#also means I don’t have to be strict on uniform hell yeah

[sharkieboi]

work is closed again tomorrow cause it is STILL snowing and I had a very fun time today walking into work and playing in the snow and I am very much looking forward to doing it again tomorrow!!

EDIT: LOL realizing how this is in direct opposition to my last post, you can see how much not being in pain helps my mood.

[opossum-writes]

Mystery Man: Pt. 3

A/N: E/C means eye color. Also, I’m keeping what Y/N’s mask looks like vague to let the reader decide. When I envision the mask, I picture an all black masquerade mask that goes over his eyes and a little bit of his nose. Let me know what you picture! I’m curious.

WC: 1870

~~

I’m in vampire biology class, sitting next to Kat. Class won’t end for a while and i’m bored out of my mind. If I was tired, I’d probably fall asleep. However, after what happened in botany class, i’m not risking anything. I have to stay tuned in. Plus, I don’t want my grades to slip.

Suddenly, Ms. Weems walks in. “I need Mr. Y/N and Ms. Kathryn to see me in my office. There is someone who would like to see you two.” She says. Kat and I look at each other. Knowing Kat, she’s probably wondering the same thing as me.

We both get up and follow Weems to her office. As we’re walking down the halls, Kat speaks up. “Who is here to see us?” Kat asks. “Your mother.” Weems replies.

~~

“Hello children. Have the two of you been behaving?” Mother asks, and Kat and I nod. Mother then walks up to Kat and fixes her posture, and then walks up to me and takes off my mask. “I still don’t understand why you insisted on this, Y/N.” Mother says.

“You never seem to understand anything I do, so i’m not surprised.” I mumble. “What was that?” Mother says, glaring at me. “Nothing, mother.” I reply. “I came here to give the two of you some things you left behind.” Mother explains, and grabs a pair of sunglasses and a pocket watch given to me by my father before he passed.

She hands the sunglasses to Kat. “You better wear these outside, you’re much more sensitive to the sun than your brother is. You got that from me.” Mother says and Kat takes the sunglasses and puts them on. Mother then turns to me and hands me the pocket watch. “Your father would hate for you to lose this. It was very important to him.” Mother says, and I just nod.

I put the pocket watch in the chest pocket of my uniform. “I will see the two of you during parents weekend. No promises, though. Work has been… more demanding than usual.” Mother explains. “Yes ma’am.” I say. Mother looks at Kat expectingly, but Kat just smiles at mother. Mother nods to the both of us, and leaves.

Kat and I both breathe a sigh of relief once she’s gone. “Really wish she would have given us a warning. Then we could’ve been prepared to deal with her.” Kat says. “I’m just glad she’s gone. Without father around, it feels like she’s been so much more strict with us.” I reply, and Kat nods. “Definitely. Probably because father was much more chill. He sticked up for us a lot.” Kat explains.

“True. I miss him…” I say, and sigh. It hasn’t been the same without him. “Yeah, me too… everything feels so depressing without him. It sucks.” Kat agrees. The school bell rings, which means its time for lunch. Kat and I part ways. She always prefers eating alone.

~~

I’m sitting alone at a table in the quad, sipping from a blood bag and doing some homework i’ve been procrastinating. Suddenly, Wednesday sits across from me and slides a photo of my father speaking to someone. “This is your father, correct?” Wednesday asks, and I look down at the photo, confused. They are in a room I don’t recognize, but based on the walls it’s obvious its somewhere on campus. The photo looks pretty recent as well.

“When was this taken..?” I ask, and flip over the photo, looking for a date of some kind. On the back of the photo, it has 11/19/22 written in red ink. It’s days after my father’s death. “This can’t be my father. He died before this photo was taken.” I explain. “Also, how do you even have this?” I ask. “Someone slid it under the door of Enid and I’s dorm last night.” Wednesday explains.

“What the hell…” I mutter under my breath. “I need your help figuring this out. When Rowan was trying to kill me, he mentioned someone by the name of Caelin. He said that Caelin told him to keep you and your sister safe. Your father is somehow involved with Rowan, and I want to know how and why. I need your help.” Wednesday explains.

“No way. I am not getting wrapped into that stuff.” I scoff. “I gave you stitches. You owe me.” Wednesday says. “I didn’t ask you to do that, you just did it. I don’t owe you anything.” I reply. “Y/N, I show you evidence that your father might be alive. Don’t you want to figure this out as well?” Wednesday says, looking into my eyes with the same blank expression she always has.

Its a good point. Even if he isn’t alive, I might be able to figure who killed him. The police back home can’t figure it out, and mother has given up on trying. Whoever killed my father should face the consequences.

“Okay. Fine.” I sigh. “Good choice.” Wednesday replies, takes the photo, and leaves. As she is walking away, she looks at me over her shoulder. “Don’t think this means anything. I still have the same amount of disdain for you as I do for everyone else.” She says, and walks away.

~~

School is over, which means its time for the poe cup. Kat and I are standing by the tents away from the crowd. A group of guys dressed as clowns look like they are freaking out. They seem to be missing somebody. They look familiar. I recognize them from passing by them in the hallway. They’re dorms are in Amontillado Hall, like mine.

I walk up to them. “You guys alright?” I ask. One guy with long brown hair looks at me. “What does it look like? Archie broke his ankle and is in the infirmary, and so we’re down a member and nobody else can join!” He says. “Sucks for you.” I say, and start walking away, but another guy wearing a hat covering his hair speaks up. “Hey! Don’t you also live in Amontillado Hall?” He asks, and I turn around. “Yeah.” I reply. “Great! That means you can join our team! C’mon, man. Please?” He practically begs. “We’ll owe you!” The other guy says.

Honestly, its not a bad idea. I could get them to help me figure out what happened to their dad, plus, I hate crowds and I don’t want to be stuck in one to watch this event.

“Alright, fine.” I say. “Thank you so much, dude. I’m Ajax, and this is Xavier. You’re Y/N, right?” The guy now known as Ajax says, and I nod. “You can wear Archie’s costume. It’s in the tent. Put some clown makeup on as well.” Xavier explains, and I give the two of them a thumbs up and walk into their tent.

I put on the costume and cover the part of my face that isn’t hidden behind my mask in white face paint and smear some black paint over my mouth. It’s good enough, so I walk out of the tent.

At the tent beside my team’s tent, Wednesday walks out wearing a cat costume. She looks over at me and I wave. She just ignores me and walks over to Enid.

~~

The poe cup is about to start, and everyone is in their boat. I’m sitting behind Ajax, and behind me is another team member named Henry, and behind him is Xavier. I look to my left and see Enid is already looking at me. She gives me a small wave, smiling. I chuckle and look away from her, shaking my head at the situation i’ve gotten myself into.

“I want to welcome you all to the Edgar Allen Poe Cup. This is one of Nevermore’s proudest annual tradition, dating back 125 years. Each team must row across to Raven Island, pull a flag from Crackstone’s Crypt, and hustle back without sinking or being sunk. First team to cross the finish line with their flag wins the cup and bragging rights for a year, as well as some special privileges.” Weems explains, and then raises a revolver into the air. “Let the Poe Cup begin!” She says, and fires the gun into the air.

“Go go go!” Ajax says, and we all start rowing as fast as we can. We pass by the Black Cats, bumping into the side of their boat. “Oh, excuse us!” Xavier taunts. I look back at them and wink. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a competitive person. I’ve made Kat rage quit at various games.

We maintain a fairly consistent lead. We make it to Raven Island first, and Xavier and I quickly start running out of the boat and to the crypt. Owen and Ajax stay behind to watch the boat. I’m much faster than Xavier. “Dude, how are you so fast?!” Xavier yells from behind me. “I’m part vampire! This isn’t even that fast! My sister is much faster!!” I laugh.

I make it to the crypt before Xavier, and grab the flag. “I’ve got the flag! Let’s go!” I shout to Xavier, and I run back to the boat. We pass by Wednesday. “Later, Wednesday!” I shout, smiling. We get back to the boat, and get back in and we quickly start rowing back to the finish line. However, halfway there water starts flooding into the boat. “Yo, what’s going on?” Xavier asks frantically. “We’re losing! That’s what’s going on.” I say, and look down to see claw marks in the bottom of the boat.

The Black Cats pass by us. “See ya, Jokers! Be prepared to take that mask off, Y/N!” Enid laughs. Honestly, I can’t even be mad. It’s a good play. “Cheaters!!” Xavier shouts. “Dude, there aren’t any rules. Everything is fair game.” I say, and Xavier just groans.

~~

“The first Poe Cup took place in 1897, as a way to not only honor Nevermore’s most famous alumni, but to celebrate those values that all outcasts share. Community, perseverance, and determination. And we certainly saw those values on display today!” Weems says, and grabs the cup, and hands it to Enid, who immediately holds it up and cheers, and everyone claps. “Congratulations to Ophelia Hall! As a former resident, I will be happy to see the cup back on the mantle after all these years.” Weems smiles.

I walk up to Enid and she turns to me, smiling widely. “A deals a deal.” I chuckle, and take my mask off.

~ENID’S POV~

Y/N takes his mask off, and smiles softly at me. His E/C eyes looking into mine. “You’re… really attractive.” I say sheepishly. A light blush grows on his cheeks and he scratches the back of his neck. “You aren’t too bad yourself, y’know.” He says, and I laugh. “Oh yeah? You think so?” I reply, tilting my head to the side.

“Oh, yeah. I know so.” Y/N winks at me, and I look down to cover my red cheeks. “I’ll see you around, Enid.” Y/N smiles at me one last time, and walks away. This boy is going to be the death of me…

I’m in vampire biology class, sitting next to Kat. Class won’t end for a while and i’m bored out of my mind. If I was tired, I’d probably fall asleep. However, after what happened in botany class, i’m not risking anything. I have to stay tuned in. Plus, I don’t want my grades to slip.

Suddenly, Ms. Weems walks in. “I need Mr. Y/N and Ms. Kathryn to see me in my office. There is someone who would like to see you two.” She says. Kat and I look at each other. Knowing Kat, she’s probably wondering the same thing as me.

We both get up and follow Weems to her office. As we’re walking down the halls, Kat speaks up. “Who is here to see us?” Kat asks. “Your mother.” Weems replies.

~~

“Hello children. Have the two of you been behaving?” Mother asks, and Kat and I nod. Mother then walks up to Kat and fixes her posture, and then walks up to me and takes off my mask. “I still don’t understand why you insisted on this, Y/N.” Mother says.

“You never seem to understand anything I do, so i’m not surprised.” I mumble. “What was that?” Mother says, glaring at me. “Nothing, mother.” I reply. “I came here to give the two of you some things you left behind.” Mother explains, and grabs a pair of sunglasses and a pocket watch given to me by my father before he passed.

She hands the sunglasses to Kat. “You better wear these outside, you’re much more sensitive to the sun than your brother is. You got that from me.” Mother says and Kat takes the sunglasses and puts them on. Mother then turns to me and hands me the pocket watch. “Your father would hate for you to lose this. It was very important to him.” Mother says, and I just nod.

I put the pocket watch in the chest pocket of my uniform. “I will see the two of you during parents weekend. No promises, though. Work has been… more demanding than usual.” Mother explains. “Yes ma’am.” I say. Mother looks at Kat expectingly, but Kat just smiles at mother. Mother nods to the both of us, and leaves.

Kat and I both breathe a sigh of relief once she’s gone. “Really wish she would have given us a warning. Then we could’ve been prepared to deal with her.” Kat says. “I’m just glad she’s gone. Without father around, it feels like she’s been so much more strict with us.” I reply, and Kat nods. “Definitely. Probably because father was much more chill. He sticked up for us a lot.” Kat explains.

“True. I miss him…” I say, and sigh. It hasn’t been the same without him. “Yeah, me too… everything feels so depressing without him. It sucks.” Kat agrees. The school bell rings, which means its time for lunch. Kat and I part ways. She always prefers eating alone.

~~

I’m sitting alone at a table in the quad, sipping from a blood bag and doing some homework i’ve been procrastinating. Suddenly, Wednesday sits across from me and slides a photo of my father speaking to someone. “This is your father, correct?” Wednesday asks, and I look down at the photo, confused. They are in a room I don’t recognize, but based on the walls it’s obvious its somewhere on campus. The photo looks pretty recent as well.

“When was this taken..?” I ask, and flip over the photo, looking for a date of some kind. On the back of the photo, it has 11/19/22 written in red ink. It’s days after my father’s death. “This can’t be my father. He died before this photo was taken.” I explain. “Also, how do you even have this?” I ask. “Someone slid it under the door of Enid and I’s dorm last night.” Wednesday explains.

“What the hell…” I mutter under my breath. “I need your help figuring this out. When Rowan was trying to kill me, he mentioned someone by the name of Caelin. He said that Caelin told him to keep you and your sister safe. Your father is somehow involved with Rowan, and I want to know how and why. I need your help.” Wednesday explains.

“No way. I am not getting wrapped into that stuff.” I scoff. “I gave you stitches. You owe me.” Wednesday says. “I didn’t ask you to do that, you just did it. I don’t owe you anything.” I reply. “Y/N, I show you evidence that your father might be alive. Don’t you want to figure this out as well?” Wednesday says, looking into my eyes with the same blank expression she always has.

Its a good point. Even if he isn’t alive, I might be able to figure who killed him. The police back home can’t figure it out, and mother has given up on trying. Whoever killed my father should face the consequences.

“Okay. Fine.” I sigh. “Good choice.” Wednesday replies, takes the photo, and leaves. As she is walking away, she looks at me over her shoulder. “Don’t think this means anything. I still have the same amount of disdain for you as I do for everyone else.” She says, and walks away.

~~

School is over, which means its time for the poe cup. Kat and I are standing by the tents away from the crowd. A group of guys dressed as clowns look like they are freaking out. They seem to be missing somebody. They look familiar. I recognize them from passing by them in the hallway. They’re dorms are in Amontillado Hall, like mine.

I walk up to them. “You guys alright?” I ask. One guy with long brown hair looks at me. “What does it look like? Archie broke his ankle and is in the infirmary, and so we’re down a member and nobody else can join!” He says. “Sucks for you.” I say, and start walking away, but another guy wearing a hat covering his hair speaks up. “Hey! Don’t you also live in Amontillado Hall?” He asks, and I turn around. “Yeah.” I reply. “Great! That means you can join our team! C’mon, man. Please?” He practically begs. “We’ll owe you!” The other guy says.

Honestly, its not a bad idea. I could get them to help me figure out what happened to their dad, plus, I hate crowds and I don’t want to be stuck in one to watch this event.

“Alright, fine.” I say. “Thank you so much, dude. I’m Ajax, and this is Xavier. You’re Y/N, right?” The guy now known as Ajax says, and I nod. “You can wear Archie’s costume. It’s in the tent. Put some clown makeup on as well.” Xavier explains, and I give the two of them a thumbs up and walk into their tent.

I put on the costume and cover the part of my face that isn’t hidden behind my mask in white face paint and smear some black paint over my mouth. It’s good enough, so I walk out of the tent.

At the tent beside my team’s tent, Wednesday walks out wearing a cat costume. She looks over at me and I wave. She just ignores me and walks over to Enid.

~~

The poe cup is about to start, and everyone is in their boat. I’m sitting behind Ajax, and behind me is another team member named Henry, and behind him is Xavier. I look to my left and see Enid is already looking at me. She gives me a small wave, smiling. I chuckle and look away from her, shaking my head at the situation i’ve gotten myself into.

“I want to welcome you all to the Edgar Allen Poe Cup. This is one of Nevermore’s proudest annual tradition, dating back 125 years. Each team must row across to Raven Island, pull a flag from Crackstone’s Crypt, and hustle back without sinking or being sunk. First team to cross the finish line with their flag wins the cup and bragging rights for a year, as well as some special privileges.” Weems explains, and then raises a revolver into the air. “Let the Poe Cup begin!” She says, and fires the gun into the air.

“Go go go!” Ajax says, and we all start rowing as fast as we can. We pass by the Black Cats, bumping into the side of their boat. “Oh, excuse us!” Xavier taunts. I look back at them and wink. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a competitive person. I’ve made Kat rage quit at various games.

We maintain a fairly consistent lead. We make it to Raven Island first, and Xavier and I quickly start running out of the boat and to the crypt. Owen and Ajax stay behind to watch the boat. I’m much faster than Xavier. “Dude, how are you so fast?!” Xavier yells from behind me. “I’m part vampire! This isn’t even that fast! My sister is much faster!!” I laugh.

I make it to the crypt before Xavier, and grab the flag. “I’ve got the flag! Let’s go!” I shout to Xavier, and I run back to the boat. We pass by Wednesday. “Later, Wednesday!” I shout, smiling. We get back to the boat, and get back in and we quickly start rowing back to the finish line. However, halfway there water starts flooding into the boat. “Yo, what’s going on?” Xavier asks frantically. “We’re losing! That’s what’s going on.” I say, and look down to see claw marks in the bottom of the boat.

The Black Cats pass by us. “See ya, Jokers! Be prepared to take that mask off, Y/N!” Enid laughs. Honestly, I can’t even be mad. It’s a good play. “Cheaters!!” Xavier shouts. “Dude, there aren’t any rules. Everything is fair game.” I say, and Xavier just groans.

~~

“The first Poe Cup took place in 1897, as a way to not only honor Nevermore’s most famous alumni, but to celebrate those values that all outcasts share. Community, perseverance, and determination. And we certainly saw those values on display today!” Weems says, and grabs the cup, and hands it to Enid, who immediately holds it up and cheers, and everyone claps. “Congratulations to Ophelia Hall! As a former resident, I will be happy to see the cup back on the mantle after all these years.” Weems smiles.

I walk up to Enid and she turns to me, smiling widely. “A deals a deal.” I chuckle, and take my mask off.

~ENID’S POV~

Y/N takes his mask off, and smiles softly at me. His E/C eyes looking into mine. “You’re… really attractive.” I say sheepishly. A light blush grows on his cheeks and he scratches the back of his neck. “You aren’t too bad yourself, y’know.” He says, and I laugh. “Oh yeah? You think so?” I reply, tilting my head to the side.

“Oh, yeah. I know so.” Y/N winks at me, and I look down to cover my red cheeks. “I’ll see you around, Enid.” Y/N smiles at me one last time, and walks away. This boy is going to be the death of me…

To Be Continued…

[thewritetofreespeech]

Could I request the Obey Me guys as well as the Now Dateables?

Perhaps M/C crawling into bed with them wanting to be held and to be touched.

Perhaps a little nsfw added in 🤤😉

note: this is the only imagine/scenario I will do for all 11 boys. cuz I’m a thirsty bitch. the rest of the time we will stick to the rules of HCs only.

Additionally, the plot has been changed slightly to ‘coming to their room at night’. Sorry. If you want NSFW stuff for a specific boy, based on the provided content, I’ll do it but 11 boys is too much even for my thirsty trappy ass.

Obey Me Boys + MC Crawling into Bed with Them

Lucifer

Lucifer sighed over his paper work. Would his turmoil never cease? 

Sometimes he felt like he had fallen into a lower level of the Devildom. Like the 13th circle of hell where the preferred torture method for lost souls was endless paperwork. A modern day Sisyphus, only instead of a boulder it was forms.

He heard the door to his room quietly click open & then close. He doesn’t look up from his paper work as he knew who it was. There was only one person, ok maybe two, who would come into his room this late at night without knocking. “What is it [Y/N]?”

“I was um...wait, you wear reading glasses?”

Lucifer frowned and looked up from his paper work now. “Magical reading glasses. For reading magical text.” They were required to read some of the magical scripts he was combing over. “What is it [Y/N]?”

The human squirmed a little when he asked again. Seeming to think over the answer, or more precisely how to explain it. “I couldn’t sleep.” They finally confess. “I was wondering if I could stay in here with you, but....you’re busy.”

Lucifer arched a brow slightly, but then moved some of the papers he had completed to make space for them. “Come on. I won’t be much longer.”

[Y/N] smiled at him and scampered over. Crawling in under the silk sheets, and as close as possible to him with him on top of them as they could. “Thank you Lucifer.”

“Of course, my dearest one.” He replied with a soft smile, leaning down to kiss the top of their head before returning to his work. Renewed in his commitment to get this done so he could spend the night with [Y/N].

Mammon

It was late. It was almost 3:00 in the morning by the time he got home, and it had been a shitty night.

Mammon had been at the casino. Gambling, drinking, dancing, the usual. His luck turned sour around 11:00 and, stupid Mammon, had spent the remaining four hours trying to turn it around. That of course didn’t work so now he was even more broke, defeated, and feeling like crap for his failure; regretting Lucifer finding out and making him feel worse. Fuck it had been the worst night.

He rounded the corner to his room and looked up in surprise to see [Y/N] at his door. “What are you doing here?” His voice seemed to surprise them too as they jumped a little before turning to him.

“Oh I was…coming to see if you wanted to hang out?”

“Hang out?” Mammon repeated with an arched brow. “Ya know it’s like 3:00 in the morning, right?”

“O-Oh…is it? I guess I miss read the time.” [Y/N] began to fidget, then muttered some apology about going back to their room.

The demon reached out and caught their hand before they could get far. “Hey, what’s wrong? Nobody comes out here in the middle of the night without a reason.” Or they were out super late like him.

[Y/N] looked down, then decided to tell the truth. “I couldn’t sleep. So I wanted to see you.”

Mammon blinked behind his shades. He hadn’t been expecting that. Now it was his turn to fidget as he realized out of all the people in the world, [Y/N] had chosen to come see him.

“Yeah well…of course ya’d come to the Great Mammon for help. I uh…guess you can stay in here with me tonight.”

He showered to get the smoke & stink of shame off before crawling into bed with [Y/N]. His little human already drifting off just being in his covers. Mammon wrapped his arms around them and held them close. Maybe it wasn’t the worst night after all.

Levi

Of course he was awake when [Y/N] came to his room. The latest install of Kenji Momotaro: Demon Slayer Warrior Prince had just been released that day, and Levi he been playing it since he had gotten his hands on it. He wouldn’t be sleeping for a while.

When he heard the knock on his door, initially missing it over the sound of his game and tunnel vision, Levi paused for the first time in hours to go see who it was. “[Y/N]-chan?”

“Can…I stay in here with you?” They asked. Catching Levi by surprise. “I can’t sleep in my room.”

The blunette blushed violently, and covered his face. “Y-Y-You….You want to sleep in here with me??”

“Is…that ok?” They asked cautiously. Seeming let down by his reaction.

“No. I mean! Yes! W-What I mean is, I’m not going to bed right now. I’m grinding through my new game so….you might not be happy in here.” Plus, his bed was a bathtub. Which was only comfortable to him.

“Oh. Well…I don’t want to mess up your game. If that’s more important to you.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Levi outburst. Then quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment. “I…I just don’t think you’ll get a lot of sleep in here. I only like my room after all.”

“I like your room.” If Levi turned any redder, he was going to get a nose bleed. “It’s dark, which is nice. Plus the aquariums are really soothing. And…you’re there. I just wanted to be around you since I couldn’t sleep, but I guess that’s silly.”

The demon had to cover his mouth again. This time over threat of nose bleed. He was so red from embarrassment, but also incredibly moved by [Y/N]’s words, that he quickly responded, “you can stay with me.”

He moved aside and let [Y/N] in. Leading them over to his game area where he laid out some plushies as a bed, and pulled out a blanket to cover them. “I-I-I…I’m gonna keep playing since I’m not tired. But I’ll put my headphones on so I don’t disturb you. Y-Y-You can lay down here and i-i-if you fall asleep I won’t mind.”

“Thanks Levi.” He had to gulp at the cute sleepy way they said his name, before they tucked in and he went back to his game.

He couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the game, with [Y/N] so close. Choosing to use his leg as a pillow. Eventually he gave up and leaned back against the edge of his tub, not daring to disturb them and actually getting a good night sleep as well.

Asmo

There were few things that Asmo considered sacred. Love. Vitality. The Louis Vuitton spring collection.

But the one thing he considered sacred most of all, was his beauty sleep regiment.

The Avatar of Lust had a strict sleep schedule to give his body the best rejuvenation possible, and amplify his beauty. Everyone knew about it, and choose to leave Asmo alone; per his wishes.

Which was why it was so frustrating when his rest was disturbed by a knock at the door.

Asmo grumbled under his sleep mask at the light rapping that wouldn’t go away. Irritated by the noise, and now the worry lines whoever it was was putting into his forehead. He pushed his mask up to his hair line and got up out of bed towards the door. “What?!” He said in a not cute, very moody outburst when he opened it. Seeing [Y/N] standing there, startled by his ugly display. “Oh, [Y/N]-kun. It’s you.”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah it’s me. Sorry to wake you, I’ll just…go.”

“Wait [Y/N]! I’m sorry. If I had known it was you paying me a late night visit, I would have been much nicer and answered the door sooner.”

“Well I….couldn’t sleep so…-“Ahhhh~! You couldn’t sleep so you decided to come to me?? How naughty!”

[Y/N] frowned and turned to leave, but Asmo apologized quickly for being cheeky. “Did you want to stay with me tonight? That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” He could tell he was right, but the human was second guessing themselves on coming here. “I promise I’ll behave. Really.”

[Y/N] seemed to trust them, and came into the room & into bed with Asmo. He was practically giddy with them being so close, but was true to his word and supplied no funny stuff for the evening. Just rest and cuddles.

In the morning, he couldn’t wait to tell his brothers how he slept with [Y/N] last night. Causing quite the intentional misunderstanding and ruckus over breakfast that day.

Satan

Satan was getting ready for bed. Pjs on, teeth brushed, uniform set out for tomorrow, and on his bed reading one last chapter of his latest book, when he heard the knock at the door.

At first he thought it was a branch hitting the glass of his window. But when he heard it again, he knew it was at his door, and had a very The Raven moment before he went to answer it.

“[Y/N]? What are you doing here? It’s so late.”

“I know, I know,” the replied, scratching the back of their head. “I just…I couldn’t sleep. I tried but I just couldn’t get to sleep, and wanted to see you.” They look up at him with big doe eyes and ask, “can I stay with you tonight?”

Of course, he couldn’t say no. Not with a look like that. Or more importantly, he’d never say no to [Y/N]. Satan offered them a soft smile and nodded before letting them in.

“What were you reading?” They asked, as the climbed into bed first. Watching Satan put his book away for them.

“Oh, just a new fiction series I found. Simeon recommended it to me.” He said as he climbed into bed as well.

“What’s it about?”

He told them the premise of the story, and eventually read aloud the first few chapters to them as they curled up beside him. Falling asleep soon after.

Satan smiled again, and put the book back away, before leaning down to kiss their forehead and curl in beside them. Ready for bed now.

Beel

It was pretty late when he heard the knock on the door. And a miracle he heard it at all.

Belphie was the sleeper out of the two of them, but Beel wasn’t exactly a light sleeper either. Between his workouts, large meals, and having to get up early for his morning workouts, the red head was usually dead to the world when his head hit the pillow. But, still, when he heard the quite knock on the door he woke up. 

If he were a thinker like Satan or the others, he would have thought that it was maybe their bond that woke him. Instead he just trudged half asleep towards the door to open it. “[Y/N]?”

“S-Sorry....” They apologize and look towards the ground as Beel looked at them curiously. “I knew you were asleep, but I still woke you up. I’m sorry.”

“Is something wrong?” Beel asked. A bit more awake now that he knew it was them and they seemed distressed. [Y/N] shrugged. “Did you have a bad dream?” 

They pause for a while, but then shrug again. He might not be a thinker like the others, but he was smart enough to know what that meant. He reached out to take their hand and pulled them into his room. Leading them over to his bed and pulling them onto it.

“Don’t worry. You can stay here.” Beel said, holding [Y/N] to his chest in a horizonal hug. “I’ll keep you safe. You don’t have to worry while I’m here. Go back to sleep.”

His words seem to do the trick, and [Y/N] feel back asleep. Beel stayed awake a little while longer. Combing his fingers through their hair, before he too fell back asleep.

Belphie

He heard the conversation from the door, but didn’t bother getting up.

The only thing that could break through when he was asleep was Beel and [Y/N]’s voice. So hearing them both woke him up pretty quickly, although it seemed to be handled. 

He tried to go back to sleep after hearing you settle in, but it didn’t work. The usually lazy demon kept fidgeting in his sleep, trying to get comfortable, and even counting sheep to try and go back to dream land. Nothing worked. And he knew why.

Belphie got up out of bed, hugging his pillow to his chest, and walked over to the over bed across the room and kicked it. When Beel and [Y/N] looked up at him half asleep he demanded, “move over.” He couldn’t sleep know that [Y/N] was cuddling up with someone else and not him. Especially in the same room.

[Y/N] huffed in their sleep and laid back down, scooching closer to Beel to try and make space. Beel, on the other hand, smile sleepily up as his twin and properly moved over; back pressed against the wall with [Y/N] at his chest to give him as much space as possible.

Belphie smiled back at him, then dropped his pillow to climb in. Instantly falling asleep. Holding on to his twin and beloved [Y/N] for the rest of the night.

Simeon

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Those were the words that Simeon tried to live by

He was just about to slip under the covers happily, when he heard a small knock at the door. It was so faint & small, that he assumed it was Luke needing something. So he quickly went over to answer it without putting his robe on.

“Oh…[Y/N]….” The angel said, feeling his cheeks heat up and clinching for his imaginary robe to cover his pjs, when he realized it was you. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t mean in the Hall. You were stay in the other dorm for a while as an infestation of some icky, demon creepy crawly, that just loved to nibble on humans was dealt with in the House of Lamentation. Luke of course had been thrilled you were staying with them, insisting that the change be made permanent to keep you away from those rowdy demons. Simeon couldn’t really agree on the demon part, but he wouldn’t be disappointed if you stayed here more.

“I…couldn’t sleep,” you tell him. “New surroundings and all. I was…wondering if I could stay in your room?”

The angel seemed to bristle in surprise at your words. Taken aback, but also in the warm feeling that was spreading through his chest. God have mercy…..

“I don’t know if that would be appropriate.”

“Please?” [Y/N] beckoned. He had to gulp down the lump, and instantaneous urge to say yes, building in his throat. “I just don’t want to sleep alone. I keep thinking about those things in my room back at the dorm. And being around you is so comforting. Just for tonight? I’ll sleep on the couch and everything if that’s a problem.”

“I wouldn’t let you do that.” Simeon insisted. He would never let them sleep on the couch like some vagabond. “Well….alright. But just for tonight. And just because you’re feeling unsettled.” He doesn’t know who he was trying to convince more: them or himself.

He didn’t get much sleep that night. Tense, and trying to remain appropriate even is they slept next to him. But, in a way, it was the best night he had ever had.

Solomon

He always stayed up late. The late to early morning hours were the best time for magic. The witching hour. He was knee deep into his research & spell casting when he heard the knock at the door.

“I..saw the light on…” [Y/N] said when he opened the door. “Are you…going to bed soon?”

Solomon blinked for a moment, then looked down at his pocket watch. Oh, it was rather late. But….“No. I still have quite a bit of work to do.”

The other human sighed, then turned to leave from his door just as suddenly as they came. “Wait. What is it?” He asked, stopping them.

They turn, and seem to debate about answering before, “I couldn’t sleep and was thinking it might be nice to cuddle with you.” Solomon blinked again. In surprise this time. “Stupid, right?”

No, not stupid, he thought. It was just no on had ever asked to cuddle with him before. His body and cool demeanor might be misleading, but he was a very fierce sorcerer. Powerful, and awe inspiring. He had made cities tremble in his young days, and was powerful enough to independently bind one of the strongest demons in hell. Cuddles were not something that one usually thought of when it came to him.

He opened the door to let them in and said, “if you can’t sleep, I can make you a potion.” When that didn’t seem to go over well he corrected with, “or…I could lay down with you for a moment.”

The ‘moment’ turned into the whole evening, because the second his head hit the pillow, he instantly fell asleep. Lulled to dream land by his many late nights, and the warm embrace of [Y/N]. Perhaps there were better things than just getting research done.

Diavolo

He groaned in his sleep. Then rolled over on his side, immediately pulling [Y/N] in when he was in close proximity of them. It was a reflex at this point.

At first, he had tried to keep his distance from the human exchange student. No good would come from it, and it was inappropriate that the future King & patron of the program would be involved with one of the terrestrial candidates. But he couldn’t help it.

Their brightness. Their smile. Their hope for the program and just life won him over and now he couldn’t stand to be further apart from them than a second.

“It’s morning....”

Divaolo groaned and buried his head into the back of their neck. “Five more minutes...”

“We can’t. It’s morning.” [Y/N] insisted. Jutting their hips back against his front; which had the opposite effect of trying to get him out of bed. “If you don’t go, Barbatos will start looking for you. And if he teleports into my room it will be a whole thing.”

That certainly was a metaphoric splash of cold water.

The prince groaned again, and buried himself deeper for a second, before he compliantly agreed and got up. The little full bed in the student dorms joyful of his departure, as it squeaked happily as he tried to leave it.

“Can I come again tonight?” Diavolo asked, as he adjusted his ornate bed clothes. He never slept in them. Like most things in his life, they were all for show.

[Y/N] smiled at him from under their covers and said, “of course.”

His heart swelled at their smile and the promise of later. Surging forward he gave them an impassioned good morning kiss, and told them, “wait up for me.” Before he disappeared in a whirl of black smoke to his own bedroom.

It felt terribly cold now. But he only had to wait until tonight. That he could live for.

Barbatos

The work of a butler is never really done.

There were always things to do. More chores to complete. More tasks to do. Particularly in the life of the royal butler. But Barbatos never complained about his job. He was literally born for it, and took great pride in his work. No matter how small the task.

When he heard the small bell, harking a summons from on of the guest rooms, Barbatos stopped polishing the silver and immediately went upstairs to see what was needed. “You called, [Y/N]?” He asked upon arrival. Calm as ever, and ready to help. “How may I be of assistance?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you up here.” They apologized. “I just….couldn’t sleep.”

Barbatos chuckled a little with a soft smile. “No need to apologize, [Y/N]. You’re a guest here, and a friend of the young master.” As well as a dear person to him. “I’m happy to help with anything you need. Might I make you some soothing nightshade tea? That seems to do the trick for most people.”

“N-No. No I…I was wondering….if you’d just sit with me for a while.” The human looked down at the ornate bed spread. Picking at the embroidery in a nervous manner. “Til I fall back asleep?”

The demon smiled again, and came over to sit on the edge of the bed. Holding them in the most comfortable manner possible with him on top of the covers, and them under them. “That is a simple thing.” He told them softly. “Close your eyes. I shall stay with you until you are asleep, and make sure you are taken care of.”

“Thank you.” [Y/N] said lazily. Already closing their eyes and falling back asleep with him close.

The work of a butler was never really done. But this was a task he was happy to do.

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune: Irodori no Issha Episode 3: Kirisaki Ranking

A surprise Kabashima and Yushima (who have first names now) focused audio drama

Tsurune translation masterpost here

Translation Notes

1. This seems to imply that Kirisaki is also affiliated with a university 

Kabashima: sigh

Yushima: Good work today, Kabashima

Kabashima: ...You’re early. You already took a bath?

Yushima: Yeah. Baths before school feel great

Kabashima: ! Yushima, what’s that on top of your desk? A printout? Did we have homework or something?

Yushima: No. This is the popularity poll for the Kirisaki High School kyudo club boys

Kabashima: Hah? A popularity poll?

Yushima: The girls got excited while they were talking and made this, apparently. Wanna see?

Kabashima: How stupid!

Yushima: But you’re pretty high up there in the rankings. I see, you don’t want to see it. I guess that’s for the best. Apparently only girls are allowed to see it

Kabashima: Hey...hey wait a minute! Why are you looking at something only girls can see? 

Yushima: Me? I’m special

Kabashima: Yeah right, as if

Yushima: Because the girls rely on me. Like how the boys’ uniforms stink or how the weeding for the shajo is too sloppy, the girls aren’t pleased by those kinds of things. You didn’t know that, did you

Kabashima: I, I didn’t know...

Yushima: I was the one who told Mutou-sensei to ban leaving uniforms at the kyudojo over the weekend. And the girls talk to me about their love problems, like, “Who’s that? Does he have a girlfriend?”

Kabashima: Love...?　Such immorality inside our club! There’s a complete lack of discipline!

Yushima: You’re so strict. What generation are you from? 

Kabashima: Urggh...a-anyways, show me that popularity poll!

Yushima: Oh, you want to see it?

Kabashima: I’m just checking it! After President Motomura and the others retire, it’ll be us second-years’ time to shine! 

Yushima: Wow, you got fired up

Kabashima: The “Smartest Guy” ranking. President Motomura is number one, and Sase-san is second place? And then Fujiwara... These are pretty decent results, putting Fujiwara aside. Apparently, the two third-years are considering doing outside entrance exams (1)

Yushima: Even though they can go anywhere on a recommendation, that’s just like the two of them

Kabashima: The “Princeliness” ranking...Fujiwara’s number one, huh. Well, I guess that’s pretty reasonable too. He comes from a good family and has a refinement to him

Yushima: Wahaha. Nice job acting like you’re above him

Kabashima: You say “above,” but the ranking itself starts from the top. What’s the next one?  “Alikeness” ranking? Hey wait

Kabashima: Senichi and Manji are in first place. Are there other people who look alike other than them? What’s with this rigged poll?

Yushima: Well, even if you say that...this is just the girls playing around. 

Kabashima: The “Tsundere” ranking...even something like that can be ranked? 

Kabashima: Hmm? Who’s this Nikaidou (middle school)?

Yushima: Right? Apparently there was a good-looking tsundere who went to Kirisaki Middle School. It’s amazing that he’s still so popular

Kabashima: How stupid. It really is stu...hey! Yushima, aren’t you in first place? What’s the meaning of this? 

Yushima: Ah, that. It’s just the “Monk” ranking. I just have a shaved head, that’s all

Kabashima: No, there’s comments here that says “Because he’s always calm” and “He attained enlightenment.” You got some bizarrely high praise

Yushima: What do you mean by bizarre? No, but after all, it’s a Monk ranking

Kabashima: That’s true...

Kabashima: ...

Kabashima: (trying to hide his laughter) ...Of all things, a monk...

Yushima: Wow, it seems to be a hit with you

Kabashima: ...Sorry. No, but really, I think they’re compliments

Yushima: Liar, you're smiling. You’re definitely imagining me in a bodhisattva pose right now 

Kabashima: Puh...(clearing his throat)

Yushima: As for your ranking, Kabashima...

Kabashima: W-Wait! I’ll look at it myself!

Kabashima: ...Here it is. Kabashima Umetarou. In first place! The ranking is...what the hell is this! The “Annoying-Cute” ranking!?

Yushima: That’s great, isn’t it, Kabashima

Kabashima: Hah? Hah? Annoying-cute? I’m not annoying or cute!

Yushima: No, you actually are. If you’re just the most annoying then you can’t recover from that, but the moment “cute” is added, it’s an unexpected reversal

Kabashima: I won’t accept this! What part of me is annoying-cute? If it’s my ranking, then it should be something like “most reliable” or “most trustworthy”!

Yushima: Eh~~~

Kabashima: What! You got a different opinion?

Yushima: Ugh, this is why I shouldn’t have shown this to you

[theomengirl]

Headcanons of Jean, Erwin and Levi Being a Father

Jean

When he first heard about your pregnancy, he couldn’t believe it himself — he’s going to be a father soon and he knew absolutely nothing about parenthood.

He was confused as hell. He’d continously seeking advices from his mom and comcrades to make sure he’s filled with knowledge, eventhough he knew he couldn’t do it right.

One time, you woke up at midnight because of thirst, Jean wasn’t there. You headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water when you heard him.

“It’s your daddy! Peak-a-boo, who’s this cute little creature?”

You watched him in horror as he talked in high-pitched voice, to a plushie. He jumped off his chair at your presence. “I wish i could unsee that.” “Yeah, pretend you saw nothing.”

He was tiny. Jean refused to hold the baby, afraid he would drop him but you assured him. He held his mini version of him in his arms, smiling. “We’re gonna be best buddies.”

It’s true though. Both your husband and son are totally alike. To your surprise, Jean is a natural whenever he plays dad.

He would joke around sometimes, let out the biggest smile when the toddler said ‘papa’ as his first word. Feeding and changing his diapers, and at the end of the day you would find him sleeping with your son on his chest instead of putting him in his crib — tired of chasing after the energetic little one.

You kissed his forehead then to your son's, thankful for giving you such a lovely sight despite the world’s cruelty. Moreover, it’s good to know that his longtime worries don’t mean much.

Erwin

Erwin isn’t actually that strict to his children but he values manners the most, as expected from the Survey Corps Commander where he often meets up with nobles.

He would teach his son table manner, how to treat women with utmost respect and basically everything a good son should know from a very young age.

“Don’t you think our son is a genius? I was teaching him some strategy plan and he understood it-” “Erwin, he just babbled as responses and besides, he’s 2.”

He’s very invested in his son’s growth. He made sure he gets the best education while also receiving much love from both of his parents. He would try his best to spend some time with his family despite his busy schedules.

By the age of 8, you could tell that your son was discerning for his age. He enjoyed having a discussion with Erwin about the outside world and seems to take a lot of interests in it exactly like his father. 

Sometimes his son would tag along and Erwin would show him around his office, the people there stared in awe because how identical those two looked, the only difference was that he inherits your (e/c) eyes.

Your son was calm enough despite his young age and you couldn’t help but worried. You reached out to him, saying that it’s okay to mess up sometimes and having the most of his childhood, also asked if his dad pushes him too hard.

He shook his head. He assured you that he was fine, but he noticed you somehow still felt uneasy. He snuggled his head to your chest, hugging you tightly. “Thank you for bringing me to this world, Mom. I’m good and will always be.” “Who taught you to be this sweet?” He looked up to your face and grinned. “Dad did.” 

Erwin was startled when you suddenly kissed him as he changed his uniform to pajamas, he looked at you with what was that for face. “Thank you for always being my pillar support all this time... and a good father figure to our son.” He stood in silence after hearing your sincerity and carried his wife to the bed with him. “I couldn’t do it without you, my love.” He whispered to your ear, making your heart thumps. “I think it’s time to make a fourth member of the Smith family, what’d you say?” He smirked as he pinned your body down under his large built.

Can u imagine him saying that seductively i-

Levi

Your eyes widened upon hearing the doctor. You looked at your husband sitting beside you, he also had the same expression. 

“Did you examine her right?” Levi asked, raising his eyebrows. The doctor chuckled. “Yes. Congratulations on carrying two at once.”

Surprised. Both of you didn’t expect it would be twins, boys at that. It’s the least you and Levi ever wanted because having them means facing twice the trouble.

He plopped himself down on the sofa, exhausted. It was his day off but his energy was drained out completely when facing the twins, running around the house to be chased on by Levi.

He felt them pulling his shirt as he was about to lay down, asking to play more. He sighed. “I wish i could turn you brats into babies again.”

Yup, he’s nothing like humanity’s strongest soldier when he’s at home.

Don’t ever mess with his kids if you don’t want to end up getting your bones broken to pieces by him.

He would teach them combat at an early age in order to defend themselves. He wanted them to be strong and help as many as possible. Besides, the boys adored his father way too much.

It startled you when the twins fight. Loud screams and wails could be heard in the entire household as they hit each other. “What the hell is this ruckus about?” the twins stopped and quickly made up, nothing good will come from fighting in front of their father.

“Oi, come here,” he called them over to sit on his lap. “You guys are brothers and brothers should be there to protect each other. Do you understand?” The two boys nodded. “Now hug your Mom and apologize for making a scene before her.”

They ran towards you and you embraced them. “We’re sorry, Mommy.” They said in unison. You placed kisses on their cheeks. You looked at Levi and mouthed him ‘thank you’ as he pecked your lips and joined the three for a group hug.

Levi never imagined himself to start a family of his own considering the tough life he’s experienced in the Underground. Now that he has one, he swears to protect them with every last bit of him while bearing another title besides Humanity’s Strongest Soldier, a Father.

[study-coffee-chicago]

Seasons of PD and Med: Season 0: The Backstory (A Halstead! Brothers + Halstead Sister! imagine)

Hey, I had an idea to pick episodes from every season of PD and Med and write them as if Will and Jay had a younger sister involved. This is the first installment and it will deal with some big things in Jay and Will's young adult years and Y/N's childhood years! Stay tuned for the next update which is season 1 of PD (I'm not gonna say what ep it is yet because I want you guys to be surprised.) I just made up a name for Mama Halstead since she hasn't been named in the show...I'm still waiting on that crumb that the writers neglected to add.

Anyway, enough of the long note, enjoy!

Will's age: 20

Jay's age: 18

Your age: 4

"Dad, I'm leaving tomorrow! It's not like I can change it now!" Jay yelled at his father as he paced the living room, his mom and dad sitting on the couch. His mom was trying to calm his dad, but that wasn't working very well.

"Both of you, keep your voice down," Amelia Halstead hissed at her husband and youngest son. "Y/N's sleeping. And if either of you wakes her up, there will be hell to pay tomorrow."

"Sh- Crap," Jay fixed his language quickly, knowing that he shouldn't swear around his parents. "Y/N."

Amelia's eyes went wide. "Jayson Halstead! You haven't told her yet? You said you wanted to be the one to tell her!"

"He won't have to tell her anything if he doesn't go," Pat Halstead shrugged.

"Patrick." Amelia gave Pat a warning look. "He's his own person and as much as we both hate it, he's an adult in the eyes of the law and can make his own decisions. One of which is whether or not he wants to join the military."

"I just think he should go out and get a real job. Why is it that none of my sons want to do that? Will wants to become a doctor and waste God knows how much time and money in school and this one wants to go and get himself killed. And for what? Because you want to play with guns?"

"Dad," Jay groaned. "We've been over this. I want to help protect people and I want to do that somewhere outside the country because there are others over there who really need it. Also, I like the adrenaline rush."

"Jay, not the time," Amelia scolded in reference to the last part.

"Sorry, Mom," Jay mumbled.

"I'm still not okay with this, no matter your reasoning. I don't need you to come home in a coffin!" Pat yelled.

You heard the booming voice of your dad down the hallway and jumped awake. Why was he yelling? Shouldn't he be sleeping just like you had been? But, maybe he was just yelling at the Blackhawks game as he did that often. Maybe if you got up he'd give you some juice. Your mom was always strict about no sugar before--or during--bedtime, but your brothers and your dad were a lot more easygoing.

So, you slid out of bed and walked down the hallway, excited to see if you'd be able to get some grape juice in your favorite princess cup. You clutched your Build-A-Bear in your hand, which was also dressed in pajamas, as it was bedtime, and walked down the hall. But, you stopped short when you heard that Jay was yelling as well.

"I'm leaving tomorrow and there's nothing you can do about it, Dad! If you hate it so much, feel free to stay home when we all go to the airport!"

Jay was leaving? Did he have another seven-sleep-long soccer camp? He always had those in the summer. And, when you went to his games with your mom when the leaves changed, he scored lots of goals.

"Jay wait--"

"Mom, I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Jay got halfway down the hall before he saw you.

"Hey, what are you doing up? Isn't it way past your bedtime?" Jay asked, his voice softening as he crouched down in front of you.

Your lower lip started to tremble and you pulled your Build-A-Bear, who you had affectionately named Beary, close to your chest. "You go to soccer for lots of sleeps again, Jay Jay?"

Jay sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Of course, you had heard him say he was leaving. And of course, the only thing you had to compare it to was him leaving for his soccer camps which he always went to at the end of July.

"What's the biggest number you can count to?" he asked, trying to sound excited.

"Um...um...um," you furrowed your eyebrows, trying to remember what you had learned at daycare. "Ten," you finally answered.

"I'm gonna be gone a long time," he told you.

"So, ten sleeps?" Ten was a long time. It had two numbers!

"Longer than that." He placed a hand on your shoulder and went to hug you because he saw the tears in your eyes, but you ran away from him. "Y/N, wait--"

"Mommy!" you yelled as you ran into the living room as fast as your little legs could carry you.

Amelia Halstead jumped up from her place on the couch. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" She crouched down and then picked you up.

"Jay Jay," you hiccupped as tears rolled down your face. "Jay Jay leaving for more than ten sleeps! He not my favowite broder anymore!" you wailed.

The door opened, revealing Will who had just returned from the library since he was taking some summer classes. "What am I, kiddo? Chopped liver?"

"Will my favowite now."

Will put his backpack in his room and then entered Jay's, who was sitting on his bed with what looked like a new outfit for your Build-A-Bear right next to him.

"So, I'm assuming you told her?" Will asked after he had sat down next to his younger brother.

"Yeah. And she hates me now, so there's that."

"Nah, she's just confused. She's four, Jay."

"I know that."

"Did you tell her why you're leaving? Where you're going?"

"No. When I told her I'd be gone for more than ten sleeps she started to cry and then ran to Mom. I made her cry, Will. You're the only one who's supposed to do that."

"Hey," Will smacked Jay upside the head. "I stole her bear once and I'm forever dubbed the horrible brother, yeah okay."

Jay laughed. "I mean, it's true, though. She hated you and cried for hours until you came home and gave it to her because you hid it in your car."

"I agree. It was a dick move." Will picked up the bear outfit. "What's this?"

"I got her a military outfit for her bear. Figured maybe it'd help her feel like I'm not so far away. And, it wouldn't freak her out when she sees me in my uniform tomorrow."

Jay and Will looked up at the sound of his door being opened. "Someone wanted to see you," their mom said, still holding you in her arms. "Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

You nodded. "Down peas," you said, trying your best to say please.

The minute you were safely on the floor, you ran to Jay's bed and hauled yourself up all by yourself. "I sowwy," you told your big brother.

"It's okay. But you know what will make me feel better?" you shook your head no. "A hug."

"Okay!" you jumped into Jay's lap and hugged him, unknowingly jumping somewhere that hurt him, causing him to grimace and Will to burst out laughing. After a warning glance from your mom though, Will stopped.

Once Jay regained his composure, he grabbed the bear outfit from next to him. "I have a present for you."

You pulled away from him and looked at him expectantly. "Weally? But I was mean."

"I know you didn't mean it. I forgive you."

You had no idea what he was talking about, but nodded anyway.

"You know how the good guys fight the bad guys?" Jay started. You nodded. "I'm leaving to fight some really bad guys."

"So you a good guy?"

"Yes," he chuckled. "And I wear something that looks like this. So, I thought maybe Beary would like his own. That way, you know that me and him are both the good guys and when I'm gone, he'll fight off all the bad guys in your bad dreams."

"Beary can fight da bad guys?"

"Yes, it's because he has this. He can even just wear the hat and be fighting bad guys."

He handed you the camo shirt, pants, and hat for your bear.

"You not wearing dis," you told him.

Now it was your mom's turn to butt in. "It's because he's sleepy. He doesn't wear it to sleep. But, he'll wear it tomorrow and Beary and Jay will match."

"Beary match Jay Jay 'morrow?" you asked, looking up at your mom expectantly.

"Yes. And they'll match faster if both you and Beary go to sleep."

"Weally?"

"Really. Now, how about we go to sleep and you can put Beary's new outfit on tomorrow?"

"Okay. Night night, Will. Night night, Jay Jay."

Once your mom had taken you out of the room, Will spoke up. "Damn, now I'm gonna have to get that bear a white coat once I graduate from med school just to one-up you."

"His name's Beary," Jay told him.

Will rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'm gonna have to get Beary a white coat when I graduate from med school. Happy now, little brother?"

"Beary happy."

***

You, your mom, dad, and Will all walked into the airport to say goodbye to Jay before he boarded his flight. Beary was dressed in his camo, but you hadn't seen Jay dressed in his yet as he had left early to say goodbye to Allie and some other friends before you had gotten the chance to see him this morning.

"Look, there's Jay," your mom said, trying to be as happy as she could so that you wouldn't get sad. But, on the inside, her heart was breaking. But, once again, this is what her son wanted to do, so she wouldn't stop him.

"Hey guys," he said as he walked up to you, again, trying to be as happy as he could. But, since you couldn't really read the tone yet, you missed the nervousness in his voice.

"You and Beary match!"

"I told you we would! Would I ever lie to you?"

You shook your head no. You trusted both your big brothers to always tell you the truth.

"C'mere." Will was the first one to give Jay a hug. "I'm gonna miss your annoying--" Will leaned in to whisper in Jay's ear, knowing that if his mom heard him swear around you, he'd never hear the end of it. "--ass."

"I'll miss you, too. And all that annoying school talk you do. Dad?"

He turned to his dad and he hugged him, shocking both Jay and Will. "Stay safe out there, son."

"I will."

"Mom, please don't cry," Jay said as he turned to your mom, who was still holding you in her arms.

"I just love you so much. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Mom," he said as he swallowed a lump in his throat and hugged her. "I love you, too."

He pulled away and then looked at you. "And you, I am gonna miss you the most."

"Weally?"

"Yes, don't tell Will, but you're my favorite."

"Mommy! I'm Jay Jay's favowite."

"Flight 51163 now boarding."

"I gotta go. But, remember what I told you, okay? Beary will always fight your bad dreams for you because he has his own uniform now."

"Just like you?"

Jay nodded. "Now, can Mommy put you down so I can get a big Y/N hug?"

Your mom set you on the ground and Jay crouched down to your level and enveloped you in a hug. "I gotta go," he said as he pulled away. "Be good for Mommy and Daddy."

"I will. I love you Jay Jay."

"I love you, too." He stood up and looked at the rest of his family. "All of you."

He turned and started to walk away. More than ten sleeps is too long! And, before your mom could pick you back up, you ran towards him, dropping Beary in the process.

"No no no Jay Jay, peas stay!" you yelled.

Jay's head whipped around just as you attached yourself his leg with tears running down your face.

"Y/N, Jay's gonna be home before you know it," your mom said.

"But- But I don't want Jay Jay leave. I want Jay Jay home!"

"I know, I know. But remember what he told you last night? He's gotta get all the bad guys. And, you want him to get all the bad guys, don't you?"

"You pwomise to get all da bad guys, Jay Jay?" you asked, still holding onto his leg.

"I promise."

Your mom reached down to grab you and then lifted you up into her arms.

Another guy wearing the same clothes as Jay came up to you. "Is this yours?" he asked you.

"Beary! I dropped Beary, Mommy!" you exclaimed as you reached out and took your bear from him.

"I see that. Now, what do you say?"

"Tank you!"

"You're welcome," he said.

Then, you waved goodbye as your mom walked away with you and returned to Will and your dad. All the while, you clutched Beary, making sure he didn't fall out of your grasp again.

"Kid sister?" the guy who handed you Beary back asked Jay.

"Yeah, she's four. Doesn't really get what's going on. Thanks for giving that back. She would've gone crazy if she got in the car and it wasn't there," Jay answered. "I'm Jay Halstead by the way."

"Greg Gerwitz," he replied. "But everyone calls me Mouse."

***

Will's age: 22

Jay's age: 20

Your age: 6

"Mom is gonna be shocked, man," Will said to Jay as he parked his car in the driveway. "I just hope she doesn't me kill for keeping it a secret from her."

"I think that'll be the last thing on her mind when she sees me. Now, you said that her and Y/N are leaving at 8:15, right?"

"Yeah, so you better go stand outside my car now because it's 8:14."

Meanwhile, inside you ran back down the hallway to your room. "Y/N!" Your mom shouted after you. "We have to go! You don't want to be late on your first day of kindergarten, do you?"

You ran to your room and then grabbed Beary. You had changed him back into his military uniform outfit--or, what you called Jay Jay's clothes--earlier this morning. It was the only thing Beary wore during the day since Jay's been gone. You'd put him into his pajamas at night and then right back into the military uniform outfit when you woke up.

"I'm back, Mama! Beary's coming to school with me!"

"That reminds me," she pulled out a small toy backpack from behind her back. "Beary can't go to school without a backpack now, can he?"

"No, Mommy! Thank you!" you quickly put the red backpack on Beary's back and then your mom took a picture.

Then, you and your mom stepped out the front door.

Jay and Will were both leaning against Will's car. Tears came to Jay's eyes when he saw that your bear was still in that military outfit he'd gotten you two years ago before he left for basic training and then for Afghanistan.

Through a rushed phone call a few months ago, Jay had asked Will when your first day of school was. He didn't want to miss it, being the good big brother he was. So, once he had a date, he went on a mission to get himself off his tour one week early. Somehow, he was successful. Then, he coordinated with Will about what time his flight was landing in Chicago and he'd picked him up. The two brothers spent the night at a hotel--Will saying he was staying at a friend's house--and then driven home that morning.

You were having a very intense conversation with your mom about what you hoped kindergarten would be like when she stopped in her tracks and put her hand over her mouth.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" you asked, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Hi, Mom."

You knew that voice. But, usually, it only came through the phone and your mom wasn't holding the phone right now.

You looked away from your mom and towards the sound of footsteps.

There, right in front of you, was your big brother in his military uniform that matched Beary's.

"Jay Jay!" you yelled and sprinted towards him.

"There's my favorite kindergartner!" Jay exclaimed when he picked you up. "Did you miss me?"

"I missed you this much!" You spread your arms out as far as they could go.

"Really?" You nodded your head. "You missed me a lot, huh? Well, I missed you more!"

"Did you get the bad guys?"

Jay swallowed, images from his deployment and having people bleed out in front of him coming to the forefront of his mind. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, Y/N. I got all the bad guys."

"Good!"

"How did you- How did you both do this?" your mom choked out, in tears.

"Mommy, don't cry," you told her, still in Jay's arms. "Jay Jay's home, be happy."

"I am happy, baby. These are happy tears. But how did you do this? I thought you weren't supposed to be home for another week, Jay!"

"Me and Will talked about it. I found out when Y/N's first day of school was, and the rest just fell into place. I couldn't miss walking my favorite sister to her first day at big kid school, now could I?" he asked, tickling your stomach, causing you to giggle.

"No, stop! Jay Jay stop!" you giggled and he set you back down on the ground.

"How about you walk to school with us and then the three of us go out for breakfast?" your mom suggested.

"What about me?" you asked, looking up at your mom. "Can I come?"

"You'll be in school, honey. And, remember what I said you'd get after school?"

"A donut!" you exclaimed.

"Wow! Someone's lucky!" Jay said, overexaggerating it.

"Make sure you tell them it was your first day of school, Y/N," Will started, "because I know they'll be sure to put extra sprinkles on it."

"Mommy! I get extra sprinkles!"

"So, I heard. But, we better get going, we don't want to be late."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Mom," Will started, "But I gotta start heading back to New York."

"Med school can't wait another day, huh?" Jay asked.

"I've already missed one lecture, but it was on the ethics and implications of not respecting a DNR...which is common sense in the medical world. But, I don't think I can afford to miss anymore. Sorry guys."

"You'll be back soon though, right?" you asked.

"Yup, I'll be back for Thanksgiving. A lot faster than Jay got back."

"Okay!" you exclaimed. Then, you grabbed your mom's hand and Jay's and walked to school in the middle of them, excited to have your big brother who fought the bad guys back home.

***

Will's age: 25

Jay's age: 23

Your age: 9

It's been three years since Jay's first tour ended, and he was currently overseas on his second tour. You were in third grade now, so you enjoyed getting to write letters to him and tell him all about school. You'd also send some to Will in New York so that he didn't feel left out. And, Will would send you these super cool things called postcards with pictures of different places in New York on them!

Overseas in Afghanistan, all hell had broken loose. Jay and Mouse were in the same unit again, which was great, but what wasn't so great was what happened with his Humvee. The Humvee had hit an IED and left Jay and Mouse as the only two survivors. Jay was trying to do his job the best he could, but he wasn't sleeping, the images of that day etched in his mind and always there, even when his eyes were closed.

In the northeastern part of the US, Will was procrastinating all his homework--but somehow still turning it in on time and doing well on exams--while he worked long, unpaid hours at a hospital, learning everything there was to know about treating patients and performing surgery. He was also partying a lot in his spare time. He had seen one of his professors, Yates, at a party, so that was weird and freaked him out. A grown man partying with his students? Why? But, Will had more important things going on to worry about than why the hell one of his professors was at a big ass house party.

Back at home, your mom was crying and you had asked her what was wrong, but she told you not to worry about it. Despite that, you were worried. You had never seen your mom cry like this. She didn't even cry this much when Jay and Will left!

"Mom?" you asked when you got home from school to see her sitting at the kitchen table crying.

She frantically wiped away her tears to try and play off that nothing was wrong. You looked down at the stack of papers in front of her and noticed that one said something about a will. There wasn't an "a" in front of Will's name! He was just Will!

"Mom! They messed up Will's name! See? I'll fix it!" You picked up the pen next to you and uncapped it.

"No!" your mom yelled.

"Why? It's wrong."

"I'm sorry,  baby. These are just really important papers that you can't write on, okay? They're adult papers."

"Will and Jay are adults?" you asked, your eyes going wide. No, they weren't; your mom still called them her baby boys.

"They are!" She laughed at your expression.

"When will I be an adult?"

"You've got nine years yet, baby. You have to wait until you're-- until you're eighteen," she stuttered, trying not to get choked up as she realized that she probably wouldn't be here when you turned eighteen. If the doctors were right, she wouldn't even be here for your tenth birthday.

"Mom, why are you crying?" You sat in the kitchen chair next to her and looked up at her with curiosity in your eyes.

Now was as good a time as any, your mom thought to herself. Both Will and Jay knew and Jay said he'd be home any time now since he had been honorably discharged between the Humvee and IED incident and your mom getting sick.

"Sweetie, mom's really sick," she told you.

You cocked your head to the side. "So, you just need to go to the hospital or get Will to fix you up."

"I wish it were that simple, baby. But, the sickness is way inside my body and is moving around too much to have Will fix it."

"But can't they go inside with those fancy tools that Jay's scared of?"

"It's not as simple as going in with a few needles, baby."

"But what about that yucky stuff you give me?" you asked, referring to the grape flavored medicine.

You heard the door open. "The important thing is that I'm okay right now. I'll just be a little tired and we might have to go to the hospital soon."

"Mom? You here?"

"Jay!" you yelled and ran to the living room, the emotional talk with your mom long forgotten the moment you heard your older brother's voice.

"Y/N!" Jay yelled, matching your enthusiasm as he crouched down and opened his arms wide.

"I missed you!" you told him as you squeezed him tightly.

"I missed you, too! Now, is Mom here?" he asked as he stood back up.

You grabbed his hand. "She's here. Did you know she's sick, Jay?"

You led him to the kitchen, where your mom was still sitting at the table.

Jay glanced over at the paper sitting in front of your mom. He swallowed as it all quickly became real for him.

His mom was dying and he was home. But, his older brother wasn't. Will was off partying while their mom was dying.

***

"No, chocolate's better than vanilla," you argued as you and Jay both walked the short walk home holding your ice cream cones.

"No, vanilla's better. You're just a weirdo. Now, how about you eat your ice cream before it melts and drips on you and you get all sticky?"

It was the first day of May and Jay had been home since February. Your mom's condition was rapidly deteriorating as the cancer spread throughout her body. You had noticed she had been more tired than usual and that your dad hadn't been as excited to watch you at soccer practice. He didn't even want to come with you and Jay when you went to the ice cream shop today. It was opening day for the season, and it was a Halstead tradition that the whole family go get ice cream together. And, Jay wasn't going to let his dad wreck that for you, so he took you.

Jay had finished his ice cream and you were at the bottom of your cone when you walked up the front porch steps.

"You're just going to give up, Amelia? You do know that's what this is right?"

Luckily for you, you were so focused on finishing your ice cream, that you didn't hear the yelling between your mom and dad right away. But, Jay did.

"Hey, Y/N?" you looked up from your cone at your older brother.  "How about you go grab your soccer ball from the garage and I'll get some water bottles and we can go to the park and practice for your game on Saturday, how does that sound?"

"So I can get better at stealing the ball from the other team?" you asked.

"Yup. Now, let's hurry up, okay?"

"Okay!"

As soon as your back was turned and you ran off to the garage in search of your soccer ball, Jay entered the house.

"Pat, that's not what this is and you know it!" Amelia argued, using what little strength she had after chemo to stand up.

"Then what is it?" Pat roared.

"I don't want Y/N to see me deteriorate!"

Jay rushed into his parents' bedroom. His mom was clutching the bedpost as if her life depended on it.

"Mom," he started, causing both his parents to focus their attention on him. "How about you sit down? You're tired."

"Jay, will you get me the phone please?" she asked, still standing.

"Amelia, you are not making that call!"

"It is my life! You are not taking this last big decision away from me!" Her voice softened. "Jay, sweetheart, the phone please."

"What's going on?"

"Your mom wanting to stay at the hospital is what's going on," Pat spat.

"Mom, no. You- you can't. Stay here. Please," he begged. He knew this was the last straw. Staying in the hospital likely meant she'd die there. She only had a limited time left. And, he wanted her to be here, at home with him. He had missed so much when he was away in Afghanistan. He just wanted more time of her staying home, of them being a normal family, despite her battling cancer with all her might.

"It'll be better for me there, Jay. They can give me painkillers and probably other things to help me feel better."

Jay hated it, but his mom was right. It probably was what was best for her.

"Okay, I'll get you the phone."

He walked into the kitchen to grab the phone and walked back to the bedroom to give it to his mom.

He reached out his hand to hand it to her, but it hit the floor with a thud.

"Dad! What the hell?" Jay yelled.

"You know what! She's staying here, Jayson!"

"Last I checked, it was mom's decision, not yours! And, she said she wants to go to the hospital! Respect that!"

"Like you and her respected what I had to say when you wanted to leave for the army? You didn't respect what I had to say then, so why should I respect what she's saying now?"

"Because she's your wife and she's dying!" Jay yelled. "You're stressing her out and stress is bad for her."

He picked up the phone and went to hand it to his mom. She took it.

Pat reached out his hand, but Jay stopped him. "You touch her or that phone, and I will lay you out where you stand. It's mom's decision."

"You'd really hit your old man?"

"Try me."

There was silence for a moment before Pat turned. "I'm going for a drive. I'll be back later."

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Amelia said to her son once Pat was out of the room.

"You did the same thing for me when I left to go to the army. You respected my decisions, so I'm respecting yours, Mom."

"When did you grow up so much?" A tear rolled down her cheek.

Jay sat down next to her. "Army will do that to you."

"Jay? You ready?" Jay heard you call for him.

"I'll be right there, Y/N!" he hollered back. Then, he turned back to his mom. "I was gonna take Y/N to the park, but I can stay here if you want me to?"

"No, go, Jay. You're a good brother. Promise me you'll watch over her when I'm gone?"

"Mom don't say--"

"Promise me. She needs you, both you and Will to look out for her. Who knows how your dad will get through all this. She needs her big brothers."

"I promise, Mom."

"Jay?" he heard you yell for him from outside.

"Be right there!" he yelled back.

After grabbing and filling up two water bottles, he walked outside to be met with your puzzled face. "What's wrong?"

"Why'd dad leave?" you asked, holding the soccer ball under your arm.

"Uh," Jay faltered. No way in hell was he going to be the one to explain this to you. Him leaving for the military, yeah, he could explain that one. But your guys' mom dying and telling you that she was going to the hospital because the end was near? Yeah, not gonna happen. He'd leave that to someone else...someone that was not him. "He's running a few errands," Jay answered.

"Oh, okay. Can Ben come to the park with us, too?" you asked.

Ben was your best friend and also your neighbor. Jay had dated his older sister before he left to fight the bad guys far away. Sometimes, when Jay had to babysit you, Allie would come over and bring Ben. And then, you'd get lots and lots of candy and get to watch movies for a bit. And, they'd promise you both Mcdonald's if neither you nor Ben said that Allie had come over. It always worked. You didn't know what the two teenagers were doing, but all you knew was that you got french fries and candy out of it, so both you and Ben had kept your mouths shut...despite it being against both your parents' rules to have a boyfriend or girlfriend over when they weren't home.

"You know what, I think that's a great idea," Jay answered. And then, you made your way to the Corson's and then to the park, thinking nothing of it.

***

Jay was sitting in the hospital room, clutching his mother's hand, just wondering how his life had turned out like this. Will was almost to the hospital; he'd gotten a last-minute flight from New York to Chicago, knowing that that would be faster than driving. Your dad was picking you up from school an hour early on a Friday. But right now, right now Jay was alone. And his mom, well she was still here, but he knew it wouldn't be for long. He knew that she was sleeping right now, and he wanted that for her because at least she wouldn't be awake to feel the pain of death, but at the same time, God, he wanted her to wake up. He wanted her to wake up so bad. He wanted to tell her that she was the best mom in the world. He wanted to tell her that he should never have had gone to Afghanistan, that maybe Dad was right, maybe he should've stayed in the States. Maybe he should've stayed in Chicago. He should've stayed home, just so that he could have had those three missed years with his mom. So that there could've been those extra two years before Will went to med school where the five of the Halsteads would be a real family. Because, in a matter of hours, hell in a matter of minutes, the Halsteads would dwindle down to a family of four forever. And, then, when Will left to go back to New York, it would dwindle down to three, at least for the time being.

Damn it. He just wanted more time. More time with his mom. He'd give anything for just a little more time.

"Jay! Jay! How is she?" Will burst into the quiet hospital room looking more worse for wear than normal. He had just gotten off an eighteen-hour shift of his med school rotation when he had gotten the call from his dad to get to Chicago as soon as possible. He found the first available flight--not caring about cost--and left, not even glancing at the clothes he threw in a duffle bag.

"Shhh!" Jay hissed at his older brother. "She's sleeping. And, shouldn't you know from your fancy schooling that as long as those monitors are still beeping, that she's still alive? Or did you just get too drunk and not even study and leave me to deal with dad and a very distraught and scared Y/N?"

"Man, you know I stopped doing that once I started working long shifts at the hospital!" Will whisper-yelled, trying to keep his voice down.

Jay sighed. "I'm sorry. We can deal with this later."

"You said Y/N's scared. What's she actually doing?"

Jay swallowed, trying to hold back the tears of what you'd been asking him those last two and a half weeks. "Um, every morning when she wakes up, she asks me if Mom went to heaven when she's sleeping. And then- And then before she leaves for school, she tells me to tell Mom she loves her if I go to see her."

Will rubbed a hand down his face. He didn't know what to say. He knew he should've been in Chicago for his little brother and sister, but he hadn't been. And, he couldn't change the past now. And, he knew he couldn't stay in Chicago after the funeral. It was no use telling Jay and you that he could stay; it'd just be an empty promise.

"William," Amelia's hoarse and groggy voice broke through the silence.

Will rushed to the opposite side of the bed to grab his mom's hand, the one that had the pulse-ox on it. "Mom, I'm here. I'm here."

"I need to- I need to tell..."

"Here, Mom." Will held the water cup with a straw in front of his mom. "Drink a bit. Please."

Amelia obliged and listened to her oldest son. After all, he was going to be a doctor one day. And, she hoped a damn good one at that.

"Thank you, baby," she said once she had taken a few sips. "My ring."

"What about your wedding ring, Mom?" Jay prompted.

"It's not a race...but whoever finds...the right girl first...gets it."

"Mom, don't say that," Will choked out. "You'll be okay. Everything will be fine."

Jay wanted to scoff. Leave it to Will to say that. He wasn't the one sitting in the hospital every damn day just watching their mom deteriorate and waiting for the inevitable.

"But, I'm supposed to wait until Sunday," you told your dad as you entered the hospital room, clutching the present you had made in art class for Mother's Day.

"I think it's close enough. And, it'll make Mom super happy," your dad answered you.

You nodded, the clay heart clutched in your hand. "Will!"

"Hey, kiddo."

"I missed you."

"I missed you, too. Now, what about this mother's day present? Why don't you come over here and give it to mom?" God, he didn't know how he did it, how he talked to his little sister like this was just a normal day and their mom wasn't minutes away from leaving them forever. He thought that his time working in a hospital and watching doctors and nurses deliver devastating news to families might have something to do with it, though.

"Mom." You stood on your tip-toes so that you could fully see her since her bed was tipped so that she was in a semi-sitting position.

"Yes...baby?" she asked, her voice no more than a whisper.

"I made this for you. I'm supposed to give it to you on Sunday since that's when Mother's Day is, but Dad said I can give it to you now." You passed the ceramic heart which was painted a shade of lavender and had I love you, Mom carved into it in your messy third-grader handwriting. "Do you like it?"

"I love...it, baby...I'll...cherish it...forever."

"I love you, Mommy." You hadn't called her Mommy in years. But, you knew it always made her happy when you called her that. Maybe, this would make her feel happy.

"Where's...Dad?" she asked weakly.

"He had to go to the bathroom," you answered.

"I love...you...my three...babies."

The sound of the monitor flatlining filled the room. Jay let out an agonizing scream, one unlike you had ever heard before.

"No," Will sobbed. You'd never seen him do that before. He always tried to be the big brother who didn't cry. Both your big brothers did.

Will wanted to start chest compressions, but he knew they'd be no use.

"Mommy," you whispered, shaking her shoulder. You knew it was no use, but maybe, just maybe she'd wake up. "Mommy, come back. Please."

"She's gone, Y/N," Jay said. "She's not coming back."

"Jay!" Will yelled.

"She needs to know that! Mom's gone, dammit!"

Jay slid down the wall, his anger, sadness, frustration, all of it, getting the best of him and he cried. Sobs racked his body.

He heard whispering near him and vaguely made out that Will was telling you that Jay didn't mean to sound so mean. And, then, he felt a pair of little arms wrap around him.

"Jay Jay," you whispered.

And that just made Jay cry harder.

Will came over and joined the hug, all three of you sobbing.

You heard a gasp and the sound of someone running into the room. Then, you heard a blood-curdling scream, the sound of a husband losing his wife way too soon.

The ceramic heart you had made for your mom fell to the floor, finally becoming too heavy to stay put in her lifeless hand now that there was no grip left. It shattered into sharp, lavender pieces, much like your real hearts. Despite still beating, they may as well stop, too. Because, just like how that ceramic heart would never be whole again, without your mom, your heart would never be whole again either.

***

Jay's age: 24

Your age: 10

It had been about a year since your mom had died. Day by day everything was getting easier. But, a part of you was missing, and you'd come to accept that it'd never be filled. Jay moved out right after your mom died and you'd see him sometimes. He worked different hours now since he was a police officer. But, even if you wanted to watch one more movie with him at his apartment, he wouldn't let you and he'd never let you spend the night. He'd always bring you back home to your dad.

You were in bed, Beary laying next to you since you had let go of him in your sleep, when you were woken up by the sound of sirens.

You located Beary from beside you and walked out into the hallway. The light was on as you still didn't like it when you woke up to go to the bathroom and it was dark. So, you walked to your dad's bedroom and pushed to door open.

"Dad," you whispered as you placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hmmm?" he asked, opening his eyes. "What's wrong, honey?"

Since your mom died, you and your dad had grown a lot closer. You'd always watch hockey games with him and he'd come to every single one of your soccer games and take you out for a snack after. He always made sure he was home from work before it got too late so that he could help you with your homework and make sure you weren't scared of a thunderstorm at night. He was the dad that Will and Jay never had. He just hated that it took the death of his wife for him to become a better father.

"Why- Why are there police officers at Ben's house?"

"Police officers? At the Corsons?" your dad asked.

"Yeah, from my window I saw the flashing lights. What's going on?"

"Just give me a minute and we'll go see if they need anything, okay?" he asked, not knowing there was crime scene tape everywhere.

Once your dad was ready, you walked outside, holding tight to his hand and to Beary.

"Uh, yeah, tender-age male. From the looks of it raped and possible cause of death being asphyxiation."

You had no idea what anything he was saying meant, but you knew that Jay was the one who was talking. He was here! Maybe he'd know what was going on! And, maybe he'd know where Ben was, because, from the people around, you hadn't spotted Ben yet.

"Jay!" You let go of your dad's hand and ran towards him, ducking under the bright yellow crime scene tape.

"Shit," he muttered as he ran towards you, trying to block your best friend's body from your view.

But, he was too late.

"B-Ben?"

Jay grabbed you and pulled you close to him so that his body was blocking you from seeing the body any more than you already had. But, he knew that it was no use; the image of your best friend laying in the grass with a rope tied around his neck and duck tape on his mouth and wrists, pants on backward and shirt haphazardly threw on, would forever be etched in your mind.

"Ben!" you wailed.

"I'm gonna take her back to the house. You got it from here and I'll meet you back at the station?" you heard Jay say to who you assumed was his partner.

"Yeah, who is she?"

"My little sister. Kid was her best friend."

"Take as much time as you need, Halstead. I'll tell the sergeant that you might not be back tonight."

"Thank you."

Your dad stayed with Danny and Gail, while Jay brought you home.

"Do you want some water?" Jay asked quietly as you entered the house.

You shook your head. "What happened?"

"Maybe when you're older I can explain, okay?"

"So, he's with Mom now?" you asked, looking into his teary eyes.

"Yeah, he's with Mom now. She'll look after him." He pulled you into a hug. "I love you, kid. You're my favorite sister."

"I'm your only sister, Jay."

"That's why you're my favorite."

Jay took a deep breath as he held you tight. That could've easily been you laying on the ground instead of Ben.

After that night, any day that Jay didn't have to work in the mornings, he'd walk you to school. He did that for the rest of the year. He never told you why; he'd only say that he wanted to spend time with his little sister and sometimes he'd even bring you a donut. But, you knew it had something to do with Ben...and the fact that the person who hurt him had never been found.

You weren't supposed to know that information, but you figured it would've been on the news if they found the person who did it. After all, the case was on the news when it first happened.

Little did you and Jay know, that it would be three years until justice would be served and that Jay would almost lose his badge over it.

A/N: Hey, sorry this took me so long to post! It took me a while to write since most of the scenes were sad. Anyway, as I mentioned at the beginning, this will be a series, so look for the next installment! Those will be better because the age will be when Y/N's a teenager...and I write those a lot better than I do when I have to write times when Y/N is a kid.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment! It gives me so much motivation to continue writing!

[songbirdsingingthings]

Midnight Revelations - Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Kohei Horikoshi

MHA Masterlist - Main Masterlist

WARNINGS: Fluff, Swearing (It’s Bakugou, so, that’s kinda a given)

Requested by @luluwiie​ :

Given your gift for writing, I'm honestly utterly surprised your box is not already full :o but this is my chance ! Kuhuhu * robbing hands *

May I request a Todoroki or Bakugo one shot (Just choose whether you feel more inspired with one, another or both) where they are just sharing some moments with reader, and like, they enjoy their time with Reader and when they come back to their dorms, alone in their bedroom, they just realize how much they care for Reader? Like, more than their close friend and partner in crimes ? Like, more in a pining way? I just love emotional epiphanies 😳❤

Tysm if you do this ! CANT WAIT TO READ YOU MORE ❤❤

- Luluv

A/N: YOU’RE LITERALLY THE SWEETEST ❤❤❤. I had a lot of fun writing this one since Bakugou is such an interesting character, so I hope you enjoy!! (Also, the song “True Love” by P!NK was playing nonstop in my head while writing this.)

Word Count: 1.9K

If it was within his control, Katsuki Bakugou would be fast asleep in his own bed by now. It made sense to him - the sky was completely dark making the stars clearly visible and it was already past 10:30 p.m., so why on earth was he awake? The short and simplest answer yielded the same result; you. How you had wedged yourself in between him and his strict sleep schedule, Bakugou had no idea, so here he was, sat with a grimace on his face as you tried to work out the last math problem on the long homework sheet Ectoplasm had assigned.

“Wait, so when it’s a hyperbola, it’s a²- b² = c²?” You ask, glancing in between the blonde-haired boy sat next to you and the sheet full of conic section equations. Bakugou just looked at you with a mixture of a tired and dumbfounded expression.

“No, idiot, it’s a²+ b² = c² because the standard form uses subtraction. It’s the other way around for ellipses.” He explains gruffly, taking your mechanical pencil and writing down the equation roughly. However, due to the sheer force of his hand on the poor little pencil, the led snapped off. You laughed a little at the outburst that followed shortly after.

“Bakugou, don’t press so hard, the lead is thinner.” You say, taking the pencil from his hand gingerly. He simply scoffs in return.

“Yeah, well, normal pencils don’t do that. Get better ones next time.” He hurumphs, leaning back in his chair and letting his head hang off the back. He remains like this for a few minutes while you scribble down the rest of your equations, ultimately coming to a solution.

“Okay, I think I got it! Is it… (y+5)²/9 - (x - 4)²/25?” With a hesitant voice and a hopeful expression, you push the homework sheet in front of Bakugou to hopefully gain his approval. You wince as he scans your work carefully, raising his eyebrows on certain occasions. Finally, he sets the paper down and slides it back over to you. “Well?” You ask, a little exasperated.

“Yeah, that’s the correct answer.” With a sigh of relief you slumped back into your chair with a smile on your face. However, that only lasted for a few seconds. “Wait, then what the hell were those facial expressions when you were looking at it?” You ask, taking the math sheet and putting it in a folder that was then shoved into your school bag.

“Your handwriting is shit.” Is all Bakugou had to say as he stood up and stretched his arms out. You roll your eyes and glance at the clock.

“Damn, it’s already 11:15.” You murmur, letting one of your hands card through your hair, massaging your head and releasing the tension that was built up by doing several pages of pre-calc. “Thanks, by the way. You didn’t need to stay this late to help me out, so I really appreciate it.” You say, expressing your gratitude to the blonde. Bakugou rubs his eyes before slinging his bag over his shoulder, letting his blazer stay unbuttoned and his tie loose around his neck. You had to admit, his somewhat disheveled look did look quite attractive on him, but if you told him that he would either never let you hear the end of it or get pissed off for commenting on his fashion. He already got enough of that from his parents, apparently. 

“Yeah, I didn’t, and now thanks to you I’m gonna be tired as hell in the morning.” He complains, opening the door to your dorm to exit.

“You know, a cold compress does wonders for eyebags.” You say, a mischievous grin on your face. He narrows his eyes and flips you off. “I enjoyed spending time with you too, Bakugou!” And with that, the door to your dorm was closed.

Katsuki felt like a zombie by the time he got to his own dorm. He didn’t even bother putting his school bag on his desk or arranging his shoes by the door like he usually does. Instead, he just let the brown shoulder bag slump onto the floor as he fumbled to get his shoes off. Why the hell had you made him stay for so long? He finished all of his homework hours before you did, and still, he had to remain stationed at that wooden low table as he had to keep himself busy while you plugged away at your own work. After about an hour, looking through his phone got incredibly boring so he moved on to looking around your room, taking in all of the things that made it up. Of course, he wasn’t doing this to try to get to know you more, he already knew all he needed to… right? But as his eyes raked over the photos and decor of your room, the more glimpses he got into your personal life, so he stopped immediately.

Bakugou did make an effort to change his clothes. Peeling his blazer from his arms and hanging it up haphazardly in his closet along with his white button up. He tugged on a random black shirt and swapped his uniform pants for pajama ones and finally, finally, clambered into his bed. And, although he tried hard to make his brain shut off and just let him enter a dreamless sleep, his mind began to wander. He blamed his delirious nature for letting his neurons take him from place to place, situation to situation, until they finally projected an image of you into his head. It was a simple display of you and a recent one, too. Just Y/N L/N, sat at the little wooden table with her head perched on one of her hands with a stupid mechanical pencil in her hand. Did her hair always kind of frame her face like that? He wondered, scrunching his closed eyes. It didn’t look as horrible today, he supposed. Bakugou let his eyes flutter open, only to see that his digital clock read a clear 12:04 a.m. in electric red. He sighed and let his gaze fall on the ceiling right above him. Why was he thinking of you this late in the evening? And, to his surprise, he realized that he felt much more at home in your dorm room than he did right now, in his own space.

“What the hell…” He muttered, turning on his bedside lamp. His room was shed in a soft light, illuminating only the nearest furniture and himself. If he wasn’t able to go asleep, he sure as hell wouldn’t let this time go to waste. Picking up the book on his shelf that he was most recently into, he flipped through the pages to find his place and started reading again. He would never admit it, but Pride and Prejudice was turning out to be a much better read than expected. Bakugou found the main heroine to be much more likeable than any others he had read about. Her charisma and wit satisfied him where other characters were lacking, and the way she refused to be phased by an arrogant and sometimes brash guy who pushed her buttons constantly… He let the book fall to the ground without so much of a care as realizations flooded his brain. You put up with him. Whenever he was acting rude or was teasing you without relent, you would just simply roll your eyes and fire back. He put up with you, too. All your unreasonable habits, like staying up way too late, he was still by your side. Why?

“I…” Katsuki forced himself to look into the mirror. He saw his reflection to be way out of the norm. His eyes were wide, his posture was perfect, and his cheeks were red. “I like her.” He let the words flow freely from his mouth. With one more glance to the clock by his bedside, he grabbed a hoodie and shoved his head through it while opening his door and heading straight to yours. He knew from all of the prior knowledge on you stored in his brain and the light that shown beneath your door that you were, in fact, still awake. With three soft knocks, your door swung open to reveal you. Clad in soft looking pajama shorts and a flimsy top, your hair was a mess and your eyes were drooping. Bakugou never thought you could look so beautiful.

“Bakugou, it’s way past your bedtime.” You quip, your voice mimicking a doting parent. Bakugou shoved his way past you into your room and began to lightly pace. Your once joking smile fell into a confused frown, your eyes starting to swim with concern. “Seriously, Katsuki, what’s up? You’ve never stayed up this late except for that one time I insisted you did because a once in a lifetime meteor shower was on full display. I mean, you complained about it of course, but I knew you actually liked it because your eyes-”

“Just, shut it!” The blonde finally says. You pull back slightly, surprised at his words. “You write your twos and sevens weird, some of your habits tend to be unproductive, and sometimes I just can not stand you, but I like you.” The two of you are silent for a moment before you take a step towards him.

“You have feelings for me?” You ask, your voice soft like velvet and your eyes twinkling. Despite all of his reservations, his hard exterior and the sneer he always wore melted.

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” You shook your head and took another step forward.

“Don’t answer it like you're confirming that I correctly solved a math problem. Answer it like you love me.” Bakugou’s cheeks flamed at your sudden confidence, but he took a step forward so that your bodies were almost touching.

“I love you Y/N.” And with that, a wide grin spread across your face. Your arms wrapped themselves around the blonde’s neck and you leaned into him, your lips meeting his in a searing kiss. It was slow in pace but fierce in passion as he grew more comfortable, wrapping his arms around your waist and pressing you closer so that you were flush against his chest. Breathless and red in the face, Bakugou finally pulls back to see your ecstatic face. “Oi, what’s with the face?” He says, flustered.

“Nothing,” you say, going into your bathroom with a little towelette. He raises his eyebrows. “I told you before, a cold compress works wonders for the inevitable eye bags that you will have in the morning, and this is the perfect size.” He huffs in amusement and plucks the towelette from your hands. “Plus, you’ll have to return it to me. It gives you another excuse to hang out with me.” Bakugou finally earns a little confidence and his trademarked smirk spreads across his face.

“I don’t need an excuse to hang out with you. You’ll need my help again on the homework.”

“Always the charmer,” you quip, walking with him so that he was standing in the hallway and you in the doorway. “See ya tomorrow,” you smile, pecking him on the lips.

“See ya, Y/N.” His blush was still prevalent, but his eyebrows narrowed and a scowl replaced the smirk. “And throw out those mechanical pencils, they’re absolute shit.”

“Anything for you, Lover!” You joke, closing the door. Lover, he thinks. He can get used to a nickname like that.

[anonymouslyangsty]

Do you think Taka gets insecure about how he looks? Maybe not the more common ways but like if he looks approachable or trustworthy

I mean have to see this boy's posture? His hair? His perfectly crisp outfit? Taka is dedicated to being a model student at all times, and part of that is his appearance.

While I think he very much cares about it, I don't think he's insecure exactly. His hair is the perfect length, his uniform is neat. He's got no reason to be insecure because he's careful and strict about keeping himself presentable.

Now, in a situation where he can't just wear his uniform? Yeah he's worried about it. If you let him, Taka would wear a suit everywhere. To a date, the park, the beach. He has to look presentable at all times!

Then Mondo introduced him to the concept of being overdressed, and how one outfit that's proper in one setting isn't in another. Which is...stressful to say the least. Because there isn't a scale of 'proper level of dress' he can consult for any given situation.

(Not to mention that he doesn't understand why people wouldn't want to look their best all the time. How can you be overdressed??)

But I think you're right in thinking he doesn't care in the common sense. Taka's definitely been insulted based on his dressing habits before. I mean, he's so defensive about it when he first mentions it in his FTE's ( I think he says something like "I have 10 sets of this uniform. There's nothing strange about that." Clearly he's used to people thinking it's strange.)

He also probably gets a good amount of comments on his face, mainly his eyebrows, red eyes, and constant frown. Dude constantly looks furious and he gets teased about it a lot. You know he's gotten called Hell Monitor throughout the years.

That's the kind of stuff he doesn't really care about. His face is perfectly fine! He doesn't have a rebellious hairstyle or wild facial hair. He's prim and proper; if people think that's scary, then they need to reevaluate their standards!

[general-mahamatra]

This is very specific but do you have any headcanons about double dates between Jeanbilee and Silvercyclops? That or how do you headcanon Charles and Erik’s sexualities? I think of Erik as pan and Charles as gay.

Hehe... Oh I can do this. 

For Charles and Erik’s sexualities, I definitely agree. Charles is gay and Erik is either bi or pan (that one I’m not too solid on).

With the double date, catch me putting this in a modern setting. It’s under the line since there’s a lot

Individuals

Scott

Scott was definitely against the idea of a double date

Why? Because it’s kind of awkward to go out on a double date where the other couple... one of them is your ex

Yeah he’s still good friends with Jean! He’s just not sure how to handle going out to an event with her in a sort of romantic setting. Especially because there’s that slight problem that you KNOW he’s kinda anxious. Like what if people who knew him when he was dating Jean finds him all close and romantic with Peter?

Of course that’s not gonna happen. Man’s just anxious

But Peter managed to convince him and assure him that it would be alright

“It’s just a movie, Scotty. No one’s gonna care,” Peter had said. “Literally it’s dark and the seats are set up in pairs, you don’t need to worry.”

Scott protested immediately with, “but what if--”

“I’ll pay for the popcorn and treats. And the drinks. I’ll pay for it all for you.” 

Scott caved pretty quickly

Except he didn’t know that before the movie the group was going out to dinner because for some reason his mind completely omitted that information. By the time they got together, he remembered, but oh man. He was not prepared

Yeah he was dressed up because Peter was really insistent on him wearing something decent, but the fact they were going out to dinner skipped his mind entirely

He was antsy during the dinner at first. Really shifty-eyed and such and was overall just visibly nervous

But he cooled down fast

He had a lot of fun at the dinner, even if he was a bit awkward with Jean at first

But he loosened up. He found himself enjoying the event much more as time went on and he even managed to calm down enough to comfortably interact with Jean just like he used to

It was actually kinda refreshing

He had whole conversations with the ginger. While Jubilee and Peter were going off about their crazy ideas and plans and things that have happened to them over the past weeks, Scott and Jean were just talking about... life. Catching up on what they’ve missed since they split apart and inevitably pulled away from each other (Scott moreso than Jean)

It brought a sense of closure to Scott that he didn’t realize he needed

He found himself warming back up to interacting with Jean and was... happy with it

Peter

Oh Peter was excited for the double date

Ever since Jubilee ran up to him and proposed it to him he was completely on board. Hell, he even helped plan it out with Jean and Jubilee at times

It was actually Jean’s idea for Peter to convince Scott that things would be alright. She knew he was worried about it, even if it was all irrational. She also knew that he was their best bet on helping Scott out and getting him comfortable with the idea

So Peter did just that

He actually did a lot more than just blatantly tell Scott that he was going to pay for everything at the movies

Peter did a lot of minimal prodding. Stuff to get Scott to talk in a way that wasn’t too intrusive or anything (it’s honestly a special ability of Peter’s). It helped him understand what he was gonna have to do to help his boyfriend out

Because Scott had never been on a double date before

And Peter actually found that kinda funny

But when it came to the date itself, he was completely down for it. He wanted to do it since the moment Jubilee told him about it and he decided he was going to put about as much planning effort into it as her. After all, it’s not different from other... events they’ve planned in the past. They have a perfect system

The movie was his idea

He deemed it “necessary after eating at some dumb fancy place. Because who in their right mind is gonna go out to eat and then just head home at like, 7pm?”

(Peter was also the reason they didn’t end up going to a restaurant where you had to dress up SUPER fancy)

(Granted he wasn’t entirely successful. Jean shot him down and made him settle with having to dress up a little. She wasn’t going to drive them all to dinner if it was gonna be some fast food shit)

Honestly, him and Jubilee are on the exact same wavelength for the date

Jean

Jean was definitely the TRUE brains behind the double date

She was the one who mentioned the idea to Jubilee who then took the idea and ran with it, making it a true plan

She did it because, well, she’s always wanted to have a double date. It was only possible now that she was with Jubilee and her other friends were together

Besides, she like anyone else was aware of just how close Jubilee and Peter were. It was honestly a perfect plan

Scratch something off her bucket list while also getting the two away from their peers so everyone could actually catch a break from their high energy

Actual perfection right there

That and she could tell Scott was awkward around her, even if they’ve been broken up for almost an entire year by this point

There were a lot of times Jean tried to reconnect with him and get him to loosen up but nothing really worked until she came up with the double date

It would give her the opportunity to get her friend back while also allowing him to be in a sort of comfortable environment (she’s noticed the way he tends to cling to Peter whenever she comes around. She isn’t sure if she should be hurt by it or not but she knows he doesn’t mean ill will)

She has to admit though, Peter’s idea of a movie after was a great idea. It’s not something she would’ve put forward or even thought about

Then again... she wasn’t expecting the duo to take over the planning and make it a lot more “light” than an actual “true” date

Jean was looking to reserve them stuff out at a true fancy restaurant. Maybe get them to all dress up and put them in a romantic setting but she was quickly put in her place by Jubilee and Peter’s insistence that it’s a double date, they don’t need to be in a super romantic area

And honestly, they had a point

But she refused to let them make the event completely casual. If she was going to be involved in any planning, they were gonna go somewhere where they have to dress up at least a little

She won that argument easily

Jubilee

OH MAN 

Okay yeah Jubilee was definitely the front runner with the planning and setting everything up

Even with the double date originally being Jean’s idea, Jubilee took it upon herself to plan it all out mostly because she wanted to treat her girlfriend

(You act as thought Jubilee doesn’t know her own partner’s bucket list. Jean literally has it written out in a notebook under her pillow, Jubilee has gone through it multiple times)

She wanted it to be perfect

Which is why she went to Peter

Jean was the one who planted the idea of going on the double date with Scott and Peter but let’s be real, Jubilee would’ve chosen the boys anyways. They were the best bet

Either way, she was ecstatic

She literally has so much experience with planning from the pranks and events she’s set up with Peter, she knew exactly what she was doing when she got with him to plan everything out

Jubilee was actually the one who chose where they were going to dinner

It was a nice Hawaiian themed place. A seafood restaurant with a tropical theme and generally considered a 4 or 5 star restaurant. It was a perfect place, especially with its looser “dress code” (it was basically a sort of business casual, for lack of better terms. If she tried to describe it she would just point to Scott wearing a nice button up with no tie and Jean wearing a cute blouse and flowy pants to match)

(The really funny part is her and Jean low-key made it out to Peter like super fancy restaurants require you to wear formal clothes just so he would cave and “go somewhere less strict”)

(He never found out)

But if she was going to be honest, her favorite part of the double date was the movie afterwards

It was the newest Men in Black and she was losing her mind throughout it

Did she tune out the boys while they were nerding out quietly to her right? Yes, yes she did. She was much more focused on the humor and action and experiencing it with her girlfriend

Overall

Not gonna lie, Scott definitely clung to Peter at first

Like that much is obvious, but it really wasn’t that... obvious? It was if you looked closely at how he hovered closer to the older boy or how his head always seemed to be turned slightly towards him during conversations as if looking to him for stuff to say

Peter noticed it for sure, just as Jean did

Both of them let it happen. Because even when Scott loosened up as the night went on, he still wanted to stick close to his comfort and they didn’t want to pull him away from that

Man just doesn’t handle break ups well

Honestly though, the dinner was wonderful for the entire group. There was so much laughter and chatting and catching up, especially since they aren’t consistently hanging out together anymore

Jubilee convinced Scott to try some really spicy squid dish that he couldn’t remember the name of for the life of him and Peter just... kept ordering more chocolate milk

(They quickly learned that he forgot refills aren’t free)

(That didn’t stop him)

Outfits

Scott: Nice blue button up and black slacks. Honestly really basic typical “oh that guy looks cishet” kinda look, especially with the very plain uniform look to him

Peter: Black button up with white specks across it that look like stars and some slacks as well except his belt was a bit more... decorative than Scott’s. (It’s colorful)

Jean: A cute, loose blouse with a nice white and red floral/watercolor sort of pattern that sits nicely on her frame with some flowy pants and flats. Her hair was done into a braid

Jubilee: A nice long sleeve sweater-like yellow top and a short white skirt with a pair of flats as well. She had her hair down and man was it nice and curly

Honestly everyone was dressed so nicely, it was almost a miracle

During the movie, the couples sat together. That’s a given. But the way they interacted was definitely different from each other

Jean and Jubilee were vibing in their seats. They had chocolate and slushies and popcorn and were overall having a great time just enjoying the movie. There wasn’t too much commentary other than them laughing together or making fun of something they saw on screen

(Jean one time did yell at someone for having their phone on in the movie...she’s that person)

Jubilee was constantly touchy with Jean whenever something crazy happened or there was something intense. Hell, she ended up wrapping around Jean and crying when her favorite character died

Jean took it and honestly... it made her soft

She didn’t know it was possible to fall even further in love

Peter and Scott, though, were different. They too had all the treats and candy and such like the other couple but they were much closer than the girls. They were BASICALLY cuddling (Scott will never admit it). Like come on, you know it’s true

Scott was curled up against his boyfriend. Like head resting against Peter as the older had his arm around him. You know the drill

Again, Scott will never admit to it

But the entire time they were geeking out. Both of them grew up with sci-fi, especially MiB. And BOTH were excited for the newest movie and were having a great time pointing out the aliens and all that stuff and just overall having fun

After the date, the drive was both full of energy and calm. It was 10 by the time they were leaving the theatre and honestly... it’s an experience none of them would give up for the world

...they planned another one for the future

[calliecat93]

ST: TNG S6 Watchthrough Episodes 14-17

Face of the Enemy: Troi has been kidnapped and forced to look/pose as a Romulan officer. Why? The one responsible isn’t saying, but to say that she’s unhappy would be an understatement. As it turns out, Troi was abducted by a part of the resistance from Unification and they need a Starfleet officer in case their current plan goes south. They even mention Spock… IDK if I can see him approving of an abduction but maybe they just forgot to mention that he disapproved that part… then again I guess it makes logical sense. Eh, whatever. So… this is by far the best Troi episode that they’ve done thus far. She was kidnapped yes, but she is NOT playing the damsel-in-distress. She’s not victimized. She’s not sexualized. She’s not forced into a poorly conceived romance or undergoes anything gross/f*cked up. She has to act the part of a cold-hearted authoritarian among a ship of Romulans and she is freakin’ badass. Especially when she decides that she’s had enough going and thoroughly tells off her kidnapper N’Vek and that he will listen to her. 100% perfection. They even managed to make her empathic abilities useful. Did putting her in the uniform cause this? Did they get it out of their systems in Man of the People? IDK but I am all for it! It was also an awesome look into the Romulans and the going-ons on their ship, something we haven’t really gotten since TOS’ Balance of Terror, and all the Romulans are done very well. N’Vek kidnapped Troi but he did it for his cause and is a great morally grey character, and the female Romulan Commander Toreth is an excellent antagonist. Plus it’s nice to see more of the resistance and to see them within the Romulan ranks. It was an excellent episode and I freakin’ loved it~! Thank you show for giving Troi the badass episode that she deserves (even if it was this late in the show's run), now keep it up! 5/5.

Tapestry: Two Q episodes this season? Hell yes~! So… Picard dies. Welp. Q decides to take this to give Picard an offer: go back in time and undo his greatest regret, the incident that caused his artificial heart that he told Wesley about in Samaritan Snare. Back when he was a hot-blooded rebel who got himself into a fight that got him stabbed in the heart. In doing so, he now has a chance to correct all the wrongs and settle all he regrets in his life since that day. So up to this point, Q’s episodes since Q Who, while still entertaining and interesting, had been more light-hearted. Q still came off as an all-powerful being (Deja Q aside which him not being was the plot point), but his antics had been more comedic or light-hearted in comparison. In this episode, he’s acting like a trickster as per usual, but again more with the purpose to teach Picard a lesson. Why isn’t made very clear aside from maybe he just likes Picard (take that however way you’d like), but it’s nice to see this version of Q again while still utterly stealing the show. Picard got to undo the event… but would it have really turned out any better had it not happened? Would not making mistakes, having regrets, and making all the supposed ‘right’ choices when he should have had truly made a better impact in his present? That’s the funny thing about life, it’s easy to look back and go ‘if I had done this one thing differently, it would have been better’ and te desire to correct it is very powerful. But with mistakes comes the ability to learn. To grow. To mature. You’ll always have guilt and regrets, but you have to accept that this is what you chose and go about your life. Picard is a man full of thrown-away opportunities, pain, and so much more… but it also caused him to become a strong leader, intelligent, a risk-taker, and even with all his faults become a better person in his present day. Now obviously he doesn’t actually die, but he sure as Hell learned the lesson. The life he would have lead would have been unsatisfying, his old regrets replaced with new ones, and been unfulfilling for a man like himself. Now he can truly value the one that he has and the people in it. This was a fantastic episode. It’s crazy how Picard went from one of my least favorites to now one of my absolute favorites. His development and growth from a strict, aloof authoritarian to a much more reasonable father-like figure and much more humbled man and the captain has been excellent, and this episode just helps further that. The only real complaint is there’s not much time devoted to showing how his crew ended up without him, but that’s minor and doesn’t take anything away at all. Very well done~! 5/5.

Birthright: Okay, guess we got a second two-parter… and apparently it crosses over with DS9. Didn’t see that coming. But alrighty, I’m game~!

Part One: So the crew is on Deep Space 9 to assist in repairs of some incident involving the Bajorans and the Cardassians that I guess I’ll find out about when I get to the show. While there Worf is approached by an alien who informs him that his dead father? He may not be dead after all, having been kept in a Romulan prison. Worf doesn’t take it well. He ain’t the only one having daddy issues. While working with DS9‘s CMO Dr. Bashir, Data gets knocked out has a vision of Dr. Soong (a much younger one than in Brothers). Normally Data can’t dream so he’s pretty taken aback by this. So as a first part, this was pretty good. It sets up Worf’s plot well with him deciding to break into the Romulan camp to find out the truth and rescue the Klingons there. Data’s plot is overall nice. He’s never dreamed before so him trying to track down why is very understandable, especiallya after Picard suggests that he quit going through facts and try a more creative outlet to get his answers. So what happened? As it turns out Dr. Soong made it so that when Data reached a certain cognitive point, he would obtaint he ability to dream and he made an AI version of himself to talk to him. I guess he would have explained this to him in Brothers had Lore not shown up/had he not died. It was a really touching moment. Soong’s still not exactly the most ideal parent, but his AI copy seemed legit proud of how far Data’s come. Is it out of ego, legit parental pride, or both? That’s up for you to decide. As this is my first look at Bashir… so far I don’t have too manys torng opinions. he seems to act more liek a Science Officer or Engineer han a CMO, but he is cute and so far liekabe. He’s curious about Data, but doesn’t dehumanize him like Maddox in The Measure of a Man did, if anything he notes Data’s more human-like elements like being able to grow hair than any of the nuts and bolts. He seems pretty well liked from what I’ve seen int he fandom, so I’ll see how that holds when I reach DS9 but I like him so far. I do have some issues, but that more impacts the Overall so I’ll save it for there. So we end with Worf discovering his father’s true fate… and he’s informed by the Klingons there that he’s never leaving the camp. Welp. How will Worf get out of this one in Part 2? We shall see. 4/5.

Part Two: So what the heck is going on? Well, Worf’s father is infact dead, but there were captured Klingons. As they weren’t able to die with honor nor could they return home as it would dishonor their families (Klingons prefer death to capture), they chose to remain in the camp and live out the rest of their lives there. So now Worf is among multiple Klingons, the vast majority of which know nothing about their heritage, culture, and customs and had it outright demonized. To them, the lives they have are the norm and they have no desire to change it. Worf may have been out of touch with Klingons due to being raised on Earth, but at least he can explore it and get in touch with it. The ones in the camp? They can’t do that. They’re essentially in a gilded cage. Yeah, there's the argument that they achieved peace between Klingons and Romulans… by imprisoning said Klingons and demonizing their culture to them with the older Klingons allowing it. Though it seems it’s also because of broken spirits and the dishonor they’d have faced otherwise which is worst than death to them. There’s even one girl, Ba’el, who is half Klingon, half-Romulan… and despite what gets said I don’t get the sense that her parents' union was a fully consensual one. This was pretty good. Worf has found a group that like him were out of touch with their heritage, and he is now able to educate them and guide them. With all that’s happened and his struggle to be a true Klingon and find his way, this was really nice to have. He’s still clinging onto his hatred of Romulans and this episode isn’t going to help it dissipate, but at least it was addressed and Ba’el being upset at being judged due to how she was born was very much justified. Heaven knows that the themes here are still very much relevant in today’s time. Worf’s guidance pays off in the end and at last, they can be free. The younger Klingons have a rough road likely ahead of them since we know that Klingon society isn’t exactly the easiest to get through, but at least they have a chance at freedom. It was a very strong Worf episode and it was great to see~. 4/5.

Overall: Okay, so overall… it’s pretty uneasy. The Worf parts are good.. As I said, it was nice to see him in a position to give guidance to a group even more out of touch than he is. It was very wel done. The issues are mainly with Part One. We have this plot where they go to DS9… and we are barely there. We have Dr. Bashir… and only him. None of the other characters. We don't even see O’Brien despite him having transferred to DS9 at this point. Maybe the actors were busy sot they could only pick one but it kinda makes doing a crossover cheap. Bashir doesn’t even get a lot to do, you could write him out and very little would change. On the upside this means that viewers who haven’t watched DS9 won’t be confused nor would DS9 be required viewing, but it also kind of defeats the purpose of bringing DS9 in. It’s essentially just window dressing. Data’s plot, while nice, is completely dropped in Part Two. It feels like they were required to do a two-parter, didn’t have enough of the Worf plot to fill it out, and came up with the Data dream plot and using DS9 to fill it out. The crew also don’t really do anything in either part. As such, aside from getting Worf into the place he needs to be, Part One feels irrelevant. As such, I can’t give it a perfect rating. It was still good, but as a two-parter Part One bogs it down, but still allows for Part Two to happen. Overall, pretty good. 4/5.

[recurring-polynya]

I know I missed Renji's birthday but if you ever have time, I would absolutely love to see anything about Renji and Orihime's friendship. I always headcanon him as her no.1 weird bakery experiment supporter, but really anything would be great! They just seem like they would be each other's go-to supports and I would love to see your take on them!

Anon, I have no excuse for why this took so long! RenHime BroTP is one of my very favorite things, but I managed to draw a huge blank on this and then I went through two concepts that didn’t work before I managed to hit on one that did. (Also, I did write two other Renji & Orihime stories in the Time of Many Drabbles, one where they make a cake and one where they act out Orihime’s fanfic)

Anyway, I love the Advance Team Arc, please enjoy this Advance Team Arc story about Renji and Orihime trying to cheer Rukia up by going thrifting, ft. the all-time greatest Renji clothing item.

👖   🧥   💀

Orihime was headed outside for lunch, thinking longingly about her curry tuna fish sandwich, when a low, gravelly voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Oi, Inoue. You gotta moment?”

Abarai was leaning up against the wall of the school, his eyes scanning the school yard like he was waiting for a brawl to break out. Abarai reminded Orihime a lot of a guy in a prison movie. Not the guy that masterminded the prison break, but the guy who had the whole prison figured out and knew how to get illicit goods and would help the main guy escape even though they were sort of frenemies. Orihime found him a little bit scary, but in a cool way. They probably didn’t have motorcycles in Soul Society, but if they did, Orihime would bet money that Abarai would ride one.

“Sure!” she announced eagerly, and followed in his shadow as he silently rounded the corner of the building. He moved very quietly for such a big person, unlike Ichigo and Chad, who crashed and thumped wherever they went, especially when they went somewhere together.

“I gotta problem and I’m hopin’ you’ll be able to help me out a little.” Abarai shifted his shoulders a little, obviously uncomfortable in his school uniform.

Orihime knew all about the stresses of the undercover lifestyle. Clearly, he needed someone for an inside job, someone who knew all the subtleties of living a normal human existence. Fortunately for him, Orihime had been a normal human almost her entire life. “How can I be of assistance, Lieutenant Abarai?” she barked.

Abarai blinked at her. “Er. It’s not really mission-related. I need, um, some advice, I guess.”

Orihime set her jaw and tightened her fists. “I am short on life experience, but I have read many magazines. Ask me anything.”

Abarai waved his hands. “No! No! Look, you’re friends with Rukia, right?”

“Yes!” Orihime agreed. That was an easy one.

Abarai nodded quickly, happy to have found some firm footing at last. “The thing is, she’s been taking Ichigo’s vanishing act kinda hard.”

Orihime gave a tiny nod, her fingernails digging into her palms. The truth was, there was a dull, Ichigo-sized ache in her own heart, as well. She couldn’t stop wondering where he was and what he was up to and if he was getting good hearty lunches. She imagined it must be a thousand times worse for Rukia who had come all the way from Soul Society to just to see him.

“She gets real crabby when she’s worried,” Abarai continued on, continuing to scan the grounds, presumably for lurking Rukias. “She’s been getting on me for not having enough spare clothes for my gigai. I wouldn’t usually let her boss me around like this, but I thought it would make her feel better so I told her we could go, ah, shopping.”

“Oh, that’s so nice!” cried Orihime.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m a prince. But here’s the thing: Even though Captain Hitsugaya outranks me, I am technically the mission manager, which means I’m in charge of the budget, and I’d really, really like to come out in the black. Matsumoto already conned me out of a significant portion of the petty cash. I don’t think Rukia has a real good handle on human money and I sure as hell don’t. I told Rukia that we should ask one of her friends to come along and she said she’d ask you, and I just was hoping you could help me keep things, y’know, frugal, without making a big deal about it.”

Abarai looked a little sheepish even asking. Orihime remembered the size of Rukia’s house back in Soul Society, the beautiful kimono she had worn once she was no longer a criminal. Orihime knew all about having friends who had more money than you. Her resolve hardened and slammed her fist into her open palm. “A strict budget is no reason not to look your best!” she announced. “You have come to the right person, Lieutenant Abarai! I, Inoue Orihime, Thrifting Champion of Karakura, will help you out!”

Abarai’s face washed over with relief, followed very quickly by confusion. “The what champion?” he echoed.

👖   🧥   💀

“You are a saint, Orihime!” Rukia declared as they marched down the street, arm in arm, Renji trailing grumpily a few paces behind, his hands stuffed in his pockets. “A gem! I offered to borrow something from Ichigo’s father for him, but this ingrate was having none of it.”

There was some low-pitched muttering from behind them.

Orihime was trying to picture Renji in the pink, ruffled tuxedo shirt Dr. Kurosaki had worn under his lab coat the last time he set Tatsuki’s sprained ankle. “I don’t think Dr. Kurosaki’s style would be quite right for him,” she suggested diplomatically. “I… guess… he’s supposed to be a teenager?”

Rukia heaved a sigh. “I suppose you’re correct, as usual.” She craned her head back over her shoulder for a moment. “You owe Orihime an ice cream for this, Lieutenant Hopeless!” She swung her head forward again with a huff. Renji shot Orihime a wink.

Orihime couldn’t quite figure out Rukia and Renji’s exact relationship. Rukia has described Renji as “her friend.” On one hand, she hadn’t said about the shinigami from Ten or Eleven. On the other, she called Renji a lot of rude names and harangued him a lot. Renji had seemed pretty concerned about Rukia when he had pulled Orihime aside that afternoon, but now he was all slouches and scrunchy eyebrows. He reminded Orihime of Ichigo.

Oh! Maybe there was something to that! Maybe Renji was being a grouch on purpose so that Rukia could yell at him and feel like she was yelling at Ichigo. Wow! That was some master-level friendship. Orihime wondered if she should be taking notes.

“Ah, here we are!” she exclaimed, pointing at a little, tucked away shop front.

“What sort of shop is this?” Rukia frowned, examining the cluttered store window.

“It’s a thrift store,” Orihime explained. “People sell old, but well-made clothes to the shop, and they resell them for much cheaper than new clothes. Sometimes you can find really neat vintage, designer things that a rich person only wore a few times and decided they didn’t want. Uryuu likes to look for really ugly things made from nice fabrics and then re-tailor them. I have to modify a lot of my clothes, too, because of-- well, you know.” She gestured vaguely at her chest.

“What a brilliant idea!” Rukia proclaimed. “That’s so practical! Renji, isn’t Orihime a genius?”

“I didn’t come up with the idea,” Orihime mumbled self-consciously.

“Maybe you should open a shop to sell off your brother’s spare kimono,” Renji suggested airily. He was definitely baiting Rukia now, Orihime could see it when she watched for it.

“I should!” Rukia declared, closing her eyes haughtily. “People would probably pay twice just because he wore them!”

Renji just snorted.

👖   🧥   💀

“How about these?” Rukia asked, holding up a pair of jeans. “They look like the kind Ichigo wears.”

Orihime pulled her head out of the rack of pants she was sorting through, and Renji’s head popped up from the next aisle. “Hmm,” she said, tapping her finger on her lips. She knew what she wanted to say, but she didn’t want to make Renji feel self-conscious by talking about his body and also, she didn’t want to make it obvious how much time she’d spent looking at Kurosaki’s butt. “Those are skinny jeans. Abarai is a lot, um, more muscular? than Kurosaki-kun? He would do better with a straight leg cut, I think.” She wished Uryuu were here. She didn’t know that much about men’s clothes, but she had heard him say that once while lamenting Chad’s tragic commitment to bootleg cuts.

Apparently, Rukia had no such qualms about Renji’s positive body image. “Hear that, Thunder Thighs? This is where all those squats get you.”

If this bothered Renji, he didn’t let it show. “My thighs are majestic, Rukia. Some people enjoy a guy with a little meat on his bones, for your information.”

Rukia laughed then, a sharp, amused guffaw, almost a cackle. Orihime looked up suddenly. She was sure she’d heard Rukia laugh before, but it had been a high-pitched giggle, a girlish titter. There was a gleam in the shorter woman’s eyes, and at first, Orihime thought she was being mean to Abarai, but when she glanced at him, his eyes were twinkling and he had a slight smile on his face.

Orihime got the sudden sense that she was interrupting something, although she wasn’t sure how you could interrupt someone making fun of someone else. She ducked her head and focused on rifling through the rack of pants in front of her. “How about these?” she asked, holding up a likely candidate.

“Those look pretty worn out,” Renji frowned.

“They’re distressed, Renji,” Rukia explained pompously. “It’s human fashion. They come that way. It presents the illusion of leading a rough and tough, adventurous lifestyle, even for fancy boys like you.”

“Rukia,” Renji scolded her. “Members of the Sixth Company do not walk around with their knees on display, for anyone to see.”

Rukia snorted, and Orihime suspected they were making yet another inside joke. “How’s he gonna find out? And if he does, you can just tell him you fell down the stairs, he would definitely believe that.”

“Er, here’s another pair without any holes,” Orihime offered. “They’re black.” Uryuu also had a lot of opinions on black jeans, but she was pretty sure Renji could pull them off.

“Thank you, Inoue,” Renji said, extra-graciously, reaching over the rack to accept them.

“You better try them both on!” Rukia yelled in her bossy voice. “I demand to see the forbidden knees!”

“Whatever, you’ve seen ‘em, before,” Renji muttered, but he was still smiling.

👖   🧥   💀

“Hey, Inoue!”

Orihime ducked past a rack of sweatervests, to where Renji was contemplating a leather jacket.

“Do humans still wear stuff like this? I know they were pretty popular a few decades ago.”

“Oh, yes,” Orihime agreed. “It’s a timeless look.”

Renji looked mildly shocked, but happy.

“That’s a really nice one,” Orihime added. “You should try it on.”

Renji didn’t seem like he needed a lot of encouragement to slip it over his shoulders. “I had a roommate who had one of these,” he admitted. “They look pretty dumb over a shihakushou, but Iba has never once let looking like a moron slow him down.” He grinned. “I was jealous as hell of it.”

Orihime clapped her hands. “Oh, Abarai, it looks so good on you!” It wasn’t even an exaggeration. It was black, a classic motorcycle cut, and it fit him perfectly. Orihime amended her mental movie casting of Renji: in a jacket like that, he could definitely be the protagonist of an American motorcycle movie, flicking cigarettes into the gutter and leaving a broken-hearted girl pining after him after he got run out of town for Raising Too Much Hell.

“Is it expensive?” Renji asked, holding out the sleeve with the price tag. “I don’t know what a jacket is supposed to cost.”

“It’s a very practical wardrobe staple,” Orihime advised. “Especially this time of year. It’s just starting to be jacket weather, and this will carry you through until winter, unless we have an especially cold one.” She checked the tag. “Leather jackets aren’t cheap, but this is a very good value. If you can afford it, I think it’s worth it.”

“I think I can make it work,” Renji murmured, obviously doing a bit of mental math.

“Hey, Abarai,” Orihime said, leaning forward, and keeping her voice low.

“Eh?”

“Is it going the way you planned? Do you think we’re cheering Rukia up?”

Renji opened his mouth and then closed it again. “I think we at least took her mind off him for a bit. What do you think?”

Orihime contemplated. “She seems like she’s having a good time. I think she liked looking at your butt when you were trying on pants.” Renji raised a skeptical eyebrow. To be fair, Abarai had a very nice butt. Orihime was pretty sure she still preferred Kurosaki’s butt, but it hadn’t exactly been a trial. “On the other hand, she does yell at you a lot,” Orihime said quickly. “She’s very difficult to read.”

“Yeah, I know. It takes some practice,” Renji replied. “And she hasn’t been yelling at me. You haven’t begun to see Rukia yelling at me.” He rubbed his chin. “I think we’re doing a good job. Thanks, Inoue! I couldn’t have pulled this off on my own.”

Orihime blushed. “Oh, I haven’t really done anything!”

“I think you und--”

Orihime never found out what Renji was going to say, because Rukia came skidding into the coat aisle. She was wearing a denim vest, a feather boa, and a cowboy hat, and clutching something in her hands. “Hey! Hey, Renji! Renji, I just fou...nd…” She trailed off as her eyes scanned Abarai up and down, lingering on the leather jacket. Her mouth dropped open a little.

Orihime’s eyes darted to Renji, who looked paralyzed by this development. His hand went to his hair self-consciously, his fingers getting caught in his bandana awkwardly.

If Orihime had felt like a third wheel up until this point, she realized that sometimes bicycles can be very hard to ride if you aren’t used to them, and third wheels are helpful when you’re in danger of tipping over and crashing. “Rukia, look at the jacket Renji found! He’s being waffley! Help me convince him to get it!”

Rukia came back to herself suddenly. “It fits you perfectly, you fool! Listen to Orihime.”

“I dunno,” Renji drawled, having pulled his act together as well. “It’s kinda expensive.” He started to grab another coat off the rack. It was tweed and had elbow patches. “Might keep looking for a bit.”

“No!” Rukia commanded, and Renji’s hand reflexively dropped the hanger like he’d just touched something hot. Rukia cleared her throat self-consciously. “Speaking of things that are non-negotiable, look what I found for you!!” With a flourish, she unfurled the bundle in her hands, which happened to be a t-shirt.

At first, Orihime had no idea what she was looking at. Obviously, it was a t-shirt. If she had to guess, it had been printed by a garage band full of teens that played a lot of covers and had to bum rides to their gigs. There was a drippy looking skull and some words in English. It was objectively terrible. But in a charming way.

“I love it!” Renji shouted, with far too much enthusiasm. “I don’t read English very well, though, what does it say?”

“I don’t either,” Rukia admitted. “I think this says ‘red’, though.”

“It says ‘red pineapple,’” Orihime supplied. They had just finished the unit on fruits and vegetables in English class. She had gotten a 100 on the test.

Renji and Rukia both burst into gales of laughter.

“How much is it?” Renji wheezed. “I’ll pay a million kan for it.”

“They use yen here, you buffoon,” Rukia gasped. “It’s got an orange sticker, what does that mean?”

“That means it’s on special clearance,” Orihime explained, scanning the chart hung on the wall. “100 yen.”

“Ha, ha, that’s cheap! It’s mine!”

“You were skeptical,” Rukia lectured, wagging a finger, “But I told you, didn’t I, Renji? Orihime knows what she’s doing.”

Renji wiped a tear away from his eye. “Double ice cream for Orihime,” he agreed. “What would we do without her?”

Orihime’s face felt very hot. She waved her hands frantically. “Really, I didn’t--!”

“Also, remind me what ice cream is again.”

“You dummy!”

Orihime stopped protesting. Anyone who didn’t know what ice cream was definitely needed her help.

[blisslilywrites]

they’re not you.

#knbvdaychallenge2020

– Day 7 of KNB Valentine’s Week hosted by @vanilla-daydreams and @theuglycrybaby

A/N: Aaa this is the last day of the challenge. I hope everyone had fun with this cuz I know I definitely did. On a slightly different note...

          HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADMIN BLISS!!!  

I know I gave you a gift already but here’s another one cuz why not hehe. ~Lily

Summary: You and Kise were the best of friends, but you had a secret crush on him for the longest time. However, with so many of his fans around him on Valentine’s Day, you start to get even more discouraged...

Your alarm clock just had to be broken today, the day you had a test during the first period no less. 

You quickly grabbed your bag and ran out the door. 

What’s even worse was that you burned a hole in your uniform too. 

Dammit, mom’s gonna kill me.

Groaning, you hurriedly made your way to the train station and thanked the heavens when you saw the train hadn’t left yet. 

You boarded and moved to the back of the train, where there weren’t as many people. The train doors closed behind you and you shivered slightly. 

You reached into your bag for your jacket but didn’t find it there. Then you remembered that you left them in your room this morning when you hurried out.

You groaned inwardly. 

Guess today’s gonna be a bad day for me. Should’ve expected it. I never have much luck on Valentine’s Day anyway.

You looked out of one of the train windows and couldn’t help but smile. The view may not be beautiful to everyone but it was to you. It was a view that just filled you with a calming sense of nostalgia.

Even today, with everything going wrong so far, it still somehow managed to calm you down, to some extent at least. 

“You’re always being such a worrywart y/n-chi”

His words suddenly came to mind. 

Just like the view from the train window, he’s one of the few things, or rather people, that could actually get you to smile and relax. 

It’s not that you weren’t a relaxed person. It’s just that a lot of the people you were with, your friends and classmates at school, somehow brought out a tenser side to you. 

That all changed when you met with Kise Ryouta though. Since the moment you two first talked, something just clicked. The two of you became really close and stuck together through thick and thin. He was what you deemed a really good friend, a best friend even. 

Suddenly, your phone started ringing. You picked it up and to no surprise was greeted by Kise’s panicked voice.

“Y/n-chiii, where are you? Assembly just finished and class is about to start. Sensei also seems like he’s in a bad mood today. You better hurryyy.”

“Oh great... sorry Ryouta. My alarm clock broke and my uniform got burned and ughh I’m not really having the best start for today. But I’m on the train to school and I think I can make it in like 10 minutes max.”

“Ok. Just hurry though, I don’t wanna have to do this test myself.”

“Ryouta, you’re gonna have to do it on your own anyway.”

“I know,” he whined. “It’s just that I feel more confident when you’re around.”

Your heart swooned at this. Yes, yes, here you were in the classic “in love with best friend but can’t tell him for fear of losing him” situation.

“Oh crap. Class started. Gotta go. Hurry. Please. Byeee.”

“Right. Almost the—”

He suddenly hung up on you. You understood though. Your first class teacher was pretty strict and is almost always in a bad mood.

A few seconds later, you felt the train slow to a stop. You sighed in relief as you realized this was your stop. Quickly gathering your things, you made a beeline for the exit and ran the rest of the way to school.

-----

“How’d you think you did?” Kise asked you after class ended. 

You had made it with just enough time to quickly finish the test. you didn’t have time to double-check the answers but at least you were able to complete it. 

“I think I did good enough. I mean I did study a lot last night and the test wasn’t that bad so I guess it should be fine. How about you?”

“Well I have a great tutor so I’m sure I did good too,” he replied, winking at you.

A small blush crept up to your face. 

Arghh, why’d he have to be all flirty and cute all the time?

As you were trying to calm yourself, a girl you’ve seen a few times before walked up to you and Kise. Completely ignoring you, she told Kise to come with her as she had “something important” she wanted to discuss with him.

You rolled your eyes. 

Kise looked at you as if asking for permission. You told him it’s fine and to go with her. 

“I’ll wait for you in class,” you said with a forced smile.

It was the same every year. Valentine’s Day just seems to give everyone ten times more confidence. 

It honestly scares you a bit though. Even though Kise kept saying there wasn’t anyone he really liked, you kept worrying that maybe, one day, someone would come and steal his heart. 

What’s even worse is that you were the main reason Kise was so popular.

It had started around middle school when puberty began to change Kise. At the time you were into photography and had also noticed how he had become much more attractive.

Knowing he was a naturally photogenic person and wouldn’t mind helping you out, you asked him to model a few pics for you. You posted them on social media and he immediately became a big hit. He told you he had fun doing it with you so you guys continued. Until of course, a professional agency scouted him. You two have still stayed close friends through it all though.

You’d always find it funny how much of a cliche the situation you were in was. 

Girl meets boy. Girl helps boy become successful model. Boy becomes popular with the ladies. Boy meets another girl and falls for her. Girl is left heartbroken as she’s had feelings for him this entire time.

At this point, you’ve kinda accepted it already. You did want to tell him how you really felt, but you valued your friendship with him way more. So that’s why you just enjoyed whatever time you had with Kise. That in itself was already more than enough to you.You took a seat in the classroom and took out your materials, waiting for Kise.

You tried not to think about what was going on between him and that girl because, despite everything, you still can’t help but get jealous. It’s only natural but it’s a hell of an annoying feeling and you knew it would only get worse if you fixated too much on it. 

Kise finally came to class a second before the bell rang. He held a small heart-shaped box in his hands. You glared at it but tried your best to hide your jealousy. 

Fortunately, Kise didn’t notice anything off and quickly came to sit beside you. 

-----

The rest of the day went by the same as every other Valentine’s. Kise would receive gift after gift and have to deal with all his fangirls and even some fanboys.

Today though, there seemed to be an extra amount of people giving him gifts, which you didn't think was possible.

Because everyone was always crowding around him, you decided to leave him for now. You felt kinda bad for him but there wasn’t exactly much you could do. Besides, you’d probably make things worse for him by being there. 

When school ended, you waited at the train station for Kise. You remembered he said there wasn’t any basketball practice today and you were hoping the two of you could go home together. You had sent him a text telling him you’d wait for him here. 

After waiting almost an hour though, you just about gave up and was about to board the next train when you heard a voice calling out to you.

“Y/n-chii! Wait!” 

You turned and saw him running up to you. He had a few chocolates, roses, and even a teddy bear in his arms. He came to stop in front of you, panting.

“I’m sorry for making you wait,” he said sounding sincere.

You tried to give him a sympathetic smile. “Well, I’m assuming you were probably cornered by those love-crazed people again so don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault anyway,” you said more bitterly than intended.

Kise fell silent. 

“Y/n? Are you ok?”

“Yeah, sorry. I'm just not really having a good day that’s all”

“Oh ok…”

Not knowing what to say you both stayed quiet.

You looked at the sign by the train tracks. There were 3 minutes left until the next train arrived. Kise gestured to an empty bench and the two of you moved to take a seat.

“Y/n,” Kise said softly. “There’s something I want you to know ok?”

You looked at him in slight confusion.

He cleared his throat and continued, “I may get presents and gifts from all those ‘love-crazed people’ as you put it. But none of them matter to me.”

At this, your confusion grew. What’s he trying to say?

“None of them matter, because, well because they’re not you.”

He looked at you, golden eyes shining.

It took you a second to process what he had just said, but when you did, you blushed heavily and quickly looked away.

He laughed, “Don’t be so shy y/n-chi. I thought you already knew anyway.”

“Knew what?” you asked trying to feign innocence.

“Knew that I like you of course,” he said with a suave smile.

“Oh,” your brain seemed to have short-circuited after hearing his words.

“Umm I like you too…” you mumbled lamely.

He smiled widely at you and you blushed back.

“Well if we both like each other I think it’s only right that I ask,” he said before standing up and extending a hand to you.

“Y/n L/n, will you be my valentine?”

You shyly nodded and took his hand, “Of course.”

The train arrived and he pulled you up, putting an arm around you as the two of you boarded the train. 

Needless to say, what had started off as a bad day ended up being one of the best days you’ve had in quite a long while.

[raguna-blade]

So thinking bout persona, which as far as this blog is concerned is basically all I do, and I got to thinking.

So the Metaverse/Mementos, Shadow Time/Tartarus and The World in the Tv/Midnight Channel are all basically the same thing right? Not PRECISELY the same thing, but the overlap is immense and real. I'd be willing to bet that the various spinoff games Including Q and such would also count towards this in that they're kinda worlds in the sea of the Unconscious (and with at least Two Users of the Universe Arcana sleeping to keep the world secure right now, who knows what weird funky things are going on there.)

But they're generally the same thing, and part of the rules that are generally established have to deal with perception and one and all seem to exist as a rule in weird liminal spaces.

Forgive for innaccuracies it's been a while for P3 and P4, but with that out of the way.

Tartarus is a transformation of a school, and has strict limitations on how long it is active (not unlike a school really) and not only that is made up of discretely aesthetic but also very uniform locations. The Persona Users only have their one Extra Hour to make their way through (or at least in story that should be the case) and reach their final destination.

Tartarus is, without question, one of the most confusing nosense places because of course it extends up and up and up some 300 floors (apparently) which is weird, but what's perhaps weirder, at least in context of the Persona 3-5 Series of games is that there isn't really an effect upon the users precisely. Oh to be sure it effects people, it changes them into coffins which, considering the Tower's Purpose and all makes sense. The place is all about death and that great change, and the way that persona are summoned via Evoker I suppose would explain their not being coffins. There's an awareness of death there I suppose, and so an additional awareness of this special time given.

Ok. Cool.

The Midnight Channel though, it's a world more or less made up of the endless distorting fog, which alters shape to take the form of those who fall into it's greatest fears and concerns writ large and obnoxious, seemingly in an effort to have them confront themselves. At least, in theory, once the fog lifts, but formed in such a way that almost seems tailor made to have people freak the absolute hell out.

And of course, the place it exists/accessed is a television, turned off at midnight which, frankly is a pretty strange space if you're expecting anything to show up on it, or rather expecting NOTHING to show up on it right?

Everything blown up the way that it is, it makes sense that the world is endlessly foggy, not as stable as it initially appears, and all that, but as to the persona users themselves, they're...more or less just as they are. They're granted glasses by Teddie that allow them to see better, but they are otherwise not fundamentally changed.

Which...Leads us to Mementos. A Place that is explained as not only a direct connect to the sea of the unconscious, a rather different statement from the other major locales even if they too are a direct connection, but it also...changes the persona users.

The liminal space (and this is, I think admittedly, somewhat of a stretch) is more or less just any old random place, but you, distinctly, not a part of it. Well, that's the metaverse as a whole, but Mementos itself is a train station, which tracks as far as I understand the subject. It's a place of coming going, and just an endless sea of people who you really are just kind of one of.

But...Why does it change them so much? It's explained that the form that the phantom thieves take is their form of rebellion against the world. Very literally, the manifestation of their Rebellion (Of which Their Transformed Selves are paired with their Persona's with whom they made a contract).

Alright, that tracks, it's consistent to an extent, but this raises the question of why don't we see that in the other shadow worlds? Part of that, I've said before, is Because I think the Phantom Thieves are more or less playing at their Shadows as opposed to the other Persona Teams. The Shadows that We see in Persona 4 seem to be in line with what we're seeing in the Phantom Thieves, in that they are the version of their relevant person pushed to their extremes and distorted, pushed into a state of otherness for one reason or another.

Not all of them get fancy duds of course, and certainly that's at least as much because of the circumstances of their Shadow's formation (with them being dropped into the situation fully conscious as opposed to just kinda dropped int), as well as the nature and degree of their alienation. I expect that for those who didn't quite get the full transformation, they didn't quite feel that degree of alienation that you see in everyone else that develops a Full Dramatic Shadow.

Or perhaps another way to say it is, their personal view of themselves had yet to become distorted in any major way just yet.

Now the Investigation team get's to reintegrate into the world so their degree of isolation never get's to develop but it's worth pointing out that in the case of the Thieves that...doesn't actually happen.

Without fail, they're still outcasts one and all, if now outcasts that now cling together in friendship love and understanding of their circumstances.

But...

I don't know how to phrase this, but I suppose by the line of logic that I'm following here, the Phantom Thieves never quite Cohere as a group.

Like I recall hearing some folks talking about how the games seem to kinda abandon some of the character's personal plot points in rapid succession to focus on different issues, especially seen in their social links. Like the one that immediately pops to mind is Anne and Shiho and the hot nonsense that happens to them early on. Her social link instead of dealing with that at all beyond briefly touching on it as a thing that did happen, focuses instead on her modeling career, and a degree of taking that more seriously.

Which I agree is kinda bullshit. I'd love to know more about how Haru is dealing with the fallout of her dad beyond the lightish touch it gets, or more about Yusuke's relationship with his shitty dad, or more about Makoto's relationship with her sister and her parents and the like.

See, these things aren't NOT touched on, by no means. Haru's entire social link DOES deal with the fallout of her dad's death...In relation to the Company that she now holds a massive share of and not precisely related to her personally.

But they aren't really a thing that the Thieves, as a group, actually touch on. It's not a thing that get's directly dealt with constantly in the storyline as opposed to what goes down in Sees which is damnably intimate despite their initial desires. They do after all live together, and their job has just thoroughly run in and kicked them in the teeth on every front.

Hell, despite how uh...well badly(?) but definitely at least clumsily and obnoxiously (I am assuming, for a moment it's supposed to be awkward and kinda just...not great, for effect. It probably wasn't, but it's what we got, and at the very least I think it deserves an examination in that light.) The Issues that plague the Investigation squad one and all come up constantly. Kanji's issues with masculinity/homosexuality, Naoto's problems with gender/gender roles, Yukiko's princess status, Teddies Emptiness and attempts to fill that void, etc etc. It get's played with, rather directly, it get's shouted from the mountain tops, and for all that people very definitely fuck up and say some shit (Yosuke) this stuff comes up, and frequently I think.

But not with the Phantom Thieves. They're in fact, extremely guarded with each other, despite being on the same side and all that jazz.

Which leads me to Maruki, and the True End antics.

Cause see, Maruki also get's a Rebellion outift. It's not thief themed, no, it's more a kind of messiah. Or rather, A torch bearer. Whatever his means, his objective is and always was to lead people to being happier and better versions of themselves, although It's plainly obvious that he loses sight of doing that well with the method he chooses given how it's a thing that applies the same cure to every single person when that obviously wouldn't be a good idea.

Sumire says it herself, If not for him there's a good chance that she wouldn't have lasted long enough to make friends as is. And I don't think she's wrong considering how....well absolutely fucking done she was. That was not a healthy mental state that she was in BEFORE her sister died, and it wasn't much better after.

More importantly though, is what happens during that Third Semester. With the Third Persona's that everyone gained, every single one, WITHOUT FAIL, addresses the major concerns, the major events that they've all been staunchly ignoring and refusing to talk about. Ryuji's track desires, Haru's dad pain, Morgana's still burning desire to be human, all of it.

And he fixes it, and he makes, at least for a little bit, better. And in doing so, he absolutely changes the course of their lives, let's them see the way things COULD be, actually sit down and acknowledge one more part of themselves that they want to achieve, and in doing so unmasks, without fail, literally every single one of their persona's.

Well, I say unmask, but they also obviously have face coverings still going on or a degree of inorganic/ambiguous heads and faces, but the degree of difference is stark I think between that and their second persona's or their first.

Also, at least, if you actually bother to max out the social links, and just let someone actually IN, such as it is.

But back to Maruki, it's actually rather interesting that his Metaverse Outfit arguably makes him the HARDEST to identify of everyone. Yeah it's a big golden outfit with an obnoxiously huge helmet and cloak but...

The Helmet is far more interesting to look at than the person wearing it, and even looking at his face it's only really recognizable as him if you can get a clean side view. The Outfits is bright and Golden, but is otherwise unidentfiable if someone else were to be wearing it. The Cloak further makes it harder to see anything between being huge, fluttery, and covering basically anything of note body wise (and potentially facially since it again just flutters all over) In addition to his staff/torch it's...

If we're going through the Shadow Cosplay as looking at the person in questions distorted view of themselves, It's interesting that Maruki's distortion basically does everything in it's power to make him a non entity. Which, I suppose makes sense given his ultimately goal.

[anika-ann]

The Line between Respectful and Stupid - Pt.1

God Bless Office Rats

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader       Word count: 1610

Warnings: swearing, gun violence, blood

Summary: First mission as a SHIELD agent. With the Captain. What could possibly go wrong?

Story Masterlist

Being one of the newest recruits-finally-turned-agents, you didn’t expect to be more than a paper-pusher honestly. You couldn’t say you were exactly content with that, but hey, at least you left the imaginary nest of baby to-be-agents relatively soon, actually feeling a bit proud. A bit.

As it turned out, you were about to be a paper-pusher; for like a day. And then Agent Kirski – big fella, in all senses if the word, one of the big fishes, a legend – casually walked into the office where desks of agents on duty were barely divided into boots to create an illusion of their own private space, stopped right in front of your desk, crossed his arms on his chest and with serious eyes told you: “Agent 19, you’re up. Wheels up in thirty.”

And your whole mind was a one huge what the frack with three question marks alternating with exclamation marks and you stared ahead of yourself for at least five minutes until Harry, the good friend of everyone in the office space he was, nudged you with a gentle smile, excited and a bit worried.

“Don’t get yourself shot, Little One. You’re too young to retire,” the man with grey hair said to you with a grin, thinking how funny he was since he was the one who actually was supposed to be retiring like two years ago.

You chuckled self-depreciatingly to humour him and let a quiet “Don’t worry.” slip out.

Which was clearly a serious mistake, because ten minutes after your team – under the strict command of Captain Steve Rogers aka Captain America, how the fuck had you got to this mission again? – landed its quinjet, things blew up.

Literally.

Because it was a set-up.

Seemingly an abandoned base was in fact full of members of terrorist organization which was inspired by Nazi’s HYDRA and they apparently developed a new tech to mask themselves from SHIELD’s radars, because suddenly there were tens of people versus your barely coordinated group of seven.

You didn’t even have time to take cover.

“Look out!” a male voice you couldn’t place yelled from your right and you frantically scanned your surroundings, not sure if it was a warning meant for you.

When bullets started raining around you, miraculously avoiding your body, you were suddenly more than confident that the speaker – whoever he was – definitely wanted to address you.

You crouched behind the nearest tree, peeking to find a target, the quinjet still open few feet from you. Not that you checked because wanted to run back into it and then fly away, happily returning to paper-pushing. Not at all.

Maybe a bit.

When the insane fire, making splinters and leaves looking like they had been through a smoothie machine, stopped flashing around you, you got out of your cover just for an inch to return few bullets to the enemy.

“Shit!” you hissed under your breath when the joke turned out to be on you, a bullet going straight through your arm.

The shocking pain came like a tide-wave only few seconds later when you were secured behind your poor natural shield of a tree. You felt tears in your eyes at the gnawing agony, biting the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from screaming.

Yeah, sure, alert more people to where you’re hiding. Great plan, Miss Grown-Up Agent.

You huffed and with your right hand unfairly shaky, you tried to reciprocate the fire once more. You barely managed to empty the magazine of your gun by the time you heard the ominous beeping that was haunting you in your nightmares due to the excessive use of that distinctive sound in your training.

The ticking of the bomb was too fast. It was about to explode any second and you had no idea where it was coming from and where you should hide.

The answer offered itself. It came in a form of a huge figure springing your direction. You didn’t even have time to brace yourself and a man slammed his body into yours with a deafening sound of an explosion in the background that felt way too close.

A shockwave smashed into you, sending you sliding through the grass and mud, but not as burning as it should.

It was because your body was basically wrapped in another one, very male, very huge, and very much hid behind a vibranium shield.

Your brain finally caught up. Captain America just probably saved your life. And fuck, make that definitely.

You didn’t thank him; before you could open your mouth, he pulled you to your feet by your arm – the injured one – and sent a wave of throbbing agony through your whole body. You gritted your teeth and didn’t let out a sound.

Your feet moved on autopilot.

Your ears were still ringing from the explosion, dirt flying away from under your feet and yet you blindly followed the man you owed your life and soul. You noticed his lips were moving rapidly, but you gave up on trying to understand what he was saying.

Before you knew it, you were basically shoved into an all-road vehicle that appeared out of fucking nowhere and suddenly you were driving away, crouched as you were taught to, hearing the bullets raining against the bullet-proof glass.

“If you hear me, get the hell out. I don’t know where each of you is so I can’t get you – you’re on your own. Retreat and use the distress signal when safe. Repeat, use the distress signal.”

You were still covering your head, trying to ignore the sharp turns he was taking, making your body sway from one direction to another.

“Keep pressure on it!” he barked then and you winced, surprised by the urge in his voice as much as the relative calm.

You blinked your eyes open, not realizing you had had them squeezed shut. He was talking to you, wasn’t he? Your arms eased the cage you held your head in – and fuck, did it hurt to move your right arm, how could have you not noticed it when covering yourself – and you obediently put your palm over the wound.

“Yes, Sir,” you replied automatically, only to shook your head. Way to go, Miss Agent. “Yes, Captain.”

You were very hesitant to actually apply any pressure despite knowing it was necessary. The thing was, you also knew that if you did so, the pain would send your head spinning-

A sharp turn right and suddenly you were applying pressure while using your injured hand to prop up your body against the dash so you wouldn’t end up in your commander’s lap. The spray of bullets fell silent, only a stray hitting the cracked glass.

“Sorry,” the captain muttered and you, surprised by the rather sudden freedom of the immediate danger, straightened yourself in the seat, managing to fasten a seatbelt. It meant few more moments without touching your wound, which was perfectly fine with you.

You even had time to check out your driver, whose glorious uniform – and doubtlessly handsome face, mostly hidden by his helmet – was covered in dirt and a bit of blood. His half-gloved hands were both firmly clutching the wheel, his gaze darting towards the rear-view and wing mirrors.

You had no clue what possessed you to answer to his unexpected apology. What was he apologizing for anyway? For saving you from being blown up and getting you to safety? Yeah, sure, deadly sin.

“That’s quite alright, Sir. You’re driving for our lives.”

He shot you a strange look, effectively stopping your heart, but then he shook his head, unfastening the strap on his helmet. He tossed it on the backseat, right next to his shield. Huh, you hadn’t noticed that baby before. Of course he would take his shield to safety. He was clearly very attached to it.

And you were getting pretty big-mouthed – good thing you didn’t say the last thoughts out loud. He was your freaking commander and you should act like it.

“Sorry, Captain, that sounded less bold in my head,” you murmured, gritting your teeth when trying to follow his instruction – and your training – and finally press against the gunshot wound in your bicep.

Maybe you just imagined it, the adrenalin and blood loss making you see things, but when his eyes glanced your direction again, a hint of a lopsided smile was settled on his face.

“Whatever you say, Agent. Just try not to bleed out even with my terrible driving skills,” he threw back and despite your better judgement, you gave him a tired smile back.

“Where exactly are you taking us? I mean… us, right? You’re not gonna ditch me on a side of the road and drive to the sunset alone?”

What on Earth am I saying?!

“I’m not gonna leave you bleed out on the side of the road. Or anywhere else,” he promised, voice serious, but surprisingly kind and patient.

Was it wrong of you to feel quite relieved at that? Should you be ashamed for even asking the supposed incarnation of justice, liberty and heroism such a ridiculous question…? That being him, apart from many things that were being whispered behind his back? You didn’t really care.

You melted into your seat, resting your head against it, slightly turning your face to look at his profile. He seemed focused on the driving, yet lost in thoughts.

“Where are we going then?”

Perhaps you should have been able to figure it out yourself, but your brain was getting a bit tired, most likely because you were still bleeding. You thought you were entitled.

“To a safe house.”

Part 2

Tags:

@mermaidxatxheart​

[ximaginedreamsx]

Unbound

A/N: Life ran a hard interference, but at last, I’ve finally made it back into my happy writing space...and I’ll do my best to stay here for as long as I can. Let’s pick up where we left off...and make it an extra long chapter to boot!

Chapter 7: The High School Experience

Monday rolled around a lot quicker than expected, or at least it did in Takuya's opinion. Today would be her first day attending Karakura High School...and she was nervous. A million thoughts buzzed through her mind at light speed as she stood at her dresser mirror, brushing her ebony locks.

What would the students be like? What would the instructors be like? What would the school as a whole be like?

With a slight sigh, she placed her brush back down on the dresser and opened a small drawer on the top left hand side. There sat the small rectangular black box that Orihime had given her. She slowly withdrew the box from the drawer and removed its top. The silver jewelry gleamed in the faint morning light that filtered through her window, and the sapphire eyes of the little tigers seemed to twinkle up at her as she gently ran a finger over each pendant. After pushing her back behind her ears, she carefully removed the hair pins and slid them into her hair just above her ears. She then freed the necklace from the box and fastened it around her neck. A small smile graced her lips as she examined herself with the addition of her new accessories.

"These really are beautiful..." she said quietly to herself.

A light knock on her room door drew her attention away from the mirror. "Come in."

The door slid open and Orihime entered the room. Her face lit up in a bright smile when she saw the necklace and hair pins.

"Yay, you're wearing them!" she exclaimed happily. "They look really pretty on you! And best of all...now we're both wearing hair pins! See?"

Takuya's smile grew as the auburn-haired girl pointed to the hair pins on either side of her head. "Thanks again, Orihime." she said as she reached up to gently touch her own.

"You're welcome again." Orihime replied, giggling slightly. "So, are you ready for your first day?"

Takuya's smile faltered a little. "I...I'm actually kind of nervous." she admitted. "This is all fairly new to me."

"Yeah, it's natural to be nervous at first when you're starting at a new school; it happens to everyone, for sure." Orihime said with a gentle smile. "But don't worry...that nervousness will pass before you know it. Karakura High is probably just like the schools you attended before coming here - only this time, you've already made friends before your first day's even started."

It was at that moment that something in Takuya's mind clicked...or perhaps, didn't click. She turned slightly and leaned back against her dresser, her brow furrowed in thought.

"...Actually...I-I don't remember...ever attending a school..." she said quietly.

Orihime's smile immediately dropped, and she looked confusedly at the ebony-haired girl. "...You don't remember?" she asked after a moment's pause.

Takuya slowly shook her head, and Orihime's confusion slowly changed into concern.

"Well...what do you remember?" she asked.

Takuya's brow furrowed a little more as she closed her eyes and brought her hands up to the sides of her face, her fingers pressing lightly against her temples. "...I remember moving here from...somewhere...several months ago. And I lived by myself for a long while..."

"Where did you live before you came here?"

"...I don't know." Takuya replied, the sudden sadness in her voice reflecting on her face as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't seem to remember anything about my life before coming here to Karakura. I-I'm not sure why...but I can't..."

For a long moment, the two girls just stood there in the silence of the room until Orihime spoke up again.

"Well, let's not think about too much, or we'll end up giving ourselves headaches." she said, trying to sound as lighthearted as she could. "It's your first day at a brand new school! We should make sure that you're completely ready to go."

Much to her relief, a smile slowly returned to Takuya's face as she pushed her self off of her dresser.

"Ok then." she said as she walked over to her new school bag that sat in a corner of her room. "We could look over my class schedule."

"Yeah, that would be great." Orihime chimed, walking over to Takuya as she set the bag on her bed. "Maybe we'll even have some classes together."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

An irritable expression decorated Grimmjow's features as his glare shifted from the two men now standing in front of his bed to his new gigai, and then back again. He was barely able to suppress the low growl rumbling in his chest at the sight of the goofy smile on the shopkeeper's face.

"Well, what do you think? Do you like it?" Urahara asked.

"It's fucking weird." was Grimmjow's only answer as his attention was drawn back to the gigai sitting against the wall by the door.

"Huh? Weird?" Urahara asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. "Now what would make you say that?"

"Well what the hell were you expecting me to fucking think, when the first thing I see when I wake up is another...another me sitting at the damn door?!" Grimmjow snapped venomously. "I almost lost control of my spiritual pressure, and this damn shop almost got ceroed to fucking oblivion!"

"Now, now, I apologize." Urahara said, snapping his fan shut. "I suppose I should properly introduce you to your gigai now. However, I should ask first...have you ever used a gigai before?"

"I'm a hollow." Grimmjow said flatly. "That shit's for shinigami. What the hell would I ever use one of those for, and why the hell should I start using one now?"

"Well, guarding Takuya requires you to be with her all day...and for part of the day, she will be in school."

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the man. "...Who the hell said I was gonna be inside the school with her?"

"It'll be a good experience for you, trust me on that." Urahara said, a hint of laughter in his voice yet again. "I've already had both of you registered."

Grimmjow glared murderously at the shopkeeper, this time not bothering to suppress the growl rumbling in his chest. Without missing a beat, Tessai reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue orb and held it up for the Espada to see.

Said Espada rolled his eyes and released an exasperated sigh. "And what the hell is that supposed to be?" he asked.

"This is a gikongan, more commonly know as a "soul candy," designed especially for you." Urahara explained. "This is what you will use to exit your gigai. It's a pre-programmed artificial soul that, when ingested, separates you from your gigai, and then animates the gigai until you remove it. And to remove it, you will need this..."

Tessai reached into his pocket once again and pulled out a black glove with a skull symbol on it, also holding it up to be seen.

"This is a Gokon Tekkö, a glove that can force the soul candy out of the gigai whenever you're ready to inhabit it again."

Grimmjow looked at the two men as if they'd each grown another head. "You people are fucking insane." he muttered.

"Well, we don't have too much time to spare so…how about trying it out?" Urahara suggested, reacquiring his goofy smile as he motioned to the gigai. "All you do is hold it up to your body and you will automatically merge with it."

Releasing another exasperated sigh, Grimmjow stood up from his bed and stalked up to the gigai, grumbling all the while. He lifted it up to his body and merged with it almost instantly. With a slight frown, Grimmjow looked himself over, scrutinizing his "new appearance." The only obvious changes were the disappearance of the jawbone mask that had been on the right side of his face, and the "filling in" of the hollow hole in his abdomen. Aside from that he looked the same, save for the exchange of his white hakama for a button-down white shirt, gray slacks, and dark brown shoes.

"What the hell am I wearing?"

"That would be the school uniform." Tessai replied. "All students are required to wear it."

"Here, take this." Urahara said, handing the Espada a small metal box. "That has your glove and your soul candy stored in it. Keep it with you at all times. You never know when you may need it."

Grimmjow took the box from the man and forcibly stuffed it in his pocket.

"Oh yeah...just one more thing..." Urahara said, glancing back at Grimmjow over his shoulder before he and Tessai exited the room completely. "Since you are going to be among normal human beings whilst at this school, you're going to have to do a little...conforming...if you know what I mean..."

"Tch, no shit..." the Espada muttered sarcastically, moving to follow the two men as they exited his room.

He really wanted to destroy something now...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The walk to Karakura High School was alight with the nigh-overwhelming excitement that exuded from Orihime's bubbly voice. The auburn-haired girl had somehow become even more thrilled upon learning that Grimmjow would be attending school as well, much to the Espada's own surprise...and, subsequently, his annoyance. He walked a couple steps behind the girls, a borderline irritated scowl etched into his expression.

"It's absolutely AWESOME that we all get to be in the same class together!" Orihime chirped happily. "You'll definitely love our teachers. There's Ochi-sensei, who's really nice but also a little outrageous sometimes. And then there's Kagine-sensei; he's kinda strict, but deep down on the inside he's really just a big softy. Oh, and I'll also have to introduce you to my best friend, Tatsuki. She's just the coolest..."

"Hey! Over here, guys!" Ichigo's voice rang out through the air, drawing the three's attention over to the orange-haired boy who was presently standing at the school's entrance with the rest of the group.

"Oh, good morning everyone!" Orihime greeted cheerfully as she jogged over to join them.

Takuya, however, paused momentarily to look up at the building. There were students everywhere she looked. Most moved about the campus grounds, heading this way and that, while some were gathered in various different places throughout, carrying on conversations with one another. The nervousness pit in her stomach grew slightly, and she clutched the strap of her school bag a little tighter.

...Ok, Takuya, you can –

"What's wrong with you?" Grimmjow's voice startled her slightly as it pulled her out of her thoughts, suddenly making her aware that he'd stopped alongside her.

"...I'm just a little nervous is all." she replied quietly. "This is going to be an entirely new experience for me, because I've never...I-I've never actually been to a school before."

Grimmjow looked at the girl then, confusion replacing the irritation in his expression. "The hell do you mean you've "never been" to a school before? I thought all humans went through this shit."

Takuya shook her head slightly. "I've never gone...or at least, I don't remember ever going..."

The Espada's confusion grew even more then; he opened his mouth to question the girl further but was cut off when Ichigo suddenly called out to them again.

"Takuya, Grimmjow! Let's get going or we're gonna be late!"

"Ok, c-coming!" Takuya responded; she took a deep breath before finally moving to catch up to Ichigo and the others.

Grimmjow followed behind her, his confusion growing steadily as his eyes remained trained on her. What the hell is with this girl's weird-ass life...?

"Welcome to Karakura High!" Ichigo declared, drawing the Espada out of his thoughts as the boy made a sweeping motion with his right hand as if to showcase the school. "Not too much to say about it, except that it's a school, and you learn here."

Takuya giggled at this, while Grimmjow just rolled his eyes and proceeded to mentally curse the shopkeeper for making him come here. Ichigo noticed the Espada's peeved expression and willed himself not to laugh.

"Wow, Grimmjow, you sure look ready for the day." he remarked, some of the contained laughter escaping into his voice.

Grimmjow leveled the orange-haired boy with a bored glare. "Of course, shinigami." he replied sarcastically. "Can't you tell? I can barely contain my excitement."

"Hmph...well for your sake, you had better." Rukia said snidely.

"Tch, you're never without anything totally smart-assed to say, are you...midget bitch?" Grimmjow shot back nonchalantly.

At that, Rukia whirled around, halting the group's trek towards the building. "What was that?!" she shrieked.

Grimmjow merely laughed at the female shinigami's reaction, while Ichigo shot glares at both of them.

"We don't have time for this! Let's just hurry and get to class!" he barked as he spun Rukia back around and pushed her forward as everyone started walking again. "And Rukia, will you stop trying to provoke him?!"

Rukia shot the boy an utterly appalled glare. "Oh so you're defending him now?!"

"I'm just saying that you've been the one picking all the fights lately. You could probably do without always trying to say stuff to get him riled up...especially now that we're around all these people."

Clearly offended, Rukia yanked herself out of Ichigo's grasp and stormed ahead of the group, grumbling all the way into the building. Ichigo shook his head at this, he and others reaching the building only a few seconds later.

"Wow, you must've really set Rukia off this time." Renji's voice drew everyone's attention to him as he fell into step with the group as they entered the building.

"Yeah well, she'll get over it." Ichigo muttered before shifting his gaze over to the red-haired shinigami. "So, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Urahara's orders." Renji replied. "He said I could better help in keeping in eye on Orihime this way."

"Did he now? You sure he wasn't just trying to get you out of the shop?" Ichigo teased.

"Lay off." Renji grumbled. "It's actually a good idea, despite whatever the nature of his true intentions was...especially given your less-than-average ability to sense spiritual pressures."

"Tch...shut the hell up." Ichigo snapped. "Like I'd need your help..."

"Here we are~!" Orihime sang as the group stopped in front of their designated classroom.

Before they could set a single foot in the door, their teacher stepped out. Misato Ochi’s eyes sifted purposefully through the group, immediately picking out Takuya and Grimmjow. A bright smile lit up her face as she moved to stand directly in front of them.

“The two of you must be my new students, how wonderful!” she proclaimed cheerfully. “I’m Misato Ochi, and I have the lovely honor of being your teacher. Now if you would kindly wait right here for just a minute, I’ll go in and get the other students settled and then have you come in and introduce yourselves, ok?”

With that, she promptly turned and hurried the rest of the group into the classroom, leaving Takuya and Grimmjow standing silently in the hallway.

As they awaited the impending call for introductions, Takuya attempted to calm herself down. Her grip on the strap of her school bag had become almost vice-like, but she could still feel her palms beginning to sweat as the nervous pit in her stomach grew even more.

A chanced glance at Grimmjow, however, had her temporarily ignoring her own state of being.

Next to her the Espada visibly seethed, the very notion of having to spend even a single moment trapped within the human-infested school building causing the blood to boil in his veins. A poorly contained growl rippled through his chest as his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. Ugh, damn that fucking stupid ass shopkeeper to the bottom of the deepest hole in darkest corner of ten hells...!

“Grimmjow...please calm down.”

The gears of Grimmjow’s mounting rage ground to a halt at the sound of Takuya’s quiet voice, his cerulean eyes immediately shifting to land pointedly upon the ebony-haired girl. Her own gaze never lifted to meet his, however; instead, she moved a small hand to loosely grasp the wrist of his left arm before speaking again.

“This is going to be a new experience for both of us...new, and challenging. But, I-I believe that if we try hard enough...and if we’re patient enough...we can get through it. So please...”

The Espada stared at the side of the girl’s face for a moment before his gaze flicked down to where her hand held on to his wrist. Even as she spoke, he felt that hand of hers was trembling slightly out of her own nervousness. Grunting slightly, he pulled his wrist free of her loose grasp and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Whatever.” he mumbled, shifting his gaze to the wall directly across the hallway.

“The two of you can step inside now.” Ochi-sensei called from inside the classroom.

Taking a deep breath, Takuya turned to walk into the classroom with Grimmjow right behind her. “Here we go...” she whispered.

The two entered the room and stopped next to the teacher’s desk, drawing a wave of little gasps from their soon-to-be classmates; quieted comments immediately began to surface in the air.

“Class, these are our two lovely new students!” Ochi-sensei declared before turning to look at the two. “Alright, go ahead and introduce yourselves.”

“Hello, I’m Takuya Hokkaido.” Takuya said, bowing slightly.

“Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.” Grimmjow stated flatly.

“Wonderful!” Ochi-sensei chimed. “Ok, there are two seats over there by the window...right behind Mr. Kurosaki. You may take those.”

Not wasting any time, Takuya and Grimmjow moved to take their seats. As they did so, the little quiet comments began surfacing again, this time not escaping either of their ears.

“- lovely, indeed. Man I could get lost those gorgeous eyes of hers...”

“Wow, he’s so totally dreamy! I wonder if he’s single...”

“She’s a total hottie. I call dibs on her number.”

“Blue is my new favorite color.” (Girly giggles)

Takuya took the seat directly behind Ichigo, and Grimmjow sat behind her. Ichigo turned around to face them as they situated themselves.

“You did a good job.” he whispered; he then peered over Takuya’s shoulder. “Both of you...surprisingly...”

Grimmjow’s bored glare lingered on the boy for a second or so before shifting to look out the window. “Don’t push your luck, Kurosaki.” he grumbled.

Ichigo smirked, shaking his head slightly as he turned to face forward in his seat once more.

“Alright, let’s begin class, shall we?” Ochi-sensei said, flipping open a book on her desk. “We’ll start with the reading assignment you had over the weekend...”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Takuya breathed an inaudible sigh of relief as she and the others sat around on the school’s roof eating their lunch. She stood leaning against the bars of the tall steel barrier that enclosed the entire rooftop, gazing down at the other students moving here and there throughout the courtyard as she nibbled on a sandwich. The first half of her school day had gone by without a hitch, which served to dispel the greater part of the nervousness she’d felt since the start of the day. A small smile curved her lips as a feeling of accomplishment washed over her.

This isn’t so bad after all. I think I could get used to this school-going thing...

“Takuya!” the ebony-haired girl turned toward Orihime’s voice, the auburn-haired girl approaching her alongside a girl with short raven-colored hair. “I’d like to introduce you to my best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa.”

Said girl, Tatsuki, stepped forward and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Takuya.” she greeted with a smile.

Takuya smiled in return, reaching out and shaking Tatsuki’s extended hand. “It’s nice to meet you as well.” she replied.

“ICHIGOOOO!” Everyone looked around just in time to see the owner of the overly-excited voice barging through the roof entrance and making a beeline straight for said orange-haired boy.

“Keigo...” Ichigo half-growled as his hyperactive friend skidded to a stop in front of him.

“Ichigo, where is she?! Everyone told me they saw her walking with you guys, WHERE IS SHE?!” Keigo practically shrieked, grabbing Ichigo by the collar of his shirt.

“Get the hell off me!” Ichigo snapped, shoving the boy away from him. “And who the hell are you even talking about?!”

“Oh c’mon, Ichigo, you know exactly who I’m talking about! I mean the new girl from -”

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Keigo immediately bit off the remainder of his sentence as he and Ichigo looked up to see Mizuiro standing in front of Takuya and taking one of her hands into his own. “My name is Mizuiro Kojima. It’s an honor to finally meet such a lovely girl in person.”

Orihime giggled, while Tatsuki just rolled her eyes. Takuya blinked at the boy. “Oh, u-um...nice to meet you as well...?” she managed, unsure of what else to say.

No sooner had the words left her lips than Keigo popped up in front of her, his oversized grin causing her to shrink back slightly.

“Wow, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!” he chirped. “Those eyes, that hair, everything so perfectly proportioned! Oh it’s even better close up - ARGH!”

Two fists roughly collided with either side of Keigo’s face, abrubtly cutting the boy off and startling Takuya.

“CAN IT, YA PERVERT!” Ichigo and Tatsuki yelled in unison as Keigo slumped to the ground, groaning.

Mizuiro looked down at Keigo. “Wow...you certainly are punishment prone, Mr. Asano.” he remarked.

“You people...are heartless...” Keigo forced out as he lay on the ground, clutching his face.

“Well, well, well...now what do we have here?”

Once more, everyone’s attention was drawn to the roof entrance, where three more boys now stood. Ichigo rolled his eyes and grumbled as he ran a frustrated hand over his face.

“Tch, great...not these assholes again...” he muttered.

“Who are they?” Renji asked, finally looking up from his lunch.

“A trio of purebred scumbags.” Ichigo answered scathingly. “The one in the middle is Kazuki, “the ring leader;” to his left is Hitoshi, and to his right is Ryo. They’re nothing but womanizing pigs...”

As if on cue, the trio sauntered past the rest of the group and stopped directly in front of Takuya.

“Well hello there.” Kazuki spoke, leering at the ebony-haired girl as his eyes overtly traveled the length of her body. “When I heard the rumors about the beautiful new girl in class 1-3, I just had to see it for myself. And now that I see you...wow...I am quite literally blown away.”

Growling in disgust, Tatsuki stormed forward, intent on throttling the boy; her advance was stopped, however, when she was immobilized and held back by Hitoshi and Ryo. “Kazuki!!! You has better get away from her you filthy lowlife scum!!!” she yelled, struggling to get out of his flunkies’ grasps.

Kazuki glanced back at Tatsuki, smirking snobbishly at the angry girl before turning back to Takuya, who had taken a couple cautious steps back. In one swift movement, he quickly closed the short distance between them, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, preventing her from moving away again.

“A girl like you shouldn’t be reduced to hanging around such garbage.” he crooned, his face mere inches away from hers. “Why don’t you come away with me to somewhere...a little less crowded?”

“No thank you.” Takuya said firmly, attempting to pry herself away from the boy. “Now let me go, please.”

“Oh come now, don’t be like that.” Kazuki whined almost mockingly, his grip tightening slightly; he then reached up and gently stroked her face. “You know you want to...”

“Alright, that’s it! Get the hell away from her, asshole!” Ichigo blurted out. “She obviously doesn’t wanna be anywhere near your creepy ass!”

Kazuki leveled an arrogant glare at the orange-haired boy. “Why don’t you shut the hell up, noisy bastard.” he sneered. “As if you could possibly even begin to imagine what she wants! Anyone can see that she’s almost completely enthralled with my boyish charm and - UMPH!”

A large hand suddenly clamped over Kazuki’s mouth, effectively silencing him. He, and everyone else, looked up to see none other than Grimmjow standing there, his bored scowl unflinchingly cemented into his expression. The instant he noticed Kazuki loosening his grip on Takuya he acted once again, ripping the boy away from the ebony-haired girl and forcefully slamming him into the roof’s barrier. The boy hollered in pain as he collided with the steel bars face-first, and almost immediately began to feel warm blood flowing out from a newly acquired wound created by the harsh contact. Hitoshi’s and Ryo’s jaws dropped, their own hold on the squirming Tatsuki loosening in their shock; taking the opportunity, Tatsuki yanked herself free, spun around, and bodily shoved both boys backwards to the ground.

“Ugh...what...w-what the hell is your deal, man...?” Kazuki whimpered as he tried in vain to free himself from Grimmjow’s vice grip. “And...where the hell...d-did you even come from?”

“Look here, idiot...,” Grimmjow began to speak, not yet bothering to his way. “I don’t know who you are, or who you think you are, but let’s make one thing abundantly clear. This girl is not to be toyed with, and shitheads like you who get bold enough to try might just find themselves waking up in hell.”

Kazuki’s eyes widened. “W-what do you mean?”

It was then that Grimmjow turned to look at the boy, who almost immediately began trembling like a dry leaf in the wind. His bored scowl had remained intact, but behind the glint of his cerulean eyes lurked an unfathomable murderous intent that caused the blood to freeze in his veins.

“Fuck off...or die.” the Espada replied flatly. “That clear enough for ya?”

Kazuki did his best to nod. “Yeah...crystal...” he squeaked.

At that, Grimmjow released his hold on the boy, letting him fall to the ground. Not a second after his feet made contact with the cement, Kazuki hurriedly clambered away, Hitoshi and Ryo following close behind. After watching the trio disappear from the roof, everyone turned their attention back to the Espada, shocked to absolute silence. Grimmjow’s brow furrowed when he felt all their gazes pinned on him.

“The hell’re you idiots staring at?” he grumbled.

“That was AWESOME!!!” Keigo suddenly cheered. “I’ve never seen those guys run away so fast in my life!!! An now, my beautiful Takuya can breath easy again-OWW!!!”

A fist has once again made contact with the side of his face. Ichigo glared at the boy as he slumped to the ground once more, groaning. Mizuiro tutted as he looked down at him.

“You should really learn when to put a lid on it, Mr. Asano.” he said.

“...Ugh, the pain...” Keigo moaned.

Ignoring the two’s exchange, Ichigo looked over at Grimmjow again. His actions had thrown him for a complete loop, so much so that he’d momentarily forgotten that the Espada had actually agreed to be Takuya’s bodyguard, much to their great surprise. With an exasperated sigh, he folded his arms across his chest and turned his attention back to Keigo, who was still writhing on the ground.

Well, I guess hollows aren’t the only things she’ll need protection from...

A minute later, the bell sounded, marking the end of the lunch break.

“Alright, guys, let’s get the rest of this day over with.” Ichigo said as he and the rest of the group packed up the remnants of their lunches and began heading toward the roof’s entrance. As they filed into the buidling, Takuya, who’d been silent since the “incident” with Kazuki, finally spoke up, but only loud enough for one person to hear her.

“Grimmjow...”

The Espada looked over his shoulder at the girl.

“Thank you...”

Mild surprise flashed over Grimmjow’s scowling expression; after a second or so, he turned to face forward again.

“Don’t mention it.” he finally said, the phrase feeling incredibly foreign on his tongue.

Takuya smiled at his retreating form, and for the first time that day, she felt her nervousness completely ebb away.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Urahara looked up as Orhime, Takuya, and Grimmjow entered the dining area.

“Ah, welcome back.” he greeted them. “So, the first day of school has been completed successfully, I presume?”

“Yes it has.” Takuya replied with a smile.

“Excellent.” Urahara said before turning his attention to Grimmjow. “So...how was it?”

Grimmjow glared at the man for a moment or two. “I spent the whole damn day surrounded by humans, nobody died, and I’m still sane. Joy.”

“That’s excellent! Hehe, what’d I tell ya? I knew it’d be a good experience for ya. It’s gonna really help build that tolerance level of yours.”

The Espada grumbled as he disappeared down the hallway. With a slight smile, Urahara redirected his gaze toward Takuya and Orihime.

“So, did everything go on without incident today?” he asked.

Both girls nodded.

“Oh...well, everything except for this one situation we had during lunch...” Takuya said, tapping her chin in thought. “This perverted guy attempted to force himself on me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but Grimmjow saved her.” Orhime chimed in cheerily. “He got the boy away from her and basically told him not to come bothering her again. It was really nice of him.”

“Yes, that was very nice indeed.” Urahara echoed with a honest grin. “Well, I’m glad that you enjoyed your first day, Takuya.”

“So am I.” Takuya agreed with a smile of her own as she and Orihime disappeared down the hallway as well.

Urahara released a contented sigh, taking a sip of the tea in front of him. Everything seems to be going smoothly thus far. I guess the real question now is...how long will it last...?

“Kisuke.”

A smile almost instinctively stretched across his face at the sound that all-too-familiar voice. He then turned to see a black cat trotting into the dining area.

“Yoruichi! Great to see you!” he greeted as the cat jumped lithely onto the table and sat down directly in front of him. “How long have you been back?”

“Long enough to know that there has been a hollow of incredibly destructive power among you for close to four whole days now and none of you seem too worried about it.”

Urahara chuckled, bringing a hand up to adjust his hat. “Heh, always the observant one; I’d have been quite surprised if you didn’t notice.”

“You can save the flattering compliments.” Yoruichi remarked flatly. “You’ve got some serious explaining to do, starting now.”

“Well, to be completely honest, there isn’t a whole lot to explain.” Urahara said. “Takuya - a young lady currently residing here that you’ve not had the pleasure of meeting yet - stumbled upon Mr. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez three days ago as she was returning from the market. At the time she’d found him, he was injured substantially after being attacked by Aizen. He’s now repaying his debt to Takuya for saving his life.”

The cat shook its head in utter disbelief. “Kisuke, do you even realize what it is that you’re doing?! You’re not only willingly harboring a vasto lorde, but you’re allowing him to roam freely among humans! Do you realize how insanely dangerous that is, and the indescribable amount of trouble you could get into if Soul Society gets wind of it?! Oh, and let’s not forget the ever-looming threat of Hueco Mundo. Did you even consider what you’ll do if...no, when Aizen decides to come looking for his lost soldier?!”

The shopkeeper took a slow sip of his tea, taking that time to mull over his answer. “Yes, I’ve taken it all into thorough consideration. I’m well aware of everything that could possibly happen...rather, everything that will happen...if Grimmjow is discovered. Aizen, we suspect, will eventually send his forces here to do a physical search once he realizes that he can’t track Grimmjow’s spiritual pressure. And once that happens, Soul Society will automatically become involved. All of us - not just Grimmjow - will be in imminent danger of either being wiped out by Aizen’s forces, or being automatically sentenced to execution by Head Captain for what’ll undoubtedly be seen as highly treasonous acts against the living world AND Soul Society...or, in Grimmjow’s case, merely being a hollow. Either way, when this is all over, we all may very well be dead.”

He then looked up to meet the cat’s golden-eyed gaze.

“But...we’re prepared for that. We’re more than ready...more than willing...to face that inescapable truth when and if it should come to that. Well...actually Rukia’s not too thrilled about it, and for good reason...but the rest of us are. I mean, think about it, Yoruichi. This Espada is a wealth of information! We now have the capability to thwart any of Aizen’s plans before they get underway. Opportunities like this don’t just occur for no reason at all.”

Yoruichi’s whiskers twitched in slight frustration. “Kisuke, we’re not talking about some random low rank. This guy’s one of Aizen’s strongest soldiers -”

“Did I mention that Grimmjow isn’t loyal to Aizen?” Urahara cut in. “Or the fact that Aizen’s attack on him was provoked by the discovery of his plot to defy his direct orders?”

The cat’s eyes widened slightly. “...That alone doesn’t prove disloyalty...”

“He’s also made it absolutely clear that he has zero respect for Aizen’s leadership, and that he would readily kill himself before willingly carrying out any of his orders, AND that he plans to kill all three ex-captains himself once he gains the proper strength...”

Yoruichi’s eyes widened even more as she was rendered momentarily speechless. Her golden eyes searched his gray ones for any sort of doubt or uncertainty, but she only succeeded finding raw determination.

“Are you certain of this?” she finally asked. “Are you absolutely sure this isn’t just a ruse to get you to even partially drop your guard?”

“I’m positive.” Urahara replied. “He’s only been here for a couple days, but he’s already shown that he isn’t one for smoke screens.”

“...And there’s absolutely no swaying you, is there?”

“I’m afraid not.”

With a small sigh, the cat leapt off the table. “Well, I suppose there’s no helping it...I do hate when you get like this.” she muttered. “However, if this is the path you are choosing to take, then you have my full support.”

“Thank you, Yoruichi.” Urahara said, smiling almost triumphantly.

Yoruichi smiled slightly in return before rolling her eyes at the man and heading toward the shop’s exit.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

[slytherin-puffskein]

hope’s lullaby.

summary: The summer between Laurent King’s fifth and sixth year at Hogwarts was the one that hurt the most. Luckily, comfort came to him.

- - -

notes: a huge thank you to all my beta readers for the wonderful feedback they gave me!

- - -

Hope, as Laurent King had recently found out, is nothing but a lie. A stupid invention. A cruel lullaby meant to soothe you with unrealistic scenarios and to make you believe that everything is, in fact, alright when it is clearly not. He had made the mistake of hoping through all summer, of creating himself nonsense --illogical yet comforting scenarios in his mind-- and the truth about hope was finally hitting him full force: it’s sole purpose is to leave you, to abandon you, and to leave you stuck with your own feelings and disarray.

These were his thoughts as he laid before him the many letters he had just received. Spending the entirety of August at his aunt’s place, he had taken care to inform all of his friends of his new address. As he had expected, tons of messages have been sent to him, filled with love and friendship, now awaiting to be read. Even though he knew he should be feeling happy he felt a terrible, selfish bitterness take over his being as he realized something. Fucking called it. But why am I disappointed, if I had already sort of expected it? This doesn’t make fucking sense. None of this does. Why why why? Before him laid letters sent by Penny Haywood, Rowan Khanna, Tulip Karasu… none of them bore the name he had wished most ardently to see.

Barnaby Lee.

Throughout the course of the entire summer, Laurent had no received a single letter from him. It was as if, suddenly, Barnaby had vanished from the surface of the Earth. Or, as Laurent was thinking, as if he, himself, had vanished from the surface of the Earth. As if Barnaby had forgotten about him, had told himself he wasn’t worth it in the end, and the worst was that he didn’t even had the decency to end whatever they had via a letter. 

Whatever they had, he was using that phrase because he simply couldn’t find any other words to use. Friendship? They had more than that, ever since their date at the end of their fifth year. Love? No, they never kissed. And now it would probably, most definitely, never happen. You lost him. You lost it all. What did you do wrong? Everything, probably. It’s just as your dad tells you! No one will ever love you, not with how you currently are. A sob threatened to break through his lips, but he miraculously succeeded in holding it back. Instead of sitting on his bed and crying, he simply slipped the letters under his pillow. He’d read them later.

He didn’t have the time then, because it was time for his shift at his aunt’s bakery. Thank Merlin, I’ll have something to do to take my mind off this shit.

* * *

“Turn that frown upside down!”

Cyril Colin, Laurent’s cousin, was an all too optimistic guy, and at that very moment Laurent was finding himself feeling deeply annoyed. What does he know about what is going on anyway? I didn’t tell him shit. He has no business to try and comfort me. Of course, in another state of mind, Laurent would have appreciated that gesture, but right then the only thing he wished for was to be left alone, and to focus on the croissants he was baking.

In the face of his cousin’s silence, Cyril pouted, and insisted: “C’mon, Laurent. You know you can tell me everything, right? You’re here for me, it’s only fair that I should be here for you. So what’s wrong? Is it related to a wi--”

But before he could finish that final word, Laurent had shoved the first thing that landed in his hand, a macaron, in his cousin’s mouth. “Hush! Don’t say that word out loud, you know it’s supposed to be a secret!” And just like that, the conversation was over, much to Laurent’s joy.

However, by the end of his shift, Laurent still only held one wish: to curl himself in his blankets and to sink into a deep, dreamless sleep. Oh, yeah, that sounded just like paradise, at least to him. This is so ridiculous. Why am I so affected by Barnaby not sending me any letter? It’s not like he’s… my boyfriend or anything.

But that is something you wish for dearly, don’t you? a wicked voice whispered into his mind. You want to touch his hands, to touch his lips, to be his. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he figured out just how of a terrible guy you are. Remember what your father said: you act without thinking, and in your eyes the devil slumbers! That must be true, right? It surely is, since Barnaby’s left you!

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP.

And all of a sudden, it felt as if his throat was closing right up. He was suffocating, suffering, hurting, and only one thing became his priority: to get the hell out of here and get some fresh air. 

Even if he still had fifteen minutes left on his shift and should have waited until he was done, it was as if his body had a mind of its own, shaky fingers untied his apron and let it fall to the floor. Before he could even realize what he was doing, he was standing outside of the bakery, his cousin’s voice faintly calling for him from the inside, worry painting each of his syllables. He hated that. He hated that Cyril always felt the need to worry over him. I’m fine, Cyril. I’m fine, I keep telling you that and you won’t LISTEN. But the truth was, Laurent wasn’t feeling alright. Not at all. He was just too proud to admit it to himself --too proud to come to terms with the fact that he was truly affected by Barnaby’s radio silence.

Too proud to admit that you’re in love.

“Damn, did you just come back from a marathon or something? You could have warned me, I would’ve come with you. Y’know I love running.” That voice. That all too familiar voice. No, it couldn’t be. Wait. Could it be? No. I spoke to him on the phone last night. Surely, he didn’t come all the way here… or…

As he raised his head and locked gazes with the man standing in front of him, it felt as if his heart was about to burst. Not because of the sadness that had been piling up over it, but because of the pure, bright joy that had suddenly taken over. With a sigh of relief on his lips, he threw his arms around Oscar Whelan.

If people declared Laurent King to be mischief incarnate, that only meant they had yet to meet Oscar Whelan --trouble incarnate. Any ounce of chaos put a smile on his face, every action of his was a mere result of his impulsivity, and his entire aura said one thing and one thing only: ‘let’s run away, you and I. Let’s flee this world and build our own’.

At least, that was what it said whenever Laurent was with him, so he came to assume that it was the same with everyone else.

Born a Muggle, Oscar had known Laurent ever since childhood. They grew up together and he’d been the shoulder Laurent cried on when his mother gave out her last breath. Following her funeral Oscar had brought him to this family’s small apartment where a sleepover without any actual sleep had taken place. Through comforting words and gentle laughter, Oscar had done everything in his power to make Laurent’s smile come back, while also helping him deal with his grief.

When his Hogwarts acceptance letter came, Laurent had been overwhelmed with the wish to tell his friend everything, but he knew very well that in no way that could happen. Instead, he told him that his father had decided to make him a student in a strict boarding school, and that as a result he was meant to leave for ten months, ever year for the next seven years. Are you serious? Oscar had exclaimed. You mean, like, a boarding school with uniforms and such? Lying to his best friend had been the worst thing for Laurent, but he was also well aware that it was for the best. If he were to reveal the existence of the wizarding world to someone outside of his family, just what would possibly happen? Oscar wasn’t a loose lipped person, but no risks could be taken.

No, that’s a lie. A risk had been taken, but an entirely different one. By hiding his true life from Oscar, Laurent had harbored the fear that a wall would build itself between them, separating them and preventing them from fully understanding each other. From his perspective, that imaginary wall would only lead to one outcome: the destruction of his friendship with Oscar Whelan, and that was something he knew he couldn’t possibly handle.

Years had passed and the wall still had yet to make its appearance. But Laurent had kept on fearing, and at sixteen years old he was still terrified. Even with Oscar currently hugging him close, the anxiety related to losing his friendship sprang forth and threatened to take control of his brain.

How unjust, that I cannot tell him everything!

After several minutes of silent hugging, Laurent pulled away at last, but his hands remained splayed on Oscar’s chest to feel his heartbeat. His friend’s arm, wrapped around his waist, provided him with unimaginable comfort. “What are you doing here?” Laurent’s eyes were pretty much filled with question marks at this point, and Oscar could only smile.

“C’mon now, Lau. I know you. When you called me yesterday I felt something was wrong, so I took it upon myself and decided to pay you a visit. Least I can do, right? Though I gotta admit, the thought of stepping into your bakery was also very enticing.”

“It’s not my bakery, Oscar.” Laurent giggled. “It’s my aunt’s, you totally know that.”

“Right. Otherwise you would have added many more flowers for decorations. You should talk about it to your aunt, I’m sure it would look great.”

Oscar’s words remained in Laurent’s mind: When you called me yesterday I felt something was wrong. Yes, Laurent had spoken to him on the phone, but never had he mentioned the letters or anything else related to them, for that matter. Had he sounded that sad? He almost wanted to ask, but decided not to.

“Are you done with your shift?”

“Only a few minutes left. Had to get out to get some fresh air.”

“Well, that’s exactly why I’m here, Laurent. To give you some fresh air. Finish those minutes left, I’ll wait for you here.” But he was smiling. Smiling, because he was seeing the glint of mischief already floating in Laurent’s eyes.

Laurent couldn’t help but smile back. “How about we go now, mhm?”

* * *

They spent hours together, and Laurent hoped that this day would never end. Because, finally, he was reunited with his friend. Finally, things were feeling less heavy, and he knew all too well that the distress would return as soon as it had left if Oscar were to leave. He obviously had to, at some point, and thus Laurent was mentally preparing himself for it. At least, he will be left with memories --wonderful memories to cling into. He would lie on his bed and replay them; hearing their laughs again, tasting the ice cream that Oscar bought for him again… and listening to their conversation again.

As he walked through the city with Oscar, a smile curled his lips when he remembered a conversation which occurred only a few minutes ago. They had been sitting on a bench, in Laurent’s favorite park because of its many trees, and he had decided to tell Oscar. Not the whole wizard business, obviously, but bits and pieces of the life that he had never told him about.

His new friends, for example.

“You have Penny Haywood.” He had told with a smile while still eating his ice cream. Caramel, his favorite flavor. “She’s, like, the sweetest girl ever, I’m telling you. Rowan’s is the best nerd, he helps me studying whenever I struggle with something. At some point, he even practically held me hostage in the library so I could finish my paper! My only focus was to walk around the school, take a breather… but Rowan had other plans in mind. Tulip is the greatest prankster, I think you’d like her. I know I do, she’s one of my closest friends. And--”  The words had died out, however, as he had realized that he had been just about to mention Barnaby Lee.

Oscar had noticed the sudden change of atmosphere. “Something wrong?”

So much. I’m so worried, Oscar. No! I can’t tell him about this. It would be… too complicated. He shook his head. “Nothing, I just… I just feel bad I never told you about them sooner” Lying by telling the truth, what a funny concept. “…about anything related to my school, in truth. It… it must suck, right?” Yes, lying by telling the truth, because he wasn’t telling Oscar the real reason behind his sudden change of emotion, but he was still talking about something that was truly bothering him.

Besides, he had to mention it at some point, right? He had to address his insecurities regarding his friendship with Oscar, the magical thing he cherished dearly, or else it would truly turn to dust.

Much to his surprise, Oscar giggled and gently nudged him. “You can tell or not tell me whatever you want, Laurent. I’ll never take it personal.” He suddenly paused, his brows knitting together in worry. “You… you didn’t tell me all of this because you felt like you had to, right? Because that ain’t right.” Laurent had been unable to not smile.

“No, not at all. I wanted to tell you about ‘em. You’re my best friend, after all. As you said, I tell you everything I want.” Maybe it had been a shadow, but he believed Oscar’s smile had wavered at those two words: best friend. Why, exactly?

He was still thinking of a reason, but he snapped back to reality as he realized that it was getting late. The sun was beginning to set, coloring the sky with beautiful orange and pink hues, and offered a sight that never failed to take Laurent’s breath away. He stopped in his tracks to just look up at its splendor. To memorize all of that beauty. Oscar did the same with a smile on his lips. 

“Beautiful, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I can show you something even better.”

Laurent raised an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”

Teasingly, Oscar placed his index over his own lips. “Curiosity is a bad thing, Laurent King~”

“Says the most curious guy I know!” And just like that, his worries were gone again.

* * *

Oscar insisted that they waited until the sky turned black and, once it did, Laurent let himself be guided by his friend, holding his hand and trying to figure out just what he had in mind. That, however, was the problem with Oscar Whelan: You never knew exactly what he was planning. Every second with him felt like a toss of the dice, with no idea as to which result you’d get.

They stopped in front of a huge building that Laurent recognized as one of the many gymnasiums of the city. Pulling out a pocket knife from his leather jacket’s pocket, Oscar got to work, quickly succeeding with picking the lock and granting them access inside. Luckily, no alarm system began to blare, and Oscar turned proudly to Laurent, offering him his hand once again. “You trust me, right?” The fact that Oscar had picked locks frequently was not only apparent from the skill he had demonstrated, but also from the absence of shock from his friend.

Now, Laurent was having a faint idea of what his friend had in mind. And without hesitation, he reached for his hand. “Of course I do, Oscar.”

And that was how they found themselves in the gymnasium’s public pool, moonlight spilling inside through the windows and reflecting itself on the calm water. A beautiful sight, truly, one that rendered Laurent still with wonder for a moment. Oscar was right. It’s so beautiful.

“You’re crazy.” But the joy in his voice was impossible to not notice.

“Love you, too.” Oscar replied as he began to undress.

Laurent was quick to do the same and, once they were only in their underwear, he realized just how cold the air was, and how much colder the water would surely be. Oscar probably had made the same realization, because his wicked smile graced his features once more. With the moonlight illuminating the side of his face, he almost looked ethereal. Like a dream. A dream that Laurent found most comforting.

“I dare you,” Oscar’s said, voice filled with challenge, “to jump.”

Oh, you’ll see, Oscar! Laurent immediately turned to look at him, fists on his hips in an attempt to make himself look more intimidating. “I dare you to jump. Wait, no, double dare you!”

“Oh, is that the game you want to play, Laurent? You know I love games.”

The teasing, the stifled in giggles that their voices were containing, it all reminded Laurent of the many blissful moments they had spent together ever since they met, moments he'd missed dearly at Hogwarts. After months of being without his best friend, everything was now falling back into place. He had Oscar, everything was alright.

That wonderful chaos he loved sharing with him had also made its comeback, it seemed, as Oscar suddenly reached for him, his arm wrapping around his waist and bringing him closer --much closer. “You brought this upon yourself, Laurent!”

And with Laurent’s roaring laughter filling the air, Oscar jumped, inevitably dragging his friend along with him.

They broke out of the water’s surface, laughing, splashing each other; and, before Laurent knew it hot tears were streaming down his cheeks, for a reason he knew all too well and yet didn’t dare admit. Oscar realized he was crying fairly quickly, and swam closer to wipe them away. “Did you really not enjoy that at all?” He was telling this to make him laugh, it was evident in his gaze.

And it worked. Laurent giggled, then sniffled and nodded. “Yup, truly terrible.” A smile came, but he decided, at last, to tell him what has been haunting him. “I just… have a friend from school ignoring me. A friend I like a lot, and… and it sucks.”

By saying it out loud, finally acknowledging his feelings, it felt as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders, and he could feel himself breathing with much more ease. Oscar’s features softened, and his hand landed on Laurent’s wet shoulder. An awfully comforting touch.

While Oscar Whelan usually talks an awful lot, at that very moment he was silent as he hugged Laurent closely. Despite how little they were wearing, Laurent found himself unbothered. He’s my best friend, it would take much more to bother me.

And so, they hugged, and soon enough Oscar was whispering to him the lyrics of his favorite song. Ground control to Major Tom. Laurent let that song lull him into calmness, into total peace, and his eyes fluttered shut as they both stood still in the pool, surrounded by water. Calm, soothing water.

Maybe hoping wasn’t such a bad thing. With his friendship with Oscar, he had the hope --the belief-- that everything would turn out alright. That Barnaby would talk to him again. That he would be allowed, somehow, to love him. Those thoughts soothed him to the core.

They sang quietly.

For here am I sitting in a tin can,

Far above the world,

Planet Earth is blue,

And there’s nothing I can do.

* * *

Never write to him or even speak to him, again. Or I’ll kill him.

Barnaby’s grandmother words had kept ringing in his ears ever since the beginning of summer. He sat in his room as the moon shone bright in the sky, and caught himself staring at it.

And hoping.

Hoping that things will turn out alright.

And that he’ll soon, somehow, be with Laurent again. To touch his hands, to touch his lips, to be his.

But hope is a futile, useless thing. Isn’t it?