - Rafe Cameron

❥ Masterlist

Warnings: Dark!Rafe, Noncon smut, toxic relationship, Abusive relationship, Domestic violence, Gun violence, Drinking, ex!rafe, Rafe is actually terrible, psycho ex bf Rafe

Summary: loosely, based on ‘Cruel World’ by Lana Del Rey, everything goes wrong when you spot your psycho ex bf at a New Year’s Eve party.

A/n ✎: Thank you so much for 100 followers! Ahhhh!!!! I’m so glad you guys are enjoying my work, I recommend listening to the song ofc but you don’t have too. Bold and italics are flashback. Enjoy <333

Wc: just under 3k

18+ MINORS DNI, YOU WILL BE BLOCKED

“Does anyone know where I put my eyeliner?” Your friend Nora asked you, as well as your other friend Violet.

You were all getting ready for some New Year's Eve party at Nora's boyfriend's house; everyone would be home from college for winter break, so you were excited to see all the people you went to high school with.

“No, but I know where the vodka is!” Violet chuckled,

“Come on, let's all take a shot!” Violet continued as she made her way over to you.

“Come on, y/n, are you going to pout all night? He might not even be there.” the brunette expressed as she sat beside you, bottle in hand.

She was referring to your ex, Rafe Cameron, and you knew for almost a fact that he would be there. Nora's boyfriend happened to be his best friend, Topper, and you and Rafe hadn't exactly ended on the best terms. The two of you had been broken up for about a month and a half; for the first two weeks, he would not stop texting and calling you, profusely apologizing, saying things like, ‘I'll go to therapy.’ ‘give me another chance.’ ‘I'll be better.’

It got so annoying that you had to block him; obviously, that wouldn't stop him. The thing was, Rafe was fucking crazy; he would always find a way to get to you, and if he didn't, he simply didn't want to.

“He's going to be there.” You said with a sign, “I'm just going to get fucked up, ignore him, and hopefully get some dick tonight.”

“That's the spirit!” Violet said as you tilted your head back, and she poured the vodka down your throat.

“Are you kidding me?” Your boyfriend asked you in a harsh tone as he stalked toward you.

“What?” you respond as you tried to take a wobbly few steps back.

His eyes narrowed at you, and his eyebrows furrowed.

“Well, aside from the clown makeup,” Rafe said, referring to your red lipstick.

“How many times do I have to tell you I don't like that dress?” Rafe interrogated as he roughly grabbed your waist.

“How many fucking times, y/n?” the blonde shook your body roughly. “For you to get it through your thick fucking skull?”

You were silent, frozen almost; whenever Rafe got violent, you didn't know how to react. You didn't fight; you didn't try to run; you stood wide-eyed in shock because if you did respond the wrong way, you knew it would make things 10x worse than they already were.

“Huh?” He asked you, shaking your body roughly again, waiting for you to respond.

“I- I don't know.” You mumbled weakly.

“You don't know,” he mocked with a dry humorless laugh.

“Go and change. Red looks trashy on you.” He stated before letting go of you with a harsh push into the wall.

All your friends knew that Rafe was bad, but they certainly didn't know how bad he was. You were so good at hiding it, concealer, color corrector, foundation, you name it; if it could cover a bruise, you had it. Every story you told them about your fights with Rafe were very watered down, and because of that, no one knew how truly scared you were to run into Rafe at this party. Not in an ‘Oh, no, my ex!’ way more in a ‘he might kill me way.’ But with every shot you took, you felt your fear start to fade slowly, and when you arrived at the party five shots in, in your little red party dress, you felt way more confident than you should have.

Your arm linked with Violet’s as your friend Nora lost the two of you to find her boyfriend. You and Violet stumbled through the house, passing through groups of people, trying your best to find the drink table.

“By the way, I love your dress,” Violet approved, looking you up and down. “Red is your color.”

“Thank you!” you smiled, taking the compliment to heart; she didn't know just how much that meant to you; you hadn't worn red since Rafe had told you it was ‘trashy’ on you.

“Fuck, is the Britney Smith?” Violet giggled, pointing at the short blonde girl.

“Isnt she pregnant?” you wondered as your eyes fell on the drink table.

“Oh my god, look who's right next to the drinks,” Violet says before covering her mouth with her hand.

“Is that Alex?” you replied, squinting your eyes to get a better look.

Violet nodded in response, eyes wide with excitement.

“Go talk to him!” you smiled at her. “I'll sit right over there,” you said, pointing at the elegant velvet couch.

As you sat on the couch, you couldn't stop thinking about Rafe. Your anxiety slowly started to rise, and you regretted every choice you made up to this point. First of all, you and Rafe had ended on horrible terms; second of all, you came to a party that you knew he would most likely be at, and now you are all alone and a little more drunk than you'd like to be.

You couldn't stop thinking back to that day, your breaking point, the last fight you had with Rafe before you ended things for good.

“Why are you following John B on Instagram?” Your boyfriend asked you as he looked up from his phone.

The question confused you a bit; you honestly didn't even know you were following him in the first place.

“I don't know?” you replied with a shrug. “Probably was an accident; maybe Sarah tagged him in something or-”

“Was it an accident when you smiled at him the other day at the wreck?” he cut you off.

Was he serious right now? John B had waved at you, and you simply smiled in return. You were just being nice; it was nothing more than that.

“Rafe, I-” You were going into very dangerous territory, and you knew that, even though Rafe was physically attractive, he was very insecure, which showed a lot in your relationship.

“If it's another bullshit excuse, I don't want to hear it,” he scolded as he stalked towards you.

He wasn't even giving you the chance to defend yourself, and frankly, it was pissing you off even more than his stupid questions.

“Rafe, I don't even know what you're talking about; I literally-” you plead with your boyfriend, taking a step back for every step he took forward.

“Of course you ‘Dont know,’ you never do.” Rafe hissed at you, moving closer and closer.

“That's what you do; you act all fucking innocent and then sneak around behind my back.” the blonde accused.

“Do you think I'm stupid?” He sneered, backing you against the wall.

That was the final straw; now he was accusing you of cheating from a simple smile and an Instagram follow. I mean, how delusional could he be?

“Are you fucking crazy?” you asked him, eyebrows furrowed.

You could tell he was shocked at your response by the way his eyebrows arched upwards slightly, but you could also tell you pissed him off by the way his jaw ticked.

“What did you say to me?” He asked; he heard you loud and clear the first time; he just wanted to see if you had the guts to repeat it.

“Are you fucking crazy? I follow him on Instagram. So what? I can unfollow him if it's a problem.” you argued, shocked that this was even an issue.

Rafe's hand shot forward without warning, delivering a sharp slap to your face. Time momentarily slowed as the impact echoed through the room. As the sting of the slap registered, a deep sadness clouded your features. You hated to say it, but you were used to rafe hurting you.

“Who do you think you're talking to?” Rafe asked you. Blue eyes are darker than their everyday shade.

“Huh?” He scoffed, laughing slightly.

“Calling me crazy…talking to me like I'm the one in the wrong?” your boyfriend shouted as he snatched a big chuck of your hair, gripping it tight enough to bring tears to your eyes.

“Rafe, I-” you tried to defend yourself as tears clouded your vision.

“No, I'm talking now.” His voice boomed as he screamed in your ear.

Rafe slammed your head against the wall behind you, using your hair as leverage; at this point, your ears were ringing, your head was banging, and you couldn't speak from the pain alone. And Rafe just kept going on and on about how important trust is in a relationship, but how could you even listen when he was gripping your hair so tight? But obviously, Rafe didn't see this as punishment enough because he dragged you by the hair to his closet, and even as he rustled through his sock drawer, clearly looking for something, he didn't once let go of your hair.

“Rafe! Stop-” You were cut off by the feeling of ice gold metal pressed against your temple; you were completely frozen, not knowing what to do; there was no way your boyfriend was pressing a gun against your head over an Instagram follow.

“If you even look at john b again, your fucking dead.” Rafe threatened coldly.

Your heart was racing; Rafe was impulsive knowing him; you could breathe the wrong way, and he would pull the trigger. That didn't stop your breath from fasting and your tears from falling, though.

“You hear me?” he asked, pulling your hair back just enough to make eye contact.

You didn't say anything; you had been sobbing ever since you felt the metal against your head in the first place.

“Do you hear me?” He shook you, demanding an answer, “I will fucking kill you.”

“Yes!” you cried out, hoping and praying for him to put the gun down and let go of you.

And when you left his house that night, you had never returned. Rafe did have his good moments, but was he worth your life? You broke up with him over text the following day, and you hadn't seen him since.

Since today, as soon as you looked up from your lap, lost in thought, you made eye contact with Rafe. You felt sick when you saw him; you knew he would be here, but you weren't expecting to see him this soon.

You stood up, making your way through the separate groups of people; you needed to find somewhere you could be by yourself because right now, you felt like you might have a panic attack.

“Excuse me,” you repeated over and over as you drunkenly stumbled to the stairs. No one was upstairs, other than maybe a few people hooking up, but other than that, it was pretty empty. You looked for a room, apologizing when you opened the door to see Nora and Topper making out. You stumbled through the halls until you found an empty room, sighing in relief as you closed the door behind you.

Your relief was short-lived because you didn't realize that Rafe was following behind you the entire time, and when he entered the room, you instantly regretted isolating yourself from the rest of the party and your friends.

“No.” you panicked, anxiety rising deep within your stomach.

He was intentionally standing in front of the door. There was no way out.

“Hey, Listen, y/n-,” Rafe said calmly, trying to calm you down.

“No! Get away from me!” you interrupted words slurring, not wanting to hear a thing from him.

You had no desire to speak to Rafe, not after all he had put you through in your relationship, not after you had been in therapy for the past month to heal the pain he had caused you. He wasn't just a regular ex, Rafe was fucking crazy, and you both knew it; you knew he was waiting to see you in person again, probably planning it, planning out exactly how he was going to get you back and what he was going to do if you declined his offer.

“Can you just listen to me!?” he snapped at you, slightly losing his calm demeanor. “I just want to talk-” He said through his teeth, walking over to you and away from the door.

“Well, I don't want to talk!” you barely even knew what you were saying; your head was spinning, and you regretted every shot you had taken earlier.

“So that's how it's gonna be, huh?” Rafe mumbled to himself more than you, fist clenching as he spoke.

As he got closer and closer, the room seemed easier and easier to escape; you knew you couldn't scream for help because of the loud music banging throughout the house; no one would hear you, and you knew you couldn't put up the best fight because you were drunk and Rafe’s also way stronger than you, he had proved this time and time again.

So you took the opportunity to run for the door while you still could. But two steps in, Rafe had already caught you and wrapped his arms around you, holding you tightly against his stiff chest.

“I didn't want to make this complicated.” he hissed into your ear. “But come on, y/n, it's almost like you want me to hurt you.”

You thrashed your body, wiggling side to side, trying to escape his grip.

“You’re fucking crazy!” You shouted as you continued to attempt to free yourself.

“Yes! I'm crazy,” Your ex admitted as his grip around you tightened, and his nostrils flared. “I'm crazy for you.” he dug his nails into your side.

“Get off of me!” you cried out, voice raw with emotion.

“You come to my best friend's party wearing the fucking dress I hate! Knowing I'm going to be here!” he criticized, pushing your body towards the bed. “It's almost like you want me to take it off.”

“Rafe, stop, I-” you were cut off by Rafe throwing you on the bed and wrapping his hands around your throat as he hovered over you.

“Shut the fuck up!” He sneered, looking down at you with dark eyes.

“You fucking left me!” His grip got tighter the more he spoke. “Not even a call, but a fucking text.” he scolded. “Do I really mean that little to you?”

You didn't end things the way you did because you didn't care about Rafe; you cared about Rafe so much, more than you ever wanted to, and that hurt; throughout everything he's done to you, all the pain he's caused you, you still cared. You broke up with Rafe over text because you were terrified; he had threatened to kill you over an Instagram follow; you couldn't imagine what he would have done if you dared to break up with him in person.

But you couldn't say any of that because he was choking you so hard that you couldn't breathe, let alone speak; all you could do was hit his hands repeatedly, hoping he would let go.

“You didn't care about my feelings. Why should I care about yours?” He asked you, looking deeply into your bloodshot, teary eyes with his blue angry ones.

Your mind was racing; Rafe was actually going to kill you. You saw this day coming many times throughout your relationship, but you didn't expect it to happen when you guys were finished. You had shared your body, your mind, everything with him, and you had been happy it was over; you finally were starting to feel like yourself again. But now he was going to take that all away from you.

Rafe finally let go when he started to see your eyes roll back as you started to lose consciousness.

You gasped for air in between coughs as you held your throat, desperate to soothe it from the pain he caused with his harsh grip. You had accepted death. You knew exactly who you were dealing with, and the thought of him killing you over a breakup wasn't too far-fetched.

“You have a lot of making-up to do after the stunt you pulled last month,” Rafe sighed as if he was inconvenienced by what he was doing to you.

The stunt you pulled? Your break up was serious, and for a good reason; he was lucky you hadn't called the police; if anyone had pulled a ‘stunt,’ it was him. He had pulled a series of stunts throughout your whole relationship. He was pulling one now.

Before you knew it, Rafe was tugging at your dress, attempting to pull it off you. If there was one thing you weren't doing, it was going down without a fight. You tried your best to kick him and scratch him, everything, but you were drunk, had just been choked, and Rafe was much stronger than you, so he pinned your wrist above your head with one hand and pulled the bottom of your dress up with the other.

“Remember this, y/n,” He said as he positioned himself up against your cunt. “Remember this feeling the next time you think about trying to leave.” He taunted before pushing into you roughly.

As he thrusted into you repeatedly at a rough and harsh pace, you sobbed. You thought Rafe was behind you; you told yourself you would never let a man hurt you the way he did again. You were so happy when he was gone.

“Fuck, take this off,” Rafe moaned as he pulled your dress over your head.

With every hash thrust, your cries got louder. Rafe didn't care about your pleasure or even his; he wanted to hurt you; he wanted to see your tear-stained face. This was your punishment, and he was succeeding. The only thing you felt between your legs was severe pain.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” you heard everyone downstairs scream in unison.

“Happy New Year,” Rafe smirked as he pulled you in for a rough, sloppy kiss.

Rafe was fucking crazy.

[greensagephase]

Nonviolent Communication - Part Seven

***Beautiful sketches for this chapter were made by two lovely artists and I'm ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE with them!! Please go and show them some love!! They captured Miguel so BEAUTIFULLY!! You can find them here and here. Thank you so much guys, I'm so in love with them and will always cherish them 🥹❤️ @sunsetdoodler @lauraolar14 ***

Miguel O'Hara x SpideyFemReader

Summary: It's Christmas Eve and Mr. and Mrs. Morales ask you to do something for them.

Word Count: 11,729 (I'm just gonna shut up about the word count at this point and just say I'm sorry.)

Warnings: Some readers may not recognize some food items mentioned but it's not too important for the plot, however, a brief description is included at the end if you're interested; mention of reader's family and their Christmas days (good memories); Miguel (I won't elaborate)

Music inspo while writing: (I'm obsessed with the ATSV album so much that Metro Boomin has been my #1 artist on Spotify for months lmao)

"Link Up" - Metro Boomin, Don Toliver, Wizkid, BEAM, Toian

"Self Love" - Metro Boomin, Coi Leray

"Hummingbird" - Metro Boomin, James Blake

"Calling" - Metro Boomin, Swae Lee, NAV, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie

"Nonviolent Communication" - Metro Boomin, James Blake, A$AP Rocky, 21 Savage (you already know)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine |

Part Seven

You returned to your apartment after Miguel showed you his ofrenda. You didn’t sleep. The candy and coffee Miguel gave you kept you up and so you resumed your chores, but your mind was elsewhere. It was occupied. By Miguel, who smiled at you that night. You couldn’t and won’t forget the sight of it. It’s branded into your brain forever. Even when you eventually found yourself in bed under your warm sheets that night, you laid there and stared at the ceiling.

He smiled at you. It was small but it was a smile. He showed you his ofrenda and shared food with you. You tossed and turned that night thinking that maybe… it was safe to assume you’re friends with Miguel. You couldn’t help but wonder if he thought the same about you though. You eventually decided that either way, you’re happy he has shared those moments with you.

There was a shift between the two of you, of course. It was like a door opened. A door that Miguel himself unlocked and opened for you to walk through. And he had in a sense, as that night he wished, for the first time, that you would cross his boundary lines by asking questions and sharing your thoughts with him.

As the days go on, you continue to spend time with him on missions, before meetings, and of course, when you organize his lab. You notice Lyla starts to involve him more in conversations when you’re there. He surprisingly adds to the conversation sometimes. He still doesn’t want to intrude, especially when he knows Lyla loves talking to you. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t pay more attention now though.

You’re also surprised when the following week after Dia de los Muertos, Lyla offers you snacks, mentioning that Miguel keeps candy in a hidden cabinet. He adds that you’re welcome to grab any. You don’t fail to notice that the cabinet contains the candy from that night, specifically the ones you enjoyed the most. What you don’t know is that no one else was informed about this candy cabinet.

The holidays quickly arrive. You spend Thanksgiving Day at Peter’s universe with Mary Jane, Mayday, and the rest of your friend group. For the first time in three years, you celebrate and feel the holiday spirit. With each passing day, you feel lighter. That feeling of moving forward grows each day.

As the days go by, the beautiful colors of autumn begin to fade. The leaves part ways with the trees with the promise that new ones will sprout in the spring. The days and nights are colder. The city is covered in snow. Christmas trees are displayed behind condensed windows. Lively Christmas music fills your ears almost everywhere you go when you go out on errands.

As always, the month of December flies by and suddenly you find yourself on Miles’s rooftop surrounded by his neighbors, friends, and family. It’s Christmas Eve and the building is having its annual party, to which you were invited by the Morales family.

You met Miles’s parents a few months ago, almost immediately after joining the Spider Society. According to Miles, he revealed his secret to them shortly after saving his dad from dying. The Morales not only know about Miles’s Spider-Man identity but also about the multiverse now. Due to that, Miles was able to introduce his friends to his parents, so they know everyone in Miles’s friend group. Once you were adopted by the group, you were no exception. You were introduced right away, and Miles’s parents took a liking to you quickly, which is how you found yourself invited to this party and other events in the past, including simple family dinners.

You’ve been here for over two hours now and have spent much of that time socializing both with your friends and Miles’s neighbors, who all seem curious about you and the rest of the group. You smile as you think of the many times you’ve had to say that you’re Miles’s mentor from school each time someone asks who you are. Of course, attending the party meant that all of you had to come up with excuses to avoid raising suspicions. Gwen is Miles’s girlfriend, but she lives outside of the city. Pav is a friend from school and you’re a school mentor. At least you guys had it simple and didn’t have to be as creative as Noir, who has spent much of his time up in the water tower hiding for obvious reasons with Peter Porker.

You lean over the rooftop’s parapet on your own in a less crowded section, trying to take a little break from so much socializing. You stare out at Miles’s neighborhood, listening to the music the DJ, who you were also introduced to, plays. He’s been playing some Christmas music here and there, mixed with other upbeat songs for the party. You hear the chatter and laughter. Children run in groups, excited about opening gifts soon. The city is covered in snow, and you heard from one of Miles’s aunts that a white Christmas is expected. You snuggle into your coat as you feel a breeze, thinking.

You can’t help but think about Peter. In a few months it’ll be four years since his death. You sigh. Time has really flown by. As your eyes scan the city, landing on other rooftops with people celebrating, you think about the first holidays without him. There were no decorations put out. No food was cooked. No parties or dinners were held or attended. You woke up on Christmas Day like it was any other day as you had already ended your previous friendships. There was no Peter waking you up with a grin telling you breakfast was ready, using that as an excuse to get you to go to the living room so you could start opening his gifts.  

On New Years, you slept through it as the rest of the city celebrated the arrival of another year. For you, it was just the beginning of the first full year without Peter.

With each year, you’ve slowly put some decorations here and there but until this year, you hadn’t put your Christmas tree up. You smile as you think of it now. You managed to do that this year. Yet another sign you’re moving in the right direction. And of course, being here now, that’s a sign of its own.

Even though you need a break from socializing, you look fondly over at your friends. The people that have turned into your little family. Yes, things have changed. Things are changing.

You have them, the Morales family, Jess… Miguel.

Your mind shifts to Miguel. You wonder what he’s doing now. What he did today. You saw him yesterday in passing as you were busy with missions that he wasn’t on. Then, there was an emergency at your universe just as there was an anomaly detected somewhere else, which he and other members handled. You meant to wish him happy holidays as he gave the Spider Society members today and tomorrow off but unfortunately you were unable to.

You feel your fingers graze your wrist, the one with your gizmo. You could send him a message, but you find the thought strange for some reason as you’ve never done that before. Maybe it would be weird, you think, but should you send Miguel a message and wish him a Merry Christmas regardless? You debate it as you look out into the city, your fingers grazing your wrist softly as you think of him.  

“Y/N!”

You turn in surprise, feeling like you were caught doing something wrong. You drop your hand from your wrist and regain your composure as your eyes fall on Mr. and Mrs. Morales, who stand in front of you. They both look pleased to see you. You notice Mrs. Morales is holding two plates wrapped in aluminum foil while Captain Morales holds two cans of soda, but you don’t think much about it.

“Mrs. Morales, Captain Morales, hey,” you say with a smile, still feeling startled.

“Sorry if we scared you, mija,” Mrs. Morales says. That’s another thing. Even though the Morales aren’t that much older than you, Mrs. Morales uses the endearing “mija�� and each time she uses it, you can’t help but feel comforted by this.

You smile and shake your head. “It’s okay. I was just – thinking.”

The couple nods, giving you a knowing look. “We know holidays can be difficult with loved ones gone,” Mrs. Morales says in a tender and understanding tone as they both know about Peter and your overall lack of family and friends in your universe.

You nod and keep your smile, knowing very well that you weren’t thinking of Peter just now but of Miguel. You feel a little guilty, but you were thinking about Peter earlier, so it counts, right?

“Yes… the last couple of years haven’t been easy but I’m in a different headspace now,” you say with a pause, meaning it. “Thank you for inviting me again, by the way. I know I’ve already said it, but it means a lot to me,” you tell them.

“No need to thank us again. You know you’re like family. We’re just glad you’re here tonight with all of them,” Captain Morales says, referring to your group of friends.

You smile brightly at the couple now. You tell them you’re thankful to be there and mean it. You had no other plans in your own universe, so that means you would’ve been home alone despite feeling the Christmas spirit this year. The Morales couple pulls you in for a hug after you tell them that and you can’t refuse it, as they’ve been nothing but kind to you over the last months.

“And don’t forget, you’re always welcome to come over for dinner. So, if you ever feel alone – just use your watch and come join us,” Mrs. Morales adds with a smile that brings you comfort. Again, they’re not that much older than you but their parental energy brings you a comfort you haven’t felt in a long time.

You give them a soft smile. “I know, thank you. I appreciate it, truly. It means so much to me,” you say with your tone full of sincerity, hoping that they understand how much it truly means to you.

“No need to thank us. As Jeff said, you’re part of the family now,” Mrs. Morales says, patting your shoulder in a motherly way. “We were also looking for you to ask for a favor.”

Captain Morales nods and you wonder what it could be. You wonder if it has to do with Miles.

“Yeah, of course! How may I help?” you ask, curiously.

Mrs. Morales lifts the plates and Captain Morales lifts the cans of soda. “Well… Miles and Gwen mentioned a little while ago that you and Miguel are close.”

“And we were wondering if you would mind taking him some food to his fancy tech universe,” Captain Morales adds as they both watch you with smiles, hoping you’ll say yes.

You stare at them with a smile as you process their words. Close. You and Miguel are close. And Miles and Gwen said that? Of course, Miguel and you have grown close, but it has been something behind closed doors. You can’t help but wonder how Miles and Gwen reached that conclusion. It’s not like you and Miguel are strolling into the cafeteria together to have lunch. All your interactions have been private so far, minus the meetings of course, but even then, those can’t be enough to show the closeness between you and Miguel. You briefly wonder if the rest of your friend group talk about it if Gwen and Miles found it important enough to mention. Or maybe it’s not that important, who knows with teenagers.

And on top of that, you can’t help but feel like Mrs. Morales emphasized the word “close.” It almost makes it sound like you’re close in a different way.

“Yeah, I guess you can say we’re kind of friends,” you say, trying to clear up any misconception they may have. You briefly look at your friends, who are still under the water tower all grouped together, wondering what they’ve seen or heard.

“Right. Friends! That’s great. You know Miguel could really use some friends because Miles says he’s still a little close off even after what happened, you know,” Captain Morales says a little too fast, giving his wife a look she returns. It’s a look you can’t decipher as they quickly mask it, but you know an entire conversation took place with that shared look.

“Well, you know that man is so closed off. Anyone who says they’re friends with him should be considered close. That’s what Miles and Gwen meant,” Mrs. Morales says with a smile, probably trying to reassure you about what they said. “But do you mind? We invited him but he didn’t show up and it’s Christmas Eve,” Mrs. Morales says with a look that you recognize. Miguel is most likely alone on Christmas Eve.

You nod softly, still smiling. “I’ll gladly take the food,” you reply.

Miles’s parents beam at you before they hand you the plates and soda cans.

“Thank you, mija!” Mrs. Morales says. “If you don’t mind… staying with him for a little while. At least while he eats,” she says quieter, and you nod.

“I was planning on it,” you answer, giving her a reassuring smile because you thought about it the moment they explained their request.

“I knew you would. And hey, if he wants more, just travel back with your fancy watch and get more. Oh, before I forget!” she says and turns around.

She heads to a table and from a large box pulls out two goody bags.

“Here. One for you and for him. Take them before the kids take them all,” she says, jokingly. You slip the soda cans into your coat’s pockets to receive the goody bags, which you also slip into your pockets. “Tell him the Morales family wishes him a Merry Christmas for us,” she says just as Captain Morales puts his arm around her, pulling her closer.

You nod and give them both a smile. “I’ll let him know. I’ll head out now, that way the food doesn’t get too cold,” you say as you can feel the food was freshly served out of their containers since the plates feel hot. “If they ask about me, let them know I’ll be back shortly, please,” you say, motioning to your friends.

“We’ll tell them! Thank you again. We’ll see you in a bit,” Captain Morales adds.

You tell them goodbye and thank them again for the invitation. You make your way down the fire escape stairs, careful not to slip on ice until you reach the ground. You walk for a bit, looking for a place to open your portal discreetly. As you look around, you have a sudden thought. Is Miguel at HQ? He gave today and tomorrow off but did he also take the day off? Or is he still there? You click on your gizmo.

“Lyla?” you say, in an empty alleyway.

It takes a few seconds before Lyla’s hologram appears above your gizmo.

“Y/N! Merry Christmas Eve.”

You smile at her. “Merry Christmas Eve, Lyla. Sorry to interrupt you but I was wondering. Is… Miguel at HQ?” you ask, and Lyla raises her eyebrows.

“No. He’s at his penthouse.”

Lyla’s answer makes you feel relieved. You had a picture in your mind of him in his lab alone. The vision alone made your heart ache.

“That’s good! Do you think you can ask him to meet me there? At HQ?” you ask.

Lyla frowns. “I don’t think so. He’s – busy,” she simply says.

“Oh. Well, the Morales family are sending him food and they asked me to take it to him,” you say, not knowing what to do now.

“Just go to his penthouse.”

You stare at Lyla in disbelief at her suggestion that you should go to his penthouse, feeling like that would be an intrusion on his personal space. You know he’s been to your apartment a few times, three to be exact, but you don’t mind. Miguel on the other hand, might not be too thrilled about you visiting his place.

“Can’t you just ask him to meet me there?” you ask softly.

“He’s busy. He can’t leave his penthouse. Look, I’ll just tell him, okay? I’m sure he’ll be fine with you showing up,” Lyla says, shrugging like this is no big deal.

You sigh. “I don’t think that’s - ” you start but get interrupted.

“I’m going to ask him right now. If I send you the coordinates to his penthouse, then you know you’re good to go, okay? Merry Christmas!” Lyla says, cheerfully throwing her arms in the air.

“Lyla!” you manage to say before her hologram disappears. You sigh again and stare at the buildings in front of you. Great.

Not even thirty seconds later, your gizmo shows a new notification. You bring your gizmo closer to your face.

Coordinates.

You stare at the buildings again. The food is going to grow cold if you continue to stand here but you can’t help but feel nervous suddenly. You sigh and try to shake it off. It’s fine. Lyla sent the coordinates, which means he’s okay with it. Right? Or did he feel pressured to let you show up? Your mind starts wandering. What if Lyla made it seem like you wanted to go straight to his penthouse and not meet up somewhere less personal, like HQ? Lyla may have done that, especially because she looked like she was in a rush, which makes you wonder why she was even in a rush. It’s Christmas Eve! You release a shaky breath and try to pull it together. It’s no big deal. You’ll apologize right away and explain that you wanted to meet in HQ instead. You nod, reassuring yourself and try to calm your nerves. You look around, making sure that there’s no one around. You click on your gizmo and follow the procedure to open a portal in a specific location within a dimension.

The portal opens, lighting up the alleyway. You take a deep breath before you enter it, leaving Miles’s universe behind and stepping into Nueva York. Or rather, into a living room.

For the first time, you’re the one that stares into an unknown living room. In the span of a few seconds, you take in the sight before you. Your vision is immediately met with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city and you notice the closest building to Miguel’s building is far away, granting him privacy. Your eyes take in the living room section of his penthouse, or at least what you can see now. It’s all very sleek and modern. Very Nueva York. In front of you there’s a square table with different remotes and tablets floating above it thanks to the portal, far more advanced than those in your universe. There’s also a grey couch facing you and a few feet from it, you spot stairs to its left, leading to the second floor of the penthouse. To your right, you feel heat coming from a fireplace.

For once, Miguel is the one watching a portal fade away in his penthouse. He hears the items fall back into place as he stares at your back.

“Y/N.”

You turn around slowly, feeling Miguel’s gaze. You find him a few feet behind you, behind another grey couch you were unaware was there until now. The kitchen and dining areas of his penthouse are behind him. Everything looks like you’d imagine on Earth-928 with an advanced society. You meet Miguel’s eyes as he stands there. In normal clothes.

Miguel is in normal clothes.

“Miguel, hey,” you finally say, feeling odd. You wonder if this is what Miguel felt when he showed up at your apartment on Peter’s birthday.

“Hey,” Miguel replies looking down at you before his eyes flicker to the plates in your hands.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” you say, giving him a smile. You can’t help but feel awkward.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” Miguel repeats softly, his eyes meeting yours again.

You stand there for a few seconds, staring at each other until you finally speak.

“I’m so sorry for bothering you. I asked Lyla if you could meet me at HQ and she said you were busy,” you explain, wanting to clear the air, still feeling shocked that Miguel is in normal clothes.

Miguel nods, pushing his hands into his pants’ pockets. You continue to hold his gaze as the image of him in normal clothes burns into your mind.

Miguel’s hair looks damp, as if he barely got out of the shower but it’s styled as always with curls framing some of his face. Instead of his suit, Miguel wears a dark grey, chunky cable knit sweater. The sleeves are pushed up his arms slightly, just enough that his wrists are visible. You notice he’s not wearing his gizmo, which is a strange sight on its own. To pair his dark grey sweater, Miguel wears black pants. You can’t help but think he looks so – cozy.

“She told me, but I couldn’t leave,” Miguel says, still watching you. He notices the way you’re trying very hard not to look at his clothes. He can’t blame you. In a few months, it’ll be a year since you joined the Spider Society and you’ve never seen him in anything else. “I was showering and I’m cooking,” he says quietly, and you nod.

“Oh. That’s nice,” you say, feeling happiness that Miguel is at home on Christmas Eve instead of at HQ working, on top of the fact that he’s in cozy clothes and cooking. You nod and then remember the whole reason you are here. You internally scold yourself for getting so distracted with being at his home and the sight of him in normal clothes. “Well, the reason I was trying to reach you was for this. The Morales family sent you food,” you say, lifting the plates higher. You can feel that the plates are still hot, thankfully.

Miguel looks a little surprised, but he nods. “Miles invited me to that, but I couldn’t go,” he admits, and you understand. You know that Peter and Mary Jane have been inviting him to their Friday dinners even before you were recruited into the Spider Society, but Miguel has never attended them.

“They noticed and wanted to send you some food. They wished you a Merry Christmas,” you say softly.

Miguel nods and he’s about to speak when a timer goes off behind him.  

“Mierda, let me check the food. Just – follow me, please,” he says, motioning for you to follow him as he starts walking to the kitchen area of his penthouse.

You stand there for a few seconds before you start following him. You watch as Miguel goes around a long kitchen island, heading straight for a stove and for the first time you notice there’s pots and pans on it. The scent of food suddenly envelops you as Miguel quickly and efficiently checks one of the pots. He grabs the designated spoon for it and stirs its contents with his back to you.

You look around a little bit, thinking how his kitchen island is longer than your kitchen itself. You also notice it’s all very clean and organized, which you expected from Miguel.

Miguel turns off the burner before he puts the spoon away. He turns around to face you, finding you standing on the other side of his kitchen island, still holding the plates.

“Let me take that from you,” Miguel says walking around the island to retrieve the plates.

You hand them to him gently, sharing the feeling of your fingers brushing past each other’s. You offer him a smile as you take a step back.

“Oh,” you say remembering. “They also sent these,” you continue, pulling out the soda cans and one of the goody bags from your coat.

You set them on the island just as he sets the plates down, too. He looks at the cans and grabs one, looking at it.

“Thank you for bringing it to me. You didn’t have to,” he says as he places the can back on the counter.

You shrug. “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Morales asked me, and I couldn’t say no to them. Besides…” you start as he looks down at you. “I realized I didn���t wish you happy holidays yesterday.”

Miguel nods, staring down at you. “It was a busy day. It always happens right before Christmas,” he says with an amused tone but he, too, thought about that earlier. About how he hadn’t seen you much yesterday with the two of you being preoccupied with your own things. He also thought about sending you a message earlier, but he thought you might be busy and besides, neither of you have ever sent messages to each other. He thought you might have found it – odd. “But – yes. We didn’t get to wish each other happy holidays,” he says softly, thinking how both of you thought about it.

You give him a small smile as you hear his last statement. You shift in your coat, feeling a little hot suddenly in Miguel’s warm apartment. Your clothes were perfect for the party out on the rooftop but too hot to be inside. Miguel notices.

“Here, I can help you out of your coat. The party is on the rooftop, right?” he asks as he steps closer.

“Yes, it’s on the rooftop,” you reply as you slide out of your coat with his help. You watch as he drapes it, carefully, over one of the kitchen island chairs.

You fix your clothes slightly, feeling less hot now that you have one layer off. “That’s much better,” you comment, chuckling a bit. “I had to bundle up. It was freezing out there.”

Miguel stares at your outfit, noticing you’re in cozy and festive clothes but noting they are definitely too much to be inside. “I can imagine. The chilly breeze feels like it bites the skin,” he says looking out his windows. “It’s supposed to snow, too.”

“I have that forecast, too,” you reply, joining him in staring out the windows from afar. “Anyway, you should try the food. It’s amazing,” you say, remembering the food.

Miguel turns to the plates. “I have no doubt. So… they chose you to bring the food?” he asks as he slowly takes the aluminum foil off one of the plates.

Your conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Morales flashes back to your mind. They asked you because they think you’re close to Miguel.

“Yes,” you answer simply, hoping he won’t ask why you and not someone else, since he must know that Miles invited the rest of the group, meaning another colleague could’ve brought him food.

Miguel nods as he inspects the food, looking pleased, which makes you smile. “I see,” he says, his eyes leaving the plate to meet yours. He gives you a look that makes you feel like he knows you were chosen to do this specifically out of everyone else before he returns his attention to the plate.

You freeze for a few seconds. Did your face reveal something? You clear your throat and rest your hands over a chair.

“It’s – a great party. Everyone is in a good mood,” you comment.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he says softly as he looks down at the food. “I’m glad they’re enjoying their holidays.”

You nod, noticing the sincerity of his words. He looks up suddenly from the plate as an idea pops into his mind.

“Have you eaten yet?” he asks, and you nod.

“I ate a few hours ago,” you say, thankful that your stomach is not embarrassing you once again in front of him. He nods, looking somewhat disappointed. “But I’ll probably eat something else when I get back,” you add before you even realize it.

Miguel meets your eyes. “This food looks and smells amazing. Please give my thanks to the Morales family when you get back,” he says, pausing. “And – I was going to ask. If you don’t have to return right away, would you like to… join me for dinner? I made too much, and I don’t think I’ll finish it all on my own,” he says quickly.

Miguel looks down at you, feeling nervous about asking you but unable to stop himself from hoping you’ll say yes, even if it’s just for a little while.

You meet his eyes feeling a little surprised, though you hide it well before you nod.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” you say with a smile. You remember that Mr. and Mrs. Morales did ask you to stay with him while he ate. However, you don’t bring it up. It might lead him to believe that you’re only staying because they asked you and it would force you to admit that you were planning to regardless of their request.

Miguel’s brief disappointment fades and is replaced with a lighter expression.

“I made a few dishes, so you have options,” he says softly. “Let me show you.”

With that, Miguel motions for you to follow him to the stove. You do so, curious to know what he cooked. You have the brief thought that this will be the second time Miguel gives you homemade food. The two of you stand in front of his stove and before Miguel shows you the food, he pushes his sleeves higher up. It’s still a strange sight and you can’t stop your eyes from gazing at his skin, noticing the veins from years of physical activity and arm hair. You turn away as you feel heat on your face from proximity to the stove and how warm Miguel’s penthouse is. No other reason.

“In this pot, there’s pozole,” Miguel says, lifting the lid to show you. He tells you what it is before he moves on to the other dishes.

It turns out that Miguel did cook quite a bit of food. He mentions pozole, tamales of two kinds, and tinga. He also made atole blanco and ponche navideño, two hot drinks perfect for the Christmas season. “If I’m being honest, I was craving all of these foods,” Miguel says as if he knows you’re thinking about how much food he cooked. You chuckle.

“Everything smells amazing, so I don’t blame you for craving them all,” you reply as you bring the spoon with pozole to your mouth. The warmness of it spreads down your chest as the two of you sit on the kitchen island, side by side.

Neither of you notice how your bodies are facing each other as you eat.

Miguel takes a bite out of the food Mr. and Mrs. Morales sent him and you notice he looks like he’s enjoying it. You eat more of your pozole and think how well of a cook he is. You remember him mentioning his mom taught him to cook when he was a teenager back when he showed up at your apartment for the first time. Conchata definitely taught him well.

You finish eating your small serving of pozole as you want to try the other food he made. He notices and looks at you.

“Do you want more pozole? Or would you like to try the other food?” he asks softly, cleaning his mouth gently with a napkin.

You smile at him and nod. “I’d like to try the other food if you don’t mind,” you say, and he nods before he stands up.

“I can get it myself, don’t worry,” you say and start getting up, but he raises a hand, making you pause.

“You’re my guest. It’s only right,” he says with a determined look. “What would you like to try next?” Miguel asks as he walks to the stove. He grabs a clean plate and turns to face you, ready for you to tell him.

You sit back down slowly as he stares at you.

“May I please try the tinga?” you ask with a soft but embarrassed smile.

“Would you like it with tostadas or as a burrito?” he asks, motioning to the pack of tostadas and flour tortillas on the counter.

“I’ll have it however you prefer it,” you answer honestly.

“What if I make you one of each? That way you can try both,” Miguel suggests.

You nod. “Okay, that sounds… good. Thank you,” you reply, and he nods before he grabs both packs and starts working on your plate.

You look down at your gizmo as he preps your food. It’s almost ten now. You look up again. Miguel is busy warming up flour tortillas. You notice him flipping them with his bare hands, not minding the heat. You look around the penthouse. It really is a large place.

Miguel flips the tortillas and turns back to look at you. He notices you looking around and he can’t help but feel a little self-conscious in that moment. Fragments of your apartment flash in his mind. Yours is well decorated. It feels welcoming and warm. It’s lived in. It’s a home for you. His penthouse, on the other hand, seems the opposite of it. Even when he used to actively live in it, he didn’t focus a lot on decorating and because of that, Gabriel and his mom took the initiative to do something about it.

The fact that Gabriel and his mom helped decorate it was one reason why he hadn’t bothered to change it in the last years. Another reason it remained the same was that it didn’t matter to him as he hardly spent time here after everything that happened with Gabriella and her universe anyway.

Until recently, of course. Ever since Peter’s birthday celebration, ever since that night, Miguel made it a goal to sleep here at least once a week. So far, he has stuck with it. It’s now been several weeks, which he counts as progress. And now, as he sees you take in his home, he can’t help but think about it. However, when your eyes meet his again, he sees no judgment from you. If anything, he sees curiosity, which amuses him on the inside. You offer him a small smile.

“Everything is so sleek and modern,” you say as you take in the kitchen again.

Miguel turns around to check on the tortillas, and seeing that they are done, he puts them on a plate. “Is that… not to your liking?” he asks as he starts fixing the food.

“Oh, it’s not that. It’s great,” you say still looking around.

“But?”

You sigh softly and Miguel turns around, walking the short distance from the stove to the kitchen island.

“You can say it,” he says as he finishes fixing the plates.

“I guess, I like old architecture more,” you finally admit. “But this is really nice though,” you add, and Miguel lets out a low chuckle that makes you pause and wonder what a real laugh from him would sound like.

“I like old architecture, too,” he reveals as he finishes fixing your plate. He slides it over the counter to you gently. “It has more personality.”

“Thank you,” you say as you take the plate. “And really? I thought you’d be more of a fan for your architecture.”

Miguel nods and offers you toppings for the food before he takes his own plate and sits next to you again. As you eat, the two of you talk briefly about the architecture of different universes you’ve been to. Turns out Miguel appreciates architecture like that of your universe. You eventually fall into a comfortable silence.

The two of you sit on Miguel’s kitchen island eating quietly in peace on Christmas Eve. It’s strange how comfortable it feels but then again, this is the second time you’ve eaten together since Dia de los Muertos. Still, this moment is a big deal. It’s the first time either of you have celebrated this holiday in years but it feels right.

As Miguel eats next to you, he can’t help but think about it. He really asked you to stay for dinner. That’s a first but he couldn’t stop himself once he thought about it. And he isn’t going to lie – he’s enjoying your company. He’s enjoying sharing the food he grew up eating during the holidays with you. His mind briefly turns to his family again. To his mother and Gabriel and the last holidays he was able to spend with them.

As he thinks about his own past holidays, Miguel wonders what yours were like. He wonders about your childhood and your parents. He wonders about the holidays you spent with Peter. As he takes a drink from one of the soda cans sent to him, he looks over at you. The two of you have been eating in silence, enjoying each other’s company, or at least he hopes you are like he is. He begins to wonder if he’s kept you here unwillingly. He feels embarrassment, suddenly feeling like an idiot. Maybe you had other plans, and here he is, keeping you from them. Embarrassment runs through his body as he looks at you but then, you look up from your plate and you smile at him in a way that makes his worry and embarrassment melt away.

“This is officially the best food I’ve ever had,” you say as you finish eating. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to ask you for the recipe.”

Miguel gives you a subtle smile, and despite how small it is, it still catches you by surprise, though you are better at hiding it now. “I can give it you, that’s no problem,” he says putting his drink down. “Or I can cook it for you if you prefer,” he adds, making him freeze internally. He hasn’t offered to cook for anyone in a while. Sure, he cooked that day at your apartment when you were unwell because of your period but this is different. Or it feels different for some reason Miguel can’t explain.

You nod and smile. “Either way, I’d appreciate it. Thank you.”

“Of course,” he says softly before standing up.

Miguel begins putting away the dishes and even though you try helping him, he declines your help because he’s the “host.” So, you sit on your chair and watch as he cleans up, wishing he’d allow you to help but you know he’ll decline again. You finish your drink, the other soda can you brought, and watch as Miguel finishes up. Despite knowing that Miguel knows his way around a kitchen, you’re still somewhat in awe at how fast and efficient he is at cleaning up. You can’t help but think of Peter in that moment. He, too, knew his way around the kitchen and helped with the chores around the apartment, which was something you loved and appreciated about him as you often heard female colleagues complain about their partners not helping when you used to work. You’ve always appreciated it when a man knows how to do chores and helps instead of leaving the chores strictly to the woman, and so you can’t help but think about this as you watch Miguel.

You pull your sweater’s neck slightly, feeling a little hot. Miguel’s penthouse is warm and you’re still wearing two layers of clothes. As Miguel finishes up, you slide off the sweater you have, leaving you in a long-sleeved top. You fold it neatly and place it on the next chair from which your coat hangs. If you head back to the party, you’ll just suit up again but for now, you’ll try to cool off.

Miguel turns around then and looks at you, leaning back on the counter as he holds a towel. He dries his hands with it after washing them. He notices your sweater is gone and feels a little amused. You were definitely wearing too many layers to be inside in the warmth.

“I don’t know if you’re still up for it, but I have those two hot drinks,” he says, flinging the towel over his shoulder in a graceful way.

Of course, you notice it. It’s not every day that Miguel O’Hara wears normal clothes or that he looks this relaxed, leaning back on a kitchen counter and swinging a towel over his shoulder gracefully. It’s a sight for you and you alone.

“Well… Miles and Gwen mentioned a little while ago that you and Miguel are close.”

You hear Mrs. Morales’s comment in your head as you nod at Miguel. “I’m up for it,” you reply, and he nods. There’s a pleased look on his face before he turns around to open a cabinet to retrieve mugs.

And he is. Miguel is pleased that you’re open to trying out the hot drinks. That you’ll stay a little longer. As he pours the drinks, he thinks about what this means. Of course, he’s thought about how much he’s shared with you and how much you’ve shared with him. He’s thought about it… about how you’re the closest he has to a friend.

You are his friend.

He thought about it on Dia de los Muertos night when he came to his penthouse to sleep. Anyone could argue that Jess and Peter were friends but his friendship with them has always been different. It wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for work, or at least he feels like that. They’re work friends and he’s never shared as much as he’s shared with you. No matter how much the two of them tried, Miguel never felt comfortable enough to share his life.

And with you, there he was. Showing up at your apartment to show you his ofrenda. His memories poured out of him like they had been waiting for the right person to spill out for. It was easy to talk to you. It was different.

Miguel felt like he had a friend for once in many, many years that night. And he didn’t know that night, or even now, if you feel the same. He knows you have your group of friends, the ones that quickly adopted you into their group when you were recruited. The same ones he was keeping you away from right now, but he hopes that you see him as somewhat of a friend despite being your boss.

Miguel finishes preparing the drinks. He takes two mugs to you, one with atole blanco and the other with ponche navideño. He slides them gently over the counter to avoid spilling any before he turns around to retrieve his own mugs.He walks around the counter and takes a seat next to you as you thank him again, this time for the hot drinks.

Miguel nods at you as he picks up one of the mugs. “I hope you like it. The atole blanco might taste a little strange when you first try it, but I swear it grows on you,” he says reassuringly. He briefly thinks back to when he first tried it. He was about ten when his mom asked him to try it. The first sip made him pause but after the third drink, he loved it. Gabriel, on the other hand, took longer to try it. He was almost twelve when he finally gave in.

You take a drink from the atole blanco while Miguel’s eyes are on you. He can’t help himself from wanting to see your reaction and he’s glad when he sees you react well to it. You smile at him and nod.

“This is great! I see what you mean by strange, but I like it. It’s very… cozy and comforting,” you say as you drink more. “It’s like – it’s perfect for Christmas. I can’t explain it,” you say, and he nods.

“This was a must on Christmas growing up,” he says as he drinks some, too.

The two of you enjoy the hot drink in peace. As you place the cup down again, you’re thankful Mr. and Mrs. Morales gave you an excuse to talk to Miguel tonight despite having felt nervous when you first arrived. Miguel seems comfortable and doesn’t seem to mind that you’re here, though it should be obvious as he did invite you to stay for dinner. Miguel places his cup down and turns to you, his knee brushes past your leg slightly and he moves it discreetly away.

“What were – what were your Christmases like growing up?” he asks suddenly, quietly.

You turn your face to him, though your bodies are facing each other already. You feel a little surprised by his sudden question, but you don’t mind it. You meet his eyes before looking at the mugs before you, thinking.

“To keep it simple, they were amazing,” you say, returning your eyes to him. “I was an only child, but my parents always went all out. They loved the Christmas spirit, so our apartment was always decorated after Thanksgiving,” you say with a bright smile as you remember. Miguel notices the glint in your eyes as you talk. “We always put the Christmas tree together and they’d let me put the star at the top, even when I was a teenager and later an adult. They were always good,” you say, nodding softly as you think of your parents.

Miguel nods with a faint smile though you don’t notice it. He thinks of a younger you, a version he doesn’t know and will never know. He thinks about Peter, unable to stop himself from thinking about how he probably knew that version of you. He lifts his mug and takes a drink, trying to wash away these strange thoughts.

“Sounds like you had a great childhood,” he finally says, and you nod, making you feel a little sad as you remember Miguel telling you about his step and biological fathers. He didn’t say anything, but you felt that his childhood was not always great.

You bring your own cup to your lips and drink, wanting to change the conversation but Miguel doesn’t mind. He has put a lot of it behind him, at least those parts of his life.

“So, when you said they’d let you put the star on the tree as an adult, you mean it?” he asks, sounding a little amused.

You nod and give him a smile. “I was in university, and they still allowed me do it,” you say with a chuckle. “Peter would tease me about it, but it was fun for all of us.”

Miguel nods, thinking. You notice he has that look on his face. The one when he’s thinking about something.

“What is it?” you ask softly.

Miguel turns to you and shakes his head slightly. “Nothing. I was just thinking… Wondering, I guess.”

“About what? You can ask,” you say, your tone sincere since you don’t mind. He has already shared quite a lot about his past. It’s only fair he asks about yours.

Miguel sighs softly, continuing to hold your gaze. “When did you meet Peter?” he asks quietly, as if unsure of asking this question.

You smile, not minding the question at all. “When we were sixteen. He moved schools and we instantly became friends, which then turned into a relationship,” you say fondly before you pick up your mug and drink.

Miguel stares at you as you do this, still thinking. Since sixteen. It was Peter’s twenty-sixth birthday just weeks ago, which means you had known and dated each other for almost a decade by the time he passed away. He looks down at his nearly empty mug. Almost a decade of a relationship and you still try to live life to the fullest. Miguel grips the cup.

“How do you do it?” he asks quietly.

“Do what?” you ask in confusion.

“You knew Peter for so long. Dated him for so long. And you still… you try.”

You stare at Miguel, feeling a little startled by the sudden change of conversation but Miguel looks like he genuinely wants to know. You remember this was something you thought about in the early days. How people could move on. How they could carry day to day even after losing someone.

“Miguel…” you start and look down at your cups. “It isn’t easy. Especially in the beginning,” you add softly, knowing that for Miguel, it has been a little over a year since he lost his wife and Gabriella. For you, it’s almost four years since you lost Peter. You’re on different points of your mourning periods. You sigh softly. “It isn’t easy at all in the beginning,” you repeat as you think of your next words. “I wasn’t the woman you know now, or even the one you were introduced to months ago,” you say lightly, making Miguel turn to you, with curious eyes. “I don’t want to ruin the Christmas spirit, so I’ll try my best not to.”

Miguel shakes his head. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to. I don’t want to – take away the lightness of today,” he says with a regrettable look on his face.

Why did he ask, he wonders. Everything was going so well.

“No, it’s okay. It helps. Talking about it helps,” you say, reassuring him. You stay silent for about a minute, trying to figure out how to approach this. “I lost sight of things for a month or two after Peter’s death,” you start.

You look away, feeling shame course through you as you remember those dark days. You don’t want to see the look on Miguel’s face when you reveal something you’ve never shared with anyone.

“I’m not proud of it… It brings me great shame to say this,” you say as you stare down at the cups. “There was a time after Peter’s death – a month after everything took place to be exact – that I,” you pause. “I looked for him. I tried hunting down the man that did it,” you say quietly.

“I had a regular job back then, so I went to work. I mourned and tried my best to accommodate to my new life but at night… I couldn’t stop thinking how I could’ve done better. How I could’ve saved him. I thought of the man who did it. How he took Peter from me. The love of my life, my last bit of family…” you trail off, though your tone is still light, and you feel proud of yourself for it, for you know months ago, this conversation would’ve had you in tears. “My thoughts were consumed by it. So, I went out to try to find him. I didn’t plan on doing something to him, I swear,” you say pausing, trying to emphasize this. “All I wanted was to know who he was. Bring him to justice.”

Miguel continues to look at you with a pained expression on his face now as he hears you talk. There is a faraway look on your face, as if you were back in that time but you turn back to him and he’s like an anchor, keeping you tethered to this moment.

“One night, when I thought I had a lead – I was on a rooftop, and I finally realized that Peter would’ve never wanted to see me like that. And that I was failing my promise to him,” you say, meeting Miguel’s eyes. “He made me promise to try to move on. To be open to another love. I tried after that. It was slow progress. The last few months since I joined the society have really helped me,” you say with a soft smile as you wrap your fingers around your mug softly.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever really move on, but it feels easier as the days go on,” you tell Miguel. “I guess, it also helped that I eventually found the man. Or rather, he found me. I forgave him,” you say with a quiet sigh and offer Miguel a smile. And as he stares at you, he realizes how much stronger you are than he thought. “He was my own version of Flint Marko, otherwise known as Sandman. He never meant to hurt Peter that day. He was just – trying to rob a bank to get money for his child’s surgery.”

You stare down at the cups and think of Marko. Last you heard from him, he was trying to do better, and his daughter, who was now older, recovered from her illness. You lift the cup to your lips and take a small drink before setting it down.

“I’m not the best example of how to do it,” you say, looking up. “But I try and sometimes, that’s all you can do. For them.”

Miguel continues to stare at you and even though you thought you might’ve found judgment in his eyes, you see none of the sort. Miguel stares at you with even more respect than before. He looks down at his hands for a few seconds before he looks up again.

“I think – Peter must be happy that you are trying to honor his promises,” he says softly, wishing he could say more. Wishing he could reach out to you physically the way his hands were begging him to.

You smile at him. “I think so, too. I think he’s happy with where I’m now. You know, the whole reason I joined the Spider Society was because of him. I declined the invitation from Jess initially until she asked me what he would’ve thought about everything. I know he would’ve loved the idea of it. He would’ve loved learning about the multiverse,” you say with a grin and then shake your head softly as you pick up the mug again. “He loved science, too.”

Miguel stares at you, surprised at hearing this. Jess never mentioned you rejecting her invitation. He looks up at the ceiling a little bit and in that moment, he finds himself internally thanking a man he never met.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” he says after a few seconds of silence. “I’m sorry if it made you…” Miguel trails off.

You turn to him again. “It’s okay. It didn’t. It helps,” you say, and your tone is still lighthearted. “I think I’m ready to try the other drink.”

Miguel continues to stare at you. “I think I am, too… This one is sweeter,” he says as he wraps his fingers around the mug. Miguel watches as you lift the mug to your mouth to try it and once again, there’s that pleased look on your face that makes him forget his worry from earlier about messing with your plans. You don’t seem to mind.

As the two of you sit there and enjoy the second hot drink, Miguel’s thoughts are on you. You’re so strong and not only in a physical way but in a way that Miguel feels he hasn’t been able to. You’re strong by trying to fulfill your promises. For forgiving the man that took Peter from you. For trying to move forward and trying at life. Miguel has never said it, but he respects you.

You’ve accepted his boundaries in a way so many others haven’t. You’ve offered him nothing but kindness. You’ve listened when he shares memories with you. You’re a hard worker and meticulous when it comes to your duties as Spider-Woman. You’re strong. So strong.

And his respect for you grows tenfold, if that’s even possible, considering how much he already respected you before tonight. Miguel thinks about this and the fact that you’re the first person that has been to his penthouse in years.

Friend.

Maybe you do consider him a friend, Miguel thinks to himself as he takes a drink, too.

“This is really good, too,” you say quietly as you drink more, and for some reason, it makes Miguel feel pleased.

“Glad you liked both,” he murmurs as he drinks more. He suddenly wonders what time it is. The two of you have been here for what feels like two hours now. He checks the time discreetly from a nearby clock.

It’s past eleven, which means it’s almost time for the annual AI Christmas holographic show. He stands up, making you turn to see him.

“It’s almost time for something my city does annually. I think you’ll like it,” he says and motions for you to follow him.

You see him take his mug and you do the same before you follow him to the windows that face his kitchen and dining areas directly, giving Miguel another sight of the city. He leans sideways on the windows and looks down, waiting for you to join him. You reach the windows and lean on them, too, mirroring his stance. You look down and see the Christmas decorations on the snow-covered ground despite being on the highest floor of this building. The decorations, which are holographic, make you realize for the first time that there’s no sight of a Christmas tree in Miguel’s penthouse. You don’t say anything about this, of course. You know with everything that’s happened, a Christmas tree is the last thing one can think about in times like these. You’re glad there’s at least a little bit of Christmas spirit in Miguel since he cooked and took the day off though.  

Still watching the decorations, you think of something and wonder. You’ve noticed some of them from HQ when you walk by the windows throughout the month, but it’s been like a second thought with missions and what not. You wonder now if everyone has holographic Christmas trees or if physical trees are still a thing here. You look up at Miguel and he turns, as if feeling your gaze.

“What is it?” he asks softly before he takes a drink.

“Are physical Christmas trees a thing here?”

Miguel gives you a small smile, which still catches you by surprise. “Only the wealthy have physical trees. Everyone else has holographic decorations,” he explains, and you nod. You know Miguel is wealthy, so his lack of a tree is not because of money but because he didn’t want to put one up.

You look back outside, thinking. Miguel continues to stare at you, wanting to know what you’re thinking.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” he asks, though for him it isn’t. He’s used to the technology and to this tradition, but he can imagine how it can be odd for you when you come from a universe where physical Christmas trees are the norm.

You bring the cup to your mouth, enjoying the sweetness of the hot drink. “I was just thinking how putting the Christmas tree together as a family is a big thing. Or well, it was for my family and I.”

Miguel nods, remembering what you said earlier about your family and the holidays. He leans more into the window, crossing one of his legs over the other.

“To make up for that, families sit down and design the ornaments together through their devices. Then, they upload their designs to the tree. There’s a program and everything,” he says thinking about the process. He has an artificial tree, which is stored at HQ, but he also has a holographic one from previous years when he was too busy to put a physical one with his family. “I’ll show you,” he suddenly says, putting his mug on the window stool before he heads to the living room section. As he looks for a tablet on his table, he can’t help but think about this. How he’s comfortable showing you things. How he wants to show you things. Like how the holographic tree program works or the annual AI Christmas holographic show which should start soon.

Friend.

He finds the tablet and starts it up, which only takes about a second to boot up. He walks back to you as he opens the program. He reaches you and stands closer to show you.

“First, you put the tree up,” he says as he shows you the screen. The two of you stand side by side, looking at the screen as he clicks on the tablet. He looks up and points. “It’ll appear right there.”

Sure enough, a large holographic Christmas tree, decorated in classic Christmas colors, appears a few feet away from the two of you, near Miguel’s dining table.

“It’s beautiful,” you murmur as you notice the star at the top of the tree.

“Thank you,” Miguel says as he looks at it, too. He wasn’t expecting to put up a tree this year but here he is. He looks back down at the screen. “Then, you can design your own ornaments using this program,” Miguel continues and shows you. He pulls out a stylus from the tablet, surprising you. The tablet is so thin you wonder how it’s even possible but then remember it’s Nueva York.

You watch as Miguel uses the stylus to design an ornament. He inserts lines as part of the design and changes the color of the ornament to match the theme. It takes him a few seconds to finish before he writes his name on it neatly.

“And it’s done. Now you upload it like this,” he says and shows you. “The program decides where it should go but you can manually change it if you want,” he adds.

The two of you look up just as it appears on an empty spot on the tree. Miguel then offers you the tablet and stylus. You look up at him, confused.

“Try it,” he says, still waiting for you to take the tablet and stylus from his hands.

“Are you sure?” you ask, looking down at it.

He nods. “Give it a go.”

You set your mug next to his on the window stool and take the tablet and stylus from him, your fingers brushing past his bare ones once again. You ignore the sensation and focus on the screen with the new canvas to design yours. Your brows furrow as you think for a second about what you want it to look like. You start working on it, with Miguel watching intently. He notices how quickly you figure out how to use the program and watches as you design your ornament with ease.

As you work on it, you can’t help but notice a scent. Or rather his scent. You’ve caught a bit of it before of course but it has never been this strong to your nose. Not like this when he stands by your side, so close your arms are almost touching, with him dressed in normal clothes. You add small details to your ornament as his scent envelops you, distracting you slightly as the combination of his shower products and shaving cream blended with his natural scent surround you. You can’t suppress the thought that pops into your head at that moment, which is that his scent is delightful.

You clear your throat quietly as you add your name to the ornament. You stare at it for a few seconds.

“Hmm, I like the traditional stuff, but not going to lie, this was fun,” you say and smile at Miguel, still feeling distracted by his scent. “I can see kids enjoying this a lot.”

Miguel nods, his lips curling upward again as you give him the tablet back, completely unaware of your thoughts. “You may not like the architecture, but I think you would settle just fine in this universe,” he comments, as he looks at your ornament, thinking of how quickly you figured it out and the fact that yours turned out better than his. “Now… you just upload it,” he says softly before he does exactly like that. You stare at the tree, feeling a little surprised that he’s adding your ornament, but you shrug it off. The two of you watch as your ornament, which matches the tree’s theme, appears right next to his.

Miguel stares at it, the sight of your ornament appearing next to his makes him pause for a second. It’s the first time in years Miguel has put up a tree in his penthouse. It’s also the first time that a non-family person has added their ornament to his tree.

Miguel now clears his throat quietly. “Not bad at all,” he says and nods. “Oh, the show should start soon,” he says, trying to put his thoughts away about the tree and your ornament.

You nod. “Thank you. That was fun,” you add as you turn your attention back to the decorations outside. You briefly look down at your gizmo. It’s 11:33 P.M. now, meaning Christmas Day is less than thirty minutes away now. You’ve spent a lot more time here than you expected but you don’t mind. You wonder if people back in Miles’s universe have left the party or if they’re still hanging out.

“Glad you enjoyed that,” Miguel says softly, putting the tablet on a nearby surface. You notice he doesn’t put the tree away. It’s still there as he leans on the window sideways again, looking outside towards the decorations as well. He briefly thinks about Gabriella. He only had one Christmas with her. He remembers it vividly as he looks out, recalling Gabriella’s excitement on Christmas morning. He remembers thinking how perfect it was and how, if all his future Christmases could’ve been like that, he would’ve never asked for anything else. His wife wasn’t in the picture then, so it had just been Gabriella and him. Now that he thought of it, he and his wife didn’t have much time together. It was very brief. Miguel clears his throat. He doesn’t want to think of the past like that right now. He doesn’t want to think of how rushed everything was when it came to his relationship and marriage. Not tonight.

His thoughts are thankfully interrupted when he sees the sign that the show is starting. He turns to look at you to make sure you’re watching, and of course, you are. Your eyes are on the sky as you see the announcement before it starts, filled with curiosity and awe. Miguel turns his gaze back to the sky as the show starts. Holographic Christmas trees appear from thin air, all lit up in Christmas colors. Reindeer fly by the windows, galloping here and there. Twinkling lights decorate the background as holographic snowflakes descend before they begin to form into snowmen that start dancing.

You watch in awe, finding this fascinating. Miguel steals a glance to see your reaction. He sees the awe and fascination on your face, clearly enjoying this.

“This isn’t even the best part,” he says quietly as he knows there’s always more to it.

You smile as reindeer fly by the windows again. “This is so – I wish we had this in my universe,” you answer quietly. “The closest we have to this are projections.”

Miguel chuckles lowly. “Well… You’re welcome to come watch it again next year,” he answers as he crosses his arms across his chest.

Neither of you say anything else. Was that an invitation for you to join him again next year? You push your thoughts away and focus on the show just as a holographic Santa Claus and his sled appear out of nowhere, making you smile.

“Santa Claus,” you whisper as the sled approaches Miguel’s windows. The holographic Santa Claus waves as he passes by making you chuckle. The show continues with Santa Claus flying around as the reindeer align themselves to the sled, supposedly to get ready for the flight. At one point the show presents Santa’s workshop and tiny elves working on different toys and preparing the sled. It concludes with Santa flying by the windows again, this time with all his reindeer and magical sack of toys before they fly off, disappearing into the sky. A large holographic “Feliz Navidad” message and red poinsettias conclude the show.

You stare at the message, still in awe with a smile.

“That was amazing. You grew up with this?” you ask softly.

Miguel nods. “Gabriel and I always looked forward to it.”

You smile, once again thinking of a younger Miguel. “It must be amazing, to experience this as a child,” you answer, thinking of kids.

“The kids love it,” he replies as he also stares at the message, knowing it will stay up past midnight.

You nod and the two of you just stare out the window in silence for a few minutes. You watch as you see white, tiny spots in the sky. With each second, more and more appear.

“It’s starting to snow,” you murmur, making Miguel pay more attention and sure enough, it’s snowing.

“A white Christmas,” he whispers, as the snow picks up.

“A white Christmas,” you repeat.

The two of you stand ever so closely, leaning on the window sideways, your bodies facing each other as you watch the falling snow. And in that moment, everything feels alright with the world for you and Miguel, despite everything.

You look down at your gizmo. It’s past midnight now.

“Merry Christmas,” you say, quietly.

Miguel smiles softly as the two of you stare out the window. “Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

-

Thirty minutes later, Miguel stands in front of his holographic Christmas tree alone. You returned home a few minutes ago, looking and sounding tired after being out for so long. So, you both said goodnight to each other but not before Miguel asked if you’d want some food or if you’d prefer to join him again in a few hours for the recalentado.

You said yes to the latter.

Miguel continues to stare at the tree, or more specifically at the new ornaments, for a few minutes, thinking.

Friend.

He finally goes to sleep after storing the food away. He leaves the Christmas tree up, which you still find when you return hours later to eat dinner with him on Christmas Day.

__________________________

Translation for italicized words: Mierda - Shit Pozole - A kind of soup/stew made from hominy and meat (can be chicken or beef). Tamales - I think everyone knows these Tinga - Latin dish made out of meat (pork, chicken) in sauce with onions, chiles chipotle and tomatoes. Can be eaten on tostadas or as burritos (my experience) Atole Blanco - white atole, a Latin hot drink made out of corn meal Ponche Navideño - Mexican Christmas fruit punch Tostadas - toasted tortillas; usually used as a base for different culinary dishes Recalentado - word translates to "reheated"; this is the act of inviting your closest friends and family the day after you host a party to eat the reheated leftovers, it's supposed to be a smaller tight-knit situation and less formal because it's with close family/friends (do you see what this means for you, the reader? I'm not okay, right now)

--

May I just -

Miguel in a freaking chunky cable knit sweater. His damp hair. His bare skin. His scent (I KNOW HE SMELLS GOOD and you cannot change my mind). Him knowing that you were asked specifically to go drop him food. Him asking you to stay for dinner. Him serving the food. Him being a great cook. Him being a great host. His respect for you growing. Him wanting to comfort you physically (AHH.) Him showing you the annual Christmas show and how the holographic Christmas tree thing works and adding your ornament and staring at it because it appeared next to his and him leaving the tree up even tho he didn't plan on putting one up and him thanking Peter for influencing you to join the Spider Society even tho he never met him (CRYING, SCREAMING). Him inviting you for dinner again!!!!!!

So a lot of people said yes to the Christmas part but I was also selfish and wanted to write Miguel like this and get some Christmas comfort before the next part because... yeah. So, sorry to anyone who didn't want it. I needed this.

Also, I'm sorry for the late update. I meant to post Sunday but it was that time of the month and it kicked my butt. I hope you enjoy it, and if you've read this far, thank you for the support!! ❤️ I hope to be back Sunday with an update, tho I have a family event Saturday so idk if it'll be possible but I'll try.

I love Miguel so much and it's a problem but it's okay -Alondra

Tag list:

@loverlorn @saturnknows @d1lf-loverrr @eddiestitmiguelsbigdick @freehentai @arithestrawberry @scaleniusrm @haradasaya @spidermanismyfav @bitchykittenconnoisseur @thecraziestcrayon @obi-mom-kenobi @natsury-kazuki @rootin-tootin-morgan @coraline750 @edgycatx @safixiovi @sunnyx07 @nxrdamp @rorel1a @oceanstar19 @happishark @carmilla01 @somebodyelsethanyouthink @adora-but-ginger @angie2274 @vampi-amora @tired-writer04 @plzfeedmebread @shadow-pancake9 @tynakub @faretheeoscar @giulscomix @luvstuffies @coffeeauthorvibing @lauraolar14 @bl0osclues @pinkiemme @lil-cinn @mashiromochi @loveletterfrommwah @mandodinstuff @muzansucker @theleftkittycollection @kikookii @www-interludeshadow-com @holographicang3l @aisyakirmann @bucky-to-my-barnes @geraskier-thots @l3laze

[perseephoneee]

(For Ficmas 2023) Isaac Lahey and cookie decorating

cookie decorating (isaac lahey x f!reader) {ficmas 2023}

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ happy day 12 of ficmas!

warnings: allusions to sex

a/n: its christmas eve! this one is short but i wanted to keep it sweet and to the point. thank you guys so much for joining me in this journey to write 12 fics in 24 days (honestly exhausting, but i'm happy I did it). reminder that my requests are open, and to join my taglist if you want to read more of my work in the future. i have a couple requested fics that i need to work on, but i'm hoping to start having a regular posting schedule for you guys in the new year. once again, ily and thank you guys for supporting me always <3

↳ masterlist  ↳ ship exchange ↳ taglist ↳ ficmas 2023

Before your last school vice principal was killed by one of the many werewolf problems that arose in Beacon Hills, the high school didn’t have as many “school spirit” events. There were the typical ones, but truthfully, not a lot. But then, the high school needed a new vice principal, and suddenly, Beacon Hills High School was experiencing an influx of school-wide events. Some of them were incredibly stupid, annoying, and trivial, but occasionally there would be one that would excite all the students. This was one of those times. 

“I am happy to announce that for the holiday season, we will be doing a series of competitions centered around winter,” Mr. Bean, the new vice principal, announced at a school assembly one morning. You almost skipped it but were caught by Coach Finstock in the hall before you could sneak out. Your boyfriend, Isaac, was asleep next to you. “They will be non-denominational, of course. But what is the prize, you ask? After careful consideration, it was decided that the team that gets the most wins out of the twelve contests will get automatic As for the winter break homework– that’s right, a free pass!”

That got the students awake, chatter filling the auditorium as students daydreamed about not having to do any work over the break. You also perked up. Even though you were a good student, you never got an actual vacation with how things went in your life, and your brain almost couldn’t process all the reading and napping you’d get done if you didn’t have any homework. 

“Isaac,” you hissed, slapping your boyfriend in the arm. He groaned as you awoke him. “We are entering this.” He looked at you in confusion as you explained the competition to him. That seemed to wake him up. 

“I’m not doing too hot in Chemistry right now, so that’d be great,” he mumbled, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. 

“You told me you were okay!” 

“I lied,” he shrugged, and you slapped him in the arm again. 

“I offered to help you with your homework.”

“I wanted to make out with you instead.” That made you roll your eyes, but you didn’t get the chance to chastise your boyfriend as you finished listening to the rules of the competition. 

The following days went by as pretty much every student in the school participated. Everyone got points for the challenges, and the team with the most points got automatic As. There would be two runner-ups who got Bs. You questioned whether any of this was legal, but your lust for winning overtook the rational part of you. Your competitive nature shined as you and Isaac quickly rose to the top of the leaderboards. Between your book smarts and Isaac’s athletic prowess, you took the contests by storm. There was trivia, a sledding race, a snowman competition, and a relay race. Ethan and Aiden were The only team close to beating you two, which just spurred on Isaac more. Even Scott and Stiles, who had fallen behind since they spent more time arguing like a married couple than cooperating, were rooting for you and Isaac just to see Ethan and Aiden go down. 

The final contest wasn’t anything crazy but required precision and focus. Cookie Decorating. Of course. 

You hunkered down at your house, baking cookies and looking at YouTube tutorials for the best way to decorate cookies. You had some cookies look like ornaments, others like reindeer, and a couple as snowflakes. Unfortunately, Isaac had grown distracted about half an hour into your baking adventure. Which meant he had turned to distracting you. 

“Can we take a break?” he sighed, sitting at your counter as he watched you add frosting to piping bags. 

“We need to turn these in by 4 pm today, so we need to hurry,” you responded, tying off the plastic piping at the top and looking at your sketched designs before adding anything to your cookies. Isaac slid off the stool, standing beside you as he watched you draw careful shapes. You weren’t paying attention to him, so you missed the devilish smirk on his face as an idea came to him. He pushed your hair to one side, standing behind you as he wrapped his arms around your middle. You hummed, still focused on decorating, when he pressed kisses along your neck and shoulder. You became hyperaware of his lips on your skin as he licked a line from your artery to your jaw, hot, open-mouthed kisses following soon after. You bit your lip to stop a gasp from leaving your mouth. “Isaac,” you hissed in warning when he bit down, coaxing a sigh from your lips. 

“Y/N,” he hummed, his hands dipping under your shirt and running up and down your sides. His hands were cold and made you shiver wherever he touched you. 

“You’re being a nuisance,” you whispered, hand shaking as you kept trying to decorate. 

“Take a break,” he smiled against your skin, continuing his ministrations. You tried to calm yourself, but after making another mistake in decorating, you growled in frustration and turned around in his arms. 

“You’re obnoxious,” you muttered, back pressed against the counter as Isaac had you cornered. He just smiled, leaning down to kiss you as he had you caged against the counter. You let him kiss you, hands running up his arms, tangling in his hair. You let him take you to your bedroom, make love to you, and effectively distract you. And when he was done being needy, you went back to finish decorating the cookies, wearing just his shirt and underwear, even letting him steal one when he thought you weren’t looking. 

You ended up winning the competition, much to the chagrin of Ethan and Aiden, and you couldn’t find it in yourself to care as you spent winter break in peace with Isaac. 

[currytantou]

[translation] – Mankai Channel vol 2 Natsugumi Ban drama track also x-posted on my wordpress blog

do not use my translations to create subtitled video or base it for re-translation to other languages. linking is permitted but do not copy paste whole blog content. sharing partial screenshot for fangirl/boying purposes is acceptable (with link back or credit).

0:01 Tenma: Ready? All: Blo-bloo-blooming! Tenma: Hello eve- Kumon: Hello guys! Misumi: Thank you for watching! Tenma: This time- Kazunari: It’s Summer Troupe’s turn this time! Misumi: Spring Troupe’s episode last time was fun, right? Kazunari: We played that game in the dorms, didn’t we? Tenma: Don’t say hello all at once! Ehem. Starting over. I’m Sumeragi Tenma, the leader of the Summer Troupe. Thanks for tuning in to Summer Troupe’s episode, following the previous episode with Spring Troupe. Yuki: Thank you. Muku: Thanks for having us! Kazunari: Summer Troupe’s plan is “morning routine”! Kumon: We had various plans in mind, right? Playing games like Spring Troupe, no-foreign-words-challenge, and ghost prank! Misumi: Tenma won the rock-paper-scissors! Muku: Tenma-kun’s spirit when he played rock-paper-scissors was amazing! Yuki: Especially when he wanted to avoid the last option; the ghost prank~ Tenma: Shut up! Kazunari: That said, each and every member’s morning situation was recorded on camera so let’s check them out at once~!

1:11 Tenma: First, it’s me. I woke up at 6am on this day. I woke up earlier than usual because I had a shooting. Muku: Tenma-kun barely had bed hair on him. Yuki: His usual hairstyle pretty much looks like bed hair anyway. Tenma: What are you trying to imply? Misumi: Oh, he’s taking care of *UneUne-kun. (literal meaning: zigzag) Kumon: Huh, who? Yuki: His bonsai, I think? Tenma: This is a white pine. Apparently, it is 20 years old. It’s about time to cut its old leaves. Kazunari: It took several years to reach this form, right? What a fine bonsai~ Tenma: Once I’m done cutting bonsai, I’d have some plain hot water in the kitchen. It’s Azami’s recommendation and I find myself in a good condition when I do that. Yuki: Hm? Guess I should try that too.  Tenma: After that I did morning workout. As recommended by Tasuku-san. Kumon: You do everything that’s recommended! Tenma: I would try anything good for my body. Misumi: Like a grandpa. Tenma: Uh, it’s granted for an actor to take care of his health. Kazunari: A body is an actor’s asset! Tenma: After I’m done with breakfast, Igawa picked me up by car and I went to shoot for magazines. Muku: Igawa-san always comes punctually. Tenma: He’s a reliable manager. Yuki: It’s unusual for him to praise someone. Kumon: Maybe Igawa-san would cry if he saw this video..?

2:36 Yuki: Next is me. On this day, I woke up at 7am as usual. I think I slept at 10pm the previous day..? Kazunari: Yukki washes his face thoroughly! Yuki: Recently, I’ve been using this facial cleanser. I like how it is hypoallergenic and creates plenty of foams. Misumi: That reminds me, Azami told us to wash with lots of foams. Muku: I wanna see how Yuki-kun washes his face. Yuki: I switched face lotion to this one, after sticking to the same brand for a while. Recently, I feel like my skin type has changed and after discussing with Azami, he suggested that I use one for sensitive skin. So far so good, I guess? Kumon: Can skin type change? Yuki: I suppose you can tell if you look at it everyday? Misumi: What is ‘skin type’? Yuki: You should start from there and learn through Azami. Kazunari: I wanna ask him for some suggestions too. I should ask Azamin skincare tips later! Tenma: Sounds good. I wanna ask him what my skin type is too. Yuki: Once I’m done washing my face, I get prepared and wear my school uniform. Kumon: You’ve made preparation for school, eh? Yuki: I made sure to do that the day before. Misumi: Yuki is so firm~ Yuki: Then, I’d have breakfast and check fashion related news and think of any designs, I guess? Muku: Is it easier to brainstorm design ideas in the morning? Yuki: Maybe. I sometimes come up with a better idea the next morning even though I was stuck yesterday. Kazunari: Perhaps, your brain thinks of it while you are sleeping. Kumon: I wish I could memorise English vocabularies while I’m sleeping~

4:15 Kazunari: Next, let’s check out my morning routine~! I woke up at 9am! I woke up a little late on this day because I stayed up to make it to the deadline. After waking up, I spent time idly on bed and scrolling through SNS, replied to comments, checked out what’s trending.. Yuki: Hurry and get up. Muku: Kazu-kun takes it easy in the morning. Kumon: Like it takes a while to get the engine heats up in the morning? Kazunari: Maybe~ Then I dressed up and prepared my bag for college. Tenma: So many different gadgets. Misumi: Kazu’s bag is like a magical pocket. Kazunari: Recently, I’ve been carrying around this portable charger and mobile monitor! These are freaking convenient for quick work outdoor and online meetings. When I told Itarun, he immediately started using ‘em. Also, these are my favourite noise cancelling wireless earphones! I’ve tried others but for me, this works best. And, a smart watch! Although I don’t keep it in my bag. These are the gadgets that I carry around. Tenma: I’ve been contemplating on getting this smart watch. Kazunari: I totally recommend this! It’s much better than the previous release so you should buy it now! Tenma: Hmm. Show me that later. Kumon: Kazu-san knows a lot, you’re so cool!~ Muku: It’s best to ask Kazu-kun when it comes to gadgets. Misumi: These videos were recorded using the camera lent by Kazu. Kazunari: It has good image stabilisation and spot on waterproofing. Easy to use, right?

5:56 Muku: My turn next, right? Uh..I woke up at 7am on this day. I washed my face and changed…Sorry that it’s way too ordinary! Tenma: It’s odd to apologise for being ordinary. Kazunari: Mukkun’s dailies are systematic. Muku: I had spanish omelette and freshly baked walnut bread for breakfast on this day. As I ate, I talked about newly released shoujo manga with Sakyo-san and Azu nee-san…. Yuki: The latter half is nothing ordinary though. Kumon: What kind of shoujo manga? Muku: A girl who has been living under oppression of her family meets the son of a distinguished family who runs a sports gym. She starts to workout and solves all problems with muscles. It’s a really interesting success story! Tenma: The second half is way too unexpected! Yuki: Some of Muku’s favourite shoujo manga are quirky… Kazunari: But it makes you curious to know more! I kinda wanna read it! Muku: I’ll lend it to you later. I did other stuff before I left the dorms, but I watched tv with Juu-chan on this day. They happened to broadcast a coverage on sweets. Yuki: Right, you two were glued to the tv. Muku: We planned to check out the chocolate ice cream shown on that program.

7:20 Misumi: Next is me. Yuki: Where is this place? Outside? Misumi: Rooftop. On this day, I said my morning greeting to a cat that I’m friendly with, and I joined the cat’s meeting. Kumon: Cat meeting! Wahahaha! So many cats! That’s cool!! Tenma: You’re doing this first thing first in the morning? Kazunari: As expected, he blends in with the cats. Muku: What do you do in the cat meeting? Misumi: We talked about so many things. Neighbourhood’s rumours, notices about stray cats, info about homes that give away food or any problems. On this day, *Kuroneko-san ranted how it can’t walk past its usual passage. (lit: black cat) So I went to help it. Tenma: So? Where is this place? Misumi: The passage that Kuroneko-san strolls by. Kazunari: Looks like a cat’s documentary footage. Muku: It’s interesting, since it’s a view we usually don’t see. Yuki: You’re breaking the expectation of a morning routine in many ways. Kumon: Ah! What jumped against the wall just now?! Misumi: See? I removed the trash thrown in this narrow passage. And I found a beautiful triangle here so I picked it up. Yuki: That’s how he picks triangles, huh? Tenma: I had no idea. Misumi: I cleaned the triangle with water at the park and made it to the dorm for breakfast time. Kazunari: Sumi had such an adventure before he joined for breakfast~ Muku: That is so dramatic!

9:00 Kumon: Finally, it’s my turn! I usually wake up at 6am! I had time to go for a run with nii-chanand Tasuku-san! Yuki: So much energy first thing in the morning. Kumon: After running, I practised swinging in the yard! Tenma: That’s way too much energy! Misumi: Looks fun~ Kumon: Sumi-san should join me next time! We can do karate with Guy-san! Misumi: Let’s do that! Muku: It feels good to move your body in the morning~ I feel refreshed when I start my day with running. Kumon: Yes, yes! I’m in good condition throughout the day!~ After practising swinging, I did some light squats and showered before having breakfast! Yuki: Now I know why you’re always fussing about being hungry in the morning. Tenma: Of course you’d get hungry if you move this much. Kazunari: Kumopi, you’re so healthy! Kumon: I’d brush my teeth after breakfast and I would check out the English vocabs app before I left the dorms. Muku: A test is coming up soon. Misumi: Kumon, that’s admirable. Kumon: I forgot I was supposed to be early ‘cus I was on duty on this day. I hurriedly left and dashed to school! Tenma: Running again? Yuki: His energy has no limits.

10:09 Tenma: That wraps up Summer Troupe’s morning routine. But is it interesting for them to watch these videos footage..? Kazunari: With the variations of morning routine, I suppose it is interesting~ Yuki: I thought the content would be pretty much the same but our routines are much more different than expected. Kumon: The cat’s meeting was fun! Misumi: It’s interesting to me, knowing what you guys are doing in the morning. Muku: I think Yuki-kun’s skincare tips and Kazu-kun with his gadgets are useful! Tenma: Well, I’m glad if this makes the audience happy. That said, do look forward to Autumn Troupe’s episode next. Kazunari: If you enjoyed it, please like and subscribe to the channel! Misumi: Bye bye~

Thank you for reading! <3 - curry

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE - Episode 10: Best Shot Update

Taichi: Hmmm… Not again…

Taichi: (I figured it’d be, but… It sure is hard to get accepted….)

Taichi: (From Japanese mini theater movies, to local station mini dramas and graduate students’ films…)

Taichi: (I applied for the roles introduced to me by Sumeragi Agency and the ones I found by researching myself, but I failed all of them.)

Taichi: (... I knew I wouldn’t pass in one shot, obviously, and I haven’t lost heart just yet.)

Taichi: (My audition pilgrimage’s only just begun, I’ve gotta keep my spirits up.)

Taichi: When Mucchan failed his audition, he got even more motivated and improved his skills at the workshop…

Taichi: Instead of moping around, I should use these failures as motivation to keep goin’!

Taichi: Let’s go!

Taichi: (Maybe I should start by looking through my failed applications… Updating my profile pic might help…)

[Door opening]

Omi: …

Taichi: Hm? Welcome back, Omi-kun!

Omi: Y-Yeah, I’m back.

Taichi: (I wonder if he’s tired? He’s kinda spacing out...)

Taichi: Oh yeah! Omi-kun, you’re free tomorrow, right?

Omi: Yeah.

Taichi: I’ve got a favor to ask of you for my challenge…

Omi: Got it. You want me to take you somewhere? Around what time–

Taichi: At night, obviously!

-

[Motorcycle speeding]

Taichi: The wind feels so good! GO! GO! Yeah!

Omi: This reminds me of back when we did “Stranger”.

Taichi: The two of us toured like this back then too!

-

Taichi: So! We’ll be taking the ultimate updated profile pic with the ocean and sunrise as the background!

Omi: The seaside would be best, then. Try moving around over there a little.

Taichi: Ok! I wanna look like I’m the main character in a movie!

Omi: The splashing of the water adds some nice movement.

[Splash, splash]

Taichi: Like this!?

[Snap]

Omi: Yup. Looking good.

-

[Taichi steps out of the water]

Taichi: So? Did they turn out good?

Omi: This one’s the best shot.

Taichi: It’s so good! The sunrise’s light is also perfect! Only the best from you, Omi-kun!

Taichi: Oh, this one looks like the pic we took that day.

Omi: You’re right. Since the composition is similar, we can clearly see your growth by comparing them.

Taichi: If we take a pic like this every year, it’ll look like a record of my growth!

Omi: Haha, you’re right.

Taichi: I was able to get the perfect updated profile pic thanks to you, Omi-kun.

Taichi: Ah, I know that the world isn’t so kind that I’ll be accepted just ‘cause I’ve got such a good pic, of course~

Omi: Auditions, huh…

Taichi: Everything I’ve applied for has been a bust. I knew it’d be tough, but it still makes me kinda sad.

Taichi: So, thanks for coming with me today, even if it was just under the excuse of having my picture taken!

Omi: I’ll do this much for you any time. It helped cheer me up, too.

Taichi: But, y’know, after failing so much, it got me thinking…

Taichi: MANKAI Company’s the best, for letting all of us be lead actors as if it’s a given.

Taichi: It’s an important place I’ve got to cherish no matter what.

Taichi: That’s why, I’ve got to give back to the company and the Autumn Troupe twice as much as I’ve been given.

Taichi: If it’s to improve his popularity outside the troupe, attract more audience, and improve our ranking, Taichi Nanao will get up no matter how many times he falls!

Taichi: I’ll keep doing my best on my audition pilgrimage~!

Omi: … You’re amazing. Even after failing, you keep moving forward.

Taichi: … You still haven’t found a challenge for yourself, Omi-kun?

Omi: … Yeah. It’s not something I can talk to everyone about yet, but there’s something that’s been eating at me and I can’t focus on myself.

Omi: But don’t worry, we will be holding the workshop. The administrative position’s a nice change of pace that I’m grateful for.

Omi: Once things have settled a little, I’ll definitely find something to use as an opportunity to grow.

Omi: I can’t have you guys leaving me behind, after all.

Taichi: … You can take it slow. You won’t be late even if you end up behind us.

Omi: … Yeah, thanks.

Omi: For now, I’ll be praying all of you succeed from the bottom of my heart. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.

Taichi: I’ll do my best and lead the Autumn Troupe’s charge!

previous episode | masterpost | next episode

[naradivision]

Happy Halloween! 🎃

From Miraitabi (+ANGE)

Inspired by these adorable chibi art that was officially released some time ago

🏮 Yuuya Kanata

“Hi there, welcome to our house of Miraitabi! The spooky festival of Jack O’lantern has already been kicking in! And as a honorary Prefect of this house, it has been my pleasure to show you guys around the divisi— Ah, I mean our house. For basic information, the proud symbol of us is a deer! The myth says that they could be your mighty companion who will lead you the way like a divine messenger and also a devoted protector of their homeland… Now shall we head next to our Common Room?”

“Oh, and in case you have come across our House Ghost somewhere, please don’t be afraid to greet her ‘Hi’ or tell her she is really cute. Pft, she’ll be incredibly happy if you do so… Here, these are some little treats from me! Happy All Hallows’ eve, guys!”

You received a treat!

Golden Snitch Chocos – Homemade truffles made from crunchy cookie crumbs balled and dipped in the tender dark chocolate, finally decked in shiny golden foils with a nifty pair of wings, and then… Congratulations! You’ve seized your house’s victory in your palms!

🍡 Asahi Tomoharu

“Greetings, minna-san☆ Welcome again to our dear house of Miraitabi! From here on I shall be your guide next after YuuYu~! Our Common Room is located at that lovely antique mansion surrounded by lots of pretty Hydrangeas over there! But hmm… To give it some thoughts, don’t you guys think it will be even more exciting if those cryptic plants from the series are hiding somewhere as well?! Hahaha, just kidding, just kidding~ By the way, we’re going to meet the Head of this house soon! Well, he is sort of a strictttt one, so you guys gotta tidy yourself up a bit or else your house will lose some scores!”

“…Finally, off you go with my super special tricky treaties☆ Happy Halloween! May us have a nice tea party together sometime, okay?”

You received a treat!

Sorting Hat Fortune Cookies – Do you believe in destiny? O’ young witches and wizards, would you like to try your luck with these wise little hats in the disguise of sprinkle chocolate-coated crispy Tsujiura sembei? Perhaps they will give you the miraculous clue of your dream house in Hogwarts!

💠 Saigo Fuyugami

“…Damn you, brats… Why should I always have to play along with any of your stupid farces?! *sighs* Alright, fine… What’re you doing here, young folks? Here is the Head of this house’s consultation room so where’s your manner? Educated people at this sacred place are treating each other with respect and I hope this isn’t asking too much out of you all, understand? Great… Back to the first question, what made you come all the way to my place again? Wait— WHAT? You’ve arrived at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry of anywhere else and still doesn’t have a wand?! Hmm… Looks like you’ve got a fortune on your side here, student.”

“…All wise ones know that the great wand chooses their own wizards, therefore, how about picking one from my recommendation?”

You received a treat!

Magic Wand Biscuits – Choose wisely for your chosen one! Each wand was made from a pretzel rod delicately crafted with the rich and high-quality chocolate imbued with its own variety of flavo— Oops, Magic!

Bonus! ANGE 💿

“Dingdong! Would you mind checking on your phone for a bit? …One, two, BOOYA!! TRICK-OR-TREAT☆”

“Hey, you know what? Most Muggle’s devices are quite boggled here at Hogwarts, thus it means you’re the lucky on… Because now you’re getting haunted by the wickedest vengeful spirit of Miraitabi! RAWWRR!!! Tasty snacks are always appreciated, yet such regret that a ghost like me can’t savor any…. Hmph! But interesting stories are fine too! Do you have any funny tale to offer?”

“—Eh?! Really??? Mortal one, do you know what you’re saying?! .………Hmmmm, whatever. As a token of her thanks to your heartfelt compliment, there you can have ANGE’s collection of her super interesting treats! However, the thing is you have to get them from the House’s Prefect instead! So, this time go and tell him ‘You’re doing good today, Mr. Prefect’! Hehehe~ ANGE bets he would hand them to you in an instant if you do that~ (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)”

You received a treat!

ANGE’s Wonder Flavour Beans – Proudly selected by Miraitabi’s one and only baby angel! These wondrous jelly beans are varied with a wild range of flavors, such as Hot Curry, Sweet Potato, Fizzle Ramune, and etc. to the mischievous ones like Clay, Wasabi, Super Lemon, and maybe something mysterious that might leave the ominous metallic taste on your tongue!?

Happy Halloween! 🎃

—Are you guys still up for the Hogwarts AU ? ( ≖‿ ≖ )

[the-daydream-archives]

FOOD SIM # 20 GINGERBREAD COOKIE 🍪❄️🎄

Commonly mistaken as his Father, Jack Frost, Gingerbread Cookie is one of the sons of Father Winter himself. Longing to make a name for himself and wanting to get away from his father’s shadow, Gingerbread Cookie has been traveling around the earth to learn more about himself and what his purpose on life could be. Being an immortal spirit has its perks as he’s been traveling around 100 years by now but so far, he hasn’t achieved much of anything. On one particular Christmas Eve however, he just happened to hear a certain father’s wish for his daughter to be with him every Christmas. While he couldn’t bring the dead back to life, Gingerbread Cookie decided to grant the man his wish the only way he could, through transferring the girl’s soul into a doll. Ever since he did this, every Christmas Eve, he peeps around this certain family just to check on them. However, on one particular Christmas, he saw that the doll was alone and was looking quite lost. Against his better judgment, he asked her if she would like to accompany him on his travels and she happily agreed. From then on, the two would soon become best friends and would help one another learn and grow as they roam through the earth as immortal beings.

Traits: Ambitious, Self-Absorbed, Good

Aspiration: World Famous Celebrity (Lmao this is the closest one to his goal narrative-wise)

You guys would not believe the glow-up this sim had in his initial creation xD I’m glad he turned out really well now and I’m definitely in love with the way he looks. I also think his real name would be something like Wendell. But before anyone asks, he was mainly inspired by Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians) and Howl (Howl’s moving Castle.) And before anyone asks, yes the gingerbread stuff is one of my upcoming works and despite what happened, I will release the download soon. 

Special thanks to the following!: @katrina-y @simandy @eunosims @kindlespice @pralinesims @moonpres-sims @simbience @suzuesims @zouyousims @ddarkstonee @sammi-xox @christopher067-sims4 @algu-sims @kotehoksims @obscurus-sims @stacked-rubbish

[wildskissed]

@dxnse-macabre gets our rockstar!au starter

Finding a way to unwind, was one of the things that Eve looked forward to after a long day at work. She loved her job, but every once in a while she needed something else, and tonight felt like a sign. One of her favorite performers was playing, so she had dolled herself up a little and headed out, getting familiar with the bar before the screaming happened and the lights dimmed.

The moment Astarion's voice floated through the microphone, Eve found herself getting a little more into the spirit of it all. His voice had a way of caressing all of her senses, which was part of why she had wanted to come see him. She didn't want to think of herself as just some groupie, but she knew all the words to his songs, and at one point had managed to push her way up to the front by the stage. Whether she liked it or not, he had to know from the way she was singing along and smiling up at him that he had a fan...one way or the other.

Eve had come here to let loose, and let loose she did...so much so that by the end of his set, she eventually found herself in the bathroom, having to eat a ginger chew from her purse to keep the alcohol down, heels in one hand. She wasn't used to wearing them too often, and much preferred to be barefoot even though this probably wasn't the most sanitary place. Still, one thing led to another, and she was starting a fight with some guy twice her size, which ended in her landing a punch, him going down, and then a slightly inebriated redhead slipping into the VIP section of the bar, asking the bartender for ice by name.

Realizing Astarion was there with body guards and at least one club bouncer, Eve paused a moment, setting her heels on the bar as she took a seat on the bar stool. "Thanks, Luke," she managed when she got the ice, pressing it to her knuckles before she chanced a look at Astarion. If she said the wrong thing, she was sure one of his bodyguards would usher her out. Only reason they hadn't yet was her acting like she was important, all buddy/buddy with the bartender, but there was a good reason behind that. "You should see the other guy," she told Astarion, flexing her fingers and wincing just a little before she gave him a smile. "You look familiar..." No, Eve, that was not smooth.

[4am-enha]

Enhypen Eve. 🎄

Description: Spending the majority of your Christmas time alone this year, you found it hard to get into the Christmas spirit. Seven boys decided you feeling alone on Christmas was totally unacceptable. They unexpectedly take you out on a very eventful, Christmas filled day.

Word count: ≈ 3.3k

Genre: fluff, friendship, attempted comedy.

Pairing: Ot7 Enhypen x Female Reader

Tags/includes: every enhypen member, friendship with enhypen, she/her pronouns used, spending christmas eve with enhypen, ice skating, christmas shopping, snowmen, christmas movies and cookies, christmas light seeing + walk, friendly fluff, appreciation, niki being a menace as usual, grumpy hoon.

Warnings: swearing, small mention of animal death?

Note: !! This is purely an imagine for entertainment and should not be taken seriously, nor does it have anything to actually do with the real members of Enhypen thank you !!

───※ ·❆· ※───

Christmas Eve was here.

That was hard to believe.

It just did not feel like Christmas at all this year, let alone Christmas eve. No matter how hard you tried to get yourself to register that it was finally that time of year again, you still felt like it was just another day. Even after listening to Christmas music on repeat all day, the only thing you felt like you had achieved was contributing towards paying Mariah Carey's bills for once again, another year.

You had been living alone for a while now and ever since you had, you realized the importance of being around loved ones for Christmas. Christmas just wasn't itself without your family around. You reminisced on all the joyful and vivid moments from the past Christmases. How exciting it was to get ready for your aunt and cousins to come over so you could show them your new gifts, and then open more gifts from each other. The funny board games you'd all play together after Christmas dinner, especially UNO, the one game your dad would continuously cheat at by hiding cards under his ass.

Unfortunately, the nostalgia still wasn't enough to get you in the Christmas spirit. It was probably because you had not gotten the chance to participate in Christmas-like events this year. You felt defeated. Maybe this Christmas was just going to be unusual, and you'd just have to accept it. 

Your seven friends: Jake, Jungwon, Jay, Heeseung, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Niki, had heard you complain how “Christmas just isn't the same” for weeks now. They could visibly see how much it impacted you. This time of year was usually important to you. They couldn't endure seeing you so deflated over it (and they also couldn’t stand hearing you complain). They didn't want you to feel so alone. That’s probably where they got this ‘grand’, unorganized idea from.

“I’ll give you ten minutes.”

Sunoo tugged on Heeseung’s sleeve, “Come on Heeseung, don't be such a party pooper.” 

“I’ll give her five,” Sunghoon added onto it bluntly.

“So, you guys just expect me to magically be ready to go, even though you just turned up, unannounced, with NO notice, asking me to go on a mystery day out with you all?” you questioned, eyebrows raised in pure disbelief.

“Yes,” Niki, Heeseung, and Sunghoon answered almost perfectly in sync. It was like they had rehearsed being annoying together.

You stared blankly at the seven boys standing at your door.

“Can we come in? It’s really cold…” Jungwon mumbled from behind the others, coming forward and exaggeratedly shivering to convince you for an invite inside. It was actually very cold, however.

“Whatever. I'll be ready in 20 minutes. I’m not negotiating,” you sighed and signaled with your hands for them to come in and sit down in the living room.

Niki eyed the console across the room and groaned rather dramatically, “I’m already bored!”

“Just say you want to play Niki, It’s fine. Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back,” you said before rushing up towards your room.

Niki whispered under his breath with a smug expression, "don't mind if I do," and grabbed the controllers, “I’ll 1v1 you Heeseung.” Niki loved having a competition whenever he possibly could.

“If you want to cry, then sure,” Heeseung shrugged and stated harshly, very confident in himself.

───※ ·❆· ※───

If a room bursting with people was loud, you could assure anyone that the seven boys in your house right now were louder. There were constant screams and yells, (mainly from Niki who was predictably persistently losing against Heeseung in their game,) booming through the floor as you ran around trying to decide on a final look. Luckily, your neighbors were away this Christmas.

You hated short notice plans because it made you feel rushed and unprepared. Everything you put on felt ugly or out of place. You didn't have the slightest clue as to where the boys were even taking you today. You kind of wanted to cry, when a gentle knock was heard on your bedroom door. 

“Who is it? Come in.”

Sunoo peeped his head round the door, “hey, are you almost ready? It’s just that Sunghoon is getting impatient-”

You threw down the jumper you held in your hands and your shoulders quickly sank into a small strop, startling Sunoo.

“Is everything okay?” he asked cautiously, not fully understanding why you were upset yet.

“I'm so frustrated. I only decided on an outfit a minute ago, and now I feel like my hair looks like a mess. It's all over the place, I'm all over the place! I really just want to cry.”

“Oh no don't cry! It’s nothing I can’t fix,” Sunoo smiled, “sit down, I’ll style your hair.”

For the next ten minutes or so, Sunoo styled your hair perfectly with an average pair of old straighteners you had not really used in a while. It was a small talent he had. He loved doing his friends' hair, especially Niki's when he would allow him to. He styled your hair like the aesthetic pictures on your Pinterest board.

Finally, you both finished up and made your way back down the stairs- where the other six had been waiting for a while now. They all turned as they heard the pair of you arrive at the scene.

“Wow! You look so pretty!” Jungwon exclaimed, making you smile after all that frustration and struggle. If only they knew the effort it took.

“When did Sunoo even leave?” Niki questioned, finally taking his eyes off of the screen in front of him.

Heeseung looked you up and down and gave you a small thumbs up. Somehow, that was a very good sign from him.

“Nice to know you care about me enough to not notice the lack of my presence,” Sunoo rolled his eyes.

“Come on, let's go,” Jake urged enthusiastically. He had no idea what was going on, but the anticipation was killing him. He could just run around from eagerness.

“By the way guys, where are we even going?” Jay suddenly asked very confused. Noticeably, it caused a sudden tension and silence. Glances were shared, but nobody said anything, because nobody was sure.

“You mean to tell me you don’t even have a plan?” you raised your voice, staring in shock at all of the boys yet again- a common occurrence when you had these goofballs as your friends.

Jungwon put an arm on your shoulder, “relax, of course we do, Jay is just being silly, aren't you?” he shot a glare at him, “we are going to go Christmas shopping first, and then get some lunch.”

That plan was created on the spot, but you didn't need to know that.

You beamed with excitement, “since when did you guys like shopping with me?”

“That’s just sad...” Heeseung mumbled.

───※ ·❆· ※───

It had been about an hour since the eight of you had arrived at Starfield Mall. You had all split off into different groups depending on the types of stores you each wanted to explore. Currently, you were walking around a clothes store with Sunoo and Jay. You had picked up a few things whilst wandering around the store; you would have had a lot more in your hands if Jay didn't critique your fashion sense every time you picked up something you thought was cute. 

“I have an idea!” Sunoo exclaimed.

“Hm?” Jay hummed, eyes still on the clothes rack which was making that awful screech noise as the clothes hangers slid along.

“How about you pick out some outfits for us to try on Jay? We can do a little fashion show try on! You know, since you want to critique our clothes choice so much...” Sunoo grumbled that last part to himself.

“I don’t see why not,” Jay looked at you for your approval on the matter.

“Sure! Just don’t make me look stupid, alright?” you widened your eyes and crooked your head slightly. Scary. It was an understandable reaction though, since you had basically been traumatized by being Jay's model for clothes in the past- in which he pranked you into wearing something hideous.

“Pfft, since when did my fashion taste fail anybody?” he scoffed in response to your reaction, which he had taken a slight offense from.

And with that, the show began.

Before long, Jay was stressing, rushing back and forth from the changing room grabbing different sizes and alternate colors of things, “Why are Women's clothes sizes so difficult? This doesn't add up at all. Personally, If I were a woman, I would be angry at the world."

Meanwhile, you and Sunoo were hyping each other up and taking mirror selfies. At one point- Jay somehow ended up being dressed up in a ridiculous bright pink, frilly outfit picked out by yours truly. Was it revenge? Perhaps. His expression showed that he was clearly not impressed, but he also held back a laugh as he examined his reflection in the tall mirror he stood by.

"Damn my butt looks good in this," he kept declaring.

You spotted a photo booth nearby, so of course after your little personal fashion show, the three of you took some cute pictures with some Christmas props.

As you exited the booth, you collided with the other five of your friends, who had already expected you to be here of all places knowing you and Sunoo were constantly taking pictures when you could.

“I’m hurt. You guys took pictures without us?” Jungwon frowned.

“Who said we can’t take some more?” you suggested, leading to all eight of you cramming into a booth clearly not built for this many people at once. You were all jammed shoulder to shoulder, stepping on each other by accident- causing yells and silly arguments, but overall, it ended in giggles and hilarious pictures you would each treasure for a long time.

You all got lunch together soon after. Well, after you had all spent a good fifteen minutes bickering over what food to have.

You all spent time laughing at the pictures and talking about what each of you had gotten up to the past couple hours. Eventually, the topic of what you would do next was brought up.

“I was thinking we could play outside in the snow,” Jake slurped his ramyeon.

“Yeah, let’s do that. I can't stand shopping anymore,” Niki contributed, throwing a quick shady look at you. You raised an eyebrow in response as to say, 'what the fuck did I do?' and he stuck his tongue out, pulling a stupid face. As expected, you did it back. Niki just had to have the last word and was about to do something else when,

"Knock it off," Jungwon warned the pair of you, causing you both to immediately stop. Jay snorted at the sudden obedience.

“I actually went outside earlier, and I saw an ice-skating rink nearby. Maybe we should go there? Sunghoon can show us some tricks! Plus, I’ve always wanted to try it,” Jake volunteered Sunghoon, staring directly at him, who was completely and utterly zoned out and unaware of what he had just been signed up for.

“Oh yes please! Please teach us some of your ways, teacher Sunghoon!” you shook him by the arm, snapping him back to reality.

“Huh? Oh, it's been a while though-”

“PLEASE?”

“ALRIGHT, JEEZ.”

───※ ·❆· ※───

“This was an awful idea,” coughed Sunghoon as he looked around at his friends falling on their asses and knees every ten seconds.

Surprisingly, Sunghoon had stuck to his word and had attempted to show you all how to ice skate. Of course, It was not as successful as he would have wished it to be. What did he expect? It was a recipe for chaos.

Niki was skating around pulling everyone down with him, almost pissing himself seeing everyone slip and fall. Jake was clinging onto the wall for dear life, terrified of Niki coming near him, while Heeseung teased him for looking like a scared puppy. Jay and Jungwon were waddling and sliding like penguins. The only one who had seemed to get the hang of it was Sunoo, it had taken him a while though.

You had been beside Sunghoon the whole time, trembling each stride you took. It didn’t take long until you fell face first, lucky not to seriously injure yourself. Sunghoon hurriedly bent over to help you up, laughing for what you recalled was the first time today. Wasn’t that nice? It took you embarrassing yourself and almost getting hurt to crack a laugh out of your friend. 

You awarded him an annoyed look, “thanks.”

He held onto you and slowly skated with you, catching up to the others that were still causing havoc in the rink and burdening the workers.

Although ice skating did not go as well as you had imagined, and it had ended a lot sooner than planned, you still knew it would be a treasured memory to look back on and you didn't regret trying it out- even if your buttocks thought differently. Besides, Sunghoon had lightened up a little too.

After that mess, everyone got tired rather quickly. You all decided to go back to your place for cookies and Christmas movies. There was a lot of snow on the way back home though, and the idea of a snowball fight was brought up- which was apparently too strong of a temptation to resist.

Jake and Jay made snow angels together after pushing each other into the snow, leaving them with the consequence of their clothes being completely soaked. Not very ideal, considering they had no spare clothes with them and would have to borrow some of your ‘girly’ pajamas- that's if they would even fit. You were sure you had some oversized lounge clothes they could borrow anyway.

You had all stopped to make a snowman. It wasn’t very big, but it was made with love. Heeseung searched for some items to sculpt and create its face- a few rocks, leaves, and two small twigs. Niki and Sunoo worked together to make smaller, baby snowmen beside it. They made seven- representing them all.

“The big one is Niki because he's so freakishly tall,” Sunoo blurted.

“Technically I’m the oldest, so I think it should be me,” recommended Heeseung, interrupting Niki's argument to Sunoo's statement.

“It looks great guys,” you whispered in awe, smiling widely and taking many pictures of the creations.

It had taken a lot longer than it should have to get home. Everyone was all bright red and freezing from the snow that was thrown at each other. You had slipped a few times in the snow because of the hidden ice that lay beneath it. Everyone was tired before, but now they were exhausted.

Later, Jake wrapped you up like a burrito in a few blankets in an attempt to warm you up as you all huddled and watched a few Christmas movies. 

As you sat and watched, you couldn't help but drift off into your thoughts. Today was really unexpected, but it was so sweet. You were having a great time and you felt loved just having your friend's company. You smiled to yourself.

“Is she crazy? Why is she smiling right now?” Niki pointed at you, finger shaking a little like you were a monster.

“Huh?” you had zoned out for merely just a second, but you were already getting criminalized for it. Tears welled up in Niki's eyes.

“THE DOG JUST FUCKING DIED IN THE MOVIE AND YOU ARE SMILING?” Niki sobbed, clearly very impacted by the tragic scene you had missed in the movie.

“That's not what I-”

 “WHAT ABOUT THIS IS FUNNY TO YOU?"

You weren't sure how to respond, you stared in bewilderment.

"THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A CHRISTMAS MOVIE, WHY IS IT GIVING ME DEPRESSION?” he wailed louder, taking everyone by surprise. Sunoo and Jungwon tried to comfort him and glared at the others who were trying not to burst out laughing. It was a lie to say Jungwon wasn’t holding back a giggle himself though.

You shook your head in astonishment and munched on some of the cookies you had made with Jay and Jungwon earlier. You had no idea how passionate Niki was towards dogs in movies. You learn something new every day supposedly.

Then an idea struck you.

“Hey, the house down the street goes all out with their Christmas lights every year. It’s pretty impressive. They have a light show and everything. Should we go see it? I think Niki needs some fresh air anyway,” you shared your thoughts.

“I like the sound of that,” Heeseung stood up, “I usually go for a walk in the evenings anyway.”

Everyone waited until Niki was stable again, and then got their jackets on. It was just a brief walking distance.

It wasn’t the most eventful thing you'd done all day, but somehow just standing around laughing and talking while admiring Christmas lights with your friends felt the most precious of all. You all huddled up close and some put their arms over each other's shoulders, grouping everyone in to stay warm. Without them, this would have been just another plain experience, but with them, it was irreplaceable.

“This one looks like Niki,” Jake pointed at a funky looking light up elf on the ground, earning a hard shove from the younger.

“Nah this one is Jake,” Niki pointed at a dog figurine wearing a Christmas hat, “and this one is Heeseung,” he pointed at a snowy looking dear, “oh and this one, this one is definitely Sunghoon,” of course- pointing to a penguin. 

“When is the “Sunghoon is a penguin” torment going to end? We all know full well, I'm too handsome to be one of those things.” Sunghoon hissed.

The teasing and the “this you?” jokes went on for a while.

Not long after you had all first arrived, the owners of the house came out and gave everyone hot chocolate and chatted for a while- explaining all the different lights and stories behind it all. Everyone was having such a good time, but as it got later, it got colder and darker, and you finally decided it was best to go back home.

You walked home calmly with Jungwon, Jay, and Sunghoon. The others had run and rushed ahead, chasing each other, being loud, and being themselves. 

You admired the cold breeze of winter blowing on you, the few Christmas lights here and there, the snow glistening under streetlights on the paths you walked, the humming of festive songs coming from your friends beside you, the pinch of cold on the tip of your nose. The boys really knew how to make you feel better, even without directly stating it, you knew they had done this to make Christmas feel special for you. 

You wiped away a tear or two, but for some reason the tears just kept coming. It had all moved you so much. You were just indescribably grateful, and this is what Christmas was truly all about. 

“Nono why are you crying?” Jay asked, noticing the flood of tears streaming down your face all of a sudden.

“Thank you for today,” you sniffled. The few that were still beside you hugged you tightly, held your face and wiped your tears away with their sleeves.

“Merry Christmas guys,” Jungwon smiled, “It’s midnight.”

Then it hit you. There it finally was. 

There was that nostalgic feeling you had longed for so much recently. It felt like Christmas, and it was all thanks to the silly, loving seven boys making you feel at home as they always did. This Christmas was one for the books, one you would tell your grandchildren about, one that would make next year's Christmas hard to match in greatness.

Christmas day was finally here, and there was nobody you would have preferred to spend it with.

AN: ello ello~ thank you so much for reading this! let me know if you enjoyed it <3 i apologize for not posting as often, i’ve been really busy lately- but i managed to squeeze in this ot7 christmas special. if there are mistakes, close ur eyes. LOL. merry christmas and a happy new year to everyone that celebrates it <33 may 2023 bring you good things 🫶🏻. MUAH ily!!

[moonstruckmoony]

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

Thanks for the tag bbys @choccy-milky @the-ozzie @keri-mcberry @ethniee 🩵

LAST SONG? - oh no, you’ve opened the Pandora box. When given the chance I usually couldn’t shut up about music and when asked questions like these I can never just say only one… Mostly for the purpose of finding kindred spirits 😶 Nowadays I often listen to RnB, Soul, Hiphop, 70s-80s hits, Jazz fusion, Jpop and Rap… but I do listen to a wide range of stuff, from Jazz and Classical to Rock/Punk and Metal (loove Paramore and BMTH), to Kpop (I’m an ARMY btw) and Anime songs lmao.

But I digress. The last 3 songs (yes even now I still can’t choose just one 😔) I listened to were:

Suuper sick 1976 Japanese funk track the I discovered, I dove into Minako Yoshida’s stuff and she’s suuper cool.

There’s this lovely playlist on spotify called “sade, erykah badu, lauryn hill vibes 🧚‍♀️✨” by someone called izzy eve and as a lover of all 3 i’m living for it 😫🩵

FAVORITE COLOR? - if it’s not obvious already, it’s light blue, could be baby blue, robin egg blue, or serenity blue 🩵 though most irl people would guess black, seeing 98% of the time I wear always wear black…

CURRENTLY WATCHING? - I mostly watch YouTube nowadays but yesterday I marathoned “Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai” (or Dahlia in Bloom in English). I’m a big fan of the red-haired, strong-heroine-anime trifecta (Red-haired Snow White, Akatsuki no Yona, and The Ancient Magus Bride), so I assume I’ll love Dahlia in Bloom and I was right. I’m just a huge sucker for heroes/heroines who are both passionate and skilled in their craft/hobbies, add with a little dash of obsession in the topic that they excelled in.

SWEET/SPICY/ SAVORY? - SAVORY. Same as you guys @choccy-milky and @the-ozzie , I’m an absolute sodium menace. Bags of chips and instant noodles (particularly Shin Ramyun, or Indomie) are my kryptonites…. I’ve been eating healthier these past few months though. I set a rule for myself to put in veggies and fruits and good proteins first before I’m allowed to eat whatever I want. But yeah, even tho I do love spicy and sweet as well, I’m addicted to salt 💀

LAST MOVIE? - Wow I don’t remember which one was the last one, it was either Ultraman: Rising or Women King (I know I’m late but God, Viola Davis was magnificent in that one).

RELATIONSHIP STATUS? - I leave it to you guys to guess lol

CURRENT OBSESSION? - Well, Hogwarts Legacy is a given, but besides that, a resurfacing obsession is The Umbrella Academy… 👉🏻👈🏻It’s my comfort show, comfort characters, comfort cast! Just got back into it again since it has ended. And with how season 4 being so…. lackluster(I wouldn’t call it total garbage like most brellies bcs there are things I enjoyed but I agree that it’s a mess and I hate that they ‘ruined’ many of the characters.), I started rewatching my fav scenes from previous seasons and started seeking for fics in Ao3 (my first time ever hunting for TUA fics even tho I started watched TUA the year S1 came out). Fic author brellies are such a blessing, I’ve read fics that are so much better than the experience of watching season 4, with all the emotional complexities they’re able to write and their creativity… just chef’s kiss.

LAST THING YOU GOOGLED? - Cyrillic alphabets lmao. I learned how to read them back during the pandemic out of boredom and curiosity… Yesterday I came across a Russian sentence on my friend’s laptop sticker and I forgot how to read “ю” and “л” so I googled it 😂

Non-obligatory tag, you don’t have to do it! ☺️ also idk who amongst you has done it already, sorry if you have 🥲 I’m just tagging HL people I genuinely want to get to know. @diana-bluewolf @rednite-dork @tamayula-hl @sallowly @sparxyv @ccelicaa @hummingmuggle @gogglesyoyinyin @applinsandoranges @alun1r @gce-hiiragimare @morelikeravenbore @vienguinn @alliezarin

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LOST EDEN ー Ruki Ecstasy [Prologue]

CHAPTER MASTERLIST

ー The scene starts in the guest room at Eden

Kou: ...Thanks. You can leave now.

*Flap flap flap* 

Yuma: Kou. What did Ruki have to say?

Kou: No, it wasn’t from Ruki-kun, but from M-neko-chan.

Azusa: From Eve...? So she’s the one who received our message from the Familiar...? 

Kou: Apparently Ruki-kun has locked himself up in his room, so she decided to answer it in his place. 

Azusa: I wonder...if something happened to Ruki...?

Kou: Seems like M-neko-chan doesn’t know either. But he does seem to be down about something.

Yuma: Che...That guy really loves to carry all the weight by himself.

Azusa: I’m sure Eve is worried as well...

Kou: Hmー ...Even if we can’t fix the issue, I’d like to be able to cheer him up somehow. For M-neko-chan’s sake as well.

Yuma: There’s not much we can do but...I suppose we can lift his spirits at least.

Bein’ there with him would be ideal but I guess that’s difficult under the current circumstances. I’d rather not leave Eden empty and unguarded for too long.

Azusa: ...Kou, Yuma. I just...had a great idea.

ー The scene shifts to the manor in Eastern Europe

Yui: ( Five days have passed since but...Ruki-kun has not left his room even once. )

( I figured Kou-kun and the others must be worried as well, so I somehow managed to send a Familiar to update them on the situation... )

ー Ruki approaches her

Yui: ...! Ruki-kun!

ー She runs up to him

Yui: ( ...His complexion is still as pale as ever. Also, he somehow looks somewhat worn out. )

Ruki: ...I’m sorry for how I behaved the other day. I’m fine now. 

Yui: ‘Fine’...? It doesn’t look that way.

Ruki: Maybe not. However, it’s okay.

Yui: ...You didn’t figure anything out?

Ruki: Nothing definite. ...For now, everything is still up in the air.

So I’ve stopped thinking about it. ...That’s the best solution.

Yui: ( ...There’s nothing I can say to that. )

( Besides, I’m kind of scared that if I say something, I’ll only make it worse... )

Ruki: There is nothing left for me to do here. I know this may seem sudden, but let’s go back to the Demon World. 

Yui: ...Ah.

We’re going back to the Sakamaki Castle, right? If so, why don’t we make a short stop at Eden first?

( I’m sure Kou-kun and the others are worried as well and I’m sure that seeing his brothers will help lift his mood. )

Ruki: ...No, let’s head straight back to the Castle. We can leave Eden in their care. There is no need for me to go there personally.

...I’ll go get ready.

ー Ruki walks away

Yui: ( ...It sounds like he wants to stay away from Eden. )

( He used to speak so fondly of it as well...I wonder what has gotten into him...? )

Monologue

Even so, I was unable to get to the core of it. 

Following Ruki-kun’s decision,

I once again followed Ruki-kun back to the Demon World.

On our way there,

Ruki-kun’s expression remained glum. 

While on the outside he may have appeared the same,

even sending a Familiar to Kou-kun and the others,

to inform them of our return,

I could tell that deep down,

he was hiding something. 

Eden is a place full of memories,

centered around Karlheinz-san.

Yet, he does not want to go there. 

In other words,

I immediately began to speculate that perhaps,

something had happened which is directly related to Karlheinz-san.

That is exactly why,

it brought an immense sense of relief,

when there was a certain group of people waiting for our return to the Castle.

ーー For me it did, at the very least.

ー The scene shifts to the entrance hall of the Sakamaki Castle

Kou: Ah, they’re back!

Yui: ...Kou-kun!? Yuma-kun and Azusa-kun as well!? 

Yuma: Yo. Took ya long enough.

Azusa: Welcome back...Ruki, Eve.

Ruki: Why are you guys here...?

Kou: We asked the Sakamaki brothers if we could wait for you inside. Surprised? 

Ruki: Of course I am. ...You came all together?

Yuma: No need to be worried ‘bout Eden. We checked to make sure nothin’ was out of the ordinary before leavin’ and left some Familiars behind as well. 

Ruki: I see. ...Still, you should have told me you would come.

Azusa: Sorry...But we wanted it to be a surprise...

Ruki: ...Good grief.

Yui: ( Thank god...He already seems a little more cheerful. I guess it helps him unwind. )

Kou: Fufufu...The real surprise is yet to come!

Yui: Eh? 

Kou: The three of us made you dinner! Let’s all eat together!

Yui: You guys did? Amazing!

Azusa: Yeah, we tried our best...We made soup as well, Ruki.

Ruki: ...I hope it’s edible?

Yuma: ‘Course! I mean, it might not be as great as the stuff ya make. 

Yui: I’m sure it’s good. Ruki-kun, let’s go eat?

Ruki: Good idea.

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to the living room

Yui: ーー Thanks for the meal!

Azusa: Eve...How was it? Was it good? 

Yui: Yeah, delicious! Right, Ruki-kun?

Ruki: Yes. I had very low expectations, but it was better than I thought.

Kou: Geez, you can drop the first part of that sentence!

Ruki: I’m joking. It was good.

Yui: ( ...Ruki-kun’s smiling. I truly am glad that Kou-kun and the others came to visit him. )

Yuma: ...Oh. Oi, Azusa. Shouldn’t ya hand him the thing before we forget?

Azusa: Ah...Yeah. ...Listen, Ruki. We actually have a present for you. 

Ruki: ...? It’s not my birthday today.

Yuma: It’s not for a special occasion or anythin’. We just...hope that it’ll help lift yer spirits a lil’.

ー Azusa hands him the present

Azusa: Here you go...

*Rustle rustle* 

Yui: A book...?

Kou: It isn’t just any regular old book~ Come on, try opening it!

*Flip* 

Ruki: Oh...

Yui: ( Ah...It’s a photo album. It has pictures of all of them in it. )

Yuma: It was Azusa’s idea. Right, Azusa?

Azusa: Yeah...I figured that if you had an album with our pictures...you’d be able to remember us even when we’re far apart.

Yui: I didn’t know you guys took so many pictures together...Ah, there’s ones with me as well. 

Azusa: Of course. You’re part of our family as well...remember?

Yui: Azusa-kun...Thank you. I guess that makes it a family album, huh?

Azusa: Yeah. So...There’s pictures of Karlheinz-sama as well.

Ruki: !

Azusa: Look, over here. ...We never took many pictures with him, so there’s only one.

Kou: Fufu. When I look at it now, it looks like a picture of a dad with his four sons, it’s a little embarrassing. 

Yuma: I mean, we kind of are, right? Aren’t we, Ruki? 

Ruki: ...

Yui: ...Ruki-kun...?

Azusa: Ruki...Why are you crying...?

Ruki: ...No, I’m sorry...

My bad...I need to step out for a sec.

ー Ruki leaves the room

Kou: ...What a shocker! I wonder if he was so happy, it brought him to tears? Ruki-kun’s so sentimental!

Azusa: I’m glad we made it, if it made him so happy...

Yui: ( ...No, those tears just now...Those weren’t tears of joy. )

( The second he saw Karlheinz-san’s picture...His mood suddenly turned around. )

( Something happened after all. Related to Karlheinz-san... )

ー The scene shifts to the kitchen

*Pshhh*

Ruki: ( ...Get a grip. )

( I should forget about what I learnt back there. I decided I would no longer overthink things, right? Yet... )

...Damnit.

( I can’t let them find out. This is a secret I must carry to the grave with me. )

( The fact that all the misfortune we went through as children might be Karlheinz-san’s fault. )

( I won’t do something...which might ruin our current happiness. That’s why I can’t let them find out under any circumstances. )

I don’t want my family to fall apart, or to lose those dear to me...ever again. 

I must protect them. This time for sure...

( That is my duty ーー as the eldest son of this family, as their older brother. )

ー The scene shifts back to the living room

Yui: ...Ruki-kun’s taking a while. I’ll go check up on hiーー

ー Ruki returns

Ruki: My bad for leaving so suddenly. 

Kou: Hehe, were you that moved by it?

Ruki: Yes. Especially by the fact of how considerate you guys have become in regard to other people’s emotions. 

Yuma: Hah, hear him run his mouth.

Azusa: Treasure it, okay? ...Ruki.

Ruki: Of course. Thank you, Kou, Yuma, Azusa. ...I am proud to call you my younger brothers. 

Yui: ( ...Ruki-kun...I’m sure he’s bottling it all up inside. )

( Perhaps he doesn’t want anyone else to find out. However...Is that really for the best...? )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

[justrustandstardust]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

hi omg i would LOVE to answer this!!!! my list changes all the time but here is my current lineup (in no particular order).

hange zoe from attack on titan - i LOVE that they're a nonbinary afab person who is canonically a mad scientist whilst existing beyond the trope with nuance and dynamism. they're genuinely FUNNY in a way that afab people just aren't allowed to be in media.

bellatrix lestrange from harry potter: i fucking LOVE a crazy woman. a woman who just exists to be crazy and goes around killing people? i eat that shit up.

geto suguru from jjk: SUCH A WELL-WRITTEN ANTAGONIST. his moral compass is subverted so it ends up being the very thing that pushes him down a dark path. [chef's kiss] he's also, HOT

gojo satoru from jjk: the other half of geto. he's such a deeply tragic, mournful character and the way that his constitution is so at odds with his disposition is fascinating to me. i eat up the ying/yang dynamic he has going on with geto (i definitely don't project onto gojo)

jinx from arcane: once again, i love a crazy girl. she's nuanced, she's beserk, she's complex and she's batshit crazy. i love seeing girls portrayed in ways that challenge tropes of femininity.

korede from my sister, the serial killer: such a great read, i love her dry ass sense of humour and her dynamic with her sister. she's so funny in a really deadpan way, she's full of emotion but doesn't express it, and she grapples with really relatable tensions

hercule poirot from various books: i grew up reading him because i LOVED agatha christie. he's such a wonderful representation of masculinity (he's just a little guy) and he's really nostalgic for me.

katie from kira-kira: i read this in my elementary school years and it was one of the first times i saw my experiences as an asian immigrant reflected in a book. her character, and her relationship to her older sister, moved me to tears (i have a thing for sisters)

cristina yang from grey's anatomy: she challenged everything that was established about asian women on television. i loved her spirit, her ferocity, her caustic nature and how she was unapologetically herself.

villanelle from killing eve: another crazy woman, but simultaneously deeply complex and nuanced. seeing her in scenes is literally drugs. i love her dynamic with eve (i have a thing for narrative foils) but she's also an outstanding, unpredictable character

thanks so much for your ask! i definitely rambled but i'll take any opportunity to talk about my favourite medias

[kazoosandfannypacks]

Emma's First Perfect Christmas- CUT CONTENT!

As I write, I end up cutting out a lot of dialogue and scenes, throwing them in a special place I like to call "the cryochamber" to save them to use later. It's later, so here's some dialogue, scenes, and other tidbits that, while I dearly loved, ultimately didn't make the final cut in my Christmas fic for @booksteaandtoomuchtv, Emma's First Perfect Christmas.

Thanksgiving dinner at the Charming’s farmhouse was over. Henry and Killian were in the kitchen washing dishes, little Neal was taking an afternoon nap, and Emma sat in the living room with Mary Margaret, David, and Regina. “I think this one’s been our best Thanksgiving yet.” David said. “Dad,” Emma said, “this is only our third Thanksgiving together.” “So?” “It’s not like there’s a lot to compare it against.” Emma shrugged. “But it was a lovely meal.” “Thank you.” Regina and David both said at the same time. There was a moment’s pause, and Mary Margaret spoke up. “So, David and I were discussing… now that we don’t have any crises we’re facing, and since we’ve finally got Thanksgivings down, wouldn’t now be a great time to start, I don’t know, celebrating another holiday?” “What did you have in mind?” Regina asked. “Christmas?” Mary Margaret suggested . Emma bit her lip, hoping Regina would be the bad guy again for a moment and shoot down the idea. “That sounds like a lovely idea!” Regina looked up at Emma. “We’ve got quite a few years of Christmases with our son to catch up on.” “We’ve missed out on quite a few with our daughter too.” David and Mary Margaret. “I’m not a little kid anymore.” Emma said. “You guys don’t have to make up for everything I missed out on as a kid.” “It’s not just that.” Mary Margaret said. “There’s so many traditions and moments and memories that we could be having.” “Christmas is the closest thing to magic this land has outside of Storybrooke.” Regina said. “What would be a better place to celebrate it?”

Christmas had never meant much to Emma Swan. She’d been in the system for half her Christmases, and even when she had a family at Christmas, she still couldn’t catch the Christmas spirit. She was thankful that Storybrooke seemed oblivious to Christmas- it hadn’t been celebrated in twenty eight cursed years, and it’s hard to create new traditions and memories when you’re constantly under threat from the baddie of the week.

“Maybe some simple decorations,” she said. “Some garland and a tree, stockings by the fire,” “You hang up socks?" “And then fill them with candy.” Emma laughed. “You’ll like it, trust me. And mistletoe over the doorframe.” “Missile-what now?” “It’s like a magic plant.” Emma said. “Tradition says that you have to kiss whoever’s standing underneath.” Killian smiled and raised an eyebrow. “I love Christmas.” “I think I might love it this year too.” Emma said. She let herself hope a little more, dream of what a perfect Christmas would look like. “We’ll eat dinner with my parents on Christmas Eve, and come home and fall asleep by the light of the tree.” “You have trees that glow at Christmas?”

"Okay." Henry said, then shifted his eyes to look at Killian. "Did you ever do anything like this in the Enchanted Forest?" "Did we ever drive into the woods during a snowstorm to bring back a tree to decorate?" Killian asked. "Of course not!" He noticed a touch of disappointment in Henry's face at his dismissive reply and knew he'd better come up with something. "But I do recall, back when my brother and I were..." he paused a little, not wanting to cast a pall on the moment, "before we joined the navy. One day when I was younger, I spent a week bedridden. I awoke each day while sick to find an extra half ration of food on the floor by my hammock. Liam said it must've been left by the fairies, so I could build up my energy and recover- I didn't believe him for a second, but he went to elaborate steps to prove it to me, even leaving a 'bed' for the fairies- an old sock, but who was to tell the difference- and a 'tree' to give them shade- a large splinter from an old crate, but surely the fairies knew better."

"Rule number one- just because a lady can carry her weight doesn't mean she should have to."  Emma crossed her arms. "Life advice from Mr. Old Fashioned over here?"  "That's Captain Old Fashioned to you, love." He smiled back at her. "And we want to do this for you."  "You do so much for us, mom." Henry added. "We're doing this for you." Killian smiled at Henry and nodded proudly.  "Alright." Emma said.

"You look a little cold." she said.  He felt more than just a little cold, but tried to play it cool instead.  "Do I?"  His attempts to play it cool almost felt lukewarm- but her response was hot.

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[lotuslol]

Guys! I figured out why angels are the way they are!!!

They are multi-dimentional beings!

They exist in all directions of themselves at the same time

Like an electron cloud

Electrons move fast from one position to the other around the atom so much that they form a "cloud", but it's only one or a few electrons.

That's why the high ranks of heaven are all eyes and wings! They "radiate" their existence from all their "body" (whatever their body is! Which I suggest is the same material that makes stars, high energy and gravity!)

Also, angels and saints (and spirits) are, in my theory, made of the same material as stars but in a more atomized version of them, that's why we can't see them!

But, because they exist, they can materialize and meet people by concentrating their gravitational force and particles to take forms appealing to the people they need to meet to help or tell a message.

The difference between our spirits and the spirits of the saints is how much "power" they have as they are closer to God.

The closer you are to the source of all energy, I guesa you have better hold and mastery on your gravity and particles.

The amazing part is...that all of this has a will of its own!

It reminds me of Issac Azimov's "the last question" story, where he envisioned God (as I came out of my reading, you don't have to agree) as a computer system that kept expanding and expanding until it had its own intelligence to remake the universe again!

What if...spirits exist as these computers like...they different computer sets, but in a very very dispersed and small scale that we can't see, advanced technology that we are yet to discover and deal with and ONLY can deal with when our "energy" escapes our physical form!

Which...is all overwhelming if it was true! So much that my mind feels like exploding!

I thank God we don’t have access to this knowledge...yet, because it blew my mind so bad it is soup until I asked God to help me collect it :D

Imagine if that concept is difficult to us, as humans advanced in knowledge, how much more overwhelming ot must have been to our ancestors!

And if it was...it makes you wonder what was Adam's actual fault?

What did he do when he and Eve "ate" from the "tree"? What did he and her knew more than us (being so connected to God) that made their seemingly small decision make them lose everything? What boundary did their freewill decide to break so bad while they felt the consequences coming but decided to push anyway?

Why the knowledge of good and evil? Is it because Adam, a like-god being, with this "knowledge", could make the decisions to do good and evil?

....what was "evil" before we as humans came to be? Was it different? What shape did it take? Can we feel it? But even if we feel it, can we recognize it?

And what actually is that "knowledge"? ...Do evil people know they are commiting evil, or they just think this is the way of the world? What if knowledge meant access to recognition? What if it meant something more that made sense to Adam and Eve and the first humans more than us today?

What did we lose when we lost contact with God over thousands and thousands of years? What do people in heaven know better than us in their limited forms?

Aaaaaaand now, I can go back to my life :D which is not the best right now, but it will be better in the future, as it has always been.

[twomanyideas]

Santu Claus is Coming to Town

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404 @becausewritingshouldbefun January 2023 Challenge Prompt: New Beginnings Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu, Sting x Rogue, Lyon x Erza (mentioned) AO3 | Ch 1 | Next: Ch 2

Summary: It's the most wonderful time of the year... supposedly. Natsu, in his absence, has taken Gray's Christmas spirit with him, and an unfortunate event from Rogue's childhood has him dreading the holiday altogether. Needless to say, they're not particularly excited about attending their Aunt Ur's annual Christmas eve party. But the night turns out to be full of surprises, making it one they certainly won't be forgetting anytime soon.

Chapter 1: Santa Bring My Bastard Back to Me

Christmas had always been Gray’s favorite holiday. That often surprised people, given he wasn’t exactly the most cheerful person to be around, but there was just something in the air that never failed to lift his spirits.

But this year was different, and while he hadn’t yet reached ‘Bah, humbug’ levels of bitterness, he was skirting fairly close.

The reason was simple. 

Natsu, his childhood best friend and boyfriend, had gotten himself stuck on another fucking continent with no chance of getting home before Christmas. And yeah, Gray knew all too well that he was being unreasonable for feeling this way. It wasn’t Natsu’s fault they’d canceled all flights out of Rivera because of a massive snowstorm.

But after five years of only being able to see each other on the occasional weekend and during school breaks, Gray had been looking forward to spending more time together now that he was back home. Instead, they both got swept up by work. Gray was lucky enough to have landed an entry level position at an architectural firm soon after he'd graduated, and while Natsu still worked for his dad, he’d gotten promoted last year. Now he traveled along with Igneel for work so often, it felt like Gray saw him even less than before.

Was spending Christmas together really too much to ask?

“Please tell me that’s not what you’re planning to wear to your aunt’s party.” 

Gray looked up to find his mother frowning at him. It took a minute for her words to pierce through his self pity, but when they did, it just added to his misery.

He’d completely forgotten all about his aunt’s Christmas Eve party.

“I don’t suppose there’s any way I could just stay home?” he asked. The last thing he felt like doing was feigning cheer at a loud family party.

“If he’s not going, then I’m not either,” his younger brother Rogue said as he plopped down on the sofa next to him, destroying any chance Gray might have had of his mother taking pity on him. The smug look Rogue flashed him let him know the bastard knew it, too.

Great. Thanks a lot, half-pint.

“You're both going, and that’s final. Now, go change into something a little more festive,” Mika directed, putting her hands on her hips as she looked back and forth between Gray’s sweatpants and Rogue's all black getup. “How about those Christmas sweaters I bought you?” 

Gray touched a hand to his forehead. “Will you look at that? I think I have a fever. I must be coming down with something.”

“Yeah, me too.” Rogue said, faking a cough.

“Oh come on guys, it’ll be fun,” their mother badgered as she paced to the kitchen and back, gathering all the food she was bringing to the party. “This is the first time in a long while the whole family will be together. Even Ultear made it.”

That touched a nerve. What was she talking about? The whole family would not be there.

Besides, what did Gray care if Ultear and her asshole husband had graced them with their presence when Natsu wasn’t around to make fun of them?

“Wow. Nice, mom.” Rogue rolled his eyes and sighed.

“What?” She paused, her eyes widening as she finally realized her mistake. “Oh honey, I’m sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Gray grumbled, even though it did kind of hurt that she’d forgotten Natsu’s absence so easily. You’d think she’d notice. The guy had only been terrorizing their pantry since they were ten, and they’d been a couple since his freshman year of college.   

He got up from the sofa and headed off to his room to change into something his mother wouldn’t give him a hard time over. Rogue followed, looking about as thrilled as he felt. Gray doubted either of them would be wearing those Christmas sweaters. 

It took some searching, but he found a shirt that was ironed and wouldn't have him sweat to death. He’d just located a clean pair of pants when the doorbell rang, soon followed by the elated sounds of his mother greeting their visitor.

He knew it couldn’t be Natsu. He hadn’t rung their doorbell since he was twelve, just made his way in through whatever door was open. Even so, Gray couldn’t quite silence the part of him that desperately hoped his boyfriend had somehow made it home in time.

He quickly finished dressing and went back downstairs, skipping the last steps when he caught the sounds of someone rummaging through the fridge. For a second, he truly believed he’d find Natsu grabbing the makings of one of his monstrous sandwiches with whatever leftovers he could find, but his mother shattered that illusion before Gray could even come out to see for himself.

“For God’s sake Sting, get out of my fridge,” she complained, “I swear you’re as bad as Natsu!”

“Lay off him, Mika, he’s sixteen. You know better than anyone that teen boys are always hungry,” his father snickered, tossing Sting an apple from the fruit basket that sat on the counter.

“Thanks, Mr. F!” Sting inhaled the apple while peering into the multiple shopping bags full of food and drink Mika had lined up, no doubt studying their contents and making a mental list of what he was going to eat first. 

“Are you sure you’re bringing enough?” Silver glanced at Mika as she packed a box with as many bottles of wine as she could safely fit. 

Mika stopped what she was doing and gazed at Silver worriedly. “Do you think I should bring more?” 

Gray had never figured out whether his mom was really oblivious to his father’s sarcasm or whether she just enjoyed playing dumb. Either way, he rarely got a rise out of her.

“I think we should go.” 

“Not yet. We’re waiting for the boys.” 

“Gray still moping around?” 

“I am not moping, I’ll have you know,” Gray said, entering the kitchen before his parents got too comfortable talking about him. “Of course,” he sighed, taking in Rogue’s best friend and his ridiculous Christmas elf costume, complete with red suspenders, bells on his hat, and even bells on his bright green shoes. Of course he would, and of course it would have been Sting. Gray had been a fool to think otherwise. The guy practically lived at their house, hanging around his brother like the two couldn’t function without each other for longer than a day. 

And speak of the devil, Gray heard his brother coming down the stairs. He turned to look, fully expecting some sort of passive aggressive move to protest having to change, but for once, it looked like Rogue had actually put in some effort. 

While he was still wearing the black jeans, he’d found a clean white button-down shirt to go with them, and he’d even tied back half of his hair into a ponytail, revealing the side of his face Gray couldn't remember seeing in forever. 

“Nice!” Silver complimented him. “And perfect timing! Why don’t you help me load the car? Gray and Sting, you too.”

"Sure thing," Sting said, jingling with each step as he grabbed a couple of bags, but he knocked one of them straight into the counter when Rogue walked into the kitchen. “Ow! Hi! Sorry!” “Hey,” Rogue briefly flashed him a smile before he nodded at the bag Sting had just savaged. “Careful with that. You don't want to mess with my mom when she's full of ‘Christmas spirit’.” 

Gray snorted at that, and while his father shot them both a warning look, he didn’t disagree.

“I heard that!” Mika called out, already running around the house and turning off lights, but stopping to come at Rogue with a face that had Gray struggling to hold back his laughter. 

“My, who’s this handsome young man?” She crooned, cupping Rogue’s cheeks, and fondly gazing into his eyes as if she'd never see them both at the same time again. “Are you done?” Rogue huffed, glaring and red-faced as he let her pluck at him, taming a few rebellious strands of hair and making sure his shirt was tucked in nicely from all angles. 

“No!” she said, pulling her phone out from her jacket pocket. “You have a face. We need to take pictures.”

“What are you talking about? I always have a face.”

Now, normally Gray wasn’t a big fan of pictures, but Rogue’s hatred of them was legendary. And given how he was stuck going to this party because Rogue had opened his big mouth, he felt a little payback was in order.

“I think pictures are a great idea!” he said, mustering up as much enthusiasm as he was able, just to piss him off. “How about by the tree?”

“That’s a lovely idea, Gray!”

“How about by the tree?” Rogue mocked in what sounded absolutely nothing like Gray's voice at all, and stuck out his tongue. 

“Rogue!” Mika scolded as she ushered them all out of the kitchen. “It’ll just take a minute. Besides, I have so few pictures of you.”

“Oh, right. My bad,” Rogue said, pointedly looking at the walls, which were covered in family pictures, and at the digital frame that displayed a constant slideshow of shots. 

Gray wasted no time in standing in front of their Christmas tree, a huge Isvan pine that stretched all the way to the ceiling and took up a sizable chunk of the living room, but his smile froze as soon as a picture of him and Natsu grinning like idiots as they tried to shove a s’more into the other’s mouth popped up on the digital frame. 

He could remember that day clearly. The two of them had spent the afternoon building a firepit in the backyard for his mom. They’d broken it in that evening, roasting s’mores from their deck chairs with the rest of the family. Then, after everyone else had gone inside, they’d stayed by the fire, kissing until–

“You know he’d be here if he could,” his father said, patting him on the shoulder and offering him a smile. 

“Yeah,” he said, still wrapped up in his boyfriend’s face and the memories of that night until the picture switched to one of him, Rogue, Ultear and Lyon on Lyon and Erza’s wedding day. 

“And Rogue, can we please get this over with? I’d like to leave soon.”

Rogue sighed long and deep–the closest to a yes that most would get from him these days–and followed their mother's instructions for the pictures she wanted. 

Seeing the discontent on Rogue’s face as he struggled to pose and smile to please their mom made it worth having to do the same thing, as well as keeping his mouth shut when he had to sit through the round of pics his mom shot of Rogue and Sting together. 

Look at that, the little bastard could actually smile after all. 

Rogue bolted as soon as she'd uttered the word “Alright,” grabbing Sting's hand and the car keys from the table.

“We’ll start loading the food.”

“Can someone please grab the presents?” Mika called out as she went to get more bags from the kitchen. 

Gray figured he might as well do that, so he quickly sorted through the tower of presents, grabbing the ones meant for his aunt’s house and placing them into boxes which he set in the entryway to be loaded along with everything else. Then he got to work arranging the remaining presents underneath the tree. 

He paused when he got to his present for Natsu. He’d bought him the usual ridiculous amount of candy and snacks, and he’d found a plush red dragon that he knew his boyfriend would go bonkers over. But the envelope the dragon was holding in its arms was his big present, and Gray couldn’t wait to see Natsu’s reaction when he opened it. 

When he’d heard of a new resort opening up on Mt. Hakobe, Gray had taken advantage of their introductory specials to book them a four-night stay. Then he’d gone a little crazy with the extras: tickets to their onsen, a one-hour couple's massage, lift tickets and equipment rentals, and passes to their indoor water park.

Yet for as much fun as all those sounded, it was the thought of having Natsu to himself for those four nights that thrilled him the most. They’d finally get to try out all the things they never got to do because they both lived with their parents.

He put the present down along with the others, trying very hard not to think about how much he’d wanted to give it to him tonight. 

“Oh good, you’re still here,” his mom said as she entered the room, dragging a box behind her. “Can you please take this to the car for me? I can finish up here.”

“Yeah, sure.” Gray peered at the contents before picking the box up carefully to keep from breaking any of the bottles. “That’s a lot of liquor.”

“Tis the season,” Mika smiled, grabbing presents and rearranging them to her liking.

Fair point. He was definitely planning on having more than a few drinks. He left her to it and carried the precious cargo to the car.

It wasn’t long before they’d filled up the trunk completely and were strapped into their seatbelts, each of them carrying something on their lap that didn’t fit in the back. 

“Will your father be joining us later?” Mika asked Sting once they’d backed out of their driveway.

“Yeah, he just sent me ahead cause he said I was driving him nuts.”

“Wow, shocker,” Gray muttered under his breath, earning himself a glare from both Rogue and his mother. Sting, however, gave no sign he’d heard him.

His Aunt Ur’s house was visible from a distance. She’d always put up lots of decorations, but it looked like she’d kicked things up a notch this year. Huge inflatables and dancing animatronics covered every inch of her front yard, and how she wasn’t causing a town-wide power outage with the amount of lights strung about basically everywhere was a mystery. 

Ahead of them, cars slowed down as they passed the house, while others parked and got out to examine the display up close. The whole spectacle caused them to have to park further than expected, which wasn't helping Gray’s mood in the slightest, seeing as his mother had laden him down with boxes to take inside. 

As he got closer, he discovered the animatronics played music, too. It literally looked like someone had thrown up Christmas on his aunt’s lawn. And was that a dragon?

God, if Natsu were here, he’d fucking love this. Gray could almost hear his excited cries as he oohed and aahed over every little thing. Come to think of it, shouldn’t Sting be doing the same thing right about now? He glanced over to see Sting was indeed taking in the spectacle, but he wasn’t bouncing on his feet with excitement like Gray expected him to. He was just sort of gaping at it, not a thought behind those blue eyes. “I might lose you in there,” Rogue joked, flicking the bauble replacing Sting’s regular stud earring. “You blend right in.” Gray watched Sting nearly jump out of his skin, trip over his own feet and almost drop the box of presents he was holding. Thank God it wasn’t the liquor. “Stupid shoes,” Sting laughed nervously. 

Yeah, the shoes… real smooth, Sting. Gray peered over at his brother to see what he thought of this bullshit, but the idiot looked none the wiser. As he followed his father to the front door, he could only hope that he and Natsu hadn’t been this lame.

“Uncle Silver, Gray!” Ultear opened the door before they could ring the doorbell. “Come in. We’ve been waiting for you guys.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. We had to park kind of far.” 

They filed in, moving out of the way so the others could come inside. Ultear greeted them all with enthusiasm.

“Isn’t it wild?! It’s been like that all day. Someone even left a donation earlier,” she laughed. 

Gray was happy to see his cousin, but he was more interested in putting the boxes down somewhere, so he made his way into the kitchen, following the sound of laughter set to a backdrop of Christmas music. 

He counted no less than three fully decorated trees on his way there, and even though he still wished Natsu was by his side, he could feel the Christmas spell start to grab hold of him.

0-0

A/N: Well we're back with a new story and our first official collaboration for the year! This one, like most of our stories, started out as a drabble and now looks absolutely nothing like the original idea. 🤣

We had a lot of fun creating a world for them to inhabit (and we wonder why things grow outside of our control) and might revisit it at some point. You never know.

If you like it, let us know! If you have any questions about this world, ask us. You have no idea how much background we create for even the simplest story. Seriously, it's a problem!

Anyhow we hope you enjoy this first chapter, and know that the following three are already written. We'll upload them as we edit them and we plan to start on the last one in the next day or two. So bright side, we hopefully won't leave you hanging for the conclusion!