#Yet I think Lily's is more crazier

[creampiepuff]

I'm about to make my PC's backstory batshit crazy

[theplatypusblue]

Okokok dragons rising s2p2 REWATCH thingy it’s mostly me noticing small details and shit I missed the first time. Ramble-y at points lol

Many many big spoilers below (also it’s long)

Ok so like….. first episode it gets established that all the dragon tribes fall under the jurisdiction of each of the source dragons…. Neato. More world building shenanigans

WYLDFYRE PEAK YIPPEE. Nya said Lloyd was helping her with her precision, and there’s this really cute animation moment where’s she’s firing her flames like she’s shooting a gun lol

Ok so like Frak taught Arin how to make Merlopian Berry Crème pie…. Frak is merlopian question mark(?) (I don’t think it makes sense timeline wise lol don’t listen to me)

I like the scene of Zane training it reminds me a little bit of that scene from all the back in s1 where’s he’s just tuning everybody out

So like the tournament thingy takes place at the same spot as that flashback with Wu and Bonzle in season 1 (maybe?) I wonder why Wu was hanging out there so long ago lol. (I mean lily might have been at the last one too but like who knows)

ROBY PEAK!!!! My only issue with him and Bleckt is that I wish the writers would’ve really hammed up the comedy between the two. Made them just completely unserious. Would’ve made Bleckts betrayal a little more impactful maybe. (Imagine a bunch of goofy cartoony gags between the two, only for the eventual reveal that bleckt actually genuinely wants roby dead. Woulda been crazier)

Ok so seven headed source dragon thingy. It’s either symbolism like roby said or we are eventually gonna build up to an ultra-dragon adjacent situation. Somehow. Idk how. But maybe it would be cool

Ok random thought. I think it’s pretty clear at this point that elemental powers come from and are associated w the source dragons. You can extrapolate the connections (fire and heat come from motion, plants is probably from life, etc). I think you can remedy the whole “the new elemental powers are stupid” thing by thinking about them more as the elements of the source they are associated with , rather than elemental powers in the traditional sense of our world (If that distinction makes sense lol idk how to explain it non-stupidly. It’s just a matter of framing)

That being said, I really like zant-tanz lol I think it’s his voice teehee. Silly whimsical snail man. Shame he had to get kicked out but then again…. He had some rock stacking to do at home

Ok ok ok I think some parts of the Jay fight are kinda lame (“and I will always hate you” 🙄) but things make more sense from jays perspective I think. Imagine you’re coming from a place where everyone devalued ur individuality and didn’t care abt you as a person, and then you come to this tournament where ur opponent (who ur literally fighting against in this ~tournament~) suddenly starts telling you you’re the love of their life n stuff (and ur also being manipulated but besides that even). I would also just assume that they’re being weird and try to kick their ass.

“Not sure I can pull it off… it’s arriving too soon” what exactly was Wu trying to pull off lol? crazy theory time 100% NOT real NOT going to happen: Wu is trying to bring someone (I’m betting his dad) back from the dead, cuz like departed realm shenanigans and the merge maybe. But we also don’t really know how departed realm stuff works yet, so there’s not much we can extrapolate from there. Idk.

I’m sorry but I always think it’s really cool when cinder bounces people around like a basketball teehee. He’s a very fun character to watch during fights.

Similar-ish point to my Jay spiel from 2 seconds ago but like. Arin’s convo w Frak abt how shatterspin is super evil actually makes me laugh a little bit. Cuz Arins going on about like “oh dude it ~~shatters your goodness~~ you can’t ever do shatterspin” and internally Frak is like “is this guy actually fr” lmao. On my first watch through I was literally like “Arin stop you sound so fucking brainwashed rn” shfjfjjfkfkgkgla

Ok ok so Ras wanted all the elemental powers so he could get a dragon icon somehow…. Lloyd just got his gifted to him tho. (Might be another matter of force vs harmony — you can either do all the hard work to get all the powers and make ur own icon, or the source dragons will just like. Give you an icon. If ur cool enough or whatever)

Dragon Ivory stores powers, dragon horns can give u power but then they make u angry or smthn… dragon ivory can also be used to communicate w the nether space….... hhhrrrnnngg dragon lore im trying to make it make sense in my brain hrrrnngg

Frak is so nice and respectful he’s such a good guy lol (I have to DRAW HIM. Being COOL. Because he IS. I’ll get to it eventually)

Small nitpick but like. The way the tournament is organized kinda makes no sense….. cuz all the plot relevant fights involving the ninja happen at the beginning, so they’ve been in multiple fights and get multiple powers. Then there’s a montage of them fighting other elemental masters who only have one power. So the whole thing is actually completely unbalanced and unfair. Turns out Roby does suck at organizing tournaments lol

God that one shot of nokt running at the camera hunting the arc dragon is so fucking perfect the colors are just mmmmmmhhhh so good I gotta redraw it I gotta redraw it so baddddddddhhhhhhhhhh

Ohhhhh the final couple of fights the composition and the coreography were sooooo good we are backkkkkk we are soooooooooo backkkkkkkkkkk

TLDR: I remember it being good and then I rewatched it and it was still good. Yayyyyyyyy

[lookingforsneha]

Listening to Starman by David Bowie and sobbing because I keep on imagining Remus at 19/20 not being able to listen to it anymore, because it's haunting him with all he's lost.

And the third verse makes me even more depressy:

I had to phone someone, so I picked on you

Don't imagine Remus healing, having a good day, and by habit wanting to tell Sirius about it, realising he can't. Because Sirius betrayed them.

Hey, that's far out, so you heard him too

Don't think about him going through the grieving process and thinking he's going insane. He keeps hearing James and Lily, playing with Harry. He keeps hearing baby Harry's little giggles. He breaks when he hears Sirius' voice in the mix, hating himself for missing the man that betrayed them.

Switch on the TV, we may pick him up on channel two

And he feels worse for missing the peace him and Sirius had. He can't look at their home the same- he can't watch TV without imagining Sirius curled up next to him. He can't watch anything they'd started together, because all he finds himself able to do at those episodes is just sob. He can't brush his teeth without noticing Sirius' toothbrush next to his (he didn't have it in him to throw it out yet). He can't wear his usual sweaters anymore because the thought of Sirius stealing them is too overwhelming. And when he does get himself to pack all the old stuff away because he can't look at it anymore, he still can't sit on the couch without feeling the emptiness and the coldness of the air next to him, like something is clearly missing. The house is haunted with their memories, quite like how Remus' mind is. You can't tell me Remus didn't miss Sirius, the same way you can't tell me he didn't hate himself for it.

Look out your window, I can see his light

Don't imagine Remus, missing his friends to the point where he thinks he can see them. And he knows he's imagining them, he knows hes going crazy, but it's comforting to think he sees them sometimes, in the shadows or in the silhouettes in street lights. It's comforting to think he isn't alone, and the thought of being entirely alone would make him go crazier.

Don't imagine Remus losing everyone he knows, losing his best friends, his baby nephew (Harry), and the love of his life all at once.

And don't imagine him losing his favorite songs on top of it.

Do yourself a favour and just don't imagine Remus at age 19/20.

[lesbiancharliedalton]

ok sorry much like my dps phase which is much more serious and all-encompassing and genuine, once a year i also start thinking about the musical annie for some reason which i hate aside from the villains. and i have to say i'm confused by the moral of the story. like the guy who made the original comic strip was like a severe nutjob i know he would have had the most INSANE twitter of all time like he would be even crazier than the dilbert guy. he was like insanely anti-FDR and a complete right-wing nutjob who killed off oliver warbucks at some point bc he said the american dream was dead because of what FDR was doing to the country ahhfhdshfdshhfsdhhs which is so fucking funny but ANYWAY.

i'm confused as to what the message is supposed to be bc his deal is that like. warbucks was rich because he EARNED all his money he was the ultimate bootstrap guy he made all of his money through HARD WORK and his BUSINESS ACUMEN and ended up hoarding billions of dollars during the great depression which is just proof that the free market works and he definitely is in the right for hoarding his cash whatever anyway not gonna get into this right now.

but anyway. so like ok. he's good bc he earned his wealth through Hard Work and Dedication and he pulled himself up by his bootstraps or whatever. miss hannigan lily and rooster are bad because they want to take the easy way out. but then where does annie come into this. literally all she did was get randomly chosen. she didn't fucking work hard. she did nothing she's fucking 10. but yet we're supposed to think that she earned all of this somehow even though she didn't do anything. fuck them all for real

[jmagnabo92]

Letters to Harry part 1

These letters were written by Sirius during 5th year and Harry finds them after traveling back in time on accident.  So little snippet from then.  

Sirius and Harry Saturday (even if Saturday has not started yet).

***

Dear Harry,

           I’m sorry that I wasn’t as focused as I should’ve been this year, if I had been, I could’ve told you these stories in person, but as I wrote before, I have this feeling that we won’t have time in the future.  It had taken an attack last summer for Dumbledore to move you to the Headquarters, and Dumbledore had only allowed you to come to my house for the holidays because of what happened to Arthur.  I have this awful feeling that he doesn’t think I should be around you. That’s the real reason I gave you the mirror that I forgot to remind you about, and that’s the real reason that I didn’t tell you what it was in front of everyone.  I just have this sense that someone would tell Dumbledore and he would take it away.  

           Anyway, I know that I was telling you the story of our Hogwarts years, but I was thinking about you today, about when you were born.  Even when Lily had discovered she was pregnant with you. James had gone out to the store, and Lily and I were home alone.  I had my own place, but I was more at home with James and Lily.  We were all living in Potter Manor in the summer of ’79 (even after the marriage in December of ’78), but after losing your grandparents, James and I, we couldn’t live there anymore, it felt…wrong.  So, we – they – moved to a different property, more of a cabin or cottage on the outskirts of a lovely wizarding village in Wales.  

           Back to what I was saying, James was out, and Lily was nauseous for weeks after Halloween.  It was early December, which was why Lily tried to hide that she was still sick. Anyway, she had obviously been suspecting something, and I found her sitting on the ledge of the tub in the bathroom staring at the muggle pregnancy stick (apparently, she preferred the muggle tests), completely shocked.  

           It hadn’t taken long for her to tell me that she was pregnant, and she was so worried that James and I wouldn’t be happy, but we were.  Of course, we were also scared, the idea of bringing a child into a world full of war was terrifying, but we couldn’t wait to meet you. Although excited, and happy about a new baby, James fainted when we told him.  I didn’t let him live it down for weeks.  By Christmas, he was going out to the store and buying all sorts of things for you.  We had Christmas presents for you before you were even born.  

           I know that you …haven’t known love or that we loved you before because of the Dursleys, but I want you to know that we did love you, I still love you more than anything.  I know that I’ve never said it, it just didn’t feel right to say in front of other people, and no one lets me be alone with you… but I love you so much.  You’ve always been our little prongslet – although Lily preferred ‘fawn’ – and I preferred ‘pup’, especially now, I think that if you were going to become an Animagus you’d be dog more than a deer.  If only because despite your leadership skills, you prefer to blend in rather than stand out.  

           Damn it, I hear Molly yelling for me.  I swear it’s like she comes here just to drive me crazier than I already am.

           Look, pup, I love you, you’re my son, godson, whatever.  You’re the only family I have left, and I just want you to know that you mean the world to me.  

           I’ll write again, soon.

           Always, Sirius

[someonefantastic]

I'm Gonna Give You All My Heart Can Give

Welcome one and all to the first day of psychmas! Find the prompts here. I had fun writing this one, I always love doing narratives and especially ones on Juliet. Hope y'all enjoy! Summary: Juliet O'Hara has spent four Christmases with Shawn and Gus since moving to San Fransisco. Each one is memorable for different reasons. Prompt: Gifts also on ao3 ___

The first Christmas since moving to San Francisco is quiet and calm. It’s just her, Shawn, and Gus. All three of them had traveled to Santa Barbara a few days before to have a Christmas party with the Lassiter’s and Henry and as much fun as that was, she’s thankful to be spending Christmas alone with her fiancé and his best friend.

She’s the last one to get her gift. Gus had gone first, receiving noise-canceling headphones from her and pretending not to see Shawn’s smug face or hear his comments about needing them later. Shawn had given him a detailed map of all the best food places in San Francisco along with the promise that he’d drop anything and go with him whenever he asked.

Shawn had absolutely loved the shiny wrapping paper that she used, spending more time playing with that than actually opening up the present but she didn’t mind. The look on his face as he unwrapped a black hoodie with the words “psychphrancisco” written in red was more than enough to make up for it. And he nearly cried at Gus’ gift, a signed certificate from both Chief Vick and Chief Lassiter thanking them for their consulting services over the past eight years.

Finally, it’s her turn. Gus hands her a small red wrapped box and she bursts into a huge grin upon opening it. It’s a small framed photo of the three of them, plus Carlton, taken during one of their first post case celebratory hangouts. Their faces are younger, less worn by time and stress but the signs of friendship and that underlying bond is very prevalent.

And then Shawn silently slides her another box. The wrapping screams “Gus”. It’s blue with white snowflakes, a gold ribbon down the middle, tied into a bow. The edges are neat and straight and she can barely see the small bits of tape holding the package together. But the gift inside is clearly from Shawn.

It’s two pictures, side by side on one sheet of paper, she and Shawn drawn out in beautiful detail and adorned with watercolor. In one they’re standing in front of their old house in Santa Barbara and the other in front of their loft’s entrance in San Francisco. Her hair is longer in the second picture, a sign of time past but their smiles are all the same, just happy to be together. Below in beautiful letters, swooping and scrawling- a skill that she knows he picked up from his dad- is written: “Home is Wherever You Are”.

Her breath catches in her throat, tears pricking in the corner of her eyes and they threaten to spill over when she notices the glinting ring on her left hand in the second picture. It’s a little artist’s touch- after all the real ring had been stolen- but it makes her heart swell with emotion.

Shawn places his hand on her knee, squeezing slightly and she beams at him. He gives her a lopsided grin and she notes just how cute he is. She’s so glad to be engaged to him.

The second Christmas in San Francisco is a little larger and a little crazier. The Lassiters, Vicks, and Henry all cram into their loft, Christmas music playing and conversation ringing throughout. She loves having a big Christmas, after all, it’s what she grew up with, but a small part of her mourns the loss of it being just the three of them. She also wishes she was actually married this Christmas but that’s something she’ll never tell anyone.

The gift exchange is hectic, with multiple people scrambling and opening their boxes. There’s a lot that she can’t quite recall but she will never forget the look on Iris’ face as she unwraps Juliet’s gift. A soccer ball. It’s white with pink and black stripes and nearly takes out a lamp or two but Iris makes her pinky swear that she’ll take her to go play a match sometime.

This time, Shawn’s gift to her is wrinkled, the wrapping paper sticking out on the edges and massive pieces of tape holding the whole thing together. He clearly wrapped it and the image of him wrestling with paper and tape is enough to make her smile. It’s a small heater for her office as she’d been complaining about the cold atmosphere for weeks now. She’s touched that he would think of something to make her life a little better but that’s just who Shawn is, always listening and meeting her needs. (She’s a little disappointed, however, that it’s not an engagement ring.)

Juliet would never consider herself a resentful person but by the time the third Christmas rolls around, she’s a bit peeved. Her and Shawn are no closer to being married. In fact, he seems to actually be going backwards in their relationship. She’s caught him a few times slipping and calling her his “girlfriend” instead of “fiancée” and she’s spent way too much time wondering if he’ll ever actually be ready to be married. She loves him regardless and thinks that if he ever decides that he doesn’t want to get married, she’ll stay but it’s exhausting having no clue what he’s thinking.

They go to Santa Barbara for this Christmas, spending it in the Lassiter’s house along with Henry and Gus. (The Vick’s decided to spend Christmas in Detroit with Karen’s family.) Shawn makes a joke about sneaking off into his old bedroom and she has to gently remind him that that’s now Lily’s room and there will be no sneaking off tonight.

He pouts for a minute and then Carlton announces that they’re opening up gifts and his attention is elsewhere. She loves it when his eyes light up like that.

He bagged his gift this year. It’s a plain red bag with way too much tissue paper but he’s smiling so big that she’s very distracted from the packaging anyways.

Inside is a hair dryer. The exact make and model as the one on her Christmas list. It’s sweet and practical and exactly what she wanted. And yet… there’s a small part of her that is a little sad. She’d grown so accustomed to his thoughtful gifts that were slightly out of the box in his own quirky way. But she later reprimands herself for thinking that way. At least she got a gift from him. At least he was so kind as to get her something she wanted. At least she has him. It’s not too bad, and sure it’s no engagement ring or mindful gift but having him should be enough. So why does she feel like she’s nearing her breaking point?

Their fourth Christmas together is much, much different. It’s just the three of them again but this time… this time there’s a silver band on her left hand, the diamond glinting every time it catches a stream of light.

She had worried for weeks leading up to December that this Christmas was going to be just like the last ones, another year of engagement with no ring, no sign of commitment from Shawn. But he had surprised her, like he always did, with the best gift of all. They had done it, actually gotten married, standing on that pier. She was bruised and battered, they hadn’t slept in hours and their officiant was a criminal. It was unconventional all right but she wouldn’t change it for the world.

This Christmas she was spending it with her husband. The word still made her giddy and she didn’t know if she’d ever grow tired of referring to Shawn as that. She certainly hoped she wouldn’t.

They’re huddled around the Christmas tree, all three of them decked out in matching red flannel pajamas- Shawn’s idea. Gus comments for the third time that day (and probably the twentieth time since they got married) that he’s going to move out soon, give the newlyweds some space but she just shakes her head, placing a hand on his knee and telling him that he can stay as long as he needs. He is family after all.

Shawn nearly chucks his gift at Gus who in turn shoots him a dirty look. The expression quickly falls, however, when he unwraps it. It’s a beautiful portrait of the three of them sitting on the couch and laughing at a movie. Shawn grins, nudging Gus’ arm, and tells him how even when he moves out, he’ll always be family and more than welcome. She wholeheartedly agrees.

He grabs her gift next, it’s small and flat but a grin bursts across his face as he opens it. A Wonder Woman comic sits in his hands- the first comic they ever bought together- its cover signed by Gal Godot herself. She doesn’t tell him that she waited three hours in line to get that signed or went to 18 different comic book shops to find that specific issue. Inside is a note card from Juliet telling him how much she appreciates his friendship and Shawn has to gingerly take the comic book away from him before he bursts into tears.

And when he hugs them both, she doesn’t mind his sobbing or the slight awkwardness of the embrace. Instead, she thinks that part of her is going to miss living with her husband’s best friend- no- her brother-in-law.

Gus’s gift to her is equally as sweet. It’s a coin, carved with the words Detective Juliet O’Hara-Spencer, and she wonders when he had time to add that last bit or if he had known all along. Regardless, she’s just thankful to share something so special with him.

Shawn slides her his gift after she finishes thanking Gus, a small dopey smile on his face. The wrapping is neater this year but it still points out at the occasional odd angle and too much tape was involved. She gasps as she unwraps it, revealing a green snuggie- the perfect excuse for warm cuddles. It’s soft against her skin and she immediately slips her arms into it, allowing the fabric to encase her small frame. It’s a bit large and he waggles his eyebrows as he tells her it’s made for two. Even if it wasn’t, they’d surely find a way to share it.

Hours later, when they’re all piled onto the couch watching Gremlins, the snuggie wrapped around her and Shawn, she thinks this is the best Christmas in San Francisco yet.

[pandoraimperatrix]

Two Names For Change

Gotham | BatCat | Four Names ‘Verse | Two Shots | Read on AO3

Summary: First he was threatening her all the time with a proposal and now she actually wants one he seems to forget he ever wanted to marry her in the first place. People say that women are hard to understand. They never dated Bruce Wayne.

This is an introductory piece for the actual sequel. The sequel will tell Jason’s story so you can expect angst, this introductory piece however will be pure sugar sprinkled candyfloss cavity inducing fluff.

It got too big so I had to break it in two parts which was nice since I used it to expose myself as a Fairy Tale nerd. Thanks to my mutuals on Twitter for the incentive and Lily for helping me with the title.

Enjoy.

 Two Names For Change

Part I – Restoration

 "When they found that she was a Princess born, there was another burst of joy, which was almost the death of them; but when she told them the names of the King and Queen, her father and mother, they recognised them as the sovereigns whose dominions they had conquered. They imparted this fact to Finette, and she immediately vowed she would not consent to marry the Prince until they had restored the estates of her father. They promised to do so, for they had upwards of a hundred kingdoms, and one more or less was not worth talking about."

 - Finette Cendron by the Countess d'Aulnoy

 Selina fell next to Bruce, her heart still racing, she was panting hard. She smiled when she felt Bruce taking her hand and raising their arms over them, the blue glow of the monstrosity that Dick insisted in calling the “Batcomputer” being the only source of light in the room bouncing on their sweaty skin as their fingers laced together.

“You drained me, Cat.”

She let out a throaty laugh.

“You are tired? I did all the work myself.”

“In my defence, you do it so well, can you blame for liking to just lie down and watch?”

She snorted.

“You are such a pillow princess.” Saying that she slipped her hand from his and stood up. Bruce watched with longing and affection as she tried to make sense of the mess her hair had become, her naked form looking surreal under the penumbra of the cave.

“Let’s go to bed. The sun will rise soon.”

She turned back to him, her expression bashful.

“Sorry, B. I have to go home.”

Bruce’s soft smile fell, his jaw tense. Selina winced.

In a quick powerful motion he stood up, pulling his hair up nervously.

“I don’t get why we’re still doing this. You and Helena are here all the time.”

Guilt left Selina’s face and was substituted by annoyance.

“I already told you. I like having my own place.”

“I’m not talking about giving up your flat completely, but it’s stupid that you keep insisting in pretend that you still live there when you’re here all the time. It’s selfish. Helena doesn’t deserve to be keep being dragged from home to home.”

“Fine. She won’t. Because for now on I’ll keep that in mind and remember where we actually live.”

And she turned to leave, when she felt Bruce hug her from behind.

“No, no, no. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” His voice muffled by her hair. “I know what having your own place means to you.” Selina relaxed under him. “And it was wrong to bring Helena up, even though I stand by what I said regarding to her.” Bruce couldn’t see, but Selina bit her lip to control the pang of guilt. “I just hate that we’re not living together.”

Selina sighed and turned in his arms, Bruce’s hands left Selina’s waist and went to her face, holding her curls in place tenderly.

“I know… I’m sorry too. But as you said, I, we are here all the time.”

“It’s not the same.”

“Bruce…”

“Please? Just consider. You don’t have to say yes…” His serious demeanour cracked. “Now.”

She slapped him weakly on the chest.

“You are so full of yourself.”

“I could say the same.”

Selina’s chin fell and she closed her eyes in outrage.

“Oh my god, Bruce! Gross!”

“And yet true.” He mocked.

He could see she was having trouble trying to control the urge to laugh, her lips twitching despite her whole disgusted performance.

“That’s it. I’m leaving,” she said as they picked the parts of their scattered suits from the ground “I’m gone.” She turned back dramatically from the stairs. “And I’ll never come back!”

“Don’t forget to bring the things Dick needs for his school project when you come to dinner.”

“Shit, yes, I forgot. Thank you.” A few moments after she was back, but sadly not naked anymore. She eyed Bruce who was sitting on his ridiculously enormous chair, dressed in sweatpants, mug of espresso steaming in one hand as he worked at the computer.

“Didn’t you say you were going to sleep?” She raid running her fingers through his moist hair.

“Didn’t you say you were going home?”

“Your shower is better than mine.” She bended over to kiss him scrunching her nose at the bitter taste of coffee. “Text me later to remind me of Dick’s stuff? What is he doing again?”

“Some flying machine I think. He won’t let me help him. Hardhead.”

“Yeah, I know someone like that. But will you?”

“I’ll do better than that, I’ll text Helena.”

Selina smiled and then kissed him again. This time lasting longer, Bruce put the mug on the table so he could touch Selina, wishing they were back on the floor, with her feverish and wanton all around him.

She purred softly as they parted.

“See you later.” She whispered.

“Cat. Promise me you’ll think about it?”

Selina sighed but nodded before leaving, this time for good.

 Bruce used the rearview to spy on his kids. Helena was drooling on her hand, her head on Dick’s lap, her legs folded against her body, very uncomfortable sharing the back sit with Dick who was also asleep and Bruce could hear the hum of the earbud that had fallen one of his ears but was still hanging on one of his knotted curls. The boy was in need of a haircut. They were coming back from a weekend in Metropolis, Bruce was investigating Superman and when the kids learnt that the was going to the city they used all sorts of blackmail and schemes to go with him, in the end it became a whole family trip. He eyes then, Selina, she was looking through the pictures they took on her phone.

“I talked to Lucius about the proceedings to recognize Helena as my daughter.”

“Hmm… And you didn’t think about talking to me about it?”

“I’m doing it now.” He sighed. “I don’t want us to fight about it. I just want to give Helena what is rightful hers, including the Wayne legacy and name.”

“I know… I know… It’s just…”She hugged herself. “I was so afraid someone would take her away from me if I told them she was yours too.”

“I understand, but things are different now. We are different.” He diverted his eyes from the road to Selina, picking her hand and lacing their fingers together, she rolled her eyes, but there was unable to stop her own fond smile.

“We’ll need to talk to her.” She turned briefly to the kids. “I’m not specially attached to my last name, if she wants to ditch it for yours I won’t mind.”

He let the words sit for a while before continuing.

“About that…” His voice an octave higher from his faux absent-mindness.  

“Too soon.” She said dryly.

The car shook when he suddenly pushed the brakes the kids didn’t wake but mumbled annoyed.

“Meaning that eventually will be the right time?”

She bit back a smile at his excitement.

“I guess? I don’t know why you make such a huge deal out of this.”

“Because I love you, that’s why.”

She looked away shaking her head.

“You are so cheesy.” Her smitten tone brought a pleased smile to Bruce’s face that broadened after her thumb started rubbing his hand absently.

 Two years later, Selina had been sending signs that she was ready for what she feels like ages but nothing happens. And Bruce being Bruce she can never pinpoint when he actually is trying to create proposal settings to troll her or just being his usual sappy self. But after a while when a walk on the beach by the sunset when they took a trip so San Francisco for Dick’s fourteenth birthday was just a plot to convince her do it on the sand – and she found sand in weird places for weeks. All dinner dates in fancy restaurants were only PR appearances. And all special homemade desserts just because he liked to cook to her, it started becoming ridiculous.

She was ranting about that as she folded laundry and drank wine. Barbara was just drinking the wine. Heaven forbid her royal Kareness to help do any housework.

“But have you told him you want to tie the knot? I actually don’t know why the wait, how long have you been together since he came back? Four years?”

“Three. And no, but wouldn’t that be like proposing to him?”

“Well, kinda. I didn’t think you from all people would care about that.”

“It’s not like that. I don’t care about tradition, and shit. But have you any idea of how full of himself he’ll be if I’m the one to propose? I can see his already giant head inflating and flying him to space.”

Barbara laughed.

“Sorry, kiddo. I don’t know how to help you. Nobody proposed to me either.”

“Really? I thought Gordon did, back in the day.”

“He did. Sort of. We talked about it. Even thought all the shit that happen later I’m glad we never got to do the white picket fence, 2.5 kid scenario. That was no life for me. And as much as I’m grateful for how good he is to Babs, I couldn’t take five minutes of Lee’s life.” She shivered. Selina snorted.

“Would you have married Tabby? If you could back then?”

“I don’t know.” She chuckled. “Do you think she would’ve married me?”

“Oh man, imagine how extra that would have been. All rogues in one single place. I’d be the maid of honour, of course. Ivy providing de the décor with some poisoned flowers, Oswald throwing a fit because you were getting more attention than him. Do you think anyone has a minister’s licence?”

“I did something like that to punish Jim. Wore a dress and all” she snorted “I was one crazy bitch back them. Tabby helped.”

“Geez. I don’t even get to imagine a fucked up scenario because reality in this city is crazier.”

“We were so much worse before Tabby took you in. I sometimes wonder if you were what grounded us a little.”

“Really? Because you were such a bitch to me when I went to live with you guys. I used to miss vanilla straight Barbara a lot.”

“Oh honey, I’m sorry. I was jealous.”

“Of what?”

“Tabby. She gave up on me and took you as her new little project.” Barbara rolled her eyes dramatically. “And there was Butch.” She groaned.

“Now I’m very happy that I didn’t have the same destiny as him.”

“Oh kitty-cat, I was jealous but I loved you. I always did. I might even have been jealous of you too. You were my little project first.”

 Two weeks and a family picnic on the Wayne state organized by Alfred, regular post-coitus moon bathing on the roofs and a very interesting day on a boat only the two of them after, nothing changed, except that Holly was home and spread on the carpet with Selina. Her head on the lap of her surrogate mother as Selina played lazily with the strands of hair that were dyed in a fading blue. The girls were in Helena’s room playing videogames. And Barbara was coming from a kitchen a batch of something supposedly drinkable on a tray.

Selina wrinkled her nose.

“What is that?”

“My favourite, alcohol.”

“No thanks.”

“Why not? What’s the point of girl’s night without getting wasted?”

“My stomach is hurting. Bruce took me to that new Indian restaurant three days ago. I’m too white for that.”

“Really? Because I’m pretty sure I have seen you eat rock.”

Holly snorted, Selina pulled her hair not hard enough to hurt enough to send a message.

“Ouch, Selina!”

“I’m getting old, I don’t know Barbara, if I wanted a doctor I’d have called Lee.”

They continued their chatting though the night, Holly telling them all about college drama and they trash talked their mutual friends until they all fell asleep. Selina woke up feeling horrible. Everything was dark. Even Helena’s room was silent. She pushed Barbara’s legs off her lap and got up from the sofa, dragging her wobbling legs to the kitchenette. She barely made to the sink before empting her stomach.

Shit.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Fuck, Barbara! Don’t do that!”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She said is a shaky voice, wiping her mouth. “Maybe I should see a doctor.”

Barbara looked at her with one eyebrow arched and folded arms.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just having a déjà vu now.”

Selina widened her eyes in horror.

“No…”

“You said that too back then.”

“Fuuuuuck.”

The wave of nausea hit again, but now there was just bile. She was still hiccupping when Barbara made her sit down.

“Is it possible?”

Selina just glared at her.

“Very possible, then.”

“I mean. We use protection, mostly. You know I can’t take the pill. But I had my period.”

“Did you?”

“Yes!”

“Did you?”

Selina shut up for a second counting and then she covered her face in realization.

Barbara laughed and walked across Selina returning to the living room. She shook Holly awake.

“Wake up Holly, dear. We have a baby shower to plan.”

Pleeeeeease reblog my work if you liked it. It really helps me out. Thank you.

[et-lesailes]

lily white in blood red // chapter two

prologue | chapter one

pairing: curtis everett x reader

word count: 2100

series summary: you are a part of the upper-middle section aboard snowpiercer, but you do not agree with the classist views of the people you are surrounded by. when the infamous curtis everett reaches your part of the train, you decide you want to join him in overthrowing the train’s misguided inventor– while curtis agrees to let you join, he has other plans in mind.

series themes: angst, romance, obsession, fighting/bloodshed, smut

chapter summary: day one is over, and it’s been surprisingly calm and smooth. however, now night one is beginning, and while curtis may be able to behave then, the next morning is a different story.

chapter themes: mentions of sex, masturbation, a little bit of curtis’ obsession beginning to come out :))

taglist: added in reblog!

notes: feedback is always, always appreciated  ♡

“So. What the hell’s that all about?”

Curtis watches as Edgar gestures towards you, fast asleep. Your first twenty-four hours with the team has passed, and so far, no bloodshed. Not yet, anyways. You’re sure you’ll come across forces eventually, but Yona had explained to you that each day, each cart was always different. 

“What’s what about?” Curtis asks, though his blues are focused on you, watching your frame lightly moving up and down as you breathe and your hair fanned out behind your head on his folded up jacket as a makeshift pillow. He wishes you all could have found a sleeping quarters so you could have a proper bed, but he was pleased that you did not complain at all. 

Edgar looks at him in disbelief, clearly thinking his friend’s gone crazy. “Look, Curtis, I can understand sparing her life. Seems like a sweet girl, definitely beyond fit, but bringing her with us? She’s just-- I don’t know, extra weight we don’t need, especially if ya aren’t even going to let her fight. What’s the point?” Curtis sighs deeply, taking his beanie off his head to run his hands through his hair. “Leave it alone, Edgar.” He simply warns; to be honest, he would have no problem answering any of the boy’s questions, but he truly does not even know the answer to this one. Not the full one, anyways. He knows that for some reason, he needs to protect you, but why? Not a clue. He does not need Edgar to think him even crazier than he already does. 

The boy who has come to be a little brother to him looks at him somewhat irritated before standing up from his sitting position leaned against the wall of the cart. “Whatever, mate. But if that girl holds us back, it’s on you.” He speaks bluntly, though not appearing to be fully mad or upset-- Curtis knows well by now that he’s simply straightforward by nature. “Get some sleep, Edgar.” He says in response, putting his beanie back on though remaining seated. “It’s been a long day. We'll talk about this later.” The younger reluctantly gets up, giving Curtis one last look before walking away, heading over to a spot near Tanya to settle himself as comfortably as he can on the floor. 

Curtis waits until the blond drifts off before standing up, approaching your sleeping figure. Slowly crouching down by your side, he wraps his jacket more tightly around you, ignoring how much significantly colder he is without it. Some carts of the train are well heated, and some are not. Of course, the tail section was the latter, but by the section you are all in, most cars are quite warm-- this one seems to be the exception, seeing as it's just for the purpose of storage, shelves lining the walls. Unfortunately, there were no extra blankets or clothes among said storage.

He strokes your hair gently as he studies the peaceful expression upon your face, marveling again at your smooth, clear skin. He allows his fingertips to brush against your cheek gently, then almost feels bad for doing so. He is dirty, soiled, tainted-- especially in comparison to the ethereal figure that is you. However, when he pulls back, your eyes open as if immediately noticing the absence. He blinks, then frowns. "I didn't mean to wake you." He tells you quietly, and you look at him for a few moments; even though he is still wearing a rather thick sweater, he somehow looks different, maybe even more vulnerable without his coat on. "Come lie down," you whisper in response, slowly turning so that you are facing him. The floor is not very comfortable, especially not when compared to the bed you were used to, but you can accept that it's all you have right now. They had explained to you that it simply wasn't possible to be able to find sleeping compartments every single night, and that made sense to you. It was dangerous to advance too far in one go, especially when Wilford seemed to already know about the revolution.

"Next to you?" he asks lowly, and you see surprise in his features for the first time-- scratch that, an emotion in his features for the first time. You nod your head slowly, biting on your lip as you lift up the jacket. "This is big," you say softly, giving him an encouraging look. "We can find a way to share.... or at least give each other warmth..." 

He feels something in that moment, but he can't quite place what it is. He does not argue or protest, but instead slowly lies himself down beside you. You are laying on your side facing him, your hand moving to divide the "blanket" as equally as possible; however, before you are even done, he pulls you close to his body with a strong arm, your cheeks almost instantly becoming a shade of pink as you feel yourself pressed against his broad figure. “Night.” He mutters lowly near your ear, making you shiver slightly. You aren’t sure how this feels so good, why it makes every single night you had before this one suddenly seem much emptier and more depressing. “Goodnight, Curtis,” you whisper, unbeknownst to how the mere mention of his name upon your silky voice makes his entire being palpitate. 

He’d like to say this is the first time he’s ever slept soundly ever since boarding Snowpiercer, but quite honestly, he had learned a long time ago to become accustomed to the tail section at night. Despite the poor and terrible conditions, his body had adapted, and he had eventually become more submissive to sleep as the years went on, even in such uncomfortable “beds”. 

However, this is the first time in a long, long time that he’s woken up with this feeling, a feeling he cannot even describe. Has he even had it before? He’s not sure. 

It’s hard to tell the time, especially because this cart has no windows, but if he had to guess based on his biological clock, it seems to be early, early morning. Perhaps four? Five? The others are still asleep, exhausted from the previous day-- including you. Sleep shaded blue eyes inspect your figure as he’s spooning you, first checking to make sure you are not too cold. He still has you held tightly against his body, practically trying to both physically and mentally force all of his body warmth upon your own. You are more covered by the jacket than he is, but he still sees your bare shoulder underneath him, the strap of your nightie having slightly slid down. Fuck. He really wasn’t thinking when he made you wear that, he should have remembered that some parts of the train would still be cold. He supposes he had been too focused on arriving to the front section, even parading through the middle section, where heat would be a concept of convention rather than one of rarity. He pulls you even closer, letting out a gruff but soft exhale. You smell good, unlike, well, pretty much everyone he knows. He can’t imagine he smells any better than them, but you don’t seem to shy away from him, both when conscious and slipped away in dreamland. 

He lets himself appreciate your figure a little more. It’s as though you fit perfectly into his body. He admires your shiny, washed locks fanned out behind your head, some close to tickling his nose if he were to move his own head ever-so-slightly. He loves how smooth your skin looks and feels, how silky the nightie feels under his fingertips as he grazes over your stomach; it seemed like a simple matter, but this is a texture he hasn’t felt in years, and it is comforting. Much more pleasant than his rough, dirty coat or crappy tweed blankets back in the tail section. 

He can’t help but slowly let his fingers drift underneath the material, dancing them lightly along your bare abdomen. Shit. He’s already getting hard, and he has to wonder what the hell he’s doing. This isn’t the reason why he brought you along. No, you’re so much more than this. But as the bulge in his somewhat misfit pants tightens, only pressing against the soft curves of your ass that are far more revealed thanks to his hand riding your nightie up, he’s losing his sense of mind. He’s breathing heavier now, but trying his hardest to keep it as inaudible as possible, which is only even more exhausting. Barely craning his neck to look at your face, he sees you are still fast asleep despite his slight shifting and the incredibly intrusive addition pressing against your lower body. He can’t help but get into his imagination a little. How would you react if you felt it, if you saw it? He barely groans to himself thinking of those wide, innocent eyes, those parted lips making a perfect ‘o’ shape, those delicate hands pumping him and slowly sending him over the edge…

He realizes he’s rubbing himself against you now, and he stops with another low and frustrated groan. As much as he’d like to get some type of release, he definitely can’t inside his pants, considering they’re the only pair he has. For fuck’s sake, he hasn’t done this in God knows how long. Yes, it was difficult for a man to be deprived, but when it had been over the span of a couple decades, it eventually became normalcy. Arousal was the last possible thing he could feel while inhabiting the tail section. 

He carefully shifts to lie on his back, now appreciative of how dark this cart is. Still, he keeps a part of the hefty jacket draped over his bulge, now reaching his hand down into his pants to take it out. He hisses quietly to himself as he starts rubbing, his palm sweaty from his thoughts, from the situation, from the sight of your perfect frame next to him. He imagines you straddling him at this exact moment, picturing how perfect you would look gazing down at him, your legs on either side of his hips and your ass nestled comfortably upon his thighs. He thinks of you riding him, still wearing that damn skimpy nightie, straps sliding down your shoulders and teasing him with a partial view of your bouncing breasts, your cheeks pink from pleasure and your moans sounding through the entire front section. He pictures you gasping with delight while coming all over his cock, your chest heaving from being so breathless, so worn out from him and only him. 

A grunt, low groan, and another hiss. He comes, and he’s panting quietly, almost immediately looking around to make sure nobody witnessed this. Thankfully, everyone’s still asleep.

He’s about to use the jacket to wipe off the rest of the remains from his length, but pauses. Looking towards you, he can’t help but hum thoughtfully. He had known from the start he never wanted you tainted. You are something he could never previously have on the train, you are purity itself. 

However, what if he was the one who managed your innocence? If it were in his hands, he would make sure you would never get hurt. He could take it from you, but no one else could. That would be far too dangerous. If your innocence were in his hands, he could protect you and have you. 

He taps his thumb lightly upon the tip of his cock, letting a hint of white adorn his skin. Leaning over, he admires your sleeping face once more before slowly swiping his thumb across your lips, humming lowly as he watches you barely smack them in your sleep at the contact. “Does that taste good, sweetheart?” he mutters quietly, tilting his head. “It wasn’t a lot. I don’t want you to wake up, so the taste can’t be too strong.. For now. We’ll get there one day.” He promises, his voice barely above a husky whisper. 

Wiping the rest off with the jacket, not really giving a shit considering how grubby it is anyways, he fixes his pants before resuming the same position as before, arm wrapped tightly around you. You stir, only just now realizing that there had been an absence to begin with. “Curtis?” you let out a soft mumble, half asleep, and he swears he is already turned on again. “I’m here,” he murmurs, moving to rest his head on top of your own. “Sleep. It’s going to be a long day, you’ll need your energy.”

[xhusu]

Mystogan hc’s because I thought of his backstory and it fits

It’s a long post but read it!! I love my boy and he needs a backstory!!

Jellal Faust (yeah, it’s their last name and not the King’s first name which is Luis) and Siegrain Faust were born as real twins. Their wet-nurse was Irene Knightwalker, who gave birth to a girl few months before. Salma, their mother, felt indifferent to them and didn’t take care of them at all

Irene raised them and so Erza hated those two twins, even if they were princes, and her mother. Thus, she wanted to become a royal knight just like her father

Siegrain being born minutes before Mystogan was supposed to be the heir and future king

But the more he was growing up, the weaker he was becoming.

Until their 3 years old, nobody saw his health problem, thinking he was just less physical and more intelligent.

But at 3, he couldn’t walk without help and always had a fever

Mystogan tried his best to cheer him up. At 5, he even went outside to catch a bird, for him to feel better (Siegrain couldn’t go outside anymore and was in a wheelchair) but injured himself really bad in the process and almost died.

Lily saved him

And became close to them. He joined the army et tried to see them as much as he could

Irene was worried when Mystogan disappeared and became overprotective of him too (since she already was, to Siegrain)

Lily and Irene even bought them a bird, when they were 6. Mystogan got tattooed by his father (marked as the heir because Faust wanted to start a new tradition: each king will be marked as a member of the royal family with a tatoo) and Siegrain had to stay in bed all day long. The bird was supposed to cheer the both of them

They called him Pirou. They were happy

Siegrain died when they were 8 years old. No doctors found a way to heal him, only one found a medicine to make him feel better. His life expectancy was between 5 and 15 years old

Mystogan set Pirou free, since it was Siegrain’s last wish. At the funeral only him, Lily and Irene were crying. The king and the queen were indifferent.

After his death, Mystogan tried to understand what Siegrain had. He read tons of book and even studied his medicines, known as X-balls.

He learnt and understood what he had: magic within him. X-balls were created so Earthland’s mages could use magic in this world, it relieved his pain but didn’t change anything. People born in Edolas weren’t physically made to receive magic, they had no organs for it, no origins. This led to Siegrain’s death. The more he was growing up, the more the magic was disappearing and killing him.

Mystogan try to learn and understand what Earthland was, what magic was. Quickly he learnt that Edolas didn’t had magic anymore and had limited magic. And that his father the King was stealing it from Earthland through animas.

Mystogan linked what happened to his brother to the mages in Earthland. Siegrain had magic while he shouldn’t have, leading to his death, this means that if Earthland’s mages didn’t have magic anymore while they should they would die too. Learning that Earthland was composed by a majority of mages, he decided to stop his father from killing almost everyone in this parallel world

From 9 to 12 years old, Mystogan tried to learn as much as he could about those two worlds and created his first stave. He kept Siegrain’s medicine too, because he thought that it was precious and seeing his father becoming crazier, lusting for power, he thought that no doctor or scientist could ever recreate such a thing.

He didn’t tell anyone about his research and his plan. Not even Lily or Irene

A few months before his disappearance, his mother died. He believed that his father was linked to it and that he would be the next one.

He used his father machines to start an anima but in reverse, Edolas wasn’t receiving power but giving. It allowed him to go away and join Earthland.

Irene and Lily were devasted.

In his fall, Mystogan and Jellal had a nosebleed. Their brotherhood and links couldn’t take such events. First, the Siegrains and Salmas didn’t die at the same moment (which don’t happen a lot, normally. This is why Lisanna ended up in Edolas after Edo-Lisanna’s death) and now the Jellals were in the same world. This led to a dysfunction and their destiny changed. They weren’t going to be opposite anymore.

In Earthland, he tried his best to survive. His father tried to activate animas to regain what he lost when Mystogan opened one in reverse. But Mystogan could feel them, after passing by one. And closed each of them.

When Mystogan met Wendy, he felt strange at first. She was five, weak and fragile, and had blue hair. Siegrain died five years ago, was weak and fragile, and had blue heard. He felt close to her rather quickly. He loved her so much…

He did anything for her. And found it easy to take car of her. He always helped Siegrain and Wendy sometimes needed even less efforts than him.

When they had to separate, it broke his little heart. But Faust wanted him dead, the anima affected who he was, made him bleed, he didn’t want Wendy to be harmed. He didn’t want to lose another sibling…

After a while, he arrived at Fairy Tail. He firstly met Polyussica because he was always avoiding people (knowing that he had a counterpart). She met him in the forest but he wasn’t like the other brats. He was calm and silent. And they felt connected (since she, too, passed an anima to end up here). They talked and he was surprise to hear that she was Grandiney, from Edolas. He felt relieved, by logic, this would mean that Wendy’s mother was alive!

After that she made him meet Makarov and he joined Fairy Tail as Mystogan (he chose this name because it was ‘cool’)

I tried to search for “mystogan” etymology. In French, he’s named Mistgun (maybe mist as mystic and gun as… gun). But I found other meaning: a slang for a drug (would be funny with the x-balls), “the protector of all” (it fits), “heaven’s pain” (it fits less) and “love of fire goddess” (don’t fit but my jellatsu’s sense is tingling)

So yeah, he thought it was cool

One day, he closed an anima and a boy with the same face as his appeared. It’s Earthland’s Jellal he believed, but it could be Siegrain too? Murmuring this name wasn’t a good idea because Jellal started a fight, and he won. Poor Mystogan was injured and scared, and his clothes were teared up. Jellal saw his Fairy Tail’s tatoo and smiled. He threated him and told him to watch over Erza and hide his face, otherwise he’ll kill him. He even broke his staves (two now).

Mystogan came back to Fairy Tail a little later for a mission, face hidden in addition of his sleeping spell. Makarov saw his broken staves and asked to talk to him. He told him about this mean Jellal…

He continued his missions and close any anima he fells. He went to see Polyussica sometimes. He trained too, with the staves he fixed and made and learnt how to fight with his bare hands too

One day, Makarov asked him to talk about his twin brother, around 16 years old. He told him about Siegrain and cried (feeling comfortable with Makarov). This is the day Laxus saw him.

After this he tried to avoid Fairy Tail and people as much as he could. He became a S-Class mage at 17 years old, which helped him avoiding the crowd a lot.

With his knowledge about the two worlds and with Siegrain’s medicine, the X-balls, Mystogan helped the Fairy Tail’s member (and Wendy!!) in Edolas. He tried his best to be honest

When everything ended, he was a king… He never wanted to be one but there he is. He now tries his best to be a good king and help his people. He heard about Irene’s death by Erza. But he knows that she joined Siegrain. And knowing that Lily is with Fairy Tail warms his heart

He goes to Siegrain’s grave every week

Today, he is close to Erza Knightwalker. But even though he’s 28, he’s not married yet. He works on his duty as king a lot and kids will come one day. He knows that he will probably call his son Siegrain, if he has a boy.

So yeah

I love him

[the-shadow-of-atlantis]

Not Again

Summary: this is a late halloween story but my friend who rewuested it finally gave it its approval Sandy belongs to my friend and Red mentioned at the end belongs to @melyaliz

Tagging: @dilpickledd @melyaliz @coffee-randomness @speedypan

You would think that after three generations, well technically four, of hero's things couldn't get any crazier. You would think that maybe the villians would get tired of the same ol plots and plans. Was it too much to ask for just one day? One day full of spooks and cheesy named platters. One day having fun with your significant other. One day to just be a teenager. But no Aquata should have known better, especially when this halloween happened to fall on a full moon.

The first sign were the ghosts or rather lack of. Aquata was used to seeing them especially around October when the bridge between worlds was more open. Heck she even had a ghost nanny who was technically her mom but in a past life. Ghosts were actually pretty chill and never really bothered her, whenever they would interact with her Aquata would simply try and see if she could help them pass on.

Aquata had managed to go through most of the day before realizing the lack of ghost activity. She only noticed because she spotted a familiar looking ghost boy who quickly glided into one of the empty classrooms.

"Hey cover for me." Aquata whispered to her sister as she made her way to the classroom. Shaylee stood by the door and pretended to check her bag.

"Weastly?" Aquata called out quietly scanning the room.

The little boy poked his head out from the teachers desk, his golden locks tucked inside a beanie. His eyes shifted around nervously and sunk back in enough to cover half of his head.

"Hey what are you doing here?" Aquata asked softly as she approached.

"I'm playing." Weastly replied though his answer didn't match up to his mood.

"Playing what?" Aquata asked going along hoping that he'd reveal something.

"Hide n seek." He whispered and ducked lower. "He's looking for us."

Weastly completely sunk into the desk and when Aquata peered under he was gone. Frowning she walked back out to her sister.

"What happened?" Shaylee asked as she closed her backpack.

"I just saw Weastly." Aquata replied.

"You old little ghost friend? What was he doing?"

"He said he was playing but I don't know, something felt off about him."

"Isn't his whole thing is that he always wants to play?"

"Well yeah but I don't know he was acting weird. It seemed like he was scared?" Aquata frowned as she tries to make sense of his attitude. "You don't feel anything off?"

Shaylee shrugged as she paused by her class. "You know I wasn't gifted with that supernatural power."

"There's nothing off about your magic?"

"Hmm nothing out of the usual. The full moon always helps but it feels the same? I guess?"

"Well you're no help." Aquata grumbled.

"Talk to mom when we get home I'm sure she'll know something." Shaylee shrugged. "Or I dunno find another ghost and see if they know what's up. Or meditate on it."

"Alright alright you've made your point." Aquata rolled her eyes and waved goodbye.

"Hey." Lily greeted Aquata by the door of their shared classroom and suddenly Aquata felt hrf worry slip away.

"Hey." Aquata smiled bringing her girlfriend in for a quick kiss.

"Are you excited for tonight?" Lily asked wrapping her arm around Aquatas waist and walked inside the classroom.

"Yup it's going to be awesome. You're lucky I basically already had the costume." Aquata smiled as she let go and sat down suddenly looking forward to tonight's Halloween party.

"Hey mom can you- oh sorry." Aquata stopped at the entrance to her mother's office.

Annabella braced herself against her desk rubbing her temple as she recovered from the seance. Annabella looked up and smiled at her daughter.

"Well don't you look rebellious." Annabella chuckled as she relaxed. "What do you need sweetie?"

"Oh um I just can't figure out how to tie a tie and I can't find dad.” Aquata said as she held up the fabric that was dangling from her neck.

“I thought the tie was supposed to be undone?” Annabella asked but she still approached her daughter.

“I’m trying to go for the trying too hard to look disheveled version.” Aquata said holding still as her mother twisted the tie into a knot.

“I see, well, there you go loosen it to your liking.” Annabella smiled and fixed the golden snitch Aquata had stuck in her hair.

“Is everything okay?” Aquata finally decided to ask as she began tugging on the tie eyeing the stone Annabella had on her desk.

“Yeah, yeah everything’s okay.” Annabella said though she eyed the stone nervously.

“Mom.” Annabella sighed and smiled reassuringly at Aquata.

“Something feels off, and I haven’t seen Selby all day. Usually she loves helping out with the halloween stuff you know. So I tried summoning her but it almost seems like she's blocking me or something I don't know.” Annabella shrugged and brushed some of her hair away. “I also haven’t used my magic in awhile so I might just be a little out of practice.”

“Do you think something is wrong?”

“Even if I did there's plenty of hero’s to help with the situation. Go have fun with Lily, just be safe.” Annabella brushed her hand against Aquatas cheek and Aquata nodded her head hugging her mom before leaving.

“Okay I get that the house is basically an entrance to a cemetery, but come on they could have done a better job at decorating.” Aquata sighed as she eyed the cheesy props they used.

“Don't start.” Lily laughed as she pulled Aquata along.

Aquata couldn’t help but smile as Lily immediately led her to the dance floor. Any thought of what was going outside of their little bubble was gone and there was only her.

“I think I might sweat my hair dye off.” Lily laughed as the song ended and wiped her forehead. “I'm getting something to drink, want something?”

“Yeah, bring me whatever you're having.” Aquata said and turned to head somewhere they could take a break.

Aquata paused when she saw someone standing on the other end of the room. No, that wasn't possible, Aquata shook her head and looked again but the person was staring right back at her also appearing confused.

“Sandy?” Aquata asked as she studied her technically half sibling.

“Aquata right?” Sandy said, also eyeing Aquata.

“What are you doing here?” They both asked at the same time.

“My friend Sara is throwing this party.” Aquata answered first.

“No my friend Trish is throwing this party.” Sandy corrected.

“Oh great.” They said again as it dawned on them what was happening.

“Not again.” Aquata sighed as she rubbed her temple.

“Well gee nice to see you too.” Sandy raised their eyebrow.

“No I mean not that I’m not glad to see you but like… I’m sorta here on a date and I really like this girl and heeyyyyy Lily.” Aquata quickly smiled and perked up trying to act normal.

“Hey who’s this?” Lily asked as she handed Aquata her drink.

“This is Sandy… my half sibling.” Aquata said trying not to lie too much.

“Half sibling?” Lily asked, looking at Sandy carefully.

“Yeah my dad accidentally donated a while back and we discovered a year ago we have some half siblings.” Aquata internally cringed at her explanation.

“Huh.” Lily continued to eye Sandy then cracked a smile. “Looks like your family is just filled with Ravenclaws.”

“That’s not true.” Aquata relaxed and wrapped her arm around Lily. “Dads a Gryffindor too. Not to mention mom is a Slytherin.”

“Yet your twin and brother are a Ravenclaw.”

“Shaylees a Ravenclaw?” Sandy asked, settling into the conversation and looking at their costumes. “Oh are you guys Lily and James?”

“Finally someone gets it.” Lily said, smiling brightly. “Everyone gets that I'm Lily but have a hard time figuring out who Aquata is.”

“Half think I’m Hermione, which I get, but at the same time I’m not that smart.” Aquata shrugged only to receive a smack from Lily.

Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe Aquata could still spend the night at this party with her girlfriend and sibling and act like nothing was going on. There are plenty of people that could handle what was happening. That was until the house began to shake. Great.

People began to scream and run the house shuttering and groaning. Aquata managed to slip away from Lily hoping that she would get out of the house and not try to look for her. Sandy followed her to the back and they began running through the cemetery. It wasn't till they were halfway through that Aquata began to realize something.

“The graves.” She said almost breathlessly, Sandy stopped to look at what had caught Aquatas attention.

“The names… they’re changing.”

Aquata felt her heart plummet and she started to recognize the names. Her parents, her friends, her family.

“We have to hurry.” Aquata said, picking up the pace.

“Oh come on not this guy.” Aquata whispered as they finally neared the end of the cemetery and noticed the witch boy Klarion walking by the graves.

“What’s he doing?” Sandy asked as they poked their head over one of the graves.

He paused by one of the graves, a rather large orb in his hands. A white haze seemed to get observed by the orb. Suddenly there was a soft meow from behind them and the two turned to face the familiar evil orange tabby.

“Don't worry, my mother said.” Aquata grumbled as she quickly dodged a blast from the witch boy.

“There’s plenty of heroes to take care of what's happening, she said.” She continued as she manipulated water to turn into ice picks and shoot them at the cat.

“You're very bitter about this aren’t you.” Sandy said from a few feet away as they focused their attack on the witch boy.

“What gave you that idea?” Aquata asked as she turned the water into a whip and tried to keep the cat at bay.

“Out of all the children that could come after me I had to get the two that have baby magic.” Klarion whined as he directed another attack toward Sandy.

“Hey I might not be anywhere near my sisters level of magic but I can still kick your butt.” Aquata shouted as she attacked him from behind.

“Hardly.” Klarion claimed as he managed to shake the girl off.

“Oh yeah?” Aquata said as she stood up holding the orb in her hands triumphantly.

“Give that back!” Klarion shouted his face suddenly becoming distorted.

“Keep away.” Aquata shouted as she flinged it towards Sandy who caught it and quickly rolled out of Klarion's range.

Aquata managed to land a good hit on the cat and tucked behind a rather large tombstone.

"No fair! No fair! No fair!" Klarion shrieked.

"We need to destroy this." Sandy said as they jumped in front of Aquata narrowly missing the hit Klarion threw at them.

Aquata snatched it from Sandy's hand and rolled away in time before the stone finally shattered.

"No!" Klarion shrieked as he spotted Aquata hold the orb in front of her.

She saw the hands and faces of the souls that were being trapped inside it and she felt rage boil inside her. This wasn't how souls should be treated. They were already suffering so much they didn't deserve this. She wasn’t exactly sure how but she knew it needed to be destroyed. The orb began to feel cold in her hands and with a sudden scream Aquata felt the electricity course through her body and shatter the orb to pieces. The spirits broke free and immediately went to swarm Klarion who let out a terrified yelp and disappeared.

“Woah easy.” Sandy said as they went up to Aquata and quickly caught her. Aquata looked down at her hands noticing the charred skin. “Come on let's get you to the watchtower.”

“We really should hang out sometime when the world isn’t in danger again.” Sandy said as they finished wrapping Aquatas hands.

“That would be great. I know Shaylee is going to be jealous I got to spend tonight with you.” Aquata smiled.

“Oh Coral is going to freak when she realizes I was with the other siblings.” Sandy chuckled.

“Hey um Sandy right?” The two looked up and Aquata smiled when she saw it was her friend Red. “Your ride back home is here.”

“Thanks.” Sandy nodded and turned to face Aquata patting her hands gently. “Thanksgiving we’ll spend it somewhere nice and have the whole family together.”

“I'll let my parents know.” Aquata nodded and hugged her sibling before they left.

“How are your hands doing?” Red asked as he leaned against the door.

“I'll be out of commission for a couple days.” Aquata said, trying to flex her fingers, then sighed. “That is if Lily doesn’t kill me first.”

“I'm sure she’ll forgive you.” Red tried to reassure her.

“I hope so.” Aquata looked down at her hands. “This was already supposed to be the makeup date… can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Is it worth it? Having them know?”

Red stayed quiet for a bit as he thought over the question. “You really like her dont ya.”

“Yeah, I do.” Aquata said softly.

“I'll admit it's still a bit hard. I worry about her but Mandy is… amazing. If you feel like it's the right thing I say go for it.”

“Thanks.” Aquata smiled before hopping off her bed. “Um I’m going to need some help getting home.”

“Don't worry I got you.” Red smiled as he held the door open for her and she stepped out into the hallway.

“Thank you.” Aquata turned towards the sound of the soft voice and spotted several spirits standing in the hallway. Some looked familiar, some she had never seen, and others… others were a little too familiar.

“You okay?” Red asked and Aquata turned to look at him.

“Yeah.” She mumbled looking back only to find an empty hallway. “Yeah I’m okay.”

She smiled and continued to follow him a little closer. As much as she didn't mind seeing ghosts there was something about seeing the ghosts of her friends that unsettled her.

[twinkletoes-rp]

Princess Tutu College AU Ch. 2 - “Second Position”

(Can also read on FFN | AO3 | Previous | Next )

--

It’s been about a week since then, and things have gotten calmer and crazier at the same time. Fakir’s been helping her catch up when she’s forced to stay after classes, and even if it’s taking longer and only a tiny bit (not that he’s surprised with her professors letting her fall through the cracks instead of helping her – yes, he’s bitter), he can see that she’s improving and makes sure to tell her so (the right way this time). That alone is enough to make her grin, and he can’t help but smile softly, too, mostly when she’s not looking. Honestly… She’s such a simple thing.

Their living arrangements have gotten better, too. They don’t fight anymore, at least not much, something they and their neighbors all appreciate. He still makes her food (she survives almost solely on bread and managed to burn water their first week together – friends now or not, there’s no way he’s letting her cook), but now they eat together when they have time, sometimes in companionable silence, sometimes talking about their classes or different techniques they can try during practice or how Mytho and Rue are doing. That carries over while he washes and she dries the dishes. It’s nice and fun and domestic (though they both blush heatedly when that word crosses their minds).

Things are better.

Today, Ahiru’s beginning class is going to be getting a look at the advanced class to see what they can do – hopefully, what they’ll be able to do someday if they work hard enough (or that’s what Cat-sensei says, at least…usually while looking disappointedly at Ahiru…). Ahiru brightens at the news. That means she’ll get to see Mytho, Rue, and Fakir, all at once, and see them dance! How lucky!

Their classroom doors open, and the advanced class strolls in, beautiful and handsome and mesmerizing. After introductions, mostly for formality’s sake, they start their dance right away, and none of the younger students can look away. Ahiru figured she’d want to see Mytho dance the most, maybe with Rue since they’re so good together, but she finds herself drawn to Fakir instead, and she can’t take her eyes off him. His movements are precise and controlled, definitely gorgeous, his face stoic, as always, but…there’s emotion hidden there, too, just beneath the surface, that’s helping to drive him. She wonders if the others notice or if it’s just because they’re roommates and they’ve been practicing together that she can see it. She can’t quite put a name to the emotions she sees, too fleeting and complicated, but when he catches her eye, she feels caught for some reason and looks away quickly. Are her ears burning or is that just her imagination? She’s pretty sure she hears Pique snickering and a conspiratorial Lilie ‘ooh’ing around her. Great…

Fakir, for his part, nearly stumbles at the look, but catches himself and forces himself to focus on the dance. What the hell? This isn’t like him. So Ahiru was watching him, so what? That’s what she’s supposed to be doing. Why would that (almost literally) trip him up so much? He’s never cared about who was watching him before. Why is his heart beating so quickly and why does his face feel so warm outside the exertion? Is he…embarrassed? Shy? It’s true that he figured she’d watch Mytho and Rue instead, given how she used to (does?) feel about him, but why would her shift make him so flustered? She’s watched him dance so many times during practice. None of this makes any sense…

Their dance is over before he can blink, and after a healthy amount of applause, including from a still-slightly-flushed, but shyly-smiling Ahiru, Cat-sensei claps his hands. “All right, and now, my class will show you what they can do!”

“Qua--?!” Ahiru cuts herself off, slapping her hands over her mouth. Her classmates chatter excitedly around her.

“We are?!”

“Oh, wow!”

“Finally!”

“I didn’t think we’d get to show off for another few months, at least! Maybe till next year!”

“In front of Prince Mytho, too! And Fakir!”

“And Rue! She’s so pretty and talented!”

“This is the best day of my life!”

Cat-sensei claps his hands again, a little louder this time. “All right, all right, that’s enough!” The noise dies down, and he motions for them to stand. “I know you’re excited for this surprise, but if you want to show off your skills, you need to get up! Up, front and center, everyone!”

They do as they’re told, Ahiru purposely trailing behind so she can take deep breaths and try not to panic. She’s always wanted this, sure, at least in a way, but she thought it would be later, more toward the end of the year, when she was at least a little better! She doesn’t think she’s ready! There’s no way! She’ll totally fall or trip or accidentally do it to someone else! She’ll be a total laughing stock—!

A hand appears on her shoulder out of nowhere, snapping her out of her thoughts, and she blinks. Following it, she sees it’s Fakir, and her eyes widen. He’s never…touched her before…not like this, anyway. Her heart speeds up, and she can feel her cheeks heating up slightly. “F-Fakir…?”

“Remember our practice, and do your best. Pretend we’re not here.” A tiny, almost subconscious smile comes to his face, and his hand slips to his pocket. “You’ll be fine.”

She blinks again and then grins, feeling better already. She never thought he’d do something like this for her, at least not so early into their friendship, but he did say he’d be helping her from now on, so maybe this is part of that. Pumping her fists, she nods determinedly. “R-right! Thank you!”

He watches her hurry to get in position with the others, her happy face stuck in his mind as he goes to sit with Mytho and Rue. He swears his face is warm again, and he catches the other two eyeing him like they know something he doesn’t, a respective smile and smirk on their faces. He ignores them and looks ahead to watch as the beginning class starts.

For their level, each student differing in places, they do very well. There’s a very tall, muscular girl who clearly knows what she’s doing, but she’s too robotic and fierce and angry, almost competitive. The last three aren’t necessarily bad, but when paired with the first, it can make or break the dance, and for her, Fakir can already see it’s the latter. He can also tell that it’s something she’s working through, though, and he’s vaguely intrigued enough to see what she’ll do once she’s past it. She could be in the advanced class rather easily then.

The others are mostly average, some falling higher or lower on the bar than others. A lot of them are trying way too hard, not that he’s really surprised. They want to make a good impression. Still, he wonders if they realize they’d make a better one if they danced like they’re not there, like he told Ahiru to do.

Speaking of Ahiru, his attention quickly leaves the others to find her, and he has to stop himself from breathing a sigh of relief. Good. She is listening. She’s still shaky and unbalanced and her movements are far from pretty, but it’s still better than she was last week, and he can’t help but feel a jab of pride when Pique and Lilie and a few others look over at her like she’s sprouted another head. He’ll take it.

All the same, he grimaces and clenches a fist to keep himself from standing when, at the very end, Ahiru’s foot catches on the back of her ankle and she crashes to the floor with a startled cry.

Her classmates laugh and his do, too, minus him and Mytho and Rue, the upperclassmen girls snickering, and Cat-sensei only sighs before clapping his hands again. “Thank you, beginning class! That was very good!” The ‘most of you’ is left unsaid, but a red-faced Ahiru still winces in picking herself up from the floor and hurrying to sit in the far back, knees drawn to her chest and looking away from everyone. She blinks back the tears that prick her eyes, sniffling quietly. It’s already bad enough. She won’t make it worse by crying in front of everyone.

The rest of the class is a free period for the classes to interact, and Fakir is just getting up to go make sure Ahiru didn’t hurt herself when he hears it.

“Did you see that duck girl’s performance?” one of his classmates says to her friends, laughing rather shrilly, if Fakir does say so himself.

The other girls laugh and snigger, too. “Are you kidding? How could you miss it? She’s the worst dancer in the whole school!”

The first girl, Melody, waves her hand like she’s about to share the latest gossip. “Oh, it’s worse than that! She’s the worst dancer I’ve ever seen! I don’t know why she even bothers! She has zero talent!”

Clenching a fist, Fakir’s had enough. “Yes, and you’d be the authority on that, wouldn’t you, Melody?” His quiet, yet sharp voice manages to cut through the others’ chatter, and everyone turns to look at them, not that Fakir cares.

Melody blinks, caught off guard, before she smirks, tilting her chin up like she’s something special. “Well, I am in the advanced class alongside you, Fakir.”

Oh. He gets it now. He’s one of the best dancers the school has (not bragging, just repeating scores), and since she’s in his class, she thinks she’s got a leg to stand on, huh?

Well, now he almost feels bad for her.

Almost.

“Dancing alongside me doesn’t mean we’re on the same level. According to our scores, you still have a long way to go.” Melody and her friends gasp, a hand flying to her chest. Fakir isn’t fazed. He’s just stating facts, after all. “For that matter, dancing below us doesn’t make anyone less than we are either. We all started out here, too, if you’ll recall. Ahiru may not be great now, but she does have potential and talent.” He smirks. “Something you’d know if you really were looking down from where I am.” Again, just telling the truth.

Melody narrows her eyes and growls. “That’s rich, coming from the guy who always put her down before! Why are you defending her all of a sudden anyway?” Fakir’s smirk falls, a dark frown sweeping in. It’s true, fair, but it still hurts. God, he really does suck at communicating. That’s not what he meant…! “And what was with that little encouragement before?” She sneers. Fakir never really noticed how ugly she was before. The ink of personality stains the cover, he supposes. “You don’t smile! You never smile!”

That’s not true – or at least, not entirely. He’s smiled a few times lately, thanks to Ahiru. Not that they need to know that. Not that it’s anyone’s business but their own. He growls slightly in the back of his throat, glares a little more. “I was wrong, and I’m changing.” Stopping himself before he can say more, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, standing tall. He doesn’t need to explain anything to these people. His brother and Rue are the exceptions, of course, but they already know at least part of what’s going on. His eyes are steely in finding Melody’s once more. "Talk about Ahiru like that again, and we will have a problem."

Declaring class over for himself for the day, he turns on his heel and storms from the room, Melody and all the other students watching after him, sensei, too. Their gazes fall on Ahiru next, who’d been watching the entire thing speechless and red-faced, and she only blushes further at their stares before remembering herself. Shooting up and tripping over her feet on the way, she bolts for the doors. After what he did for her, she can’t just let him go like that! “Sorry, sensei! See you after class!”

She can hear him calling after her, but she’s already gone, and she has no intention of stopping. Not until she’s found him.

Luckily, she doesn’t have to go very far. He’s only made it most of the way down the empty hallway, bright sunlight streaming through the half-open double doors at the end.

"Ah—Fakir!" He stops in his tracks. Too nervous to turn around to face her after all that, he turns his head toward her the slightest bit so she knows he's listening. She's nervous, too, so she squirms, but she calls on her courage to come closer, just to his left, and offer a tiny, shy smile. "Um...t-thank you!" Realizing how silly that probably sounds, she hurries to clarify, "F-for, um, back there, I mean! Defending me like that! It was...well, surprising, but really nice, too!"

She smiles brightly, and Fakir does a double take when he sees it. She's never looked at him like that before. What's with his face heating up and his heart beating quicker all of a sudden? Why is he thinking that she looks pretty like that? Why does he want to see her do it more?

He surprises himself by huffing a laugh, letting a small smile grace his lips in turn – one he lets her see (her eyes widen, and she's pretty sure her heart does flip flops, though she doesn't understand why) – and reaching out to flick at the little hair tuft that always sticks up at the top of her head. He’s never...done that before... Although, he supposes, with their friendship just starting, there will be a lot of ‘firsts’ incoming. "Yeah, well…the only one here allowed to mess with you is me. Anybody else tries, and I want to know about it." He fixes her with a gaze that might be considered...protective if she saw it coming from anyone else, but...there's no way Fakir...right...? "Tell me if anyone else says anything like that to or about you. Got it?"

She blinks, shocked and happy and awed and so many other things that she doesn’t even know how to name them, and then realizes he's still waiting for an answer. Snapping out of it, she nods. "R-right! Got it!”

Sighing a bit in relief at all this being done, she hesitates a moment before, feeling bold, reaching out to flick one of his unruly bangs away from his forehead. Sticking her tongue out playfully at how caught off guard he looks, she suddenly runs a few steps ahead, reaching back to grab his hand and pull him along. He yelps, startled. "Come with me! As thanks, I'll show you one of my favorite spots in town!”

It ends up being the ice cream shop (because of course it does), and technically, according to their program’s dietary regimen, they're not really supposed to have that, but she knows Fakir sticks to it like glue, and she can always work it off with the run back to school, so... "Just trust me! It'll be fun!"

And lo and behold, it is. They don't make it (read: sneak) back to their dorm until well after curfew.

[gofancyninjaworld]

Thoughts on One-Punch Man Season 2: But what about the story?

Second part: So much for the structure, what was the effect?

Just before the second season started, I posted about what I hoped I’d see, assuming it ended where it did. Let’s see how they did. 

Yup, I keep cutting the words, but the bastards keep multiplying

The Story Itself

What I’d hoped for:

There’s a lot less of the monster of the week situation, this series. I love the care with which the Monster Association goes about attacking. What looked like random stuff (egregiously stretched out by the tournament), will come together to be a coherent and potent threat that will leave us viewers desperate to find out how the Hero Association replies.

[…]

And at the end of this season, even though we’ve had a very interesting time of it, none of it will be over.  The stakes will have been delineated, the battle lines drawn and I really hope that J.C. Staff does enough to make it clear why we should care enough to come back for season 3 whenever it airs.

What we got:

No question about it, there’s a Monster Association and it’s pretty serious. We got their ultimatum to the Hero Association and there’s no question that they’re taking it seriously. The problem comes with the overall lack of energy and urgency in the treatment of the plot.  We’re missing bodies, broken buildings, landed punches, follow through, all the things that sell that sense of urgency, of a situation that’s threatening to spin out of all control.  Which is a pity, because then we don’t get the sense of relief once the monsters disappear, only to be replaced with foreboding as the Monster Association makes its demands.  

They really can’t use time as an excuse for that.  It was really bad scripting with a tendency to soft-soap all impacts by panning away at critical moments.  It’s a real shame when episode 7 (19) is named ‘Class S Heroes’ – the heavy cavalry whom should turn the tides of battle – and we see very little of how they work.  The rare times they have followed through with blows, the entire mood of the episode changes for the better. 

It’s interesting that when chapter 84 was released, it felt like an excellent season finale.  And it could have been, but for the lack of a build up in tension and urgency that should have been sustained all season long.  So many missed opportunities – like little scenes of Atomic Samurai going in person to Bang’s dojo only to find it locked, more scenes of Bang hunting increasingly desperately for Garou,  a running tally of heroes struck down by Garou adding pressure to his search… all sorts of things the manga has left wide open to be added to that would have created continuity and tension against the backdrop of a crisis that really, really needs the help of *every* hero.

Special note: Can I just say that Phoenixman is awesome in his garishness?  He looks like a children’s show mascot put together by people on the last day of a ten-day bender.  Guaranteed to give children nightmares. I love him.

Don’t believe the monster, kids

The Characters

Charanko:  I wasn’t expecting anything of him, so honourable mention to him. I absolutely love the small but important addition J.C. Staff made to his story, whereby he came across Garou, heard and saw all the heroes the latter was beating up, and, despite his fear and knowledge of his weakness, went forward anyway.  Fantastic! 

Death Gatling:  I’d been afraid that they’d undersell him.  He wasn’t and I was very, very happy to see that.  He’s ever inch as serious, tactically astute, and legitimately charismatic as he needs to be. They could have made Flashy Flash slightly more obnoxious to bring across the extent to which he felt slighted but that’s minor.   

Looking at how fans took him, I’ve been a bit disappointed in the number of fans who don’t get that he’s far from wrong both in seeking recognition (although he did pick the wrong target to make an example of), and for not believing Garou, but that’s not a critique of the way he’s been presented.   The thorny issue of recognition is something I’ve been mooting a meta on, but another day!

Garou:  What I’d hoped for 

I want to see the story of how Garou grows from a malcontent and apparent crazy to this juggernaut whose appointment with destiny cannot be stopped. 

What we got:   

I’d say this was fulfilled!  His luck and unstoppable destiny come across well.  I really like his relationship with Tareo and with Bang being expanded on. 

Fans definitely have taken Garou to heart with very few people neutral on him.  I appreciate the fans who correctly point out that he’s incoherent and hurting heroes who have done nothing to him on account of the childhood trauma he’s projecting onto them.   Like him or not, he’s definitely been given the space he needed and it’s going to be very interesting to see how people change their views of him as the anime continues. 

King:  What I’d hoped for

I want to see King be exposed as a fraud and a coward who runs from danger and leaves people to die, then redeem himself as a decent human being and become the fraud and coward who stands before danger so people might live.   That’s huge – he’s been running like a rabbit for years.

What we got:

Fulfilled.  I love how his relationship with Saitama unfolded, pretty much note perfect.  The scene of his wiling himself to courage is great; it and the flashback JC Staff added linked back to to where he started out quite nicely. 

Who doesn’t love King?  I suspect he arm-wrestled Mumen Rider for fan favourite, particularly as he’s so very ordinary a man in a world of demi-gods. 

Saitama:  What I’d hoped for

We see Saitama finally make a friend, get resolution as to why the world ignores him, and get to celebrate his progress, even as we learn how deep his sense of alienation goes. I love how it’s going to start with Saitama walking away from his disciple and end with Saitama running for his disciple and how nothing else mattered until he saw him safe and well.

What we got:

Mostly fulfilled.  His stasis and ongoing dissatisfaction with life come across excellently.  His feeling ever more irrelevant and removed from the flow of life is literally and metaphorically on show, even as we get to witness the life-changing impact of his punches on others. 

Folk missed Saitama sorely, which is as it should be.  JCStaff, bless their lily-livers, really did miss a trick in not having Elder Centipede continue disintegrating for several seconds – after having been parched for Saitama, that ludicrous scene really helped.

Genos (why always you, my friend?): What I’d hoped for

Last series, we saw Genos try and lose, try and lose, try and lose, try and lose yet again. This season, from the very first episode to the very last, we watch that process of change from a failing hero to a truly fearsome one fit to rub shoulders with the best of heroes.  I want to see how it thrills us, entertains us, breaks our hearts and maybe we dare to hope for even crazier heights in the future.

What we got:

Hm.  Let me paraphrase Dr Bofoi here: ‘It takes a special sort of stupidity to mess up this badly’.   This is worth unpacking a bit as when things go wrong, we often get a better opportunity to see what makes them work.  And I’m always interested in what makes communicating ideas effective. 

For once, let’s start with fan reactions.  The actions Genos takes on the screen are pretty much the same as in the manga (a little abridged in places, but more or less the same).   After manga chapter 84, you got reactions like this: ‘ Genos from now on to me will no longer be a joke. He’s earned my respect.’ ‘…if he still had a human body, he’d have broken his limiter by now…’, ‘he really stepped up’, etc.  After episode 12:  it’s ‘oh, everyone can beat Genos’  'he’s like a princess in distress’  'he’s lucky that Garou wasn’t at full health’… ‘…that man has felt useless since when he first met Saitama during the mosquito fight…’  

Manga readers are less scathing than anime only viewers, but they have the benefit of the manga and aren’t reacting to what’s actually presented on screen.  Where the anime has made the case for Genos being awesome, as it did in episode 11 (23), fan reactions followed appropriately.  

Interesting.  How the hell did JC Staff create the diametric opposite reaction of the one Murata and ONE had elicited?  Particularly when they made a decent fist of the other characters?

From the beginning, I’d worried most about Genos – the clumsy, lifeless sequences we saw of him in the PV inspired no confidence.  With Genos both opening and closing out the season, they really needed to get him right to set the correct tone and leave the right taste in the audiences’ mouths.  JCStaff have struggled most with his portrayal, both in visuals and action, although it came together nicely in episode 11 (23). Mostly, it’s Ishikawa’s sterling voice acting that has carried the character all season. 

And then they silenced Ishikawa.  A mix of stupid-lazy-desperate-for-time meant that for the last episode, they cut out all of Genos’s POV regarding how uneasy he still felt about the monstrous presence he couldn’t pin down, his shrewdly  wondering how to find their headquarters, his initial assessment of the Elder Centipede and even how very carefully he thought before deciding to take action.  They thought his amazing actions could speak for themselves.  They were wrong.

It’s like having Garou act without benefit of flashbacks and assuming his actions will speak for themselves.  They don’t!  Without the benefit of our knowledge of his motivations and thoughts, he really is just a thug launching unprovoked attacks on heroes.

Instead of us seeing and understanding that Genos had learned, was thinking carefully on all he’d been told and the drastic action he took was because he’d weighed up the options and realised only someone sacrificing his life would save the others,  we got the opposite. So what they created instead was a guy who wouldn’t listen to repeated good advice, took on a too-strong enemy and got his butt kicked. Again.  And if there’s anything fans rightly hate, it’s a fool who won’t learn.    As I pointed out earlier, Genos opened and closed the season – so the impression that nothing had changed really took a lot of any climactic feel out of the episode.   

The title of the final episode didn’t help either.  Instead of translating it as ‘taking responsibility for one’s disciple’ which would apply with equal force to both Bang trying to bring Garou to heel and to Saitama, rushing in to deal with a situation Genos couldn’t deal with, Crunchyroll went with the near-literal ‘cleaning up the disciple’s mess’ and Hulu with the literal ‘wiping the disciple’s butt’.  Both of which set the viewer to see whatever Genos did as a mistake. Even though, ironically, he didn’t make any this episode.  It’s a translation klutz like finding out that someone has translated the English idiom ‘catching Peter’s eye’ as ‘gouging out Peter’s eye’ instead of ‘being noticed by Peter’ (no Peters were harmed in the making of this sentence).  That is out of JCStaff’s hands, but I hope that whoever does the DVD/Blu Ray has a better set of translators available.

Ah, it’s not worthwhile grousing. It’s not like they had the time to watch the finished episode back and consider the story they were actually telling.   I don’t envy whoever takes up season 3.  They have a lot of extra work to do to change viewers’ impression of the character and the source material isn’t going to help them.  It's going to br difficult to explain why, when faced with a fool who won't listen to him and appears intent on self-destruction, Dr Kuseno would hand Genos an outfit that needs the most careful judgement to use with any degree of safety. For manga readers, it makes sense. For anime watchers some heavy duty retconning will be necessary.

While ONE cried tears of joy after reading Chapter 84, if he’s crying any tears after this season, they won’t be happy ones. 

[royaltealovingkookiness]

Happy Aang headcanon time! Post-war, he meets the singing nomads again and this time they’ve got another folk song about a different city. Whether god rest of the Gaang is there is up to you. (It’d be entertaining to see Suki, Zuko, or Iroh’s reactions to them.)

@alynnl Thanks for the question, and sorry it took a little longer. I didn’t have a HC ready, but as I was thinking about it, I realized that this is a perfect scene for the upcoming second story of my post-war gaang adventure series, about a field trip featuring Zuko and Aang looking for the lost airbenders. They have been following a lot of vague clues when they run into the singing nomads, out in the woods, in the middle of nowhere. 

Here is an early draft of the scene:

Zuko kept turning the map around in his hand, squinting at it, not wanting to admit the truth; they were lost again. “It’s supposed to be right here.”

“Maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere?” Aang suggested looking around. They were in the thickest part of the forest, with nothing but trees and bushes. “There is nobody here.”

As if to prove the Avatar wrong, a weird-looking fellow dressed in colourful clothes and wearing a flower necklace popped out from behind a tree-trunk. “Not quite true Little Arrowhead. If you keep your eyes open, you’ll meet fellow travelers who can lead you exactly where you are meant to go…”

“Little Arrowhead?” Zuko frowned at the guy who was soon joined by two companions dressed in similarly ridiculous outfits.

Aang broke out in a wide smile. “Chong? Moku? Lily? What are you doing here?”

“You know these people?” Zuko asked Aang. He seemed to befriend the weirdest people. He was worse than Iroh. Maybe it was an old-people thing.

Aang nodded. “They helped us find a secret tunnel near Omashu.” He turned back to the vagabonds. “I don’t suppose you have a song about a hidden village with airbenders.”

“Well, we can always make one up,” Chong replied, strumming a chord on his guitar. “Flying high, flying high, swirling and twirling on the blue skyyyyyy…”

“That’s not bad…” Moku nodded, starting to beat the rhythm on his lap. Lily span around.

“All together now…” Chong started again the annoying song; this time his companions joined in. “Flying high, flying high…” They all danced; Druk and Momo flew around them in excited circles.

Zuko blinked. He pinched himself. No, it was not a weird dream.The situation was getting out of control, as Aang started to bop along to the tune. It was a warning sign. “Stop!” he yelled over the noise. “We don’t have time for this Aang.” 

Aang put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “Just wait a little. Last time they were right. At least they got us to the tunnel. We were led here for a reason. They must have the next clue.”

“They seem completely clueless to me,” Zuko grimaced.

Chong put his arms around both of them. “You should listen to your little arrowed friend, Brother. He knows that love will take you to places.”

Zuko tore himself out of the weird guy’s embrace. “We don’t want to go to places, we need to find a hidden village, and we should be on the move.” He gave a pointed look at his friend with a penchant to get distracted by song and dance.

“Zuko, you promised you’ll listen to my instincts. I feel strongly about this,” Aang looked at him pleadingly. Zuko sighed in defeat. It was not crazier than all the other random clues that led them here. Maybe Aang was right, maybe the weird dancing nomads were the key. He gave a little shrug. Aang smiled and turned back to Chong. “Right. Let’s try some tunes for clues. Do you have any songs about the sky?”

“Oh, do we, my friend? The sky is an inspiration for everyone with poetry in their hearts,” Moku nodded. Zuko cringed. He knew from experience that people with poetry in their hearts were excruciating. Listening to these people sounded worse than Uncle Iroh’s music nights.

“Underneath blue skies, I wander with my love…” Chong started a lyrical song. Lily hummed along to the melody.

“That doesn’t sound right..” Aang interrupted them. “I don’t think we want a love song. Anything else?”

“What else is there?” They talked in hushed voices for a little while and seemed to come to a decision. Chong strummed a more upbeat chord. “We’ll shout, shout, shout to the sky…” They all danced and swayed to a raucous song that sounded like the stuff the sailors used to sing at the bars whenever they stayed at a port.

Aang’s smile started to fade. He seemed a bit less sure of this strategy. “Maybe something about flying bison?” He asked hopefully, not ready to give up yet.

“I know a song about a flying pig chicken.” Chong offered gleefully.

Moku snorted. “That’s a good one.”

“There was little pig-chick, over the hills, it was a little pig-chick, bip-bop-bip…” They all danced making flapping wing movements.

“I can’t take this anymore…” Zuko groaned and walked away on the narrow, overgrown path deeper into the forest, until the sounds of the guitar faded. Both Druk and Momo seemed to have had enough of the music as well; they chose to follow him searching the trees for bugs. Zuko fumed. It was becoming a pattern; they would find a clue, Aang would get his hopes up, they would hit a dead-end. Rinse and repeat. They were going around in frustrating circles and nothing to show for their efforts.

A loud shriek interrupted his thoughts. Oh, no, not again! Zuko leapt through the bushes to rescue Momo. He found the lemur and the dragon entangled, fighting over a small cylinder-shaped object.

He split up the fight, holding up both animals by the neck. “Get along, please,” he scolded them.  A pair of green and a pair of gold eyes blinked apologetically. He took the mystery-object from Momo. Inside the casing, he found a small scroll. He unrolled it, revealing drawings of a familiar airbending form he had seen Aang use many times. Zuko gasped. Maybe they weren’t lost after all.

“Can you show me, where you found this, Momo?” he asked the lemur. Momo led him to a cave. Lighting a fire on his palm, Zuko looked around. There were strange signs painted on the wall. This had to be the clue.

He ran back the path to Aang. The strange group was still singing, this time about heart-shaped clouds. Aang was lying on the ground with a resigned expression on his face.

“Aang, I think I found the clue,” Zuko pulled him up, grabbing his wrist.

“You see, Brother? Music will lead the open hearts…” Moku smiled.

“But I was not led by your music, I was chased away by it,” snapped Zuko.

“And yet, you ended up exactly where you were meant to go. It sounds to me that we have led you there after all.” Chong said thoughtfully. “Good-bye, little Arrowhead. I hope you’ll find what you are looking for. And you too, Brother. Let the music into your heart.”

“Safe travels,” Aang returned their greeting.

“A song for the road?” Lily asked with a smile.

“No!” Zuko and Aang yelled at the same time and hurried down the path, Aang using his airbending discreetly to get away from the group.

[onestowatch]

BENEE Went From Making Pizzas to Becoming Pop’s Next Big Thing [Q&A]

BENEE is the epitome of a breakout star. The 19-year-old pop visionary came out of seemingly nowhere to deliver “Soaked,” a single which has gone on to be streamed over 20 million times and arrived as a very early contender for the soundtrack to summer wistfulness. More than just a one-hit phenom, BENEE has gone from making pizzas in her native New Zealand to delivering one of the most varied and exemplary debut outings of recent memory.

FIRE ON MARZZ is more than an eye-catching name or piece of surreal cover art; it is the distinctive expression of a pop chameleon, blending in and out of a range of moods and lush sonic textures. Whether a certain song calls for a sun-soaked groove or a nostalgic-yet-novel moment of introspection, BENEE is sure to bring an explosive flair to the whole affair. The initial excitement surrounding BENEE is not unlike that of the first time we heard tale of a young Billie Eilish, and while the sonics may vary, the level of talent is undeniable. BENEE is pop’s next big thing. 

Ones To Watch had the pleasure hosting BENEE at our June Baño Flaco showcase (performance video coming soon!), and her live performance sealed the deal. The next day, I grabbed a slice or three of pizza with the pop star in the making to see exactly what goes on in the mind of a 19-year-old who just wrapped up playing her first-ever sold-out shows in Los Angeles and New York before even releasing her debut EP. From commenting on hypebeast culture, the quarter-life crisis that thrust her into music, to discovering a shared love for James Blake, this is BENEE.

OTW: What’s it like playing in the US for the first time?

BENEE: Pretty crazy. At the first show, I didn’t really know what to expect, cause I don’t really know what Americans are like, what their sense of humor is like. The New Zealand sense of humor is a weird one. But it’s been crazy and fun, coming from Europe was crazy as well. Getting out of New Zealand and just seeing things has been awesome.

OTW: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen thus far?

BENEE: We did a three-hour cycle in Berlin on a graffiti tour, and that was the craziest thing that I’ve ever seen in my life (laughs) not actually.

OTW: Not the Supreme line outside?

BENEE: No the Supreme line was also pretty crazy. I was just like what the fuck!?!? There are some in New Zealand but not that big, and not that big of a line.

OTW: Is hypebeast culture much of a thing in Australia? 

BENEE: Not really, there are definitely some hypebeasts, we have a couple stores, but we don’t have a Supreme store. We have something that maybe features a tiny little range of Supreme stuff.

OTW: So, debut EP -- why is it Mars, why is Mars on fire?

BENEE: Why is there a fire on Mars? Why is Mars on fire? Good freaking question. I mean, coming up with a name, I didn’t really have a word or a phrase that could describe all the songs in it. Cause they’re all kind of different from one another, and some of them are weird dreams or weird stories, so I didn’t really wanna sum up the whole thing so I chose to go with something completely irrelevant to everything in the EP. 

It was a matter of coming into the studio like, “So what are we gonna call the EP?” I was just throwing out names, and I said, “painting mars,” and we stuck with that for a little bit, and then I was like no actually, it needs to be more aggressive, cause I want it to be visually appealing with the art, so I decided on “FIRE ON MARZZ.” It’s a little crazier than “painting mars.” 

OTW: You mentioned how all the songs are different, and I think I really noticed that on the last single, “Want Me Back.”

BENEE: With that one, it was the first sad, really slow song I’ve ever written and the most vulnerable I think I’ve been with my songwriting so far. None of the other tracks on the EP are like that one.

OTW: Since it ranges so much, how would you describe your music without using any genre terms?

BENEE: I guess it’s just a mixture, it’s a big ole’ soup with different spices and vegetables, maybe some chicken, food, and colors.

OTW: Given your song “Evil Spider,” are you afraid of spiders?

BENEE: So, here’s the deal. I can deal with spiders that are up to the size of my thumbnail, anything bigger, big no-go. I was in Australia, and there was a huntsman spider on this plant pot, and I was like, (gasps) absolutely not. So no, I’m not really a spider-lover, unless they’re small. You’re the same?

OTW: Yea, I can’t. My partner went out of town once and there was a spider, so I just didn’t sleep.

BENEE: Yeah they’re not nice. Are there big ones here?

OTW: Probably not as big as in Australia.

BENEE: Yeah, Australia has some massive ones. Tarantulas? I don’t like tarantulas. I stay away from big hairy spiders.

OTW: If someone were to go to New Zealand who’d never been, how would you tell them to spend a day?

BENEE: Oh, it’s definitely the beaches. A few are in the north island; that’s where I live. There’s like a beach called Peha, maybe going there. It would be good to get a car so you could drive around, do like a little road trip. Or, go to the south island, which is the cold island. Really good skiing, or beautiful for hikes, if you like to hike. It’s a good place to go if you’re really needing the outdoors and want a chill environment.

OTW: Very Lord of the Rings, right?

BENEE: I don’t think I’ve even watched it, is that weird? Quite a few New Zealanders are like that, I reckon. Or maybe it’s just me.

OTW: Vacation recommendations aside, did you expect “Soaked” to take off like it did?

BENEE: No, I did not expect that at all. We released it as my second single. “Tough Guy” was pretty low key, chill. I was planning what I was gonna release, and it was one of those songs that I had that I was like, “Ok, I like this song and I feel like maybe it’s a bore cause it’s like too much of that.” But I definitely did not expect anything from it. It’s been fucking crazy, man. Fucking crazy.

OTW: Yeah, cause you went to opening for Lily Allen after that single.

BENEE: That is maaaaad. I love Lily Allen. And that was crazy. It’s all bloody crazy.

OTW: So who are your Ones to Watch?

BENEE: Some artists I’ve been really into lately are Still Woozy and ROSALÍA. Those two I’m fucking obsessed with at the moment. I’ve been obsessed with James Blake since I was like, 14. OTW: Same.

BENEE: You too?

OTW: Well I’ve met him twice…

BENEE: SHUT UP! I DONT EVEN WANNA HEAR ABOUT IT. I’M FUCKING JEALOUS. Is he nice? (to the room) He’s met James Blake twice everybody, yea what the heck.

OTW: It’s not that cool… It’s pretty cool.

BENEE: It’s fucking cool. I’m gonna brag for you.

OTW: He’s my favorite person in the world. He’s really nice. But the first time I met him, he was just...

BENEE: Really shy?

OTW: He’s like very quiet, soft-spoken. Do you know Connan Mockasin?

BENEE: Yes, I fucking love him.

OTW: They’re best friends.

BENEE: Yea they did a song together! I love him, and I don’t even know him.

OTW: He’s so tall.

BENEE: Apparently he’s really tall.

OTW: He’s 6’5;” he’s like a football player.

BENEE: Woahhh, he’s a tall ass man. Damn, and he’s got a good voice. And a beautiful girlfriend.

OTW: He’s got it all.

BENEE: Yeah. (laughs) I’m going to cry.

OTW: On the subject of crying, let’s talk about your quarter-life crisis.

BENEE: Ok my quarter-life crisis. I’m such a fucking drama queen, oh my god. So basically, it was the end of my high school years. It was like my quarter-life crisis because I had enrolled into a University, I had released “Tough Guy” at the end of the year, and I was at Uni for two weeks, doing a communications degree. I lasted two weeks, and on the Friday of the second week, I was like, “I actually don’t think I want to do this with my life.”

I got home after that day, I was just bawling my eyes out like a little baby, crying to my mum and my dad, “Guys, I don’t want to do this with my life, I want to make music!” That was my quarter-life crisis. So I dropped out and started making music all year, making pizzas, and washing dishes. It was amazing. It was great. I don’t make pizzas anymore though, I just eat them.

OTW: Are you good at making pizzas though?

BENEE: Low-key... no (laughs). Maybe if I were at the place that I worked at, and I had all the ingredients... actually no.

OTW: Even then, no?

BENEE: Cause I can’t make the dough, and the dough is such an important part of a pizza. Like I just don’t think I’m that skilled at mixing the dough, and the yeast and shit. Nah.

OTW: Ok so last question, very important question: what are your ideal pizza toppings?

BENEE: It’s got roasted garlic, olives, feta, pepperoni, what else? Red onions on there, did I say olives? Put more olives on there. So, feta, olives, roasted garlic, red onion, pepperoni. And then chili flakes when it’s cooked. Oh! And jalapeños.

OTW: Spicy?

BENEE: Yes, a little spicy. Not really really really spicy, I can do like medium, mild. No, actually hot. Yes, spicy.

[wildxlily]

Last Weekend of Freedom Pt. 2

Harry slept great that night, barely stirring. They shifted together throughout the night so that they were even more curled up with each other when Harry woke up the next morning. He didn’t move though, content to lay quietly and hold Lily while he waited for her to wake too. He didn’t know how often he’d be able to do this having work and now course work as well, so he was savoring it.

  Lily slept deeply after a longer day than planned, but she woke up not too long after Harry. Of course, it was Lily and she was never keen on getting out of bed, so she just snuggled closer to Harry and then let out a content sigh, her thumb absently stroking along his skin.

 Harry thought he’d be waiting a while longer for Lily to wake up considering he’d usually get up pretty early, but soon he noticed she was shifting next to him. He laid on his back with his arm around her body. “You’re up early,” he smiled a bit.

  “I slept good,” Lily replied in a sleepy mumble. “You were cozy.” She didn’t think she’d woken up at all during the night, not even when Finn had to find a new spot to get cozy anytime Harry and Lily shifted.

  “We were very cozy last night. I was super tired.” Harry felt much better now after getting that needed rest, but he was still taking his time waking up as he laid beside Lily, his hand on her thigh.

  Lily shifted her head back so she could look at Harry, smiling softly. “It was adorable how tired you were. You were out in seconds, just peacefully sleeping away.”

  Harry turned his head to look over at her and smiled. “Don’t know why I got so tired all of a sudden,” he grinned, “Then you were cuddling me and playing with my hair…I wasn’t lasting long.”

  “Can’t always be the one with all the energy,” she teased. “But don’t worry, I wasn’t up for too much longer. Just an episode or so.” Lily turned her head then as a yawn came over her, not wanting to subject Harry to her morning breath like that.

  “Good. I would’ve felt bad if you were up by yourself for a while,” he smiled softly and turned on his side to face her, only to pull the blankets up higher and make himself comfier again. He wasn’t ready to get out of bed just yet.

  Lily adjusted when Harry did and tucked her hands under her pillow. “Did you have anything today?” she asked, reaching up to rub at the sleep in her eye real quick.

  “Not today.” This would likely be his last day before everything got a little crazier. He’d spent time over the past couple of weeks getting organized and reviewing everything so he wouldn’t have to cram all that in the day before, when he knew he’d want that day to spend with Lily. “Do you have any plans?”

  Lily pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Don’t even think I have any errands I need to run. We did a pretty good job of staying on top of chores this week.”

  “Yay for us. Guess that means just a whole lot of cuddling today…” Harry spoke with a soft smile, his head resting against the pillow. He wouldn’t mind a lazier day spent with Lily.

  Lily smiled back at him and nodded gently. “We can do whatever you want, lovey,” she murmured. Today was his last day with no school for a bit and she wanted him to enjoy it as much as possible.

  Harry smiled and that was when Finn began to climb over his body to interrupt the moment he and Lily were having, deciding now that he’s waited much too long already for breakfast. “Guess whatever I want first is to give this guy some food,” he smiled, Finn rubbing up against both of them.

  Lily lifted her head when she felt Finn stepping on them and just shook her head at him. “I’ll go feed the baby and brush my teeth. I feel like I have horrible morning breath.” She began to sit up, scooping Finn into her arms as she went. “You stay here and I’ll be right back.”

  Harry laughed softly as Finn was scooped up and standing with Lily, watching the two of them. “Thanks for feeding our baby.” But he was up when they left because Lily reminded him, going to the bathroom to brush his teeth as well as wash his face.

  Lily cooed nonsense to Finn as she carried him to the kitchen. The second she set him down so she could get his food, he was circling her feet and meowing, right on her heels when she walked over to his bowl. Lily gave him some scratches on his head and down his spine before she headed back to their bedroom and bathroom so she could brush her teeth. “You were supposed to stay in bed,” she teased when she found Harry, one hip popped out and her arms crossed over her chest.

  Harry was in the process of rinsing his face off when he heard Lily. “I know but then I got thinking about my breath, and I couldn’t be the only one with morning breath.” He explained and glanced over at her. “Do not pose at me like that. Feels like I’m in trouble,” he teased and smiled, standing up straight to dry off his face.

  Lily just laughed and placed her hand on his lower back as she stepped around him to get her toothbrush. “Fair enough,” she allowed. She brushed her teeth while she waited for Harry to finish up with the sink, spitting out her toothpaste and then figuring she’d wash her face as well while she was here.

  Harry smiled and decided to stand beside Lily as he waited for her to finish, wrapping his arms around her waist. He was feeling very cuddly and a little bit sleepy still after waking up from their full, uninterrupted night of rest.

  Lily giggled whenever Harry held her, bent over so she could rinse off her face. “I don’t know how helpful that is right now, darling,” she joked before standing up right. She dried her face with a fresh washcloth and then looked to Harry, pecking him on the chin with a quick kiss. “But it’s cute. I love when you get super cuddly.”

  Harry laughed but didn’t move away. He knew washing her face wouldn’t take too much longer for him to actually get in the way. “Well, you are in luck…because I am incredibly cuddly this morning,” he told her and pouted his lips for a kiss.

  Lily used her hands on the counter to help brace herself as she lifted onto her toes to give him a proper kiss. “Wanna go back to cuddling in bed or on the couch?” she asked once she’d settled back onto her feet again.

  “I’m thinking bed for a little longer, if I’m being honest.” He was cuddly and a bit tired and didn’t particularly feel like starting their day out of bed just yet. “Unless you’d rather the couch?” He turned and walked out of the bathroom.

  Lily shook her head even though he’d already turned. “Bed sounds good. You look like you could fall back asleep,” she smiled. She shut the light off in the bathroom as she followed him out and then climbed back into the bed.

  “I’m not going to fall asleep on you again,” he promised with a smile. He got back into his side of the bed and pulled the blankets up, but it wasn’t long before he was moving himself closer to Lily.

  “If you say so,” Lily lightly teased. But she curled up with him once more, snuggling with him however he liked. She was absolutely going to soak this up as much as she could before school directed his attention elsewhere.

  Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He knew they both were taking this moment in, and would probably be doing that this entire lazy day. “You’re cute. And… I think you’re quite cuddly this morning too.”

  “It’s hard not to be when you’re so cuddly. It rubs off on me,” Lily smiled. They really were a cuddly couple and had mentioned many times that they could win an award. “Finn is gonna love us today if this is all we do.”

  Harry laughed. “He’s the cuddliest of us all. It rubs off on both of us.” Knowing Finn, he’d soon be in for his post-breakfast nap, which would last nearly the whole afternoon.

  Lily absently ran her finger over one of Harry’s swallows for a bit before peeking up at him. “So, I ended up telling my mum and Liz about our…little scare,” she shared, peeking up at him. “Guess my mum and dad had the same thing happen just a couple years into dating. Dad hadn’t even proposed yet.”

  Harry looked down at Lily when she spoke and gave a little nod. He was happy Lily felt comfortable enough to speak about it and tell the women she’s closest to, because they could give her a different perspective and even more support on top of what Harry could give her. “Yeah? That’s a little more reassuring. It probably happens more often to people than we think it does… I’m glad you could talk to them about it, though.”

  Lily pressed her lips together and nodded. “I’m sure it does. But it made me feel better knowing my mum understood what I felt when we got the negative.” Even now, Lily struggled to put into words what was going through her mind when she saw the result. A mix of relief and joy, but also a bit of sadness in there as well. It was no secret that her and Harry wanted to have children. So, it was a little sad that they weren’t having them just yet.

  Harry nodded and slowly rubbed his hand along her arm. He still thought about that morning from time to time, and had similar feelings to Lily. “Definitely, babe. I’m happy for you that you decided you could tell them. Mums always know what to say.”

  Lily decided not to stay on a bit of a downer of a subject and change it some. “You know we’re going to have the cutest, most adorable, and most spoiled kid ever.” Her brows furrowed slightly. “Or kids.”

  Harry began to smile when he heard the change of topic. “Oh, the most spoiled. I bet they’ll have the most curls, your adorable smile hopefully…or your eyes, I love your eyes.” His brows raised with a grin and he teased, “My Lily wants kids, plural, with me?”

  Lily grinned at the idea of a little curly haired kid. “My eyes? Why brown?” she questioned before playfully rolling said eyes at him. “Babes. We already discussed this like months ago. We liked the idea of them having a sibling.” They both grew up with an older sister and loved having a companion.

  “I love your eyes,” he told her with a little shrug and kept on grinning, “I know, I’m just…flattered. Never know if you’ll change your mind or not,” he teased.

  “Well maybe we’ll end up with one brown eyed kid and one with your eyes,” Lily offered up as a solution. Not that they really had control over that. “I won’t change my mind. Unless of course our first kid is a handful…then I might second guess it,” she laughed softly.

  “Maybe we’ll just have to keep having them until there’s one with brown eyes and one with green,” Harry joked with a smile. He couldn’t lie, he loved whenever they talked about their future.

  Lily laughed, her eyes widening playfully. “My goodness. How many kids are you okay with having?” she teased with a grin. She honestly wouldn’t mind at all having a big family with Harry.

  “I like the idea of two. But if those two are cute and are not complete monsters all the time, the max is three or four.” He smiled, half teasing. Realistically, he was still set on their two that they’d discussed previously.

  Lily pressed her lips together and hummed, squinting her eyes a little as she thought it over. “I could swing three. But I don’t want to be super outnumbered.” A soft, dreamy smile came to her face, “When they’re little they can come to the bed and breakfast with us. Help me at the front desk or delivering things to guests and do handy jobs with you.”

  Harry smiled and trailed his fingers lightly along her arm. All this talk was making him daydream. And it was easy to do so; he’d always wanted children. “That’s actually too adorable, babe... and as the fun parent, I’ll probably have them pull little pranks on you.”

  Lily dropped her jaw, “I’m a fun parent, too! What if we pull the prank first? Send you to fix something in a room and prank you?” It would be dangerous with them having their own hotel, with or without kids. They already got up to enough shenanigans at the Crown Inn.

  Harry laughed and shook his head. “I’ll just tell the children that you stole my idea. But I will say, that would be a really good prank on me though,” he gave in with another soft laugh.

  “Who are we kidding? Our kids are going to be so ornery,” Lily laughed. If they were anything like their parents, it was going to be quite entertaining around the hotel.

  “Because they’ll get an ornery temperament from their mum?” Harry clarified with a small nod, but then had the biggest grin to show that he was fully joking.

  “And their dad. We have no chance,” Lily shook her head. Her giggles died down a little as she laid there, still running her finger along Harry’s chest as she gazed off for a bit. “Have you ever had any names that you liked?” she asked him.

  “You’re saying I’m ornery?” He faked surprise but it quickly turned into a grin. “I have a few. More girl names than boy…” He didn’t have a reason why that was. Maybe girl names were just easier to think of, and often more adorable. “What are the names you like?” He was sure she probably had a list, the way she liked to plan.

  Lily was surprised to hear that Harry had girl names, since she found those more difficult. “I have one boy name that I always come back to. Beckham. Or Beck for short,” she shared. “I actually struggle more with girl names.”

  “I actually really like that name. Don’t know if I’ve heard that before,” he told her. Hopefully when it came time, they’d be on the same page with baby names, like they were with most everything else. “I’ve always liked Maisie and Peyton for a girl… I also think Mia is cute. I’ll have a whole list by the time we’re ready,” he teased with a smile.

  Lily pouted out her bottom lip at his names. “Maisie is so cute!” She could picture a little girl with curly hair running around her parents’ garden in a sundress. Maisie.

  “Yeah, that’s my absolute favorite name I think,” he nodded with a smile. Already it didn’t look like it’d be too difficult for them to agree on a name. However, he had no reason to think it would be. “We’ll have the cutest kids.”

  Lily smiled softly, completely lost in the dream of their future. “The cutest family by far.” Her smile turned into more of a smirk as she turned her gaze to Harry. “You’re gonna be such a hot dad.”

  Them talking about their future, as much as he didn’t want to rush it, just made him that much more excited for it. “We’re going to be the hottest parents by far then too, because…just look at you.”

  Lily giggled; of course, Harry had to turn it around on her. “Cute kids and hot parents. As if people weren’t jealous of us enough already,” she joked. She scrunched up her nose with a grin before leaning in to steal a quick peck. “I’m just happy I get to do it all with you.”

  “People are really gonna be sick of all our adorableness then,” he laughed softly and leaned in to return the kiss. “Me too. We’ll figure it all out together,” he smiled, closing the space between them once more for another kiss.

  Lily still had yet to wrap her mind around the fact that Harry was hers forever. Even with that ring on her finger to remind her every day, every second. She cupped his cheek as she kissed him more deeply this time, overwhelmed with love which was typical with Harry.

  Harry had shifted his body slightly so that it was easier to kiss Lily, his hand reached over to rest across her thigh. Of course, he returned the deeper kiss with no hesitation. He enjoyed being close to her especially after all their talk about the future.

  Lily shifted her leg at his touch, tangling their legs even more so she could be as close as possible. When she pulled away for a second to catch her breath, she kept her face close to his, giggling out of pure joy.

  He turned on his side fully as they managed to get even closer than they were prior, legs tangled and his hand moving up to rest on her hip. Her giggles when they pulled away had him grinning wide, even laughing softly himself. “I love your laugh.”

  Lily nudged the tip of her nose against Harry’s. “Well, it’s a good thing you make me laugh all the time,” she smiled at him. “When you laugh, when you act ridiculous…you’ve always been very good at cheering me up and giving me a chuckle. Especially on long work days.” Lily had always been able to count on Harry to make a dull day at work at least a little fun.

  Harry smiled and brought his hand up to gently brush Lily’s hair behind her shoulder. “That’s my job, lovey. Just glad you think I’m doing good at it,” he smiled softly looking at her, “Crazy it all started with joking around at work.”

  Goosebumps popped up on her arm whenever he brushed her hair back; the gesture still gave her butterflies. “And crazy to think you had a secret crush on me that whole time,” Lily grinned at him. Not that she would trade their years of being friends for anything. It was the basis of their entire relationship.

  “And even crazier to think you didn’t suspect I had a crush on you all that time,” Harry responded with the light tease and a smile. How they met and how their relationship became what it is now was just perfect for them.

  “Because you are super friendly with everyone! You’re always charming the pants off the guests and our other coworkers,” Lily argued. “You could have had a crush on Mike for all I knew!”

  Harry couldn’t help but laugh, knowing she wasn’t wrong. He had a tendency to start up a conversation with just about anyone, especially if he didn’t really feel like working too hard that day. “But I wasn’t purposefully going over to talk to them like, every five minutes like I had with you at the front desk,” he grinned.

  “Okay, but…we were besties and the only ones in our twenties. Figured you needed someone to relate to,” Lily defended herself. But she knew her defenses were weak. She was just oblivious and that’s all there was to it.

  Harry smiled listening to Lily and gave a nod. “Okay, lovey, whatever you say…” he grinned and slowly draped his arm around her waist, his eyes never leaving hers.

  Lily covered her face with her hand. “I’m oblivious, okay?” she mumbled, dropping her hand to peek up at him. “Didn’t even realize that I had a crush on you, too. That’s how oblivious I was.”

  Harry smiled and leaned in to kiss the tip of her nose once she dropped her hand. “It’s okay. At least we got it all figured out eventually, yeah? And now we’ve got the hugest crushes on each other, ever.”

  Lily slipped her arm around his waist as well. “Crushes that we get to act on. Can kiss you whenever I want,” she grinned. “And don’t have to be drunk to do it.”

  Harry laughed while lightly trailing his fingertips along her skin. “At least drunk Lily wasn’t oblivious to our crushes,” he smiled, leaning in to kiss her.

  Lily hummed softly into the kiss. “Who would’ve thought I’d be smarter drunk,” she joked, smiling against his lips before kissing him again.

  “Drunk you is definitely a very interesting you,” he smiled throughout their kisses, using the hand that wasn’t on her waist to brush gently through her hair.

  Lily laughed and shook her head a little. “Bless your heart for dealing with drunk me. And to think you signed up to do it for the rest of your life,” she teased.

  Harry pulled away only to let out a soft laugh, absentmindedly rubbing his hand up and down along her side. “I cannot wait to take care of you and drunk you for the rest of my life.”

  Lily leaned in for yet another kiss, never able to get enough. “And I can’t wait to take care of you and be there for you for the rest of our lives,” she murmured, stroking her thumb along his side.

  Her words had him smiling, knowing their promises were genuine and completely full of love. Harry would marry her today if he could. “I love you,” he kissed her again, deepening it more than the last.

  Lily felt like she was grinning all over, happily returning his kiss and holding him close. “Love you,” she whispered against his lips.

  Harry loved to see Lily this happy. Everything about their relationship was amazing, including how they got to this point, and he would never want to change a thing about it. He smiled giving her a few more kisses while holding her body close to his.

  Lily was just relishing in all the attention, soaking up this moment before Harry would be otherwise preoccupied. “Why can’t we spend every morning like this?” she wondered aloud.

  Harry had a small smile when he pulled away and brushed Lily’s hair back before resting his hand along her jaw. “I know… maybe someday.” He would love that, though they had so many other plans for themselves that wouldn’t make it as easy as it seemed.

  Lily just shook her head with a smile. “You know that’s not going to happen, but thanks for trying.” They’d be busy with the hotel and any future family they had, but that was alright with Lily.

  Harry laughed softly and gave a shrug, “Maybe on our next vacation before kids, we’ll have mornings like this.” It wouldn’t be every day but a few spent like this with Lily would be good enough for him. “All these busy days right now will be more than worth it later.”

  Lily rested her head on her pillow and reached up to run the tips of her fingers through Harry’s curls. “Can’t thank you enough for taking this on. It means a lot that you’re doing it for us.” A smile tugged at her lips. “Never imagined I’d marry a man who would run my hotel with me. Makes the dream even more perfect.”

  Harry always had ideas of returning to school. He was just lucky enough now that he had Lily to give him the push he needed as well as the support. “And we are going to be soo good at it,” he smiled softly, “Glad to do it. I want us to be in a good place.”

  Lily smiled and leaned in for just one more kiss. “What do you say to some food?” she asked. They’d fed Finn, but not themselves, content to just lay around and share kisses. Which was fine by her.

  He kissed Lily and nodded before slowly propping himself up on his forearm beside her. “Yeah, I’m getting quite hungry. What are you in the mood for, love?” he asked, “I’ll make it.”

  Lily rolled onto her back so she could stretch a little bit. “Mmm…maybe just do a pizza?” she offered up as a suggestion. “Nothing too fancy.”

  Harry rubbed his hand along her tummy as she stretched and nodded his head before slipping out of bed. “You got it, babes. I’ll be right back.”

  Lily had no issues with staying in their bedroom, but she did need to get up and use the restroom. While there, she combed through her messy hair and put it up in a tight bun so it was out of the way. Then she retired back to the bed, snagging her phone to scroll through while she waited on Harry.

  Harry returned not even twenty minutes later, first with their plates of food and then came back a second time with their coffees. He set Lily’s mug on her bedside table before carefully getting back into the bed on his side, ready to eat. “Your hair looks cute.”

  Lily was confused at first when Harry left after bringing her plate, but it all made sense when she saw the mugs. “You are a life saver,” she sighed. She waited until Harry joined her to start eating, chuckling softly around her bite at his compliment. “Because it doesn’t look like a rat nest anymore?”

  Good thing Lily made her comment before Harry took a bite, because he was laughing upon hearing it and shaking his head. “Your hair did not look like that before. I was just saying it looks adorable now,” he smiled, finally beginning to eat.

  “Admit it, love. It was a bit messy,” Lily giggled. But of course, Harry was going to spoil her by showering her with compliments. He’d never let her talk down about herself.

  “No.” Harry playfully refused with a smile and kept eating, taking sips of his coffee in between bites. This had been the most amazing, lazy morning. Hopefully it’d keep them satisfied for a while, because he didn’t see many more lazy mornings in the near future.

  Lily knew she couldn’t argue, so she just settled on eating and enjoying her coffee. Once she was done with her pizza, she set the plate to the side and just held her coffee to sip on. “That was delicious. Thank you, babes.”

  Harry stacked their plates and planned to take them to the kitchen once they were finished with their coffees as well. “No problem, lovey.” He sat back, sipping from his mug before looking to her. “Think we should get out of bed at some point today?” he grinned.

  Lily pursed her lips as she settled back against the headboard more. “But what would we do?” she questioned.

  “I was hoping you would know.” Harry teased with a smile and looked down while he thought. “We could go on a little walk, or… sit in the garden. I’m not saying we have to get out of bed,” he grinned, “Just wondering.”

  Lily glanced towards the window to see how it looked outside. “Maybe a walk? Then I can hold your hand or tuck against your side. It’s not so easy to cuddle when we sit in the garden,” she thought out loud. Much like Harry this morning, she was feeling extra cuddly knowing their cuddles would be a bit more limited soon.

  “Hmm. Is someone else feeling cuddly today?” He smiled. He wasn’t complaining; he’d take all the cuddles he could get today. “We could take a walk. Doesn’t have to be too long,” he said and got out of the bed when he finished his coffee, grabbing their empty plates.

  “I gotta get in all the cuddles I can,” Lily shrugged. It would definitely be difficult to resist cuddling him while he worked on school, so she needed to get as much cuddling in now as she could. She finished off the last of her coffee and then got out of bed as well, carrying her own mug to the kitchen to rinse out.

  Harry headed out to the kitchen and glanced behind him as Lily followed, smiling. “I could’ve gotten your mug for you,” he grinned a little and went over to the sink to rinse off the dishes.

  Lily shrugged her shoulder. “No sense in you making all sorts of trips back and forth just for a mug.” She placed her mug in the sink and then stepped back so she was out of Harry’s way. “I’ll go get dressed,” she let him know of her whereabouts before going back to their room to put on clothes for the day. Or at least for their walk.

  Harry washed all of the dishes and set them aside to dry. He returned to their room and didn’t want to make Lily wait any longer for him to shower, so he just freshened up and pulled on a crewneck sweatshirt and shorts. “How messy is my hair? Hat or no?”

  Lily opted for some leggings and an oversized tee from uni. She was lacing up her tennis shoes when she heard Harry, sitting up straight so she could get a better look. “The back is a bit wonky on top, but not bad. Whatever you feel, love. You look cute either way.”

  “Thanks, lovey.” Harry went into the bathroom then and wet his hands before running them through his hair, fixing it as much as he could. Then he was walking out towards the front door to slip on his sneakers, ready to go once Lily was.

  Lily walked out to the living room and gave Finn a quick kiss on the head. “Don’t worry, mum and dad won’t be gone for long,” she promised. Once Harry joined her, she opened the door to step outside, waiting for him just off the porch.

  “Bye Finny,” Harry told him as he stepped outside and closed the door behind them. He immediately reached for Lily’s hand and laced their fingers as they walked.

  Lily smiled and gave his hand a squeeze as they started off on their walk. She kept a leisurely pace, not in any rush to get anywhere soon.

  “It’s really nice out.” As much as probably neither of them really felt like leaving their very comfortable bed, he knew at the end of the day he’d be happy they got some exercise. “Have you thought about wedding plans any more?” He smiled.

  Lily pursed her lips as she lightly swung their hands between them. “A bit? Gonna go dress shopping the next time Liz visits,” she smiled excitedly at him before shrugging. “I know we don’t have a date or a location, but…”

  “Dress shopping?!” Harry smiled at Lily. He was really excited for her, if she couldn’t tell. He knew he’d have the toughest time waiting until the big day to see that dress. “We should sit down sometime soon and figure out a date. Then I’ll set aside a day when work isn’t too heavy and we can go look at venues,” he suggested.

  Lily’s grin just grew at the idea of actually planning out their wedding and she nodded shyly. “Yeah…that’s crazy, isn’t it? I’m gonna go shopping for my wedding dress,” she giggled like a little school girl.

  “That is crazy. I’m really excited for you, though. That’ll be fun to go with Liz, too.” Harry smiled, gently squeezing her hand as they walked. “Can’t wait to see what dress you pick.”

  “You’ll see it when I walk down the aisle to you,” Lily raised her brows at him. They’d definitely have to hide it at her mum’s or possibly even with Liz to keep Harry from peeking. “So, my love…easy things we can plan. What colors are we thinking?” She didn’t want it to all be her own opinions, she wanted Harry’s as well, because this day was just as much about him as it was her.

  “I know, I’ll be having to wait a while.” Harry smiled and looked down as they walked and he thought. “I feel like that depends on what time of year we’re having it in,” he grinned at her, “I’ve always liked navy blue with another color… like a sage-ish green, or an orange if it’s fall. A champagne color is nice, I don’t know if it would go with blue though.” It was easy to tell he’d been thinking about this.

  Lily pressed her lips together and absently kicked at a twig along the path. “So, are you thinking navy for your suit? Or are you going classic with a black suit?” she asked. That of course would have an effect on things, too. “I like the sage green, though. Nothing too bright or flashy.”

  “I like either. Didn’t know if you had a preference for what I wear,” Harry rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. “Maybe blue if it matches the other color that we choose.”

  “Well, I love you in black on black, but you also wore that blue suit when you proposed and you looked great as well,” Lily sighed. She really was very little help with this. In her opinion, Harry made everything look good.

  Harry smiled at her indecisiveness, which he just found adorable. “We’ll figure it out. Maybe we can go and I’ll try some on, see what we like best.” They had a lot to do, but that wasn’t a surprise to him as they were planning a wedding.

  Lily lifted a finger, her eyebrows raised in excitement. “Okay. One thing I know for sure for sure. I want our reception to be in a clear tent with lighting all over.” She waved her hand, “Even if it rains, we’ll be dry and the rain on the tent will sound good.”

  Harry looked down at Lily as he listened to her. “Very pretty. Yeah, we can definitely make that happen, babe.” This was their day so he’d do everything he could to make it as special as possible.

  “As for the ceremony, I figure inside is best. It’s England and I don’t need to be stressed about the weather for months beforehand.” It just wasn’t worth all the stress when they could have something indoors that was just as beautiful.

  “I think that’s best, too. Play it safe. The ceremony probably won’t take all that long either… the reception is where it’s at,” he smiled. They were both logical and always worked best as a team, so he didn’t have any big worries about planning.

  “Cake and dancing. Second most important behind the ‘I dos’,” Lily nodded with a light laugh. With their friends and family, it was definitely going to be quite the night.

  Harry laughed softly. Once again, they were on the same page. “I have to say, the dancing is my favorite part of the reception.” He grinned, “We haven’t gone to a wedding in a while.”

  “Any thoughts on a song for our first dance?” Lily asked curiously. She tried to think if there were any songs with significant meaning to them, but couldn’t come up with any. Or at least not any that they would slow dance to.

  “Oh boy. That’s a tough one.” Harry smiled and went to thinking once more. “I’ll have to look through some songs later… But you know, there’s that Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé duet that’s nice. We love Beyoncé. Think it’s called Perfect.”

  Lily made a small face, not of distaste, but of disinterest. “I feel like everyone chooses that song, though. Or ‘Thinking Out Loud’.” She held up a hand, “Don’t get me wrong. I love Ed Sheeran, but he had other lovely songs, too.”

  “Then you may suggest a song, my dear.” Harry smiled softly and looked down as they kept walking. “Do you want to keep going or start back home?”

  Lily glanced around, finally taking in their surroundings. “We can turn back.” She walked quietly as she thought of songs in her head. It was hard to think past the generic first dance songs. “What about Conversations in the Dark by John Legend?” she finally spoke up.

  Harry turned them around so they were headed back towards the apartment. “Maybe,” he nodded slowly, “I’ll have to listen to it later.”

  “Fair enough,” Lily laughed softly. “We need to figure out a date and venue before we worry about a song.” There was quite a lot. Maybe that could be her job while Harry was working on school work to at least figure out all the things they needed to plan. Then they could just check things off the list as they had time.

  Harry laughed softly, “Yeah, sorry. I feel like I have to actually be sitting down and listening to these songs to consider them.” He held her hand as they kept walking. “We’ll organize it all. We’ll be okay.”

  “We’ll just have to test them all out by slow dancing and seeing which one makes us want to cry the most,” Lily suggested as a solution with a small laugh. Knowing her, it’d be all of them if she allowed herself to imagine it was actually their first dance as husband and wife.

  Harry laughed and shrugged. It definitely wasn’t the worst idea. He’d happily do that with her. “You’ll have to drink some wine beforehand and then there will really be waterworks,” he teased with a smile, “We have to practice dancing… probably our first kiss too, just to make sure it’s the best that it can be.”

  Lily laughed and shook her head, but gave his hand a squeeze. “Sounds like a great plan, love. Don’t want to suddenly have an awkward kiss,” she joked. Even their drunk kiss hadn’t been all that awkward.

  “Right?” Harry smiled. They were almost back to their apartment but he stopped walking, only for a moment, so that he could pull Lily into him and give her a kiss.

  Lily was confused when Harry tugged on her and brought her to a stop, her brows furrowing a bit until she felt his lips on hers. She managed to compose herself and kiss him back before he could pull away. “Was that your practice kiss?” she managed to tease.

  Harry kissed her and had the biggest grin on his face when he pulled away, beginning to walk again with her like nothing happened. “Oh, no. I could do much better than that.”

  Lily followed after him, but it took her an extra beat, still a little thrown off from the kiss. “Oh, I know you can,” she smiled. “Though it was quite a surprise.” Normally they didn’t kiss too terribly much in public.

  Their fingers were still laced and he held onto her hand as they made their way back. “It’s been a while since we’ve kissed,” he easily reasoned with a smile, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

  Lily just laughed softly at him and wrapped her arm around his waist in return as they continued to walk. The walk had been nice, but she was ready to get back to cuddles.

  Soon Harry was leading them up to the front door, pulling the keys out of his pocket to unlock it. He walked in behind Lily and closed the door after them. “Nice walk. Thanks for going.”

  Lily let go of Harry to step inside, kicking off her shoes to the side and then looking to him. “Welcome,” she giggled, amused by his wording. “I’m going to get a glass of water. Would you like one?” She checked before heading off to the kitchen for a cold glass.

  Harry slipped off his shoes by the door and nodded. “Yeah, I was gonna get one too.” He smiled, petting Finn on his way by the couch and following Lily to the kitchen.

  Lily had already gotten down the glasses and was filling them with water when Harry came into the kitchen. “Don’t think I can manage a couple glasses of water on my own?” she teased with a smirk. It was no secret that she was enjoying Harry’s need to be close to her at all times today.

  Harry smiled and leaned back against the counter. “Well, I plan on finishing this one, and then filling it up again. Why would I make you do all that?” He took his glass and began to drink.

  “Mhm. Sure.” Lily hummed, smiling knowingly around her glass at him as she took a drink. “I think you just wanted to be around me.”

  “That too.” Harry smiled at her. He finished off his first glass in no time and then stepped forward to refill it, just like he said he would. “You know what I would really enjoy? A shower together.” He grinned. It was unusual as he never really waited this late into the day to take one.

  Lily continued to drink her water as she watched him, but didn’t go back for a second. Instead, she just smirked even more at Harry’s comment. “I’m honestly surprised you’ve made it this far in the day,” she laughed lightly. “Do you just feel absolutely disgusting?”

  Harry laughed softly and gave a slight nod. “Yeah, I don’t feel amazing right now,” he grinned and finished his second glass, setting it aside to dry once he washed and rinsed it.

  Lily just laughed and waited for him to finish with his glass before she did the same. “Go start the shower, then,” she nudged him out of her way with a grin.

  Harry looked at Lily surprised when she nudged him but turned anyway and headed back towards their room. He grabbed a pair of boxers and went to the bathroom to start the shower and undress, quick to step in underneath the water.

  Lily washed up her glass and placed it in the drying rack before drying her hands on the dish towel. Then she made her way to the bedroom to grab fresh clothes. She admittedly smelled like the outdoors and wouldn’t really mind a shower. By the time she made it to the bathroom, Harry was already in the shower, so she quickly set her clean clothes on the toilet lid before she undressed and stepped into the shower with him.

  Harry was already rinsing the shampoo out of his hair by the time Lily joined him, but hadn’t gotten to washing his body yet. The sight of her made him grin, stepping out from under the water once he was done rinsing so that Lily could have a turn. “Hi there.”

  Lily paused to undo her bun and quickly comb her fingers through her hair before she stepped under the water. “Hi. Are we feeling better?” she smiled at him.

  Harry smiled and grabbed the body wash when they switched places. “We are feeling much better,” he laughed softly, “Really is a lazy day today.”

  Lily closed her eyes as she tilted her head back to make sure she got all of her hair wet. “I don’t think we’ve had a day quite this lazy in a while,” she agreed. She lifted her head and reached for the shampoo to suds up her hair.

  Harry squirted some of his body wash into his hand and just put the bottle back before he handed Lily’s shampoo to her. “It is well deserved,” he spoke, beginning to wash his body.

  Lily couldn’t help but watch; how could she not? She would forever be obsessed with Harry’s body and was never ashamed in letting him know how much she liked it.

  Harry was in the middle of washing his body when he caught Lily looking out of the corner of his eye, a smile slowly forming on his face. “You know, I also can’t believe we haven’t had sex yet today. We’ve literally just been laying around.”

  Lily tilted her head back again to wash out the shampoo. “Well talking about our future children and their names didn’t really lend well to getting into the mood for sex,” she joked. “And then our walk…”

  Harry laughed softly. “That’s a toss-up… you never know if a nature-y, slow paced walk will lead to sex,” he joked, standing by while he waited to rinse off.

  “Is that what you were trying for when you kissed me?” Lily peeked open an eye to raise a brow at him with a grin. Then she finished up washing her hair and moved so Harry could rinse off.

  “I have a feeling you’re not going to believe me, but not really, I just wanted a kiss.” Harry smiled and switched places with Lily so he could rinse off. “You know I have no problem letting you know if I want something more.”

  Lily laughed softly. “We’re both pretty good at that. Don’t worry; I didn’t think you were making a move on me. Can’t see you doing that on a walk.” If he wanted something more, he would’ve been rushing them home instead of stopping her.

  Harry smiled and ran his hands through his hair one last time as he stood underneath the water. “No, not on a walk? Where can you see me doing that?” He grinned.

  “Well, you would at least try it at work,” Lily mused as she reached for the body wash. “At a pub I could see you suggesting a quickie in the car or a feel up in a dark corner maybe.”

  Harry smiled listening to her and moved out of the way so the water would be free once she was ready. And she knew him…very well. It was almost too good. “All those times we’ve gone to the pub and we haven’t had sex in the car yet,” he shook his head as if he were disappointed, “And work. What have we been doing if not each other at work?”

  Lily went to reply to his first comment, but his last one got her and her head fell back with a laugh. She even put her hands on her stomach like she was Father Christmas or something. “Oh my god. That was a good one!” she gasped.

  Harry was very satisfied with himself after seeing Lily’s reaction, causing a soft laugh of his own and a smile that remained on his face. As always, the laugh that came out of Lily was his goal. “Thanks, babe. I’ve got more where that came from,” he grinned, leaning against the wall.

  Lily just shook her head as her laughter died down. “Oh, I know you do,” she grinned back at him. She stepped close so she could rinse off, rubbing her hands over her body to get rid of the suds.

  Harry smiled and was happy to stand there as he waited for Lily to finish up. This time he was the one who couldn’t take his eyes off of her, not minding if he’d be caught.

  Lily tilted her head to the side and a smile tugged at her lips as she caught Harry watching exactly like she had been. “Enjoying the show, love?” she softly jested.

  Harry laughed a little, his head resting against the wall of the shower while his eyes were on her. “Always,” he grinned and stood up straight to join her.

  Lily’s hands instinctively went to Harry’s hips when he stood straight and she stepped close to him, having to tilt her head back a little to meet his gaze. “It’s all good. I enjoy having the audience,” she grinned at him. “You looked pretty sexy standing there against the wall.”

  “So, I can join you for every shower then?” Harry smiled as he stepped closer to Lily, cupping her face in his hands gently. “Yeah? You’re like a short, smokin’ hot goddess taking a shower over here,” he grinned, “Hard not to wanna watch.”

  “Never told you you couldn’t,” Lily quipped. She was more than happy with her face cradled in his large hands. Her jaw dropped, though, and her brows furrowed ever so slightly. “I’m not that short,” she protested with a hint of a pout. “But I will take all the other adjectives you gave me in that sentence.” It wasn’t her fault that he had a good five inches on her. She was actually a bit on the tall-ish side for girls.

  “No, you’re not. Just shorter than me,” Harry smiled down at her, rubbing his thumbs a few times against her cheeks. “Get that little adorable pout out of here,” he grinned softly and leaned down to kiss her.

  “Alright then, Mr. Giant,” Lily managed to mumble before his lips were on hers. She melted into it like always, hands holding onto his hips just a little tighter.

  “I am not giant,” he laughed softly into the kiss, “Can’t just call me giant and get away with it by distracting me with kisses.” He smiled against her lips, pressing soft kisses to them over and over.

  “You’re the one who kissed me,” Lily argued. Or at least as much as she could when his lips were repeatedly on hers. “And you called me short.”

  Harry pulled away to look at her. He was still holding her face in his hands. It fit perfectly and he loved being as close to her as possible. “I apologize for calling you short.”

  Lily nodded slightly. “Apology accepted. I apologize for calling you a giant.” She then pouted out her lips for an ‘I’m sorry’ kiss.

  “It’s okay.” He accepted with a small smile. They were lucky in the sense that their ‘arguments’ were based around things like jokingly poking at each other’s height. He kissed her again, moving one arm to slide around her waist.

  Lily leaned a bit more on the balls of her feet when Harry pulled her closer, making it so he didn’t have to lean down so much and she didn’t have to tilt her head so far back. Her body was brushing against his now, but only for a few seconds before she pressed into him.

  Harry quickly got lost in the kiss. It never took long, especially with the way Lily’s body was pressed against his. He turned them so her back was against the shower wall, cupping her chin in his fingers and resting his other hand beside her head.

  Lily hummed into the kiss when Harry pressed her against the wall, but it was dangerously close to a moan. Her hands now gripped his hips and pulled them against her own.

  He trailed his hand down until it rested along the side of her neck, his thumb aligned with her jaw. He knew Lily just by the noises that came from her, not hesitating to bring his hips closer or deepen their kiss.

  It took everything in Lily not to roll her hips towards Harry’s. She was easily becoming putty in his hands and would do anything he asked. As if that wasn’t their usual.

  Harry began to kiss along her jaw and down her neck, but focused most at that sweet spot under her ear. He could tell by her movements that she wanted more, not that he felt any differently, and so gently introduced his hand between her thighs to see how she’d react.

  Lily tilted her head back against the tile wall as Harry’s kisses wandered and she was more than okay with his hand wandering as well. She shifted her legs apart to give him more wiggle room down there. “Is it wasting water if we just have sex here in the shower?” she breathed out, managing to open her eyes to look to Harry.

  Harry had his hold on Lily so she could get more comfortable; he wouldn’t let her slip or anything like that. “Haven’t had shower sex in a while. I think we’re okay,” he gave a smile as he met her gaze, running his fingers along her core before sliding one into her.

  There was no debating once he was touching her there if Lily wanted to argue. But he had a fair point; shower sex was rare for them. They could stand to use a little extra water every now and then.

  If Lily changed her mind, they could move; but as of right now, he was more than okay with how she was pressed between himself and the wall. “Do you want me to hold you up like we usually do, or I could stand behind you?” He asked regarding what position she was in the mood for, all while curling two fingers inside of her now.

  Lily shook her head, having to wait to answer him out loud until after that shock of pleasure had subsided enough that she could even put together a sentence. “Hold me, please. I want to be able to touch you and kiss you.”

  Harry nodded, already expecting that to be her response. Whenever there was a chance to be close to each other, they were taking it. “Okay, I’ll hold you in a little bit, love,” he kissed along her neck, easily finding a rhythm with his fingers and his thumb that worked against her clit.

  “You just have to tease me some more,” Lily assumed with a smirk, but she still tilted her head for him to give him more access to her neck. Meanwhile her hands roamed over his chest and abs, nails lightly scratching at his skin when she felt his thumb on her clit. The attention definitely earned a couple whimpers paired with his fingers expertly curling against her spot.

  “Is this considered teasing? You seem to be really enjoying it.” Harry grinned and pulled away from her neck so that he could have all eyes on her, loving whenever he got to watch her. He kept his fingers moving to pleasure her, his other hand resting above them on the shower wall to keep their bodies close.

  Lily met his gaze and about melted into a puddle right there; the muscular arm keeping her encased between his body and the wall, wet curls dripping water onto his shoulders, and oh those gorgeous pecs right at eye level. She was one hundred percent drinking him in right now. “Oh, I am enjoying absolutely everything about this right now. If we weren’t in the shower, you’d be better able to feel how absolutely soaked I am. Could come just from looking at you.”

  Harry remembered being hesitant about shower sex at first, but now it was high on his list of favorites. Just the way he was able to press Lily against the wall, being able to see and take all of her in the midst of a steamy shower. He could never get enough of it. “I can feel how wet you are. I promise,” he had a small grin with eyes on hers. “I’ll take you up on that. I want you to come for me, darling.”

  Lily had no issues with coming multiple times for Harry, so she didn’t make any effort to hold back. Instead, she rocked her hips with his fingers just enough to help him reach that spongey spot where she needed his touch. Then of course there was his thumb expertly working on her bundle of nerves and edging her closer and closer.

  Harry synced his movements with Lily’s and moved his arm to wrap around her waist so he could help to steady her once her climax came. Often, they were eager and skipped the foreplay altogether, so when Lily was in the right mood for it, he wanted to give it to her. He’d take really any chance to pleasure her over and over.

  Lily moved her hands to hold onto Harry’s upper arms as her body started to tense up and that knot got tighter in her stomach. She could already feel herself clenching around Harry’s fingers. “Almost…” she gasped. Her hips moved a bit more desperately now, but she tried not to move too much so Harry could pleasure her just right. Her grip on him tightened as she grew closer and closer before finally falling over the edge, burying her face against Harry’s chest to muffle her moan as she rode out her first high. It wasn’t too terribly long, but that just meant it left her wanting more.

  Harry always appreciated whenever Lily told him what she needed. After years of being together, he’d gotten pretty good at knowing the signs of her body and what each of her moans meant, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t take the help from Lily who knew her body best. Harry held her body close and mouthed kisses along her jaw just prior to her reaching her climax, continuing his movements but slowing them just a little as her walls tightened around his fingers. “So gorgeous, my lovey.”

  Lily placed an open-mouthed kiss to his chest and trailed a couple more up his neck before reaching his lips. One of her hands slid up to cup the back of his neck. “Says my sex god of a fiancé,” she grinned. “I literally can’t get over how hot you look right now. Or any other time of the day.”

  “You are too…sweet.” Harry grinned against Lily’s lips, meeting her for a few slow kisses. “Look who’s talking. My sex goddess over here.” He moved his hand away from her core and instead slid both hands down to the back of her thighs to pick her up. “Hold onto me.”

  Lily moved to wrap her arms around his neck and shoulders. “Still think we need to do that for Halloween. Just not…sex.” Her brows furrowed before she let out a light laugh.

  Harry laughed at Lily’s comment right before easily lifting her up, his hands hooking underneath her thighs to nudge her legs to wrap around his waist. “We’ll just have two versions… The sex and the no sex,” he teased.

  Lily hooked her legs around his waist right away, locking her ankles together to keep them there. “Sex version will be for just us,” Lily nodded before getting a mischievous grin. “With your sheer shirt and booty shorts.”

  Harry had to laugh just at the mental image of him getting the sheer top and short shorts that he joked about the previous day. “Please. That would make my Halloween really special, babe,” he grinned and joked, “I’ll just borrow yours.”

  Lily shook her head, “Your biceps would rip my top.” She combed her fingers through his curls at the nape of his neck, a grin still on her lips as she looked down at him. “A real sex god would have nothing on but a laurel wreath on his head. Maybe one single leaf for modesty.”

  Harry smiled, his fingers gently pressing into her thighs as he held her up. “Modesty? I’ve already walked around once entirely naked for a full day. We’re going leafless if we’re doing this right,” he teased grinning.

  Lily smirked as she looked down between them at his body. “I am totally okay with that,” she met his gaze, her bottom lip lightly caught between her teeth.

  “That goes for you too.” He smiled meeting her gaze before leaning in to leave a trail of kisses from her jaw to her lips. “Are you ready, lovey?”

  Lily just nodded her head in response, using her thighs to lift herself up a little. Or at least enough that Harry could guide himself to her. She was more than ready to have him inside of her.

  Harry shifted how he held Lily so that he could move one hand to reach between them and line himself up with her. He shifted his hips forward and easily slid into her, softly humming at the feeling. His eyes were on Lily’s as he pushed forward, returning his hand to hook around her thigh once he was in fully.

  Lily hummed softly as well, her eyes fluttering a bit when he filled her. Once he had a hold of her again, she used her thighs to lift herself once more before lowering back down.

  They moved together expertly, Harry’s hips meeting Lily’s with each thrust. He kept close, mouthing kisses all along her neck and at the hinge of her jaw, the feeling of her around him causing frequent moans.

  Lily allowed Harry to scatter kisses as he pleased for a while, but then she was leaning her head down and attaching her lips to one of his pecs, just below his swallow. She made sure to stay away from the center of his chest where a mark would be visible if his shirt was unbuttoned too far. It’d been too long in her opinion since she’d been able to properly mark him and she didn’t hold back with her nipping and sucking.

  Of course, Harry loved the attention that Lily was giving him. Making marks on each other was something they loved but often didn’t get enough of, due to them needing to be covered up or hidden under clothing. He pressed her back against the wall to let her do as she pleased, thrusting up into her at the same time.

  Once Lily was satisfied, her lips wandered up his chest and neck until they found his once more. As much as she loved marking him, proper kisses would always be her favorite, especially when making each other feel so good.

  Harry smiled small when he noticed her kisses were going higher and higher, not hesitating to reconnect their lips and deepen their kiss instantly. He built up the pace of his thrusts to quicken a bit, some moans muffled against Lily’s mouth.

  Lily was making plenty of noise herself as she did her best to move with Harry. One of her hands cupped his jaw while the other held onto him still, keeping his body as close to hers as possible.

  Lily’s noises drove him crazy, making him only want to pleasure her more as each fell from her lips. He eventually had to pull away to catch his breath but stayed close enough so that their noses brushed together. “You feel really good,” he breathed, lips parted.

  Lily was panting heavily at this point and she wasn’t sure if she was sweaty or if it was just the water and steam from the shower. Or both. “So good,” she nodded in agreement. “And you look good doing it.” She nudged his nose playfully with a grin.

  Harry smiled softly with his head resting beside hers. He’d need to rinse off a second time once they were done, just in case. “Ditto,” he grinned, kissing her cheek and he couldn’t help but look between them for a moment to watch.

  Lily’s legs were admittedly starting to get tired, but she pushed through, wanting to get them both to their ends. She rested her head against Harry’s and bit down on her bottom lip when he hit just right. “Right there, babes,” she directed him.

  Harry began to aim his thrusts following Lily’s instruction. He could tell she was getting close and he felt the same, building up in the pit of his stomach. He changed his position so that he had one arm wrapped securely around her waist while bringing his now free hand between them to rub at her clit.

  As always, it was the focusing on her clit that did her in. Her fingers dug into the soft muscles of his back as she came, burying her face in his neck once more to muffle her cries.

  It wasn’t long before Harry was watching as Lily released in front of him. Feeling her walls tighten around him, her moans, her nails in his skin only brought him over the edge and he soon was releasing into her with a moan, resting his head against hers.

  Lily did her best to continue to move with Harry, at least until he had reached his peak and was starting to come down. But then her legs were absolutely exhausted and she was just doing good to keep them up around his waist.

  Once they came down, Harry could tell Lily’s legs were getting tired around him and he returned his arms to support underneath each of them. He’d hold her up completely if she let him. “I’ve got you, babes.” He lifted her slightly so he’d pull out of her, reaching behind them to turn off the water.

  Lily made a soft noise when he adjusted her, but was relieved that he was supporting most of her weight. “Thank you, lovey,” she breathed out softly. She continued to rest her head against his, taking a moment to catch her breath.

  Harry caught his breath and kissed her temple just before he stepped them both out of the shower. He grabbed a towel and walked over to sit Lily down at the edge of the bed, wrapping it around her. “I’ll be right back with your clothes,” he promised with a smile.

  Lily smiled a dopey smile when Harry carried her, doing her best not to move so he didn’t slip and have them both fall. “Are you just gonna treat me like a baby?” she teased gently, using the towel to dry herself while Harry returned to the bathroom. “Carry me like a little koala…wrap my towel around me…gonna dress me too?”

  Harry returned to the bathroom so he could dry off his body, and his curls as best he could, and smiled listening to Lily from the other room. “I’ll dress my baby, yeah.” He pulled on boxers, grabbing Lily’s clothes that she left and making his way back to her. “Unless you wanna do it yourself, baby?”

  Lily stood up from the bed so she didn’t get it soaked and dried off her body before wrapping up her hair. “You could’ve just set me down in the shower. Promise my legs weren’t that worn out,” she smiled at him. However, she gratefully took her clothes and slipped them on, a little chilly now that she’d gotten wet and Harry had taken her out of the steamy bathroom.

  “I know. I just like holding you.” Harry set Lily’s clothes down next to where she was sitting on the bed. He knew she sometimes got cold after a shower and so he was laying one of his hoodies out for her just in case. “I’m gonna feed Finny his dinner, then we can see what we’ve got for us if you’re hungry.” Their day had started much later than usual, including their breakfast that they had close to lunchtime.

  Lily’s smile grew when she noticed the hoodie and she happily slipped it on. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen after I dry my hair,” she nodded. If she slept on it wet, it was always a mess in the morning and they (unfortunately) had work tomorrow.

  “Of course, babe. No rush.” He went out to put Finn’s food in his dish and the cat was very happy about that, having been right under Harry’s feet on their way to the kitchen. Then Harry was looking at what they had to make for a meal, preferably something easy to continue the pace of their lazy day.

  Lily headed to the bathroom to blow dry her hair and then hung up her wet towel. When she joined Harry in the kitchen, she was happily snuggled into his hoodie with the sleeves pulled down around her hands. “Anything looking good to you?” she wondered.

  Harry looked to Lily when she joined him, grinning at how big the hoodie was on her. “You look adorable,” he commented, “Could just do the pasta that we were gonna have the other night?”

  Lily smiled shyly, “I like your hoodies. They have a worn in feel to them that makes them extra cozy.” And they smelled of Harry. She nodded though at his suggestion as she sat cross legged on one of the kitchen chairs. “Pasta sounds good and it’s easy.”

  “You look very comfy in it. Gonna need them when it starts getting chillier again,” Harry smiled and then nodded at the decision. He grabbed the pasta and began to boil water before getting out everything else he needed.

  Lily frowned at the mention of it getting cold, but was quickly distracted by Finn hopping up in her lap whenever he finished his dinner. She was more than happy to give him all the scratches on the head that he could want.

  Harry started on making the sauce once the water was boiling and he poured the pasta in. “Wine?” He offered to Lily with a smile, “I’ll have some if you do.”

  Lily looked up and opened her mouth to respond, but then clamped it shut. “Well. I was going to say I was alright, but if you’re going to drink it with me…” She’d already had some last night, but pasta did always pair so well with wine.

  “I will have some with you.” He smiled. He got two wine glasses out from the cupboard and poured some wine into each before setting Lily’s in front of her on the table.

  Lily smiled to herself as she watched Harry. “Thank you,” she murmured softly. Finn’s interest was piqued at the sound of the glasses and the sweet wine smell. He sat up in Lily’s lap and stretched towards the glass for a sniff. “No wine for Finny. Just Mum and Dad,” she giggled, pushing the glass back from him.

  Harry returned to the stove to check on everything and laughed softly when he heard Lily’s conversation with Finn. “Uh oh, Finny wants some wine?” He teased, grabbing plates and silverware.

  “Mum’s glass smelled particularly interesting,” Lily explained as she pet Finn in hopes of getting him to sit again. Her attention once again turned to the kitten in her lap. “You’re going to have to get down soon so I can eat. Don’t want to drop a noodle on your head.”

  It looked like Finn had no intentions of getting down, only nuzzling into Lily further when he noticed he had all her attention again. “Aw, Finny’s gonna be sad,” Harry smiled and brought everything over once it was ready, but waited to set down Lily’s plate until Finn was moved.

  Lily pouted down at Finn; it was hard to move him when he was so adorable. “After dinner, bud. I promise,” she assured him as she scooped him up and set him on the floor. Then she quickly scooted her chair closer to the table so he couldn’t hop right back up.

  Finn looked up at Lily like he wanted to be back in her lap but when he realized that wasn’t happening, he made himself as comfy as he could at their feet. Harry set their plates down before sitting and scooting his chair in as well.

  “I think our baby is feeling a little left out,” Lily giggled softly. She picked up her fork and took a bite, nodding in approval. “Tastes wonderful, love.” Which was no surprise; Harry was quite the cook.

  “Good. Thanks, babe.” He smiled and began to eat, sipping his wine every few bites. He loved how cozy Lily looked in his clothes and was soaking up this day with her. “I am feeling underdressed for our nice dinner date,” he smiled.

  Lily looked up from her food and then laughed and shook her head. “I’m bumming it. You actually look better than me.” Lily would never complain about Harry being shirtless.

  Harry smiled. They were actually the worst at accepting each other’s compliments, and would much rather be the one giving them to the other person. “I think you look cute. I’m just in my undies,” he laughed softly.

  “But you look good in your undies,” Lily grinned before taking a bite. They were ridiculous in their constant showering of compliments.

  Harry laughed and shook his head. “Thanks, darling. So do you.” He was soon finishing up his pasta and sat there while he worked on the remainder of his wine. “I’ll probably do whatever coursework I have right when we get home from work tomorrow to try and have some time with you at night,” he told her softly, “We’ll see how it goes.”

  Lily shrugged, “We’ll have time together. Don’t worry.” It’s not like homework would take him just hours and hours. “I’ve got plenty of chores I could do around the house to keep myself busy and out of your hair.”

  “I know, but I wanted to let you know what I was thinking so there’s at least a little bit of structure for us when it starts.” Harry took a sip and looked down as he set the glass back on the table.

  Lily smiled softly at him and reached across the table to lightly brush her fingers over the back of his hand. “I appreciate it, lovey.”

  Harry looked at Lily with a small smile and moved to rest the side of his face against his unoccupied hand. “I’ll get the dishes, then we can watch tv and cuddle or something.”

  Lily’s smile faded a little as she looked at him, now taking his hand in hers and rubbing her thumb along his knuckles. “Are you okay, babes?” she asked gently. His mood had definitely shifted through dinner and she just wanted him to enjoy his last free evening.

  “Yeah, no, I’m okay. There’s just a lot happening, that I have to get used to,” he explained slowly yet honestly. Harry sat up straighter and gave Lily’s hand a gentle squeeze. He never wanted her worrying about him. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine. Just want you to be okay and be relaxed. It’ll be different but we’ll be fine,” Lily encouraged him. “I’ll sit in the living room with you if you want me close. I don’t have to stay away if you don’t want me to.”

  Harry nodded with a soft smile. “Yeah, we’ll have to figure out what works best.” He always preferred to have Lily close, but that didn’t mean he wanted her to just have to sit there and wait while he did his work. “Let’s go cuddle. I’ll clean this up quick. Then I want to lay with my lovey.”

  “I’ll help you. That way we get it done faster and we can cuddle sooner.” She took her plate and empty glass over to the sink and began to rinse them out and wash them.

  Harry wasn’t going to argue. The more time they had to relax that night, the better. He carried his own dishes over, then began to dry and put away the ones that Lily already had done.

  Lily started on the pots Harry had used for the pasta and sauce as well just so it wouldn’t make their kitchen smell. Once she had handed them off to Harry, she shut off the water and then dried her hands. “Finny,” she called out, “Are you ready for family cuddles?” She looked for the kitten, but of course he was right at their feet now that they had both gotten up.

  Harry kept going until all of the dishes were put away and he laughed when he noticed Finn was right next to where they were standing at the sink. “He’s always ready for family cuddles.”

  Lily bent down to pick up Finn and cradled him in her arms as she stood up straight. “Let’s go then.” She carried him to the living room and sat down on the edge of the couch cushion, waiting to see how Harry sat or laid.

  Harry dried his hands and turned the lights in the kitchen off before following them to the living room. He laid down on the couch and made room so that Lily could lay close to him, and knew Finn would make himself comfy wherever he ended up.

  Lily waited for Harry to get settled before she tucked Finn behind his legs between the couch. Then she laid down, laying on her back for now so she could look at Harry. “Hi baby,” she murmured, reaching up to cup his cheek.

  Harry grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch to put it over their legs for now, making sure it wasn’t completely covering Finn either. He looked down at Lily with a soft smile, turning his head to kiss her palm. “Hi, my love.”

  Lily adjusted her head a little so she was more comfortable, eyes still on Harry. She couldn’t help but be a little concerned after dinner. “Have I told you how proud I am of you for going back to school?” she asked. “Grad courses are no joke, so I am very grateful for you taking that on.” Especially since he was doing this for the both of them and their future, both work wise and as a couple and family.

  Harry’s smile only grew at Lily’s praise, laying his head on the pillow so that he could still look at her. He should have expected all of this would still be on her mind after he got a bit down during dinner. “Thank you, babe. That means a lot.” He was grateful to be in a position where he was able to do this for them as well as himself. “And I appreciate you looking out for me, even if I don’t want you worrying about me too much.”

  “One, you know I’m a worrier. I’ll do it no matter what,” Lily playfully scolded him. “Two, I’m like you and don’t like when my lovey is down.”

  “Well, that’s just a bad combination, isn’t it?” Harry responded with a soft smile, wanting Lily to know he was in a better mood. Though he meant it; he liked that she checked up on him, and he’d always do the same for her. “Let’s just have a nice, relaxing night together then, yeah? Start it off by giving your down lovey a kiss?”

  “Babes. You knew all this and you still proposed to me and signed up for a lifetime of dealing with me worrying about things,” Lily giggled. Bless his heart. “That sounds lovely.” She lifted her head just enough that she could kiss him, letting it linger for a few seconds before she laid her head back down.

  Harry laughed softly. “I know, I know…” That’s why they worked so well together; they balanced each other out. He met her in the middle for the kiss and then laid down again, draping his arm across her waist.

  Lily rested one of her arms along his, running her fingers along the tattoos on his upper arm. “If you hadn’t just showered, I’d ask if I could color in your tattoos, but…” She peeked up at him with a grin.

  Harry watched Lily’s touch on his arm but looked back to her when she spoke up. “You want to?” He laughed a little, “You can. I’ll be your coloring book.”

  “But what if it doesn’t wash off for work tomorrow?” Lily laughed lightly. Although the idea did sound really fun since all of his tattoos were just black ink.

  “Just stick to the tattoos that are up higher,” he began, “Or don’t. I don’t really care if they’re colored in for a day.” He laughed softly. Lily had him hooked in all sorts of ways. He’d let her do likely anything she wanted with him.

  Lily waited a beat to make sure he was serious before she had the biggest grin on her face. “I’ll be right back.” She was careful not to disturb Finn as she got up and scurried off to find the highlighters Harry had bought for school or some washable markers. The highlighters were easy to find as Harry had them out for school tomorrow, but she had to dig a little for a couple markers, wanting more colors.

  Harry smiled, happy to act as a form of entertainment for the next hour or so. Plus, he was interested to see how Lily would choose to decorate his arm. He waited on the couch for her to return, and Finn hadn’t been bothered at all by the little disruption.

  Lily smiled widely at Harry as she returned, placing the coloring utensils on the coffee table. Then she laid back down with the highlighter she’d chosen to represent Lily time in his planner, eagerly holding out her hand for him to place his arm across her once more.

  Harry couldn’t help how big his smile was just at the sight of the same expression on Lily’s face. He returned his arm to where he had it earlier around Lily, cuddling up next to her. “I have a feeling our children will have fun doing this to me, too.”

  “Oh, one hundred percent,” Lily agreed. “But no coloring on Mum. My tattoos are not in appropriate places for children to be all up in. Except for my finger.” She popped the lid off the highlighter and started on the heart; not coloring in the whole thing, but adding some red shading to it.

  Harry chuckled softly. “I feel like children will be all up in our business anyway. No personal space.” He watched as she began to color, making sure his arm was in good enough positioning for her.

  “True. But the only time they need to be all up in my nether regions is when they’re coming out of ‘em.” Lily finished up and put the lid back on before reaching over to the table to trade it for a green highlighter. There wasn’t really a good color for his pirate ship, but she could make it work. “I’ll just make your ship a ghost ship,” she explained.

  Harry laughed but was quickly distracted again being able to watch Lily’s thought process. “Ghost ship. I like it.” He nodded. “I wanna get more for you, maybe our anniversary or our wedding date once we figure it out.”

  Lily absently chewed on her bottom lip as she colored in the ship, adding little rays of green coming off of it like it was glowing. But she was quickly smiling when she heard Harry, her stomach doing a little flip. “Yeah?” she asked quietly, knowing she couldn’t look at him or she’d really be blushing.

  Harry laid still as Lily colored on his skin and looked up at the ceiling momentarily while he thought. “Yeah. Or I’ve always liked the idea of your name in cursive somewhere over my heart. And then once we have kids, I’ll add their names too.” After their conversation that morning, he really had family on the brain.

  Lily was grateful Harry was looking elsewhere because she definitely had a dopey smile on her face. She put the lid on the green marker and then just grabbed a random color for the next one. “Wonder if there’s something you could do to connect them. Like our names making the stems of flowers or something?” She frowned and furrowed her brows. “I don’t know. I’m not good at coming up with tattoos. That’s your area of expertise.”

  “Yeah, maybe. I like that idea. I’ll have to think about it,” Harry smiled with a little nod. “Umm, yes you are. You thought of the ones we got together and they are so good.”

  Lily glanced over towards his hotel key tattoo and couldn’t help but be proud when she saw it. “But you helped the idea come to life. I just said a hotel key. That was it.”

  Harry smiled and looked down at her. They’d go back and forth all night giving each other credit if they could. “We did it together,” he grinned, “and it’s my favorite tattoo I have.”

  Lily nodded, “Exactly. It was a team effort.” She smiled and affectionately ran her finger over it. “Mine, too. But I’m completely biased,” she laughed with a grin.

  Harry laughed softly and spread his fingers out along her side, holding her close. “I do love your other tattoos, though, too. They’re very you, very cute.”

  Lily glanced down at her hand and spread her fingers so she could see her little sun. “I typically forget about them because they’re so small. It’s just when I’m washing my hands or putting on underwear that I remember,” she laughed lightly. Hers were very minimal and tucked away; especially compared to Harry’s.

  “Yeah?” Harry listened to her with a soft smile. “It’s probably a bit more special in that way though, that you’re primarily the only one who gets to see them… well, and me,” he chuckled.

  Lily giggled and raised her brows at him. “Think you may see my little thigh tattoo more often than I do,” she teased. He sure spent enough time near it.

  “I think you may be right.” Harry laughed. He sure wasn’t complaining. “Which reminds me. I feel I haven’t properly gone down on you in a while, and admittedly, I’m a bit pressed about it,” he added with a smile.

  Lily’s head fell back with a short laugh. “Pressed about it, eh? And what does properly going down on me entail?” She furrowed her brows. “Or when have you improperly gone down on me recently?”

  Harry smiled and looked down at Lily. “I used to go down on you until you would come, more frequently than I have been lately,” he explained his reasoning. “I think we’re more eager recently, which I also really love, but it doesn’t give me the same chances to properly pleasure you orally. Tongue twister.”

  Lily laughed softly at his jumble of words before nodding in agreement. “I think that’s on me. I’ve been ridiculously desperate to feel you inside of me and to hold onto you,” she smiled sheepishly. “Ever since the night you proposed, I just can’t get close enough when we’re being intimate.”

  Harry nodded listening. “Yeah, and I love that so definitely don’t think I’m complaining or anything here. It was just something I observed,” he smiled and leaned over to kiss her temple, “I really love that you want to be that close. It’s my favorite, too.”

  “Thank you for telling me what you would like, though. I can let you ‘properly go down on me’ and then hold you,” she compromised. “Know how much you love it and I mean…I’m never complaining when you do it.” She winked at him playfully. She’d never complain about any form of intimacy with Harry. Except for maybe not being able to see him or touch him when he took her from behind.

  Harry smiled and raised a hand to brush her hair back without even thinking about it. “Yeah, doesn’t have to be every single time, either…but every once in a while again would be a nice treat for me,” he grinned and held the side of her face as he kissed her cheek.

  Lily hummed thoughtfully, “Should that be your treat for getting school work done?” Her mind instantly went to Harry finishing work and then coming to find her in bed, naked and legs open just waiting for him to eat her out.

  Harry would be lying if he said he didn’t have an idea very similar to the one Lily just suggested. God, he loved how their minds thought alike, especially in these cases. “That would definitely serve as a really good motivator for me…” he grinned. Of course, he was instantly on board with the idea.

  Lily just pressed her lips together and nodded before turning her gaze to his arm and popping the lid off her new highlighter. It took everything in her not to grin as her mind spun with ideas for tomorrow night.

  Suddenly, coursework didn’t sound so bad when there’d be a reward waiting for him once he finished it. He watched her open a new highlighter and ran his fingers through her hair. “Which tattoo are you going for now?”

  “Your booze bottle,” she giggled. Lily did her best to make it look like there was liquid in the bottle. Some of his tattoos amused her with their randomness.

  Harry smiled, both at her answer and her giggles. He thought it was cute how amusing this was, and he was having the best time just watching her. “Nice choice,” he complimented.

  “I swear, babes…” Lily shook her head. “Some of these…I’m not sure what possessed you to get them.” It had been a big deal for her to get her tattoos and one was for her sister and the other for Harry. Just the little one on her thigh was a spur of the moment decision.

  “Are you…questioning my booze bottle, darling?” Harry teased with a smile but he wasn’t unaware of the fact that some of his tattoos were unusual. “Some I got after losing a bet… there’s one or two I got when I was younger and just wanted another tattoo.” However, there were none that he regretted getting. “And there’s some weird ones I got just because,” he smiled.

  “Good thing none of our bets had tattoos involved or you would be covered,” Lily grinned teasingly at him. It was no surprise that Harry made bets with others; it hadn’t started with each other for either of them. So, it made sense how they started making bets right away after meeting each other.

  “Hey… I won a fair amount of those bets.” Harry smiled and raised his brows down at her. She was right, though; the number of bets he had lost with her in the past would amount to a lot more of those tattoos on his body.

  Lily just laughed in response as she finished up coloring his booze tattoo. She put the lid back on and took a moment to look over his arm. “I think it’d be a bit overwhelming if all your tattoos had colors,” she mused. A good chunk of the time, she forgot about his tattoos until they were cuddling or something.

  Harry looked down at his arm when Lily finished up with that tattoo and let out a laugh. “Yeah, glad I don’t have any plans of coloring these in permanently,” he spoke with a soft smile, “but it looks nice when you do it. Good coloring skills.”

  “Thanks!” Lily grinned. She reached over to set the highlighter on the table with the others and then snuggled back into Harry, satisfied with her work. “Remind me to take a picture before we go to bed,” she requested.

  Harry loosened his hold on her until the markers had been put back and she was cuddled up into him again. “Will do. I’ll have to show it off at work tomorrow,” he smiled, resting his hand against her side.

  Lily laughed and made a slight face. “As long as it doesn’t smudge all over our sheets. What if you sweat it off in the night?” she raised her brows at him.

  Harry listened which had him making a face too. “I hope I wouldn’t sweat that much that it’ll come off…” he became playfully worried, “Do I sweat that much in my sleep?”

  “No, no,” Lily assured him with a laugh. “It just doesn’t seem to take much to get off highlighter. Promise you don’t sweat, love.” While he may be a heater, he was never sweaty unless it was particularly warm in their apartment which was rare. Lily definitely appreciated his warmth in the cooler months.

  Harry laughed, but appreciated the reassurance. He was worried there for a moment. If he was sweaty, that definitely wouldn’t be comfortable for Lily either since they were usually all wrapped up in each other at night. “Okay. Good to know,” he gave another soft laugh while rubbing his fingers mindlessly against her skin just under the hem of her shirt.

  “I don’t think I would be all up on you if you were sweaty,” Lily giggled. “Normally I’m trying to use you to warm myself up.” And because she seemingly couldn’t stand to be apart from Harry even in her sleep.

  “That makes sense.” Harry laughed softly. He loved that after more than two years together, they were still always tangled up with each other to sleep. It was difficult for him to fall and stay asleep that one weekend when Lily went away with Liz. “Your feet are always freezing in bed at night,” he teased with a smile.

  Lily looked at him sheepishly, a small grimace on her face. “Sorrryyy…they’ve always been icicles.” Even when she was little, her parents and Liz would complain about her putting her cold feet on them.

  Harry’s smile was constant as he looked at her. He never minded being her own personal heater. “It’s okay. Just glad I’ve gotten to be an expert in knowing how to warm you up.”

  Lily quirked a brow, “I feel like that has double meaning.” She grinned at him playfully. Harry definitely knew how to take care of her and in more ways than one.

  Harry’s brows raised too in realization and the proudest grin took over his face. “Oh, I would’ve really been proud of that one if I meant it like that.”

  Lily laughed at his expression. “Can’t believe that wasn’t your intent.” Normally he was quick and purposeful with his remarks.

  “I know…kind of disappointed in myself. Missed opportunity.” Harry responded with a light laugh, just squeezing Lily closer.

  Lily shifted onto her side and carefully tangled their legs, not wanting to disturb Finn. Her arm slipped around Harry’s waist so her fingers could trace along his spine.

  Harry adjusted as Lily did, draping his arm over her so that his hand rested under her body, against the couch. He could never tire of her touches, as light as some may be. “Love you.”

  Lily loved when Harry just held her even closer. She grinned and nudged her nose against his. “Love you, too,” she smiled.

  He smiled and gave the tip of her nose a little kiss before he was pressing one to her lips as well. They couldn’t ever get close enough to each other.

  Lily scrunched up her nose, but was more than happy to return his kiss. “Should we go to bed soon?” she mumbled after they’d pulled away. Not that she wanted to think about going to work tomorrow, nor did she figure Harry wanted to think about school starting. But she knew if they didn’t want to fall asleep on the couch, they’d have to move soon.

  “Probably.” Harry answered with a little pout and looked at Lily when they pulled away. He hated when their weekends together ended. “Guess we don’t have to worry about Finny waking up, he’ll just come to bed with us.”

  Just like Harry didn’t enjoy seeing Lily pout, she didn’t enjoy seeing him do it either. So, she quickly kissed him once more. “We’re just moving our cuddles.” She lifted her head to glance down at Finn. “I could carry him.”

  Harry returned the kiss and then looked down at Finn who was still sleeping soundly. “He’d love that. I’ll get all the lights and stuff if you want to grab him,” he suggested, moving his arm off of her.

  Lily nodded and carefully untangled herself from Harry so she could get up. Then she bent down to slowly scoop Finn into her arms, trying not to wake him too much. He simply cracked open his eyes to look up at her and then just nuzzled into her arms as she carried him to the bedroom, placing him at the foot of the bed.

  Harry watched as Lily scooped him up, smiling just at the interaction between the two of them. It was obvious Finn adored Lily. “I’ve never had a cuter, more cuddly cat than our Finny.” Harry stood, turning off all the lights and making sure the front door was locked before heading to their bedroom.

  “Our little Finnegan is perfect. We seriously couldn’t have asked for a better cat.” Lily figured she’d wash her face and brush her teeth before she got comfy in bed or she’d never leave. Their bed might as well be made of quicksand.

  “He’s such a good little guy.” Harry gave Finn some attention until Lily was done in the bathroom. Then he went in to do his nightly routine quick before returning to their bed and getting in on his side.

  Lily traded with Harry, climbing into bed and sitting where she could pet Finn. Then when Harry was done, she laid down, keeping just the lamp next to her side of the bed on.

  Harry moved over towards Lily’s side once they were settled and took her right back into his arms, just like how they were on the couch. “Had a really good weekend with you, babe.”

  Lily scooted closer to Harry and settled in his arms before grinning at him. “Me too. Had a nice mix of productive and lazy.”

  “Yeah, that was nice. Sometimes it’s just lazy,” he laughed a little and rested his head next to hers on the pillow. Any weekend spent together was a good one, though. “I am getting sleepy. The cuddles are too good.”

  Lily adjusted her head and gently ran her thumb back and forth along his skin. “You can fall asleep, love,” she whispered softly. “I’ll be right there with you.” She was tired enough that if she closed her eyes and they stopped talking, it wouldn’t take long for her to fall asleep.

  Harry nodded, knowing they were both tired as he looked at her. Thankfully he’d already set their alarm and plugged in his phone, so he only had to shut off the lamp before returning beside her. “I love you,” he kissed the side of her head and laid his own down, “Night night.”

  Lily smiled at the kiss and giggled softly at his goodnight. “Night, babes. I love you.” She gave his arm a light squeeze before closing her eyes to fall asleep.

[jp-stags]

Lily, [@lilycanthearyourexcuses]

 It's hard for me to put things in to words. You've seen me in person, and it's hard enough to speak my feelings out loud. But I'm going to try, and even if I fail miserably, I hope you'll consider the things I am trying to say and not how badly I've orchestrated them. You drive me crazy. In good ways and in bad. I can't understand half of the things that you do, and why you care about people like Snivelly Snape. I know it's because you're a good person, and you've been friends with him for a long time. But I know you're a better judge of character than that. I've seen the way you look at me when I do something you don't agree with. I've seen the way you talk to your friends, and how they look at me after. Even still, you're on my mind. Pecking at my conscious. Driving me even crazier than you did the day before. There's something about you that makes me want to be better. I don't deserve your attention, or your affection, but I want to earn it. More and more I find myself thinking, what would Lily think? of the things that I do. It's making me absolutely mad, and no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to turn it off. The reason I'm writing this letter, is because there's no one that can help me understand the way I'm feeling— No one who can help me make heads or tails of the way my stomach flips every time you walk in to a room. I barely know you, and yet, you're the only thing that I can think about. Maybe... Maybe by putting all of this out in to the open... I don't know. I don't know what I'm hoping for. But it has to be better than the unrelenting torture of not knowing.

-James James blinked a few times rapidly, readjusting the reading glasses that sat atop his nose. There was a moments hesitation in between rolling up the letter and tapping his wand against it's seal, but he did it— and before he knew it, the parchment was off in search of it's intended.